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What's a good DVD Drive for ripping?

post #1 of 13
4/15/06 at 12:59am
Thread Starter 
Well didn't know where I should this question. So here it is, in the member's lounge. So what's a good DVD drive for a desktop? I never bought one and don't know what I should look at in terms of features. I planning on using it, mainly, for ripping dvds. So that means it has to be a faster reader.

Also, less importantly, I would like it to be able to burn dvds as well. This isn't as important as the read speed though. I need to rip dvds as quickly as possible with good results. So any suggestions? Anything else I should know? I really have no idea of what to look for.
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post #2 of 13
4/15/06 at 1:10am
Take a look at videohelp.com. There's a ton of info on hardware, media, software and guides on all aspects of CD/DVD recording.

This link jumps to the DVD writers list. You can sort the list according to rating, popularity, etc. Choosing one of the most popular ones should be a safe way to go. I bought a NEC writer last year.

For ripping, some, if not all, of the major manufacturers, like Sony and NEC, have placed a rip speed lock in the firmware. So, out of the box, the writer will only rip at a max speed of x4 or something like that. The reason I mentioned going with one of the popular models, like a NEC writer, is that people have written firmware hacks which remove such rip locks. As you look, try to see if a writer has a rip lock in the firmware.

Another thing to consider is noise. My NEC is not as quiet as I would like it to be, and I am thinking about replacing it with a quieter drive.
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post #3 of 13
4/15/06 at 3:23am
I've been thinking about a Plextor.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/CustRa...82E16827131356
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post #4 of 13
4/15/06 at 2:43pm
Thread Starter 
Thanks for the reply socrates63 and Otto! Now I'll have some choices to look at!
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post #5 of 13
4/15/06 at 2:55pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Otto
I bought a new Plex DVD-RW (DL too), for the sole purpose of ripping audio cds to my hdd over EAC. I think Plextor is pretty renowned for making swell drives.
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post #6 of 13
4/15/06 at 2:58pm
My friend's got a Plextor that he paid a little to much for IMO (~120$). My NEC 3540 (~40$ now the 3550) does a great job at ripping. My only complaint is that it's kinda loud, not too much, but just enough.
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post #7 of 13
4/15/06 at 3:21pm
I'm rather fond of my NEC ND-3550A. 16/8/16x DVD, 48/32/48x CD. Dual Layer, if you so desire. Can be had for under $40 from Newegg and others.

I can usually rip a movie in a bit under 10 minutes. Burning a SL disc takes about 5 minutes, albeit at 12x. (my blanks are actually only rated up to 8x, but Nero, my drive, or some unholy combination thereof determined it could handle 12x)
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post #8 of 13
4/15/06 at 4:09pm
Thread Starter 
Another question... do DVD drives have a problem ripping dvds from different regions? For example, I am in the USA and want to rip a dvd from the UK. Is it possible? (It's for Trigger Happy TV...)
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post #9 of 13
4/15/06 at 4:20pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Lsportline43
Another question... do DVD drives have a problem ripping dvds from different regions? For example, I am in the USA and want to rip a dvd from the UK. Is it possible? (It's for Trigger Happy TV...)
DVD Decrypter allows you to select what region you want when you're ripping, or to make it region free. I'm not going to link to it, but DVD Decrypter + DVD Shrink is the best combination, hands-down for copying movies. Provided it's legal, of course. Home movies and the like.
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post #10 of 13
4/15/06 at 9:06pm
Thread Starter 
So I can assume that all DVD drives support all regions?
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post #11 of 13
4/15/06 at 10:57pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Lsportline43
So I can assume that all DVD drives support all regions?
It's a safe bet, yes. If you want to be positive, you can always Google the particular model.
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post #12 of 13
4/15/06 at 11:18pm
Thread Starter 
Thanks everyone for helping me out. I think I'm going to go with the NEC ND-3550A that Stephonovich has. It is cheap and if it rips fast then I'll be !

Any other suggestions before I buy this particular NEC? Or other recommendations for different DVD drives?

Also Stephonovich, you say that this particular NEC drive rips DVDs in about 10 minutes, but is this done with a modified firmware? If so where can I obtain this firmware?

P.S. Sorry I didn't let you guys know before, but I am going to be ripping dvds for use with a PMP I am planning to buy. The one I have my eye on is the Cowon A2 30GB.
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post #13 of 13
4/16/06 at 12:24am
Had an IM session with Lsportline, but I'll re-iterate some of what I said to clarify further posts.

I have the original firmware on the drive. May eventually try some modified stuff (there's a lot of it for the 3550A, FYI), but no, it's all OEM.

The "rips in 10 minutes" was an estimate, and doesn't apply to all movies. Obviously there's size differences; a shorter movie or one with less extras is obviously going to rip faster than a full disc. Also, copy protection plays a large part. The older vanilla CSS is cake. It's the newer stuff (Sony's ARccOS in particular) that will give you hell, and often slow the ripping waaay down.

Because I was bored/curious, I did a test rip. The Matrix, original DVD. A tad over 8GB, basic CSS copy protection. Took 12:04 to rip to an ISO. YMMV.
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