Customer Reviews

Sony DRU-820A Internal DVD+/-RW 16X Double/Dual Layer and Dual Format DVD Drive

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

I used this drive to replace the replace the CD-ROM in my PC and now have two DVD burners in my machine - both Sony. I just unplugged and removed the CD drive, inserted and plugged in the DRU-820A, turned on my PC and I was up and running. I've burned more than twenty 16x DVDs since getting this drive last week and have experienced no problems at all. My other Sony DVD writer, a DRU-530A, has been in my PC for two years and has been flawless, so at this point I'm not expecting any problems with reliability.

OK Drive. Has problems burning DVD-R video disks. Though burning completes successfully, DVD-R disks (tried several different high quality brands)aren't read well by a temperamental DVD player. Same disks burn fine on other DVD burner.

This unit works great, I have had no problems at all burning any discs (DVD or CD)

Bought this drive in September 2006. Now, instead of reading CD's or DVD's, it only makes a clicking noise. Sony technical support is horrible. Buy another brand.

Installation was simple, and the software is easy to use. I have had this product for some time now, and it certainly does what it is supposed to do. An excellent upgrade for your computer.

You get what you're told, this is an overall excellent driver it burns in a flash and its quite stylish.

This drive works flawlessly. I haven't had any coasters since buying it 3 months ago and I burn about 10-20 dvd's & cd's per week. It's quiet, can burn dual layer dvd discs and the bundled Nero software comes in very handy for those that don't already have burning software. Or even if you do have software it's still pretty handy.

I have had no problems with this unit or software that was bundled with it. Plug-n-Play, yes it was!

The first drive worked great on the test, then the CD burner died the next time it was used... Then was replaced (by Sony) 2 more times with drives that were DOA. Sony takes forever to replace parts these days, and they lost the drive that THEY had the carrier pick up because it was packed incredibly poorly), and 2.5 months roughly after that I called to see why they hadn't sent another replacement drive... They said they "don't have any record of receiving the drive." I asked why they hadn't checked their account from the carrier THEY had pick up the drive in 2 months, and got no answer, other than they'd send out another drive & I'm STILL waiting for it!!! I've seen a number of "ban Sony" web sites (after researching this) and I can see why! Their customer service AND their product quality has definitely gone to the dogs IMHO. Where most companies I work with will ship-swap an item and have it to me often in days (Or in some cases even the next day), Sony will not do that, and it was like pulling teeth to get them to replace the last drive that had about 4" of play in the box on one side with NO padding at all between the box and the drive, so it likely ate it in shipping, and now they say they no longer even make this drive! They decided all by themselves to send an "upgrade" without checking to see if it was even compatible with the system it was being used in (even though they have a submission for errors to get their drives working and we went through a BIOS flash and STILL to no avail - this was with the first drive, which simply failed after one use!)

I'm steering clear of Sony for especially massive jobs from now on & buying hardware from more reliable sources with better return policies. Plextor has better customer/retialer service in my experience, so for any upgrades, OR any future hardware puurchases after this expereience, I'll be looking for "other than Sony" parts and customer service.

I bought this item for my son for Christmas and I think that for the price it will be just what he wanted and will work well for him!