Sony USA was kind enough to send us their latest 18x External Mult-Format DVD Burner for Windows: the Sony DRX-830U. Sony’s newest external DVD burner incorporates 18X max DVD+R burning, delivering a full 4.7GB disc in about 5 minutes using standard 16X DVD+R discs. The DRX-830U supports all available DVD formats including single layer 4.7GB DVD+R/+RW, 8.5 GB Double/Dual Layer DVD+R DL, and DVD-RAM discs. High performance 48X max CD-R burning and 32X max CD-RW burning means you no longer need a separate CD burner. The DRX-830U features attractive vertical design and sports a Hi-Speed USB 2.0 interface for fast and easy connection to Windows^® XP/2000 PCs. The drive comes bundled with an unbeatable Nero® 7 software suite for authoring video DVDs, burning data DVD/CDs, backing up your computer, and much more.

In this article we will show the performance of the DRX-830U by running the drive through many tests on a considerable amount of various CD/DVD media.

Corporate Information:

We took a quick look at the company information found at Sony web pages:

Sony Corporation of America

Sony Corporation of America, based in New York City, is the U.S. subsidiary of Sony Corporation, headquartered in Tokyo. Sony is a leading manufacturer of audio, video, communications, and information technology products for the consumer and professional markets. Its music, motion picture, television, computer entertainment, and online businesses make Sony one of the most comprehensive entertainment companies in the world. Sony\’s principal U.S. businesses include Sony Electronics Inc., Sony Pictures Entertainment, Sony Computer Entertainment America Inc., and a 50% interest in Sony BMG Music Entertainment, one of the largest recorded music companies in the world. Sony recorded consolidated annual sales of approximately $64 billion for the fiscal year ended March 31, 2006, and it employs 158,500 people worldwide. Sony\’s consolidated sales in the U.S. for the fiscal year ended March 31, 2006 were $16.7 billion.

• Corporate Fact Sheet (August 2006):
• U.S. Businesses
• Sony Electronics Inc.
• Sony Entertainment Inc.
• Sony Pictures Entertainment
• SONY BMG MUSIC ENTERTAINMENT (50% ownership)
• Sony/ATV Music Publishing (50% ownership)
• Sony Computer Entertainment America Inc.
• Sony DADC and Sony Entertainment Distribution
• Sony Connect Inc.
• Sony Plaza Public Arcade and Sony Wonder Technology Lab (New York)
• Annual Sales / Sony Corporation Consolidated
• $64 billion (Fiscal Year ended March 31, 2006)
• Sales in the United States: $16.7 billion

Workforce

• 158,500 employees worldwide (Fiscal Year ended March 31, 2006)

U.S. R&D and Engineering Facilities

• San Jose, CA
• San Diego, CA
• Boulder, CO
• Park Ridge, NJ

Major Manufacturing Sites in North America

• Dothan, AL
• Pittsburgh, PA
• Pitman, NJ
• San Diego, CA 
• Terre Haute, IN 
• Tijuana, Mexicali and Nuevo Laredo, Mexico

More about Sony

• A leading audio-visual electronics and information technology company in the U.S. and worldwide
• A leading motion picture and television production company in the U.S. and worldwide
• The co-developer of the CD, DVD, Super Audio CD and Blu-ray Disc
• The developer, manufacturer, and marketer of PlayStation®, PlayStation®2 and PlayStation® Portable game consoles
• The inventor of a wide range of consumer audio-visual products, such as the BRAVIA TVs, SXRD, FD Trinitron® WEGA® television, Mavica® digital camera, Digital8® Handycam® camcorder, Walkman® personal stereo, Hi-MD/Net MD MiniDisc player/recorder, and the Memory Stick®IC flash media. Also an innovator in IT products, including VAIO® personal computers, FD Trinitron® computer display and the 3.5-inch floppy disk; and professional products, highlighted by the HDCAM® 24-P, Digital Betacam® and DVCAM® VTR and camera formats
• A publicly held company, with shares listed on 16 stock exchanges worldwide, including Tokyo, New York, and London
• A company with 936 consolidated subsidiaries worldwide.
• As you can see Sony is a very large company with a long history. And now let’s take a look at the drive.

Drive Overview:

Sony’s newest external DVD burner incorporates 18X max DVD+R burning, delivering a full 4.7GB disc in about 5 minutes using standard 16X DVD+R discs. The DRX-830U supports all available DVD formats including single layer 4.7GB DVD+R/+RW, 8.5 GB Double/Dual Layer DVD+R DL, and DVD-RAM discs. High performance 48X max CD-R burning and 32X max CD-RW burning means you no longer need a separate CD burner. The DRX-830U features attractive vertical design and sports a Hi-Speed USB 2.0 interface for fast and easy connection to Windows® XP/2000 PCs.

The drive comes bundled with a feature-rich software package suite from Nero for burning, authoring and editing home movies, creating digital scrapbooks, and backing up critical data.

Feature Burns DVD±R discs at 18X max using standard 16X media, capable of burning a full disc in about 5 minutes

• Burns 8.5GB DVD±R Double/Dual discs at 8X max. Double/Dual Layer discs capable of storing up to 4 hours of MPEG-2 Video on single sided disc with 2 recording layers. Recorded DVD±R Double/Dual Layer discs compatible with most consumer DVD players and DVD-ROM drives
• Burns standard 4.7GB DVD±R and DVD±RW Discs, DVD-RAM, and CD-R/RW too – One drive does it all!
• Maximum flexibility & compatibility – choose the optimal DVD recordable media for your project without sacrificing compatibility with your playback hardware
• Award winning Nero® software bundle for burning all your video, music, and data to DVD or CD
• Hi-Speed USB2.0 Interface
• Includes a clear plastic base to enable standing the drive on its side.

Drive specifications:

Now let us take a look at the specifications of the Sony DRX-830U.

What’s inside the box?

The drive we received was a retail package and comes with everything you need for quick and easy installation. The retail package includes the following items:

• The internal DRX-830U drive itself
• DRX-830U User\’s Guide (Operating Instructions)
• Quick-Start Guide
• Software Quick-Start Guide
• Software Disc Rev. 7.10W (includes: Nero Express 7, Nero Vision Express 4, Nero InCD 5, Nero BackItUp, Nero ShowTime, and many others.)
• Hi-Speed USB Cable
• AC power cord
• AC Adapter (MPA-AC1)
• Stand
• US Product Warranty and Registration

As you can see, the package contains most everything you need to get started. Now let’s take a look at the details on the retail box:

Box Front

Box Rear

 
Box Left and Right

Box Top and Bottom

OK, let’s take a look at the drive itself:

The scan of the face of this drvie does not do it justice; the face is a nice reflective coating presenting a mirror effect. On the drive tray from left to right we have a Compact Disc Ultra Speed ReWriteable logo, a sticker with Dual RW Drive – Double Layer – Dual Layer, SONY logo, DVD Multi Recorder logo and finally a DVD Alliance (DVD+R/RW) logo.  The eject button is located on the right side as you are looking at this photo; should you use the ”stand” to use the drive in a vertical position it would be on the top.

 
Top

Drive Sticker

On the left (if not in the stand) or on the bottom (if in the stand) of the drive we found a sticker that shows it was made in Indonesia and has a production date of September 2006.

Bottom

Drive Right

Drive Left

Rear

From left to right: USB2 connection, Power switch and electrical connection.

Now, let us connect the drive and check out the features, program bundle and writing technology on the next page…