New Sony Dual-Format, Dual-Layer Burners Ship

Sony Electronics has announced the next generation of its DRU series DVD burners, adding both two-layer recording support for both popular drive formats.

The internal DRU-800A is currently shipping for about $130, while the external DRX-800UL drive is expected to ship in late May for around $210. Both drives can write data at 4X speeds to dual-layer media, in both the DVD+R DL and DVD-R DL formats.

When Sony began shipping the previous DRU two-layer DVD burner a year ago, the drive only included support for the DVD+R DL format. Fortunately for users, media manufacturers have begun selling spindles of double-layer media, albeit small 25-disc units that retail for $100 or more.

The ninth generation of Sonys DRU drives also include the standard IEEE 1394 and USB interfaces that were included on the previous DRU drives, as well as the differently-colored bezel options that allow PC users to color-coordinate their cases.

Officially, the new DRU drives support both "double-layer" and "dual-layer" recording, the names adopted by the DVD+RW Alliance and the DVD Forum, respectively, which represent the DVD+R and DVD-R standards. The new DRU drives do not support the DVD-RAM standard, which ise used to record video, mostly in Asia.

The drives will also include Sonys traditional bundle of Nero DVD video authoring and DVD/CD burning software.

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