I couldn't have said it better myself
I'd also like to add that if you have to use burned games, get newer releases from ReviveDC, DCres, or Xiaopang. Compared to back in the day they have done wonders to optimizing the file orders so the laser jumps around less than the original gd rom, wearing it out a whole lot less.
Back in the early days of Dreamcast piracy they used to completely remove soundtracks or FMV's, etc. just to make the image fit on a CDR but now they have techniques to downsample or mono-ise the audio so the finished product is as close the the original as possible.
So my point is always use good clean rips (not Echelon) and it will help prolong the life of your unit. Check the NFO's or release notes before you download.
TacT wrote:Not true.
Burned games Don't damage the dreamcast any more than an original GD disc.
Even some of the original GD discs I have are less than perfect, and my quake3 disc specifically was off balance and wore out the spindle in one of my dreamcasts broke.
Depending on where the GD Rom was made it could even be defective I've heard of certain dreamcast discs that are prone to rotting over time.
The quality and CD-r and the burner and image can effect things but don't really wear things out more or less than gd discs. I use taiyo yuden azo discs are great quality.
The GD Drive in the dreamcast is actually a cd rom drive just modified to read GD discs. I've taken apart pc cd rom drives that have the exact same parts as the dreamcast.
Just sick of people saying this without any real proof, its very chaotic.
Now original Pressed discs are longer lasting than cd-r's. Even if the reflective layer of a pressed disc is damaged it can be repaired. the pits are actually pressed into the plastic of the disc vs a cd-r which is etched into a chemical die layer by the laser. Cheap CD-r's have cheaper chemicals that are not as sensitive and also can degrade faster over time. AZO discs for example are much higher quality and longer lasting, are better for audio tracks because its more accurately sensitive to the laser. cheap cd'rs can't even do cdda audio.
Moving parts and diode lasers wear out from normal use over time no matter what.
I'm so glad people are making replacements like gdemu, gdusb, and gdide and even saw a sata board somewhere.