Holiday Shopping Roundup: Eight Dual Format Recordable DVD Drives
by Kristopher Kubicki on December 11, 2003 10:54 PM EST- Posted in
- Storage
Sony DRU-530A
Enter the sleeping giant, Sony. We would not be giving Sony enough credit if we didn't say they created effectively the dual format product category with the DRU-510A. Of course, it's easy to say that it was inevitable, as Sony happens to participate officially and unofficially in both the DVD+R and DVD-R forums.In any case, on the heels of the success of the DRU-510A, we present the DRU-530A. Sony's experience in the DVDR market shines in both its software bundle and documentation. Sonic RecordNow, Sonic DLA, Sonic MyDVD, PowerDVD 5 and MusicMatch were all bundled with the drive. Documentation seems to cover everything, but troubleshooting. However, it should be mentioned that Sony has a technical support contact number plastered all over the box art and literature. Hopefully, Sony will also do well in our Technical Support portion of this roundup.
| Sony DRU-530A DVD-/+R Drive | |
| Interface | IDE |
| CD Write Speed | 40X (CAV), 32X, 24X (PCAV) 16X, 12X, 8X, 4X (CLV) |
| CD Rewrite Speed | 24X (PCAV) 16X, 10X, 4X (CLV) |
| CD Read Speed | 40X Max (CAV) |
| DVD-R Write Speed | 4X, 2X, 1X (CLV) |
| DVD-RW Rewrite Speed | 2X, 1X (CLV) |
| DVD+R Write Speed | 8X (Z-CLV) 4X, 2.4X (CLV) |
| DVD+RW Rewrite Speed | 4X, 2.4X (CLV) |
| DVD Read Speed | 12X Max (CAV) |
| Supported Modes | DAO / DAO-RAW 16 & 96 TAO SAO / SAO 16 & 96 Packet Write Multi-Session |
| Supported Formats | DVD+R (incremental) DVD+RW (random) DVD-R (DAO, incremental, multi-border) DVD-RW (restricted overwrite) CD-R, CD-RW, CD-ROM, CD-DA, CD-ROM XA, Mixed Mode, CD Extra Photo CD, CD Text, Bootable CD, Mount Rainer |
| Access Time | CD: 160ms DVD: 200ms |
| Buffer | 2MB |
The specifications on the DRU-530A look excellent, certainly comparable to the Plextor 708A. We noticed that the DVD read speed is not as quick as the MSI DR4-A, but everything else is a significant improvement over the DRU-510A.
The external design on the DRU-530A is identical to the DRU-510A, but the internal components are similar to that of the Plextor 708A. In true Sony fashion, there is no external headphone jack or volume adjustment. Regrettably, we noticed immediately in preliminary burns that the DRU-530A was not burning some of our 4X media at 8X, including the bundled media. This was very discouraging, particularly since the near-identical 708A burns the same media twice as fast.
Originally, the Sony DRU-530A debuted with a $300 price tag, but has since fallen to under $250 (and also has a $30 mail-in rebate). Still pricey, but competitive in price to the Plextor 708A. With identical chipsets and similar pickups, it's going to be a constant battle of price and support between these two drives.
Special thanks to Sony and Verbatim for providing us with lots of media for our benchmarks.
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Icewind - Friday, December 12, 2003 - link
Last I heard, the dual layers wont be out till Summer 2004 #10 and your gonna be looking at major ouchy price too, especially for media.artifex - Friday, December 12, 2003 - link
I have a Verbatim-badged Ricoh DVD+R(W) that's starting to get flaky, about a year and a half after I bought it and after burning less than 100 discs. Probably less than 50, actually.I'd like to see some tests that show burning/ripping a couple hundred discs, to see what really survives.
Also, anyone have a good guess as to when dual-layer-capable drives will be out? I'd really like to see those come to market soon. I won't wait for Blu-ray, but I will wait for dual-layer if it's next quarter. Maybe I'll buy one of the cheap ones in the meantime if it's longer.
BitByRabidAlgae - Friday, December 12, 2003 - link
Icewind. I can tell you from my own experience that a full 4.7GB DVD+R or RW takes about 15mins to burn at 4x with my LiteOn drive using the MySonic software that came with it. The elapsed time from hitting the record button can vary depending on what kinds of files your burning. The software caches small files, if you have a lot of those, it takes a few mins to cache them all. A handful of large files though goes pretty fast and takes about 15 mins at 4x.Icewind - Friday, December 12, 2003 - link
Wait I just noticed something, WHY are there no Burn TIMES anywhere? Thats what I like to know. How long TIME wise does it take to burn various media? How could you miss that AT?Icewind - Friday, December 12, 2003 - link
Would you like some cheese with that whine #5?BitByRabidAlgae - Friday, December 12, 2003 - link
For the record, I have a LiteOn 401S, and it has performed flawlessly for me. Another thing that was not addressed was the Sony drive's pitiful read speed on pressed DVD's. This is NOT a bug. It is intentional. When the drive detects a copy-protected DVD, it locks the read speed at 2x. So, if you're looking for a drive to rip DVD's with, the Sony is a poor choice. Unless you don't mind waiting an hour to rip a 2 hour movie, when other drives can do it in 10-15 minutes. I suppose we should expect something like this from a company that owns a movie studio.Also, can anyone confirm the rumor that flashing the 411S BIOS in to my 401S will make it a dual format drive?
Belzer - Friday, December 12, 2003 - link
Imho there are too many errors in the review to be acceptable. It can't be that hard to get the specifications of the burners etc. correct can it? Because with so many errors at least I can't trust any of the numbers in the review. Anyway here are the errors I've found when I skimmed through the review:Plextor: "but it also claims 16X DVD read speeds"
Plextor, ASUS, MSI drives only read DVDs in max 12x, not 16x (the specs in the review are also wrong for these drives).
Sony: "Since the only real difference between the DRU-530A and the Plextor 708A is the 8MB buffer"
Sony DRU-530A also only has a 2 MB buffer, not 8 MB.
"The drive came with an average software package, including PowerDVD and Sonic MyDVD — not quite as complete as Sony or Nu Tech's bundle."
The Lite-On drive also comes with Sonic Recordnow and Sonic DLA (it's on the same CD as MyDVD).
"even if the drive is a slight step down from the LDW-401S, which can burn 8X DVD+R"
No, LDW-401S burns DVD+R in max 4x. LDW-811S on the other hand burns DVD+R in 8x.
NEC: "DVD+RW Rewrite Speed 4X, 2.4X (CLV)"
DVD+RW write speed is max 2.4x on the ND-1300A.
DVD+R: "MMC 003 — 4X DVD+R"
DVD-R: "MMC01RG20 — 4X DVD-R"
Should be "MCC 003 — 8X DVD+R" and "MCC 01RG20 — 4X DVD-R". MCC stands for Mitsubishi Chemical Corporation and the MCC 003 is 8x media. MMC is Mitsubish Material Corporation and is not related to Mitsubishi's media manufacturing. MMC is also incorrectly mentioned several times in the text.
"PHILIPS 041 — 4X DVD+RW" and "RICOHJPNW11 — 4X DVD+RW"
No way that the Asus, MSI and NEC can have burned these media in 4x as they burn DVD+RW in only 2.4x.
DragonReborn - Friday, December 12, 2003 - link
nice review...I think the ASUS/106 should get a little more attention. You can find that drive OEM for $120-130 and is really is awesome. The one "flaw" is that it doesn't read cd's as fast as the new boys...but who has a DVD burner that doesn't have a dedicated CD/burner? Now that I think of it...probably more than few. Well then.Icewind - Friday, December 12, 2003 - link
Wish I knew when The next speed DVD R/RW's are gonna come out so I know if it was worth waiting.I got 50+ burned CDs on my desk I just have to reduce.
wicktron - Friday, December 12, 2003 - link
where's the 811s?