NEC 3550a Newbie Questions

[cdswifty]

All,

Have an NEC 3550a and about to attempt to rip/burn DVDs for the first time. Upgraded the firmware from 1.5 to 1.6.

Have questions about easiest / most compatible methods to rip and burn.

1. Was thinking about using RipIt4Me with DVD Decrypter, DVD Shrink, FixVTS. Is there an easier / better approach?

2. Not sure if I should burn to DVD-R, DVD+R, or DVD+R with bitset, but I want to maximize likelihood my DVDs will play in different players. Suggestions? If DVD+R bitset is preferred, how can I accomplish this?

Thanks.

[GKar]

Ripit4me should work ok for you. Be careful about the media you choose to burn with. Here is the link on this site for what others have posted regarding media and this drive:

https://www.videohelp.com/dvdwriters.php?DVDnameid=1344&Search=Search&list=2#comments

Here is a link to some modified firmware with +R bitsetting:

http://liggydee.cdfreaks.com/page/3550/

I would try Liggy's NEC ND3550 Bitsetting 1.06 firmware (no other mods other than bitsetting).

*One last thought. If all you have is an 80GB hard disk, be careful as you can run out of space fast when backing up DVD's*

[robertazimmerman]

"Not sure if I should burn to DVD-R, DVD+R, or DVD+R with bitset, but I want to maximize likelihood my DVDs will play in different players."

None of my Toshiba players play DVD+Rs and some other brands have similar problems. So if you or anyone you know owns Toshibas or other problematic machines, stick with -Rs or bitset +Rs (not sure why you'd want to do this, if the -Rs work for you).

R

[cdswifty]

Thanks guys .. I'll try the bitset mod. I do have Toshiba players and it seems DVD+R/DVD-ROM is a bit more broadly compatible than DVD-R. Will this mod manage bitsetting for me automatically or do I need to specify bitsetting in ImgBurn somehow?

Separately .. can you guys confirm the following for me?

True or False: Using RipIt4Me to rip the full movie and then replacing all of the extras, etc. with a still image (in DVD Shrink) will result in the same final product as ripping just the movie and the menus.

The reason I'm asking is that I'll likely only backup the movie and the menu, but I'd prefer to rip the full movie to my HD (just in case I decided I want to access the extras at a later time). I'd rather not rip the full movie AND the movie and menus and have duplicate copies on my HD.

Thanks.

[robertazimmerman]

[quote="cdswifty"]Thanks guys .. I'll try the bitset mod. I do have Toshiba players and it seems DVD+R/DVD-ROM is a bit more broadly compatible than DVD-R. Will this mod manage bitsetting for me automatically or do I need to specify bitsetting in ImgBurn somehow?

Personally, I wouldn't bother with the mod, because DVD-Rs work perfectly well in all Toshibas and certainly all newer machines. IMHO, DVD+R was simply a money grab by companies that didn't want to pay royalties to the DVD-R licensors. For that reason alone, I refuse to buy them. Secondly, why have two formats, when one works perfectly fine an all machines.

Roberta

[cdswifty]

Can anyone answer my True / False question above?

Thanks.
S.