Best DVD drive for reading scratched discs - TEST RESULTS / ON-GOING

[stevelee]

Re: Best DVD drive for reading scratched discs - TEST RESULTS / ON-GOING

Thank you for creating this thread.
this isn't a necro bump, this thread is very well indexed and was the first result through a rational google search.

I bought the (Samsung SH-224DB JUN 2014 INT(SATA)) (99.9%)
it only cost me £9 (ebay)

Whereas my old low grade bluray drive would encounter a redundancy check fail, it'd then go barrrr, cant do it, barrrr.. can't do it.
this one seems to change its reading method when it encounters the same problem.

as a result It took 50 minutes to copy the entire disk but it did it.
outstanding, very happy.. wouldn't be possible if not for this thread.
I hope it serves others. Thank you @falkor

[drcain]

Re: Best DVD drive for reading scratched discs - TEST RESULTS / ON-GOING

I can update this thread now - after going through cca 15-20 old drives from ebay, my current top performer is Plextor PX-230A. Still not at 100% with some old CDs, but so far the best.
It's more expensive at this time (prices vary from 50 to 200 USD), but if you can get hands on one - GET IT. It's a devil. You will need old PATA (IDE) interface though.. and I don't recommend using currently available USB-IDE or SATA-IDE adapters - there's something not done right with the commands translation when you try to read the CD different way (low level reading) than standard copy commands. I recommend using native IDE interface, if you can get an old PC.

[lev21]

Re: Best DVD drive for reading scratched discs - TEST RESULTS / ON-GOING

did you try Samsung SN-208BB? It's pretty good for me. I read that it is good to get a nice mix of drives to rip imperfect discs. Especially those with different chipsets. Is there a good list of drive and chipsets or a way to detect the chipset for a drive?

[drcain]

Re: Best DVD drive for reading scratched discs - TEST RESULTS / ON-GOING

No, but I have tried SH-216BB. Also a very good drive (that one is one of 3 top performers for me for "rotten" CD-R media - 1. Plextor PX-230A, 2. LITE-ON SOHR-5238S 3. Samsung SH-216BB - that is actually my current top 3 list, listing the best one on first place).

I did not actually find any good list or test results on the internet. Thus I have used forum thread "CD/DVD Drive Accuracy List" from here checking several different years (you can search for it), last on is from 2016 (https://forum.dbpoweramp.com/showthr...racy-List-2016), but as these are CD-Rs I'm trying to read, I have also used previous years of this thread (2013, 2014,..) - older drives were more "ready" for CD-R than newer drives..

That "Accuracy List" threads are actually not very relevant for my issue (it's mainly about audio ripping), but I have concluded, that if the drive can rip audio well, it might as well perform better with old unreadable media. The result don't necessarily correlate - for example the best drive currently listed in 2016 thread - iHAS124 - did NOT perform well with my media at all. And I got NEW - unused model from retailer.

[lev21]

Re: Best DVD drive for reading scratched discs - TEST RESULTS / ON-GOING

I got a SOHR-5238S based on your recommendation & it is a good drive, but I had many more successful rips of scratched/troublemaker CDs with the SN-208BB. Mine is an HP OEM.

[drcain]

Re: Best DVD drive for reading scratched discs - TEST RESULTS / ON-GOING

I'm guessing the mileage may vary also piece-by-piece, not just model-by-model.. but without access to several drives of the same model/type and extensive testing, it's really difficult to come to any conclusions..

[Oggy]

Re: Best DVD drive for reading scratched discs - TEST RESULTS / ON-GOING

I'm guessing the mileage may vary also piece-by-piece, not just model-by-model.. but without access to several drives of the same model/type and extensive testing, it's really difficult to come to any conclusions..

Hi drcain, and welcome back!

Delighted that you are gradually getting through those troublesome CD-Rs, and that the Plextor has worked well for you. I guess what we are all looking for, is a CD drive with the performance of a "proper" Plextor, but new and costing under £20.

I share your concerns about the possible (probable?) variability of drives. For a short time, I was testing CD players for a well known audio manufacturer, and there were slight variations in the performance of mechanisms, that came from the same batch. With older, second hand drives, with differing amounts of use and abuse, the room for variable performance, is obviously magnified.

As I mentioned earlier in the thread, another massive variable, is the humble scratched CD, specifically the direction and depth of the scratch: none of us are attempting to rip the same, damaged disc.

In my Hi-Fi retailing days, a lot of CD players were returned for various disc reading issues, and yes, lasers were replaced, re-aligned, and the mechs. rails cleaned, but more often than not, a good clean to the laser worked wonders.

One drive I bought from new, which has since died, that I would like to try on a couple of discs, is a Yamaha CRW-F1, from around 2002. I've no idea how it performs for DAE, but it was very well regarded for disc burning, though obviously this is completely irrelevant. I will have to see if it can be revived...

Hope you hit 100%!

[GreenRobert]

Re: Best DVD drive for reading scratched discs - TEST RESULTS / ON-GOING

Thank you for doing this research! I have a few DVDs that were burned on CompUSA media that I am only now discovering have problems. I managed to find a Samsung SH-216BB and tried it out. It is a high quality drive. But it did not make much difference.

But then I tried the Blu Ray suggestion. I found a used LG WP50NB40 Blu Ray drive. Just now I was able to use it to read and copy two of those old DVDs that would not copy on any of my DVD drives.

[jesse1997]

Re: Best DVD drive for reading scratched discs - TEST RESULTS / ON-GOING

No, but I have tried SH-216BB. Also a very good drive (that one is one of 3 top performers for me for "rotten" CD-R media - 1. Plextor PX-230A, 2. LITE-ON SOHR-5238S 3. Samsung SH-216BB - that is actually my current top 3 list, listing the best one on first place).

Thanks for this. I have an old audio CD-R that a iHAS124 F can't rip in secure mode. In burst mode the music sounds heavily distorted. Then I bought a used SH-216BB based on your advice. It can read the disc much better. There are some clicks in the music after ultra secure ripping. ~6000 frames needed re-rip, now there are just a few hundred inaccurate frames. If I can find a Blu-ray drive for super cheap I'll give it a go and report back.