I replaced mine with a Sony DRU-501 drive (does take some handywork for fitting).
A NEC 1300a which I tried first would not work.
David, July 2006
Just go pickup an NEC or other Sony DVD-RW drive. I replaced mine with an NEC. It is still picky about media. and does not burn any faster. Sony must lock the firmware of the player not the DVD drive mech.