Plextor Px-708A transfer rate problem

[seamadan000]

Here is an interesting little problem. I have a Plextor PX-708A DVD burner (a great, very fast burner, by the way) and the transfer rate I get when copying from DVDs is rather slow. For example, when copying from a DVD the fastest the transfer rate is just 2.5x (I forget the Kb/s). My pioneer 16x DVD player, on the other hand, gets transfer rates of now lower than 8x and as high as 12x, using the same DVD and same program (DVD decrypter). The Plextor has only has a 12x DVD read rate, but it still should not be limited to 2x! I have checked the software settings, and the master/slave settings on the drives (Plextor is the master, and the pioneer is the slave). I don't know what else to look at.

Any help would be much appriciated.

thanks

[hexaguano]

The Plextor 708, like the some of the Toshiba's are limited to 2X ripping speeds for DVD's. However, unlike the Toshiba's, this limitation can be removed by holding in the eject button until the LED blinks 3 times with an empty tray. The tray will eject, insert the DVD and close. Enjoy max speed. (Each time you insert a new disk, this ritual must be repeated)

BTW. This procedure is described in the owners manual for the Plex 708.

[seamadan000]

thanks for the heads up, I appriciate it greatly :beer:

now I have another question: what's a manual ;)

[hexaguano]

You bet.

Did you get it to work OK, and how much did your ripping speed increase ?

[seamadan000]

It works Ok now, the trick did the trick.

Now it rips at a low speed of 4.5x and a high speed of about 7.5x (depending on where the data is on the disc). So not blazing fast, but faster nontheless.

thanks again for pointing out my oversight.

[hexaguano]

Very good.

(I don't use my Plex for ripping because it is a little slow. I've got a LiteOn, err, JVC....XJ/HD-166S for that purpose. I guess it saves a little wear and tear on the writer to boot)

Hoping that Plextor upgrades the f/w to write -R @ 8X and/or DL, but I won't hold my breath.

[seamadan000]

yeah, a nice firmware update would be nice. For now I just use DVD+Rs, and I have had good luck with player compatability, even some old ones.

I use the good old DVD-ROM drive to rip as well, its a bit faster, but I wanted to get my money's worth out of the plex, and I am considering a SFF PC, so then I could only have the one drive.

thanks again for you help