Pioneer's DVR-A04 makes no major technological leaps over its predecessor, the DVR-A03. But it does feature a few improvements: It ups the DVD-ROM read speed from 4X to 6X, and ups CD-ROM read speed from 16X to 24X.

The drive's DVD write speeds remain unchanged, however, putting it behind the Sony and HP DVD+RW drives in this regard. The Pioneer drive burns DVD-R at 2X--not too far off from the others' 2.4X for DVD+R--but it writes to DVD-RW at only 1X (1.38MBps). A significant speed difference showed up in the PC World Test Center's rewritable tests: It took the Pioneer 8 minutes, 33 seconds to back up 500MB of data--60 percent longer than the HP drive's time (not including format times). In addition, the drive's CD-R/RW speeds are rated significantly slower than those of the HP DVD Writer Dvd200i: 8X/4X versus 12X/10X.

Drive installation was smooth (the jumper settings on the rear of the drive even have an easy-grip pull tab), and the included documentation was adequate. The drive ships with Veritas RecordNow DX and DLA 3.25, Sonic's MyDVD 3.0 DVD authoring software, and CyberLink's PowerDVD XP 4.0. However, unlike the HP and Sony drives, the Pioneer drive includes no backup utility.

The DVR-A04 took nearly an hour and a half to complete a full format on a 4.7GB DVD-RW disc. The DVR-A04 (like other DVD-RW drives) supports faster formats, but the included Veritas DLA 3.25 software can only perform a full format--hence the lengthy format time.

Industry experts say that DVD-R discs are more compatible with the existing installed base of DVD-ROM drives and DVD players than DVD+R discs are, so you're probably a bit more likely to be able to burn a video DVD that will work with an older DVD player. Another advantage for the format is the lower cost of media. At this time, DVD-RW and DVD-R media are priced by manufacturers similarly to DVD+RW and DVD+R media; however, -RW and -R media can typically be found well below the manufacturers' prices when purchased in bulk.

UPSHOT: The least-expensive DVD we've seen, this drive produces video DVDs with the greatest degree of compatibility with DVD-ROM drives and players; but its -RW performance is slow, especially when you consider its format times.

SUMMARY

Pioneer DVR-A04 2X DVD-R, 1X DVD-RW, 8X CD-R, and 4X CD-RW record speeds; Veritas RecordNow DX 4.11 and DLA 3.25, Sonic MyDVD 3.0; one-year parts and labor warranty, toll-free support for 10.5 hours on weekdays. $340 800/421-1404 www.pioneerelectronics.com