Anyone tried Sony DRU500A?

[Taxidermista]

Anyone with this baby? A little review will be welcomed. :)

[Thwiipp]

Well i just ordered it last night, caught the end of a sweet promotion and got it for 253, as soon as i get and try it ill let ya know.

[Doom9]

unless I'm mistaken the drive won't be out till next month.. so it's a little early for user reviews

[Taxidermista]

Thanks for the input master :). Can't wait for your review Thwiipp.

[Ghamu]

Well i just ordered it last night, caught the end of a sweet promotion and got it for 253, as soon as i get and try it ill let ya know.

Any more info? Can people still get in on it? What store was it?

[rufusrex]

I think Dell had a deal on this drive. I believe you needed a coupon to get it down to $253. There website says it will ship in 1 - 2 weeks but I doubt it. I ordered a printer from them last Dec. that was supposed to ship in 1 or 2 weeks, 1 month later they emailed me saying they were automaitcally canceling the order. Then another month later they email saying they are going to cancel it, I emailed them back and said please do cancel it, I've already bought one. I get an email back the next day saying sorry, we've already shipped it, if you don't want it refuse it which I did. It took another 4 months of to get my mone refunded. So, I guess what I'm trying to say is they make kick ass PCs but the peripheral dept sucks.

[crow]

Sony DRU500A Check it out click here. (http://www.storagebysony.com/products/productmain.asp?id=192)
The specs are in my 4X Media Help!

[Ghamu]

This drive looks cool. But what is the advantage of DVD+R? The whole point of DVD-r is the low cost media right? The feature I was looking forward to most on the Pioneer A05 is 'burnproof' feature which promises no more coasters. Lets hope this is a the simular feature that some cd burners used to gauge the media's quality and burn as fast as possible...

[alexnoe]

@Ghamu:

There is no benefit of dvd+r, but if your settop player reads dvd+rw, then you can have 2.4x speed, instead of 2x.
And you can boast having a ± drive

According to Jörg Schilling (author of cdrecord), these drives use JustLink, not Burn-Proof, but that is only FYI and not really important.

DVR-A03 has buffer underrun recovery, but only for dvd media
DVR-A04 has buffer underrun recovery for dvd and cd media
Neither drive has reliable buffer underrun recovery if you use crap media.

Forget your theory about no more coasters. Coasters are not caused by buffer underruns, but usually by bad media. And this won't change unless DVR-A05 supports more crap media, which I doubt.
My solution for this is not using crap media at all.

About media speed detection: SmartBurn does not work, JustSpeed doesn't work either. PowerRec II seems to work, OWC needs some tuning, but works.
I don't see any sense in adding such an experimental feature to DVR-A05: A media table is much more reliable.

[mrbass]

I ordered one on Oct 3 or so for $256.66
http://www.mrbass.org/sonydvd.png
anyway if your quick....only 9 hours left I believe till midnight you can get it from dell.com for $268.56 ($315.95reg[$47.39 off]) free shipping and no tax. Amazon had it listed for $344 so I think it's a good price.
It did say it would ship Oct 8th but now it's another week or so. It'll be a little longer than that since it's sitting in the dock at Long Beach and they just started working again today thanks to the Bush man.

Dell Sony DVD burner $268.56 (http://accessories.us.dell.com/sna/productdetail.asp?Sku=A0060843&spagenum=1&category_id=269&keyword=&mnf=&prst=0&prEnd=0&mnfsku=&orderby=&SearchType=&customer_id=19&Pageb4Search=&page=productlisting%2Easp&icompatid=&instock=0&refurbished=)

[hog dude]

Yes, I ordered one too for $255.

We need to report on this when it comes.

Conserned about Bitsetter working, but it did not work on 120A either. It comes with pretty good software and Nero says they support it already too. So with the exception of Bitsetter we may be set.

[diogo6]

I just got the drive yesterday, apparently I was the only one that paid over 340 bucks for it. But I must say it was worth it... There is one little problem though, RecordNow Max doesn't support it currently, hopefully they will...

[hog dude]

It is supposed to come with RecordNow. Is that less than RecordNow Max? What is the diff?

How does MyDVD work?

Nero (which is a good product) supports 500A now (v5.5.9.14)(according to them).

Any problems?

[diogo6]

It does come with RecordNow, but recordnow only lets you do data/audio disks or direct copies. It won't let you do images, plus the interface for Recordnow max is much better... I'll try nero tonight though, and post results

[alexnoe]

And MyDVD is crap. It stores audio as PCM.:devil:

[Thwiipp]

Hey Diogo, where did you get your drive from, just curious, cause im still waiting on mine from stupid dell, they pushed me back to "on or before the 23rd" ...yah right well see. I have a sneaking suspision they'll doing it to the people who it for 250, after realizing they gave away so many for that price.

BTW, Stomp will be releasing a patch for RecordNow Max that should recognize the DRU500A next week.

[BBWoof]

I bought the DRU-500A today, and have so far burned two coasters using the RecordNow product that came with it. Unfortunately, it's the only software that seems to recognize it. It burns most of the way through, then dies with a media failure.

[alexnoe]

Use Nero 5.5.9.14. I think it supports that writer.

What did it burn coasters with? DVD+R or DVD-R? Crap media or good media? Note that most companies bundle crap media with their writers. Exceptions are Plextor and Teac.

[DirtyAbdul]

hmm, according to http://www.nero.com/en/index.html#recorder , nero does NOT seem to support this drive yet. it's just mentioned on the list without any further specifications. support of other drives have already been mentioned starting with version 5.5.9.15 which is not out yet, but not so for the sony dru-500a...

but you still might want to see into it. keep us updated ;).

DA

[diogo6]

sorry for the late reply, Thwiipp and everybody else. I bought my drive on Compusa, the day it came out, I think. They didn't even have it on the shelves yet. And Thwiipp, just out of curiosity, how do you know they'll be supporting that drive in a week? (that's good news though, 'cuz nero gave me two coasters, luckily I was using Memorex DVD+RW's. If anybody figures out when the support patch for RecordNow Max comes out, please post it here...

thanks,

[Thwiipp]

Well Diogo, after hearing of RecordNow max not recognizing the DRU500A, i emailed Stomp and mentioned this problem, i recieve a reply stating that they will be realeasing a patch this week, looks like ill be waiting longer since stupid Dell pushed back my order the nov. 29th now:angry: , im considering getting it at Circuit city and when my dell one does arrive, sell it to make up the difference, it was suppose to be my birthday gift which is tom, so im thinking of that option, got 30 dvd-r at home im just itching to burn.

[thxtof]

So to recap no one was able to burn a "playable" DVDR with the sony (yet) ?

May be the pioneer A04 at 259$ is still a good bargain then :p

[Caedel]

I got my DRU-500A about a week ago at best buy. It turns out that the drive is incompatible with Verbatim 2x DVD-R discs, which i confirmed by producing 2 coasters, attempting to copy a DVD to DVD-5. I have made 3 coasters with Memorex DVD-R. I honestly dont think that the Memorex discs work well. Of course the Sony DVD+RW that came with the drive works perfectly. I have had great sucess with Verbatim DVD+R discs. So far i've done DVD-5 movie to DVD-5 and DVD-9 to DVD-5 and they work flawlessly in PS2. I don't have my modchip yet but hope to soon. I am about to order some Ritek DVD-Rs. Hopefully those will work well. As far as software, Nero 5.5.9.14 is not a good choice. While it supports the drive, it has bugs. I told it to simulate a DVD+R burn and it burned the disc anyway, giving me "Unable to write Disc at once" error at the end. MyDVD crashes all the time. RecordNow works great, though. Just waiting for RecordNow Max to support the drive because RecordNow is limited. Sony promises a free RecordNow DX download though. It only rips DVDs at 2x using DVD Decryptor in XP. Oh and it burns CDs perfectly at 24x. It is only slightly slower than my Sony CD-RW 24x drive.

[Taxidermista]

PxEngineUpdate 358 (ftp://eval.veritas.com/downloads/pro/exe/pxEngine358.exe) for Recordnow MAX is out.

[diogo6]

that new pxengine did NOT solve the problem. Recordnow Max still doesn't support the dru500a. Anyone had a different experience?

[Thwiipp]

That is NOT the patch weve been waiting for, it didnt even come from Stomp's website, its not there, so it will be coming some time this week.

[Taxidermista]

So it will be a 'real' update not only a Veritas engine update, that's it?

[Thwiipp]

Yeah , thats how i understand it.

[napalongcasidy]

The main reason I would see to buy this is the 4x speed BUT nobody seels this. The first 3-6 months they DO sell it for the MAX $$$ (RU willing to pay $10ea?)

By then these drives will be $250 REGULAR price, $200 on sale.

Has anyone found 4x media???

[Caedel]

There are 4X discs on eBay!!

[thxtof]

Yeah right, I'm sure you can also find x6 DVD-R on ebay ;)

[DirtyAbdul]

... sobering news about the sony DRU500A here: http://forum.firmware-flash.com/viewtopic.php?t=7847

DA

[thxtof]

Thanks DA for this very interesting link !

Well it's pretty sad but I warned people on this board to wait before buying this 1st generation drive http://forum.doom9.org/showthread.php?s=&threadid=33344&highlight=DRU500A

I would rather buy the Pioneer A05 that starts selling this week-end in Japan ;)

[napalongcasidy]

Sounds like someone selling snake oil from a covered wagon. Why Ebay but nowhere else?

[Thwiipp]

well you can find it in some CompUSA stores as well as Best Buy and Circuit City, all the online retailers are getting S hitted on though and getting it late (could be due to that strike crap that happened on the West coast, back up alot) i had ordered one from Dell for 253.06 and i got pushed back 3 time, the new date is Nov. 29th, im gonna go pick one up at circuit city next week, and then when i get mine from dell ill bring it bak to Circuit City to get my money back from them cuase im not waiting another 5 weeks, i already waited a month now. now i gotta call Verbatim and get a 15 pack of DVD-R replaced since they might be the older ones not compatible with the DRU500A. Wish me luck!:sly:

[Caedel]

Cnet reviewed the drive. Editor's Choice!!! 8.8!!! HA!
http://computers.cnet.com/hardware/0-1095-404-20384294.html?tag=ld

[DirtyAbdul]

caedel:

those who are year-long readers of cnet know that they do write a lot of crap -- unfortunately... so, read their reviews with caution. sometimes, i have the impression that those people who do not meet "high industry standards" or just started writing computer articles for their first time are writing for cnet (hahahaha).

DA

[Caedel]

You're probably right. I will admit that they love almost every Sony product that comes out, but they did do some benchmarks which showed the drive's speed was better than the competetion. I only mentioned the review as something for those that cared.

[thxtof]

In my opinion, but I could be wrong :D

1) There is no x4 DVD-R media on the market yet, and it's gonna take a while to see them at a reasonable price (6+ months ??)

2) The Sony drive seems to produce more coasters than the Pioneer for instance, and seems to support less DVD-R medias than the competition.

3) "Speed better that the competion" is not necessarly a criteria for a burner to be "the best one". There are many other technical and non technical parameters that should be taken into account, like compatibility with existing DVD-/+R media on the market, reliability, etc...

So even if "technically" and "theoretically" the Sony drive is the best, "practically" the Pioneer gives better results, at least to backup DVD movies :)

With the Pioneer you can burn quality backups with $0.90 DVD-R (Riteks G3) that will play everywhere ;)

I have no doubt that with their next 2nd generation drive, Sony could become a serious competitor to Pioneer. Until then I doubt that they are going to get a wide adoption for this new product.

[Caedel]

Originally posted by thxtof

With the Pioneer you can burn quality backups with $0.90 DVD-R (Riteks G3) that will play everywhere ;)

I have no doubt that with their next 2nd generation drive, Sony could become a serious competitor to Pioneer. Until then I doubt that they are going to get a wide adoption for this new product.

There is no reason to say that the Sony is not equal to the Pioneer. Also, with the drive being around for less than a month, you have no real grounds to base your statements on. How many discs have YOU burned with the Sony drive?

Also... i just ordered some Riteks G3 and I will be going to blockbuster to get their 10 DVDs/10 Weeks deal. If i am unable to burn "quality backups" as you say the pioneer can, I will admit that the pioneer may be better. With new technology, there are many factors and bugs that must be worked out.

[SciFer]

I've had the drive for a few days. At first I was excited then a let down. I'm still running more tests to see if it stays or not. I already own an A04 with 2x for all firmware and very happy. I 1x & 2x media (princo) that work great at 2x. I decided to keep it only if I can use the same media (no sense buying more and expensive media when I have 100 pk spindle). We pretty know that it only works with the RecordNow that came with it. I have a home made movie that I wanted to copy (3.87GB). ATTEMP #1: 1st it ask to place source disk (you can select) in Toshiba DVD reader then it asked for blank in recorder, I placed 2x media. A window then opened up informing me that it will write it to the hard drive 1st (NO "on the fly" supported). Hit ok process was a complete success! Read and burned in 44 mins. Played back whole movie in Pioneer DVD Player without a hitch. ATEMPT #2: Tried it again and again, this time it would reject my disk (disk from same batch). Tried a DVD-RW, it was also rejected. ATEMPT #3: Used Sony as reader and still failed. ATEMPT #5: Tried it Pioneer Media DVD-RW and did not reject media, but this was not my goal so I canceled. When I use ADVDInfo a get a sense error, does anyone know what ASPI layer version I should be using with WinXP Pro, or a solution? I will then post actual media ID.:confused:

[alexnoe]

ADVDInfo is silly in some cases. Don't let it cause a headache. Use cdrecord-prodvd (http://forum.doom9.org/showthread.php?s=&threadid=35370).

[helo4v]

I have used this drive about a week and so far am pleased with it.
Using Nero 5.5.9.14, I've burned data and Video discs to +RW, -RW, -R.
The +R will be supported within a week with RecordNow Max 4.5; I expect nero to follow with support soon. The 2X verbatim -R will burn at 1X; this issue is addressed on Verbatim's website - bad batch of media that they offer to replace (Not Sony's fault). I've done quite a few 9.4GB PrimeDiscs (1X), also some Sony and Fuji +RW. I saw mention of Memorex DVD-R - these are crap, 3 of 5 failed in my Pioneer A03 drive. The +RW is a bonus because the DVD drive in my other PC won't read -RW; and I like to store hard disk image backups on RW media. I've been able to burn two DVD-Rs at once with the Sony and Pioneer A03 being fed from two different discs. I'm still debating using the 2X for all firmware on the A03. My ideal media would be $3 to $5 9.4GB DVD+RW discs. I like PrimeDisc 9.4 -R, but am tired of 1X speeds. I've ordered samples of several other brands of media. CD-R 24X burns were not a problem. Only coaster I made was the +R disc I tried with Nero before I found out its not supported yet. I'm pleased so far with it enough to prefer it over the Future A05 drive. I may be biased as I usually use the $2.50 to $5 media and not the generic stuff that is problematic.

[alexnoe]

The +RW is a bonus because the DVD drive in my other PC won't read -RW;Don't forget that some drives, e.g. LG crap drives, can only read Verbatim DVD-RW media, but *not* Pioneer media.
Did you try Verbatim? Only then can you say that that particular drive doesn't read dvd-rw.

[helo4v]

I'll have to order some Verbatim -RW to try that; the drive is a SCSI Toshiba SDM-1401, a somewhat older DVD drive. Still, I just bought some PrimeDisc +RW at $3.29 each; which is a pretty good for 2.4x write speed. So I'll probably use the RW for tests and drive backups then use -R 9.4GB for most everything else. It's too bad brand name 2x 9.4 media is $9 each.

[scimani2]

I picked up mine from compusa on tuesday after bestbuy told me they were sold out for a week or two with no reserve...weird...then i browsed this forum to get an idea of what medium to use so i ordered some Ritek 4.7 -r's because my memorex dvd player is only compatible with them. Got all the neccasary programs except dvdmaestro...anyone got a subsitute for this program? any help would be appreciated. Thanks for helpin me get started

[Eidolon]

OK, here's the deal. I guess we all know that Memorex media sucks. Well I found that out the hard way, but at least I learned my lesson. I've had absolutely no trouble with my dual-sided PrimeDisc (ritek) so I think I've found my media supplier. So far the drive has been great. Just make sure you get the right media.

[Caedel]

Anyone else experience "Unable to write Disc at Once" in Nero when trying to write a CD ISO image? I have experienced this with 2 separate CD image files. And where's the RecordNow update?

[scimani2]

im tryin to copy my first dvd9 as we speak. I ordered 25 ritek dvd-r's from supermediastore and they got here in 4 days...ill post results as soon as i possibly get this done...the encoding of casino is over 8 hours on my P3 - 933mhz machine...hopefully it will work!

[-y]

I have used the drive for about 2 weeks. The drive has burned Sony DVD+R/-R 2.4x/2x and +RW/-RW 2.4/1x speeds and TDK DVD-R at 2x speed and Verbatim DVD-RW at 1x speed. I have not made one coaster yet. I have used Nero 5.5.9.14 to burn (dragged and dropped DVD Video files right into the VIDEO_TS folder) DVD-Videos authored from Sonic DVDit PE v2.5. I have burned about 5 DVDs all have worked in my Pioneer c503 player and a Oritron DVD player. I have not burned any CD's yet. I am very happy with this drive.