Today I got an NEC 3520A burner. Before I got it I read that it comes with firmware that restricts dvd ripping speed to 5x. After I installed it I needed to burn some discs so I used Decrypter. First disc started ripping at 3x, then it got going to 4-5x till the end. Burned the dvd-r after that, closed Decrypter. Couple hours later I need to do another disc. Used Decrypter again, it starts riping the disc and by the time the disc is about half way done, it's ripping at 12,000 KB/s (this is about 8-9x speed). It kept up 8-9x speed till the disc was done. If the drive has firmware stopping it from going over 5x speed, how did this happen? I didn't update the firmware (I just checked it and it came with v1.04 I think it said) or anything like that. Both the discs I was ripping were dvd-r 5's. Just wondered if someone could tell me why it ripped so fast on the second disc, thanks.
I have the 3520A also, but I don't have an answer for you because I only use mine to burn. I have a Toshiba DVD-ROM that I use for reading the DVD. It has been mentioned in these forums that ripping with your burner is bad because of the constant "start/stop". I'm far from being a "tekie", but it makes sense. I'm happy with the 3520A's burning speed. Tom
Take a trip over to club.cdfreaks.com and look up your burner in the hardware forum. There's a firmware hack by Liggy and Dee that removes the riplock.