Is there a way to increase the speed of a Sony DRU-500UL?

[ProfessorX]

I own the external version of the Sony DRU-500 (firmware 1.0g) which is USB 2.0 and I was wondering if there was any way to increase the speed. I have a pretty fast system which I use it on (P4 1.8GHz) and it still takes about 90 minutes to burn a DVD. I didn't think USB 2.0 would be as fast as IDE but I thought it would be faster than 90 minutes. I also have a Sony DRU-500a (internal) on another system and it burns a DVD at 2x in about 30 minutes and 15 minutes using 4x media. On the DRU-500UL, I don't see any speed increase even when using 4x media. I'm using Nero to burn the DVD's and the drop down box doesn't have 4x as an option when I put in 4x media the way my internal DRU-500a does. Also, is there a way to convert an external DRU-500UL into an internal burner?

[ProfessorX]

I was also wondering if 90 minutes is the average burn speed for the Sony DRU-500UL or maybe it's a configuration problem. Since the unit has both USB 2.0 and Firewire ports (I'm using USB 2.0) would I get better performance using Firewire? I hear that USB 2.0 is just as fast as Firewire but I'm not sure if it makes a difference with DVD burning.

[Smile_M]

USB 1.1 is 12Mbits/s - 1.5MB/s or 1536KB/s
Usb 20 is 480Mbits/s - 60MB/s or 61440KB/s
Firewire is 400Mbits/s - 50MB/s or 51200KB/s

And today IDE HDD's cant go faster than 60MB/s in burst speed.

[HyperYagami]

Usb 20 is 480Mbits/s - 60MB/s or 61440KB/s

at the same time, that's just on paper.

[SaSi]

The 90 min per disk makes me wonder.

The internal version of the drive will burn a X1 speed recordable in approx. 55~59 minutes. A X2 records in 30 minutes.

Single speed recording speed is 1380 kbps. The USB-1 speed is 1500kbps and USB-2 is way faster than needed.

This means that even if your USB.2 ports operate at USB-1 speed, you should be able to record in an hour or so. If your USB-2 ports operate as USB-2, you should be able to record X4 disks in 15 minutes or so.

I would first verify the speed of the USB ports. The most accurate way would be to use an external USB disk. Back-up files on the disk and note the transfer speed. It's easy if speed is in USB1 range or USB2 range.

[ProfessorX]

Just wanted to say that I've solved my problem and thank you everyone for your input.

I called Sony tech support about the slow burn speeds I was getting with the 500UL and they said to make sure that my USB 2.0 card was not using the VIA chipset because these burners were having a problem with it. Sure enough, my USB 2.0 card was using the VIA chipset so I went and bought a new USB 2.0 card that used an NEC chipset instead. After installing it I burned a DVD in 14 minutes! They also told me to make sure that I was using a USB 2.0 compliant cable which can also help increase the burning speed so I also bought a gold tipped USB 2.0 cable for $30 at Best Buy. I'm now burning at maximum speed. Thanks again.