Does my Mac write to DVD +R DL disks

Hi! It's probably just not liking the brand disk. try another brand. Tom

Verbatim's DVD+R DL discs are generally regarded as the best DL disc available. If you're not using those, give them a try.

You may also want to consider doing a firmware update on the drive. Your drive has the original firmware that Apple shipped it with, but Pioneer has released many updates since then, and some of the improvements are to DVD+R DL burning.

The firmware can be downloaded from Pioneer Japan's site at http://wwwbsc.pioneer.co.jp/product-e/ibs/devicee/dev00001re.html

You need to use Stuffit Expander to extract the files from the download, which is a PC self-extracting file. Then, you need to use DVRFlash to actually perform the update using the firmware files you downloaded from Pioneer. Read the instructions provided with DVRFlash carefully, and be sure to follow the directions exactly.

Re-read the last paragraph I wrote - you download the file and then use Stuffit Expander to extract the content from the .exe file (why Pioneer can't just use a regular .zip file, I don't know). You'll end up with a folder that contains three files, if I recall correctly. One is another .exe file - this is the flashing program for Windows PCs, but we use DVRFlash in place of it. The other two files are the firmware files that DVRFlash uses to update the firmware on the drive. These two files have a .158 extension in this case (that's the firmware revision number).

Message was edited by: Steve Boultbee

Did you restart the computer after performing the flash? I seem to recall that I had to do that with my DVR-110D before System Profiler would show the updated firmware revision.

OK, I'm going to assume a few things, so please adjust accordingly if necessary.

I'm assuming that you've got DVRFlash and the firmware update from Pioneer downloaded to your desktop.

1) Extract the files in the firmware download. When I did it with the DVR-109 firmware, I get a folder with the following contents: ZipInfo.TXT, UPGR109.exe, R9100109.158, and R9100009.158.

2) Drag R9100109.158 and R9100009.158 to ~/Desktop/DVRFlash v2.5.1/DVRFlash_2.5.1/dvrflashmac/

3) Open Terminal in /Applications/Utilities/ and navigate to the folder in step 2.

4) At the terminal prompt, type the following (without the quotes and all on one line):
"./DVRFlash -f PIONEER R9100109.158 R9100009.158"

Now DVRFlash will do its thing, and when it's finished, you should have a Pioneer DVR-109 that reports its revision in System Profiler as 1.58. Remember that you may have to reboot after flashing for System Profiler to correctly identify the firmware revision.

Hi,

I've follow the instruction on how to update the firmware but end up getting error, here's the log:

Commandline:
/Users/fredericklim/Desktop/DVRFlash v2.6.0/DVRFlash_2.6.0/dvrflashmac/DVRFlash

Device parameter was not given, detecting all DVR drives:

Device : A:
Vendor : PIONEER
Model : DVD-RW DVR-109
Revision : A912

Status : RPC-2 (region locked)
Region : 3
Changes : 4 region changes remaining
4 vendor resets remaining
state is 'Region set'


Now run DVRFlash again, from the command prompt, using
one of the device(s) listed above as first parameter

Press the Return key to exit
-f PIONEER
Freds-G5:~ fredericklim$ /Users/fredericklim/Desktop/DVRFlash v2.6.0/DVRFlash_2.6.0/dvrflashmac/R9100009.158
/Users/fredericklim/Desktop/DVRFlash v2.6.0/DVRFlash_2.6.0/dvrflashmac/R9100009.158: line 1: syntax error near unexpected token `('
/Users/fredericklim/Desktop/DVRFlash v2.6.0/DVRFlash_2.6.0/dvrflashmac/R9100009'158: line 1: ` ****** Copyright(c) 2000 Pioneer Corporation ******
Freds-G5:~ fredericklim$ /Users/fredericklim/Desktop/DVRFlash v2.6.0/DVRFlash_2.6.0/dvrflashmac/R9100109.158
/Users/fredericklim/Desktop/DVRFlash v2.6.0/DVRFlash_2.6.0/dvrflashmac/R9100109.158: line 1: syntax error near unexpected token `('
/Users/fredericklim/Desktop/DVRFlash v2.6.0/DVRFlash_2.6.0/dvrflashmac/R9100109'158: line 1: ` ****** Copyright(c) 2000 Pioneer Corporation ******

Can anyone please help me? Thanks in advance

It looks like you're typing the command incorrectly.

To make it easier, change the working directory to the folder that contains DVRFlash by typing (without the quotes) "cd ~/Desktop/DVRFlash v2.6.0/DVRFlash_2.6.0/dvrflashmac"

Then, issue the command that I gave in one of the above posts (also without quotes): "./DVRFlash -f PIONEER R9100109.158 R9100009.158"

Thanks Steve 🙂

Pamela Owen wrote:
SUCCESS!! I had to make a few changes in the command "./DVRFlash -f PIONEER R9100109.158 R9100009.158" since I found out that my drive is the Apple version of a Pioneer drive.

Pamela, what exactly did you have to type in differently since I have the same problem. I follow all the directions but this is the terminal error message I got, Drive Information:
Description : PIONEER DVD-RW DVR-109
Firmware Rev : A912
Firmware Date : 05/03/17
Manufacturer : PIONEER
Drive is in normal mode.

Firmwares and Drive type mismatch
Continue because force option was specified
WARNING: Hardware and Firmware really don't match!

Message was edited by: Rexy

Hi Rexy,

I think that what Pamela type was "./DVRFlash -ff PIONEER R9100109.158 R9100009.158" the difference is the double f, meaning force flashing (I think).

I hope it woks for you, it sure works for me.