detail information

In this part of the PleXCombo review we'll start testing the reading and writing of copy-protected data discs. Copy-protections are used on almost every game nowadays so it's important a writer can handle the various protections out there. For the tests we used the latest CloneCD version 4.0.1.6 from Elaborate Bytes. As you might know if you've read our CloneCD v4.0 preview, CloneCD now uses Profiles for each type of disc. In this review we created a separate Profile for each protection with the common settings used in the old CloneCD versions. E.g. for SafeDisc we only selected the 'Fast Error Skip' setting.

As an extra 'service' or help you can download the Profiles we have used in this review. Click on the Profile images to download the used Profile. Store these files in your CloneCDProfiles folder on your harddisk. Alternatively you can view and download all used Profiles from our CloneCD forum, by clicking here.

Now let's start by giving you a screenshot of the supported drive capabilities of the PleXCombo PX-320A with CloneCD v4.0.1.6:

As you can see in the picture above, the PleXCombo PX-320A is fully supported by CloneCD (DAO-RAW96). To determine the copy-protection used on our game discs we scanned every disc with the latest ClonyXXL version 2.0.0.6. ClonyXXL can be obtained from home.arcor.de/bejot.

We'll test the following, most common, copy-protections and compare the achieved read times with other drives we've previously reviewed. After the tests we'll conclude the reading of protected data with our usual conclusions:

• LaserLock
• SafeDisc
• SafeDisc 2
• SafeDisc 2.51.xxx
• SecuROM
• PlayStation/LibCrypt
• Conclusion

Protected Data - LaserLock:

For this test we'll use a game called 'Desperados' protected with LaserLock 2. As a comparison we read from both the original disc and from a back-up (CD-Recordable) disc. The CloneCD Profile and the drive were set-up with the following settings (all other options like SubChannel Data reading were disabled). You can click on the image to download the used Profile:

• Read Speed: Max
• Fast Error Skip ON:
  • Read Retries: 0
  • Error Correction: Software
• Intelligent Bad Sector Scanner:
  • Sector Skip: 100 (default)

In the screenshots below you can see the PleXCombo PX-320A successfully reading the original LaserLock disc:

PleXCombo PX-320A reading LaserLock Original

LaserLock 2 is hard to read for a lot of recorders and the PleXCombo PX-320A is struggling with it. It needs well over one hour and 30 minutes to read the original disc. In the table below we compare the achieved results to some of our previous reviews. The PleXCombo gets the last place with both the original and the back-up disc:

Protected Data - SafeDisc:

For this test we'll use a game called 'Beavis and Butthead: BungHole in One' protected with the normal (read: old) SafeDisc protection. The CloneCD Profile and the drive were set-up with the following settings (all other options like SubChannel Data reading were disabled). You can click on the image to download the used Profile:

• Read Speed: Max
• Fast Error Skip ON:
  • Read Retries: 0
  • Error Correction: Software

Below you can see the achieved result of the PleXCombo PX-320A.

PleXCombo PX-320A reading SafeDisc

When we reviewed the Yamaha CRW3200E drive we thought that we had an absolute winner when it came to reading the SafeDisc protection but the PleXCombo beats this drive (with ease). It was about 18 seconds faster and we have a new champion again! Let's compare the achieved results to other drives we've reviewed. Please note that some reviews were done on different machines so the achieved read times can be a little off:

Protected Data - SafeDisc 2:

For this test we'll use a game called 'The Sims: House Party' protected with SafeDisc version 2.10.030. The CloneCD Profile and the drive were set-up with the following settings (all other options like SubChannel Data reading were disabled). You can click on the image to download the used Profile:

• Read Speed: Max
• Fast Error Skip ON:
  • Read Retries: 0
  • Error Correction: Software

Yes we're using the same Profile as for the normal SafeDisc version. As the name of the Profile suggests, this Profile has 'Amplify Weak Sectors' (AWS) disabled. First a screenshot of the PleXCombo PX-320A reading the SafeDisc 2 disc:

PleXCombo PX-320A reading SafeDisc 2

Like expected the PleXCombo is again lightning fast and again beats our previous 'champ', the Yamaha CRW3200E, by a tight 4 seconds. Let's compare the achieved results to other drives we've reviewed:

Now as most people will know, we also need to check if the drive can write SafeDisc 2. Unlike the other protections SafeDisc 2 back-ups depend on whether or not the drive support 'Correct EFM Encoding' which is needed to write 'regular bit patterns'. For more info on SafeDisc 2 read this article.

We wrote the disc with the default settings enabled ('buffer underrun protection and 'always close last session' on). Like said before, 'Amplify Weak Sectors' was disabled in the Profile. The PleXCombo PX-320A succeeded in making a fully working back-up. We tested the back-up in the following drives:

• Toshiba DVD-ROM SD-M1502: success
• TEAC CD-W540E: success
• Mitsumi CR-480ATE: success
• PleXCombo PX-320A: success

Protected Data - SafeDisc 2.51.xxx:

Besides our SafeDisc and SafeDisc 2 tests we need to take a look at the latest SafeDisc 2 version 'called' SafeDisc v2.51. This is a new version of the regular SafeDisc 2 and has caused quite a few problems for a lot of writers (which didn't have problems with the normal SafeDisc 2). For this test we'll use a game called 'Grand Theft Auto 3' (the Play disc) protected with SafeDisc v2.51.021:

We read the image with the PleXCombo PX-320A at a safe 4x using the same 'SafeDisc (2) [no AWS]' Profile as for our normal SafeDisc and SafeDisc 2 tests. The 'Hide CDR Media' option was enabled in the CloneCD tray to test playing from the CD-RW drives. The results when playing from the following drives:

• Toshiba DVD-ROM SD-M1502: failed
• TEAC CD-W540E: success
• Mitsumi CR-480ATE: success
• PleXCombo PX-320A: success

We were a bit surprised by the results because the TEAC CD-W540E is usually very picky when it comes to playing SafeDisc 2(.51.021) back-ups but had no problems whatsoever with the PleXCombo back-ups. To verify our results we also tried to copy a game 'Serious Sam 2: The Second Encounter' which also has the SafeDisc 2.51.021 protection:

We got the exact same results as before. All drives could read (and play) the back-up, except for the Toshiba drive (which is known to be very picky and is therefore a good test device for SafeDisc 2 back-ups). Please note that 'AWS' was disabled:

• Toshiba DVD-ROM SD-M1502: failed
• TEAC CD-W540E: success
• Mitsumi CR-480ATE: success
• PleXCombo PX-320A: success

Next we re-wrote the same image files of both 'Grand Theft Auto 3' and 'Serious Sam 2' but now with the 'AWS' option enabled using the 'SafeDisc 2(.51) [AWS]' Profile. The 'Hide CDR Media' option was again enabled in the CloneCD tray to test playing from the CD-RW drives. The results when playing from the following drives with the back-ups of both games:

• Toshiba DVD-ROM SD-M1502: success
• TEAC CD-W540E: success
• Mitsumi CR-480ATE: success
• PleXCombo PX-320A: success

With 'AWS' enabled the PleXCombo PX-320A created a fully working back-up which played fine in every drive we tested, including the picky Toshiba drive. Most Plextor writers will give you the same result. They can make a partially working back-up with 'AWS' disabled but work very well with when it's enabled.

PleXCombo PX-320A reading SafeDisc 2.51

As expected the PleXCombo PX-320A is again the fastest reader we've reviewed when it comes to reading the SafeDisc error sectors on the disc. In the table below a final comparison of the PleXCombo drive when reading the 'Serious Sam 2' (SafeDisc v2.51.021) disc:

Protected Data - SecuROM:

The next protected data tests we'll do is with a game called 'V-Rally 2 Expert Edition' protected with SecuRom 2. The CloneCD Profile and the drive were set-up with the following settings (all other options like 'Fast Error Skip' were disabled). You can click on the image to download the used Profile:

• Read Speed: Max
• Read SubChannel Data from Data Tracks
• Read SubChannel Data from Audio Tracks

In the screenshots below you can see the PleXCombo PX-320A successfully reading the SecuROM disc:

PleXCombo PX-320A reading SecuRom

The PleXCombo PX-320A supports the reading and writing of the full 96 bytes of SubChannel Data but is limited to about 8x reading when reading the SubChannel Data. In the table below you can see that the drive performs very close to the TEAC CD-W540E which is also limited to about 8x reading:

Protected Data - PlayStation/LibCrypt:

The final protected data test we'll do is with a LibCrypt protected PlayStation disc called 'Final Fantasy VIII'. We used the first (of four) disc(s) of this game. The CloneCD Profile and the drive were set-up with the following settings (all other options like Fast Error Skip were disabled). You can click on the image to download the used Profile:

• Read Speed: Max
• Read SubChannel Data from Data Tracks
• Read SubChannel Data from Audio Tracks
• Don't Repair SubChannel Data

In the screenshots below you can see the PleXCombo PX-320A successfully reading the PlayStation disc:

PleXCombo PX-320A reading PlayStation

Just like with SecuRom the PleXCombo PX-320A is limited to about 8x reading. It is again very close to the TEAC CD-W540E as you can see in the table below where we compare the achieved results for the last time to other drives we've reviewed:

Protected Data - Conclusion:

The PleXCombo showed some various results. It's very slow when reading the LaserLock protection (which is hard to read for a lot of devices) but showed a great performance with the SafeDisc protection. SafeDisc is one of the most common copy-protections used nowadays so it's good that the PleXCombo performs well with this protection. When reading SubChannel Data (SecuRom and LibCrypt) the PleXCombo PX-320A is limited to about 8x reading. Not really slow but also not really fast.

The PleXCombo had no problems writing the copy-protections. It even performed very well with the dreadful SafeDisc 2.51 protection and could create a back-up that worked in most devices without CloneCD's 'Amplify Weak Sectors' option enabled. The back-ups did fail in very picky readers like the Toshiba SD-M1502 DVD-ROM but when we enabled 'Amplify Weak Sectors' in CloneCD 4 the back-up worked perfectly.

Next up in our PleXCombo PX-320A review, writing CD-ReWriteable media...