Hey Guys,

Based upon the latest DVD Roundup Vol.4, I picked up the Asus DVD-E616P2 retail to supplement my NEC-2510 for backup duties. Newegg.com was out of the vaunted Aopen Chameleon DVD-ROM, so I settled for the Asus. BAD MISTAKE!

The ASUS DVD-E616P2 apparently has some sort of low-level copy protection and will *not* backup DVDs. I tried many DVDs and all could be read by DVD Shrink 3.2 in my NEC, but the ASUS would spit out the same error: “Copy Protection Error: The read failed because the sector is encrypted.”

I tried flashing every firmware from 1.0 to 1.4 without success, including the Dangerous Brother’s beta 1.4 firmware. Nothing worked! I plan on returning this drive immediately!
WARNING: STAY AWAY FROM ASUS DVD-E616P2!!!

Edit: I can rip using DVD Decrypter then have to use DVD Shrink. This is more of a pain, but I am not sure if it reflects a weakness in the newest DVD Shrink or the drive. Either way, given the choice, I would have gone with the Aopen DVD-ROM instead.

interesting, first time i hearing this...

(in reply to ngfrazier)

Yeah, I Googled for that "Copy Protection" error message and found that it could be the result of the following factors:

- Dirty and/or scratched DVD
- New copy-protections at various levels in the hardware and software
- DVD Shrink problems (some have reported that earlier versions may work better).

Anyways, I hope this may help someone else out. On a side note...

Perhaps I’m being paranoid, but I think that the DMCA and other legislation have definitely left an impression on manufacturers. Just recently, Tivo had to bend to the mighty will of content providers: pay-per-view material will expire after a certain period and commercial skips are no longer commercial free (you will see pop-up advertisements). I can see a future where content manufactures will start implementing Macrovision-esque devices on playback devices to further restrict consumer freedom. Or, even more ominously, like the game industry which now scans for CD-ROM emulators, software DVD Players could “deactivate” in the presence of “hacking programs” like DVD Decrypter...Food for thought, IMO..

(in reply to emperor)

It's true. I bought the exact same drive, also from Newegg.com. Thank god I still have the box! Hopefully I can still return it. My Pioneer burner would read a movie but the ASUS would not.

(in reply to ngfrazier)

As I always suggest DVD Decrypter is better than DVD Shrink for ripping. In your case I think it was not just the Asus but the combination with DVD Shrink. Also this is happening with very few movies.

(in reply to stiffler)

I sent the Asus back and am ordering another brand. Tried flashing firmware with Dangerous brothers? download but still had the problem.

(in reply to Iggy)

Maybe in some point of view, Asus DVD-E616P1 is better than Asus DVD-E616P2

(in reply to stiffler)

Emperor!
You should update "DVD-ROM Roundup Vol.4 " with this info!

I bought this drive too based on the review and was very disappointed to find out this incompatibility with DVD shrink, and what's worse the article still doesn't mention this fact even though it's been two weeks!

It's a nice dvd-reader but not compatible with DVD shrink and I'm sure that fact is very relevant to the readers of your website/forum. Using dvd-decryptor is a poor substitute as it negates the primary reason I bought this solution for my parents ==> To make it very easy for them to backup their dvd's! The thought was insert the original, the blank, press a few buttons and viola 20-30 minutes later backup complete!

"The read failed because the sector is encrypted" error happened on every dvd we tried not just a few. I tried updating the firmware, going to previous versions, using the rpc free firmware from tdb, changing the primary/slave configurations, uninstalling the burner, nothing worked! :( Then I tried this forum, and man was I ever disappointed to find that you knew this was an issue but had not updated the article! I was PO'd and felt a little betrayed that this little fact wasn't even mentioned!

Well, since I bought it as a christmas present for my parents and was out of state, returning the drive wasn't exactly an option. After checking other forums, I finally found that running some background software drivers to remove the appearance of copy protection was all that was needed to get compatibility between DVD-Shrink and the Asus E616P2 I used the free version of dvd43 And everything works without a glitch - so far!

CDR-Info is my primary source for DVD info, and thank you guys so much for your reviews and getting the relevant information we need to make our purchasing decisions. I bought their nec3500 based on your reviews and have been very satisfied. I feel fairly confident this is an issue with DVD Shrink since DVD Decryptor works fine with this drive. I know you can't check software compatibility with every po-dunk program but I think you dropped the ball on this one since ngfrazier brought it up and DVD Shrink is "the" general purpose solution today. Do you readers a favor and update the article...

You guys keep up the good work, I'll keep reading!

(in reply to arith)

i think a problem of specific software with a drive isn't such huge negative, probably DVD Shrink author should be noted about this problem and fix it with an upcoming version

(in reply to JFrancis)

Thanks for the response Emperor.


"isn't such a huge negative..."

Well, that's a value judgement, one that your readers aren't being allowed to make since all the information isn't being presented.

I'd say it's a non-issue to people who simply want to watch DVD's using this drive, but to those who want to backup their collection, like my parents, it could have stopped them dead in their tracks! If I didn't find dvd43, I would have had to buy another drive because using dvd decryptor would have been unworkable given their skill level. Plus, I'll tell you, I won't be buying this drive for my system even with dvd43, given that I have other alternatives. I'm not suggesting you update your articles with every little piece of information that comes up, and I can see where this could be considered a judgement call. I'd agree it doesn't matter at all if you are going to simply use your drive to watch movies or you don't plan on using DVD Shrink at all, but given that the article itself states that "most" owners will be using this drive to rip, couldn't hurt to err on the side of caution and mention the facts

Like I said, this site is great and I'll be increasing your pageviews!
Looking at the DVD shrink forum it looks like the best they can suggest is to use region free software like AnyDVD or DVD43

(in reply to emperor)

doubt its a huge issue because you backup with your dvd-writer so you have the option of using that instead

(in reply to JFrancis)

As i said above, we cannot list negative the compatibility of a drive with certain software, i am sure DVD Shrink author will fix it ASAP

(in reply to S33K3R)

I have the ASUS E616P2 drive and have had no problems reading or copying anything I put in it. I do run DVD Region+CSS Free v5.61 in the background. Copying DVD's with DVD-Shrink or Nero Recode has been flawless. I can encode and burn an authored 2hr movie in 18-23 minutes with either program.

I've used the v1.03 & v1.04 ASUS firmware and am currently running RPC1_104 firmware on the drive.

-ANTEC Sonata Black Case w/380w TruePower
-ASUS P4C800-E DELUXE. Latest BIOS 1019
-P4 / 3.0C GHZ SL6WK - Not OC'd
-ALPHA PAL S-PAL8952T & 80mm SUNON case80HO FAN (exhausting)
-Corsair TWINX1024-3200C2PT 1GB DDR400
-ATI RADEON 9800 PRO AGP 8X 256MB DDR 256 BIT
-SOUND BLASTER AUDIGY 2 ZS
-MODEM BLASTER Model DI5633 v.92
-2 x MAXTOR DiamondMax Plus 9 SATA 80Gb HD's (non-RAID)
-1 x MAXTOR DiamondMax D740X-6L PATA 40Gb HD
-ASUS Model DVD-E616P2 DVD-ROM
-NEC Model ND-3500A DVD+-RW
-ASUS CRW-4816A CD-RW
-19" Monitor: SAMSUNG 955DF / Model PG19JSBL
-Windows XP Pro 5.1.2600 SP2 w/all updates
-LinkSys BEFSR41 v3 Cable/DSL Router and Cable Modem

(in reply to emperor)

quote:

ORIGINAL: emperor

As i said above, we cannot list negative the compatibility of a drive with certain software, i am sure DVD Shrink author will fix it ASAP

Looks like ASUS beat them to it!
Changes in FW 1.07:
1. Fixed DVD Disc copy failure when used DVD Shrink copy software
2. Fixed speed up/down issue when using ITune tool
http://www.asus.com/support/download/item.aspx?ModelName=DVD-E616P2&Type=Latest (if FW 1.07 doesn't show up use one of the other links)
http://www.asus.com/support/download/download2.aspx?type=exact&item=DVD
http://www.asus.com/pub/ASUS/dvdrom/e616p2/DVDE616P2_V107.zip
http://www.asus.com.tw/pub/ASUS/dvdrom/e616p2/DVDE616P2_V107.zip

BTW with this fixed, is there anything else negative about the ASUS E616P2? I'm still debating between this ASUS DVD-ROM and the LiteOn SOHD-167T, see my other threads (here & at CDFreaks) if you have suggestions for playing SecuROM 4.8x/5.x and SafeDisc 3.x/4.x backups.
http://www.cdrinfo.com/forum/tm.asp?m=97177&mpage=1&key=E616P2𗮙
http://club.cdfreaks.com/showthread.php?t=123007

(in reply to emperor)

UPDATE: WEIRD ISSUES WITH LATEST FIRMWARE...

I've noticed serious problems reading certain DVDs (ex: Penn & Teller BS Season 2 Disc 1) with latest firmware. I also noticed that my Asus seemed to rip slower than before. At first I thought it was just a fluke, so I tried the DVDs in my NEC 2510--they played fine. Puzzling... It was only after I exhausted many different possibilites that I *downgraded* my firmware to 1.04. Guess what? I can now play that DVD perfectly! Wierd, huh?

If you are having problems like me, you might want to try to downgrade your firmware. For those who are looking to buy this drive, my original recommendation stands: stick with the Aopen Chameleon DVD-ROM instead.

(in reply to tqhoang)

I've had that drive for a few months. It seemed to be working well with firmware 1.07, until yesterday. Anydvd would not see DVDs in the drive, DVDshrink would hang while reading the drive, DVD players would hang as well (WMP, Nero Showtime).  I tried with DVDidle pro and DVD regionfree + CSS free - no go.
I started looking around for a RPC1 firmware, but the R Bros site is down. The only thing I found was the new Asus offical version 1.08. Had nothing to loose so I tried it - PRESTO! Everything is working now! That's a bit strange because there was no refference in the change log to anything I was experiencing.
Anyway, if anyone still has issues with this player - try this firmware

Firmware V1.08 for DVD-E616P2
Fixed SuSE Linux OS can’t install.
Fixed Alcohol 120% making failure image file.
http://www.asus.com.tw/pub/ASUS/dvdrom/e616p2/DVDE616P2_V108.zip

(in reply to ngfrazier)