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  1. My current understanding is that the DRU500a DOES NOT officially support -R 4x media, ONLY +R. I'm curious as to what the difference between 1.0g and 2.0e is, as 1.0g supposedly allows +R burning, and that's what 2.0e indicates as well.

    I am staying at 1.0f for now - I'd like to try some 4x media (-/+R) to see what 1.0f does on my system.
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  2. Originally Posted by Coop
    My current understanding is that the DRU500a DOES NOT officially support -R 4x media, ONLY +R. I'm curious as to what the difference between 1.0g and 2.0e is, as 1.0g supposedly allows +R burning, and that's what 2.0e indicates as well.
    That's incorrect. The 500a ALWAYS supported -R at 4x, right out of the box. Maybe that's why no firmware updates mentioned it. How WELL it supported 4x might be up for discussion, but the official claim existed from the beginning.
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  3. Originally Posted by Coop
    My current understanding is that the DRU500a DOES NOT officially support -R 4x media, ONLY +R. I'm curious as to what the difference between 1.0g and 2.0e is, as 1.0g supposedly allows +R burning, and that's what 2.0e indicates as well.

    I am staying at 1.0f for now - I'd like to try some 4x media (-/+R) to see what 1.0f does on my system.
    you're wrong, it supports 4x dvd-r since day #1. look at the box.
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  4. I stand corrected.

    Not sure how I missed it, but I was told it didn't via online chat with a rep through Sony's site. Here's the transcript:

    03/05/2003 02:04:51PM Message Sent CUS "Will the DRU500a burn -R media at 4x or is it limited to +R media only for 4x burning?"
    03/05/2003 02:04:57PM Message Sent CSR "Hello, my name is Cheryl. May I have your full name and phone number please?"
    03/05/2003 02:06:50PM Message Sent CUS "Are you there?"
    03/05/2003 02:07:00PM Message Sent CSR "No, it will not record to -R media at 4x."
    03/05/2003 02:08:19PM Message Sent CUS "is firmware 1.0g required for +R 4x burning?"
    03/05/2003 02:08:45PM Message Sent CSR "Yes."
    03/05/2003 02:08:56PM Message Sent CUS "ok. That's all I needed to know"
    03/05/2003 02:08:58PM Message Sent CUS "thank you"
    03/05/2003 02:10:00PM Message Sent CSR "Thank you for using the Sony Technical Support chat service. In a few minutes, a transcript of your chat session will be emailed to the address that you provided at the time of login. Have a nice day."
    03/05/2003 02:10:06PM Leave Session CSR (Cheryl)
    03/05/2003 02:10:06PM Leave Session CUS
    03/05/2003 02:10:06PM Session Ended
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  5. Like I said, the box says it's supported. We all know a lot of those reps speak nonsense. It is supported and advertised as such, whether it really works or not it's a whole different thing.
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  6. Hey fellas, and MR BASS

    I've gone back to the "F" firmware for some time now, because like you, I've bought the Ritek 4x -R media and was pissed when I noticed it just burning at 2x (with the G firmware). It's been burning at 4x ever since. Happy with that. I've not seen 4x +R media yet out there. I just by 2x +R at Sams for backup when I run out of my 4x stuff. Does anyone know where you can fiind 4x +R?

    TeFLoN
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  7. a) 1.0d firmware required to burn 4X DVD-R Ritek G04s at 4X. (since doing this I think I burned 8 to 10 dvd-rs and finally went to bed around 3am or so...just woke up it's 9:30am)
    b) 1.0f firmware or higher to burn 1X DVD-R Ritek G03s at 2X. So for 2X you could use the latest 2.0e.

    The whole point about this thread was a)

    About sex...well I already got it around 1am from the wife ....but had to make it quick to get back to my dvd burning. And no they weren't $10/pop for 4X media. They were $170 and $175 for the two 100 packs. Tax and shipping made them nearly $2/pop.
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  8. Originally Posted by defense
    mrbass & bob w, I get a kick out of these posts. Talk about worrying about stuff that doesn't deserve time wasted worrying about...this takes the cake. Here's my suggestion to you both.

    Try and have a LITTLE bit of patience. Go out and buy some 2x media and KEEP those 4x disks around...they won't be evaporating any time soon..nor will they expire. Sony sooner or later WILL come out with a firmware revision that will continuously burn at 4x. I personally ONLY burn at 2x, and refuse to burn at 4x, but that's me.

    The Sony burners are clearly the best in terms of quality and accomlishing the job without erros, while the other things, such as burn speed should be far from an issue because it will soon be resolved.
    Hate to break it to ya, but circuit city's 30 day policy becomes 14 days with computer parts. Trust me i know.
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  9. Just upgraded to Firmware Version 2.0E

    No problems after upgrading, and I don't have 4x speed dvd+r so can't test it. But everything works fine as before.
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  10. Member
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    Originally Posted by mrbass
    a) 1.0d firmware required to burn 4X DVD-R Ritek G04s at 4X. (since doing this I think I burned 8 to 10 dvd-rs and finally went to bed around 3am or so...just woke up it's 9:30am)
    I've fought the Ritek G04 4x battle for a few weeks now with my 500AX. In retrospect, I should have purchased the Pioneer, but I was lured in my the dual-format issue. Anyway, after reading this thread I tried two things:

    1) Upgraded to the 2.0e firmware. Results: same as ever.
    2) Downgraded to 1.0d firmware just for the hell of it. Now burn Ritek G04 media at 4x, all the way through. Tested the discs, work perfectly.

    My DRU-500AX is installed (for now) as a slave to another DVD-ROM drive, with a very high quality ATA100 cable. I burned the 4x discs in PIO mode, forgetting to turn DMA back on after the firmware downgrade. Still burns at 4x, telling me it is COMPLETELY the fault of the firmware that people are having so much trouble.
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  11. Well back to firmware 1.0d on a Win2000 pro system with fresh install and now the 500A burns at 4x for 20% of the disc then drops back to 2x. WTF I friggin give up.
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  12. Update! My second batch of 4x media which I bought here http://store.yahoo.com/meritline/merexrit4xdv.html burns all the way at 4x. So it looks to me that firmware version 1.0d is the only one that allows 4x DVD-R burning. I have been through all the versions.
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  13. Hi folks,

    Just downloaded the new Firmware 2.0e for the Sony DRU-500AX; worked beautifully; Ritek, Pioneer -r x4 no problems. Take care.

    Regards,
    Joe.
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  14. Ok... quick question... Sorry I didn't read the whole thread, so if I repeat a question, I apologize.

    Anyway, aren't the DRU-500AX's supposed to burn at 4x out of the box? If so, why is there a firmware upgrade for it then??

    I believe that I have burned at 4x right out of the box. I was using IC 7, so I don't think it actually shows you the write speed, but I burned a whole DVD in about 15 minutes, copared to almost 45 minutes or so using 1x discs. I have also tested 2x DVD-R's and also believe that it burned fine.

    I am going to check later tonight. I have heard that a lot of people can't burn at 4x with the firmware or not. I hope mine works ok.
    -- CMSurfer --
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  15. cmsurfer...just so you don't have to read thru the whole thread...

    this thread is mainly about Ritek G04s burning at 4X with sony dru500a/ax burners. Maybe you can burn 4X with the new firmware 2.0e with expensive verbatim or pioneer media but it's like $3 or $5/pop. Riteks are high quality cheap media which most end up buying. $180 for 100 pack at rima.com now I think.

    The only firmware which will allow you to burn 4X with Ritek 4X media is 1.0d which can be downloaded (so someone won't ask again) from www.sonydru500a.com
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  16. Thanks for the summary. I bought my burner at a computer show and out of the box using a demo pack of DVD-R's from http://www.blank-cd-cdr.com/. The pack came with 2 "Ritek DVD-R 4.7GB 4X DVD Media." It burned great at 4x.


    Unless the Ritek G04s are a different than what I have, I stand mistaken. The Riteks I have tried that work well at 4x are $50 for 25. Not too bad I guess. I haven't spent that much on DVD-R's yet. I'm still playing around trying to find which ones works best. So far, I have yet to find on either 1x, 2x, or 4x that haven't worked...

    Thanks,
    -- CMSurfer --
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  17. What is realy interesting, and it is just proving that A and AX is same drive, is that even AX owners downgraded with success to lower versions of firmware.
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  18. Ritek G04 burn at 4x here on firmware 1.0d, 1.0f and 1.0g with DRU-500A.

    Have not tested v2 firmware with them, as I have none left.
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  19. Member SHS's Avatar
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    Well ask me I'm petty sure this is media problem I seems recall the old with CDR 4x burner having the same problem with CDR media like all thing it just matter of time and ask me it most both partys that problem in stade point at each they be working on the root of problem so user will be happy.
    I use Memorex DVD disk so what I don't get 4x all I care about is dosen't make coaster I be be happy hehehe.
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  20. Member
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    Originally Posted by mrbass
    this thread is mainly about Ritek G04s burning at 4X with sony dru500a/ax burners. Maybe you can burn 4X with the new firmware 2.0e with expensive verbatim or pioneer media but it's like $3 or $5/pop. Riteks are high quality cheap media which most end up buying. $180 for 100 pack at rima.com now I think.
    Yes, and I can add that I did have success burning 4x DVD-R Pioneer and Verbatim media but was unable to burn the cheaper Ritek G04 at 4x all the way through prior to downgrading to 1.0d.
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  21. when you say burn the 4x with the older firmware, how well does it burn it? I ask this cause i think the sony doesnt believe this media is good enough to be burnt at 4x. Could you possibly post a nero DVDinfo transfer rate graph? And has anyone tried any other discs with the 2.0e firmware? I found that the 1.0g firmware made a MUCH better burn on the cheapo TDKG020000000 discs that you find under brands like princo 2x, Laser etc.... My experience with riteks has not been the greatest at all, no coasters, but my xbox had MAJOR problems reading one back which was burnt using the 1.0g firmware. All other ritek media ive tried hasnt really been that great.
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  22. Originally Posted by mrbass
    a) 1.0d firmware required to burn 4X DVD-R Ritek G04s at 4X. (since doing this I think I burned 8 to 10 dvd-rs and finally went to bed around 3am or so...just woke up it's 9:30am)
    b) 1.0f firmware or higher to burn 1X DVD-R Ritek G03s at 2X. So for 2X you could use the latest 2.0e.

    The whole point about this thread was a)

    About sex...well I already got it around 1am from the wife ....but had to make it quick to get back to my dvd burning. And no they weren't $10/pop for 4X media. They were $170 and $175 for the two 100 packs. Tax and shipping made them nearly $2/pop.
    I meant that if you're backing up legally owned DVDs, you're spending at least $10 on the originals, plus the burner & blanks. Seeing as how you're already down a few grand for all this, what's an extra half buck per blank disc? And we ARE all using this stuff legally, right?
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  23. I just fix my Sony DRU500AX I bought a mouse wheel and a mouse to help speed up burning disc at 4X. Only thing if you do not feed the mouse the DR500AX can crash if it drop's to 2X. Do not put a mouse in your PC if you do not want mice dropping's.
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  24. PEOPLE, I go INSANE when I see people saying that have bought tons of 4x DVD-Rs and they donīt burn at that speed with SONY! Why DONīT YOU ALL BY 4-5 DVD-Rs AND TEST THEM FIRST AND THEN BUY high quantities?!?!?!?! DUUHHHHHHH

    By the way, IS IT VERY DIFFICULT to imagine that SONY donīt enable 4x writing in some DVD-R media because it doesnīt pass the tests?! You think that recording at 4x in (ALL) media is good?!

    I burn about 200 DVDs / Week in 2 SONY DRU-500A AND 2 PIONEER A05 for the company I work and I have to test them - Most media burn in A05 at 4x (media that SONY only allow to burn at 2x) have huge errors!!!

    I donīt understand you people - You throw stones at SONY that built a solid rock burner (and so has Pioneer! A05 is also very good!) because THEY MAKE TESTS AND THEY DONīT THINK ITīS RELIABLE TO BURN ON THOSE MEDIA!!!

    JUST TO SEE: I had at home a ASUS 40x CD Recorder (now I have a DRU500A) and I bought 20 CD-Rs 48x. When I burn those CDs, ASUS (and my cousinīs 40x Plextor) said that they are burning at 40x but THEY TAKE 32x TIME. WITHOUT ANY FIRMWARE upgrade, 1-2 months later other 20 CD-Rs (of the same brand at 40x) WOULD BURN REALLY at 40x. Whatīs the catch?!

    Answer: TODAYīs burners TEST media before they burn them AND THOSE THAT donīt pass the tests WONīT BURN at maximum speed. SONYīs tests ARE different of PIONEERīs tests and so on. CD-R / DVD-R BRANDS MAKE 2x / 4x MEDIA which is EASY, BUT THAT DOESNīT MEAN THAT THEY CAN BE BURN AT THOSE SPEEDS WITHOUT ERRORS by several burners! WITH THE DEMAND AND RUSH, they release 4x media but the quality is less good - some months later they TUNE their production procedure and make good media!

    Itīs like nvidia: they produce cards with faster results in 3DMark because they "tune" Detonator drivers to use only a few features so those card get higher scores BUT FREAKS ONLY SEE NUMBERS, not quality! (I love nVIDIA cards and I have one, but I have a brain and I know why some NV cards run so fast in tests and so slow in REAL games...)

    PS: Universal 4x DVD-Rs DO BURN at 4x in my 2.0e DRU500A 8)

    Finished - sorry for this lecture...
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  25. I dont understand why a lot of people are having problems burning at 4X on 4X-Ritek media.

    I got 4X Ritek media last month. Forgot which site i ordered from ( i can dig-up the site name if some one wants). But the site clearly said it is 4X compatible. I paid $90 for 50 DVD-Rs.

    And my Sony DRU500A was at Version 1G and always burned at 4X. Today I upgraded to 2E and it still burns at 4X. I dont have 4X DVD+R to test.

    Here are the details when I was on 1G.

    To burn a 4.3GB Movie or Data, it takes about:

    16 minutes on Ritek 4X media. Nero says 4X speed

    30+ minutes on Apple 2X media. Nero says 2X speed

    24 minutes on Sony DVD+RW media. Nero says 2.4X speed

    60 minutes on Sony DVD-RW media. Nero says 1X speed.

    Dont you all have similar results?

    As you can see I hate the DVD-RW media.
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  26. vv, at which website did you puchase 100 4X Ritek DVD-R's for $90?
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  27. Very good post mickboss. :thumbup:
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  28. ValamirCleaver, that was typo. I paid $90 for 50 DRV-Rs(4X sped).
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  29. vv: where did you order those?! Do they send to Portugal? Post the link please.

    I have very good results with DVD-R Princo 1x / Princo 2x (general use) / Universal 4x / TDK DVD+R / Sony DVD-+R
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  30. mickboss,

    I got them from Allmediaoutlet.com

    Here is the exact product I ordered. http://www.allmediaoutlet.com/P-DVD-R-4XRitek.htm

    I am not sure if they ship to Portugal.
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