Official Information
Version: 1.10
Posted 23/2/2004

DVD-R/RW Writability Improvement
+R/RW Writability Improvement
CD-R/RW Writability Improvement
DVD-RAM Readability Improvement
DVD-R/RW Readability Improvement
+R/+RW Readability Improvement
DVD-Dual Layer Playability Improvement
CD-ROM Readability Improvement

Updating via Windows when writer is external:
The update procedure may only work when the DVR-107 is connected to an IDE port as it may not be able to find the destination when it is external in an IEEE1394 Firewire or USB 2.0 case. However tests have shown that under Windows XP with the DVR-107D mounted in an external IEEE1394 Firewire case the FW update was able to complete successfully. Different Operating Systems and types of external cases may produce different results. If the update fails externally the drive will need to be removed from the case and temporarily mounted onto an internal IDE port. It is preferable not to have any other drive daisy chained with the DVR-107D when performing the firmware upload.

Uploading the firmware via DOS:
If the firmware uploader can not recognise the DVR-107 or fails when run from within Windows after several attempts, the solution in most cases is to boot the system via a Windows 98SE or Me DOS startup floppy and then run the update program from a DOS prompt. When the uploader runs in windows it creates a folder on C:\DVR107D\Fw110\ there you will find the uploader program UPGDVD.exe and one other file R7100107.xxx (xxx being the FW revision number). First copy both files to a blank floppy. Then after booting the system into DOS from a Windows 98 or Me floppy remove this and insert the floppy you copied the files to and run the UPGDVD.exe uploader program. It is also possible to run UPGDVD.exe from C:\DVR107D\Fw110\ without copying the files to a floppy.

This Firmware as published by pioneer gives improved readability and writability but only gives support to a limited number of 8x speed media codes
TTG01, SONY08D1, TYG02, FUJIFILM03, TTG02, MXL RG03,

Thanks to >NIL: from the Firmware Forum we have the patched 1.10 firmware for the Pioneer 107. This firmware is patched to use the FUJIFILM03 write strategy to burn all DVD-R at up to 8x speed

Patched:
* RPC-1 (Region Free):
Remember, patching your drive to region free is only half the job. A region free drive will not turn your system region free by itself. For more info is at the firmware forum.

* 12xRip (Unlimited ripping speed):
The official firmware from Pioneer limits the ripping speed on protected video discs. This limitation has been removed.12x is only the maximum THEORETICAL speed that the drive can achieve, but not the sustained speed you are likely to get when ripping. Most DVD's will start ripping around 2x to 4x and end up around 8x or 10x. THIS is normal.

* 8x4all DVD-R (8x burning for all DVD-R media):
This firmware allows you to select 6x and 8x burning speed on all DVD-R media. The official firmware from Pioneer only allows a limited set of Pioneer approved media to use these specific speeds but this patch removes that limitation. It does NOT alter the write strategies for approved media however.

NOT patched:
* 6x and 8x speed for all +R media
* 4x speed for all -RW/+RW media

This firmware makes the drive RPC1 region free, removes the 2x rip speed limitation for DVD-VIDEO and enables 8 speed burning to any DVD-R media. I have been involved in the testing of this firmware and I am impressed with the 8x speed results from various 4x media. You can download it from our downloads section.

Available Downloads
Official 1.10 Firmware
Official 1.10 firmware with DVRFlash Windows XP (needed to flash back from patched firmware)
Patched Firmware (filesonly)
Patched firmware Windows XP compilation

There is no change to the DVD+R burning at the present time due to the way that the drive tackles DVD+R media an additional patch is needed to the +R section and as yet it has not been cracked but if & when it is this will be one of the first places to find it.

All RW media remains the same and will not be patched as there in no advantage in faster burning to RW media which would cause poor quality burns and possibly render the media unusable.