Pioneer Launches 4x DVD-R Burner

[Jason Dunn]

<div class='os_post_top_link'><a href='http://pocketpcthoughts.pricegrabber.com/search_getprod.php/masterid=659071/search=Pioneer%2520DVD-R/ut=4493b2c34aaee6dd' target='_blank'>http://pocketpcthoughts.pricegrabbe...493b2c34aaee6dd</a><br /><br /></div>I love the smell of Comdex in the morning - there's always something new being released, and even if it's something that we knew about before, getting a confirmed price and ship date is always good. In this case, it's the Pioneer 4x DVD-R burner - double the speed of their previous A04 (the model I have). If you've been waiting for a DVD burner, this might be the time to buy one.

[st63z]

It pains me to recommend Sony (see below), but as long as no MemStick... :) (j/k) But seriously these Sony combo drives truly seem the NO-BRAINER best values/products on the market right now (and the first Sony in-house manufactured design as it happens). Caught all the other non-combo DVD writers (whether + or -) by surprise before they had a chance to lower pricing...

Sony DRU-500A (ATAPI) http://www.pcnation.com/asp/details.asp?item=450623 ($318 shipped, was $314)

Sony DRX-500UL (USB2 *and* FireWire) http://www.pcnation.com/asp/details.asp?item=450338 ($389 shipped, was $384)

Furthermore, from http://news.com.com/2100-1040-966661.html :

"Sony announced Monday that it will be making an upgrade for its DRX-500UL and DRU-500A drives available on or before Dec. 9, which will allow drives to reach 4X recording speeds with DVD+R discs, cutting recording times roughly in half. The drives support 4X DVD-R, 2X DVD-RW, 2.4X DVD+RW and DVD+R recording."

To recap:
- 24x10x32 CD-RW
- 8x DVD read
- 4x DVD+R write
- 2.4x DVD+RW rewrite
- 4x DVD-R write
- 2x DVD-RW rewrite
- 8meg cache, buffer underrun protection, complete software bundle (see http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,4149,668939,00.asp )...

Heck, I remember paying $200-250 for my Ricoh DVD-ROM/CD-RW ATAPI combo drive (12x / 20x10x40), doesn't seem that long ago :)


OT: BTW, I'd first found PCNation when price shopping enterprise switches. I was surprised w/ the very low prices, then price compared a bunch of other things. *Everything* I found were consistently lower there than Buy.com and other places! Anyone ever heard of this vendor before? I know of most of those old-timers back from the Computer Shopper mail order era (PC Mall, PC Zone, PC Connection, Micro Warehouse, CDW, Insight, etc, etc), but I don't believe I've heard of PCNation before...

[st63z]

You know, I also feel gadget envy for Sony's MPD-AP20U. Everything except the MemStick slot, argh.

http://news.com.com/2100-1040-962826.html
http://shorterlink.com/?WWVZTP (thanks bdj)

Ultraportable USB2 DVD-ROM/CDRW drive (8x / 24x10x24 + buffer protection), no bigger than those consumer electronics CD Walkmans. Might seem plain and ordinary, but it also doubles as a stand-alone rechargeable-battery operated player for audio CD or MP3/WMA (on CD, DVD, or MemStick media). Also triples as a DVD Video player connected to a TV (can someone verify this last part)!

Yesh, I'm in full holiday geek shopper mode...

[st63z]

Eh, just to clarify from my first post, Sony's Dec. 9 upgrade to 4x DVD+R for their combo drives is a firmware upgrade, not a new model release (hello, HP)...