The Latest DVD Writers' True Speeds

[kirk1701™]

http://www.tomshardware.com/2005/12/30/the...eeds/index.html

 

So while the quick arrival of dual-layer writers has helped keep both -R/RW and +R/RW stay in the race, the + standard still has a lead. The + standard's writing performance also proved to be better, as you'll see later in our test results.

Here's where we got our first big surprise - and disappointment! Though we used media certified at 16x and recognized as such by all the writers, we never attained a speed of 16x. The best time was put in by the Toshiba and the NEC, which took 6 minutes 9 seconds to fill a 4.5 GB DVD.

 

We'll, we already knew that

Edited December 28, 2005 by kirk1701

[spinningwheel]

[lfcrule1972]

I am happy with my TYG02's that burn at 12x on my new NEC.....

[kirk1701™]

I am happy with my TYG02's that burn at 12x on my new NEC.....

 

Same here lfc same here

[blutach]

I am an old stodge who sticks to 4x. Call me dopey.

 

Regards

[jack]

Hi dopey!

[lfcrule1972]

Oh look Jack - blu is waving back......

 

[kevdriver]

[slicepie]

I just bought a new SONY DVD RW DRU-810A 1.0d DL and it stated that its max read speed is 16x. The highest read speed I've gotten so far is 10.8x. I'm not really sure why, considering I've already downloaded the latest firmware for the drive. Anyone have any ideas (besides media) that might help speed it up?

[lfcrule1972]

10.8x isn't that bad - I don't know much about the Sony drives, I have always had NEC ones - however the first one I had was riplocked to stop it reading too fast. I d/l modded firmware from Herries site and then it got faster ! I may have done that with the NEC2510 as well altho I can't remember.

 

Try a firmware update - you can use ImgBurn to look for a new one for you at www.rpc1.org. Look in my sig for a link on how to update your firmware if your not sure......

 

I would say from the read speed that your getting DMA is not an issue, and I would think your cables are all ok as well.....

[cornholio7]

it probably will read a burned dvd back at 16x but i doubt it will rip at 16x, try checking over at cdfreaks if you can convert it to the benq 1640 that it really is

Edited December 30, 2005 by cornholio7

[slicepie]

it probably will read a burned dvd back at 16x but i doubt it will rip at 16x, try checking over at cdfreaks if you can convert it to the benq 1640 that it really is

 

 

I may have missed something as I have not been in the forums for quite some time. I didn't even know about IMG Burn's predecessor no longer being supported until just a few days ago.

 

Anyway, I checked out cdreaks like you suggested and they mention my Sony as being modeled after the BenQ 1640 but that was all I could find. No conversions or anything. They don't even have the latest firmware update (1.0d). I already downloaded that from The Firmware Page. I also checked the testing cdfreaks did on the drive and all of their results came out perfectly so I am really at a loss right now. Is there anything else I can look into?

[polopony]

next time you post bring a shrubbery ,not to big

[chewy]

it probably will read a burned dvd back at 16x but i doubt it will rip at 16x, try checking over at cdfreaks if you can convert it to the benq 1640 that it really is

 

 

I may have missed something as I have not been in the forums for quite some time. I didn't even know about IMG Burn's predecessor no longer being supported until just a few days ago.

 

Anyway, I checked out cdreaks like you suggested and they mention my Sony as being modeled after the BenQ 1640 but that was all I could find. No conversions or anything. They don't even have the latest firmware update (1.0d). I already downloaded that from The Firmware Page. I also checked the testing cdfreaks did on the drive and all of their results came out perfectly so I am really at a loss right now. Is there anything else I can look into?

 

read, start at post 97 and read on, not for the faint of heart!

 

http://club.cdfreaks.com/showthread.php?t=...80&page=4&pp=25

[slicepie]

10.8x isn't that bad...

 

Actually, the 10.8x is the maximum read speed I have seen. I have been logging my last 35 rips and my average read speed is only 6.1x.

 

One more quick question. Does changing the buffer size or tweeking the options (you know which orgram I'm referring to) such as changing read speed from Max to 16x usually have any effect?

[slicepie]

read, start at post 97 and read on, not for the faint of heart!

 

 

Thanks. I read the post in the forum but I am not comfortable flashing my drive into something else. I could do it if it was another sony drive but changing it like that makes me uneasy.

 

Do you think my slower read speed has anything to do with the fact that this drive is acting as a slave and not the master and the other drive is a Sony DVD RW as well? My other drive is a Sony DVD RW DRU-500A 2.1a and it is the master drive.

[lfcrule1972]

Mmm - well the most likely suggestion is as per chewy's post - I used to be worried about firmware flashes when I started out with this lark but am now happily changing them to suit my needs - either stock firmware or hacked versions.... Did the piece on cdfreaks not mention whether people had flashed successfully ?

 

As for the ripping program - I would leave it as defaults unless you get 100% reliable advice otherwise, these have always worked best for me

 

Finally - on my PC I always have the newest drive as the master and then the secondary drive as the slave, makes sense as that is what I use most. Maybe you should swap them over and see if it makes any difference.

 

I looked back at some recent reads with the NEC 4550, altho this claims it can read at 16x, the fastes read was just over 12x on a non protected DVD.... I seem to get max speeds of 11-12x. Is it really important to you that 16x reads are achieved ?

 

@polo - Too funny.....

[slicepie]

Mmm - well the most likely suggestion is as per chewy's post - I used to be worried about firmware flashes when I started out with this lark but am now happily changing them to suit my needs - either stock firmware or hacked versions.... Did the piece on cdfreaks not mention whether people had flashed successfully ?

 

There were a few mentions of succesful flashes. I actualy downloaded BenQ Flasher in zip file form but when I tried to open it I got some goofy error. So I went back into the cdfreaks forum and looked some more and there was mention of needing a .cvt program and something else. That was when it seemed to get a little more complex than I am comfortable dealing with.

 

As for the ripping program - I would leave it as defaults unless you get 100% reliable advice otherwise, these have always worked best for me

I tried playing with the buffer settings anyway and it seems when I max out the buffer (256MB), I get a higher read speed average (8.0x-9.5x) for the majority of the read (0-70%) and then the speed drops to between 3.0x-5.5x for the remainder of the read. That drops my average read rate to around 6x.

 

I also tried setting the buffer down a little to around 10MB and I received a more consistant 5.0x-7.5x read speed throughout the read, but still not a very high average.

 

Finally - on my PC I always have the newest drive as the master and then the secondary drive as the slave, makes sense as that is what I use most. Maybe you should swap them over and see if it makes any difference.

 

I thought about that but I was hoping to get some feedback on it first. Now that you've suggested it I'll give it a try.

 

I looked back at some recent reads with the NEC 4550, altho this claims it can read at 16x, the fastes read was just over 12x on a non protected DVD.... I seem to get max speeds of 11-12x. Is it really important to you that 16x reads are achieved ?

 

@polo - Too funny.....

 

It's not the end of the world if I never reach 16x, it's just a little funny that the drive is advertised and marketed for 16x but never actually gets there. Of course, when cdfreaks tested it they got speeds as high as 16.2x, so obviously they know something I don't. I'd really like to have a higher average read than 6x though, especially since my old drive can read at 4x consistantly.

[lfcrule1972]

I am lucky in that the flashes for the NEC are always very easy - have seen others talk of more complicated ones and like you they would make me think twice !

 

The master/slave thing won't hurt to give it a try, you can check that all the cables are ok and inserted at the same time.

 

The post on cdfreaks which boasted the 16x speed - don't suppose it had the forum members details attached ? Just thinking you could send him a PM and see if he can help at all - maybe confirm if he tweaked anything or was using certain firmware ?

[chewy]

Some time back I bought a benq 1620 for scanning and didn't know that the firmware on oem/bulk drives did not support pie/pif scans, I had to cross flash, in my case it was absolutely necessary. In total that day I flashed the drive 3 times, I was pessimistic about reccomending the

crossflash unless necessary.

Since I have been looking for a benq 1640 the last 2 weeks what do you think I would do? If you aren't into scanning, don't flash!

 

 

do a disk transfer test with cd speed ona burned disk, it will test 16x

Edited January 3, 2006 by chewy

[slicepie]

I didn't see it in the forum. The product review was listed on the sidebar and I clicked the link and read through. They used Nero Speed Reader (I think that's what it's called) so I don't know if they actually ripped a disc to the hard drive or were just testing the drives capabilities.

 

As for swapping the drive's slave/master settings, I only have 1 IDE cable, but it has 3 pin sets on it. My original drive, which came with my pc is plugged into the 1st pin set and I plugged my new drive in to the 2nd pin set. Now, ny original drive was always classified in Drive E but since I added the new drive, the old drive has changed to Drive F and now the new drive is Drive E. In your opinion, do you think just moving the jumper on each drive would be sufficient or should I actually move the drives in order to plug into the other pins?

[chewy]

the master should be at the end of the cable and above the slave

 

benq's aren't known for being the fastest readers, just excellent burners and scanners

 

my nec 3550 reads pressed dual layer faster, why waste a benq as a reader?

Edited January 3, 2006 by chewy

[slicepie]

That's how I have it set up now but my old drive is the master. So I guess I'll try swapping the drives physically as well as moving the jumpers and see if that improves anything. I will post again later tonight with my results. If there is an improvement, I will try to include a few screenshots of befores and afters for anyone who may have this problem in the future.

 

Just in case I forget later, thanks to everyone who has thrown ideas around with me.

[slicepie]

next time you post bring a shrubbery ,not to big

 

 

I would much rather cut down the mightiest tree in the forest...with a Herring!!

[chewy]

when you are in the case, another test is try the burner with the old drive disconnected