Sony DRU 830A internal burner

Manufacturer: Sony Part number: DRU-830A

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$58.59 - $82.00 at 2 online stores

CNET Editor rating:
3.5 stars Very good
Average user rating: 4.0 stars out of 6 reviews

More product information:: Editors' review; User reviews; Specifications; Manufacturer info

Bottom Line:: The Sony DRU-830A is a fast drive, but it's on the expensive side.

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Store profile \| Buy now	Rate this store See store profile	In stock	$67.87 Your best price Shop now as of 09/07/2008 Refurbished

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CNET editors' review

Sony DRU 830A internal burner

price range: $58.59 - $82.00

The Sony DRU-830A is a fast drive, but it's on the expensive side.

The good: Fast task speeds; interchangeable faceplates for different color systems.

The bad: A bit finicky with different brands of media; pricey for an internal drive.

The bottom line: The Sony DRU-830A is a fast drive, but it's on the expensive side.

Read full review

The Sony BWU-830A is a high-performance internal DVD/CD rewritable burner that offers the latest speeds (18x DVD+/-R and 8x DVD+/-R DL), a nice design touch (interchangeable faceplates), and a full complement of software. Unfortunately, at $70, it's on the expensive side for an IDE drive.

Drive type: Internal DVD/CD Rewritable
Supported Media: DVD-ROM, DVD-Video, DVD+/-R DL, DVD+/-R, DVD+/-RW, DVD-RAM, CD-DA, CD-ROM, Video CD, Photo CD, CD Text, CD Extra, CD-R, CD-RW
Max Write Speed: 8x DVD+/-R DL, 18x DVD+/-R, 48x CD-R
Max Rewrite Speed: 8x DVD+RW, 6x DVD-RW, 12x DVD-RAM, 32x CD-RW
Max Read Speed: 16x DVD-ROM, 48x CD-ROM
Buffer Memory: 2MB
Mounting: Horizontal or Vertical
Dimension: 5.75 x 6.69 x 1.63 inches (WDH)
Notable design features: Interchangeable faceplate(black or white/silver)
Connection options: EIDE/ATAPI
System Requirements: Pentium III 800MHz or faster (or equivalent), 256MB RAM, 10GB HDD
OSes supported: MS Windows Vista/XP/2000 Pro
Software included: Nero 7 Essentials, including NeroVision Express, Nero Express, NeroInCD, Nero Showtime DVD, and Nero BackitUp
Any additional features: Support 8cm or 12cm discs
Service/support: One-year limited warranty; toll-free phone support; live chat; e-mail to tech support; site includes FAQs, tutorials, and software/driver downloads.

The CNET Labs' test results revealed above-average performance for the DRU-830A. Ripping an 8.46GB commercial DVD to the hard drive took 22 minutes, 43 seconds. Burning that image to a DVD+R DL disc took 20 minutes, 43 seconds. Burning a 4.48GB mixed-data file to a DVD+R disc took 8 minutes, 34 seconds. Ripping a 746MB commercial CD took 2 minutes, 40 seconds. And burning that image to a CD-R disc took 3 minutes, 20 seconds.

The only issue we had with the DRU-830A was that we couldn't get it to work with all media brands, though it did work seamlessly with Verbatim discs.

Rip tests (min:sec)
(Shorter bars indicate faster performance)

Commercial CD rip (746MB)

Commercial DVD rip (8.46GB)

Sony DRU-830A

02:40

22:43

Burn tests (min:sec)
(Shorter bars indicate faster performance)

CD-R burn (746MB)

DVD+R data burn (4.48GB)

DVD+R DL burn (8.46GB)

Sony DRU-830A

03:20

08:34

20:43

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User reviews

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Average user rating: 4.0 stars out of 6 reviews

Showing opinion 1 to 6 out of 6

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1 stars

It's not recognizing DVD-R's

by ErikHockman on August 31, 2007

Pros: Works fine With DVD+R and factory disks

Cons: It's supposed to be able to read and write -R format and doesn't.

Summary: I haven't tried writing disks with this yet, but all the DVD-R's that worked fine in my DRU-530A (now deceased) the drive will not recognize.
Looking at "My
...

Read more

Summary: I haven't tried writing disks with this yet, but all the DVD-R's that worked fine in my DRU-530A (now deceased) the drive will not recognize.
Looking at "My computer", the drive reads as "DVD Drive (E" until I put in a recorded DVD-R disk. Then the title changes to "CD Drive (E". If I put the same disk in my Mitsubishi DVD drive (D, "My Computer" displays "{Disk Title} (D" as the 830 should, but doesn't.

Interesting how colons appear as smiley faces here.

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1 out of 1 users found this user opinion helpful.
9 stars

Great drive, fast, reliable and no coasters.

by oldgeek5344 on August 25, 2007

Pros: fast, reliable and no coasters

Cons: None so far,

Summary: ***********I LOVE THIS SONY DRIVE********** I upgraded from the Sony DRU 510a that I bought when it first came out a couple of years ago. That is one reason I ...

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Summary: ***********I LOVE THIS SONY DRIVE********** I upgraded from the Sony DRU 510a that I bought when it first came out a couple of years ago. That is one reason I stayed with Sony. The old DRU 510a ran perfectly with out a hiccup the whole time I owned it. I upgraded to the new drive (DRU830A) to pick up some time burning DVD?s and it gives what I wanted. Burning time is just a small fraction of what it used to be. Sony makes some awesome drives.

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10 stars

Thanks for the rip

by TonyGottlieb on July 3, 2007

Pros: You used her music

Cons: She fails to receive any payment for her work

Summary: As Manager and Music Publisher for the recording artist Cheryl Wheeler I suppose I should be grateful that a CNET editors' review by: Ryan Belonga cited ripping her CD "Different ...

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Summary: As Manager and Music Publisher for the recording artist Cheryl Wheeler I suppose I should be grateful that a CNET editors' review by: Ryan Belonga cited ripping her CD "Different Stripe," with this Sony DRU 830a CD burner, but I am not. I can however assure customers that it took vastly more time and resources than the $60 to buy, and the five minutes to burn, for her to create and record the 20 song compliation of her finest work which you will create a free copy of with this device.
Tony Gottlieb

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9 stars

Great for the price.

by cr1st1an on March 9, 2007

Pros: Excellent quality

Cons: I got no problems with it so far

Summary: I works great for making your own dvd-video

Summary: I works great for making your own dvd-video
9 stars

great fast upgrade dvd burner

by lusworld on January 8, 2007

Pros: fast, fast,fast!

Cons: tray faceplate is larger than old drives hole so may have to be removed to fit the hole in your computer case.

Summary: Love the drive , it burns in about 5 to 7 minutes 4300gb of video. I'd give it a 10 for performance but because of the tray door having to ...

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Summary: Love the drive , it burns in about 5 to 7 minutes 4300gb of video. I'd give it a 10 for performance but because of the tray door having to be removed as otherwise not fitting I marked it down 1 point. Overall very pleased with the quality of the drive. No copasters so far.

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10 stars

Can you say fast? Great Drive

by ronman101 on December 1, 2006

Pros: 18X speed, 10X in the first few seconds

Cons: Better have a fast Harddrive to keep up with transfer rate.

Summary: This is my 4th sony unit (My 810A stopped burning dual layers correctly - coasters), but my 510 and 720A are great spares. I was very impressed with the write ...

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Summary: This is my 4th sony unit (My 810A stopped burning dual layers correctly - coasters), but my 510 and 720A are great spares. I was very impressed with the write speed, 18X plus and minus. Plenty of burns with no coasters so far. My external USB harddrive is having trouble feeding the burner when it approaches 17x speeds - I've corrected this by increasing my burning software's buffer. Internal drive has no problems. I would NOT recommended this drive (or any 18X drive) with systems that have a CPU's less then 2 gig or you will not see the true speed of this drive.
You will save up to 30 seconds between a 16X drive and a 18x drive. No problems with dual layers either, nice speed increase. With it for the price.

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Showing opinion 1 to 6 out of 6

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Specifications

Manufacturer: Sony
Part number: DRU-830A

General
Device Type DVD?RW (?R DL) / DVD-RAM drive
Enclosure Type Internal
Interface IDE
Width 5.7 in
Depth 7 in
Height 1.6 in
Weight 2 lbs
Optical Storage
Type DVD?RW (?R DL) / DVD-RAM - 5.25" x 1/2H
Read Speed 48x (CD) / 16x (DVD)
Write Speed 48x (CD) / 18x (DVD?R) / 8x (DVD?R DL)
Rewrite Speed 32x (CD) / 6x (DVD-RW) / 8x (DVD+RW) / 12x (DVD-RAM)
Supported Recording Modes Session-at-once, Track-at-once, Multisession, Packet writing, Disk-at-once
Supported CD Formats CD-DA (audio), Video CD, CD Text, CD-ROM, Photo CD, CD-ROM XA, CD Extra
Supported Media Types DVD+R, DVD-R DL, CD-ROM, DVD+R DL, CD-RW, DVD-RW, CD-R, DVD+RW, DVD-ROM, DVD-R
Media Load Type Tray
Buffer Size 2 MB
Buffer Underrun Protection Power-Burn
Compliant Standards Video CD
Optical Storage (2nd)
Type None
Storage Removable
Type None
Storage Removable (2nd)
Storage Removable (2nd) None
Storage Controller
Type None
Video
Video Output None

Expansion / Connectivity
Expansion Slots Total (Free) None
Interfaces 1 x ATA-33
Compatible Bays 1 x Front accessible - 5.25" x 1/2H
Storage CD / DVD
Type DVD?RW (?R DL) / DVD-RAM 5.25" x 1/2H
CD / DVD type DVD?RW (?R DL) / DVD-RAM
Storage CD / DVD:Form Factor 5.25" x 1/2H
Miscellaneous
Included Accessories Bezel
Mounting Kit Included
Power
Type None
Software / System Requirements
Software Included NERO BackItUp, Nero ShowTime
OS Required Microsoft Windows XP Home Edition, Microsoft Windows 2000, Microsoft Windows XP Professional
Min Processor Type 800 MHz
System Requirements Details Pentium III - RAM 256 MB
Manufacturer Warranty
Service & Support 1 year warranty
Service & Support Details Limited warranty - 1 year

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Manufacturer info

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