Pioneer DVR-810H and DVD+R/RW burner upgrade?

[GnatGoSplat]

I just got my DVR-810H up and running thanks to StanSimmons. :up:

I let it take the 7.2.0 software update, but since I had it open, I got curious and pulled the DVD-RW drive and replaced it with the NEC ND-3540A out of my PC.
It worked fine as far as playback, and its firmware version was recognized in System Information as "3540A V1.10". I didn't try burning to a DVD-R because I didn't want to waste any (I have no DVD-RW's to play with), but it did recognize a blank DVD-R correctly.
However, all of my rewritable blanks are DVD+RW. Even with the DVD+R/RW capable drive installed, it didn't recognize DVD+RW's as a valid blank media.

Are there any hacks to make it recognize DVD+R/RW as valid blank media?
Being able to support dual layer in the future would be nice as well.

[rmarshll]

This is a Great Question.. DL Support would be very nice indeed.. anyone have any info?

[robomeister]

I've been attempting to replace the DVD burner in one of my Pioneer 810 TiVos as well. The DVD burner has stopped working, so I need to replace it. The new burner (a Pioneer DVR-106D, not that new, but $20 on ebay) will read and play discs, but it won't burn discs. I've tried DVD-Rs and DVD-RWs with no success. I've used the exact same media that works in my other Pioneer 810 TiVos. I think it has something to do with the firmware in the DVD burner. I wonder if there is a way to force the TiVo to load the firmware into the "new" drive, to enable TiVo burning. Like a kickstart code or something.

Regarding dual layer burning, I think this is a function of the TiVo software. I've heard that in some of the newer TiVos with DVD writers, the DVD writer is a Pioneer DVR-109, which is capable of burning dual layer discs. But the TiVo software doesn't know how to burn dual layer discs, so you're stuck. This would probably require a software hack.

[classicsat]

+ and DL are limitations of the TiVo softare, not the drive, so unless you modify the software, you are sill stuck at 4x DVD- single sided.

[jshorr]

anyone else have any success with this?

[Pioneer Fan]

Can anyone tell me if it is possible to upgrade the burner in my Pioneer 810H.
The burner died in my unit. Are there units from basic to Bluray that would work ?

[classicsat]

Only specific models of OEM drive will apparently work.

There are a couple threads on which ones.