Upcoming Sony DRU-700 DVD+R9

Anybody see this yet?

Sony DRU-700 (double layer) photo appeared
Tuesday, 24 February 2004

French website www.clubic.com has posted information about the upcoming dual layer recorder by Sony, the DRU-700. Sony has chosen to support the Philips proposal for dual layer ercording (DVD+R9) allowing storing of up to 8.5GB of data on a blank DVD.
The DRU-700A will record on DVD+R9 at 2.4x. Single layer DVD+R will be burned at 8x and DVD+RW at 4x. In the CD part, the drive will be a 40x/24x/40x.

Available by May for 199 Euros, the retail package will also include Nero Suite v6. An external USB 2.0 model (DRX-700UL) is also expected for 299 Euros.

It's in french but here it is: http://www.clubic.com/n/n10977.html

 

Yeah, however Philips and Pioneer are both saying that their current newer drives will be able to burn DVD+R 9 at 2.4x with only a firmware upgrade.

 

I've got the Sony dru-500a, do you think Sony will ever come out with firmware that supports 8x writing on this drive or is the hardware incompatible? I've heard great things about the Pioneer drives on this forum but unfortunately I didn't come across this site until after I bought the drive. I can't complain though because I've never had a problem with the drive and with latest firmware 4x burning at 15 minutes really isn't very long compared to what it used to be.

 

But how much will the firmware update cost? I think that is the relevant question. If it is not too much ($25)I think it might be worth it. If it is more than that I could not see upgrading an old drive, especially if it is out of warranty. I certainly do not think that they will give it away for free. Benq is already advertising a 16X DVD recorder that burns dual layer at 2.4x that will be out soon.

 

I cant see them charging money for a firmware up-date. Usually they are free.

 

There will be no firmware upgrades for dual layer burning. Even if it would be possible technically it won't happen for economical reasons, ie. the manufacturers want to sell you a new drive not release a free firmware upgrade to you.

 

Thats incorrect. Philips have already announced that there WILL be a firmware upgrade for current +/- writers to enable 2.4x DVD+R9 burning. If pioneer dont release an official one there will be a hacked one.

 

Giving the firmware updates away free would definitely be nice. I just can't see the manufacturers doing this because it seems likely it would hurt the sales of the new burners. If Phillips is going to give their firmware update for free then I think that is wonderful. I take the "I will believe it when I see it" approach.

 

That is incorrect. What was in the news for a couple of days ago was that current Philips chipset supports DL DVD+R and that "system makers can download the firmware to upgrade existing DVD+RW chips from supporting 4.7GB to 8.5GB": http://www.cdfreaks.com/news/9152
There have been no official words confirming that consumers will be able to upgrade any drives for free and changes might be needed of some other components: http://www.cdfreaks.com/news/8471
For Pioneer see http://www.doom9.org/ news 2/5: "And Pioneer said that neither the A06 nor A07 could be upgraded to dual layer burning capabilities".

And the only chance that someone will be able to "hack" a firmware to enable a single layer writer to write dual layer discs is if one company release an exact same burner in with no hardware changes in a dual layer version. So I think you all can forget about upgrading your old writer to dual layer technology because the chances that it will happen is about zero I'm afraid.

 

I was also asking if there was a possibility of there ever being a firmware update making a sony dru-500a write at 8x, by sony or a hacked version. I understand that they may not release firmware to alow writing to dual layer disks but it's possible they may allow 8x writing. when i got my drive it only burned dvd-r at 2x and with an update it burnes at 4x. The way I see it is that these companies sell media as well as drives and as dvd's are getting cheaper thay can sell faster media at higher prices.

 

You need to get your facts right mate. Pioneer have actually demonstrated DVD+R9 using a Pioneer DVR106 with a frimware upgrade at the Vegas COnference in 2004. Also, Philips say this:

 

I have my facts right, you obviously don't because that was only info/a rumour that showed up at a Japanese website. It has never been confirmed officially by Pioneer and they have later told the German magazine C't that there in fact was hardware modifications too. Probably they just spread the rumour to be able to sell their stock of old DVR-106s to stupid consumers who believe everything they read on Internet... Either way forget that you will ever see a such firmware.

For chipsets used by drive makers yes but not for end users to be able to upgrade their complete drives. But yes if some company release an exact same drive in dual layer version it would be possible (in theory) to update only the firmware to get dual layer support.

 

I just came across this today but it is dated November so we'll just have to wait and see.

Your 8x DVD+R drive might write dual layer discs
Posted by Jan Willem on 13 November 2003 - 16:24 - Source: Twice.com


One of the most exciting technologies in the optical storage industry is at currently the dual layer disc. Both the DVD+RW Alliance and Pioneer have announced their technologies, but the DVD+RW Alliance also announced real products based on this format. In an article on Twice.com we can read that both HP and Philips will be the first to feature dual layer DVD+R drives, HP gets the honour to introduce the external one, Philips will be the first introducing an internal dual layer drive.

Besides this information, and the information that the drives will probably hit the market in the first half of 2004 in the U.S., there is also an intresting part of the article that talks about the compatibililty with existing DVD recorders, according to the article it's not totally unlikely that current 8x DVD+R will be able to write to the dual layer discs.


Existing DVD+R recorders won't write to either layer of the new dual-layer discs, but Driessen help out the hope for possible software upgrades, possibly combined with an IC change, to make it possible for current 8x DVD+R recording drives to write to both layers. The lasers of recorders with slower writing speeds lack the intensity to write to the semitransparent top layer or to the lower layer, Driessen said.

Once Philips and partner Mitsubishi Kagaku Media finalize the spec, they'll know whether an upgrade to existing 8x recorders is possible, he noted.

 

I have it from word of mouth that at the conference show, Pioneer told spectators that it was a firmware modified DVR106 only, not any hardware modification. Also, i've been told that Pioneer did a whoopsie by letting that one out.

Thanks for the information Nuke, it looks semi-promising...

 

so.. there is DVD+R9 ..... will there be DVD-R9 ?

 

To Nuke:

Just was cruising through the posts and saw your question about an 8x firmware upgrade for the 500a.
Unfortunately I don't think it'll ever happen as the hardware in that drive is pretty much uncompatible for 8x burning.

I'm currently tryin to hack up a firmware to enable the 510a to 8x, even though it's impossible, and I've just about given up in digust. The main problem is stability, the drive is basically burning without a safety net and the burns are pretty poor.

Ah, but I'm rambling again. Just thought I'd let you know.

Cheers

 

Thanks for the reply Damon1, I guess I will probably just get a new drive if I want faster burn speeds. I saw ads in today's paper for 8x dvd burners for half the price I paid for mine a year ago. Besides, dual layer burners have caught my eye and will pobably go with one of those on my next purchase.