I am looking at the Pioneer A05 because I can get it for $425 canadian (as long as they pricematch) plus a $150 mail in rebate, so it works out to be a really really good deal, I am gonna pick it up within the next few days if I get a positive response about this burner, so what does everyone think, is it worth it?
I am thinking about getting a dvd burner... Pioneer?
- Thread starter Atlantean
- Start date
Hulk
Diamond Member
- Oct 9, 1999
- 5,056
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I am using a Sony DRU-120A, which is a DVD +R/RW format drive. It has been working great for me and the compatibility is more than I expected.
On the other hand, I know many people with the Pioneer drives that are very happy with them. And the -R media is cheaper too.
You might want to hold out a bit and consider a drive that does both formats as the prices are rapidly falling.
On the other hand, I know many people with the Pioneer drives that are very happy with them. And the -R media is cheaper too.
You might want to hold out a bit and consider a drive that does both formats as the prices are rapidly falling.
I've been using the A04 for a while now and love it.. Burned many 100's of dvd-r's.. Cheap and reliable.. Gotta love it.
Well what type of life will I get out of it cause if it will last 200 burns then I will probably be able to exchange it for a new one in a couple years thanks to futureshops 3 year extended warranty, and paying $275 Canadian for a 4x dvd-r burner isn't that bad of a price I think.
Yes I have the DVD-105 DVR/RW (same thing)...burns the DVD Data in less then 15 mins @ top speed...good burner so far.
Awesome drive. I'm burning a DVD on one right now. DVD-R media can be had for less than a dollar a disc (1x at least) and it's the most compatible of the two formats with standalone DVD players. The drive supports up to 4x DVD-R and 2x DVD-RW, so when that media eventually drops in price, you can take advantage of it as well.
Jeff7
Lifer
- Jan 4, 2001
- 41,596
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I read a review comparing the A04 with a Toshiba SD-R5002, and they liked the Toshiba better; they performed very closely, but they said that the Toshiba allowed overburning, and the Pioneer didn't. I got the Toshiba for $199 - retail package, which includes one each of CD-R, CD-RW, DVD-R, and DVD-RW. It comes with burning software, but it's apparently a demo version - it won't write to discs. Great addition for a disc burner - software that won't burn discs.
Originally posted by: Jeff7
I read a review comparing the A04 with a Toshiba SD-R5002, and they liked the Toshiba better; they performed very closely, but they said that the Toshiba allowed overburning, and the Pioneer didn't. I got the Toshiba for $199 - retail package, which includes one each of CD-R, CD-RW, DVD-R, and DVD-RW. It comes with burning software, but it's apparently a demo version - it won't write to discs. Great addition for a disc burner - software that won't burn discs.But other than that, it seems to work just fine; I use Nero anyway. The drive only does 2x on DVD-R's and 1x on RW's though, so it might be a bit slow, but I was looking for as cheap as I could get. I'm just hunting down some good video editing software; so far, Ulead Videostudio 6 looks most the promising.
The Toshiba is a good drive if your gonna pay for the good media too. But since burn so many DVDs I buy the cheapo 71 cent disk that are rated 1X which I burn at 2X with the hacked firmware for the Pioneer drive. I can't find any such hack for the Toshiba anywhere, if I could then it would be a better drive. It reads faster, writers CD's faster and is quieter but until a speed hack is released Pioneer all the way.. I don't have the Toshiba, a good friend has one.
If you can get a good deal on it, great toy to buy. I'm using a 104 (OEM A04) and I'm very happy with it.
Dunno cause I don't use that Currency and money spent with money gained would be a personal preference on your end
Been doing a little bit of research into this drive since I finally jumped in on the Staples deal a few days ago (we'll see if it shows up on my doorstep).
As far as media, it seems like the best cheap media to get is the Ritek G03 for about $0.86 a piece. It's rated 1x, but you can burn it at 2x on the a03 and a04. The lame thing is that you can only burn it at 1x on the a05. Seems Pioneer is playing some games with us all in their latest firmware to make sure you're only going to burn 2x or 4x which directly gives money to Pioneer. Otherwise you get blacklisted or something. It's all speculation my part, but something doesn't smell right when an updated, more advanced product actually works worse than the previous generation product with the same media. Needless to say, I'm a little disappointed.
I think some guys are working on some hacked firmware that'll let you burn those cheap 1x discs at 2x (and maybe 4x, who knows). Or maybe Pioneer will release a firmware that does just that. Either way, I'm sure the price of 4x media is going to get cheaper and cheaper. I doubt if anyone will be buying anything slower than 4x rated media by the end of this year.
Anyway, long story short, the 105 is a decent drive, but I'm kind of wishing that I'd have gotten a 104 or a Sony DRU500a at the moment.
As far as media, it seems like the best cheap media to get is the Ritek G03 for about $0.86 a piece. It's rated 1x, but you can burn it at 2x on the a03 and a04. The lame thing is that you can only burn it at 1x on the a05. Seems Pioneer is playing some games with us all in their latest firmware to make sure you're only going to burn 2x or 4x which directly gives money to Pioneer. Otherwise you get blacklisted or something. It's all speculation my part, but something doesn't smell right when an updated, more advanced product actually works worse than the previous generation product with the same media. Needless to say, I'm a little disappointed.
I think some guys are working on some hacked firmware that'll let you burn those cheap 1x discs at 2x (and maybe 4x, who knows). Or maybe Pioneer will release a firmware that does just that. Either way, I'm sure the price of 4x media is going to get cheaper and cheaper. I doubt if anyone will be buying anything slower than 4x rated media by the end of this year.
Anyway, long story short, the 105 is a decent drive, but I'm kind of wishing that I'd have gotten a 104 or a Sony DRU500a at the moment.
When I bought my A04 I could have bought the A05 for only $40 more but after doing some research I figured the A04 is better, at least for now. Someone will release the firmware hack to allow 2X on the A04 but why bother waiting I thought. 4X media is so overpriced and I don't see it dropping anytime soon I just went with the A04. Anyone looking into getting a DVD-R\RW should take a look at the A04 instead of the A05 to save a little cash now and in the long run on media..
The 4X media won't be dropping anytime soon because it is so difficult to produce quality disc for 4X use. It took over a year for the manufactures to finally release cheap reliable 2X media so I bet 4X will take even longer.
I personally dont want to burn media at speeds that it is not intended on burning at, I happly burn at 1X with the Go3 media from riteck, just wish they would not falsely advertise on some sites!
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