2002
Editor's note: Sony has released a new version of this drive, the DRU-510A. To read our review of the the DRU-510A, click here. Out of the box, the $350 Sony DRU-500A looks sleek. Like most burners, it comes with an IDE cable, mounting screws, illustrated hardware and software quick-start guides, one 2.4X DVD+RW, and a software CD. You can get the burner up and running within minutes, provided you possess a basic understanding of your computer's innards and know how to use a Phillips screwdriver. If not, the CD contains an in-depth and helpful electronic user guide with step-by-step instructions. On the back of the drive, you'll find IDE, analog audio, and power connectors as well as jumper settings.
Because the DRU-500A supports all four recordable formats, you won't have to choose one DVD-recording format over another. Instead, simply select the media most compatible with your existing DVD player and DVD-ROM drive, then start recording. Alas, while the drive works with PCs running Windows 98 SE, 2000, Me, and XP, it's not Mac compatible.
Not only does the DRU-500A support all four recordable formats, but it also does its job with amazing speed. It writes DVD-RW media at 2X and DVD-R at 4X, double the current speed of other products on the market. The DRU-500A's DVD+R/DVD+RW media speed remains at the industry-standard 2.4X; however, you can now download a free upgrade from Sony's Web site that will enable the drive to write DVD+R media at 4X. The drive also burns CD-Rs at 24X and CD-RWs at 10X. To prevent buffer-underrun errors, it features an 8MB buffer memory and Power-Burn technology, which matches the burning speed with the amount of data in the buffer.
 RecordNow. |
 MusicMatch Jukebox. |
 MyDVD. |
In packet-writing tests, the DRU-500A once again rocked the chart. It recorded 500MB to DVD+RW in only 2 minutes, 34 seconds--more than twice the speed of the HP. Unfortunately, Sony failed to provide us with 2X DVD-RW media in time for testing, but as soon as we get some, we'll be sure to update this review.
| Movie write tests Rate, in megabytes per second, at which a movie is written to write-once media (longer bars indicate better performance) | ||||||||
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The DRU-500A also did very well with CDs. It burned a 43-minute audio CD in only 3 minutes, 2 seconds and recorded 400MB to a CD-RW in only 5 minutes, 29 seconds--comparable scores to those of most current, high-speed CD burners.
| Write tests Time, in minutes, to complete tasks (shorter bars indicate better performance)
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In read tests, however, the DRU-500A performed a little slower than the HP. It took 1 minute, 53 seconds and 3 minutes, 8 seconds to copy a 383MB file and 500MB folder back onto the hard drive, respectively.
| Read tests Time in minutes (shorter bars indicate better performance)
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All write tests are run with both the drive's recommended media (submitted by the manufacturer) and with Verbatim media, rated at the drive's maximum speed.
Sony backs the DRU-500A with a standard, one-year limited warranty. Toll-free tech support is available Monday through Saturday from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. PT, and Sony's Web site features a useful support library for PC storage, including manuals, drivers, software patches, FAQs, and e-mail support.
 DRU-500A support page. |