Pioneer DVR-A06, Sony DRU-510A, Toshiba SD-R5002 in Japan

[Kennyshin]

Pioneer DVR-A06 was first known to the public around March this year as the first DVD+R writer from Pioneer. It is now selling for US$200 in Tokyo, Japan.

http://www.watch.impress.co.jp/akiba/hotline/20030621/ni_i_dd.html





Melcoinc of Japan has introduced its own 4x DVD+RW model based on Sony's latest dual writer, DRU-510A, or its OEM version, DW-U14A. US$230 at PC Success.

http://buffalo.melcoinc.co.jp/products/catalog/item/d/dvm-4244fb/index.html





One of Toshiba's most popular DVD writer drives, Toshiba SD-R5002, is now for nearly US$100.

http://www.watch.impress.co.jp/akiba/hotline/20030621/ni_i_dd.html#dvdrwx2ts

[Phoenix '97]

Wow! I paid nearly 3 times that amount for my SD-R5002 back in December.

Oh well. I've recorded nearly 20 DVD-Rs with it during that time and it's still going strong.

[Bloody Aztec]

My Toshiba SD-R5002 was worth every penny!

[Kennyshin]

I also bought a few of them in March. One of them was for my current wife. I paid about US$180 per unit then.

[hoxlund]

gotta say the sony dru-510a is better than the new dual format pioneer 106, just judging from sony's expertise in the dual format market

this is pioneer's first entry into the dual format market, which is usually a testing field for the companies

plus the pioneer is only 2mb buffer, 16x cd-r, 10x cd-rw

the sony is faster all around, 8mb buffer, 24x cd-r, 16x cd-rw

[Kennyshin]

gotta say the sony dru-510a is better than the new dual format pioneer 106, just judging from sony's expertise in the dual format market

this is pioneer's first entry into the dual format market, which is usually a testing field for the companies

plus the pioneer is only 2mb buffer, 16x cd-r, 10x cd-rw

the sony is faster all around, 8mb buffer, 24x cd-r, 16x cd-rw

It's no comparison. 4x DVD+RW alone justifies the higher retail price. DVR-A06 with the added support of DVD+RW is Pioneer's desperate trying not to lose the market at once when the company wanted the whole market for years. Of course, Sony is ahead of Pioneer. Sony was also the first company in the world to release Blu-ray recorder and HDTV-ready camcorder using disc-type recordable media. I could get a Sony Centrino notebook for about US$1.4K but I didn't. I got a Sony DSC-F717 instead which can record video files at just about 320x240 resolution. Sony has been also preparing for slim-type DVD writers for its own VAIO notebooks.