HL-DT-ST DVDRAM GSA-T20N read speed too slow!!

[tmangia]

Hello!

My DVD burner that came with my Acer Aspire 5920 laptop is too slow for copying dvds. It copies around the 2.0x speed. When burning is more faster, but I'm searching if there are things that can speed up the read process, and I've found that some dvd writers have a riplock feature. I'd like to know if this dvd writer has this feature and if there are some way to unlock it?

DiscInfo

DISCINFO VERSION : 1.6.1.6
VENDOR : HL-DT-ST
MODEL : DVDRAM GSA-T20N
REVISION : WP03
VENDOR SPECIFIC :
LOADING MECHANISM : Tray
SERIAL NUMBER :
NUMBER VOL. LEVELS : 256
BUFFER SIZE : 2048KB
INTERFACE : ATAPI
RPC2 SCHEME : YES
STATUS : Last Chance
USER CHANGES : 1
VENDOR CHANGES : 4
CURRENT REGION : 4
ANALOG AUDIO PLAY : YES
COMPOSITE OUTPUT : NO
DIGITAL PORT-PORT1 : NO
DIGITAL PORT-PORT2 : NO
READ UPC CODE : YES
MULTISESSION READ : YES
MODE 2 FORM 1 : YES
MODE 2 FORM 2 : YES
READ ISRC CODE : YES
READ BAD CODE : NO
BUFFER UNDER-RUN : YES
MT. RAINIER : NO
CAN READ CDR : YES
CAN READ CDRW : YES
CAN READ CDRM2 : YES
CAN WRITE CDR : YES
CAN WRITE CDRW : YES
CAN TEST WRITE : YES
CAN READ DVD-ROM : YES
CAN READ DVD-R : YES
CAN READ DVD-RW : YES
CAN READ DVD-RAM : YES
CAN READ DVD+R : YES
CAN READ DVD+RW : YES
CAN WRITE DVD-R : YES
CAN WRITE DVD-RW : YES
CAN WRITE DVD-RAM : YES
CAN WRITE DVD+R : YES
CAN WRITE DVD+RW : YES
MAX CDR READ SPEED : 31
MAX CDR WRITE SPEED: 24

Also, I did a transfer rate test using "Nero CD DVD Speed", and the results are these:

General Information
Operating System Windows XP Professional (5.01.2600 Service Pack 3)
Drive HL-DT-STDVDRAM GSA-T20N
Firmware Version WP03
Serial Number
Disc DVD-R
MID CMC MAG. AM3
Capacity 1.34 GB

Transfer Rate
Start 1.71x
End 2.67x
Average 2.23x
Type CAV


Log
Time Elapsed Action
[20:12:30] Starting transfer rate test
[20:20:24] 7:54 Speed:2-3 X CAV (2.23 X average)

So, what should I do to fix this problem?

thanks in advance!

[lordsmurf]

LG drives are infamous for this. Nothing to do. The laptop drives are crap. I have those, too.
I use external Pioneer and Samsung drives, 16x USB2.

[hech54]

My newer LG H58N is the same....slow ripper...fantastic burner. I even tried updating the firmware(that many say fixes the problem) with ZERO luck. I use an older LG 4167B to rip.

[tmangia]

wow... that's too bad.
lordsmurf cited external samsung and pioner drivers as good ones. Any models that have a 'high' potential?

Another question: as I see that my drive is ripping too slow, can this, in some way, advance the lifetime of the drive?

thanks

[hech54]

Another question: as I see that my drive is ripping too slow, can this, in some way, advance the lifetime of the drive?

1. Longevity of the drive is NOT the reason manufacturers make the drives rip so slow....just get that out of your head...
2. My old LG 4040B (first reviewed by CNET in 2005) is still going strong - happily ripping(pretty quickly) and burning(@4x) in my old Dell backup computer....so drive longevity again is NOT a factor.

[lordsmurf]

If anything, running a disc at 2x for 30 minutes is worse than 5 minutes of 16x.

Just pick any Pioneer 16x+ drive and you'll be fine.

[[_chef_]]

The speedtested DVDr should hold at least 4GB to make sense out of the scan result.

[budz]

LG drives are famous for being slow rippers because they have the read speeds locked.

[lordsmurf]

Yeah, but even then, the drives are just not very good at reading or burning anyway, regardless of speed limits.
Do you remember all the details on the limits?

[budz]

Yeah, but even then, the drives are just not very good at reading or burning anyway, regardless of speed limits.
Do you remember all the details on the limits?

LG drives read speeds are locked at 6x speed which btw is good when you have a commerical dvd disc that's scratched. As for burning I haven't had any issues but then again my first LG drive was the LG H62L model. That model still works for me. But remember I used to be a dvd burner whore who has many different brands and models of dvd burners. I haven't really kept up with the dvd burner models since PIONEER began to use mediatek chipset & BENQ sold out their optical drive unit to LITEON. I been too busy in the world of overclocking cpu's!

[[_chef_]]

Slimtype drive > slow and most times also unrelaible.

Get a Half-height (desktop) drive if possible.