On Sun, 21 Aug 2005 21:54:25 GMT, spam@uce.gov (Bob) wrote:


>>>I have seen the term "Riplock" in connection with third-party firmware
>>>- it is something that is removed with the new firmware.
>
>>Then try an older firmware?
>
>Riplock is something that is on all NEC drives and some others too.
>
>There is no older firmware for the 3540 - version 1.01 is the one and
>only version.

I misread what you meant by "something that is removed with
the new firmware". Could you elaborate more on what you
meant by "removed with the new firmware"? You're referring
to 3rd party firmware with riplock removed?

>
>Being new to the wonderful world of DVD technology, I am reluctant to
>fool with flashing unofficial firmware. I read that flashing older
>firmware, even if it official, can cause problems.
>
>There is a "third-party" firmware available for the 3540 on CDFreaks
>but I am waiting for some answers to questions. For example, if the
>"new" firmware screws up, can I restore my original firmware? The
>answer seems to be Yes but you have to use a pure DOS flasher.
>

DOS is good for firmware flashing, if your board will boot
from a thumbdrive that's a nice way to get a quick DOS
environment for flashing (anything) without having to wonder
about the fitness of a floppy... as floppies seem to have
taken a nosedive in quaity over the past few years.


>>>What is Riplock, why is the 3540 so slow ripping video DVDs, and how
>>>do I fix it?
>
>>IMO, a CD/DVD oriented web forum is a great place to get the
>>most detailed information about specific drive models rather
>>than a general-purpose hardware newsgroup... and if there
>>are any specific bios most beneficial, a web-forum would be
>>likely to have a link to such bios and tools to flash it if
>>NEC flasher won't.
>
>I have posted inquiries on CDFreaks/NEC forum. But I like to consult
>the experts on this forum because I have grown to trust them,
>especially you. Whenever I challenge you, you come back with a
>knowledgable response. There are other knowledgable people on here
>too. It never hurts to get as many opinions as possible.

Well I'd try a different firmware... worst case is the drive
is dead afterwards but it's only a $45 part... it's not
likely to end up that bad, un(re)flashable, I'm just putting
worst-case scenario out there. Usually it's no big deal to
flash one and works fine. However, the liteon is known to
be better at reading DVDs than the NEC, it could be you'll
have to wait for NEC to sort out a firmware fix IF there
will be one. Inevitably each drive has it's own strengths
and weaknesses, else there's only be one make putting the
others out of business.

The curious part is that your older DVD takes longer. Often
when a drive reads new CDs slower, it's because it's using a
slower speed and thus, can be beneficial in reading old/poor
discs because the slower speed means less re-reads.

You have both drives though, why not just use the liteon?


>
>>Is this (slow ripping) issue present on ALL DVDs or only
>>some of them?
>
>See above. It happens only on video DVDs and then only when the disc
>is old and worn but not defective.
>
>I believe NEC is being cautious. Maybe if I remove Riplock I can get
>better performance without sacrificing quality.


Are you in a hurry to rip?
I usually just throw a disc in and forget about it till long
after it's finished. If you're looking to do
post-processing to it then does the ripping speed even
matter? It tends to take over 16 minutes to reprocess an
entire DVD on any system.

Follow the lead of the folks at the CD/DVD forum, they'll
spending a lot more time on this stuff... ask the author of
the firmware hack any specific questions if you can get
ahold of her/him.