Sony's new portable DVD writer was very easy to install. Thanks to its USB 2.0 interface, the entire installation process took only a matter of minutes. With no jumpers to worry about, it was as simple as connecting the USB and power cables. Once connected to our test computer, it took only a matter of seconds for plug and play to install the necessary drivers. After making sure that the drive was recognized correctly in the Device Manager, I was ready to start installing the software.
Software Installation:
As I mentioned earlier, the DRX-S77U comes with a CD full of software from Nero. If you have autorun enabled on your computer, the menu shown below will appear when you insert the disc. As you can see, the software and documentation is available in a number of different languages.
After selecting your preferred language, you'll be given a short list of options. From here you can choose to install the bundled software, check out the manual or visit Sony's user support web page.
By default the setup program will install the entire Nero 9 Essentials suite onto your computer. If you don't want to install everything, select the custom installation. From here you can choose the components you want.
Documentation:
Instead of including one big manual, the DRX-S77U's documentation is spread out between a number of small, fold out "guides." To help people get their drive up and running as quickly as possible, Sony has included a "Quick Start Guide." While this guide is a bit short on words, there are plenty of diagrams showing how to hook the drive up to your computer. The DRX-S77U also comes with a "Product Information" guide that contains information about the drive's package contents, features, system requirements and specifications. It also goes over the various buttons and connectors located on the front and back of the drive. Everything is labeled clearly and the functions of each are explained very well.
Like the other Sony drives we've reviewed, the DRX-S77U was very easy to install. I had no problems getting the drive or the software installed and working. If you need help for some reason, the documentation Sony has provided is more than sufficient. With this in mind, the DRX-S77U scores a solid 9 out of 10 for the installation portion of this review.
