NEC 3520A sluggish rip speed?

[beatle]

I just got my 3520 in today and I'm trying it out on a few dvds. I made sure not to flash the "quiet" firmware that does not remove the riplock. I find that the drive starts off relatively slow around 3x, picks up to about 6x about 2/3 of the way through, then it tapers off down to below 4x by the end of the disc. My generic DVD+/-RW drive always ripped at 4x thanks to the riplock. Are the speeds I'm receiving normal or is there another trick I need to perform to get more speed out of it?

 

[isekii]

NEC's are slow at ripping.

 

[Tostada]

That's why the Pioneer is worth the extra $5.00 to get 16X single-layer ripping and 12X DL ripping.

 

[beatle]

I'll probably end up putting my old Lite-On 166S back in as a reader. 🙂

 

[mshan]

Hi Beatle:

I also own a Lite-on 166s with modded firmware.

Does yours top out at 8x rip speed when ripping a "dual layer" PRESSED DVD? (don't know if this is the correct term, but as opposed to a double-sided pressed dvd)

 

[beatle]

My Lite-On did top out at a lower speed on pressed dual layer discs than it did on single layer discs. I'm not sure if it was 8x or not, but it couldn't be too far off.

 

[beatle]

I tried it on my Lite-On (stock firmware). It was slightly faster, getting up to 7.7x, then tapering back down again. What software are you using to rip?