Which of Asus DVD-E616P2 or Toshiba SD-M1802 is best for SafeDisc v2/3 ripping?
(By the way, why no test of Toshiba SD-M1802 ?)

I would suggest the Asus which is a new drive.

(in reply to mardigan)

quote:

ORIGINAL: Iggy
I would suggest the Asus which is a new drive.

Thanks, I will try to find it.

By ripping I also imply: playing back the backup and possibly without emulation!
Up to now, I can play it back this way only in the burner (PX-708A), which I would
avoid for obvious reasons.
And I try to avoid loading an emulator and decrease the number of drivers loaded
and the possibility of conflicts with applications.

Question: I wonder if the fact of ripping with the same DVD-ROM that will be used
to play back the backup will increase the chance to have a 1:1 copy in this context
(i.e. no emulation needed)?

(in reply to Iggy)

A working backup depends on the burner. If your burner is capable for this then you can avoid emulation.

(in reply to mardigan)

quote:

ORIGINAL: Iggy
A working backup depends on the burner. If your burner is capable for this then you can avoid emulation.

Is it true that there is only one burner capable of 1:1 burning of SafeDisc upto 3.20
The Plextor Premium ???

By the way, why no recent review of Plextor Premium with fw. 1.05 ???

(in reply to Iggy)

I think Toshiba drives are still the best for SafeDisk ripping, but i could be again wrong, checking our reviews will unveil more

(in reply to mardigan)

quote:

ORIGINAL: emperor
I think Toshiba drives are still the best for SafeDisk ripping, but i could be again wrong, checking our reviews will unveil more

Ah, OK I slowly progress in this mined field, Thanks
Without some technical knowledge of the domain, it's quite hard to fully understand the recommendations
May someone with both Toshiba and Plextor drives share his experience: which one he likes most

(in reply to emperor)

quote:

ORIGINAL: mardigan
By ripping I also imply: playing back the backup and possibly without emulation!

Well, back to the original topic:
I understand that when playing games, we can classify the DVD-ROMs we use to play with in three categories:
1/ those that don't even play the original protected games (the pressed CD)
2/ those that don't play the backup copy of the original protected games, or that won't do it without emulation
3/ those that play the backup copy (done by a certified burner) without emulation

Thus what I try to do is identify the drives in the third category:
Those that are the less problematic when playing backup of SD2/3 games

e.g.: The Plextor PX-116A2 is in the 2nd list: need emulation
The reviews of Asus DVD-E616P2 tells us that it is in the 3rd list

Can we assume that all Toshiba DVD-ROMs are in the 3rd list
And the Lite-ON?
And the previous ASUS?

Am I just making a fool of myself thinking things work this way???

(in reply to mardigan)

I made the "sheep" test CD on a CD-RW with LiteON SOHR-5238S and read back this test CD with various DVD-ROM drives:
Plextor PX-116A2, Toshiba SD-M1402, LiteON SOHD-167T.

The only one that is not able to read back sd290.dat is SOHD-167T

Does it mean that this drive is not a good reader when associated with SOHR-5238S and Alcohol_120 ???

(in reply to mardigan)