Love the Burner, Burn the Software
Written: May 07 '05 (Updated Jan 13 '06)
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Pros: Fast, supports all major formats, EASY to install
Cons: Initial start-up can be slow, stops reading recordable media after a few months
The Bottom Line: WAS a good burner - we'll see how Sony responds to problems with it.
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| martytdx's Full Review: Sony DRU710A DVD±RW Dual Layer Burner |
Update 1/13/06:
When I wrote this review originally, I was very happy with this drive. However, a few months later, I'm much less enthusiastic. After only using a few times to burn DVDs, I recently went to do a long overdue backup - and found that the drive would not recognize ANY recordable media - not CD-R, CD-RW, DVD±, DVD-RW, DVD-DL. Nothing. On any of three brands. So, to trusty Google I went.
And I found that many people had this same problem - after a few months, this drive just stops recognizing recordable media. So, I called up Sony, did a couple of tests they asked me to do, and now have an RMA to return this. I'm not sure how long it will take or whether I'll get a replacement/fixed/upgraded drive (reports vary on both counts). I'll update when I have more info.
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I have a LOT of files that I play with at different times. Many of those include PhotoShop images or other image files or websites that can be hundreds of megs each. Add to that my 25.1GB (and growing) in MP3, and I was looking for a way to move some of those files off of my hard drive, but still have a way to access them when I needed them. The obvious choice was a DVD-RW, but I wasn't sure which one to go with. I had a great CD-RW in my Plextor, but wasn't sure if they would have the latest in the DVD-RW technology. In the end, my research - and the price - steered me to the Sony DRU-710A.
[ • what's the DVDeal? • ]
Why a DVD burner instead of the CD-RW I already had? Well, simply, space. A CD-RW (80 minutes) holds about 700MB of data or music on it. Not bad, but I could fill those up with one booklet or pamphlet from my hard drive. A DVD, on the other hand, can handle a whopping 4.7 GIGABYTES of data - 6 times as much as a CD. And a DVD RW DL (DVD Rewriteable Dual-Layer), can handle 8.5GB - enough to back up ALL of my image files on a single disc instead of spreading them over 4 or 5 CD-R.
At first, I was confused about whether to get a DVD R or a DVD-R recorder. It turns out that as long as you have a player that can play a format (and most play both these days), the formats are pretty much just a difference in coding that don't affect the common user. Luckily, the Sony DRU-710A not only supports both and - formats, but also handles the Dual Layer discs.
I went for the Sony because of the reviews that I was finding online. Initially, I was leaning toward the Plextor because of my previous experience, but at the time I couldn't find a Plextor that would support Dual Layer DVDs that wasn't getting pretty trashed in reviews. Almost all of the reviews of this drive I found were positive - and the ones that weren't focused almost exclusively on the fact that the drive didn't seem to like certain brands of DVD (easy enough to avoid - and recent firmware fixes seem to have alleviated that). In end, the price and reviews sent me to my Amazon account to grab it - although I was sad to see that about 2 weeks later, the DRU-720A was out in Best Buy for about $30 more, and offered more speed. Oh well, if you wait for the latest technology...
[ • doing the DVDeed • ]
As I mentioned, I picked up my Sony DRU-710A through Amazon.com, and got a good deal on it to boot. It was sent to my home in only 3 days, and I was ready to go. I have a Dell Dimension 4700, so I was a little worried about how upgrade-friendly it would be, but installation was a breeze.
Taking out the old DVD-ROM was step one - simple enough. I then followed the simple directions given by Sony to install the new drive. From start to finish was about 15 minutes, including changing the face plate to match my PC. If you want to stay with the white that it comes with, it will take you even less time - it's a truly 'plug and play' experience.
Once I got it in, WinXP found the drivers and set up the DVD to use. I got updated drivers from Sony, but other than that 5 minute experience, the software installation for the drive itself was even easier than the hardware installation. The software for the burning process - Nero Express 6 - has proved to be frustrating at times, but it is loaded with numerous features that many users will enjoy.
[ • what's it got, WHAT'S IT DO? • ]
With the Sony DRU-710A, you get everything you could want in a burner. It not only supports both the R and -R formats, but also supports the newer dual-layer format which gives you even more room. This is great for me, because now I can move my back-ups and larger image files off of my hard drives to give me more room for virtual drives and scratch discs (if you have used PhotoShop, you know you can NEVER have too much disc space). The fact that it also has the capability to write DVD-RW as well is even better: I can keep writing more and more files to the DVD and not waste the extra space.
How easy is it to use? Well, meat and potatoes of using this drive is the software you use to burn to it. It comes with the Nero Express 6 suite, which is a decent set of software although the actual burning program has some major flaws. Once you get past that, the drive itself seems to be very good at burning the information. The burn speed really depends on the media that you are using - and can vary quite a bit. DVD R burn the quickest, at a blistering 16x (about double what DVD-R discs do¹); RW discs take a bit longer, only burning at about 4x. I have used both, and I think that the actual burn rates might be a bit higher than rated - I expected the 3.4GB of images I transferred over to a DVD R take a significant amount of time but in fact, it took longer for me to set up what I wanted to be burned than to actually burn it (about 6.5 minutes). A back-up to my CD-RW of nearly 95% capacity of the disc took a bit longer, about 15 minutes, but still fast enough considering the amount of data I was burning. I haven't burned a DL disc yet - although I plan on backing up some of my MP3 to these, so I'll find out how fast/slow they are and add to this review when I finally do it.
When reading DVD-ROM and DVD discs, it is lightning quick once it gets started. If there is one thing about the drive that I don't like (other than the software) it is that the drive sometimes takes 3 or 4 second to even get rolling, although it is very fast once it is moving. DVDs seemed to play with no hitches at all, and DVD games played from the disc were smooth. Read speeds seemed to be very close to what is advertised, including pulling music from CDs - in fact, I have to say that this 16x drive seems to actually outpace the 16x DVD-ROM that I had in my system previously. I can rip entire CDs worth of music in only a couple of minutes - good for getting said music, bad because my MP3 collection is growing quicker than I have hard drive space for ... I guess it's time to start putting them BACK on dual layer discs!
What is a fairly advanced DVD-RW also does CD-RW with equal ease. However, I still prefer the CD-RW that came with my computer to record CD-R (just a personal quirk, really - that drive supports Roxio CD & DVD creator, while the Sony seems to have a conflict - most likely because of the Nero program).
Lastly, this drive comes with a very nice little side feature. Although shipped with a pretty stylish white faceplate, if you have a black computer, you can change the white faceplate to a black one that is provided with the drive. They provide you with the tool to manually open the tray, and it takes a few seconds of finagling to do so, but it's not hard to do.
[ • technical STUFF • ]
Sony DRU-710A DVD/CD ReWritable Drive
Drive Type » ATAPI/EIDE Internal
CD/DVD Read Speeds 48x CD/16x DVD
CD Write Speeds » 48x CD-R/24x CD-RW
DVD Write Speeds » 16x DVD R, 8x DVD-R, 4x DVD RW/-RW, 2.4x DVD R DL
Dual-Layer DVD Capable » Yes
System Requirements » Windows 2000, Windows XP and 256MB of RAM, 1GB Hard Drive (10GB if you use Nero Express).
Software Included » Nero Express 6
Also Included » Replaceable front panel, interface cable.
[ • final THOUGHTS • ]
When I bought this from Amazon for under $100, I was skeptical despite all of the good reviews I had found. I no longer am. This drive has been great for backing up my data and for moving large numbers of memory-hogging files onto a resource where I can access them but still get them off of my hard drive.
It reads fast, it writes fast, it supports all of the latest formats, it slices, it dices, it mows - but it doesn't do windows - and it comes at a bargain price. And don't forget the wonderful changeable faceplate so that your fashion sense doesn't get insulted. My only advice - don't bother with the Nero software if you have a software package that will burn DVDs (including Dual Layer). Other than that, this is a great choice for your DVD-burning needs.
[ • news and NOTES • ]
¹ Special thanks to nc10 for giving me some advice in re-writing this piece. I was missing some significant info. Also, he mentioned that there is a FIRMWARE update available through the Sony site that will allow you to burn DVD-R discs at 12x instead of the 8x that the drive is installed with).
[ • other HARDWARE REVIEWS • ]
Plextor CD-R »
A great CD-RW when I got it, it has been replaced by newer models since. Still, Plextor is a great drive manufacturer.
HP Deskjet 5650 »
A great printer capable of doing exquisite prints from digital images.
Wacom Intuos 2 Digital Tablet »
A great printer capable of doing exquisite prints from digital images.
Microtek Scanmaker 4900 »
I was happier with this when I first got it - now I want a Nikon CoolScan 5000...
Nero Express 6 CD/DVD Burning Software (OEM) »
Some very good tools, although the main program needs to refining to be great.
Recommended:
Yes
Amount Paid (US$): 96
Operating System: Windows
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Epinions.com ID:
martytdx
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Member: Marty
Location: New Jersey
Reviews written: 481
Trusted by: 179 members
About Me:
Doing what I can to try new places, restaurants, books and beers.
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