Good DVD readers

[Nil Einne]

Hey all,

I'm looking for a good DVD reader (reader only, I'm not looking at burners). What features especially interested me are good performance with reading DVDs (Video, ROMs, DVD+-R & RW) esp good performance when reading problematic DVDs (damaged, poor writes, poor quality DVD+-R/W) etc. Noise (or the lack of it) is also of interest to me. Performance with all types of CDs (audio, ROM, VCD, CDR, CD-RW etc) and problematic CDs is also of some interest. Reading copyrighted CDs/DVDs is not really of much interest. Reading backup CDs and DVDs is of some interest however.

I would especially be interested in model numbers of any drives mentioned and in specifics esp with regards to whether you've actually tried any other drive or not (ABC rocks or XYZ is the best reader are not really the most informative of statements).

And altho all drive brands are welcome, the four that are of most interest to me are Samsung (cheapest) aka Toshiba, LG (midrange), Aopen (midrange) and LiteOn (most expensive I'm wlling to pay). The Benq is a bit too expensive for my liking.

Thanks all

P.S. I have done some searches but there is a lack of info on LG and altho many people seem to like LiteOn, Benq and Toshiba, there is only limited info on why this is so and there appears to be a concentration on things like ability to read copyrighted CDs as well as absolute read speed differences on good quality CDs (which usually don't vary that significantly) compared to more important issues like ability and speed on poor quality CDs (which often varies quite siginificantly)

[hoxlund]

ive had toshiba drives and pioneer dvd rom drives in the past, those seem to be pretty good for ripping purposes

my JLMS 166s was pure crap, couldn't hold up to my ripping demands

[shaun]

Toshiba and Lite-Ons are my favourite

Toshiba's drives are quite and quick..and they eat most copy protections alive

"Back in the day" (lol..2002), you couldn't beat the Toshiba and Plextor duo for CloneCD. Maybe I am just holding on to past affections...lol

[LoneWolf]

My LiteOn/JLMS 166S worked well, but the build quality seemed average. I now have a LiteOn SOHD-167T, which appears to be a bit better, and rips as fast as the 166S.

[Nil Einne]

Thats interesting but as mentioned, ripping is not really the most important factor to me. Much more important is ability and speed of reading damaged DVDs (and CDs) as well as reading burnt DVDs (+R, -R, +RW, -RW) especially poorer quality ones since these are the kind of stuff I'm most likely to encounter. I might rip a DVD-video on occassion but this is only a small consideration. The other factors are much more important

[Gabe]

Toshiba and Lite-Ons are my favourite

Toshiba's drives are quite and quick..and they eat most copy protections alive

"Back in the day" (lol..2002), you couldn't beat the Toshiba and Plextor duo for CloneCD. Maybe I am just holding on to past affections...lol

The Toshiba 1912 is one of the worst drive for reading proteted CD´s with safedisc. Look here:

http://www.cdrlabs.com/phpBB/viewtopic.php?t=18363

[Bhairav]

My LiteOn/JLMS 166S worked well, but the build quality seemed average. I now have a LiteOn SOHD-167T, which appears to be a bit better, and rips as fast as the 166S.

LoneWolf, how much time would a 167 rip a normal DVD movie, about 9GB or so?

[Nil Einne]

Given that DVD9/dual layer is only 8.5 gb, I fail to see how a normal DVD movie can be 9 gb It could be 8.5 gb but to my knowledge (not much experience in ripping so can't say for sure) a lot of movies don't fill the full 8.5 gb. Maybe 8 gb or even 7.5 gb is a 'normal' movie (of course there is no such thing as normal, average is probably a better term)

[hoxlund]

most people refer to dual layer discs as 9gb just for your info, they round up

[Nil Einne]

People refer to them as DVD9. I have never seen anyone refer to them as a 9 gb DVD. Although the 9 indicated gb, it is quite different saying how long does it take to copy a full DVD9 from saying how long does it take to copy a 9gb DVD...

(Also once again I should add, I think the 'normal'/average DVD movie is not full, it's probably 8 gb or maybe even 7.5 gb)

[Bhairav]

People refer to them as DVD9. I have never seen anyone refer to them as a 9 gb DVD. Although the 9 indicated gb, it is quite different saying how long does it take to copy a full DVD9 from saying how long does it take to copy a 9gb DVD...

(Also once again I should add, I think the 'normal'/average DVD movie is not full, it's probably 8 gb or maybe even 7.5 gb)

My bad, sorry I should have specified, about 8162MB, the average size of movies I rip. Happy?

[Nil Einne]

How did 8192mb become 9 gb?