Pioneer Launches its SATA-based 18x DVD Burner

Pioneer has officially unveiled its first 18x DVD burner based on SATA format, DVR-S12. It should arrive in Japanese shops in the coming days and its performances should be similar to the DVR-112 (PATA, DVD±R media at 18x, DVD±R DL at 10x, DVD+RW at 8x, DVD-RW at 6x DVD-RAM at 12x, CD-R at 40x, and CD-RW at 32x).

Such drive can only be installed in a Mac Pro, thank to its 2 free internal SATA ports located on the motherboard. Performance wise, there is no difference with the PATA-based model as the ATA is not saturated by data speed rate for burning DVD at 18x. The advantage is mainly linked to the use of thinner SATA wires as compared to the large flat ATA one. Ultimately it should reduce impact of connecting cables on the cooling air flows in the Mac Pro.