what should i do please? A06 or 106

[neosatus]

i want to get the Pioneer A06, but the 106 is about $50 cheaper.
what's the dfference between the two/why is it cheaper?

also, is the software for either decent? if not, what is a dependable, quality software?

thanx

[donalo]

They are both the same drive. The A06 is the retail version and the 106 is the OEM version.

Basically the retail version will usually ship with some software (usually not great) and a couple of free discs whereas with the OEM all you get is the drive.

[marvel2020]

Like Donalo has already said, the 106 is the excact same drive as the A06 except there is no software, Screws, Cables or free DVD-r's inlcuded with it.

Also the 106 will not have the Pioneer name on the front of it, but the A06 will.

[whoster69]

Like Donalo has already said, the 106 is the excact same drive as the A06 except there is no software, Screws, Cables or free DVD-r's inlcuded with it.

Also the 106 will not have the Pioneer name on the front of it, but the A06 will.

My AO6 that I bought from Best Buy doesn't have the name on the front of it even though it is the retail unit and did come with the correct warranty/software.

[MCLAREN5TH]

I don't know about the OEM but the A06 comes with a one year warranty from Pioneer.

[garryheather]

You should get at least a year's warranty with the OEM - sometimes buying "real" hardware gives you a longer warrnanty but this is very rare.

If you buy OEM, you only really have the warranty of the retailer selling it, so watch out for unusual clauses like "warranty from date of manufacture not our sale to you", limited warranty like 90 days from invoice date, etc.

If you buy OEM and it goes wrong AND your dealer will not take it back, you may find the true manufacturer will be less keen to look at it if it does not have their logo on the front (mine says Benq, but it's a Pioneer 04).

Be very careful flashing OEM with illegal or hacked firmware - again, it's rare, but certain manufacturers tweak their hardware to stop you using anyone elses. I am not aware of any Pioneer drives having this happen, but with some software it's more common - say you have Nero supplied with a manufacturer only version by Benq and it suddenly turns into a Pioneer, you may find the software won't detect the drive as it's not licensed for it. If you have an authoring app that came with say a CD-ROM drive, make sure it will work with the OEM before you buy.

Other than that, no probs at all.

[monoxide77]

my personal advice: pay the extra few bucks for the retail version. the software might be crap and you might not need it, but you will need the support from Pioneer. If you want to upgrade the firmware, it's almost impossible to do with an OEM product. I've had this problem with my 104. And the thing is, for $10 more i could have gotten the A04 and had no problems.

[RichT]

My A06 has Pioneer on the front and came with 12 warranty. The OEM I looked at came with 30 days warranty.

The software is Ulead MovieFactory, etc.. plus NeroExpress. Everything you'd need except the software to format RW disks for UDF (Windows drag n drop "floppy disk" like ability. I have Roxio 5.3 Basic which can do that formatting.

As mentioned above, you also get two blank discs Verbatim -R and -RW which add to the value (x4 and x2).

[garryheather]

Monoxide77 was unlucky - I upgraded my OEM 04 with genuine Pioneer firmware and, apart from it turning from a Benq in the system properties to a Pioneer, I had no "problems". As I said in my earlier post, I have yet to come across a Pioneer manufactured OEM drive that didn't re-flash with official firmware.

[bubbadawg]

Can someone who purchased the A06 in the Retail box pull up the burner in Devide manager and post whether it states A06D or 106D. I purchased the A06 (in the retail box) and in Device Manager(XP) it states 106D. What's the story here....????

[MAXIMUS95GST]

I got the same thing in Windows XP DVR-106D. I also bought the retail box.

[bubbadawg]

I got the same thing in Windows XP DVR-106D. I also bought the retail box.

Did you buy yours online or at a local store? I bought mine online.

As soon as I am done burning a DVD, I am going to pull it out and see what it says on the label.

[MAXIMUS95GST]

I also bought mine online in a retail box. I just pulled it out and it says on the sticker DVR-A06U..

I also found out that the A06 is only burning my media(Verbatim 4X DVD-+R,TDK,and Memorex) at 3.4x which is stated in Nero. This really sucks read this: http://forums.afterdawn.com/thread_view.cfm/42723

[bubbadawg]

I also bought mine online in a retail box. I just pulled it out and it says on the sticker DVR-A06U.. ......

Where did you get yours from? I purchased mine from New Egg. I am calling both New Egg and Pioneer tomorrow to see WTF is up

[MAXIMUS95GST]

I got mine from http://www.pc-beyond.com/

[MCLAREN5TH]

Accupc.com