Pioneer: DVD Drives Need Update By Barry Willis September 22, 2002 — Some Pioneer DVD recorders and computer drives need a firmware update before they can be used with new high-speed discs, according to a September 17 announcement from Long Beach, CA–based Pioneer Electronics USA, Inc. Using high-speed discs without first completing the update could cause damage to both discs and hardware, the company explained.

The DVD Forum recently established standards for high-speed recordable discs—4X for DVD-R and 2X for DVD-RW. Several manufacturers have begun disc production based on the Forum's recommendations and their products should be on the market soon. A bug in some Pioneer DVD machines could cause problems if the new high-speed discs are used.

Pioneer asks owners of certain DVD recorders, computer drives, and OEM products with Pioneer drives to log onto the company's website for downloadable firmware updates. Computer users can click on the appropriate DVD-R/RW update utility icon. A self-installing update disc is available for stand-alone DVD recorders. The disc can also be used in computers. The updates are free, the announcement stated.

Affected models include Pioneer's DVR-7000 DVD recorder and PRV-9000 professional DVD recorder, as well as the DVR-A03, DVR-103, DVR-A04, and DVR-104 computer drives. Drives supporting the DVD-RAM and DVD+RW formats are not affected by this issue, Pioneer notes. If you believe that you have a Pioneer drive in a machine made by another manufacturer, you should contact Pioneer toll-free at 800-421-1623.