What's in the box?:
- Pioneer DVR-R100 16x DVD±RW Drive
- Software Installation CD
- Operating Instructions
- Drive Installation In An Instant
- Mounting Screws
- Warranty Information
Physical Features:
The drive Pioneer sent us for this review was manufactured in August of 2005 and came preloaded with firmware 1.11. For this review we used firmware version 1.22. As we were finishing up our review, Pioneer released a new firmware update, version 1.37.
While Pioneer has given it a new name, the DVR-R100 is simply a DVR-110D, packaged in a retail box. Sporting a more traditional look, the DVR-R100 is not nearly as eye-catching as the DVR-A10XL. As you can see, there really aren't a lot of logos either. The only logos present are those showing support for DVD-R/RW, DVD+ReWritable and Ultra Speed CD-RW media.
Below the tray you can see the DVR-R100's single LED. This "BUSY" indicator lights up green whenever the drive is reading or writing.
The rear of the DVR-R100 looks very similar to Pioneer's other DVD writers. By looking at the picture below you can see the drive's IDE interface, power connector and analog audio output connector.
Starting from the left of the IDE connection you'll see the jumper switch for master, slave and cable select. By default the drive's jumper comes set to master. Next to the jumper block is the analog audio connector. Contrary to popular belief, the connector on the far left is used for diagnostics, not audio.
Technical Specs:
Most of the specs below have been taken from Pioneer's website and the manual that came with the drive.
| Pioneer DVR-R100 16x DVD±RW | |
| CD Write Speeds | 40x (CAV) 32x, 24x (Z-CLV) 16x, 10x, 4x (CLV) |
| CD Rewrite Speeds | 32x, 24x, 20x (Z-CLV) 16x, 10x, 4x (CLV) |
| DVD+R Write Speeds | 16x (CAV) 12x, 8x (Z-CLV) 6x, 4x, 2.4x (CLV) |
| DVD+RW Write Speeds | 8x (Z-CLV) 6x, 4x, 2.4x (CLV) |
| DVD-R Write Speeds | 16x (CAV) 12x, 8x (Z-CLV) 6x, 4x, 2x, 1x (CLV) |
| DVD-RW Write Speeds | 6x, 4x, 2x, 1x (CLV) |
| DVD+R DL Write Speeds | 8x (Z-CLV) 6x, 4x, 2.4x (CLV) |
| DVD-R DL Write Speeds | 8x (Z-CLV) 6x, 4x, 2x (CLV) |
| CD Read Speeds | 40x Max (CD-ROM/CD-R) 32x Max (CD-RW) |
| DAE Speed | 40x Max |
| DVD Read Speeds | 16x Max (DVD-ROM Single Layer) 12x Max (DVD-ROM Dual Layer) 12x Max (DVD±R) 8x Max (DVD±RW) 8x Max (DVD±R DL) 5x Max (DVD-Video) 2x (DVD-RAM) |
| Buffer Size | 2MB |
| Access Times |
120 ms (CD-ROM) 130 ms (DVD-ROM) |
| CD Formats | CD-ROM CD-ROM XA CD-DA CD-Extra CD-Plus Photo CD Video CD CD-Text CD-R CD-RW |
| DVD Formats | DVD-ROM DVD+R/RW DVD-R/RW DVD+R DL DVD-R DL DVD-RAM |
More Features:
By looking at the picture below, you can see that Pioneer's new DVD writer is identified as a "PIONEER DVD-RW DVR-110D".
The Nero screenshot also shows that the DVR-R100 has a maximum CD writing speed of 40x and a 2000KB buffer. This buffer is also backed up by some form of buffer underrun protection. According to Nero, the drive can also write CD-Text and overburn. When testing the drive's capacity I found that the drive was able to overburn up to 94:27 with CompUSA's 99 minute CD-R media.
While Pioneer's new DVD writer supports RAW-DAO recording, it cannot do EFM encoding correctly. Using CloneCD version 4.2.0.2 I was able to backup some older SafeDisc 2 protected titles like Max Payne by enabling AWS. Unfortunately, titles protected by SafeDisc 2.51 and newer, like Serious Sam: The Second Encounter, were not playable in all drives, even with AWS enabled.
Here is a screen shot from Nero's InfoTool. This program queries the drive to see what its reading and writing capabilities are. InfoTool had no problems detecting the DVR-R100's maximum reading and writing speeds, recording modes, buffer underrun protection and 2MB buffer.
InfoTool also shows that the DVR-R100 is a RPC-2 DVD drive. This means that the drive's region is stored in the firmware. The drive's region can be changed five times and after that it cannot be changed anymore. A patched RPC-1 firmware can be downloaded here. Just keep in mind that it is not supported by Pioneer nor by CDRLabs. Use it at your own risk.
While InfoTool gives us a quick glance at the DVR-R100's features, DVDINFOpro provides a little more information on some of the drive's reading and writing capabilities. By looking at the screenshot above you can see that while Pioneer's new drive can read and write to both DVD+R DL and DVD-R DL media, it does not support the Mt. Rainier format.
The DVR-R100 doesn't let you set the book type of single layer DVD+R or DVD+RW media. However, the drive automatically sets the book type for DVD+R DL discs to "DVD-ROM". This greatly reduces compatibility problems, especially with older DVD players.
