Today we are going to review the latest released drive from Pioneer, the DVR-111DBK. The drive offers all the required features, such as 8X DL burning, as well as 5X DVD-RAM reading. Pioneer has released overall, five DVR-111 models, two Multi Recorders and three Dual. These are the DVR-111DBK (Dual), the DVR-111DSV (Dual), the DVR-111D (Dual) ,the DVR-111 (Multi Recorder) and the DVR-111BK (Multi Recorder).

Name	Type	Color
DVR-111	Multi Recorder (with DVD-RAM write)	Beige front bezel
DVR-111BK	Multi Recorder (with DVD-RAM write)	Black front bezel
DVR-111D	Dual format (without DVD-RAM write)	Beige front bezel
DVR-111DBK	Dual format (without DVD-RAM write)	Black front bezel
DVR-111DSV	Dual format (without DVD-RAM write)	Silver front bezel

- Features

The DVR-111DBK offers writing support for Dual & Double Layer media at 8X speed, along with 16X writing for DVD-R/+R, 6X writing for DVD-RW and 8X writing for DVD+RW.

- Specifications

Write Support
DVD	DVD-R (Ver 2.0 & 2.1 for General disc only), DVD-R DL (Dual Layer, Ver 3.0), DVD-RW (Ver 1.0, 1.1 & 1.2) , +R (Ver 1.0, 1.1, 1.2 & 1.3), +R DL (Double Layer Ver 1.0 & 1.1), +RW (Ver 1.1, 1.2 & 1.3), +RW High Speed (Ver 1.0).
CD	CD-R (Type 74, 650MB & Type 80, 700MB), CD-RW (including HS, US, US+)
Read Support
DVD	DVD-ROM (Single & Dual Layer, Single & Dual Sided) DVD-RAM (Ver 2.0, 2.1 & 2.2, non-cartridge version) DVD-R, DVD-R DL (Dual Layer), DVD-RW +R, +R DL (Double Layer), +RW
CD	CD-ROM Mode 1, CD-ROM XA Mode 2 (Form 1, Form 2) CD-Text, Photo-CD (Single & Multiple Session), CD-DA, CD-Extra, CD-Text, Video CD, CD-R, CD-RW (including HS, US, US+)
Write Speed
DVD-R	16x, 12x, 8x, 6x, 4x, 2x, 1x
DVD-RW	6x, 4x, 2x, 1x
DVD-R DL	8x, 6x, 4x, 2x
DVD+R	16x, 12x, 8x, 6x, 4x. 2.4x
DVD+RW	8x, 6x, 4x, 2.4x
DVD+R DL	8x, 6x, 4x, 2.4x
8cm DVD-R/RW, DVD+R/RW with Adapter	2x, 1x
CD-R	40x, 32x, 24x, 16x, 10x, 4x
CD-RW	32x, 24x, 20x, 16x, 10x, 4x
Read Speed
DVD-ROM (single)	Max 16x CAV
DVD-ROM (dual)	Max 12x CAV
DVD-R, DVD+R	Max 12x CAV
DVD-RW,DVD+RW	Max 8x CAV
DVD+DL	MAX 12x CAV
DVD-RAM	Max 5x CLV
DVD-Video (Single Layer)	5x CAV
DVD-Video (Dual Layer)	5x CAV
CD-ROM, CD-R	Max 40x CAV
CD-RW	Max 32x CAV
Video CD	9.3x CAV
Access Time DVD-ROM	130 msec
Access Time DVD-RAM	210 msec
Access Time CD	120 msec
Installation
Mounting Orientation	Horizontal and Vertical (+/- 5 degrees) *80mm discs cannot be used when the drive is vertically mounted. The case remains even when an adapter is used.
IDE Interface	PIO Mode 4, Multi Word DMA Mode 2, Ultra DMA Mode 2, Ultra DMA Mode 4 (Ultra-DMA66) * It is required to use a cable corresponding to U-ATA66 (80-wire conductor cable)
Data Buffer (size)	2 MB
Dimensions (W x H x D)	148 x 42.3 x 180 mm

Below are the main specs as given by NeroInfoTool and DVDInfoPro:

- Nero InfoTool

- DVD InfoPro

- The Drive

We received a bulk version of the DVR-111DBK, without any bundled software.

The front design of the drive is just like the previous Pioneer DVR-110D that we had tested a couple of months back, with the only difference that this one is black. So, there is nothing more to comment on with regards to the look since it is a typical Pioneer drive.

- Front panel view

- Rear panel view

- Top view

- Inside view

We do not recommend removing the drive's cover, since this will void the manufacturer's warranty. You can take a look inside the drive with the pictures below. Click on the image below for a larger and more detailed photograph.

Inside the DVR-111DBK, we found a NEC chipset, which was also used in the previous DVR-110D. The new chip, however, is the next version of the D63645GM (DVR-110D), the D63645AGM.

- Installation

The device was connected to our test PC and was identified as the "PIONEER DVD-RW DVR-111D" under WinXP. The drive came with firmware version 1.06 installed, which at the time of the review was the latest available.

Throughout this review, we will see how the Pioneer DVR-111DBK performed against two other latest releases, the Plextor PX-760A and the LiteON SHM-165P65.