Comments

Fireguy5 wrote on 11/4/2003, 6:49 AM
I use a Pioneer and for the most part have been happy with it...It's an AO4 so can't really say on the +/- part as it only does -....

Tim
The_Jeff wrote on 11/4/2003, 6:58 AM
I just switched from a +R/+RW HP 200i to a Sony
DRU510A

It does 4x Writes + and - Media

I needed a drive quickly so I bought it at a Local Staples for $229

Also it came with a $30 rebate (though I hate rebates) so I guess it is really $199


SonyEPM wrote on 11/4/2003, 8:37 AM
The Sony DRU510A rocks- highest marks.
Jay Gladwell wrote on 11/4/2003, 8:55 AM
I'm using the Pioneer DVD-A06. It does everything they say it will. Haven't had any problems at all with it. I would highly recommend it!

J--
Julius_911 wrote on 11/4/2003, 9:01 AM
Using the Sony DRU510A and so far, it's been very stable.
BillyBoy wrote on 11/4/2003, 10:22 AM
Just wondering....

Anybody notice a drop off in audio quality buring at 4X as opposed to slower burn speeds?
AudioIvan wrote on 11/4/2003, 11:20 AM
Depends on the DVD Burning quality of your DVD Burner & media.So far I've done over 150 DVD's always burning @ 2X no probs.I have The Pioneer A06,but I NEVER burn @ 4X.The chances are that at lower burning speed burning errors are minimal.There are some tools to measure DVD burn quality.

AudioIvan
riredale wrote on 11/4/2003, 12:35 PM
The very fact that Pioneer takes the trouble to certify only certain media as burnable at 4x implies that the results on those media will be fine. I've done hundreds of full DVD-R disks at 4x with never a complaint.

Well, okay, one complaint, but that person's DVD player wouldn't play ANYTHING burned.

I've used only Ritek G04 blanks because they have an excellent reputation and they're $1.35.
Jay Gladwell wrote on 11/4/2003, 5:10 PM
To each his own, but I'll second what Richard said. Using 4x media and burning at 4x is perfectly safe. I, too, use the Ritek G04 discs and have not had any problems. The few that have shown up are due to old DVD players. I test on a a Pioneer DVD player and an Apex DVD player ($45) and the discs play just fine.

Actually, the 4x discs are better more dependable media, and that's why they are able to burn at 4x, they have to be.

J--
Salamander wrote on 11/4/2003, 6:40 PM
Do you know anything about the new Sony DRU-530A that is coming out?
Paul_Holmes wrote on 11/4/2003, 7:27 PM
I just bought the TDK 8X DVD+R and 4X DVD-R. It's too early to tell if the disks will hold up on me but I've been burning DVD+RW at 2.4 times for test DVDs and they've worked perfect in my settop player.

I just tried burning a DVD+R data disk from a firewire drive to my firewire externalised TDK burner and could only achieve an average of 4X burning, although sometimes it says it's burning as fast as 7 times and as slow as 2X. I'm assuming TDK has built in safety features that allow variable burn speed so the buffer isn't exceeded and error-checking is enabled.

Overall however, from what I see so far (about 2 weeks of use and lots of tests) I wouldn't hesitate to recomment the new TDK. Only $250 at Best Buy right now.
24Peter wrote on 11/4/2003, 11:04 PM
Hmmm. I got the TDK 440N a couple of months ago. (Great burner.) 4X rated only. Wonder if there is a firmware update to boost my +R to 8X?
tfc wrote on 11/5/2003, 3:19 AM
I bought the Sony DRX-510UL and use it via a 2.0 USB. I have been extremely happy with it. Out of the 30 or 40 burns I have done so far, not a single one was a coaster due to the hardware or software. Everything burned has been totally compatible with every DVD player I have used. I routinely burn at 4X on -R and have not noticed a decline in audio or video quality.