Pioneer or Sony DVD Burner

I am buying a new computer and have been having a difficult time deciding what dvd burner to buy for it.

I had made a post a few weeks ago about the HP 300i burner which I said I had bought. It was brand new and it ended up being broken during the shipment.

Now I'm looking at either a Pioneer or Sony dvd-burner. I would like to have a dual-format burner and that is why I'm looking at the Pioneer A06 and the Sony 500/510. I know that a OEM one can be purchased cheaper, however I learned today through a search on this website that the company won't support them.

At the website I am buying my computer from, I can upgrade to a pioneer a04 for only $99 USD as a "Special" right now. The a05 is a $164 upgrade and the a06 is a $204 upgrade. I also noticed in several posts about the a07 coming out, does anyone now of an estimated release date and cost? I would like to buy the a06 now, but if it is a lot more sensible to buy an a04 or a05 now and sell it when the a07 comes out, then i might do that.

I decided to save posting about the Sony DRU-500 and DRU-510 for last. After reading almost all of the posts about these two drives, it seems like it may not be a good investment. What is the media that should be used with a sony burner?

For the pioneer drive, I've read through psots to go with brands like verbatim, ritek and pioneer disks.

Thanks

 

Ok You have done some homework. I have a Pioneer A06 and have had NO Problems as of yet and a VERY happy with it. I already successfully backed up 10 movies with no problems. The only problems i had were created by me. But i quickly learned that you should practice on a DVD-RW disk while learning. Heck i lost 10 DVD-R discs at first. But i was overclocking my computer and will NEVER do it again. It corrupted my hard drive 2X. I also have little experience with the New Sony dual burner and prefer the Pioneer A06 becuase it does the same thing for alot cheaper.

 

Did not try the Pioneer drive, but I have the Sony drive and burning DVD-Rs at 4x on cheap media (like Princo) is a nightmare. On the other hand, I made about 20 discs with it, plus a LOT of writing on DVD+RW media and no coasters yet.

Sony 510 burns +RW discs faster.

 

Hmmm...should i dignify this with an answer, im kidding of course. Pioneer without a single doubt.

 

Thanks for your help. As I continued doing my homework on this, I'm almost positive I'm going with the Pioneer. I've recieved the same type of responses in other forums as well, that the Pioneer is a very popular and reliable drive, while the Sony has it's "tendancies" with certain media and burning programs.

 

Yeah, what you said is about right. Most drives are fairly good, but i like the reliability of the Pioneer and the fact it is so commonly used.

 

Well,I have the Sony 500a,Pioneer 105 and 106,and just recieved the Optorite.I haven't tested the Opto yet.The Pio 105 is not all that reliable.The 106 has been very good.The Sony has over 700 burns,with 3 coasters!I have used just about every brand of 1x media at 2x!
I would buy a 106,if I could not get another Sony (retail) drive! I do not see what all these so-called media problems are.My Sony is FAR less picky with media than either of my Pioneers!

 

i have a sony dru500a, have burned over a hundred disks and not one coaster so far.

 

I've burned well over 300 discs with Pioneer - 1 coaster and it was my fault for not closing the TOC

 

Might I throw in another multi-format unit? How does Memorex's Dual-X unit compare with the Sony & Pioneer? I friend said his dad has the Sony 510 and it's coaster city. He has a Memorex DVD+R 2.4X and swears by it.
Thanks!

 

The Sony is coaster city. Im not sure about the Memorex, could be interesting if some has it to let us know. Im not changing from Pioneer though!!

 

Well,I know of at least 20 people with Sony 510s.Like most burners,it needs the rest of the hardware,as well as software,setup correctly.I don't recall any of them having very many coasters.I do think the 500a is better than the 510.I am going to borrow a 510 from work,and try it in one of my machines.My systems are all pretty high-end though,all 2.4 gighz or better.It would be a better test with a 500-800mhz machine.Like I said before,if you take the time and set the thing up right,I think all the brands will do the job.I have used just about every burner.I count a total of 16 models I have tried.I have had very few coasters,that weren't my fault!

 

Its just from what i hear on this forum that there seems to be a lot of problems with it. Im sure it is a good drive, just less problems with the Pioneer, as far as i am aware!