Pioneer, the market leader and chief innovator in the field of DVD technology, today launches its latest and fastest DVD-R/RW writer, the DVR-A05. Benefiting from the enhancements of previous generations, the DVR-A05 takes DVD writing to a new level by burning at twice the speed of the DVR-A04 to meet the new industry media standard² of a 4x write speed to DVD-R and 2x to DVD-RW, ahead of competing brands. The writer is also capable of writing CD-R media with a 16x write speed and CD-RW at 8x, combined with a higher read speed of 32x CD-ROM and 6x DVD-ROM. "Pioneer is leading the way in the digital convergence between consumer electronics and IT, providing consumers with a fast, easy-to-use writing environment and the tools to conveniently create and store quality-enhanced media," says marketing communications manager, Pioneer Europe NV, Mark Grotefeld.

"The DVR-A05 meets new global standards set in August by the DVD Forum and allows users to maximise the new high-speed, write-once and re-writable media," continues Grotefeld. "It offers the highest write speeds available and the greatest degree of playback flexibility. Video written to DVD-R via the DVR-A05 can be read by almost all available DVD players and DVD-ROM drives."

Faster writing

Writing a full 4.7GB DVD-R disc can now take just 15 minutes instead of what was once an hour-long process³. Combined with the bundled software, the enhanced writing functionality includes:

Quick Format - DVD-RW discs are ready to use in approximately two minutes, eliminating the need for the user to perform a full format of the media prior to writing

Drag and Drop - Consumers can start writing data instantly to brand new, unformatted media with "Automatic Quick Formatting"

Quick Finalising - Consumers are able to finalise their DVD-R/RW disc, containing less than 1GB of data, without the need for any extra lead-out writing

Quick Grow - DVD-RW discs can now be re-opened once they have been finalised, enabling users to add extra data to utilise the disc's maximum capacity

Multiborder - DVD-R discs can now have additional data appended once finalised, again enabling users to maximise the disc's capacity

- Improved design

The DVR-A05 adopts a range of new technologies to enhance the reliability of writing to DVD:

Liquid Crystal Tilt Technology - This technology is used in Pioneer's high-end DVD Car Navigation systems and ensures that playback and recording functions are stabilised, by using a liquid crystal tilt mechanism that maintains reliable and accurate writing or reading

Smart Laser Driver - The advanced laser driver circuitry accurately controls the 'record signal' at increased write speeds and lessens the possibility of signal degradation

Dynamic Resonance Absorber - This proven Pioneer technology is included within the writer to absorb vibrations caused by imbalanced discs, allowing for stable reading and writing

Bundled software

The software bundled with the DVR-A05 comprises of:

* MyDVD Video Suite 4 (Sonic Solutions) - Versatile video editing and authoring software that includes the new slideshow functionality, enabling the integration of digital photography into an electronic album for playback on any DVD-Video device. Also includes DVD playback software, CinePlayer

* InstantCD/DVD V6.5 (VOB) - Software that enhances data recording, allowing users to format discs in approximately two minutes, and provides "drag and drop" functionality for writing to DVD and CD media. This incorporates DVD playback software, DVDPlayer

The bundle also features DVD writing media

The DVR-A05 is available from the beginning of November.