Review: Sony won't cut the competition a break. While other vendors are just beginning to serve up four-format DVD+R/RW, DVD-R/RW drives, Sony has already released its second-generation multiformat burner, the DRU-510A, which is even speedier than its predecessor, the DRU-500A. This latest model not only writes DVD+R and DVD-R at 4X, it rewrites DVD+RW at 4X--a market first and a major boon for the backup-minded. The DRU-510A's outstanding performance makes it the fastest, most versatile drive available, and a CNET Editors' Choice winner to boot; but its convoluted, multilingual documentation and lack of a ...
Expand full review Sony won't cut the competition a break. While other vendors are just beginning to serve up four-format DVD+R/RW, DVD-R/RW drives, Sony has already released its second-generation multiformat burner, the DRU-510A, which is even speedier than its predecessor, the DRU-500A. This latest model not only writes DVD+R and DVD-R at 4X, it rewrites DVD+RW at 4X--a market first and a major boon for the backup-minded. The DRU-510A's outstanding performance makes it the fastest, most versatile drive available, and a CNET Editors' Choice winner to boot; but its convoluted, multilingual documentation and lack of a front-panel headphone jack, volume control, and an audio-to-sound-card cable are irksome. We'd rather not see these niggling, cost-cutting measures on such a pricey product.In light of the DRU-510A's outstanding performance and premium price tag, we were disappointed in the drive's out-of-box experience. The documentation's muddled multiple-languages-on-the-same-page format makes it difficult to locate information, and wading through a separate installation routine for each of the six bundled software packages is a real time-waster. On the plus side, Sony prints jumper and connector information on a label on top of the drive, so more experienced users can probably avoid the setup documentation altogether. Overall, it's not much harder to install the DRU-510A than any other internal drive; but Sony might do well to learn from TDK, which thoughtfully includes movies and more comprehensive instructions with its drives, making the process less daunting for neophytes.
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Write a movie to write-once media | |
TDK 440N Indi DVD (DVD+R)
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Plextor PX-504A (DVD+R)
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Sony DRU-510A (DVD+R)
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HP DVD Writer DVD300i (DVD+R)
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Sony DRU-510A (DVD-R)
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TDK 440N Indi DVD (DVD-R)
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| Note: Compression rates may vary, so write speed is measured in megabytes per second. |
Write tests (Shorter bars indicate better performance)
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Write a 500MB directory to rewritable media | |
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Write a 383MB file to rewritable media | |
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Sony DRU-510A (DVD+RW)
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Plextor PX-504A DVD+RW
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HP DVD Writer DVD300i (DVD+RW)
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TDK 440N Indi DVD (DVD+RW)
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Sony DRU-510A (DVD-RW)
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TDK 440N Indi DVD (DVD-RW)
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| Note: Time in minutes |
Read tests (Shorter bars indicate better performance)
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Copy a 500MB directory from rewritable media to the hard drive | |
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Copy a 383MB file from rewritable media to the hard drive | |
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Sony DRU-510A (DVD-RW)
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Sony DRU-510A (DVD+RW)
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Plextor PX-504A DVD+RW
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TDK 420N Indi DVD (DVD-RW)
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HP DVD Writer DVD300i (DVD+RW)
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TDK 420N Indi DVD (DVD+RW)
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| Note: Time in minutes |
Write tests (Shorter bars indicate better performance)
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Packet write from hard drive to CD-RW (400MB directory) | |
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Audio burn to CD-R from image on hard drive (from 43 min., 11 sec. audio CD) | |
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Sony DRU-510A (DVD+RW/-RW)
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HP DVD Writer DVD300i (DVD+RW)
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Plextor PX-504A DVD+RW
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TDK 440N Indi DVD (DVD+RW/-RW)
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| Note: Time, in minutes, to complete tasks |
All write tests are run with both the drive's recommended media (submitted by the manufacturer) and with
Verbatim media, rated at the drive's maximum speed. For more details on how we test CD-recordable drives, see the
CNET Labs site.Sony typically offers solid online support, although the company's Web site loads slowly. Additionally, the support site forces you to navigate through a series of superfluous pages before you actually get to the DRU-510A's product FAQ. Once you do find the support area, however, there are helpful FAQs, manuals, drivers, software patches, and e-mail support.
![]() Average User Rating 3.0 stars out of 75 user reviews Rating Breakdown -
5 star: 18 -
4 star: 20 -
3 star: 16 -
2 star: 13 -
1 star: 8 My Rating 0 stars click stars to rate product Most recent user reviews Showing 3 of 75 reviews 1.0 stars Pros: No pros - except remote easy to use Cons: 1st unit failed 1/2 way thru a burn.
2nd unit would not recognize any blank DVD at all.
3rd unit made 1 copy then refused to make anything over 20 minutes, and would not finalize the disk.
Gave up. 1.5 stars Pros: Fast, accurate, quiet Cons: Died after 9 months of light use Summary: I should have read the opinions before I paid for this drive. I have the same complaint as many others - after a while the unit stopped reading/burning DVD's. Now, will not even recognize a disk in the drive. Makes an expensive doorstop. Is this the "Old Sony" ... Expand full review Summary: I should have read the opinions before I paid for this drive. I have the same complaint as many others - after a while the unit stopped reading/burning DVD's. Now, will not even recognize a disk in the drive. Makes an expensive doorstop. Is this the "Old Sony" planned obsolesence from the 1970's-1980's? Thanks for your submission!
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