Plextor PlexTools

One of the most important new features found in the new PlexTools version is the ‘DAE Error Recovery’ which can detect uncorrectable read errors on your audio disc. Since the errors are uncorrectable it would be impossible to correct them but Plextor has introduced some smart features in PlexTools to attempt to recover the uncorrectable data. The following options can be found in the PlexTools software:

1. Report errors only:
   This strategy can be used when the source disc is error-free or when error correction is not necessary.
   
   
2. Reduce the speed upon error:
   When uncorrectable errors are found, the damaged area will be read at a lower speed in order to find an error-fee reading.
   
   
3. Read again upon error:
   When uncorrectable errors are found, the damaged area will be read again for a number of times (retries) at the selected speed in order to find an error free reading. The optional setting ‘Allow Speed Down’ can be used to achieve better results at a lower speed.
   
   
4. Recover the best sector (least errors):
   When uncorrectable errors are found, the damaged area will be read again for a number of times (retries) at the selected speed. When the errors stay, the sectors with the least amount of errors will be used to re-assemble the original data. The optional setting ‘Allow Speed Down’ can be used to achieve better results at a lower speed.
   
   
5. Recover the best bytes (least errors) per sector:
   When uncorrectable errors are found, the damaged area will be read again for a number of times (retries) at the selected speed. When the errors stay, the bytes with the least amount of errors will be used to re-assemble the original data. The optional setting ‘Allow Speed Down’ can be used to achieve better results at a lower speed.

The Tests:

As you can see the setting goes from no error-correction to error-correction on bytes level. A unique option when it comes to handling audio errors. We of course tested the PlexTools DAE error correction option by simply extracting an audio disc with a lot of scratches and finger prints. We then extracted the audio disc, which had three tracks and a playtime of about nine minutes, with the PlexTools software.

As a comparison we used Exact Audio Copy using its Secure Mode. For the extraction process we used a Plextor PX-W4012A drive. In the table below you can see an overview of the achieved results. Please note that you can check out the created LOG-files for each extraction by clicking on the links:

As you can see from the table the PlexTools software showed some excellent results and the program could decrease the amount of errors in track two with 67%! To keep the read times low we set the read-retries to 10 instead of 99. In theory a higher amount of read retries will reduce the amount of read errors so it should be possible to lower the amount of read errors even further.

During the read process a detailed LOG-file will be created where you can view the created errors and their position. PlexTools will make a detailed LOG-file of many other operations you can do with the program such as with the ‘Audio CD Maker’ and the ‘CD Copy’ function but its DAE LOG is very detailed. Here’s part of the created LOG-file for track 1 using Mode 5 in which you can see when and where the errors were and when they were repaired.

For our tests we used a very heavily scratched disc which we would normally wouldn’t even try to read. When you’re using a normal audio disc with a few minor scratches and finger prints ‘Mode 3: Read again upon error’ should be sufficient. When you’re using an audio disc with thick scratches you can use Mode 4 and 5 but keep in mind that the extraction process can take a long time. We needed well over eight hours to read three tracks in Mode 5 but, as you can see from the table, the decrease in errors was dramatic…

Comparing:

Of course we also did some comparing on a binary level to see which program, PlexTools or Exact Audio Copy, could extract a damaged audio track which would match the original file at best. For this we first extracted an audio track from an undamaged audio disc using both PlexTools and Exact Audio Copy. As a result we of course got two undamaged audio files. Next we scratched the audio disc and then did another extraction using both programs again. PlexTools was set-up using Mode 5 and Exact Audio Copy was set-up with ‘Error recovery quality: High’ and with the recommended settings as found on The Coaster Factory . So both programs are using their best DAE error recovery method.

We then waited until the damaged audio track was extracted and simply compared the extracted track to the original track on a binary level. When the audio track has been properly extracted, both files should match perfectly. You can see the results in the screenshots below. Please note that was compared both EAC files to each other and both PlexTools files to each other. This was done because both programs use a different extraction method:

Exact Audio Copy tracks compared

PlexTools tracks compared

As you can see from the screenshots the extracted audio track using Exact Audio Copy were different than the original track while the PlexTools track was identical! Please also note that Exact Audio Copy needed well over 8 minutes to extract the damaged audio track while PlexTools needed 43 seconds!

Conclusion:

Plextor Europe has certainly put some work into this new PlexTools release and it’s really a must have for people owning a Plextor drive. Its new method for handling DAE is simply unique and so far the results we got were quite impressive. PlexTools was able to perfectly extract damaged audio tracks while the extracted tracks using Exact Audio Copy were different from the original. And besides that the PlexTools software was also faster and it offers a very detailed LOG-file which will certainly come in handy for many people.

Exact Audio Copy has certainly found a new competitor in PlexTools. The only problem with the PlexTools software is that you need to have a Plextor drive and you can’t just download the full PlexTools version from the internet. Plextor Europe only offers the update version for PlexTools… But if you have a Plextor drive and a full version of PlexTools and you’re also into extracting audio then PlexTools is definitely for you.