Sony DRU 830A internal burner 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