Thoughts on the Pioneer 108 DVD burner

[Kaido]

Just got it in today (few days early...thanks Newegg!). Popped it in my box, turned it on...I didn't even get a "new hardware found" bubble. It just...installed (using Windows XP Pro). I checked in My Computer and it was there. Sweetness!

Note: Make sure to restart your computer after the initial "installation". I didn't at first, and burned DVDs were reading as audio CDs. After I restarted, everything worked fine.

So, after the nice installation, I tested out some discs with it. Made a DVD-R data disc with Nero (1.45gb of files), worked fine. Made a DVD+R video disc with DVD Decrypter, worked fine. Made an audio CD with iTunes, worked fine.

As for the video, I made a 1:1 backup copy of my Happy Gilmore DVD (the DVD itself is 4.19gb) using DVD Decrypter. I made an ISO of the video and then burned the ISO from my desktop to an 8x Ritek DVD+R disc (system specs = 7200rpm hdd, 512mb ddr333, and 2.8ghz p4, btw). Here's some log clippings:

I 15:19:00 Destination Device: [1:0:0] PIONEER DVD-RW DVR-108 1.10 (D: )
I 15:19:00 Destination Media Type: DVD+R (Disc ID: RITEK-R03-02) (Speeds: 4x, 6x, 8x, 12x)

I 15:26:58 Average Write Rate: 10,382 KB/s (7.5x) - Maximum Write Rate: 12,416 KB/s (9.0x)

The total time was a bit under 8 minutes. DVD works fine.

I like it. It's a lot quieter than my Lite-on burners. I didn't notice a huge speed increase, but that's probably because I'm only using media rated at 4x and 8x. I like the fact that can has a 16x DVD-ROM (most other DVD burners have slower readers). I'm also glad it will be able to burn at 16x and also burn dual-layer DVDs. All in all, props to Pioneer, it looks like it's going to be a great drive!

 

[Kaido]

Firmware 1.14 is available (I just installed it). Here's the firmware page. Here's a direct link to the 1.14 firmware for the 108 drive.

There's also a nifty utility for showing the firmware version and general information about your drives on that page, under Utilities. Here's a direct link to the device info program.

 

[Kaido]

bump for other people's comments on the drive

 

[Budman]

I love pioneer dvd burner drives, had the 106 now the 107 & if I upgrade it will be to a 108.


Rock solid drives. :thumbsup:

 

[KK]

My 108 is great. The ridata 8x dvd-r will burn at 12x and can be played on anything I have stuck them in. Total time at 12x is about a minute faster(6:55) than what you experienced.

 

[Imyourzero]

I know the Pioneer is supposed to be a very solid drive, but from what I've read the NEC is faster and supports bit-setting. With that in mind, is there any real reason to go for the Pioneer?

I love my Hitachi/LG 4040B but it's only a 4x and I've been feeling the need for speed...

 

[trexpesto]

My GF broke my NEC. I did love it too, pretty quiet except under heavy use. What one are you reefering to?

 

[Imyourzero]

Originally posted by: trexpesto
My GF broke my NEC. I did love it too, pretty quiet except under heavy use. What one are you reefering to?

NEC 3500A 16x DL

 

[Kaido]

Originally posted by: Imyourzero
I know the Pioneer is supposed to be a very solid drive, but from what I've read the NEC is faster and supports bit-setting. With that in mind, is there any real reason to go for the Pioneer?

I love my Hitachi/LG 4040B but it's only a 4x and I've been feeling the need for speed...

dunno. The Pioneer and the NEC were the only two drives I was looking at. All the other drives in my house are Lite-on, and I wanted to try something different. From what I've read, Pioneer has a track record of being very reliable. It was easy to install, it's quiet, the drive physically feels a lot more solid, and it burns well.


KK, DVD Decrypter saw my 8x +R Riteks as 12x max, but still only burned like 9x max at the peak. I dunno if it's a system problem (I need more ram maybe?) or what. Still, I can live with 8 minutes, that's plenty fast.

 

[caz67]

Pioneer make good drives.

 

[Nickrand]

Thats not the type of performance I'm seeing out of my 108. It takes me about 28-30 minutes to burn a dvd. I wonder if I have a setting off somewhere???

I'm using Nero 6.0 set to use maximum speed
and I'm using Ritek - Ridata 8x DVD-R

 

[Kaido]

Originally posted by: Nickrand
Thats not the type of performance I'm seeing out of my 108. It takes me about 28-30 minutes to burn a dvd. I wonder if I have a setting off somewhere???

I'm using Nero 6.0 set to use maximum speed
and I'm using Ritek - Ridata 8x DVD-R

ahhh yeah that sounds really off. even my 4x burner burned faster than that, iirc. what's your system specs?

 

[Lyfer]

Ordered mines weds night, should be here on monday/tuesday, I also got a 50k of lagacy DVD-r for $15 to go with it. Hope it works as good as my buddies NEC 3500A.

 

[Kaido]

Nice! Mine has been working great since I got it, no complaints yet.

 

[KK]

Originally posted by: Nickrand
Thats not the type of performance I'm seeing out of my 108. It takes me about 28-30 minutes to burn a dvd. I wonder if I have a setting off somewhere???

I'm using Nero 6.0 set to use maximum speed
and I'm using Ritek - Ridata 8x DVD-R

Make sure your jumper is correct for how you have it connected. I have a WD 200GB hard drive I put in an external usb case and the thing was slow as hell because I had the jumper as cable select instead of master, or vice versa, I can't remember.

KK

 

[Raspewtin]

Pioneer is a nice drive and makes good burns.

Here's a nice review of the Pioneer:

http://www.extrememhz.com/dvr108-p1.shtml

I went with NEC 3500A. ExtremeMhz has a good review of that one as well.

 

[Hanzou]

I also have the Pioneer 108 and it is great so far. Every DVD has buned perfectly at 4x whick takes a little under 15 minutes to burn. I know that the NEC and Pioneer use the same chipset so they are almost identical. One thing I heard is that the Pioneer seems to be more friendly with a wider range of media versus the NEC. One question I have is what exactly is bit setting as reffered to the NEC?

 

[Raspewtin]

Bit Setting means that DVD+R is seen as a regular DVD-ROM in drives (when it is turned on). Essentially it only increases compatibility and is mostly a non-issue nowadays. Re: the range of media, that is mainly in the firmware. With firmware revisions (and hacked firmware) you'll get better speeds/better burns with different media with both drives. Hacked firmware really has a big effect in this area.

They are not really identical drives though. 108 burns CD-Rs at a max 32 while the 3500a does at 48, and the 108 has a few advantages over the 3500 as well.