SONY DRU500 rate this drive

[spiderman2k1]

Please rate the SONY DRU500. Do you have problem's with this drive or does it work fine. please post

[HyperYagami]

jeez, don't we have about 300 million posts about this already?

[MrBlond]

i have the Dru 500 and also the Pioneer A05 Whilst I have no complaints with the Sony my pioneer is the one that does most burns and is my fave of the two I only got the Sony cause the price could not be ignored from a friend and they seem to be in short supply the A05 seems to be more compatable with set top players I do a lot of wedding DVD and such and a lot of the Sony Burns were returned

[Karate Media]

I have the DRX 500 (the external version) and despite some initial problems, I have been happy with the drive so far (*knock on wood*). But based on what some people have written, I sometimes cross my fingers when I start the drive up.

Also, Sony customer support is the F***ing Antichrist. They are unknowledgable and rude and I shudder at the thought of having to call them ever again -- and I know someday I will have to.


That said, this topic really has been beat to death here...go to:
https://www.videohelp.com/dvdwriters.php?DVDnameid=79&Search=Search&list=

for some user reviews of the drive. Also, a quick search of the forums here will turn up a number of threads about the Sony DRU 500 drive. Although, much like the ever-present +R vs -R questions, I'm sure quite a few members here will be more than happy to share their opinions with you.

[w00tski]

other than the 4x ritek problem, she's been sweet

[Bob W]

My first one flat out died but I went and bought a second drive hoping it will not be a lemon.

[NightWing]

Works here. Solid with Nero and IC7 etc.

[dlb]

I have the OEM version, runs great, only two coasters which were my fault.

Still on original firmware 1.1a - why change if it works.

dlb.

[donpedro]

Works fine...

[thxkid]

If you don't mind some headaches at 1st before you gett it right, they are great, for me my HP +R was great out of the box and 300+ burns later not a hitch of a problem and all burns 100% caompatiable with any DVD player, I know I went and tried my burns out at Sams club, Circuit city, best buy on all their players could not find one that would not play them.

[Bulten]

Hmm, I thought this thread was about the Sony DRU-500A, not some HP burner...
Anyway my drive works great! No problems at all...

[Redd]

Works great, no coasters. Firmware 2.0c

[rrobinson256]

As a DRU500 owner, I have read with great interest- the numerous posts on this particular product. A familiar pattern seems to have emerged…. Problems at first, many attempted “Fixes” including software and firmware upgrades, then some measure of success. Looks like you have to learn the idiosyncrasies of this particular drive in order to be successful with it. The brand of motherboard, the IDE mode (UDMA/ATA/PIO) the OS (Win98/Win2000/XP) application software (Nero/EasyCD/InCD.. Etc..) and media brand- all play a critical role in the final outcome. In the end, the drive seems to be fairly stable once you find the particular combination of hardware/software/media for your particular setup. Yes, I made a few coasters early on- but now, after learning what it takes to make the drive “happy”…. I have a 99% success rate. It’s definitely not a “cookie cutter” install like a CDRW drive. It’s too bad Sony couldn’t have mad things a bit easier for us!

[rkr1958]

My DRU-500a has worked great from day 1. I'm surprised by the number of people that initially had problems with this drive. It took me about 30-minutes to remove my CD-RW drive and replace it with the Sony DRU-500a. Another 30-minutes to test it out by playing a few commerical DVDs. Another 15-minutes or so to load RecordNow and MyDVD (which I've since bagged in favor of Ulead MovieFactory and Dazzle DVD Complete). I did my first burn, successfully, that night. I've done over 100 successful burns with this drive with maybe 10 coasters. The majority of these coasters are from Fuji DVD+Rs, which don't seem to work in my drive. Bottom line, this drive has be great from the start (knock on wood).

[drewson99]

my HP +R was great out of the box and 300+ burns later not a hitch of a problem and all burns 100% caompatiable with any DVD player, I know I went and tried my burns out at Sams club, Circuit city, best buy on all their players could not find one that would not play them.

still need self assurance thxkid? you just can't seem to convince yourself...

[A4]

I have 500UL same as 5000ax, I burned about 60 dvd without coaster. I read this forum months before I bought the burner. Once I got the burner I know all the tricks + softwares + guides of making backup.

Love the drive.
-A4

[You_Are_Alive]

I've had the Sony Dru500a (internal) since Oct. Installed without any problems. Burned 24 DVDs to date on DVD-R. Excellent burner. I also take it on the road with me and use it with an external enclosure that has IEEE/USB2 and also no problems burning. I have found that burning on Maxell CDR it had intermitent success sometimes, but still not sure whether its sony or nero's fault cause the cd worked on my equipment, but not my friends. Or maybe it was just the media, again. I wish that at least the media thing would be addressed already and TRULY be universally compatible but that is just wishful thinking I guess.

[louthewiz]

Well I dont know why peeps cant get it to work it worked good for me Im using dvd decrypter and instant copy with no problems and I didnt upgrade the firmware to burn at 4x I mean why fix it if its not broken and ive backed up 10 perfect backups so far so good!!!

[videofun]

My fist DRU500A died 2 weeks after purchase; replaced by sony with a DRU500AX and till now has been working fine **knock on wood** and i'm quite happy.

[rhegedus]

TRY THIS

[thippe]

I've had the dru 500a since December and have only burned coasters when it has been my fault. I use the 'F' firmware and with the Ritek G03's burning at 2X most of the time.

I think it's great....just waiting for 4X media to get a little cheaper