[Sebastien]

I saw this site after reading an article on macbidouille.com about firmware modification on the Pioneer drives.

Mods included removal of the region codes, and boosting writing speed to 2x (constant). There's a OS9 updater available, but I'm not sure if it includes all the modifications.

Just curious if anyone's tried it out...

[tr]

i'm running the RPC-1 v. 1.68 firmware now, and that worked fine. haven't done the RPC-1 1.80 firmware yet, and don't know if i want to. here's a page for some Pioneer firmware updates:

http://kickme.to/dvd105s

and here's a little message they have for the 1.80 firmware:

"Now, please be aware that people reported problems with the DVR-103 v1.80 firmware (regarding PS2 CD copying) and also, at the current stage, you will not be able to downgrade from v1.80. If you're unsure, better use 1.68 for now."

so, i'm sticking with 1.68. sure, i may have problems burning on the 4x media, but hell, i haven't even seen 4x media being sold!

but, i just translated that page you mention, and downloaded the DVR-103 2.0 firmware. should i do it or not? hmmm...


anyway, here's another link to some mac firmware installers for the drives:

http://www.opuscc.com/download/desktop.shtml

and remember, if you flash to RPC-1, you'll need a utility like
Region X


tr

[tr]

success, success, success!
(thank god! )

i was in an experimental mood...just used the 2.00 2x4all firmware found on the site you listed. (here's the babel fish translation of the page. the .sit firmware download is at the end of the second article. you have to boot into 9 to use the program. the download comes with two RPC-1 firmwares: one is just the 2.00 firmware, the other is the 2.00 and 2x4all, which means that this firmware will allow better writing to cheaper media, i guess allowing 2x writing on all discs (as the name implies). you have to rename the file you want to use (read the readme), launch the program (it has an .exe extension, don't let that fool you, it's a mac program), drag the firmware into the app window (as instructed), and let it do it's work. takes a minute or so. the app window will let you see progress as it's working, and will say whether it worked or not.

i rebooted to be on the safe side. then i ran DVDinfo (found in the
DVD Toolkit .sit ) to get region info. here's what i got:

DVDInfo, version 2.0.3, by xvi.
Scanning for devices, please wait.....

Location: ATAPI 0,0,0
Vendor: PIONEER
Model: DVD-RW DVR-103
Firmware: 2.00
Serial Number:
RPC Status: RPC-1 (region-free)

Done.

here's from ASP in X:

CD-RW/DVD-R:
+----------------------------------------------------------------------+
| |
| Disc Burning : Fully supported. |
| Unit Number : 0 |
| ATA Device Type : atapi |
| Device Serial : |
| Device Revision : 2.00 |
| Product Identification : DVD-RW DVR-103 |
| Vendor Identification : PIONEER |
| |
+----------------------------------------------------------------------+

tried out a DVD, drive plays fine. haven't tried another region DVD, but i did run region X, and that works. tried burning on cheap media (KHypermedia, 1x rated) at 2x in Toast (previously, toast only gave me the 1x option for this media, now i have the 2x option also). it didn't work at 2x, started to write lead-in, then error came up, spit the disc out. changed it to 1x, tried the same disc, and it's burning right now as i type (48 min to go). no biggie, though. if i want to burn 2x, hell, i'll buy 2x media.

so, all in all, this update was pretty worthwhile. i'd recommend it for all those who wish to 'live on the edge'.

thanks for the heads up on the links, Sebastien!


tr

[Sebastien]

Originally posted by tr:
success, success, success!
(thank god! )

it didn't work at 2x, started to write lead-in, then error came up, spit the disc out. changed it to 1x, tried the same disc, and it's burning right now as i type (48 min to go). no biggie, though. if i want to burn 2x, hell, i'll buy 2x media.

so, all in all, this update was pretty worthwhile. i'd recommend it for all those who wish to 'live on the edge'.

thanks for the heads up on the links, Sebastien!


tr

I was under the impression that the speed was non-selectable (ie. 2x always, regardless of software setting...). Also, was this on DVD-RW or just DVD-R media you tried?

[tr]

Originally posted by Sebastien:
I was under the impression that the speed was non-selectable (ie. 2x always, regardless of software setting...). Also, was this on DVD-RW or just DVD-R media you tried?

well, at least in toast, i get both the 1x and 2x options using v2.0 DVD-R media (2x), like apple branded. with these cheap KHypermedia which are v1.0, i only got 1x (2x grayed out). after the firmware update, i get both options. but i guess it is true that you have to have media that can handle 2x burning, and i don't think this can. like i said, i got some error (forgot what it said). i guess i should find some DVD-R media that is rated for 2x, but usually doesn't burn at 2x. i guess it allows you to attempt 2x burning on non-2x media, but that doesn't necessarily work, as in my case, but the option is there.

don't have a DVD-RW around to test, but i believe DVD-RW's are still only written at 1x, as that's some sort of physical limitation of the A03. the A05 can RW at 2x on proper media.

tr

[MickS]

Resurrecting a thread here. Has anyone used this firmware on a non-Apple A103?

I have a retail A103 installed in my G4 AGP and would like to update the firmware.

[Weezer]

how can I make these ritek disks that will burn on PCs with upgraded firmware burn at 2X in my DVR-104?

[tr]

Originally posted by MickS:
Resurrecting a thread here. Has anyone used this firmware on a non-Apple A103?

I have a retail A103 installed in my G4 AGP and would like to update the firmware.

i ran the firmware updates on a retail A03, worked fine (read my posts above)l

tr

[tr]

Originally posted by Weezer:
how can I make these ritek disks that will burn on PCs with upgraded firmware burn at 2X in my DVR-104?

don't know if it works with Riteks, but this page gives some info and links on 104/A04 firmware updates, including the 2X4all firmware.

here are some firmware updates (scroll down page for 2x4all)
http://pioneerdvd.firmware-flash.com/#PIONEER_IDE

here's a link (also found on the page above) for some 2x4all firmware that may help with Riteks:

http://firmwares.co.uk/


tr