Plextor PlexEasy DVD

If you're like most people, you have digital memories scattered across numerous memory cards, burned DVDs, USB drives, tablets, and smartphones. If you want a way to consolidate the digital ephemera of modern life, there's the Plextor PlexEasy DVD ($109.99 list), a DVD burner that lets you copy and transfer files and burn them to disc without a PC. In many ways, it's like the Sony DVDirect VRD-MC5 ($229 direct, 4.5 stars), a standalone device from a few years back that let you transfer your VHS tapes, camcorder footage, music, and photos to DVD. Although the world has moved on to newer formats, the Plextor PlexEasy DVD is a fine choice for the segment of the population that wants computer-free transferring and copying.

Design and Features
At its most basic level, the PlexEasy is a tray-loading optical drive. It's fairly lightweight (13.6 ounces), with plastic construction, and has rounded edges on the right and left sides that help it feel like a comfortable appliance rather than a PC peripheral. Measuring 0.8 by 5.6 by 7.2 inches (HWD), the PlexEasy is larger than the average portable DVD burner?like the Pioneer BDR-XD04 ($149.99 direct, 4 stars)?but that's largely due to the extra features that make the PlexEasy so effective, like an LCD display, card reader, and functional disc and file copying.

In standalone mode, the PlexEasy is powered with an AC adapter, but a USB Y cable lets you charge it any time you're plugged into a PC. The USB connection is perfect for copying and archiving content from a variety of sources, including both PCs and devices like cameras, phones, and tablets. A card slot lets you pull photos and files directly from a memory card (SD/SDHC/MMC), and the LCD display and three-button control panel helps you perform all of your file transfers and disk duplications without needing a PC.

When you do want to connect the drive to a computer, it works with several versions of Windows (Windows 7, Vista, XP). For easy use with memory cards and USB drives, the PlexEasy supports multiple storage formats: ISO 9660, UDF, FAT16, FAT32, and NTFS. The USB port also supports both Mass Storage Device mode (for flash drives, portable hard drives and digital cameras) and PTP mode (for smartphones). Basically, if you can connect to it via USB, you can connect it to the PlexEasy, though when connecting to iOS or Android devices you may run into limitations as to what file types are available or supported.

Performance
Using the PlexEasy is pretty simple, with a caveat or two. Burning data to disc is easy enough when connected to a PC, but otherwise you may need to grab a USB drive to provide the drive with enough additional capacity to finish up the job (700MB for CDs, 5GB for single-layer DVDs, and 9GB for dual-layer discs).

Copying a disc is a three-step process. First, enter disc copy mode and select the flash drive as the memory buffer. Second, insert the source disc and confirm. Third, once the source disc has been read, swap it out for a blank disc and confirm to begin copying. The PlexEasy supports both DVD and CD writable formats, at a variety of speeds, from DVD-RAM (5X) to DVD?R (6X) and both CD-R and CD-RW (24X). It reads most any DVD or CD format, but not Blu-ray discs.

Although most will be content to use the copy and transfer capabilities of their laptop or desktop PCs for storing data, the Plextor PlexEasy DVD is a viable alternative for those who have PCs without optical drives (this includes most ultrabooks), those who want a copying solution to take with them on the go, or for those who shy away from computer use. If you don't mind being tied to a PC, you'd do better to grab the Editors' Choice Samsung External Slim Blu-ray Re-Writer ($129.99 street, 4 stars).

COMPARISON TABLE
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