4x and 5x Blu-ray reader drives

Does anyone know what kind of diodes are used in these drives? Are they worth the trouble of taking apart to harvest the diode? Wouldn't want to buy a $100 drive just to end up with a 20mw diode

4x blu-ray WRITER drives contain a blu-ray diode significantly more powerful than the PHR-803T. I don't know the exact specifics, but I think they are frequently driven to 180mA with few problems. You can get them in the GB section for about $40.

Blu-ray readers are useless. I don't even think they contain a blu-ray diode.

-Mark

Blu-ray readers are useless. I don't even think they contain a blu-ray diode.

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How would they read blu-ray then? :-?

100 bucks a drive for a reader , just to take appart is not nearly worth it.Look in the group buy section for way better deals.

rocketparrotlet said:

Blu-ray readers are useless.  I don't even think they contain a blu-ray diode.
-Mark

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Blu-ray readers do,indeed, have a blu-ray diode in them. We don't know what diodes they are or what their outputs might be. Both GooeyGus and I are looking at some of them.

Remember, even the DT-0811 diode will produce a nice 90mW-110mW beam. We may not get 200mW out of the readers, but I'm willing to bet some of my money and time that there are good "pointer" diodes there. Also 80mW of violet light WILL burn stuff. You don't need 200mW to pop a balloon or light a match.

Peace,
dave

The DT-0811 diodes come from a reader?! Why do they need such power out of a blu-ray reader? Don't normal readers only use 5mW of red? What kind of powers can be expected out of a standard blu-ray reader?

(Sorry for all the questions. This threw my whole world out of balance...or something like that...)

-Mark

rocketparrotlet said:

The DT-0811 diodes come from a reader?!  Why do they need such power out of a blu-ray reader?  Don't normal readers only use 5mW of red?  What kind of powers can be expected out of a standard blu-ray reader?
(Sorry for all the questions.  This threw my whole world out of balance...or something like that...)
-Mark

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Both the PHR-803T AND the DT-0811 came out of the XBOX 360 HD DVD add on PLAYER and the Toshiba SD-H80 PLAYER  .  We originally speculated that the sleds were just being used because they had them, but now I am not so sure.  Yes, CD and DVD use low powered IR lasers to read, but blu-ray is a different technology.  If this proves out, we may be able to continue to get low priced, lower powered "pointer" diodes even after the current supply of these salvaged PHR-803T sleds runs out

If you find a cheap (especially broken) blu-ray reader, buy it and do some experimenting.  You would be helping to advance our knowledge.


Peace,
dave

The PHR is from a reader, too? Whoa...

If I ever find a cheap used blu-ray reader, I will buy it and let you know. I don't have a meter or even a test load, so testing the diode would be pretty useless.

-Mark

Yes, CD and DVD use low powered IR lasers to read, but blu-ray is a different technology.

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Wait...How can DVDs be read with IR if they're written with red? :-? I thought blu-ray was pretty much the same technology , only better.Just like DVD is the same technology as CD , only better , meaning a shorter wave laser on a disk adapted t to the new wavelength, but it's still the same process right?It's not like HVD which is indeed a different technology.

I was under the impresion that IR was for CD, red for DVD and violet for blu-ray.And low power was for reading , and high power was for writing each of those, respectively. :-/

Btw , the cause for the powerful diodes used in the PHR-803T and DT-0811 sleds might not be the fact that they had writer sleds ready to install into readers.Think about it, did anyone find a PHR or DT sled in a burner, ever?(did anyone look? )
As I've read somewhere , the Xbox 360 has a significantly lower processing power and/or RAM compared to the PS3 and as such, needs to load data from the disc at a faster rate.In a review it was stated that the Xbox 360 "sounds like a leaf blower" spinnig the disk inside. Maybe the higher power is just used to read at an abnormally faster rate than it supposed to.It's not like Microsoft wouldn't do that just to get that extra advantage with minumum modification to the already launched console : This is all just speculation of course.... They also used those sleds on PC drives, and I can't come up with a reason for that.

I am reporting what we have actually found to be true.  Technology rarely follows an intuitive path.  The Toshiba SD-H ws an HD DVD READER/PLAYER.  It had nothing to do with the XBOX 360.  Other models of the player found in the XBOX 360 were used in different applications.  The XBOX 360 did NOT requires amazing processing speed for the DVD player.

We have looked at ANY burner we have found.  Some of us have been known to pay upwards of $300 for a burner, just to see what's inside.  The reason that more research has NOT been done on blu-ray readers is exactly because most of us "thought" like you do.  It follows an intuitive line of reasoning.  However, some of our early research is showing that we MAY be wrong in our assumptions about the strength of blu-ray reader diodes.  

It is not required for a diode to be used at its full power in every application.  One could use a more powerful diode in a less powerful role simply by turning down the current.  Manufacturing a PHR diode is probably less expensive than manufacturing a PS3 diode.  The PHR is less complex than the PS3.  Less complex in manufacturing means less expensive.  It is the research and re-tooling that are expensive.  Once you have the factory set up to produce a particular diode it is actually less expensive to use the same diode in different applications than it is to research and re-tool for a different diode, just to get a less powerful one.  Turning down the power on the diode would actually make the diode last longer as well.  It may well be that the OTHER electronics and components in a burner is what makes it more expensive than a reader NOT a more powerful diode.

As I said some of us are just starting to look into this idea.  This is VERY preliminary at this point, but I have a diode taken from a Samsung P1000 (a mains type player), running at 200mA right now.  It already has over 30 hours of actual burn time on it.  Is this a fluke?  I don't know yet.  However, if you are willing and able to do this kind of research, it will help further our knowledge this phenomenon.  

You must be willing to burn up diodes and replace them without going mad, although I worry about IgorT sometimes  And you must be able to take the monetary loss of buying a player ( I usually just buy broken ones) just to destroy the player and then, possibly, the diode.  However, that is how we learn in this hobby.

Peace,
dave

Yes but I just had the crazy idea that the diode in the PHR sled actually was using full power in the Xbox 360. ;D

Btw, what about reading DVDs with IR? I'm still confused. :-/

Seems like that statment is just plain worded wrong.. CD players use IR, DVD uses red. A combo DVD/CD drive will have red and IR to read both types of media. A BR drive adds violet to the mix, usually along with the red and IR so that it can read all three types. Of course BR and HD DVD are two diferent types of media, but both use violet.

What the drives do NOT do is mix the wavelengths between the media, though.

Switch said:

Yes but I just had the crazy idea that the diode in the PHR sled actually was using full power in the Xbox 360.  ;D

Btw, what about reading DVDs with IR? I'm still confused. :-/

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Sorry for the confusion.  My statement should have read more like, "CD and DVD use IR and Red to read . . ."  Nah, it probably should have been even more complex to get the real meaning across.  The point is that how CD and DVD read has no direct bearing on how blu-ray reads.  They are similar in action, but NOT simply an increase in power or color.

This is oversimplification, but IR reads the surface.  Red burns into the media a little way.  Blu-ray burns smaller "holes", deeper into the media.  The blu-ray reader must have enough power to get its light down into the media deeper than a DVD reader needs.  That means that the blu-ray reader must be more powerful just to get its light deep enough into the media to read the deeper "holes."  Then you add into the mix that it is cheaper to use the same diode for multiple applications and you have the potential recipe for high powered reader diodes.

I'm cute, but I'm not perfect.

Peace,
dave

Very well said

I should have read up to see who was quoted before I replied.. I would have started my post differently lol. No offense intended of course

Glaserfan said:

Very well said

I should have read up to see who was quoted before I replied.. I would have started my post differently lol. No offense intended of course

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None taken.

When writing here one has to balance the length of the treatise with the willingness of the audience to read it Often "expeditious" communication is not the best communication.

Peace,
dave

daguin said:

 Then you add into the mix that it is cheaper to use the same diode for multiple applications and you have the potential recipe for high powered reader diodes.

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So are you saying a blu ray diode could be used to read DVDs also??

thebucketmouse said:

[quote author=daguin link=1227302594/0#11 date=1227380206] Then you add into the mix that it is cheaper to use the same diode for multiple applications and you have the potential recipe for high powered reader diodes.

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So are you saying a blu ray diode could be used to read DVDs also?? [/quote]


No. I'm saying that they could use the same diode to read that they do to write for less money than having two different diodes for those two applications.

Peace,
dave