Pioneer BDR-S07XLT

[stew2]

Hi, iv just bought a Pioneer BDR-S07XLT drive and installed it but under device manager it's showing as BDR-207.

The box it came in states BDR-S07XLT and the manual inside the box also states the same, however in device manager its a BDR-207 1.20. Iv updated the firmware with the BDR-S07XLT firmware and it now shows as BDR-207 1.21.

In the box was an Arcsoft TotalMedia Extreme 2 disc and that was the only accessory. With the BDR-S07XLT i was supposed to be able to control the drive speed with some software as it states "In addition to the Video & Audio Mode, the new utility software also provides new functions that allow users to see the disc and drive status. The audio/video disc loading and Quiet Drive Mode settings can be managed by this included software. Now users can use the drive more easily and smoothly."

So my questions are, have i received the wrong drive and is the S07XLT better than the BDR-207?

Thanks

[Albert]

You’ve received the correct drive.

The drive identifies as a BDR-207 because it technically is a BDR-207. It just has a different firmware than normal 207 drives that allows it to support the extra features you’ve read about. To use the extra features, you may have to dig through the included software disc. (It also has the fancy face plate, and a possibility for other small tweaks that don’t make it any different from a normal 207).

You may find that trying to install the firmware for a normal 207 will result in an error saying it can’t find the drive. The drive can respond to certain queries that tell Pioneer software that it is, in fact, a certain sub-model of the BDR-207 line; this should prevent you from installing incorrect firmware for any of the other 207 models. (This same check prevents the software utilities from working with basic 207 models that don’t have the same premium features).

[stew2]

Hi, thanks for the quick and informative reply.

That’s excellent that it should be the correct drive but its still bugging me that there’s no utilities package. Iv looked on the arcsoft disc and installed the whole package just to make sure and there’s no pioneer software. The only things it installs are “TotalMedia Theatre” and “TotalMedia Record”. Is there anywhere i can down the utilities?

[Albert]

It’s not available for download.

The box states that the utility is included on the disc with Arcsoft-branded software, right? Are you sure that you’ve browsed every folder on the included installation disc?

[stew2]

When i open the disc this is what i see -

http://imageshack.us/a/img442/1697/captureaaa.png

There’s 2 cab files but i cant open them.

[deanwitty]

Have you looked through all the settings/options in the Total media software for mention of the functions? You may need to have a blank disc inserted to see them in TMR or a movie disc in TMT.

[stew2]

Iv looked through the settings and cant find anything for playback speed. Im either missing it or its not what i thought it was going to be. For instance in anyDVD you can select the speed for cd’s and dvd’s to play at and i thought it would be something similar to that.

Thanks for the help but i don’t want to waste any more of your time as iv already spent way too many hours looking for there “Utilities” and i think il just give up now. Their manuals are rubbish and they provide no way of downloading their software. OH well, lesson learned this will be the first and last pioneer drive i buy.

[Albert]

Don’t get discouraged from buying Pioneer’s drives in totality; I’d instead recommend purchasing just a regular drive (not a premium version), which will work just as well and leave you with a bit more cash in your pocket to buy decent software as needed. I say this for any drive manufacturer, though; if you can purchase the bare drive from an online shop, that’s definitely a good way to go.

Now, if the S07 itself fails to perform adequately, then I’d start an angry mob.

[deanwitty]

Just to muck it up a bit more, the two sellers that I could find to mention software included with their XLTs listed Cyberlink software:confused:.
Pioneer has been supplying Cyberlink with other drives.

I’ve seen it mentioned that the Pio Drive Utility is not automatically installed with the software package, must be installed separately.

We need to find some answers regarding this mysterious software.

[Albert]

That’s what I was thinking: the drives usually come with Cyberlink software packages from what I’ve heard. This is why I was curious if the box on the drive stated it came with Arcsoft software instead…which, if that was the case, would put the source of frustration on either Arcsoft (should they have gotten the request from Pioneer to include the utility on their presses, but denied the request) or Pioneer (should they have made a misstep by going to Arcsoft without requesting the utility be included).

I also find it difficult to believe that the Pioneer utility hasn’t been mirrored anywhere online; they have their old Quiet Drive utility available on a number of their regional sites, and make references to the value-add software for all their new BD-RE drives that support it, yet make it obnoxiously difficult to obtain.

Maybe a member here has purchased a BDR-2207, BDR-S07XLT, BDR-S07XLB, or other “premium” retail version of a BDR-207 that has the proper software and could locate the accursed drive utility.

[deanwitty]

Or, is the drive software included in the Japanese market retail package, but not in the EU package intentionally by Pioneer. And sellers are simply using the promo material supplied by Pio, which was never updated to include any changes in the EU release? I’m leaning in that direction.

[deanwitty]

We are so alike .

I’ve been seriously considering starting a new thread begging for any info from our members.

Can’t even find the darn thing in the torrent channels.

Are you a Sherlock Holmes fan, too?

[stew2]

Pioneer sucks, im sorry Albert but im definitely “discouraged from buying Pioneer’s drives in totality” :). The fact i had to ask if i had the right drive as there’s a confusing amount of bdr-207 drives with a lack of information and everyone just guessing at what the differences are says a lot about their company. To not include software or even mention what’s included eg: cyberlink or arcsoft and have no download available for their own software is pretty pathetic.

Just to confirm that there’s no mention on the packaging of what disc i should have got and to be honest iv never had these sort of issues with samsung, sony, lite-on, asus etc optical drives. Really wish id picked something else now

[chef]

[QUOTE=stew2;2658298]Pioneer sucks, im sorry Albert but im definitely “discouraged from buying Pioneer’s drives in totality” :). [/QUOTE]

Wrong conclusions, sorry.
You’d better ask your seller what they did wrong.

[stew2]

Well i bought mine form KIKATEK, this guy bought his from DABS and we are both missing the utilities disc.

There information is confusing at best. But you are right i think il contact them and see if they will swap it for a different drive.

[deanwitty]

[QUOTE=chef;2658354]Wrong conclusions, sorry.
You’d better ask your seller what they did wrong.[/QUOTE]
I agree, chef. I also think that is the best way to start.

[QUOTE=stew2;2658371]Well i bought mine form KIKATEK, this guy bought his from DABS and we are both missing the utilities disc.

There information is confusing at best. But you are right i think il contact them and see if they will swap it for a different drive.[/QUOTE]
Yes, we would all like to know what is going on here. Their recent BD drives have been very good, I’ve considered buying an XLT myself. You may also wish to contact Pioneer about this to see what they have to say. Please let us know what you learn?

[Albert]

The American retail 207M package–marketed as the BDR-2207–has Cyberlink software and includes the utility. bigmike7 helped me verify this. He purchased his drive some time ago, so I don’t know if newer 2207 drives fell back to Arcsoft, but at least one market got the proper software at some point.

[bigmike7]

[QUOTE=Albert;2658458]The American 207M–marketed as the BDR-2207–has Cyberlink software and includes the utility. bigmike7 helped me verify this. He purchased his drive some time ago, so I don’t know if newer 2207 drives fell back to Arcsoft, but at least one market got the proper software at some point.[/QUOTE]

Yo Albert-

I got mine about one month ago - retail version from Amazon.com

(btw - tried again this am - gmail rejects because "contains harmful files [.exe])

[vroom]

[QUOTE=bigmike7;2658459]Yo Albert-

I got mine about one month ago - retail version from Amazon.com

(btw - tried again this am - gmail rejects because "contains harmful files [.exe])[/QUOTE]

Mike, simply rename the .exe file to .txt and everything should be fine.

[bigmike7]

[QUOTE=vroom;2658460]Mike, simply rename the .exe file to .txt and everything should be fine.[/QUOTE]

Yo-

The help file is .txt and Google rejected that one too