Here are two questions/concerns I have: 1-I read many times, for both PS1 and PS2, that using recordable/re-writable media (ie. CD-R, CD-RW, DVD+-R, DVD+-RW) shortens the life of the laser. I also read several times this is not true. Can someone with experience/knowledge explain which is true and why? If true, does this happen on both PS1 and PS2? 2-This would be pretty much the same question as before, but regarding Mini-CD and Mini-DVDs: does this shorten the life of the laser on PS1/PS2? Does the disc itself "inform" the console that it is not regular sized, so the laser won't go read past the limit? Sorry for the noob/repeated questions.
Mini-CD's / Mini-DVD's do not harm the laser. When you adjust the laser pot to either increase the voltage or lower it, you can do damage. Depends on the quality and design of the diode. The PlayStation 1 in this case, has circuitry inside with the diode, unlike the PS2 where it is just the diode.
Recordable media don't reflect the laser back as well as pressed media causing the laser to potentially work harder than it normally would. By using high quality media you can reduce this. I've seen it plenty as I calibrate my PS1s for Taiyo Yuden discs. Regularly get pissed off customers who expect to use crappy discs because they're too cheap to splurge an extra nickle. If your PS1 can read originals but not CD-Rs you are seeing this in action.
Thank you both! Now that you mention it, I remember reading about how some brands were better than others. And here's where I read about it before: http://www.assemblergames.com/forums/showthread.php?t=35530 http://club.myce.com/f33/taiyo-yuden-faq-178622/ Can recording speed also damage the laser? I generally burn at the lowest possible (usually 2x to 4x; however some drives seem to have a minimum of 8x or 10x)
You got me there. Although one is the consequence of the other. But you're right, that's what I meant. I need to start using the right words; thanks for pointing that out
Speed of the burn can make the disc harder to read. But its no where near as bad when using good media. In short, buy good quality discs and you should be fine.
Rewritable discs (+/-RW) put much more strain on the laser than write-once discs (+/-R), since they are even less reflective than those are. In fact, to even get your PS1 to read one, you would need to tweak the laser pots until it can't read anything else but RW. PS2s before SCPH-3000x R (v5) can't read them at all, and for good reason I would say. I've heard of people burning out their fresh lasers on the later version PS2s within just a few weeks in fact, from reading RW discs. And since Sony actually started to give their "seal of approval" for RW as compatible from SCPH-5000x (v9), more people used them on those machines and consequently had their lasers burn out. Like the other guys said, good quality discs (but we should clarify that as meaning good quality write-once discs ONLY) should have a negligible affect on its lifespan.
I never have problems using cheap media and burning at low speeds. I should really get some nice CD-R again though. Currently have some generic black bottomed discs.
Late versions of PS1 hardware and ALL versions of PS2 Hardware have an "special" feature embedded on the hardware called: APC (Advanced Power Calibration) where the machine will attempt to increase the laser diode current to attain an certain voltage on the "eye pattern" output of the analogic amplifier. Drives that have APC circuitry are capable of reading CD-RW/DVD-RW but obviously using such discs has a toll on the service life of the device as you're feeding overcurrent to your laser diode. Obviously the current boost from reading a CDR/DVDR disc is lower than that of a CDRW or DVDRW but it still pays a toll on the life of the device. Really OLD devices like the PC-Engine or MEGA-CD aren't capable of doing APC so they will only use the optical feedback from it's temperature calibration photodiode (the thermal calibration photodiode is assembled on the same die as the laser diode and is used as feedback for the circuit that controls the laser power along with the "famous" potentiometer people LOOOVES to tinker with ...) therefore, on such old devices using CDR or pressed discs make no difference at all. Also they either read or not the discs. One should be VERY CAREFUL of what brands of media he/she uses on APC capable hardware. :thumbsup: Sometimes I wonder if APC was not just a dirty gimick with the ultimate goal of shorten the useful life of the devices and make the industry richer... Edit: All versions of the PS2 (Even the SCPH-10000) are APC capable. It's not used on the "normal way" as it would used on a PC DVD-ROM. The PS2 consoles DVD-ROM drive is programmed to "self destruct" if it's is tampered. That's where blown laser diodes, burnt tracking coils and the dreaded "DRE" syndrome comes from. The way the PS2 behave with the discs were changed on the SCPH-50000 as Elijah mentioned a few posts above. SONY will never admit it, of course... Sneaky and cheeky ... lol
Excellent info as usual l_oliveira! Thanks everyone for your answers so far!!! Now, regarding my second question: does the PS2 drive work as any regular non-slot loading computer drive when it comes to Mini CDs/DVDs? Or is it not "prepared" to handle such media? Or maybe it's just not recommended?
It can read mini discs just fine (*BUT ONLY* on the horizontal position)... If you look at the drive tray you will notice that it has the "hole" for positioning the MINI DISCs properly when you put it on the tray. :thumbsup: Like I mentioned on my previous post, use writable and re-writable media at your own risk. :shrug: And any kind of modchips/swap discs/tray tricks are VERY LIKELY to eventually cause trouble with the laser pickup.
