Pioneer DVR-104/A04

[boss]

Does anybody know what the difference is between the pioneer dvr-104 and dvr-a04 drives? Are they just different versions of the same model? Also if i bought one of these drives from the u.s. would it work on my european p.c., would my only problem be just setting the drive to region 2 to play dvd's?

[SLK001]

The DVR-104 is the OEM version of the DVR-A04. Same exact hardware. The A04 may come with some useful software, but mine didn't. If I had to do it all over again, I would buy the DVR-104 (without the crap software).

[boss]

what does OEM mean?

[SLK001]

Original Equipment Manufacturer - This is the way Pioneer sells the units to Apple and Compaq to install in their systems. They usually ship in white boxes with absolutely no "pretty colored" pictures or text on them.

[AntnyMD]

The first time you attempt to play a DVD-Video in the DVR-104, it will ask you what region you want to set in the drive. Make sure you make the right choice the first time .. this decision gets hard-coded into the drive itself. Given that, your American purchase will work in your European PC.

[Anonymous65]

How does this region code work when burning a DVD? I assume it has no effect, and a burned DVD has a no-code or a general code that will make the DVD playable in any DVD player.

I have never put a DVD movie in the burner, and most likely will never do so.

[SLK001]

How does this region code work when burning a DVD?

It has no effect. This is something that is put on a DVD master to prevent playing in certain regions. If you don't play commercial DVD's in the A04, then setting the region is a "one-time" occurance.

[AntnyMD]

How does this region code work when burning a DVD? I assume it has no effect, and a burned DVD has a no-code or a general code that will make the DVD playable in any DVD player.

I have never put a DVD movie in the burner, and most likely will never do so.

If you only put blank DVDs into this drive, my guess is it will never ask you (but knowing how they want to protect DVD content, it will probably ask you). However, lets say you power up the drive for the first time, and put in a DVD blank and it doesnt ask you to permanently set the playback region for this drive. Then you proceed to author the blank DVD you just inserted as a DVD-Video. When the burn is finished, your disk gets mounted in the operating system. Your drive will detect theres a DVD-Video in the drive and it will ask you to set the playback region (even if the DVD you just authored is region-free, which you set in the authoring software). So my guess is theres no way around having to set a playback region for your burner. Now ... there are tools out there to change this back to the factory setting of "region not yet selected" but you use them at your own risk and they can damage your burner.

[Pinnacle-Pro 1 Man]

The A04 has a headphone jack the 104 doesn't..Buy the 104 like I did for $339 and let the foolish and insecure consumers buy the A04 wasting about 50 bucks for extra items one doesn't really need..
BTW, make sure you get a fedex tracking number by 5:00pm their time to assure that this hot DVD burner is on its way!! Otherwise cance it ASAP..there are thieves out there charging your credit card when the item is not in stock...

lol

[boss]

So if i bought the oem dvr-104 it would work? would i need to buy extra parts or cables i would have got with the ao4?

[boss]

Oops made a mistake there..but would the 104 come with all the cables and connections i need? and does it have the same software as the ao4? i dont want to buy all the software myself.

[paul_tp]

I just had my 104 in the post yesturday, what I got was

One CD with Nero 5.5 on it

One Pioneer 104 drive

And thats it, but what else do you need? the only thing that I can think is an IDE cable, but I all ready had one.

Paul

[kv5]

Got the 104 this morning ( UK Time ) - Originaly had the A03 (It Broke ! ) - Anyway's...... the 104 I purchased from EBuyer.com came with Nero..... ( No IDE Cable / Mounting Screws ) But in all honesty, what else do you need....

Oh..... And the 104 does'nt have "PIONEER" printed on the front.

Paul ( UK )

[boss]

I think i'll buy the 104.... . Can anyone tell me where i can buy cheap branded and unbranded dvd-r and dvd-rw's on the internet? Where i live dvd-r's cost €12 each ($10)!

[agzz]

search pricewatch.com for dvd-r media.

[RevSchafer]

I purchased the 104 model and it came with an ATA-100 compatible IDE cable (80 strand cable), mounting screws, the drive itself and a fully functional copy of Cyberlink's PowerDirector Pro v2.0, which is a non-linear video editing package plus a VCD/SVCD/DVD mastering package. This is the nicest and easiest video editing software that I have used. Adobe Premiere is more powerful, but not nearly as user friendly.

I already had a copy of the latest version of Nero which I got off of ebay dirt cheap (something like $15), and it works perfectly with the drive.