Sony DRU 500AX

[degdus]

Hi all,

I bought the Sony DRU 500AX DVD writer cause I want to make Backups of my OWN DVD's (my son loves to play with the so called "Frisbies")

I install DVD Decrypter (latest Version) and the proggi start to decrypt the original DVD.

I was a little bit surpriesed that the reading speed was only between 2,0 and 2,1.

Could it be that I have an old Firmware Version (in the moment it's 2.0c) ?
Which Version should I install ? (2.0e ?)

Or is it "normal" that the Sony DRU or the DVD Decrypter reads only with 2,0 speed ?

Thx in advance for your help !

cheers

Degdus

[Bob W]

The Sony is locked at 2x. If you want more speed you will have to buy a DVD drive and I suggest either the LiteON 163 or the LiteON 166s.

[degdus]

Hi,

thx for your reply !

Maybe I will use a faster DVD dribe to decrypt.

BTW should I upgrade to the new Firmware Version 2.0e or is it not neccessary ?

Thx

cheers

Degdus

[Bob W]

If the Sony drive is working for you and the media you buy then I wouldn't do any firmware updates. The new drive I just bought two weeks ago is the same version as yours and it works well for any media I have tried so far. I had problems with my old Sony DRU500a drive after I updated so after that I'm a firm believer in "If it ain't broke don't fix it".

[degdus]

Hi Bob,

ok .... never tough a runing system

Thx

Degdus

[banchou]

I'm also having problems with the slow reading. I have a DRU-500ULX. Why would it be locked at 2 speed when it says it can read up to 8 speed??? This does not make sense. I have an HP DVD burner which has no problems reading at 4 speed when using DVDDecrypter.

I installed the new firmware 2.0e but no improvements. But I heard this new firmware makes it more sensitive to certain medias. Haven't had problems yet.

Also, I heard firmware 2.0f is available in Sony's Japan website. Is this compatible with the US release? What improvements are there?

Thanks all.

[housepig]

It's locked at 2x for dvd video - if you have a dvd-rom data disc, it should read at 8x or close to it.

it's a tacit agreement between most manufacturers that the drives will stay locked at 2x for movies to make piracy more difficult. some manufacturers, like Lite-On, do not lock all their drives.

I have a Raite 8x drive that can hit speeds of 7-8x (in .iso mode with DVD Decrypter).

- housepig

[banchou]

Oh. Didn't know that and that kind of makes sense.

Is there any known way to unlock it?

Thanks for the quick reply.

[Jayhawk]

Same here. I have a Pioneer DVD ROM 104 and a 106 and both rip in the 7 - 8 range. Although I usually like to buy new I'm considering hitting one of the swap meets or computer shows and picking up a couple of "older" drives (for insurance).

The newer drives all seem to be locked at 2.0.

[sassafras]

Hey guys,

Could you give me the models of the new drives that you have found not having the lock at 2.0x?

Thanks,

[tim_k]

As Far as I've seen, only the Sony burner is locked. As hard as Sony is trying to make it to copy your music CDs, what would you expect?

[nerdboy69]

I didn't know they were putting a governer on them. How rude!

I was about to put in a reply to check DMA settings etc. Then I read the other posts and realised that I always rip using my Lite-On drive, and only burn with the Sony so I can perhaps reduce its work-load and prolong its life.

I still learn something new every minute. That's the advantage of having ignored people at a young age.

[Zot]

I've got a Toshiba M1612 DVD-ROM for reading. You can get a firmware hack here: http://hijacker.rpc1.org/toshiba_nolimit/ that removes the rip speed limit. I regularly get 8-10X and sometimes up to 15X rips.

Zot

[SLICK RICK]

Hello everyone, Just my opinion. But as Bob W stated before you can get much higher rip speeds with a seperate DVD-ROM and the cost of one is so cheap, why not get a seperate one. That way you are only using your DVD burner for burning DVD's. It may prolong the life of your burner. Sorry if I was off topic.

SLICK RICK

[housepig]

true - I have a DRU 500AX, and I love it.

but for ripping, I use a Lite-On 16x drive (I think it's model 163)

saw a rip speed of 15.9x on that drive the other day - woo hoo!

[louthewiz]

I wanted to also add my 2 cents its better to get a cheap dvd drive for ripping and use the sony only for burning and this way the burner will last you alot longer.

[beefgravy]

got mine burning at 4x after i set my system up like this:

IDE 0 = Primary Master HD put on the end connection of 80pin connector
IDE 0 = secondary Master HD put on the other connection of 80pin connector

IDE 1 = Secondary Master Sony DRU500AX (firmware 2.0e) put on the end connection of 40pin connector
IDE1 = Secondary Slave LG Dvd-Rom 8161b put on the other connection of 40pin connector

my secondary IDE channel is set to DMA in my Device Manager for both the sony and LG.

they both show as Ultra DMA mode 2 default.


before i changed to a 40 pin it only burnt at 2x with the same media Ritek G4 4x.



hope that helps in some way.

[scottvf]

I also have the sony dru-500ax and it rips at speed of (2.0) . I just bought Sony's CRX300A. It burns cd-r at 48x , cdrw at 24x, reads cd's at 48x and reads DVD-Rom at 16x. When I ripped a dvd using dvd decrypter it started at (7.0) and finished at (15x) It's a great drive, I can use it for my cd's too. Now I just use my dru-500ax for dvd burning only.