DVD Burner Test: Seven Times The Capacity

Sony DRU-500A

Sony is the first manufacturer to produce a DVD burner that is compatible with both the DVD-RW and the DVD+RW standards. Though it belongs to the DVD+RW Alliance, Sony has opted for a combined burner. The DRU-500A is therefore at the top of the range.

The burner has adopted the highest performance of each standard, so its technical characteristics are impressive: in minus mode, it burns at 4x and rewrites (DVD-RW) at 2x. Nothing new for the plus mode, where writing and rewriting are done at 2x; but when it comes to CD burning, the DRU-500A stands apart from its rivals. It burns a CD-R at 24x and a CD-RW at 10x. It also has a buffer memory of 8 MB.

Software Package

Sony provides the same package as for the DRU-120A. This includes B's Clip, B's Recorder Gold and PowerDVD. There is also an external version of the universal burner - the DRX-500UL with a FireWire interface and USB 2.0.