New 1.55 firmware posted for Pioneer 109

[willrob]

http://club.cdfreaks.com/showthread.php?t=140504

[babgolis]

Mac flasher works... I got this off xlr8yourmac.com

http://homepage.mac.com/mps/OSXDVR109Flasher155FW.zip

The firmware included with the flasher is allegedly 155, but the flasher itself said it was 1.50. So I downloaded the new firmware from http://wwwbsc.pioneer.co.jp/cgi-bin/www1/download/file_get_e2.pl?file=DVR109_FW155EU.EXE (just click agree on the bottom), unstuffed it using StuffIt expander, changed the name of the resulting files from .155 to .150 & replaced (now) like named files in the flasher folder, & ran flasher.

Worked like a charm. No Pee Cee needed.

[willrob]

The reason the flasher said the files were 1.50 is beacuse the person who assembled that flasher and uploaded it renamed the files to match the name the application (which had been patched to look for 1.50) expected. Your solution is perfectly fine however.

The Logitec website (whose flasher this is) hasn't created their own 1.55 flasher yet; currently, I believe, only the Pioneer Japan site has this firmware posted.

I've cross flashed to the A09 firmware (1.40) and now am stuck here unless I use a PC to flash. If only Logitec made external drives with the A09 series.

[terryj]

but does it actually make things faster?
Didn't we just talk about the last firmware being essentially
useless because it still didn't give you faster burn speeds?

I'd like some actual testing done and reported
before I'd consider doing this. If Apple has somehow
throttled the ability of the drive to burn faster
( or Toast for that matter), flashing the firmware,
aside from increasing reliablity with new media,
wouldn't be worth it IMHO.

[babgolis]

I actually tried the linked file assuming, like willrob, that the fw files had already been renamed, The flasher, however, reported that I already had the most current fw (1.50). After I downloaded the .155 files from Pioneer Japan & renamed them, the flasher worked perfectly...

As for faster, I haven't burned any dvds since LATE last night, so I can't tell you. As of 1.50 I have only been able to get reliable 6x dvd burning on both single & dual layer media. It may be the fact I'm burning off of my laptop HD (60g 5400 rpm) that is slowing things down for me.

I've been in contact with Mike from xlr8yourmac.com & he assures me the link has been updated to 1.55.

Cheers.[/quote]

[JoachimS]

Take mine. File names are clear as I patched the application binary to match Pioneer filenames not vice versa (OK, renaming two files is easier).

http://forums.xlr8yourmac.com/software/R109_FW155EU.zip

Cheers,

Joachim

[SCDVD]

Pioneer has 1.55 on their Australian site but it isn't on the Pioneer Electronics site yet. Does anyone know if there is a potential problem in downloading a driver from another location? I am specifically wondering about the region code info.

[gspanos@comcast.net]

[quote="JoachimS"]Take mine. File names are clear as I patched the application binary to match Pioneer filenames not vice versa (OK, renaming two files is easier).

http://forums.xlr8yourmac.com/software/R109_FW155EU.zip


When I click on this, I get a choice of two available target drives: my external firewire 1.40 DVR-109 and my internal atapi A612 DVR-106D.

Does anybody know what happens if I choose the internal drive?

George

[willrob]

You will probably render it useless. The firmware is for the 109 only.

[willrob]

The burning speed issue has never been truly addressed by any of the Pioneer updates. They only claim "reliability" improvements and support for new media. On CDFreaks web site (Pioneer area) folks seem to believe that the +R media are the only ones able to meet the speed claims of 16x, and even then only one or two brands. And they claim, at least on the PC side, that one must use +DL disks for dependabilty.

I still haven't trid plugging my 109 into the ATA-60 bus on my G4, which the xclerateyourmac web site advies is the only way to get really fast burns (the current optical bus is on ATA33).

But my ripping speeds are much faster since crossing over to the A09 firmware. But I lack a PC to keep updating, and would need to pay a PC shop $20 to get to 1.55.

[gspanos@comcast.net]

You will probably render it useless. The firmware is for the 109 only.

Well, I won't be doing that then!

What exactly is the benefit of flashing the 109?

[babgolis]

Joachim, thanks for your work on the flasher file. The link was broken last night when I revived this thread.

What are the differences between a09 & 109 functionality?

[lordsmurf]

16x media burns fine at 16x.
8x media burns fine at 8x and sometimes 12x

I'm on 1.40 firmware.

I don't know what some of these people are talking about.

In fact, I see no reason to update to 1.50 or 1.55 either.

[JoachimS]

@babgolis:
The difference between A09 and 109 is basically a so-called quiet drive (or not-so-quiet drive) setting.

The PC guys can use a utility to choose between high speed ripping and slow speed (=quiet) operation when watching a DVD. It simply spins lower then.

Cheers,

Joachim

[JoachimS]

@gspanos:

When you try to flash it, you get an error message that the firmware does not match the drive model. I got the same when I accidently hit the button on a Mac that has a 107 built in.

Cheers,

Joachim

[babgolis]

Thanks for the edification Joachim. I need to turn off the quietdrive using my roomies *GASP* Pee Cee. That May fix my burn speed issues. From what I understand the quietdrive function is turned on by default. Oh Pioneer wherefore is our Macintosh quietdrive control panel?

LordSmurf. You are fortunate to get full speed off the 109. I get the option to choose high speed options (with fast media), but if I select anything faster than 6x it will actually take LONGER than a 6x burn. Also CD burning isn't possible at 40x either. Previous drives in the same USB 2.0 case have not had this problem.

[willrob]

The complaints aren't based on 16X or 8X media not burning well. The 109 is very reliable in that regard—when used with quality media. A lot of users expected that 16x would burn a 4.7 DVD in about 3.5 minutes (which is what Toast predicts—incorrectly). When they discover that 16X burning is more like 12x speed or that 8X media can actually burn a bit faster than 16x, they assume something is wrong.

The PC users do get faster burns when using the ULTRA DMA bus; while Mac users have an ATA-33 optical bus to contend with—which from what I've read is not fast enough for consistant 16x burning.

Cross flashing to the A09 will not increase burning speeds, only ripping speeds, and only when not confronted by an elaborate copy protection scheme which requires slower decryption.

It would be nice if Pioneer America posted (in some version of English) what the firmware updates meant; the Japanese version of English is never too clear as to the real benifits from upgrading, except where they mention a specific brand of media. Even nicer would be Pioneer releasing a Mac flasher for the 109 and the A09. But the latter is not likely, since they don't really market the A09 to the Mac market—the retail box is loaded with PC software and never a mention of Mac support.

[pants]

will this firmware allow the book type setting for + media? to go from + to DVD-ROM?

[willrob]

No. You need the Buffalo firmware, which hasn't updated to 1.55 yet.

[Broadbean]

It would be nice if Pioneer America posted (in some version of English) what the firmware updates meant; the Japanese version of English is never too clear as to the real benifits from upgrading, except where they mention a specific brand of media.

Check out the Australian web site then:
http://www.pioneeraus.com.au/computer/firmware.html

[willrob]

It looks like the 1.50 upgade was/is more useful than the 1.55. I've never herd of some of the media that is now supported. But the reading writing reliability (which seems more deailed in the 1.50) is important.