Pioneer 2x firmware for all quality media out now

[sarahjh69]

thanks to Gradius

as i predicted a few days ago
the firmware for pioneer dvd recorders has been hacked
to produce a version that writes to all quality dvd-r media
at 2x

go get it!

http://pioneerdvd.firmware-flash.com/index.html

[rufusrex]

Does this work with 1.32?

Has anyone tried this?

[alexnoe]

@sarah: You confuse some things. Reason might be that you didn't read properly.

- "Ritek" is not the same as "all"
- Most people don't want to write all media at 2x, but usually want readable discs. That's not the same for most media at all.
- This firmware uses the TDK writing strategy for Ritek and removes TDK from the list. It's pure chance that it spits out readable discs in some cases.

You can of course change the media table again if you want to, but if I need some coasters, then I buy some Princo or Vivastar! That's easier than changing the media table, and the result will be the same.

[thxtof]

@sarahjh69,

Just currious, are you going to try this hack yourself ;) ??

[sarahjh69]

alexnoe

your info is out of date......
there is now a hack for ALL media
follow my link
there are versions for the pioneer a03/a04 dvr 103/104
and in most of the firmware flavours
the only criteria is the media must have a good quality organic dye
before the x2 burn will work.
plus all the firmares have been made region free.

the mans a genius!
I am using v1.31 x2 4all region free hack
and it works very nicely thankyou

PS.....my recent purchase of white label x2 VX...TDKG02
didn't work AT ALL at any speed with various bios so
x2 written on the top means nothing apart from the fact
the makers gave pioneer a backhander.
(and i got 90 of the b@ggers)

[DirtyAbdul]

well, i tried v1.33 to "downgrade" my dvr-a04 (fw 1.32), but all i get are two error messages when running "upgr4w2k.exe:"

unexpected error (asc 00-00-00) and
file R4100103.133 open failure :mad:

i also tried booting from a win me floppy (with drivers for NTFS support), but running "UPGDVDx.exe" would just freeze my computer... anybody got a solution?

DA

[DirtyAbdul]

hehe, :D

just found the answer: check this http://forum.firmware-flash.com/viewtopic.php?t=7648

firmware update to 1.33 (rpc-1!!!) so far was successful. driveinfo 2.1 confirms rpc-1. now, let's smoke some dvd-rs :devil: .

DA

PS: does anybody know how to set the dvr-a04 to PIO mode??? i'm using win xp (NOT win2k where it's easy to change)! the only thing i did was to go into the bios and configure the secondary ide controller (to which my dvr-a04 is attached) to PIO mode 3. but i have no way of verifying it...

--------
many thnx to gradius for the fw-patch -- you're the man!!! :p

[Doom9]

why on earth would you want to enable PIO mode? I had a DVD-ROM once that after some damage would only work in PIO mode and whenver I accessed a disc my computer went up to 99% CPU usage. But if you insist on it: Control Panel - System - Hardware - Device Manager - IDE ATA/ATAPI Controllers. Then select the appropriate channel, select properties, advanced setting and set the appropriate device to PIO only, then reboot.

[DirtyAbdul]

Originally posted by Doom9
why on earth would you want to enable PIO mode? I had a DVD-ROM once that after some damage would only work in PIO mode and whenver I accessed a disc my computer went up to 99% CPU usage. But if you insist on it: Control Panel - System - Hardware - Device Manager - IDE ATA/ATAPI Controllers. Then select the appropriate channel, select properties, advanced setting and set the appropriate device to PIO only, then reboot.

doom9:

:rolleyes: yes, why on earth enable PIO? well, it's darn frustrating to get 1 successful burn out of 3-6 coasters -- to say the least, it's getting MUCHAS expensive!!! :mad: i'm using ritek g03 (that's "RITEK-R1-1" according to the "DVDR List"), princos (actually "TDK-R1-0"), tdk ("TDK-R2-0"), imation (no ADVDInfo -> i threw those coasters away). the success to failure ratio is a little bit better for "brand" media, but certainly does NOT justify such high failure rate when i read all those successful burns going into the 100's as reported in other threads! :angry:

my next approach was to configure my dvr-a04 to pio-mode. i already tried it as master, slave, single drive config, used nero 5.5.8.2 to 5.5.9.14: NADA, NOTHING, ZILCH! writing to my DVD-RW from pioneer (i only have one DVD-RW right now and just bought a tdk RW) has NEVER been a problem!!! i burned on RW first (successful) and in the SAME session write another one on R. result: another coaster! i used fw 1.31, 1.32 (rpc-2 from pioneer), 1.33 rpc-1 (from gradius), and again: NADA!

the bottom line: i'll try PIO. and yes, under win2k, i used to do it your way to get into the ide-channel settings where you can choose udma/pio. but THAT does NOT work under winxp. maybe it's the mobo (i have an a-bit it7-max) which came with some own ide- and raid-drivers. maybe that's the reason why i don't get access to those settings :confused: i actually start to think that there's something wrong with my drive...

but thnx for your response! :p

DA

[sarahjh69]

dirty abdul
let me tell you what media works and what doesn't

works
apple, verbatum, datasafe classic silvertop, choice x2,
white label dvd-rw, datasafe dvd-rw

doesn't work
princo, bulkcrap, white label gen 4 x2, almost anything cheap


if you buy ones from the works list 48 out of 50 work
if you buy ones from the don't work list 5 out of 50 work

unfortunately you seem to be only buying stuff off the
don't work list. save your time, save your money, get
some good media and stop worrying about pio modes or
firmware versions!

[bouis]

doesn't work
princo, bulkcrap, white label gen 4 x2, almost anything cheap

I admit that I've only tried one Princo 1x disc so far, but it worked flawlessly. I'll try a few more and post again later.

[DirtyAbdul]

Originally posted by sarahjh69
dirty abdul
let me tell you what media works and what doesn't

works
apple, verbatum, datasafe classic silvertop, choice x2,
white label dvd-rw, datasafe dvd-rw

doesn't work
princo, bulkcrap, white label gen 4 x2, almost anything cheap


if you buy ones from the works list 48 out of 50 work
if you buy ones from the don't work list 5 out of 50 work

unfortunately you seem to be only buying stuff off the
don't work list. save your time, save your money, get
some good media and stop worrying about pio modes or
firmware versions!

sarahjh69, thanks for your input :)

#1: could you tell me where to get those blanks from your list? i'm in the US and don't want to have anything shipped from "outside" b/c of customs, s&h, etc.

#2: according to the "DVDR List," the "apple" brand is actually "TDK-R2-0" which is exactly what i bought ;) . regarding ritek g03 ("RITEK-R1-0"): in other threads, you will find a lot of people who successfully burned dvd's with their dvr-a04 that are even compatible with their ps2 or xbox. so why not me??? :angry:

#3: i bought those princos a long time ago (like 4 mos ago) and never had time to experiment with any media. they used to be manufactured by tdk (according to ADVDInfo), but obviously not anymore -- and that's why they might be crappy right now... from the feedback in other threads, i will certainly avoid princos in the future!

anyway, many thnx again for your comments!

DA

[rufusrex]

I for one have no problems using " anything cheap" media on my Pioneer. The cheapest I can find are accu (.72c each) and haven't had a coaster out of 25. Also no problems with Princo. Did have problems with more expensive TDK G02 and cheap Optodiscs since firmware upgrade.

I guess what I'm trying to say is making a blanket statement like "cheap" media doesn't work is not accurate. Order a sampler pack and use ADVDINFO to find something that is inexpensive and reliable. I would recommend Ritek G3 and Accu.

How are you burning your discs? Are you using IFOEDIT? Are you creating a image before burning?

[DirtyAbdul]

Originally posted by rufusrex
I for one have no problems using " anything cheap" media on my Pioneer. The cheapest I can find are accu (.72c each) and haven't had a coaster out of 25. Also no problems with Princo. Did have problems with more expensive TDK G02 and cheap Optodiscs since firmware upgrade.

I guess what I'm trying to say is making a blanket statement like "cheap" media doesn't work is not accurate. Order a sampler pack and use ADVDINFO to find something that is inexpensive and reliable. I would recommend Ritek G3 and Accu.

How are you burning your discs? Are you using IFOEDIT? Are you creating a image before burning?

rufusrex:

what "accu" version do you have ("LEADATA-R1-0" or "LD-R1-0" according to the "DVDR list") and especially WHEN did you buy them? it's interesting, though, that you have probs with tdk g02... but i agree with you that a general statement about cheapo discs cannot be easily made like sarahjh69 suggested. it looks like there is a certain "product variation" among pioneer burners regarding disc (in)compatibilities, and obviously it may also be dependent on the machine configuration. unfortunately, i don't have another computer to test on. i would need to dismantle my current computer, install my old asus a7a266 and reinstall windows! nah, don't have THAT much time... . so, if my probs don't get resolved soon, i'll get acquainted with the thought of getting a sony dru-500a (:devil: )! it's just that right now, i don't even DARE to back up my data on ANY dvd. i'd rather use 5 blank cd-rs which get burned in roughly 4 min. each...

i'm using nero to burn my data (in "DVD Video" or "UDF/ISO" modes -> no difference regarding producing coasters). any attempt to use ifoedit to create an image-file has failed so far. first, it was the missing "imglib.dll" -- but that was easy to overcome with d/l "imgtool 0.89". but even using imgtool ended up in an error message. i guess it might be just winxp that's acting stubborn. i would really love to try this prog b/c of the many positive feedbacks, but i guess it's not meant to be...

btw, i just burned a SUCCESSFUL session (yeehaaa!) with my 2x tdk in SINGLE speed! the previous disc (also 2x tdk) had read failures at the end of the disc using decrypter :mad: . well, i'll keep on trying -- and there goes my hard-earned dollars :D .

you were talking about ritek g03: that's exactly what i ordered and the successful yield for me is pooooooooor! let me take a look in my garbage... well, out of 7 discs 2 came out successful. hmm, a ratio of 1:3.5 is actually not THAT bad for me (sarcasm)! i really envy you for your 25 consecutive successful burns :sly: ! but maybe, i'll give accus a try. what's your configuration (mobo, drives, cds, dvds, ram, video card, master/slave setting of your burner(s) -> daisy chained with some other ide-drives?, raid, OS, etc.)???

you were talking about sampler packs: the prob is that those discs MIGHT not be the same that they would use in their bulk packages. someone (maybe commanderXL or was it doom9???) said in a different thread that they actually received a different set of discs than what was offered in the sampler pack, and they were not useable (also had a different ADVDInfo ID)...

bottom line: one drive, many media, and even more problems :eek: ! but we'll beat them all -- right?

DA

ps: when is the sony dru-500a supposed to come out? november? i heard the ETA of the dvr-05 will be delayed to december :devil:

[sarahjh69]

most makers of media do quality tests on their
output.......and they used to throw away media
that failed the quality control.

I suspect DVD-r media rejects are being sold off
at cheaper prices to unscrupulous suppliers and
these rejects are being sold to us.

The result is, you can no longer trust the quality
of any media being sold.

MY THEORY
If you buy from the good list
you will be getting media from companys who are destroying
their rejects. If you buy from the bad list you are getting
from companies who are flogging their 2nds......sometimes
they will all work......sometimes none will work.
(depending on if you were sold seconds or the real deal)
and if this is true....then the advdinfo data is irrelevant!

WHO IS TO BLAME
I suspect all the pioneer burners work equally well but
if companies are selling seconds, then the media problem becomes
not what media you buy, but who you buy it from!
I think suppliers know what sort of stock they are selling.
A friend of mine knows someone working for one of the big mail order
suppliers in the UK. When he tried to order cheap white label x2
media he was told......order something else.....these don't work!
they know what they are selling....but they still sell it!

[rufusrex]

I think a company or brand intentionally selling bad media would not be around too long. I ordered 200 blanks from an online company and if they are not the same quality of my previous order and do not work you can bet your ass they will be returned and if needed my credit card company will be notified. I remember a couple of years back people saying don't use cheaps CDRs, they won't work realiably. Well I bought the cheapest no name crap I could find and have never has a problem.

Dirty Abdul: On the sampler packs, even though the in-house brands sometimes change at least with ADVDINFO you can get an idea of what works and what doesn't on your setup. The only problem is they aren't cheap, I paid $26 for 12 mostly cheap blanks but it I feel it was still worth it.

[DirtyAbdul]

rufusrex:
just for the heck of it, i ordered 25 accus at "cdr/dvdr media superstore" (things can burn only better :sly: ). what advdinfo did you get from YOUR accus and WHEN did you buy them?

sarahjh69:
i heard about something like that, too, BUT it's not the smaller companies that are deliberately buying "bad" products, it's more like one big wholeseller (like in china-land :D ) buys the b-grades and distributes them to the end-sellers (like some greedy U.S. business ppl with A LOT of profit margin in mind :eek: ). only after so many complaints and refunds (or the smart ones read these postings here :) ), do those end-sellers seek a different distributor that offer better quality media. but in the meantime, hundreds of thousands of blanks have already been sold which is already a very lucrative business for that wholeseller.

but anyway, i think we shouldn't waste too much of our precious (burning) time to nurture some conspiracy theory. we are the guineapigs already, so let's just find out a good source. it's like digging for gold: you might hit on a spot with a lot of nuggets, but then again, that source will finally yield nothing anymore; or overclockers will know about the same situation: which "abcxyz" number of week so-and-so from malaysia will o/c highest???

let the game begin... :rolleyes:

DA

[alexnoe]

your info is out of date......
OK, I was out of date about Ritek-only vs all.

But I'm still not out of date as to the fact that the burning quality will be lower for some types of media, and that it is and will be gambling.

[rufusrex]

Dirty Abdul -

The ADVDINFO on my 25 pack of Accus and the 2 that came with the sampler pack were LEAD D..ATA

So far so good, we'll see when my 200 arrive Friday...

[stefandee]

anyone know if is possible upgrade my Pioneer's DVR-A03 original firmware 1.90 with the new hacked 1.90?
What's the way?
Thanks.

[alexnoe]

Didn't work here. I had to downgrade to 1.68 before installing the new one.
Labeling the modified 1.90 as 1.91, just as I did for downgrading to 1.68, didn't work :confused:

[padre]

Is there another site to download the 2x4all firmware? I tried several times to download from the site listed here, but it fails at different times (25%, 50%, etc.). It says its a 1.2mb file, but the most it has downloaded so far was 602kb.

[alexnoe]

I can sent it to you via mail if you want to. I have 100 MBit connection :)

[padre]

alexnoe

I've found an alternative site to download it. I'll try it tonight. If it doesn't work, I'll take you up on the email offer.

Thanks!!

[alexnoe]

I've just tried a DataTrack (EuroDig-Disc) at 2x. The disc is completely unreadable...

[padre]

Well, I'm planning on testing it with RitekG3/PrimeDiscs. I'll let you know how they play.

[alexnoe]

The price for PrimeDisc is rediculous here...

BTW someone in a german newsgroups posted that he got 50 peaces of "that's write" for 100 euros. You should look out for these.
"That's write" should be made by Taiyo Yuden, which is among the best cd-r manufacturer (IMHO even better than Mitsubishi). Maybe their dvd-r are as good as their cd-r. They are btw 2x certified for DVR-A04.

[padre]

PrimeDisc are expensive in Germany? Ouch. They are just over $1 US here. Are Ritek's expensive too?

Thanks for the tip about "That's write" media. I'll look around and see if there are any US resellers with good prices on them.

[alexnoe]

In Germany, DVD-R prices are strange, compared to US.
Here are some:
Princo 1x: about 1,50-2,30 Euro
Princo 2x: about 2,00-2,50 Euro
Primedisc: about 1,70-2,50 Euro
DataTrack: about 2,00-2,50 Euro
Vivastar (TraxData, Optodisc): about 2,00-2,50 Euro
Verbatim: about 3,70-4,50 Euro (unbelievable: DVD-RW about 5 Euro)
TDK (real ones): about 6,00 Euro

Well, about 2 Euro does not sound too much, but it is too much for gambling. Not to forget that reports about primedisc are that they sometimes work, and sometimes not. Furthermore, Ritek sells B-media (for which I don't intend to pay 2,50 each), and the Primedisc cd-r I bought for testing purposes was also total crap.
I haven't seen any other Riteks here. Next issue is that people around here have picky players, and if I want to play a movie there, it's generally a good idea to use Verbatim...

For 1$ per peace, I would gamble a bit :) But with current prices, I stick with Verbatim. They seem to be not more expensive than in US, and I like being sure that a burn of 4489 MB at 2x always succeeds.

[padre]

Originally posted by alexnoe
In Germany, DVD-R prices are strange, compared to US.
Here are some:
Princo 1x: about 1,50-2,30 Euro
Princo 2x: about 2,00-2,50 Euro
Primedisc: about 1,70-2,50 Euro
DataTrack: about 2,00-2,50 Euro
Vivastar (TraxData, Optodisc): about 2,00-2,50 Euro
Verbatim: about 3,70-4,50 Euro (unbelievable: DVD-RW about 5 Euro)
TDK (real ones): about 6,00 Euro


With the Euro being about $.97 US, that does seem a bit off!

I've had good sucess with the Ritek(G3) and Primedisc burning them at 1x and playing them til the very end. I'm going to play with the 2x4all firmware and try them at 2x. But I may be buying a Sony 500a tonight, so if I do - I'll just stick with 1x burning on the Pioneer.

Slightly off subject: Does anyone know what media(s) the Sony will burn at 2x? Have they posted a list? I haven't seen any.

[padre]

Well, I just did the downgrade to v1.68 (I was at v1.90), then upgraded to the 2x4all v1.90 firmware and it works fine. I burned a complete 4.3gb job to a PrimeDisc/RitekG3 DVD-R at 2x speed. Took approx 25 minutes. Cool! I tried it in four different DVD players, all play fine.

1 disc is not a complete validation, but the signs look good!

[alexnoe]

It's at least better than my result with DataTrack. However, wait till you buy a bad batch...

[tumbar]

Had a friend send me a 25 pack.

here is the advdonfo
00 42 00 00 01 40 C1 FD 9E D8 50 00 02 79 0E 0B .B...@....P..Y..
FE FF 80 00 03 52 49 54 45 4B 47 00 04 30 33 00 .....RITEKG..03.
00 00 00 00 05 88 80 00 00 00 01 00 00 00 00 00 ................

Will these burn at 2X with the new firmware which has been being discussed?

thanks jim

The last 100 pack I got from same outfit said LD, figured that was lead data.

They look the same silvertop, light purple under...both sets burn fine.

[orbit-r]

@padre

could you tell me the alternative site ,cause i ve the same problem as you did...

thanxs
orbit-r

[Platin]

Here's a mirror from NIL.

http://pioneerdvd.firmware-flash.com/2x4all.html

[orbit-r]

this is the link which doesn`t work...

[padre]

Try this site, it worked for me:

http://www.djsmiley.com/pioneer/

Padre

[orbit-r]

thanx this one wiorks...

[dvd_maniac]

[latest 25 pack ACCU's from cdrdvdrmedia.com
Had a friend send me a 25 pack.

here is the advdonfo
00 42 00 00 01 40 C1 FD 9E D8 50 00 02 79 0E 0B .B...@....P..Y..
FE FF 80 00 03 52 49 54 45 4B 47 00 04 30 33 00 .....RITEKG..03.
00 00 00 00 05 88 80 00 00 00 01 00 00 00 00 00 ................

Will these burn at 2X with the new firmware which has been being discussed?

thanks jim

The last 100 pack I got from same outfit said LD, figured that was lead data.

They look the same silvertop, light purple under...both sets burn fine]
I was wondering the same thing, does anybody know?

[padre]

dvd_maniac

I recently upgraded to the 2x4all firmware, and burned about 25 RitekG3 (under the PrimeDisc name) and they work perfectly at 2x. I've got a A03, so I'm using the hack v1.90 firmware. But RitekG3's are a dark purple dye, not light.

[rufusrex]

Has anyone used the 2x4all hack on firmware 1.32? I'm very tempted to try it but am afraid after my upgrade fiasco from 1.20 to 1.32.

[m3taPT]

Originally posted by sarahjh69

doesn't work
princo

Wrong.

[tumbar]

I stand corrected. The Ritek03's are dark purple. Tops are same bottom different.

Anyway does the 2x4all firmware work, now that a few folks have had time to test it out?

I'm running 1.32

thanks :)

[FredrikM]

Just received 25 Ritek03 from rima.com. Dark purple bottom, silver top. They burn without error in Nero at 2x (Pioneer 104 1.32 2x4all). But, out of the two I have tried one froze my stand-alone DVD player (Pioneer 535) completely at chapter 27 out of 29, had to shut down the player to get the disk out. The other played just fine.

I think you might be better off burning at 1x with these.

[padre]

I've burned about 75 RitekG3's so far, with no problems (at 2x with A03 v1.90). I did see pixelation with one, so I reburned the same image to another DVD-R at 1x, same problem. Burned it to a DVD-RW, same problem - not a media issue, but a source issue. I think when I did the transfer from DV to DVD, something got screwed up. So far, I'm happy with the 2x4all firmware. More testing to come!

[DirtyAbdul]

Originally posted by DirtyAbdul


doom9:

:rolleyes: yes, why on earth enable PIO? well, it's darn frustrating to get 1 successful burn out of 3-6 coasters -- to say the least, it's getting MUCHAS expensive!!! :mad: i'm using ritek g03 (that's "RITEK-R1-1" according to the "DVDR List"), princos (actually "TDK-R1-0"), tdk ("TDK-R2-0"), imation (no ADVDInfo -> i threw those coasters away). the success to failure ratio is a little bit better for "brand" media, but certainly does NOT justify such high failure rate when i read all those successful burns going into the 100's as reported in other threads! :angry:

my next approach was to configure my dvr-a04 to pio-mode. i already tried it as master, slave, single drive config, used nero 5.5.8.2 to 5.5.9.14: NADA, NOTHING, ZILCH! writing to my DVD-RW from pioneer (i only have one DVD-RW right now and just bought a tdk RW) has NEVER been a problem!!! i burned on RW first (successful) and in the SAME session write another one on R. result: another coaster! i used fw 1.31, 1.32 (rpc-2 from pioneer), 1.33 rpc-1 (from gradius), and again: NADA!

[...]
DA

yeehaaaa!

things are "fine" now :p . looks like it was a heat problem. coincidentally, i read in a different thread about possible overheating problems and therefore placed my dvr-a04 separated from my other drives (see footnote for my configuration). now that there is enough "breathing" space for the dvd-burner, i burned 8 consecutive dvd-rs with just 2 coasters (one coaster b/c of heavy use of internet explorer, watching tv, and the other coaster b/c of burning ritek g03 with 2x :rolleyes: ). i have used ritek g03 and tdk 2x, and they work smooooooothly. this certainly shifts my failure to success ratio!!! :D
i used nero 5.5.9.9.

since i ran out of riteks, i will report later my experiences with the 2x4all firmware after ordering some more. but burning at 1x definitely works for me with that firmware.

does anyone know what kind of riteks "shop4tech.com" is selling? g03? g01? the price of $109 with free s&h is pretty good...

DA

[Sepen]

I just downgraded my A03 to 1.68, then back to the 1.90 and have burned two of my recently acquired Accu's (Riteks) both at 2x without any problems, errors or artifacts. :)

Thanks padre.

[Eldorado]

Is there any other way of downgrading an A04 from 1.33 without doing some sort of hardware modification/trick? As easy as some might say it is, I'd rather not be fiddling around with something I've spent this much money on..

[Lord Seth]

Hi Sarah,

interesting post, I am also in the UK could you tell me where u buy your DVD media from?
I have been buying various stuff from
www.bigpockets.co.uk

[sarahjh69]

i used to get from bigpockets
until they sold me 100 White label 2x that didn't work

Now I use SVP (www.121cdr.co.uk)
just go 10 datawrite classic 2x (all OK) (88p each)
and 20 Datasafe dvd-rw all OK (89p each)
from them.