Sony DRU-500A

• Reviewed by: XweAponX

  Strengths: Works VERY well with just about all DVD Writing programs and I use this device to back up my DATA: And with NERO, ALL DVD content plays on MOST DVD players. Burns considerably better with DVD+R Media.

  Weaknesses: NONE- A very good machine

  Overall: Anyone who states that this unit is weak, probably does NOT know how to operate DVD Recording devices- And I would wager money on the fact that they do NOT have their computer system set up correctly: I would hate to see their systems, and the fact that they are only getting 2 gig burns proves that something is VERY wrong with their system. I have this unit installed on an Athlon XP 2400+ on an MSI KTV4 Motherboard with 768 333-DDR Ram. Maybe once or twice I get a buffer underrrun when Burning a DVD, but then again I am also running several programs at once. ALL of the movies I have backed up play beautifully on ALL DVD players I have played them on.. And this device is CRUCUAL to the backing up of my Music. I can make very large Cakewalk Bundles and store them ALL on ONE DVD. As I said: This unit burns DVD+R's a little bit better than -R's however, it handles -R's very well. If you 1) Keep your ASLP layer up to date... 2) Keep the FIRMWARE revisions Upto date, and finally 3) DO NOT USE cheap MEDIA: CHEAP MEDIA WILL make Coasters... If you buy a stack of 50 Cheap DVD-R's one out of every THREE has a BAD surface- I am talking about the special stacks they sell at places such as PC club. Also, the media is NOT 4X. I use Memorex 4x and ONLY memorex 4x +R media, I do not CHANGE. A DVD writer unit is the same as a car: If you run your car on a specific gasoline, your vehicle gets used to it: So I always buy the same DVD+R batches, and I have very little problems with this unit, and most problems I DO have, are problems that I have caused, because maybe I messed with the ASPI layer. It is critical that you use the most recent ASPI layer you can find, and that you also use ForceASPI to install it. I avoid certain programs that "take over the recording devices" for Windows XP- Suck as Roxio: Do NOT install Roxio Drag to Disk, it will RUIN your ASPI layer. The gentleman who was complaining how much of a waste of money his device is... I'll give him 50 for it flat out... I would LOVEW to have two of these things, I burn a LOT of DVD's I must have over a thousand burnt from this unit alone. Previous to This unit, I bought a Pioneer DVR-AO5: And THAT unit was what I consider worthless: Oh yes, it DID burn DVD's and yes, they DID play- On my machine, IN the unit that burned them, but in other computers, and in DVD players, the DVD-R Media did NOT read. I burnt 10 DVD's out of a pack of 10- and I got 10 coasters. That is what decided me on the Sony, and it's capacity to burn BOTH +R and -R And I have been VERY happy with this ever since.

• Reviewed by: TOPTECH

  Strengths: BURNS AT 4X NOW. NO COASTERS YET.

  Weaknesses: ONLY THE SOFTWARE BUNDLE.

  Overall: I BUILD AND REPAIR COMPUTERS DAILY. PROGRAM ALSO. THIS DRIVE IS THE BEST ON THE MARKET. I HAVE TESTED IT SEVERAL TIMES. IT HAS NOT FAILED YET! FIRMWARE UPGRADES ARE EASY TO INSTALL. THIS DRIVE DOES WHAT IT IS ADVERTISED TO DO. I JUST BROUGHT ANOTHER ONE, I RECOMMENDED IT TO MY CUSTOMERS. SONY ONLY NEED TO IMPROVE THE WEB SUPPORT PAGE.

• Reviewed by: TxCracker

  Strengths: Burns all formats, very dependable, once you learn what you're trying to do.

  Weaknesses: The only weakness that stands out is the inexperience of the user.

  Overall: I purchased my machine mainly for transforming DivX and mpeg files into DVD movies. At first I had many problems and made several coasters. Like most people, I blamed it on the unit and did my share of cussing, but after doing some real research at DVD-R helpsites I learned that the process is much more complicated than just opening a file with Nero and clicking "burn". There is no one burning program that performs all the tasks you need done before creating a decent-quality DVD movie that you won't mind watching on a widescreen television monitor. Multiple programs are mandantory and you must have the patience to learn how to do it right. I now make a DVD almost every day, and I can't remember the last time I created a coaster. I consider my DRU500A a High-Quality piece of equipment and well worth every penny it cost me to buy it. Now I just wish the price of DVD+R media would go down! P.S. I use Verbatim DVD+R media. It's recommended by Sony, and reasonably priced, compared to the rest, if you buy the 50-pack. I found them at Best Buy.

• Reviewed by: joan199

  Strengths: Variable ability for media

  Weaknesses: 100% unreliable. It took MANY phone calls after it stopped working to get them to issue an RMA. They "repaired" it and sent it back -- it failed after four days.

  Overall: I cannot believe how difficult it is to get support help from Sony. Long waits on hold and difficult to convince them that there's a problem. At the moment this drive is "toast" again and has cost $$ in destroyed "coasters".

• Reviewed by: tnanney

  Strengths: False Advertising

  Weaknesses: Just about everything

  Overall: I had to delete half the software on my computer to get the drive to work. Then the tech people told me I should only expect to get about 2 gig per disk. The tech support websites are a joke. Broken links and worse. DO NOT BUY THIS PRODUCT!!!