what is firmware?

[kyotic]

i just bought a pioneer a04 dvd writer and i want to burn ps2 dvds. can anyone tell me how i burn them, also what is firmware and do i need it? is it to burn multi-regoin dvds? thanks

[SledDog]

If you bought the A04 in the retail bundle, just use PrimoDVD v2.0 that came with it, but be sure to apply the latest Px Engine update available from here:

http://www.veritas.com/us/products/recordnow/drivers/

RecordNow Max is also a good choice (and also uses the Veritas Px Engine, so apply the same update to that too.) A free trial is available at the Veritas web site.

As for firmware . . . basically the BIOS code that controls your A04. In the case of the A03 and A04 (and many other DVD-R and CD-R/RW burners) this BIOS code is updated from time to time to fix any problems which may have been discovered by the manufacturer and/or public.

The BIOS in the A03/A04 is "flash-upgradeable" by downloading the latest firmware revision from Pioneer or the URL I'm including below and then executing the firmware installer program to erase the current firmware and write the newer version into the Flash ROM in the burner (be sure to reboot afterwards for it to take effect.)

As an example, my A03 shipped with v1.55 firmware, went to v1.68 and is now up to v1.80, which cured the majority of problems burning non-Pioneer brand DVD-R blanks at 2x. You can check your A04 firmware version either in Windows - Control Panel - Device Manager (click on the drive) or in PrimoDVD.

For anyone with a DVD or CD-R/RW burner, this site is the best I've found for firmware updates for practically every reader and burner out there. Also a great place for DVD "region-free" firmware. (play DVDs from anywhere in the world.)

The Firmware Page
http://www.firmware.fr.st/
or to go directly to the DVD burners
http://perso.club-internet.fr/farzen.../dvd/dvdrf.htm

Hope that answered your questions.