Nero DriveSpeed, how slow can you go? (and with what drive?)

greenhorn · Post by **greenhorn** » Sun Apr 11, 2004 10:21 pm

Thanks for the site Mike. And thanks to all who make the forums what they are.

I'm in the process of specing my first custom built PC, an HTPC, and it's looking to be dead quiet, with one exception.... the cd-rw / dvd-rw drive(s). My goal is 1x CD and DVD playback, though 2x would be acceptable, and I'm willing to buy seperate drives if it comes down to that.

I've searched the site extensively and read Mike's review of the Samsung combo drive, which showed the CD play and 32x play to both be 32dBA, seeming to indicate the former as being 32x, and concluded that Drivespeed is necessary for 1x playback.

My question is what drives are compatible with drivespeed and how slow can they go?

The current contenders:
NEC ND-2500A (said to be drivespeed compatible, but is it locked into 5x playback?)
Plextor PX-708A (how slow can it go, is it worth the $$$?)

proposed key components:
intel MOBO
P4 2.8HT 800Mhz
SS-300FB-F3SLR-A1 super tornado w/ nexus real silent 1000 rpm fan
coolermaster Hyper 6 heatsink w/ nexus real silent fan (possibly ducted out of case)
80mm nexus real silent case fan (if necessary)
Samsung SP-1614N hd
silentdrive?
Radeon 9600 (DVI out to TV)
m-audio audiophile 2496 soundcard
Swans T-200A speakers
34" sony wega 16:9 CRT HDTV

best
conan

Edward Ng · Post by **Edward Ng** » Mon Apr 12, 2004 5:53 am

Conan...

WELCOME TO SPCR!!!

Anywho...

Under Nero DriveSpeed (for my PX-708A), my options are:

for CD:
maximum
40X
32X
24X
8X
4X

for DVD:
12X
8X

However, keep in mind that for DVD movies, if you use a standard playback software such as PowerDVD, the drive should only spin at 2X. Some users have reported that this function does not always work as specified (but mine has).

In fact, in order to enable high-speed read-out of DVD movies (and I use this feature quite often), it is necessary to hold the eject button down until the light blinks (something like 3 whole seconds) and then the tray opens; insert the movie disc you wish to rip at high speed and then push the tray shut, now the drive will offer full speed access to the movie disc for things like ripping. For DVD-ROM, this is not necessary, but for movie DVDs, it is.

Whether or not it's worth the money for you is your call. According to industry buzz, the 12X, dual-layer burners are literally right around the corner (another month or two away), and they will cost equal or even less than the PX-708A; then in about four or five months, expect 16X dual-layer burners to make their appearance. If you can find a very good deal on one of these drives now, then it might be worth it, or if you simply have to have it right now, then it's a decent choice; otherwise, I highly recommend waiting and purchasing a dual-layer burner when they are available.

BTW I was an early adopter and bought mine before the PX-708U was even available...it cost me $280

.

-Ed

idealcrash · Post by **idealcrash** » Mon Apr 12, 2004 8:08 pm

I have a Toshiba 16x DVD-ROM, but I haven't tried to reduce it's speed. Just wanted to say that it is very quiet when playing film dvd's. But when playing video based dvd's like concerts etc it spins very fast and it's very loud. I don't think there's a way to overcome that, it needs to spin faster because video dvd's are 60fps as opposed to the 24fps of film. If you only watch movies you should be ok.

al bundy · Post by **al bundy** » Mon Apr 12, 2004 10:03 pm

greenhorn wrote:...I'm in the process of specing my first custom built PC, an HTPC, and it's looking to be dead quiet, with one exception.... the cd-rw / dvd-rw drive(s). My goal is 1x CD and DVD playback, though 2x would be acceptable... My question is what drives are compatible with drivespeed and how slow can they go?...

Hi greenhorn,

I wish I could give feedback on DVD-RW drives but I have never owned one (yet)! At this time I do all my DVD backup to iso image on harddrive, using DVDDecrypter and DaemonTools - thus no optical drive sound at all when watching the backed-up movies (I do something similar with audio CD's as well, using ExactAudioCopy and DaemonTools). When renting I hardly hear anything either though, as I've got the HTPC tucked behind the TV and the PC case has a door which also blocks out some optical drive noise.

The SM-348B drive in my personal machine (a CD-RW/DVD combo, not a DVD-RW) can be slowed to 4X in CD read, but Nero Drivespeed can't seem to adjust its DVD-read speed as the detected settings for DVD only show the entry of "maximum". The Toshibas I've tested with this utility (CD/DVD, and CD-RW/DVD models only, including a Toshiba drive currently in my HTPC) can IIRC be slowed to 4X DVD-read, but not down to 2X, with Nero DriveSpeed.

There is a product called DVDIdle that might help you achieve quiet DVD reading. The program caches DVD data to harddrive or RAM, in order to make the player able to remain idle for most of the DVD playback time. They have other software too, and they are a well-regarded source of good software in this category (check out the above DVDIdle link for more info on this product and their other offerings).

By the way, since you're still designing your HTPC, have you considered the REALmagic XCard? Further, if you pair up an XCard with an Hauppauge PVR 350/250 card and use the outstanding JovePlayer software by 8dim, you can have an excellent HTPC that handles encoding and decoding at the hardware level, and can do nearly everything you may ever want from an HTPC...

maxxymus · Post by **maxxymus** » Mon Apr 12, 2004 11:31 pm

Nero's program also has an option to add speeds... just click on OPTIONS, enter a number and press ADD. I havent tested this out but you are welcome to. Personally I barely use my CDROM so I don't care that much.

tay · Post by **tay** » Tue Apr 13, 2004 6:03 am

idealcrash wrote:I have a Toshiba 16x DVD-ROM, but I haven't tried to reduce it's speed. Just wanted to say that it is very quiet when playing film dvd's. But when playing video based dvd's like concerts etc it spins very fast and it's very loud. I don't think there's a way to overcome that, it needs to spin faster because video dvd's are 60fps as opposed to the 24fps of film. If you only watch movies you should be ok.

What are your video dvds? DivX or HDTV 720p? It is unlikely your fps has anything to do with it and more to do with your playback software.

owain_thomas · Post by **owain_thomas** » Sat Apr 17, 2004 2:06 am

Maxxymus, I tried this with my pioneer 106 tray loader and it doesn't seem to have any effect

Can anyone confirm a DVDROM that they've managed to make run at less than 4x (for audio CDs) using nero?

Owain

NapalmDeath · Post by **NapalmDeath** » Mon Apr 19, 2004 12:56 pm

Using Nero drivespeed I can adjust my Sony DDU1612 (DVD 16X, CD 40X) down to 4X for CD's. Haven't checked DVD yet. The CD had the option listed of 2X, but would make a spin up and spin down like the motor was confused. 4X is the real lowest setting for CD.
I'm stuck with CD's to get my games to play.

I think it's a Liteon model with Sony slapped on it.
I found that out looking for the hack to reset the (4) region change counter. To confirm I'd prolly have to open it.

I can't seem to get the spin down timer adjustment to work for drive speed. I've changed it from minutes to seconds to miliseconds, and the drive still spins down when it's good and ready after about 20 sec or so.

Does this feature typically not work, or is it just my drive?

tb2496 · Post by **tb2496** » Mon Apr 19, 2004 3:27 pm

Toshiba DVD-ROM's are quiet when playing movies because they are limited to 2x speed for DVD-Video. There is firmware available which unlocks the speed, which is good for ripping DVD's but bad for silent playback.

You can also get firmware for Toshiba drives which will lower the max speed for normal CD's to 16x which is excelent for mp3 and divx playback. Here's a link:

http://hijacker.rpc1.org/kiss/#Download

Nero DriveSpeed, how slow can you go? (and with what drive?)

Nero DriveSpeed, how slow can you go? (and with what drive?)

Re: Nero DriveSpeed, how slow can you go? (and with what dri

Sony DDU1612 (DVD 16X, CD 40X)