Sony is the next manufacturer to jump onto the 18x train for DVD burners. From 16x being the fastest possible for the DVD format for a long time several manufacturers have now presented new models with higher write speeds. Amongst others we’ve seen LG and Plextor announce 18X DVD burners while Lite-On is talking about 20X speed with its coming models. But now it’s Sony that has decided to update its family of DVD burner with the new 830 series. This is Sony’s twelfth generation of optical storage technology and the models support all current optical write formats on the market, CD-R/RW, DVD-R/RW, DVD+R/RW and DVD-RAM.
If you look at the write speeds it is DVD±R which has been upgraded from 16x to 18x. The other write speeds looks as follows;
Sony 830 series:
- 18X DVD±R
- 8X DVD±R DL
- 8X DVD+RW
- 6X DVD-RW
- 12X DVD-RAM for data backup
- 48X CD-R
- 32X CD-RW
Sony has decided to launch four different models in the new 830 series. Two models for the stationary market where one is internal (Sony DRU-830A) and one external (Sony DRU-830U). It has also launched an external model called DRU-830UL-T which supports both Windows and Mac.
For those who wants to complete his laptop with a poweful burner Sony has also launched Sony DRX-S50U which has a a much more slim design.
The internal unit is available today already and costs $89.99. The external models are expected to appear between October and December costing less than $100.
Sony DRU-830A
Sony DRU-830U
