Pioneer is manufacturing 2 versions of its DVD burners. DVR-10x version are those sold as "bulk" for being integrated by final users or OEM; whereas DVR-A0x are sold in "box version" and have additional features.
It seems that to cut its production costs, Pioneer has used an identical mechanical/hardware part in the recent 109 and A09 models, the only difference being only in the external aspect and the firmware.
But the A09 is having interesting features theoretically missing in the 109 models, such as: no speed limit DVD ripping whereas 109 is limited to 4x. The A09 model is also featuring a small utility panel allowing the user to lower the DVD playing speed to a silent mode while reading DVDs.
Members from Forum RPC-1 have successfully transform a Pioneer DVR-109 model into a A09 model. We have been able to reproduce the procedure. Be careful that you will need a Pc to flash the DVR-109; firmware tools are not available for Mac yet.
1) Download the softwareDVRupdate 0.9 to force flashing the DVR-109 model.
2) Download Firmware 1.05 for A09. You will have to extract the archive to the same folder containing DVRupdate.
3) Launch DVRupdate, and choose kernel and firmware for A09. No way to make mistake since the software knows how to discriminate between both models.
4) flash the burner. It now behaves as a A09 model.
5) Download Firmware 1.17 for A09. Now since it is a A09 burner, it will be able to update its firmware from the A09 tools.
6) Place back your DVR-109 into you Mac, and reboot.
with the Mac system your DVR is still recognized as a 109, but the DVD ripping is much faster. We have successfully burned CDs and DVDs; but the most impressing thing is that the drive turns into the silent mdoe automatically when reading video DVD!!
As usual, since it is a really recent modification, reports are still missing, so be aware that you perform the procedure to your own risk. We are not responsible if you fail. It is always possible to flash the firmware back to 109 with DVRupdate.
