Sony DRU500A.....Best [b]CHEAP[/b] Media???

[derrick972]

SONY USERS ONLY (MULTI-FORMAT DRIVES)

I'm sure that this post has probably been made, but I could not find it anywhere. I see that the Sony is probably the most commented on drive on the forum so I was wondering what CHEAP media you guys have had the most success with? The media that I have used is:

Hhypermedia: bad/mixed
CompUSA: bad/mixed
RitekG03: Good


As I have seen in the forums, Ritek seems to be the media of choice and it has worked well for me but I see that there are cheaper media out (i.e. princo, accu, ooptodisc, etc...)! I was wondering if anyone has had any good experiences with any CHEAP media? And please, only Sony users!


BTW, I don't care what anyone on this forum says, sony drives are the best!

[louthewiz]

I also have the sony and I always use comp usa or alterra media 2x and 4x and Ive burned hundreds of dvds with no problems,I always go to computer shows on the weekend and get 30 for 30bucks or a buck a piece and always did well with these .And finally the comp usa dvds go for 1.20 for 2 and 4x and the 1x go for a buck each...

[bmdarkmoon]

I use -R media 90% of the time. I prefer Ritek G03 and Ritek G04 because they have great compatibility in stand-alone playback. The Ritek G04 discs will occationally not burn at 4X (As many of you know).

I also like the BeAll 4X discs. They cost a little bit more $$, but they burn at 4X EVERY time and playback is perfect.


@ derrick972 - "BTW, I don't care what anyone on this forum says, sony drives are the best!"

Well, I own a Sony DRU-500AX so I can dispute you on this. I've found that my Sony gives me quality finished discs. BUT, Sony support SUCKS. Their firmware is poorly written. Sony has all but forgotten about the 500A series. In contrast, My brother owns a Pioneer A06 and I have used it a few times. The Pioneer will write at 4X on Ritek G04 media EVERY time with quality results. His Pioneer cost him LESS $$. Firmware updates are still being developed. Need I say more? For now, I'm only "satisfied" with my Sony. I certainly wouldn't claim Sony drives are the best.

[handyguy]

500a:
Accus 1x, read at 2x on Sony. $80 for 100 with shipping included in that price. They also work great with Panasonics.

[pompoi]

Never had any luck with cheap media on this drive ,tdk 4x ( TYG01 )
have given 100% so i stick with them

[derrick972]

I use -R media 90% of the time. I prefer Ritek G03 and Ritek G04 because they have great compatibility in stand-alone playback. The Ritek G04 discs will occationally not burn at 4X (As many of you know).

I also like the BeAll 4X discs. They cost a little bit more $$, but they burn at 4X EVERY time and playback is perfect.


@ derrick972 - "BTW, I don't care what anyone on this forum says, sony drives are the best!"

Well, I own a Sony DRU-500AX so I can dispute you on this. I've found that my Sony gives me quality finished discs. BUT, Sony support SUCKS. Their firmware is poorly written. Sony has all but forgotten about the 500A series. In contrast, My brother owns a Pioneer A06 and I have used it a few times. The Pioneer will write at 4X on Ritek G04 media EVERY time with quality results. His Pioneer cost him LESS $$. Firmware updates are still being developed. Need I say more? For now, I'm only "satisfied" with my Sony. I certainly wouldn't claim Sony drives are the best.

I understand that you are frustrated bmdarkmoon, but sorry to say , Sony Rocks... They had the dual format technology before anyone and when everone saw how popular the drive was they all jumped on the bandwagon. So of course the drive was more expensive at its release...Pioneer had to lower their price just to compete. They also had time to make changes to the problems that they knew Sony had with the 500A. I have never had any problems with my drive with the exception of bad media and that is my fault. If you really want to compare drives compare it to the new Sony drive, the 510A(or something like that), which is much better then the 500A. If you want to compare anything to the 500A, you have compare the Pioneer A04, and 05...which are really no comparison. I'm sure Sony's next drives will have problems, but I gauruntee that they will be ahead of the game, setting a new standard with some new technology as they always do.


ps-ummm, no i do not work for Sony

[ShibaInu]

I like the optodiscs with the gold writing surface on top...

[derrick972]

I have heard and seen alot about these Optodisc Golds......So, I just ordered some and I will let you guys know how it went. I seems that these are one of the few discs that will actually burn at 4X on most DRU500A, regardless of firmware.

Question: i see that there are also Opto Silver tops, is there any difference between the Golds and Silvers?? The Gold's seemed to be sold out on most websites, but most seem to have plenty of silvers!!!...maybe that means something?

[fnszlft]

How do the Digital Matrix 4x DVD-R discs work in the Sony?
I'm thinking about getting some of these.

Jeff

[BobK]

I've tried at least 6-7 different media in my Sony. The only ones I'm happy with are Ritek and TDK (and I've just started using some TDK so time will tell if I remain happy with them).

I had problems with Maxell, Accu and several others.

I also used silver top Optodisks for a while. They seemed to work well and played on my standalone, but when I tried to copy some DVDs I'd made on Optodisk I found that about 1 of every 9-10 had errors and could not be copied even though they still played.

[handyguy]

" If you really want to compare drives compare it to the new Sony drive, the 510A(or something like that), which is much better then the 500A. "

Yeah but not by much, 510 can do dvdrw at 4x, but thats about it if you update your firmware on a 500a...

[BobK]

If you don't update the firmware on the 500A, what other differences are there?

[garryward]

I have a Sony 500 I use ritek 04 , princo, Optodisc blue I tried the Gold but my DVD palyer didnt like them at all

[waheed]

I use Ritek media and there are perfect with the 500a (with the exception of 4x writing, i can only burn at 2x). i have never have a single coaster, and can burn right to the edge (full 4.38GB) without any errors.