Where I work now, in storage - we used to sell DVD/CD duplicators. However we no longer sell that stuff, but I have a huge box full of various brands of DVD and CD burners and readers of various types - probably 40+. Is there anyway I can "test" these? Is there some software I can load that will test various functions of the drive, it's reading and burning capabilities (if it has burning capabilities) and tell me if it's a good drive or a bad drive? Any suggestions? If you need any more info - let me know. Thanks guys.
1) Get a set of test discs from Philips to determine how well the drives read the data. That's the first step because you have to know how well the playback works before you can judge anything else. (The same procedure is used for tape machines--the playback alignment has to be calibrated before any recording testing is done.) 2) Match the results with some "test" software from K-Probe (Lite-on based drives), Plextools (for Plextor drives), Nero, or some other software mentioned by forum participants. If playback from the same calibration discs gives the same error rates specified on the discs, then the pickup head is OK. 3) Do some test recordings on compatible media (Taiyo Yuden and Verbatim are the most compatible. Speed ratings are not going to matter because you can only use what is now being sold anyway even if your drives are excellent 4X DVD recorders.) using dummy data. Nero's CD/DVD tools has a great program for just testing. Then check the playback quality. If the error rates are reasonable, then the recording power of the laser diode and the tracking are also reasonable.
If they are normal computer reader/burners, you could also just use PowerAmp converter and rip just about any audio CD with AccurateRip turned on. It will tell you if the rip was incorrect. That would mean the read was incorrect. AccurateRip will compare what your reader read with its database and will tell you if it complied or not. After you rip a few CDs it will indicate if the drive is accurate.
