New Pioneer A06 is Out!

[whoster69]

It's $293 shipped free at: http://meritline.com/nepi4xdvdvin.html

Thought a few people might like to know...

Now we just need to get some reviews/users experiences with it!

Whoster

[vric]

it's a pre-order.. it's not out "yet"

[whoster69]

it's a pre-order.. it's not out "yet"

Darn... You're right. I should have looked closer. Still, it must be close!

[Bruiser]

Hmm...I might have to pick this one up.

[MOVIEGEEK]

Although I'm sure the A06 will be good,I would wait until some websites(ie cdrlabs.com,cnet.com,etc)conducts a test against other dual format drives(Sony,Optorite,NEC,etc).

[vric]

Although I'm sure the A06 will be good,I would wait until some websites(ie cdrlabs.com,cnet.com,etc)conducts a test against other dual format drives(Sony,Optorite,NEC,etc).

one thing we learn with time is not to look those profesional review.. they are all crap and you found the real review in forums ! not on cnet ! I learned this the hard way

[Yirkin]

Pioneer might have thrown in the towel on the format war if they are making +R drives now. Looks like it still limits +RW to 2.4x where as the Sony DRU-510A will do +RW at 4x.

The Pioneer drive costs a little less though and 4x +RW discs seem impossible to find at the moment anyway.

Howard

[msk]

These drives are available in bestbuy stores also for $329. It comes with real good software it seems.

Pioneer selects ulead for its new drive.

http://www.ulead.com/aboutulead/press/pr06-16-03.htm

[lagerlout]

Pioneer might have thrown in the towel on the format war if they are making +R drives now.

I wouldnt call it throwing in the towel, the + manufacturers started the dual drive thing didnt they? With multi format drives available from other manufacturers, I'd expect all manufacturers to offer a multi format drive soon. Its just common sense.

[KDH]

Not when Dell and HP/Compaq are ordering best part of a million +RW only drives a month to fit in new PC's.
This is why the vast majority of new product announcements from manufacturers are for a dual and a +RW only drive in their product range.

KDH

[SaSi]

Pioneer might have thrown in the towel on the format war if they are making +R drives now. Looks like it still limits +RW to 2.4x where as the Sony DRU-510A will do +RW at 4x.

The Pioneer drive costs a little less though and 4x +RW discs seem impossible to find at the moment anyway.

Howard

Interesting. I've not yet seen a 4x -R disk, however I've started buying TDK 4x +R media. Also, the older DRU-500A with a firmware upgade to the latest version will also burn +R at 4x, even with Nero (5.5.10.35).

Several suppliers bring new drives to the market. It appears that the current state is not faster ones (>4x) but cheaper ones. The Plextor model has a price of 275 Euro. Other brands start selling at 250 or so.

I guess that the current technology will start a price deterioration before new technology will come up.

In terms of Pioneer quality and reliability, a studio has made a DVD duplicator with 4 Pioneer A-05 drives. They have burned over 4.000 disks in the past few months with 4-5 burn failures and no drive dead yet.

I have a DRU500A and have had severe problems of compatibility between media, drive f/w and recording s/w (RecordNowDX and Nero). I've now found myself flashing different f/w in order to burn +R or -R media . Knowing that, I would have bought the Pioneer drive back in January. However, I really enjoy the speed in recording 2.4x +RW disks.

[Yirkin]

Wasn't it Pioneer who designed the -R standard? Sure other companies are making combo drives but Pioneer was the last company that I would expect it from. It looks like a concession to me.

Howard

[whoster69]

Wasn't it Pioneer who designed the -R standard? Sure other companies are making combo drives but Pioneer was the last company that I would expect it from. It looks like a concession to me.

Howard

There's been a lot written in the press speculating on this as well. You might be right. Then again, it might just be that they thought this was going to sell more drives by adding broader support.

[Excellerator]

Looks like the shipping date is going to be June 24th according to Meritline's site.

[VinnySem]

Interesting. I've not yet seen a 4x -R disk

I have a stack of 15 from 3 different brands that I paid less than $2.50 for in single jewel cased packaging. I got them nearly a month ago.

[PhilipL]

Withdrawn

[salami]

I guess the real question is, who has seen a 4 speed +RW disc yet?

On the Best Buy site, it says "Up to 4x recording speed" for these Sony +RW discs. $40 for a 10 pack though.

http://www.bestbuy.com/detail.asp?e=11213622&cobrand=30&cmp=BA21361

I'm curious to see the other online retailer's prices for the Pioneer, as the Sony drives seem to have come down significantly in price. I just saw the DRU-510A (OEM) on pricegrabber for $259.95, and retail box for $278.15.

This competition is definitely good for our wallets.

[KDH]

Hi

I guess the real question is, who has seen a 4 speed +RW disc yet?

We now have 8x +RW due in September, hardware that is. Could be a new trend, sell the hardware at faster and faster speeds, but never actually produce the media (or much of) rated at that speed so no one can prove if it really writes, and without errors or compatibility problems at that speed!!!

Sounds far fetched? Well didn't Philips/RW Alliance do just this sort of thing with 1st generation drives, promising easy firmware updates to +R media that turned out to be a great big fat marketing stunt

Au contraire -according to Maxell it's the hardware holding things up
see
http://www.cdrinfo.com/Sections/News/Details.asp?RelatedID=3790


KDH

[PhilipL]

Withdrawn

[w00tski]

well on the flipside of things, sony's burner was originally 2.4x +R, and guess what, the firmware jacked this upto 4x. This wasnt promised by sony at any time, unlike HP. Obviously tehre were complications with the writer in that it couldnt do what they thought it would do. Do you really think HP didnt try? What most people are pissed about is that HP didnt recall them and deliver on their promise, which i thought is kinda lame for a company of their size. In a way i think HP have lost alot of the respect they earnt back in the day with their scanners and such...

[poison]

http://www.pcworld.com/news/article/0,aid,110775,00.asp

there is a review here

[whoster69]

http://www.pcworld.com/news/article/0,aid,110775,00.asp

there is a review here

Thanks for the info Poison! Has anyone else seen reviews of this drive yet?

[Roy2001]

Hope we can update 105 to 106 through firmware flash. Anything is possible, right?

[Faustus]

Saw this drive at a local Best Buy yesterday, makes me wonder if the only reason they went plus was go get into more OEM units and into Bestbuys. Was about $296ish.