Good DVD burning solution for JVC Everio's with slight flaws

When I bought a camcorder for Christmas, I decided to get the JVC CU-VD20 Share Station DVD-Burner too. I wanted a way to quickly backup any movies on the camcorder on a DVD without the need to have a computer hooked up in between. In addition, the CU-VD20 works as an external DVD-drive/burner for my wife’s notebook that can't burn DVD's.


-- -- -- The technical specifications -- -- --

The CU-VD20 is an external dual layer DVD-burner that can be hooked up to compatible JVC camcorders or as an external drive to your computer via it's USB 2.0 (or USB 1.1) interface. The specs are:

- external DVD-R Dual Layer burner for DVD-R, DVD-R double layer, DVD-RW
- supported CD formats: CD-Extra, CD-ROM Mode 1, Video-CD, CD Audio, CD-R, CD-RW, Mixed Mode CD-ROM
- Read Speed 5x (DVD), 10x (CD)
- Write Speed 8x (DVD-R), 4x (DVD-R DL)
- ReWrite Speed 4x (DVD-RW)
- Buffer Size 2 MB

- System Requirements: Operating System Microsoft Windows XP Home Edition • Microsoft Windows XP Professional

- Dimensions
Width: 6.75 in.
Depth: 10.38 in.
Height: 2.19 in.
Weight: 3.1 lb.

Theoretically, all DVD-R media should be compatible. Nevertheless, JVC recommends DVD media from either JVC, TDK, Verbatim or Sony. For double layer media, stick with JVC or Verbatim. I also tried Philips DVD-R DL media which did not provide the best results (tons or artifacts and picture problems) , so I recommend you stick with the list from JVC if you don't want any nasty surprises.

-- -- -- What's in the box? -- -- --

Apart from the drive itself you will find a stand to put the drive up vertically, a USB cable to connect to the compatible camcorders, the power adapter, the manual and Cyberlinks Power2Go 5.5 lite software. Also included is one JVC blank DVD. To connect the drive to the computer, you will need the USB cable that came with your Everio camcorder or any other USB to mini USB cable.


-- -- -- Installing the drive -- -- --

Installation is very easy and straightforward. You can either connect the CU-VD20 to any compatible cameras via a mini-USB cable that is provided with the unit or to your computer via a standard mini-USB to standard USB cable. In both cases, the drive is ready to go as you turn it on. There is no need to install any drivers or adjust any settings.

When the drive is connected to a computer it acts like a regular external drive. Use it like any DVD drive that is built in your computer. It's not the fasted drive so I wouldn't use it as a primary replacement, but it does the job if you don't have a DVD burner in your notebook.

When you hook it up to a JVC camcorder and turn the camcorder on, it will display a menu to start burning the files to the DVD in DVD movie format.


-- -- -- Using the CU-VD20 -- -- --

As I mentioned, when you plug the drive into your computer it acts just like any other drive that you connect via USB. And while the speed is not up to date with other external or internal drives, it's sufficient for once in a while use.

What the CU-VD20 is made for is the direct to camcorder connection. This way, you can burn your movies directly to a DVD without having to put a computer to use. It can burn a 60 min DVD in about 30 minutes. You control the Share Station over menus displayed on the connected JVC Everio camcorder. The menus are easy to understand and intuitive so nobody should be having problems making a DVD. You can choose the scenes to burn. In addition, the Share Station automatically creates a DVD menu.


-- -- -- My opinion -- -- --

I got the CU-VD20 Share Station mainly because my wife's laptop doesn't have a DVD burner. I wanted her to be able to make her own movies by herself so she needed one. I chose the Share Station over a standard external DVD drive because of its ability to connect to the camcorder by itself. That makes for an excellent "quick backup" solution. Even though it's not the fastest drive, it's still fast enough for our needs.

What bugs me a bit is the fact that the Share Station can only read DVD-R media, not DVD+R. And on top of that, it's very picky about blank media. You probably want to stick to the "recommended media" list from JVC.

On a side note: I had to return the first Share Station I got to the store because it did not recognize ANY blank media that I put in, not even the blank disc from JVC that came with it. I looked up the problem on a lot of forums and found that actually a couple of the Share Stations tend to have that from time to time. I brought mine back and got a new one that works flawlessly so far. So when you buy one, immediately try it out to see if it works and do not wait beyond the period your store accepts returns.

Since the Share Station is so picky with blank media, be sure the movie that is on the freshly burned DVD is fine before you delete the files off the camera.

All in all I am happy with the share station. But I can still only give an 3 star rating because the average customer (especially computer beginners) might find it to annoying to actually deal with all the little things that are wrong with the Share Station. I can recommend it to computer adept persons (at least have a basic knowledge about burning DVD's and CD's and all the traps that go with that. If you are adept with that, you know what traps I am talking about.) and to people who have a little experience with camcorders and DVD's. I cannot really recommend the Share Station to total beginners as they might get frustrated a bit. If you are a beginner and you have patience and are prepared for some try and error, feel free to buy it.