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In this part of the Yamaha 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 CloneCD version 4.0.0.1 from Elaborate Bytes. As you might know if you've read our CloneCD v3.5 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 by clicking here.

Now let's start by giving you a screenshot of the supported drive capabilities of the Yamaha CRW3200E with CloneCD:

As you can see in the picture above, the Yamaha CRW3200E 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 Yamaha CRW3200E successfully reading the original LaserLock disc:

Yamaha CRW3200E reading LaserLock Original

LaserLock 2 is hard to read for a lot of recorders and the Yamaha CRW3200E shows an average performance. It's not the fastest drive we've seen but it's also not the slowest drive. In the table below we compare the achieved results to some of our previous reviews:

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 Yamaha CRW3200E. As you can see the drive is lightning fast and even beats our previous 'champ' the Mitsumi CR-480ATE!

Yamaha CRW3200E reading SafeDisc

We never thought that the Mitsumi CR-480ATE could be beaten... But the Yamaha is more than 10 seconds faster. Agreed, this is not a very big difference but it is faster. 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. We'll get back to this in a moment. First a screenshot of the Yamaha CRW3200E reading the SafeDisc 2 disc:

Yamaha CRW3200E reading SafeDisc 2

Like expected the Yamaha is again lightning fast and again beats our 'champ' the Mitsumi CR-480ATE by 11 seconds. 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:

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 re-read the disc again only this time at 4x just to make sure that the created image was good. We used the same SafeDisc Profile as before:

• Read Speed: 4x
• Fast Error Skip ON:
  • Read Retries: 0
  • Error Correction: Software

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 Yamaha CRW3200E succeeded in making a partially working back-up. We tested the back-up in the following drives:

• Toshiba DVD-ROM SD-M1502: failed
• TEAC CD-W540E: failed
• Mitsumi CR-480ATE: success
• Yamaha CRW3200E: success

Next we tried to write the same image with CloneCD's 'Amplify Weak Sectors' option enabled. This CloneCD feature is supposed to help writers like the Yamaha produce better (read: working) back-ups of SafeDisc 2 protected discs. For more info on this new feature read this article. We created a new Profile with the same settings as the previous Profile, except this Profile has 'Amplify Weak Sectors' enabled. You can click on the image to download the used Profile:

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

With CloneCD's 'AWS' enabled the Yamaha CRW3200E succeeded in making a working back-up. We tested the back-up disc in the following drives:

• Toshiba DVD-ROM SD-M1502: success
• TEAC CD-W540E: success
• Mitsumi CR-480ATE: success
• Yamaha CRW3200E: 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 'Serious Sam 2: The Second Encounter' protected with SafeDisc v2.51.021:

We read the image with the Yamaha CRW3200E 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: failed
• Mitsumi CR-480ATE: success
• Yamaha CRW3200E: success

The same result when as we got with the 'normal' SafeDisc 2 tests. The Yamaha can create a working back-up but it only works in the recorder and some other drives but the back-up fails in picky readers like the Toshiba. Now let's re-write the same image 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:

• Toshiba DVD-ROM SD-M1502: success
• TEAC CD-W540E: success
• Mitsumi CR-480ATE: success
• Yamaha CRW3200E: success

And again, with 'AWS' enabled the Yamaha CRW3200E can create a working back-up of the SafeDisc v2.51 protection. A very good result since most drives will fail to make a back-up that works in a drive like the Toshiba (they're know to be very picky when playing SafeDisc 2 back-ups). In the table below we 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 - 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 Yamaha CRW3200E successfully reading the SecuROM disc:

Yamaha CRW3200E reading SecuRom

The Yamaha CRW3200E supports the reading and writing of the full 96 bytes of SubChannel Data and had no problems with SecuRom 2. The drive is again very fast as you can see in the table below where we compare the achieved results to other recorders:

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 Yamaha CRW3200E successfully reading the PlayStation disc:

Yamaha CRW3200E reading PlayStation

The disc is read at full speed again and once again the Mitsumi CR-480ATE is beaten by the Yamaha. The difference is very small and about 3 seconds, the same as with the SecuRom protection. In the table below we compare the achieved results for the last time to other drives we've reviewed:

Protected Data - Conclusion:

The Yamaha CRW3200E is truly a great copy-protection reader. It's the fastest drive we've seen when skipping the SafeDisc errors (the drive reads them without even slowing down once!) and it even works well with CloneCD's 'Amplify Weak Sectors' option. We were amazed by this because even without this CloneCD option, the created back-up worked in the recorder, even when dealing with SafeDisc v2.51.021. Besides its good SafeDisc handling the Yamaha drive can read and write the full SubChannel Data and therefore had no problems with SecuRom and the PlayStation (LibCrypt) discs. The only time the Yamaha CRW3200E wasn't the fastest reader was with the LaserLock protection. This protection is hard to read for a lot of drives so this is no major surprise.