In House Review - Sony DRU-700A Double Layer 8x DVD±RW

[Ian]

The wait is finally over. Today, we bring you an in depth look at Sony's new double layer DVD burner, the DRU-700A. This highly anticipated drive is one of the first to ship with support for the DVD+R DL format. With this new technology, users can fit up to 8.5GB of data onto a single disc! The DRU-700A also sports some pretty impressive specs, including 8x DVD±R and 4x DVD±RW writing speeds and a maximum DVD read speed of 12x. On top of that, the DRU-700A includes features like 40x CD reading and writing speeds, 24x rewriting speeds and support for Sony's Power-Burn technology.

In this review we'll take a look at some of the features found on the DRU-700A and see how it compares to some of the DVD±RW drives from the competition. Is support for the DVD+R DL format enough to put Sony's new drive on top? You'll have to read the review to find out.

[url=http://www.cdrlabs.com/reviews/index.php?reviewid=230]
Sony DRU-700A Double Layer 8x DVD±RW[/url]

I should also add that this is a review of the retail version of the DRU-700A. It's not a pre-production sample like some other places have reviewed. In any case, if you have any comments or questions about this review or the Sony DRU-700A, please post them in the forum using the link provided below.

[Ian]

This review should have been done earlier in the week, but my grandma is in the hospital. I'm still pretty busy with family stuff, but I'll try to answer your questions the best I can with the time I have.

[XXXXX]

Thanks for your review...but the biggest problem is the media cost for it, which I heard was $10-15/dual layer disc.

Also, you didn't talk about compatibility with TV Settop DVD movie players, as compared to commercial dual layer movies. If you don't have that capability, I don't see the value of this dual layer burner, other than a very expensive PC storage backup media. I don't see the point of these new dual layer burners with the excellent capabilities of the various DVD shrink programs.

BTW, I'll be glad when Bush is re-elected.

[BMR]

I like the part in your review where you say:

Since Sony's new drive is based on the Lite-On SOHW-832S.

and then in your conclusion you say:

Sony has obviously put a lot of effort into its new double layer DVD writer.

BMR

[Ian]

lol.. yeah, technically its a Lite-On/Sony design, but we all know who did most of the designing.

[dhc014]

Sony owns Liteon. Literally.

Sorry to hear about your grandpa, mine's in the hospital currently as well.

[code65536]

Sony owns Liteon. Literally.

Have they bought a majority holding in LiteOn?

[dolphinius_rex]

Sony owns Liteon. Literally.

Sorry to hear about your grandpa, mine's in the hospital currently as well.

Covert takeover? When did this become official?

[aviationwiz]

I could go back and list all my posts where I was joking about the "Sony takeover of Lite-On" and it looks like it might actually be true!

[dhc014]

It's not official AFAIK. And it would only be the optical storage (ODD) division, I believe.

[aviationwiz]

It's not official AFAIK. And it would only be the optical storage division, I believe.

Then how come you said it like you were 100% certain:

Sony owns Liteon. Literally.

[dhc014]

Because I am certain

[aviationwiz]

Because I am certain

Ah, OK, I was right Never thought that Sony would actually take over, own any part of Lite-On. Also, Official doesn't mean much in this buisness anyway *cough*kprobe*cough*

[dolphinius_rex]

I could go back and list all my posts where I was joking about the "Sony takeover of Lite-On" and it looks like it might actually be true!

You know, I was actually thinking about those posts when dhc014 posted that comment.

[XXXXX]

How come no one has commented on the compatibility of these dual layer burned DVD's with TV settop players? Are we all to assume that they are 100% compatible?

I'm also still not seeing the practicality of these dual layer drives when you factor in the enormous media expense, and the fact that the shrinking programs do such a good job putting on a single layer. Seems like that should have been addressed in the review somewhere.

I now use Slysoft's AnyDVD with CloneDVD2 & Nero to burn.

[Ian]

How come no one has commented on the compatibility of these dual layer burned DVD's with TV settop players? Are we all to assume that they are 100% compatible?

No. Do not assume that. Like DVD+R discs, they're not compatible with all set top players. Heck, not even all DVD writers can read them. Compatibility is improved with bitsetting though.

The review focused on the drive, not just the technology being used. If you want my thoughts on the technology in general, read this article:

http://www.cdrlabs.com/articles/index.php?articleid=30

[XXXXX]

OK, that's helpful....and thanks for this other link.

I don't see a clear warning even in this later article that there is a MAJOR DVD player incompatibility, which combined with the $5-15 price/disc (& limited availability) makes this a nearly worthless initial technology for the average consumer.

I still think that it is a relevant issue to also include it as 1-2 sentences in the Sony hardware review, since most people would read your review to get an opinion on buying it for practical use. I doubt most who read that review found with google will then come to this forum to see the compatibility problem, and media prices. Maybe this would be cutting off the hand that feeds you the equipment to test.

In any case, thank you very much for the time you took to do the reviews and write up the articles. Very interesting.

[code65536]

Because I am certain

I took your "literally" to mean "they officially bought them out and own a majority stake." :p Well, it sounds about right, with LiteOn now plastering Sony's name everywhere inside their products and even in their product names... but I ain't lettin' you slide on that technicality!

[jase]

No. Do not assume that. Like DVD+R discs, they're not compatible with all set top players. Heck, not even all DVD writers can read them. Compatibility is improved with bitsetting though.

Confused. This seems to imply that compatibility is similar to DVD+R single layer, which is generally acceptable. If that were the case, there'd be nothing much to worry about.

The crucial question is: if the discs are bit-set to DVD-ROM, are they compatible with more than 80% of DVD players out there? If not, that's a major problem for this new format.

[code65536]

Bitsetting wouldn't be necessary if people who designed the devices did a better job...

~ Scenario 1: hmm, the booktype of this disc is not recognized... let's panic and refuse to read the disc
~ Scenario 2: hmm, the booktype of this disc is not recognized... let's just pretend that it's some default (-ROM) and try reading it under that assumption and see what happens

Aside from the devices that specifically refuse to play +R by design, if more devices followed the 2nd approach instead of the 1st, I'd imagine that bitsetting wouldn't be as essential for compatibility.

[Ian]

The crucial question is: if the discs are bit-set to DVD-ROM, are they compatible with more than 80% of DVD players out there? If not, that's a major problem for this new format.

There really hasn't been enough tests done yet to determine this. As more media becomes more available, I'm sure we'll get a better idea of compatibility. Even then, not all drives can do this, so if compatibility is as big of an issue as it sounds, this will be an important feature.

[MediumRare]

Interesting review, Ian. I did notice one glitch- the image of the KProbe scan for the Memorex 4x DVD*R (supposedly RicojJPN) wasn't there- the one shown is the same as the 8x (CMC).
Any chance of doing some scans of DVD+RW's ?

Sony owns Liteon. Literally.

How does this figure with the partnership with JVC in producing DVD-ROM drives? Or does Sony own JVC too? (I always thought they were arch-rivals).

The crucial question is: if the discs are bit-set to DVD-ROM, are they compatible with more than 80% of DVD players out there? If not, that's a major problem for this new format.

The c't results showed that stand-alone DVD-Players did better than computer drives (with bit-setting)- over 90% of the drives they used were able to read the DL's.

G

[TheCDBurner]

I think ALL DL drives need a book-type setting feature, otherwise those discs are basically worthless. I'll wait for the 2510 & Herrie (or I could just convert my 2500, but, nah).

Edit: DL burn quality looks pretty good, not so great on normal DVD's, though. Go Plextor & Nec

Odd how the Verbatiums do fine right up till the end, then the errors skyrocket. Guess this is mostly like my Optorite DD0401 burner: a 4x burner.

Personally, I'd avoid this since it's a Lite-On drive - although the CD burners (and DVD readers!) are some of the best, from what I've seen first of their DVD burners, well my POS Optorite can do better, and that is NOT saying much. But maybe they've improved (?). At least this is a great drive for DL-only burning.

Since this drive does support bit-setting, I'd be curious how set-top DVD players work with those discs (especially Lite-On LVD-2010 ).

[Ian]

Interesting review, Ian. I did notice one glitch- the image of the KProbe scan for the Memorex 4x DVD*R (supposedly RicojJPN) wasn't there- the one shown is the same as the 8x (CMC).
Any chance of doing some scans of DVD+RW's ?

Pics are fixed. I'll see what I can do about some RW scans.

[code65536]

How does this figure with the partnership with JVC in producing DVD-ROM drives? Or does Sony own JVC too? (I always thought they were arch-rivals).

Well, even as we speak, the JLMS XJ-HD166S is being retired in favor of the new SOHD-167T...