Pioneer BDR-101A Blu-ray Burner Preview

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Author

Dee
Senior Administrator and Reviewer
Article posted 03 Aug 06 19:19

Conclusion

 

Positive:

  • Massive storage capacity with BD-R/RE media
  • Excellent build quality
  • Supports DVD±R/RW reading and writing
  • Supports DVD+R DL/-R DL reading and writing
  • Supports Bitsetting BookType DVD-ROM for DVD+R DL
  • Virtually silent operation
  • Large 8 MB buffer

Negative:

  • Does not at present support BD-R/RE DL media
  • No support for CD-R/RW
  • Slow DVD±R/RW/±R DL reading and writing speeds
  • DVD writing quality could be improved

Conclusion:

Let us summarize the most important positive and negative points below:

The main positive points: The storage capacity of BD-R/RE media is awesome, and the drive performed extremely well with our tested Blu-Ray media.

DVD±R/RW/±R DL media types are also supported although with some limitations. But this is a very useful feature to have.

The drive is virtually silent in operation, being inaudible above the sound of the PC system that is hosting the drive.

Build quality is also excellent. The drive is heavy and is also well ventilated thanks to the included cooling vent and fan.

The main negative points:  The only real problem with this drive is DVD±R/RW/±R DL writing quality and speed. Of course we must not forget that the BDR-101A is first and foremost a Blu-Ray drive, and in this department the drive excels. It would also have been handy to have a capability of reading and writing CD-R/RW.

To sum it all up: The Pioneer BDR-101A is at the forefront of technology. As a Blu-Ray recorder and reader, it performs extremely well. As a DVD reader and writer it could be improved.

You may comment on this preview below or in this forum thread

Thanks to:

SVP Communications ‘“ The United Kingdom for providing the media used in this review.

 

Medea International ‘“ United Kingdom for providing the Infiniti and HP media used in this review.

 

 Plextor SA/NV (B) for providing the Plextor media used in this review.

 

Ricoh Europe ‘“ For providing the media used in this review.

 

Verbatim – Germany and United Kingdom for providing the media used in this review.

6 Comments

SpeedyJDK
Posts: 57
Posted on: 03 Aug 06 22:39
I wonder what the difference is between the preview and the review written last month.
BradleyA
Posts: 60
Posted on: 04 Aug 06 13:49
The difference for any preview/review is pretty much the same. One is written with hands on experience. The other is not.
Dee
Posts: 11995
Posted on: 04 Aug 06 14:33
The 1st article was a "First Look" article and only briefly looked at the drive. The preview is much like a review, only shorter and less tests are carried out than a full review. A full review will normally take us around 4 to 6 weeks to complete. In the case of the Pioneer BDR-101A preview. The drive was only on "short term loan" to us. So a full review was not possible..
harryg
Posts: 39
Posted on: 07 Aug 06 15:52
Definately buy one when price comes down, Massive storage capacity with BD-R/RE media will suit me and my music collection. Roll on price drop.
headquarter84
Posts: 2087
Posted on: 20 Aug 06 00:24
still.. until we have a convinient quality scan tool for BD-R/RE.. we can't have any idea about the real writing performance... still looking forward for more improvements though... a CD support would be a great addition, along with some faster DVD writing/reading speed... but as a first Tech-breakthrough, this is a good step from Pioneer.. hoping to see even faster and better products soon.. and mainly.. cheaper
guest
Posts: 15284
Posted on: 10 Jul 07 17:10
hi Wendy, I'd like to buy this model but lack of lastest firmware which is VER 1.O1. If possible you can send it to me which I appreciate a lot. Thanks in advance. tony tony@inhesiongroup.com

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