DVD ripping/encoding help

[RobertX]

Like most users, I don't think that jerrysmatrix has any compunctions with buying another optical drive that writes.

That's what I do for each of my computers: buy a drive that reads, and buy another that writes, so if the dire need arises, I can even read and write a disc simultaneously.

[dueda]

My point is reliability vs. obsolescence; one shouldn't buy a carburated car when most are fuel injected, unless strictly necessary.
Well, you probably would buy a coal-fed.

The best makers simply don't sell any PC CD-ROM or DVD Reader anymore.

[RobertX]

OK, only trying to help.

EDIT: What works works, even if it's obsolete.

[jerrysmatrix]

My assumptions here are that older may actually be better. I've never seen a disc that didn't work on an old portable DVD player I had, which makes me think these discs tend to be backwards compatible, if not essentially the same. It's my understanding that Disney has experimented with new protections to prevent rips, like the 99 title thing. Yet they still work fine in old drives.

So correct me if I'm wrong, and feel free to point out any flaws in my reasoning, but wouldn't older outdated drives that still work be less likely to have any sort of newer antipiracy mechanisms, or is that aspect the same? I'm mean I'm not worried about drivers. If they existed before, they still exist. So what benefits would you really get with newer firmware? Would it be better reliability, integrity/error-correction, and/or quality?

I'm not really sure what I'm getting with the newer firmware.

[dueda]

My assumptions here are that older may actually be better ... makes me think these discs tend to be backwards compatible.

... wouldn't older outdated drives that still work be less likely to have any sort of newer antipiracy mechanisms?
So what benefits would you really get with newer firmware? Would it be better reliability, integrity/error-correction, and/or quality?

I'm not really sure what I'm getting with the newer firmware.

You're right in different drives being capable or not to make copies of certain discs, but that's not a rule.
Some protection method vs. drive combinations may let it pass, but also may cause the copy to fail.

I've seen both scenarios and there's no future-proof drive, it is just more probable an old drive will lack copy-prevention systems.
It is also possible an old drive may see a new protection system as an error.

We may think older drives are be better built but that's not a rule, even within the same brand. Depends on the era.
Market prices and quality go down due competition over time, but then come evolution (i.e. BluRay, m-Disk, PurpleDisc). New tech comes with quality too.

Cinavia, for one, doesn't block copying, it blocks the playing back of copies.
Sony, long ago, put a spyware into it's CDs to identify unauthorized copies.

So, it is up to you; keeping a 20- or 30- year old drive around may be a good thing, but if you find a decent one for sale, it will be a little worn.