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You are here: MacNN Forums > Hardware - Troubleshooting and Discussion > Mac Desktops > Sony DW Q28A vs. Pioneer DVR-109PB

Sony DW Q28A vs. Pioneer DVR-109PB
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Markarian421
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Jul 16, 2005, 02:14 PM
 
Just wondering what the differences are in these drives. My dual 2.3 came with the Sony but it kept spitting discs back out so AppleCare sent the Pioneer as a replacement. I ask because the AppleCare guy was very uncertain about what drive to send me, he thought this was the right one but sounded very uncertain. So I want to make sure I haven't been downgraded. Thanks.
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Lateralus
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Jul 16, 2005, 02:42 PM
 
I'd pick the Pionner. In my experience, their burners are more reliable than Sony's. And when it comes to actually shopping for one, they're cheaper as well on the OEM market.
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Markarian421  (op)
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Jul 16, 2005, 05:24 PM
 
Well, this one hasn't spit any discs back out yet, so at least for now it seems better!

In searching elsewhere I found some mention that in the newest round of PowerMacs, at least initially the some 2.7's had the Pioneer drive and some 2.0's and 2.3's had the Sony.
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X-Ray
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Jul 17, 2005, 10:28 AM
 
Most of the recent Sonys are really rebadged Lite-On drives. You're much better off with the Pioneer.
     
dark3lf
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Aug 12, 2005, 07:52 PM
 
Man I just went through **** getting my brand new PMac 2.3 replaced, the original one had a Pioneer drive and this one has the Sony. I haven't had any problems with the new Mac or the Sony drive, so I'll keep my fingers crossed. I just wanted a Pioneer like the first unit had because I've had horrid experiences with Sony DVD writers breaking. I have a Pioneer DVR-109 OEM in a PC which I am very happy with so I know exactly what to expect with the Pioneer drive.
     
sokukodo
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Aug 17, 2005, 10:04 PM
 
I've got a Rev A G5 Dualie with a Sony DVD burner that's no longer functional: it can read, but not write. I'm gonna buy a Pioneer to replace it.
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Ian Oliver
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Nov 5, 2005, 11:54 PM
 
I'm having trouble with the Sony Q28 drive in my G5. Slow reading, errors every time I try to burn a dual layer disc.

It would be too much of a fight to try to get Apple to remedy the situation; can a reasonably dextrous person change a drive in a G5? (It's a dual 2.7, by the way.)

Thanks for any pointers. Cheers,

Ol.
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mduell
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Nov 6, 2005, 12:16 AM
 
A quick look at the specs shows that the Sony burns CD-R faster (48x vs 40x), but the Pioneer burns DVD+R DL (6x vs 4x) and DVD-R DL (6x vs 4x) faster. Everything else is the same.

I prefer the Pioneer (see my sig), and I think you got a better deal.
     
Markarian421  (op)
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Nov 6, 2005, 02:43 AM
 
Originally Posted by Ian Oliver
can a reasonably dextrous person change a drive in a G5?
It was very easy, but as I recall the drives had special screws that fit in the slots. Hopefully these would be interchangeable with any new drive you got. Other than that, it was unplug the old drive and pull the release lever, put in the new one, push the lever back and plug it in. The trickiest part was threading the cable through a slot. Very easy.

The Pioneer drive has been pretty good, I've had a couple disks that failed the verify step but not enough that I can blame it on the drive instead of the media -- the same dvds have never had a bad write when I bump the speed down a notch,
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Ian Oliver
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Nov 7, 2005, 05:32 AM
 
Well that was amazingly easy. I wonder if I missed something along the way…

Seems to work – Sony drive out and Pioneer AX10XLB (110?) sitting in its place.

Haven’t tried a dual layer burn yet, but everything else seems fine. I put the little jumper thingy on the CS setting as somebody suggested. Seems to spin, play, record and spit okay. Main difference is the Pioneer drive is much quieter than the Sony.

Many thanks for the information. Anybody else thinking of changing a DVD drive – don’t worry!

Cheers,
Olly
     
dark3lf
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Nov 7, 2005, 08:33 AM
 
Originally Posted by dark3lf
Man I just went through **** getting my brand new PMac 2.3 replaced, the original one had a Pioneer drive and this one has the Sony. I haven't had any problems with the new Mac or the Sony drive, so I'll keep my fingers crossed. I just wanted a Pioneer like the first unit had because I've had horrid experiences with Sony DVD writers breaking. I have a Pioneer DVR-109 OEM in a PC which I am very happy with so I know exactly what to expect with the Pioneer drive.
BTW- a month after this was posted the Sony drive failed! and I had to get Apple to agree to replace it with a Pioneer unit. You really have to talk them into doing stuff like this, they DO NOT want do give you a new drive if they can avoid it.
     
   
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