Optical Disc Drive Compatibility: CD
From Redump Wiki
A list of Optical disc drives compatible with the Compact Disc format (CD-ROM, CD-Audio, etc) which includes many retro console discs.
See also: Optical Disc Drive Compatibility and Optical Disc Drives: Incompatible
Contents |
Plextor brand Drives
Proper CD dumping requires optical disc drives to support a range of features. Certain models of Plextor brand drives in particular are most compatible and reliable.
Best Plextor Models: Easiest & Recommended
Your drive should have the final firmware installed. The final firmware is linked below on archive.org for most models.
| Model | IDE | SATA | SCSI | USB | USB/Firewire | Notes | Multisession¹ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Premium | Premium | Premium-U | Yes | ||||
| Premium2 | Premium2 | Premium2U | ? | ||||
| PX-704 | PX-704A Buffalo DVM-H44FB | Buffalo DVM-H44FB is a rebadge/clone of PX-704A | ? | ||||
| PX-708 | PX-708A | PX-708UF | ? | ||||
| PX-712 | PX-712A | PX-712SA | PX-712UF | ? | |||
| PX-716 | PX-716A Buffalo DVM-DM16FBS PX-716AL | PX-716SA | PX-716UF PX-716UFL | Buffalo DVM-DM16FBS is a rebadge/clone of PX-716A | Yes | ||
| PX-755 | PX-755A | PX-755SA | PX-755UF | Yes | |||
| PX-760 | PX-760A | PX-760SA | PX-760AUF | Yes | |||
| PX-W4012 | PX-W4012A PX-W4012TA | PX-W4012S PX-W4012TS | PX-W4012U PX-W4012TU | Yes | |||
| PX-W5224 | PX-W5224A PX-W5224TA | PX-W5224TU | Yes |
Plextor Drives with Known Limitations
Exercise caution, read notes before buying.
| Model | IDE | SATA | SCSI | USB | USB/Firewire | Notes | Multisession¹ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PX-W4824 | PX-W4824A PX-W4824TA | PX-W4824U PX-W4824TU | Not recommended for Audio CD/Enhanced CD due to: 1. Unable to read full lead-in (only 1 second of pregap is available) 2. Some models hang when reading CD-TEXT on Multisession discs Otherwise, still acceptable for Audio CDs that are not the above cases. | Partial |
Plextor Drives with Severe Limitations
DO NOT BUY! Some of these may be technically supported and capable of dumping certain types of CDs, but have various limitations or potential issues so are not recommended.
| Model | IDE | SATA | SCSI | USB | USB/Firewire | Notes | Multisession¹ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PX-40 | PX-40TS | Scrambled mode is slow | ? | ||||
| PX-W1210 | PX-W1210TS | Model may have firmware bugs that affect offset, needs to be looked into. | ? | ||||
| PX-W4220T | PX-W4220T | Model may have firmware bugs that affect offset, needs to be looked into. | ? |
¹ Multisession support is regarded as compatible and accepted through the Redumper dumping tool.
Notes regarding specific drives and capabilities
- IDE models can be used on laptops or desktops using a USB Adapter. UGREEN / Kingwin brands are often recommended but anything using the Innostor IS611 chipset
- Additionally, IDE models can be used on a Desktop tower with a cheap card, or with a 5.25" IDE USB enclosure (can be found on eBay or similar, but supply might be scarce).
- SATA drives can be hard to find or expensive, it may be easier to buy an IDE model + IDE->USB adapter. Note that most IDE adapters also support SATA drives also.
- SCSI models can only be used with a Desktop tower with a cheap card (no laptops).
Suggested eBay search terms
To search ebay quickly, you can use the following searches. Only use one at a time, as otherwise the search text will be too long and it'll give an error.
-
(PX-760AUF, PX-755UF, PX-716UF, PX-716UFL, PX-712UF, PX-708UF, PX-708UF2, Plextor Premium2U, Plextor Premium-U, PX-W5224TU, PX-W4012TU, PX-760SA, PX-716SA, PX-712SA, PX-760A, PX-755A, PX-716A) -
(DVM-DM16FBS, PX-716AL, PX-712A, PX-708A, PX-704A, DVM-H44FB, Plextor Premium2, Plextor Premium, PX-W5224A, PX-W5224TA, PX-W4012A, PX-W4012TA, PX-W4012U, PX-W4012S, PX-W4012TS)
LG & ASUS Drives
Plextors are preferable, as more testing is needed for these.
- Dumps from the following drives (with good firmware) will be accepted under the following circumstances:
- They are new discs or verifications of CDs consisting only of a single data track
- They are verifications of Data CDs that also have audio tracks
- For pure Audio CDs, we are presently only accepting dumps made with Redumper and drives from the list of Recommended Plextors above.
Please note that the below drive models are not sufficient to determine if your drive is compatible, you can determine if it will be compatible by reading the sticker's manufacturing date and the PCB date code on your drive. JB7 and older designs are not supported. Before buying any of drives below make sure the date of production is mid 2015 or later (2016 if you want to be safe), with a PCB date code of 2015.05.08.
Also note that only certain firmware versions will work with Redumper and/or DiscImageCreator (i.e. must support OpCode 0xF1). The below firmware versions are known official firmware versions that support OpCode 0xF1, however they are not all currently supported by Redumper out-of-the-box (will work with custom flags). See Flashing Asus BW-16D1HT firmware for info on cross-flashing custom BW-16D1HT firmware that is recommended for dumping CDs.
Half-height SATA drive models
| Model | Compatible Firmware | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Asus BC-12D2HT | 3.00 | Not recommended: BD Reader only, cross-flashing may be difficult. Older productions of this drive (typically before 2015.05.08) are not supported. |
| Asus BW-16D1HT | 3.00, 3.02 | Recommended, well tested. Older productions of this drive (typically before 2015.05.08) are not supported. |
| LG BH14NS58 | 1.00 | |
| LG BH16NS40 | 1.02 | Older productions of this drive (typically before 2015.05.08) are not supported. |
| LG BH16NS55 | 1.00, 1.01, 1.02 | |
| LG BH16NS58 | 1.00 | |
| LG UH12NS40 | 1.00 | Not recommended: BD Reader only, cross-flashing may be difficult. |
| LG WH14NS40 | 1.00, 1.02 | Older productions of this drive (typically before 2015.05.08) are not supported. |
| LG WH16NS40 | 1.02 | Older productions of this drive (typically before 2015.05.08) are not supported. |
Other drive models with the MT1959 chipset and HLDS JB8 motherboard may also be cross-compatible with known good firmware, however they have not been tested so we cannot prove they will be acceptable for Redump submission.
Technical Note: In theory, the JB8 drives with good firmware can produce good dumps for mixed-mode CDs when there is a negative combined offset (disc write offset of less than -6, as JB8 has a read offset of +6). Ribshark's firmware avoids having to read from the cache altogether (as well as unlimited lead-out reading), therefore a JB8 drive with that firmware should in theory produce good dumps for any mixed-mode CD. The only limitation for audio CDs is the inability to read the first 15 of the 150 sectors in the lead-in. This is not a problematic limitation however as the majority of audio CDs do not have audio data that far into the lead-in, and Redumper can alert the user for CDs where this occurs. Despite all this, all discs should be dumped twice to ensure matching hashes, and Redump is not currently accepting new submissions for mixed-mode or audio CDs using JB8 drives with Ribshark's firmware until further testing is done to obtain the same level of confidence as Plextor dumps. For more info, see the detailed notes at Compatible LG/ASUS Optical Drives
