According to analysts at IDC (International Data Group),DVD is now the fastest growing consumer electronic technology ever.Yet there isnt a uniform standard for DVD recorders. Its a problem for anyone wanting to buy a DVD device that writes to disc, because there is no guarantee youll be able to play your disc on anything but the device on which it was recorded.

HPs dvd200i uses the new DVD+R and DVD+RW standard, meaning that any movie you record to disc should be readable by DVD-R, DVD-RW,DVD RAM and DVD-ROM devices, including DVD players. As well as burning DVDs, you can also write to CD-R and CD-RW discs.

DVD writers/rewriters are primarily designed for storing multimedia, particularly movies, and the dvd200i comes with the excellent ArcSoft ShowBiz movie editing program, which allows users to import their home movies direct from their video camera, edit and save to disc. However, HP also provides tools that allow you to record direct from camera to disc.

While writing to DVD is slow compared to CD writers (one-third the speed), the dvd200i does it without fuss and you can safely leave it to do the job while you go and have a cup of tea.

The software includes a back-up tool that allows users to back data up to DVD, however, it is not compatible with Windows XP, which, while frustrating, is more a Microsoft problem than an HP one. You cannot read it from a standard DVD-ROM, so it is best to put data onto CDs where the readability problem is not such an issue.

Installing the dvd200i is as simple as putting in any CD writer, and can be done in about 10 minutes on most modern machines. However, if you are not confident doing it yourself, you can always get the more expensive dvd200e model for $1,599, which is an external drive that connects via USB. Think carefully before buying: if youre not going to use it for movies or other multimedia projects, you are probably better off buying a CD rewriter. However, if DVD is what you require, you wont go wrong with the dvd200i.