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Upgrade Doubles +R Speed For Some Lite-On Drives
Binsbergen writes "Owners of a Lite-On 451S (lowest price $ 69.50) and a Lite-On 851S can load the firmware of the Lite-On 832S and burn their DVD+Rs at 8x speed and also write to double-layer media. Before this seemed impossible, because many manufacturers have told us that upgrading a 4x drive to a double-layer writer was impossible due hardware differences. Of course it's important to note that 'overclocking' voids your warrantee and should be done after have carefully read the instructions. Read more about the procedure, the results and others experiences in the official 451S@832S, 851S@832S -- It works! thread. That's a dirt-cheap upgrade!" (Sounds similar to the NEC upgrade mentioned in May.)
If you don't currently own a 451S don't bother with purchasing one. The mad rush that this is going to cause will only raise the cost and the wait time for this specific unit. After a quick search I found the Lite-On 8x DVD+/-RW drive that does double layered writing for $89 (see here at newegg - BTW, I just did a quick search for Lite-On, I don't work for newegg or even recommend them).
Seems to me that paying $20 more (without even checking anywhere else) to purchase a drive that is meant to write at 8x (apparently in both + and -) and won't void your warranty is a much better deal.
...There are some articles that, no matter how much you try, you just can't think of a funny comment to.
This patch is fine and dandy, but I cannot find any dual layered discs anywhere!
Tsukasa: All I really want, is to be left alone...
The TiG4 Powerbooks had the same type of firmware 'fix'. I can't find the link to the upgradable firmware, but it doubled the speed of the MATSHITA DVD-R UJ-815A. Definitely was a major improvement over the standard 1x DVD burning that came with my powerbook.
GroupShares Inc.
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Unknown host pong.
I have the NEC 2500 that can be firmware-upgraded to the 2510 dual-layer model. People have been reporting that the new firmware works fine, but no one on any of the message boards has yet verified that dual-layer DVDs burned with the new firmware will play on standard DVD players. I'd be curious about the same issue with Lite-On models until there is more testing.
Also, dual-layer media is still very expensive. A DL disc costs much more than twice as much as a single-layer.
The "hack" was released around December/January I believe. Kinda late there /.
Anyway, Lite-On has some excellent burners. I got mine during Black Friday and let me tell you, the 4x burns at 8x =)
Load firmware for another drive? Seems to me it's like chopping off your toes to fit into the shoe, Yeah it might look better, but it could also hurt. A lot.
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Unix is very user friendly, it's just picky about who its friends are.
Upgrade Doubles +R Speed
Just get a "type R" sticker at AutoZone, glue it on your drive's tray and voilà, instant speed increase. Works with every drive on the market too...
"A door is what a dog is perpetually on the wrong side of" - Ogden Nash
While the speeds are finally getting there, i think i'll hold off a little further on buying a DVD-RW. I'm also a little angry about the supposed 'dual-layer' capability - regular dual layer discs are 9.6 gb, not 8.5!
Aren't the Sony DVD writers just a re-packaged Lite-on? Or vice versa? Pretty much the same writer I read somewhere, just comes with a different logo and software package.
Modding is fun and often a means to usher legacy hardware/software into a state where it can compete with newer generation hardware/software. Examples of good modding can be found in the Debian Familliar distribution, which allows old-skool iPaqs to run a far more robust operating system than the first-wave Pocket PC software, and you end up with a PDA competent to PPC 2k2.
As a child, I once modded a first-generation Mr. Speak and Spell to curse at me in German. I was the envy of the entire chess club.
"You and your third dimension."
Unless your Xbox is chip'd. IIRC, xbox media is read from the outside in, you need a modchip, or some crazy burning software to make it work. Much easier to just get a hard drive and rip the games.
"Sic Semper Tyrannosaurus Rex."
http://forums.speedlabs.org/ (membership required) has a series of mods/steps to let your 401S/411S write DVD+Rs (and -Rs when they arrive) at 8X, effectively converting them to a 8xxS drive. Drives thus converted can later be flashed with original 8xxS firmware. (401s must first be "overclocked" to 411s and from then to 8xx).
You can burn xbox games with single layer discs, and have been able to for 2 years now. The tough part is that the xbox data is burned backwards... from the outside of the disc in from what I understand. This means that no, you can't put an xbox game in your computer and just "burn" it. You have to read it with your xbox while having the xbox modded and running linux, and then copy the data over the network to your computer via ftp - and then burn the thing using Nero or whatever. Then, you have a copy that will load on the xbox. Having a dual layer burner has nothing to do with it.
I've purchased or recommended many (more than 15) for me and others in the past 2 or 3 years. Never had a single problem with any... Oh, except my dads, who took me quite literally when I told him to go blow out his computer to get the dust out... He did, with 150+ PSI at close range. NIC pooched. Lite-On CD Burner pooched. CPU Fan pooched -- I've often wondered how many RPM's he had that puppy turnin'.
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There's tons of other burners that can do dual layer with unofficial firmware upgrades.
;-)
:-( Maybe someone else can provide one?
;-)
Even my el cheapo drive (Pioneer DVR-A06) might be able to do the trick, although I doubt Pioneer will release their hacked firmware for it just for the heck of it.
I once knew the link to pages summarizing the recorders where dual layer firmware was available but have lost it since then.
Anyway, if your recorder supports recording 8x discs, chances are that it has a modified firmware for dual layer recording floating around somewhere, as one of the requirements -- a 140 mW laser -- is a common requirement for 8x DVD+/-R burning and DL burning. Philips has confirmed this, but says that in some cases the Optical Pickup Unit is still not of high enough quality. Obviously not always, since DL burning with modified firmware has been done by people upgrading their drives like this.
Finally, it's still a risky business and you might bust your DVD-ROM drive by upgrading to a hacked firmware. And I doubt warranty applies.
Beware: In C++, your friends can see your privates!
aside from the "fun factor", is there any real point to doing it?
education, learning, exploring; tackling a challenge and the resulting sense of accomplishment (when it works); fighting back against 'the man' who would use technology for customer control. Hackers who know how things work make better shoppers who can cut thru marketing bullcrap, thus contributing to a more efficient and honest capitalist marketplace, promoting freedom and the persuit of happiness throughout the universe.
Some of the worlds greatest inventors, like Tesla, Edison, Watt, Volt, Amp, Henry and Ohm were hackers who enjoyed experimenting with consumer products to see if they could be made to do things prohibited by law.
try { do() || do_not(); } catch (JediException err) { yoda(err); }
it's amazing how many things run faster by simply doubling the voltage. Blenders, Toasters, Fans, even light bulbs burn brighter!
Now, manufacturers CLAIM their devices were not intended to be used in this manner and that faster devices use different hardware, but just plug it up and see for yourself that they are obviously profit-mongering scumbags!! I see it running faster, what other unseen differences could possibly exist? Why would they even design their products similarly or base one version off another if they werent actually the exact same thing underneath?!
-- 'The' Lord and Master Bitman On High, Master Of All
Oh for FUCK SAKES
Stop spreading these MORONIC "the discs go backwards so piracy is un-possible" rumours.
The Xbox does not spin backwards, nor read inside-out. It uses drives that are as close to stock as you can get, regular toshiba, phillips, samsung drives with modified firmware. It has a proprietary game format. There's a short video session (a video clip saying "this is an xbox game not a movie you idiot") which is all your PC will see, since it does not know about the format of the disk. This COULD be overcome in software, but it would be difficult and would require hacking the firmware of some PC drive and writing all the filesystem shit, etc..
Anyways.
Gamecube discs do not spin backwards, nor PS2, nor dreamcast, nor Sega Saturn, nor TG-CD. This rumour has come up about every single disc-based game console to date.
It would require refitting media pressing factories, custom mastering equipment, etc, etc, all KINDs of ridiculous infrastructure, when if the purpose is copy protection, existing schemes work great (usually broken by a weak link elsewhere, ie; bunnie lifting the MD5 key to decrypt the xbox' bios - if that hadn't happened, it would still be "unhackable")..
Anyhow... THE DISCS WORK LIKE EVERY OTHER DISK, THEY JUST HAVE STUFF WRITTEN ON 'EM THAT YOUR COMPUTER DOESN'T KNOW ABOUT!
Ahhhh... One of those lame rumours that supposedly "intelligent geeky" people spread.
I don't need no instructions to know how to rock!!!!
I have been a HUGE supporter of Lite-On drives for quite a while for this very reason. They are notorious for being easily flashed to higher read/write speeds with out any issues. I pity those fools who pay top dollor for $ony drives when they could just buy the exact same drive from Lite-On for a lot less.
[n8.r0n] http://petesweb.spymac.net/
The Xbox does not spin backwards
Wrong. The Xbox DVD drive does indeed spin backwards. One of the things you have to do when swapping in a compatible replacement drive (Samsung, I believe) is to flip have the rubber drive band so that it causes the spindle to spin backwards. Go to xbox-scene.com and dig around in the hardware modding tutorials for more details.
I bet those guys had pretty weird parents to name them after units of measurement...
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Can I download some firmware to upgrade my Celeron to a full Pentium 4?
"It's the height of ridiculousness to say for those 9 lines you get hundreds of millions."
Well before the 401s came out, there were rumours - originating from "usually well-informed sources" - that there would be a "leak" to allow it to burn DVD-R media (the 401s is a DVD+RW drive).
And, yup, that's exactly what happened. Yes, DVD-R support is still somewhat shaky and, the whole thing is mostly a result of volounteer work. But Lite-On has, at least from what I hear, been pretty supportive.
Lately though, they seem to have pulled the plug because of pressure from other manufacturers and patent attorneys (those drives are officially DVD+R drives so Lite-On would not be paying royalties to use the DVD-R standard).
My girl-friend does this all the time: when she goes grocery shopping she will usually take advantage of those buy-three-get-one-free deals. Even on stuff like milk. So we'd have four jugs of milk sitting in the fridge. Eventually we'd throw two away - resulting in a net loss. But at the store, it actually felt like saving money.
I think the term you want is CLV, constant linear velocity. The alternative is CAV, or constant angular velocity. I sometimes get them mixed up though.
"You're right," Fisheye says. "I should have set it on 'whip' or 'chop.'"
Just flashed my LDW-851S. Everything is ok so far... yay :)
www.taperesources-store.com This is just the first link I found on froogle, they are not listed in Pricewatch yet.
As shown here, Sony does use Lite-on for this drive.
So how fast does it go if you add a "Type -R" sticker on the front bezel?
Does a "Type +R" go any faster?
Steven V>
I patented screwing your mom. But it got revoked for "prior art."
One of the reasons the ONLY difference between the high end and low end versions of somthing is it's cheaper for them to cover both markets that way. You only need one factory line to produce both units. As a plus you can wait till just before final packaging and shipping to burn in the firmware giving them some more flexibility to adjust the ratio's of the various 'levels' to fit changeing market demand. In theory the money they save this way can be partialy passed on to the consumer, and partialy used for increasing proffit.
You see this sort of thing all over the place were companies produce a product and sell it at various prices under different lables to maximize proffits and minimize costs. Many of the 'house' brands in your local grocery store or department store are actually just re-labled high-dollar brands.
Mycroft
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