Question about burning games (please read)
 

Hi,

I got a question.

If I download a PS2 torrent (for example) and I have Nero Burner or some program like that (cant remember the name exactly, lol - but I got the CD in safe storage) anyway if I buy just a normal blank DVD (which is around what? 4.4GB?) will I be able to burn the game onto the DVD with the appropriate program?

Basically what I'm asking is if I buy just 1 blank DVD from my local store will it be suitable for playing a PS2 game? (And NOT just for viewing movies!) cause the last thing I want is to buy a blank DVD when ONLY movies can be written on it! (is that even possible?)

While we're on the subject, I'd appreciate it if anybody can recommend me a GOOD DVD that will play on PS2 fine and not wear down the disc reader (like a recommended brand of DVDs or what type of DVDs is best for PS2?)

Thanks in advance!!

You can, but first you would have to mod your PS2, usually by soldering a mod chip into it. This voids your warranty the moment you open up your PS2 though.
I've never actually modded my consoles before, but you can find some modchips over at http://www.modchip.com/ps2/

Yeah that's all taken care of ;)

*cough*SWAP MAGIC*cough*

I use it to play imports but now this is about playing 'back-ups' so I'm not sure what action to take....

I recommend using Alchol 120% to burn your images. Alcohol understands CD/DVD structures and their grotesqueries much better than the Nero Burner does (though if you have Nero and are happy, give it a try, DVD+-R discs are dirt cheap now).
I also heard that DVD-R has better compatibility with older DVD-ROM drives than DVD+R so also give that a try.

Well my DVD drive is the latest so DVD+R would be a good option right? (I can't believe I forgot about DVD+R/-R lol) But yeah DVD+R

Well I was talking about the PS2 DVD-ROM drive. Use google to check and see if it supports DVD+R, go right ahead and use it (my ancient Creative DVD-ROM couldn't read DVD+Rs, though it was from 1997).

Right, I can handle all your questions. I use Swap Magic myself. Playing burned games is just the same as playing imports from the user's point of view. The main things to be aware of is that you should be using DVD-R, not DVD+R, or god forbid, DVD-RW. DVD-R for maximum compatibility with most PS2 consoles.

Next up is media quality. You may or may not be aware that the brand label on a DVD doesn't actually tell you who made it - it just tells you who's selling it to you. The real manufacturer is usually a name you wouldn't recognise, like Ritek or Taiyo Yuden. Those are two of the best manufacturers by the way.

What you can do to maximise your chances of getting good disks is to go with a brand like Verbatim or Maxell, which usually tend to use good manufacturers. This is variable from batch to batch, though. Just so you know, the best disks are made in Japan, then China, and the lower quality ones in Taiwan. When you look at a pack of discs, it will say on it where they were made. Maxell disks are usually Ritek G05 when they are made in Japan. Those are pretty decent disks, and if you get those, then you would be OK. Made in Japan Verbatims should also be just fine, as these would probably be manufactured by Ricoh. If You can get made in Japan Fuji discs, those are often good quality manufacturers too.

The ones to avoid include Memorex, who have been using CMC Magnetics discs lately, which blow. Datawrite, Datasafe, Mr. Data are all brands to avoid, and will most likely be using CMC Magnetics or Prodisc as their manufacturer. You also should avoid ANY disc that's made in Taiwan, and the number one entry on my shit-list is Princo. I wouldn't use a Princo if it were the only disk available to me. It's that simple.

All this information is variable, though the shit-list tends to stay the same with the exception of Memorex who can occasionally surprise everyone with a good batch or two. If you want to be sure what you have, use DVD Identifier to sniff out the media ID code on one of your blanks. You could also cut out the chance element by shopping with Rima who will actually tell you who really made the disc you're about to buy. That's for bulk purchases though.

Good discs are more compatible, last longer, and their higher reflectivity puts less strain on your laser. I would never use a cheap disc for any application, not just burning PS2 games. I second the recommendation to use Alcohol 120% to burn your games, and if you wish to rip an original, DVD Decryptor is the standard choice.

^Thanks Soluzar for the *very* informative post. I'll shop/look around with your recommendations!! Thanks. :D

And Alchohol... urgh is it really a significant difference from Nero? In any case I gotta search for a torrent of Alchohol first :P

Alcohol 120% takes care of every image format known to man. Nero doesn't grasp the concept of CCD/IMG/SUB or MDF/MDS. That's the main difference. If you're gonna download games from the net, you want to be damn sure you can handle whatever file format they might be in.

Here's your torrent. I have to admit that i've not downloaded and tested that, but it has feedback comments saying promising things like "This definitely works".

It's a program that I class as an essential.

Hmm, only 6MB. I'm no stranger to Alcohol, I have used it before. (Mainly for the virtual drive to mount my images onto) but 6MB? Not to doubt ya but are you sure?

My Alcohol 120% RAR:
"Alcohol 120% Retail 1.9.2.3105 + Crack.rar" is 4.43 MB, it's legit and it works just fine. Nero's only 30+MB because it bundles loads of software and multimedia support into it. The core ripping/burning features of any program aren't all that large.

Actually, for PS2 games I perfer DVD Decrypter if it's a DVD based game. I only use Alcohol 120% if it's CD based. Plus DVD Decrypter is free.

I have my PS2 modded with the Infinity Matrix modchip and I have a v4 PS2. I love this chip and will recommend it to anybody. I would recommend my mod joint, but the site has gone down.

As for what media to burn to, I mainly use TDK brand DVD+Rs. HP has also been good to me, and so has Fujifilm, but TDK is my primary.

As for non or soft-mod options, I can't help you there too much, though if you have a slide tool, HD Advance, and a Maxtor HD (40-200GB), you can use that option as well for most games.

Absolutely. It's a lean, mean program. It's not a full-fledged CD burning application. It only handles disc image files. Nero contains a large amount of bloatware that you don't need, and basically, don't want either. It's alright, as long as you stick to the version 6.x.x.x series, and don't go with the buggy 7.x.x.x releases. There are things that Nero won't do, however. For those, there is Alcohol. DVD Decryptor doesn't do all the things that Alcohol does either, so I recommend the one software program that can handle ALL of your image burning needs.

Matrix Infinity is regarded as the king of modchips, if you do choose to go down that path

Yeah, all PS2s from (I believe) v8 upwards are capable of reading DVD+R discs, but DVD-R are still WAY more compatible. I buy DVD-R because they will work with everything, not just with my PS2. Why cause even potential headaches for yourself?

By the way, if you stick to made in Japan batches, you'll consistently get a better disc with Fuji. It's probably not going to make a great deal of difference, but TDK occasionally turn out a batch of CMC Magnetics discs, which are about as worthless as worthless can be. Avoid the made in Taiwan batches like the plague.

There are forums you can go to in order to learn who are making good media at a given point in time. Right now the best brand on the shelves would be MIJ Fuji or MIJ Maxell. TDK are often good but sometimes poor.

Well my local PC World got DVD-R Verbatim (50 disc package) so.... I should go for that right?

DVD Decryptor is apparently no more (it was bought out and no longer offered as a free download).

Has anyone tried ImgBurn (apparently free and supposedly is better than DVD Decryptor)?