Pioneer DVR-103 / DVR-A03 DVD Writer

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Pioneer DVR-103 / DVR-A03

OEM:Pioneer
Chipset:N/A

8xCDR CLV
4xCDRW CLV
2xDVD-R CLV
1xDVD-RW CLV
~~DVD-RDL~~
~~DVD+R~~
~~DVD+RW~~
~~DVD+RDL~~
~~DVD-RAM~~

~~BD-R~~
~~BD-RE~~
~~BD-R DL~~
~~BD-RE DL~~
~~HDDVD-R~~
~~HDDVD-RW~~
~~HDDVD-RDL~~
~~HDDVD-RWDL~~
~~HDDVD-RAM~~

24xCD
4xDVD
~~BDROM~~
~~HDDVD~~

EIDE, 2MB
More info

$200

0.0/10
65 votes
Read 72
comments
(48183 views)

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DVD Media comments for this DVD Writer (click on the link to read the comments):
1 3t PRO 1xDVD-R (MCC 00RG200) comments, 1 good, 0 mixed, 0 poor.
1 Apple 2xDVD-R (MCC 00RG200) comments, 0 good, 1 mixed, 0 poor.
2 Apple 2xDVD-R (MXL RG01....) comments, 2 good, 0 mixed, 0 poor.
2 Apple 4xDVD-R (MXL RG02....) comments, 2 good, 0 mixed, 0 poor.
5 BeAll 1xDVD-R (BeAll G00001) comments, 2 good, 0 mixed, 0 poor.
2 Bulkpaq 1xDVD-R (PRINCO......) comments, 2 good, 0 mixed, 0 poor.
2 Creation 1xDVD-R (............) comments, 1 good, 1 mixed, 0 poor.
1 DataTrack 1xDVD-R (EuroDig-Disc) comments, 1 good, 0 mixed, 0 poor.
1 Datawrite Classic 2xDVD-R (PRODISCG02..) comments, 0 good, 0 mixed, 0 poor.
1 Discrite 2xDVD-R (TDKG02000000) comments, 1 good, 0 mixed, 0 poor.
1 Fortis 4xDVD-R (Dvsn........) comments, 1 good, 0 mixed, 0 poor.
1 Fujifilm 8xDVD-R (ProdiscF01..) comments, 1 good, 0 mixed, 0 poor.
1 Generic/Unbranded 2xDVD-R (MXL RG01....) comments, 1 good, 0 mixed, 0 poor.
1 Imation 1xDVD-R (CMC00RG200..) comments, 1 good, 0 mixed, 0 poor.
1 Imation 1xDVD-R (RITEKG03....) comments, 1 good, 0 mixed, 0 poor.
1 KHypermedia 2xDVD-R (CMC MAG.....) comments, 1 good, 0 mixed, 0 poor.
1 KHypermedia 1xDVD-R (CMC00RG200..) comments, 1 good, 0 mixed, 0 poor.
1 LG 4xDVD-R (ProdiscS03) comments, 1 good, 0 mixed, 0 poor.
1 Lynx Digital Platinum 1xDVD-R (RITEKG03....) comments, 1 good, 0 mixed, 0 poor.
1 Memorex 1xDVD-R (CMC00RG200..) comments, 0 good, 0 mixed, 0 poor.
1 Mitsumi 4xDVD-R (AN31........) comments, 1 good, 0 mixed, 0 poor.
2 Optimum 1xDVD-R (CMC00RG300..) comments, 1 good, 0 mixed, 0 poor.
2 Optodisc 1xDVD-R (OPTODISC....) comments, 2 good, 0 mixed, 0 poor.
1 PowerDisc 1xDVD-R (GSC001) comments, 1 good, 0 mixed, 0 poor.
3 PrimeDisc 1xDVD-R (RITEKG03....) comments, 1 good, 0 mixed, 0 poor.
2 PrimeDisc 1xDVD-R (RITEKG03....) comments, 1 good, 0 mixed, 0 poor.
2 Princo 1xDVD-R (PRINCO......) comments, 0 good, 1 mixed, 0 poor.
3 Princo 1xDVD-RW (PRINCO......) comments, 1 good, 0 mixed, 1 poor.
1 Princo 4xDVD-R (PRINCO......) comments, 1 good, 0 mixed, 0 poor.
3 Princo 2xDVD-R (TDKG02000000) comments, 0 good, 0 mixed, 1 poor.
1 RiData 4xDVD-R (RITEKG04....) comments, 1 good, 0 mixed, 0 poor.
1 Ritek 1xDVD-R (RITEKG03....) comments, 0 good, 0 mixed, 0 poor.
1 Ritek 4xDVD-R (RITEKG04....) comments, 1 good, 0 mixed, 0 poor.
1 Samsung (Pleomax) 8xDVD-R (OPTODISCR008) comments, 0 good, 1 mixed, 0 poor.
1 Sonic 2xDVD-R (LONGTEN 001.) comments, 1 good, 0 mixed, 0 poor.
1 Sony 1xDVD-R (SONY........) comments, 1 good, 0 mixed, 0 poor.
1 Sony 1xDVD-RW (SONY000000U9) comments, 1 good, 0 mixed, 0 poor.
1 SW Technology 1xDVD-R (OPTODISCK001) comments, 1 good, 0 mixed, 0 poor.
2 TDK 2xDVD-R (MXL RG01....) comments, 0 good, 1 mixed, 0 poor.
1 TDK 2xDVD-R (TDKG010000d9) comments, 0 good, 0 mixed, 0 poor.
1 TDK 16xDVD-R (TTH02.......) comments, 1 good, 0 mixed, 0 poor.
1 TDK ScratchProof 2xDVD-R (TDKG02000000) comments, 1 good, 0 mixed, 0 poor.
1 That's Write! 1xDVD-R (Lead Data) comments, 1 good, 0 mixed, 0 poor.
2 That's Write! 2xDVD-R (PVC001001) comments, 0 good, 1 mixed, 1 poor.
1 Traxdata 2xDVD-RW (RITEKW01....) comments, 0 good, 1 mixed, 0 poor.
1 Universal 1xDVD-RW (RITEK000V11A) comments, 1 good, 0 mixed, 0 poor.
3 Verbatim (DataLife) 2xDVD-R (CMC MAG.....) comments, 1 good, 0 mixed, 2 poor.
1 Verbatim (DataLife) 1xDVD-R (RITEKG03....) comments, 0 good, 0 mixed, 0 poor.
6 Verbatim (DataLifePlus) 2xDVD-R (MCC 00RG200) comments, 3 good, 0 mixed, 0 poor.
2 Verbatim (DataLifePlus) 4xDVD-R (MCC 01RG20) comments, 2 good, 0 mixed, 0 poor.
1 Verbatim (DataLifePlus) 8xDVD-R (MCC 02RG20) comments, 1 good, 0 mixed, 0 poor.
1 Verbatim (DataLifePlus) / Pastel Disc 4xDVD-R (TYG01.......) comments, 1 good, 0 mixed, 0 poor.
1 Verbatim DigitalMovie 4xDVD-R (MCC 01RG20) comments, 1 good, 0 mixed, 0 poor.
3 Vivastar 1xDVD-R (VIVASTAR....) comments, 1 good, 0 mixed, 0 poor.
2 White Label 1xDVD-RW (OPTODISCK001) comments, 0 good, 0 mixed, 0 poor.
1 White Label 2xDVD-R (TDKG02000000) comments, 0 good, 0 mixed, 0 poor.
1 XDisc 1xDVD-R (GSC001......) comments, 1 good, 0 mixed, 0 poor.
Post your DVD Media comments here

Comments

72 comments, Showing 51 to 72 comments

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Fantastic! Media is cheap. (Apple's it the best for the money. $5.00) Fast. Had a DVD+R and it wouldnt work in my player. Took back and bought this drive. Life is good! Dvdit is not that great but there are other good software out there

Comments posted by C.C from Other, February 05, 2002. Rated this writer 10 of 10.

Do not see why DVD+R/DVD+RW non-compatibility should be a problem. You can burn your own DVD videos with it, and use the media to back up your personal files - end of story. Anyway, DVD+R/DVD+RW are not industry standards. Don't know where people get that idea from.

Comments posted by David Legg from Other, February 05, 2002. Rated this writer No rating.

Great, great, great! I think DVD-R/RW is the real standard, i play my personal DVD in everything, i love it!

Comments posted by Federico from Other, February 03, 2002. Rated this writer 10 of 10.

I'm using it for 9 months now.
The mastering software which comes with it sucks
(at least with NT5). Nero is ok, but doesn't write
full speed on DVD-R and doesn't offer the Burnproof
capability the drive offers.
Nero even thinks the media is 4.7 GB in size but it
isn't, it's 4.700.000 Bytes only.
The DVD-Video Mastering Software is strange, didn't
use it up to now. SpruceUp is recommended, I know.

The drive itself is rock solid. I didn't kill one
CDR because of its fault up to now. I never received
a verify error for sure (about 60 discs containing
dv-avi).
Vob-Creator doesn't have a stable GUI, but managed
to backup a server via net which too 4 hours of
writing. Great thermal stability it seems.

Not every drive likes the recorded DVD-Rs and any
Windows derivate doesn't support UFS. It fails
because of a 1GB limitation of the filesize, poor.
ISO9660/UFS transistional format works
though. Linux supports UFS completely for sure.

The drive can't read it's own DVD-Rs very good
though, which is a little bit strange. It's even a
slow DVD/CD-Reader for CDROM/DVDROM media.
I'd take a seperate DVD-Reader...I like the
slot-Ins very much.

Comments posted by joern plewka from Other, January 31, 2002. Rated this writer 9 of 10.

I don't undestand why People tell that this DVD Writers isn't compatible with anything... I would like to remember that ONLY DVD-R and DVDAuthorithing are the right standard for DVD Players... try to use a DVD+R or a DVD+RW with you PSX2 (only changing the power of laser to 800 Ohm) or your DVD standalone Player... If you see the Vote of persons that have it range from 8 to 10 and vote of persons that ONLY THING not to be compatible (IS WRONG!!!!!!) are 0 - 3 .... DVD+RW and DVD+R aren't a Standard...

Comments posted by Black from Other, January 31, 2002. Rated this writer 10 of 10.

I have this drive for a week now. Burns DVD and CD perfectly. You can burn DVD-R at double speed with Nero, without simulation (contrary to what's said in some reviews). Ideal to burn your captures, DV films or your 'personal copies' of games or movies.

Comments posted by elpedro from Other, January 30, 2002. Rated this writer 10 of 10.

Good DVD Burner...but it is not compatible with anything.

Comments posted by HaroldM from Other, January 30, 2002. Rated this writer 2 of 10.

So far so good. Works with Nero, Easy CD 5, CloneCD, and of course SpruceUp. Nero in particular seems to take better advantage of this burner with DVD burning abilities. Although, I have yet to attempt a DVD movie burn while I wait for DVD-RW media to arrive in a seperate shipment for "practice".

CDRWin 4.0a beta or such does NOT support this burner.

Retail box came with one blank Pioneer DVD-R but no DVD-RW media. Hardware problem with Windows XP detecting the Pioneer (among other atapi devices) behind my onboard Highpoint ATA/100 RAID controller and thus needs to be on a standard (ATA/33) IDE controller. Unit does *not* appear to come with a digital audio cable just a standard analog audio cable. Windows XP (Professional) does have built-in support for writing through the Windows Explorer GUI via "Drag n' Drop". No plans on using the bundled software with this burner. Unit does *not* support buffer under-run protection for even CD-R. Instructions note unit does not support "High-speed" CD-RW media.

Packaging seemed complete and secure other than a digital audio cable and a DVD-RW blank. The instructions are sparse and seem inadequate if a "newbie" was installing one. Came with screws, no drive mounting brackets. Bundled writing software "Sonic MyDVD" and "Prassi PrimoDVD", device installation CD.

Your unit may need the latest firmware flash available through www.pioneerelectronics.com.

At this point I am pleased with the unit since I "Got what I payed for". I will post a follow-up on DVD player, media, etc. later :)

Comments posted by BlackOps from Other, January 29, 2002. Rated this writer 7 of 10.

It Works great with Windows-XP and Nero The software MyDVD2.3 is a pain in the .... And you should take the newest update for Instant CD+DVD because otherwise you can't format a DVD-RW. (This takes ages a format)Also MyDVD doesn't supports MP3's seems to be that Pinnacle Express DVD supports MP3's. (according the magazines)I will buy that one. Support of Pioneer Europe Headquarter Belgium is GOOD, no complains. Even a fast respond on software. Rating on hardware 10/10 rating on software 6/10

Comments posted by Pat from Other, January 27, 2002. Rated this writer 8 of 10.

I have had this drive for 3 weeks just getting to grips with it bundled software dvdit ok not the best around but it does what it says on the box it burns compliant vcd dvd. I use Tmpgenc to make compliant vcd's dvd's and burn with Dvdit a combination that works for me have not made any costers since convert avi moves with Tmpgenc and watch on my Pioneer 545 dvdrw even works on ps2 with neo4 chip money well spent......;)

Comments posted by Crazyd from Other, January 27, 2002. Rated this writer No rating.

works great, DVD-R plays in everything.

Comments posted by matt from Other, January 25, 2002. Rated this writer 10 of 10.

I have buy IT for my "personal copy" of PSX2 and NEO4 but I also use for my "personal copy" of Films from DVD and in future from SAT-TV with PVR connection. Testing different configuration of TMPGEnc I was able to put 2 Film in good quality on one DVDR. I use DVDRW to test quality of films. My next test will be to put also AC3 audio. To copy I use PrimoDVD and for Authoriting ULead DVD MediaFactory but now I have found SpreadUp and want to test this for AC3 Audio. With CDR and CDRW have also underrun protection.
If you want good DVDR (good for PSX2) buy IT from Apple Store, for 15 DVDR I pay only 116,20 Euro with Taxes and spedition. My DVD Player is Pionner DV-525 and PSX2 with SONY Dolby Digital system.

Comments posted by Flavio from Other, January 25, 2002. Rated this writer 10 of 10.

Super DVD burner! Written many discs and haven't had any problems yet. It seems like Apple media seem to work the best with it. With the price now under $400, I highly recommend it to anyone...

Comments posted by BigKahuna from Other, January 24, 2002. Rated this writer 9 of 10.

The only thing that realy sucks is that it doesn't rip audio worth a damn, Pops, clicks, and other nasty little sound killers! Other then that I don't think I would of got any other model. Burns great, DVD-Rs play in every set top I have tried them on. Bundled software is a good start, but with more advanced software it's a deam come true for anyone serious about video.

Barney

Comments posted by Neishaverse from Other, January 24, 2002. Rated this writer 8 of 10.

i have had my a03 for a few weeks, and it works well in w2000, but mydvd is not the best bit of software vob is better, i have had a few probs with Spruce up, it makes dvds fine, but has failed to burn them on the odd ocation. on the whole the dive great, software not bad.

Comments posted by Ian Lett from Other, January 24, 2002. Rated this writer 8 of 10.

I've had one of these for about 3 months now & like it. I've flashed it to 1.65 firmware - easy - and it's only made 1 or 2 'beer mats' instead of disks };

The only problem is copying disks made on the A03. If you make a DVD-R and then try to do an on the fly copy from a DVDROM drive to the A03 it fails with 'not enough space'. This is true with Gear, Nero, VOB and only Prassi DVD works correctly.

Oh yes, Pioneer take 3 weeks to reply poorly) to emails...

David

Comments posted by David from Other, January 23, 2002. Rated this writer No rating.

Not compatible with the +RW industry standard

Comments posted by Dave from Other, January 23, 2002. Rated this writer 3 of 10.

this is the one you want if you have any intrest in ps2's

Comments posted by Joe from Other, January 22, 2002. Rated this writer 10 of 10.

I bought this writer 4 weeks ago and it is superb. It is very reliable and burns everything I have thrown at it first time. I didnt use the software that came with it all, instead prefering Spruceup and Nero. I also got the writer at a knock down price of £300 in a sale which is good by UK standards. My only complaint is the single speed writing but I dont know of any that can increase this. Over all a great writer.

Comments posted by Steveken from Other, January 22, 2002. Rated this writer 9 of 10.

This is the drive I'm using in the authoring process. I hade to enable DMA for the drive in Win98Se and W2000 as well. No I can burn DVD-R/RW or CD-R/RW directly from MyDVD. The bundled software is a good start. Sonic MyDVD, VOB burning software.

Comments posted by Jestorius from Other, January 22, 2002. Rated this writer 8 of 10.

I have had this drive for 8 months now and love it. I have a Pioneer 343 that plays DVD-R and DVD-RW burned by this drive and it works fine. The advantage it has over DVD+R(W) is that you can find DVD-R for $3 these days!

Comments posted by Nahie from Other, January 21, 2002. Rated this writer 10 of 10.

DVD's created using the DVR-A03 can not be read by the Philips ProDVD-170 players.

Comments posted by Bud Gray from Other, January 21, 2002. Rated this writer 5 of 10.

72 comments, Showing 51 to 72 comments

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1 DVD Writer hits, Showing 1 to 1 DVD Writers

Column Explanation:

Click on this for more technical information.

New comments= New comments since your last visit.
New Writer = New DVD Writer since your last vist.

OEM
Original Equipment Manufacturer.

Chipset
The manufacturer of the main chipset the DVD writer/recorder is based on.

Write support / Read support
DVD-R = Works
~~DVD-R~~ = Is not supported
DVD-R? = Not tested

Single Layer(4.7GB) write speeds
1x (CLV) = about 58 minutes
2x (CLV) = about 29 minutes
2.4x (CLV) = about 24 minutes
4x (CLV) = about 14.5 minutes
6x (CLV/ZCLV) = about 10-12 minutes
8x (PCAV/ZCLV) = about 8-10 minutes
12x (PCAV/ZCLV) = about 6.5-7.5 minutes
16x (CAV/ZCLV) = about 6-7 minutes

Dual/Double Layer(8.5GB) write speeds
1x CLV = about 105 minutes
2.4x CLV = about 44 minutes
4x CLV = about 27 minutes

Single Layer (4.7GB) read speeds
1x read speed is 1.321MB/s = ~56 minutes
6x CAV (avg. ~4x) read speed is max 7.93MB/s = ~14 minutes
8x CAV (avg. ~6x) read speed is max 10.57MB/s = ~10 minutes
12x CAV (avg. ~8x) read speed is max 15.85MB/s = ~7 minutes
16x CAV (avg. ~12x) read speed is max 21.13MB/s = ~5 minutes

DVD Write types
CAV = Constant Angular Velocity, the DVD is written at a constantly increasing speed.
CLV = Constant Linear Velocity, the DVD is written at a constant speed.
ZCLV = Zone Constant Linear Velocity, the DVD is divided into zones. After each zone the write speed is increased.
PCAV = Partial Constant Angular Velocity, the DVD is being written at an increasing speed until a certain speed. After this speed it will not increase anymore.

Connection
Desktop = Standalone desktop DVD Recorder
EIDE = Computer DVD Writer with EIDE/IDE connection
SCSI = Computer DVD Writer with SCSI connection
USB = Computer desktop DVD Writer with USB 2.0 or/and 1.1 connection
FireWire = Computer desktop DVD Writer with IEEE 1394/FireWire/i.Link connection (some standalone desktop dvd recorder supports this also but then it is usually to connect your DV camera to the recorder)

Rating
The first rating is based on a weighted rank (the true Bayesian), it requires at least 5 votes to get a weighted rating.
The second rating between the ( ) is a normal average rating.

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