MSI DR4-A DVD Writer

Help us keep the list up to date and Submit new DVD and Blu-ray Writers here.

What is the DVD Write speeds? CAV, CLV, PCAV, ZCLV. Read our DVD Writer colum explanation.

Search DVD Writer: (Leave empty to search for all) with these features:
+ List all features
Order by: Hits:

test

1 DVD Writer hits, Showing 1 to 1 DVD Writers

DVD Writer

Write support
CDR, DVDR, BDR, HDDVDR

Read
speed

Connection
Buffer, Bit

Price

Best

Rating

Comments

MSI DR4-A

OEM:Accesstek
Chipset:Sanyo

24xCDR ZCLV
10xCDRW CLV
4xDVD-R CLV
2xDVD-RW CLV
~~DVD-RDL~~
4xDVD+R CLV
2.4xDVD+RW CLV
~~DVD+RDL~~
~~DVD-RAM~~

~~BD-R~~
~~BD-RE~~
~~BD-R DL~~
~~BD-RE DL~~
~~HDDVD-R~~
~~HDDVD-RW~~
~~HDDVD-RDL~~
~~HDDVD-RWDL~~
~~HDDVD-RAM~~

40xCD
12xDVD
~~BDROM~~
~~HDDVD~~

EIDE, 8MB
More info

$200

8.4/10
17 votes
Read 29
comments
(45140 views)

Post comment

DVD Media comments for this DVD Writer (click on the link to read the comments):
1 Bulkpaq 4xDVD+R (AML.....002) comments, 1 good, 0 mixed, 0 poor.
1 Bulkpaq 4xDVD-R (PRINCO......) comments, 1 good, 0 mixed, 0 poor.
1 CD Media 4xDVD-R (4M SYS 202C1) comments, 0 good, 0 mixed, 1 poor.
1 Datasafe Media 4xDVD-R (RITEKG04....) comments, 1 good, 0 mixed, 0 poor.
1 Datawrite Red (V2) 4xDVD-R (INFOSMART01.) comments, 1 good, 0 mixed, 0 poor.
1 Fortis 2.4xDVD+RW (OPTODISCOP1) comments, 1 good, 0 mixed, 0 poor.
1 Fujifilm 8xDVD-R (FUJIFILM03..) comments, 0 good, 1 mixed, 0 poor.
1 Fujifilm 2.4xDVD+R (RICOHJPNR00) comments, 1 good, 0 mixed, 0 poor.
1 Generic/Unbranded 2xDVD-R (MXL RG01....) comments, 0 good, 0 mixed, 1 poor.
1 HP 4xDVD+RW (PHILIPS.041) comments, 1 good, 0 mixed, 0 poor.
1 Hyundai 8xDVD+R (YUDEN000T02) comments, 0 good, 0 mixed, 1 poor.
1 Imation 4xDVD+R (RICOHJPNR01) comments, 1 good, 0 mixed, 0 poor.
1 Maxell 4xDVD-R (TYG01.......) comments, 1 good, 0 mixed, 0 poor.
2 Medianca 1xDVD-R (OPTODISCK001) comments, 1 good, 0 mixed, 1 poor.
2 Memorex 4xDVD+R (RICOHJPNR01) comments, 2 good, 0 mixed, 0 poor.
1 Mirror Platinum 8xDVD-R (TYG02.......) comments, 0 good, 0 mixed, 1 poor.
1 Mitsumi 4xDVD-R (AN31........) comments, 0 good, 1 mixed, 0 poor.
1 Princo 1xDVD-R (PRINCO......) comments, 1 good, 0 mixed, 0 poor.
2 Princo 4xDVD-R (PRINCO......) comments, 2 good, 0 mixed, 0 poor.
1 Ritek 4xDVD-R (RITEKG04....) comments, 1 good, 0 mixed, 0 poor.
1 Sky 4xDVD+R (POMSA0010R.) comments, 1 good, 0 mixed, 0 poor.
1 Sony 1xDVD-R (SONY........) comments, 1 good, 0 mixed, 0 poor.
1 Swisstec 4xDVD+R (POMSA0010R.) comments, 1 good, 0 mixed, 0 poor.
1 TDK 4xDVD-R (TYG01.......) comments, 1 good, 0 mixed, 0 poor.
2 That's Write! 4xDVD-R (LEADDATA01..) comments, 1 good, 1 mixed, 0 poor.
1 Traxdata 4xDVD+R (RICOHJPNR01) comments, 1 good, 0 mixed, 0 poor.
1 Traxdata 2.4xDVD+R (RITEK...R01) comments, 0 good, 0 mixed, 1 poor.
1 UL-Tran Media 4xDVD-R (ONIDTECH....) comments, 0 good, 0 mixed, 1 poor.
1 Verbatim (DataLifePlus) 4xDVD-R (MCC 01RG20) comments, 1 good, 0 mixed, 0 poor.
1 Xidex 8xDVD+R (PRODISC.R03) comments, 1 good, 0 mixed, 0 poor.
Post your DVD Media comments here

Comments

29 comments, Showing 1 to 25 comments

- Next ->

No problem at all, burnt already more than 150 DVD´s and it is still working fine. And the 8 MB buffer really makes diference!

I just couldn´t test hd-burn mode...

Comments posted by tico from Brazil, October 31, 2004. Rated this writer 10 of 10.

datawrite v 3 works baaaad!

firmware 2.5

Comments posted by Erlend from Norway, April 28, 2004. Rated this writer 1 of 10.

Using nero 5.5.10.54 cant burn on the fly from msi dvd drive..only detects 4x speed disc as 2x..datasafe..anyone help..winxp.

Comments posted by laalfella from United States, April 25, 2004. Rated this writer No rating.

NEW FIRMWARE!!! Version 2.60 available - should work for the Optorite201 too.

Info...........

Release new F/W version 2.60
1. Enhance DVD,CD-R/RW media compatibility to support more discs on the market.
2. Enable RAW SAO, RAW DAO 96 mode.

How to use:
1. Extract the file and Copy DVFLASH.exe and 260d.bin to the destination folder.
2. Reboot your PC under real DOS mode and enter the target folder.
3. Execute "DVFLASH_260d.bin"

http://www.msi.com.tw/program/support/driver/dvr/spt_firmware_detail.php?UID=498

Cheers, just what the doctor ordered!

Quality and compatability report to follow........

A.

Comments posted by andem from United Kingdom, April 22, 2004. Rated this writer No rating.

Does not recognize Fortis DVD-R discs with firmware 2.50.

Comments posted by Lonnie from Sweden, April 15, 2004. Rated this writer No rating.

Tested an Iomega dual b4.Maybe was a monday product.Bought MSI 4X.. tryed with Nero6.full and i have some problems with Memorex dvd-r write ok but can´t read data...cyclic redundancy error... maybe my misstake?:)Just burning on same media with 2X speed.. hopes working.I have 40 empty dvd.s left:)
Frank

Comments posted by Frank from Sweden, April 15, 2004. Rated this writer 7 of 10.

I got a 2.50 firmware from www.rpc1.com which removes the region lock.

Since flashing to this firmware I can burn on bulkpaq disks which I couldnt with previous firmware releases.

This drive is class.

Comments posted by FiRez UK from United Kingdom, February 29, 2004. Rated this writer 10 of 10.

Purchaced Drive. Turned To Shit. Did not burn dvd or cd successfully. Returned on warranty. Now new drive works perfectly. Burns ritek, princo and shintaro with only 2 cheap databank (ritek) coasters.

Comments posted by Todd Harford from Australia, February 15, 2004. Rated this writer No rating.

The new 2.50 firmware is also available at MSI:
http://www.msi.com.tw/program/products/optical_devices/dvs_index.php
You might also want to try their LiveUpdate3 to update automatically from within Windows.
I have tried it and updated to 2.50 successfully.

Comments posted by Tobbe from Sweden, February 05, 2004. Rated this writer No rating.

New firmware available at www.optorite.com its v2.50
Havent tried it yet though.

Comments posted by Bright1 from United Kingdom, February 01, 2004. Rated this writer 9 of 10.

i have a problem , I cannot write DVD-RW , the firmware is the last 2.30, the media are TDK , PRINCO AND PRIMEDISK ,

Comments posted by Paul from Portugal, January 25, 2004. Rated this writer No rating.

I've been using Princo 1-4X discs to burn my movies and no disc has been any problem....
But i've never used any other dvd-r discs than Princo so I don't know if there's compability problems...using firmware 2.23, have'nt upgrade to 2.3

Comments posted by Jingan from Other, January 08, 2004. Rated this writer 10 of 10.

I've had the drive for over 6 weeks now, used it with the old firmware drive that it shipped with, no problems with burning any DVD's, -RW +RW -R +R. Been using Verbatim disks. Burned around 30 disks so far, no coasters :-)

I have upgraded the firmware to 2.3 and tested on one DVD burn, again no problems.

Using Nero 6 (full version), DVDFab, DVDShrink

Comments posted by yebosa from Other, January 05, 2004. Rated this writer 10 of 10.

GREAT DRIVE / PRICE- but must have optorite 2.30 firmware - HD BURN is great (i'm joining 2cd movies to one 1,4GB file, burning and watching it at one piece) - only one wrong burn so far on cheap and little scratched media, but other about 50 cd-r(w)s and 40 dvd+/-r(w)s burnt well.

the 3 known "features" (not issues) of MSI DR-4 :
1. won't write: - cheap gigamaster DVD-RW media (gigamaster DVD-R works fine), some 90min+/800MB+ cds (had a problem with 800MB platinum) btw: it can burn max. 93min, but i didn't try --- NEVER DO A HD-BURN ON CD BIGGER THAN 700MB !!!
2. UDF "packeting" (using media like HD) sometimes screwed some file - not sure, that issue was in software or firmware or media or what... i was using nero inCD 4.0.x.x and after discovering some wrong CRC in zipped filles, i quickly update inCD to 4.1.0.0. after that i'm checking every file now and no corrupted found so far. so i think it was nero bug.
3. and not so important: freeze while i was burning one cd-rw, which was caused by my experiment of setting BIOS to force PIO mode, not UDMA - made this RW unreadable in DR-4 at all !!! (maybe will help to erase it in another writter)
(btw: it was usefull to find out that this drive do not support PIO mode !!!)

besides everything, i recommend msi and still think it is best choice right now.

Comments posted by yagger from Other, December 26, 2003. Rated this writer 10 of 10.

I've had the write for a couple of weeks. Seems to be very good. Flashed to 2.30.

Burnt a cheap Traxdata DVD-RW, but it wouldn't play in my DVD-ROM (LG DRD8160B) or standalone DVD-player (LG 3351E), but my PS2 read it without problems, so I guess it's the other two players that aren't very fond of (Traxdata?) -RW discs. Will try a better media soon, probably Verbatim.

Burnt Verbatim DVD-R, readable by my DVD-ROM and standalone DVD-player, not tried in PS2, but I guess it will work since the other players can read it.

Burnt Fujifilm DVD+RW, burnt fine, but none of my other DVD-players support +RW...

Comments posted by ll from Other, December 23, 2003. Rated this writer No rating.

Bought this writer 15-12-03, so far I've made 4 coasters, seems to burn ok but when verified the data is corrupt :(
very unhappy.
Media used: Mirror Platinum -R (Failed at 1%)and White Label -R (Burn successful 100% but corrupt when verified)
Firmware flashed to 2.23

Comments posted by AdO from Other, December 20, 2003. Rated this writer 1 of 10.

Bought the retail Black bezel version fron PC Club for $129.00 one week ago, so far I have backed up 30 DVD's with NO coasters. I use DVD Shrink(latest),Nero 6.0.0.30, and have also used CloneDVD. this burner will burn a full DVD-5 at a consistant time of 14:30-14:50 @4x(DVD+-R). so far I have used Ritek and TDK DVD's bought in bulk.

Comments posted by gReEnBuL from Other, December 16, 2003. Rated this writer 9 of 10.

Just thought i'd sum up my experiences with this drive, which i've had for around 2 months now. Of course i've upgraded to firmware v2.30 from the Optorite (201) site.

Using any grade of +R discs, from Riteks to Phoenix (AN31 manu.) this drive will produce an error free disc, whether it be from ISO or 'live writing' from Nero or BurnAtOnce.
I've found that +R's will play on even the most picky XBox, PS2, PC DVD and standalone players.

Using any grade -R discs, again from Riteks through to Datawrite (Infodisc manu.) and Mirror Platinum (AN31 manu.) will still produce an error free disc. However, these discs have limited compatibility with other dvd based hardware. The best compatibility i've had with -R discs is with dvd-video, whereas data discs and console discs the compatibilty is noticeably reduced.

I have contacted Optorite support (not MSI as they seem to be behind the times) concerning -R issues and they stated that the next firmware will improve things no end.

So, as it stands, I recommend using +R for everything and -R just for video, whilst recommending Ritek and Ricoh manufactured discs.

Thanks,

B1.

Comments posted by Bright1 from Other, December 10, 2003. Rated this writer No rating.

I did not upgrade the firmware. I burned a movie on an e3works 4X dvd-r disk and it played on my old Apex player. (this disk costs 2$ CAN). It burned at 2X speed only (I guess because I'm using an old Duron 700 computer).
I burned a movie on a Memorex 2.4 +RW dvd (costs 5$ CAN) : it didn't work. But I could backup datas on this disk.
I had no time to test other brand of disks.

Comments posted by Franz from Other, December 09, 2003. Rated this writer 9 of 10.

correction...

the dvd writer read MS8404A

and yes i have flashed upgraded it.

Comments posted by asterix from Other, December 04, 2003. Rated this writer No rating.

bought it for £98 inc p&P from savastore.(wont recommend the store)

the drive i bought was an unbranded one... no manufacturer written on the front or back... on the top it says DR4-A.
also bought the cheapest -R media.... £15 for 25

came bundled with nero and my sonic DVD (though the old versions)but no manuals and nothing else. (4 tiny screws to fix!)

the main reason to buy this drive were
1) multiformat
2) 8mb memory
and flashable bios.

burnt the cds well. havent tried hd burn
could not burn the dvd drives... was using them as data only for home video. hangs the computer. (winXP)

then after searching long and hard on the internet... it says needs 1GHz processor. mine is PIII 533 with 576MB RAM.
did not think processor speed would have impact.

boot in safe mode and now the burner seems to burn dvd disks well, though took 40 min instead of the 15 min promised.

havent yet tried the compatibility issue... havent had the time to compile the avi files to dvd format.

also somebody mentions multi region. the website says 4 changes allowed. and is not multiregion.

Comments posted by asterix from Other, December 04, 2003. Rated this writer 8 of 10.

awesome drive ... have not yet made one single coaster i have trialed laser dvd disc and princo's both burn very well ...no issues at all .....highly recommend to anyone....
matt australia

Comments posted by matt from Other, November 24, 2003. Rated this writer 10 of 10.

Flash this drive with the 2.23 firmware from Optorite. They've cured the DVD-R unreadable disc issue. This drive is now 101%.

Cheers,

B1.

Comments posted by Bright1 from Other, November 06, 2003. Rated this writer 10 of 10.

Bought this drive from watford electronics three weeks ago £94.00
brilliant!!!.HD burn worked okay but only with top quaulity discs
appers to be region free out of the box,not tried this noregion one discs

Comments posted by john from Other, November 02, 2003. Rated this writer No rating.

Back again! And a little bit lighter in the wallet area!
This drive is awesome!
After three weeks of testing different media, i've yet to have a single coaster with any major named brands!

Ritek +R 4x Purple Top - superb 100% compatibility rate with every drive/player i've tried it on
Ritek -R 4x Orange Top - burns well, but cant be read by most pc dvd-roms, ok on standalones though

Imation 4x (RicohJpnR00) - burns like a dream 100% success rate.

The drive cost £117 here in the UK from Scan Computers. And i'm more than satisifed with it.

The only bugbear, imho, is the compatibility of written -R's which will hopefully be sorted out with the next firmware update.

B1.

Comments posted by Bright1 from Other, November 01, 2003. Rated this writer 10 of 10.

29 comments, Showing 1 to 25 comments

- Next ->

1 DVD Writer hits, Showing 1 to 1 DVD Writers

Column Explanation:

Click on this for more technical information.

New comments= New comments since your last visit.
New Writer = New DVD Writer since your last vist.

OEM
Original Equipment Manufacturer.

Chipset
The manufacturer of the main chipset the DVD writer/recorder is based on.

Write support / Read support
DVD-R = Works
~~DVD-R~~ = Is not supported
DVD-R? = Not tested

Single Layer(4.7GB) write speeds
1x (CLV) = about 58 minutes
2x (CLV) = about 29 minutes
2.4x (CLV) = about 24 minutes
4x (CLV) = about 14.5 minutes
6x (CLV/ZCLV) = about 10-12 minutes
8x (PCAV/ZCLV) = about 8-10 minutes
12x (PCAV/ZCLV) = about 6.5-7.5 minutes
16x (CAV/ZCLV) = about 6-7 minutes

Dual/Double Layer(8.5GB) write speeds
1x CLV = about 105 minutes
2.4x CLV = about 44 minutes
4x CLV = about 27 minutes

Single Layer (4.7GB) read speeds
1x read speed is 1.321MB/s = ~56 minutes
6x CAV (avg. ~4x) read speed is max 7.93MB/s = ~14 minutes
8x CAV (avg. ~6x) read speed is max 10.57MB/s = ~10 minutes
12x CAV (avg. ~8x) read speed is max 15.85MB/s = ~7 minutes
16x CAV (avg. ~12x) read speed is max 21.13MB/s = ~5 minutes

DVD Write types
CAV = Constant Angular Velocity, the DVD is written at a constantly increasing speed.
CLV = Constant Linear Velocity, the DVD is written at a constant speed.
ZCLV = Zone Constant Linear Velocity, the DVD is divided into zones. After each zone the write speed is increased.
PCAV = Partial Constant Angular Velocity, the DVD is being written at an increasing speed until a certain speed. After this speed it will not increase anymore.

Connection
Desktop = Standalone desktop DVD Recorder
EIDE = Computer DVD Writer with EIDE/IDE connection
SCSI = Computer DVD Writer with SCSI connection
USB = Computer desktop DVD Writer with USB 2.0 or/and 1.1 connection
FireWire = Computer desktop DVD Writer with IEEE 1394/FireWire/i.Link connection (some standalone desktop dvd recorder supports this also but then it is usually to connect your DV camera to the recorder)

Rating
The first rating is based on a weighted rank (the true Bayesian), it requires at least 5 votes to get a weighted rating.
The second rating between the ( ) is a normal average rating.

Visit our sponsors! Try DVDFab and backup Blu-rays!