Sony USA was kind enough to send us their latest External Slim DVD Multi Drive: the Sony DRX-S70U. The sleek new Sony DRX-S70U external multi-burner for Windows® Vista, XP/2000 packs a lot of performance in a small package. Make quick work of your most demanding burning projects with 8X max DVD+R burning, 4X DVD+R Double/Dual Layer burning, 8X max DVD+RW, 6X max DVD-RW, and 5X max DVD-RAM burning capabilities. An ideal companion to your notebook or desktop PC, this burner comes equipped with the Nero® 7 Essentials software suite and USB 2.0 interface.

In this article we will show the performance of the Sony DRX-S70U by running the drive through many tests on a considerable amount of various CD/DVD media.

Company Information

We took a quick look at the company information found at Sony web pages:

Sony Corporation of America

Sony Corporation of America, based in New York City, is the U.S. subsidiary of Sony Corporation, headquartered in Tokyo. Sony is a leading manufacturer of audio, video, communications, and information technology products for the consumer and professional markets. Its music, motion picture, television, computer entertainment, and online businesses make Sony one of the most comprehensive entertainment companies in the world. Sony's principal U.S. businesses include Sony Electronics Inc., Sony Pictures Entertainment, Sony Computer Entertainment America Inc., and a 50% interest in Sony BMG Music Entertainment, one of the largest recorded music companies in the world. Sony recorded consolidated annual sales of approximately $64 billion for the fiscal year ended March 31, 2006, and it employs 158,500 people worldwide. Sony's consolidated sales in the U.S. for the fiscal year ended March 31, 2006 were $16.7 billion.

Corporate Fact Sheet (August 2006):

• U.S. Businesses
• Sony Electronics Inc.
• Sony Entertainment Inc.
• Sony Computer Entertainment America Inc.
• Sony DADC and Sony Entertainment Distribution
• Sony Connect Inc.
• Sony Plaza Public Arcade and Sony Wonder Technology Lab (New York)
• Annual Sales / Sony Corporation Consolidated
• $64 billion (Fiscal Year ended March 31, 2006)
• Sales in the United States: $16.7 billion

Workforce

• 158,500 employees worldwide (Fiscal Year ended March 31, 2006)

U.S. R&D and Engineering Facilities

• San Jose, CA
• San Diego, CA
• Boulder, CO
• Park Ridge, NJ

Major Manufacturing Sites in North America

• Dothan, AL
• Pittsburgh, PA
• Pitman, NJ
• San Diego, CA 
• Terre Haute, IN 
• Tijuana, Mexicali and Nuevo Laredo, Mexico

More about Sony

• A leading audio-visual electronics and information technology company in the U.S. and worldwide
• A leading motion picture and television production company in the U.S. and worldwide
• The co-developer of the CD, DVD, Super Audio CD and Blu-ray Disc
• The developer, manufacturer, and marketer of PlayStation®, PlayStation®2 and PlayStation® Portable game consoles
• The inventor of a wide range of consumer audio-visual products, such as the BRAVIA TVs, SXRD, FD Trinitron® WEGA® television, Mavica® digital camera, Digital8® Handycam® camcorder, Walkman® personal stereo, Hi-MD/Net MD MiniDisc player/recorder, and the Memory Stick®IC flash media. Also an innovator in IT products, including VAIO® personal computers, FD Trinitron® computer display and the 3.5-inch floppy disk; and professional products, highlighted by the HDCAM® 24-P, Digital Betacam® and DVCAM® VTR and camera formats
• A publicly held company, with shares listed on 16 stock exchanges worldwide, including Tokyo, New York, and London
• A company with 936 consolidated subsidiaries worldwide.
• As you can see Sony is a very large company with a long history. And now let’s take a look at the drive.

Drive Specifications:

Now let us take a look at the specifications of the Sony DRX-S70U.

Retail packaging:

• The drive we received was a retail package and comes with everything you need for quick and easy installation. The retail package includes the following items:
• The external DRX-S70U drive itself
• DRX-S70U User's Guide (Operating Instructions)
• Quick Start Guide
• Software Quick Start Guide
• Software Disc Rev. 8.00W (includes: NeroExpress 7, NeroVision Express 4, Nero InCD 5, Nero BackItUp, Nero ShowTime, and Nero Recode 2.)
• AC Power Adapter and power cable
• USB cable
• US Product Warranty and Registration

Retail package

As you can see that the package contains almost everything you need to get started.

Now let’s take a look at the details on the retail box:

Box Front

Box Rear

Box Left and Right

Box Top and Bottom

Now it’s time to take a look at the drive itself:

Drive Front

On the drive tray from left to right we have a Compact Disc Ultra Speed ReWriteable logo, DVD Alliance (DVD+R/RW) logo, DVD Multi Recorder logo, LED indicator, eject button and finally emergency eject hole.

Top

Bottom

Drive Sticker

On the bottom of the drive we found a sticker that shows it was made in China and has a production date of november 2007.

Rear

From left to right: DC 5V in and USB in.

Now, let us connect the drive and check out the features, program bundle and writing technology on the next page…

Conclusion

Features