Pioneer DVR-108D - Crowning a new Champion
by Kristopher Kubicki on August 31, 2004 12:02 AM EST- Posted in
- Storage
Introduction
When we first heard the announcement that the Pioneer DVR-108 was on sale, but only at a few retail merchants, we jumped. The DVDR scene has been fairly quiet since the introduction of the last round on Sanyo based burners (MSI DR12A, Sony DRU-540A, Plextor PX-712A) and thus, we had been waiting for something really to sink our teeth into. Fortunately, we were able to get our hands on one of the first Pioneer drives to hit the shelves, and we have been working diligently to benchmark that drive, while at the same time, re-benchmarking some of our older drives with new media.16X, dual layer drives sound incredibly attractive, but since dual layer media still costs several dollars a disc and 16X media exists only in the fantasies of a few hardware manufacturers, we are going to have to approach our testing of the DVR-108D as a 12X review. We have included some DVD DL media for completeness as well. Oh, and the most exciting thing about this drive? It retails for nearly the same price as the DVR-107D, well under $100.
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RyanVM - Tuesday, August 31, 2004 - link
No SATA? Count me out.(I hope manufacturers read these comments)
Fishie - Tuesday, August 31, 2004 - link
I decided to test that Ritek DVD+R DL (DVD 9) disc in my Toshiba M1802 DVD-ROM. It actually finished the test but it doesn't look so good.http://www.adventurousduo.com/host/ritekr9dltoshib...
KristopherKubicki - Tuesday, August 31, 2004 - link
Ian@CDRlabs:>How can you say this drive is the best you've tested when you haven't even burned any discs at 16x?
Um? It burns the best quality discs at 12X and 8X. It doesnt have to burn at 16X to still burn better than any drive we have tested. And not that that really matters since 16X media availabilty is fairly non-existant still.
Kristopher
Fishie - Tuesday, August 31, 2004 - link
Unfortunately, I only have Ritek GO3s right now so I cannot test 16x.I forgot to mention that I had the same results burning a Ritek 2.4x DVD-R9. It seemed to burn fine (using the latest version of Nero and DVD Shrink) but when I read it, it fails at the second layer.Degrador - Tuesday, August 31, 2004 - link
With the 1.04 and 1.06 firmwares, yes, 12X was faster than 16X. However 1.10 starts the 16X zone a bit earlier, enough so that 16X burning is now faster than 12X. And yes, I also own one. However I use the beta firmware hack made by >:NIL - this allows overburning of 4X media (I can write Ritek G04s at 12X). Btw, booktype setting doesn't matter with DVD-R, it's not applicable.Fishie - Tuesday, August 31, 2004 - link
I own a 108. Yes, it does read slower than it's counterparts. My Lite-On SOHC-5232K/Toshiba M1802 are faster readers. What I don't understand is why the review was done with firmware version 1.04 when they have two new firmwares out? I am using firmware 1.10 and it will burn my Ritek R03s 8x at 12x. It would only do 8x with v1.04http://wwwbsc.pioneer.co.jp/product-e/ibs/device_e...
http://wwwbsc.pioneer.co.jp/product-e/ibs/device_e...
http://www.pioneer-eur.com/eur/support_software.js...
Also, CDR Info did a review. On their tests, the write time was faster at 12x than 16x. They list a quote from Pioneer as to why this happens. As far as booktype setting: With +R DL media, it automaticaly sets it to 0000h (DVD-ROM). It doesn't support it with -/+ R.
LittleKing - Tuesday, August 31, 2004 - link
Good review, but unless I'm looking at it wrong, the "Read Tests - Printed Media" page shows this to be a bit slower than it's counter parts.Also the overimage change doesn't work in FoxFire.
LK
Ian@CDRlabs - Tuesday, August 31, 2004 - link
How can you say this drive is the best you've tested when you haven't even burned any discs at 16x?danidentity - Tuesday, August 31, 2004 - link
Can't wait to see how the ND-3500A compares. If you guys want to test it, it's readily available at Newegg.And I'm not sure if you know, but it burns CD-R at 48x versus 32x for the Pioneer 108.
hjs - Tuesday, August 31, 2004 - link
Can't wait to see the benq tested (who also has that bitsetting thing onboard)