IMO, the 216 will be an excellent step up from the 215 once Pioneer improves the burn quality for certain MIDs. From the Pioneer Aus. website:
[B]Superior high speed writing support[/B]
Pioneer DVR-216 boasts a greater range of overspeed burning support for common media types than any other drive. For example, 13 DVD-R and 10 DVD+R media types are supported at 20x, and 23 DVD-R and 16 DVD+R media types are supported at 18x, compared to single-digit numbers for all other drives on the market.
[B]Optimal Write speed setting[/B]
Even media sold under big brand names can vary in quality from batch to batch and this creates a situation where burning at high speed may not deliver the best results for any given media type. The Optimal Write speed setting enables the user to choose between best quality or fastest speed, providing improved burn quality for all media types when compared to just burning at full speed which would otherwise be the default. This is not a blanket “8x for all media types”, it will be customised for each media type.
[B]Lower noise than any other DVD writer at full speed[/B]
Another common complaint about high speed DVD burners is noise when spinning at full speed. As soon as you spin a disc faster, it creates more noise, primarily because the spinning disc creates turbulence within the drive, causing air to rush in. In order to reduce the noise made by the drive, we redesigned the drive chassis & bezel completely, first to limit the noise made in the first place, and secondly, to trap what noise is made and keep it within the drive. Air vents in the tray allow for air to stay within the drive and not get bottled up, and a new interlocking bezel design means we can control where air enters the drive. End result is that the DVR-216 is more than 25% quieter than the previous generation drive, and still more than 10% quieter than any other drive on the market.
[B]Increased resistance to dust[/B]
Dust is a major cause of premature drive failure. As a result of the new design, the DVR-216 is much more resistant to dust entering the drive. On an industry standard test, the DVR-216 performed more than 4 times better than the next best drive, and over 20 times better than a number of common models.