Format comparison

[Firefall]

Hi there! I am new here. I've been using Daemon Tools for about 2 years now, and almost as long I have wondered which image format to use. It seems to me there is no overview in the net about the differences. So far I think mdf/mds is the best, whereas iso is not really complete. But when it comes to blindwrite, img, bin, nrg, whatever, I have no idea what there advantages and disadvantages are. Therefore I would like to ask you whether someone might tell me the differences and explain which format is the best and why. Thanks in advance!

[Blazkowicz]

Formats including copy protection information:
MDS/MDF (supports all protections so far)
B6T (BlindWrite 6 - no Tages Support)
XMD/XMF (Game Jack - not recommended)

The rest isn't including copy protection information.

[Firefall]

So basically Alcohol Images are the best (regarding completeness of the image)? What do I need to do to get the best image possible? Cuz in the Image Assistant, for empty drives I get the options "Advanced Sector Scanning" and "Read Sub-Channel Data". But when I select the drive where my disc (DVD!) is in, those disappear and what's left is "Ignore read errors" and DPM. Why does that happen? Does it make sense to ignore read errors? Is DPM important? Any other things to do? I greatly appreciate your support! THANK YOU!

[Firefall]

Nothing more?

[xileF1337]

So basically Alcohol Images are the best (regarding completeness of the image)?

MDS is the best format you can use to create images from protected CDs and DVDs.

Cuz in the Image Assistant, for empty drives I get the options "Advanced Sector Scanning" and "Read Sub-Channel Data". But when I select the drive where my disc (DVD!) is in, those disappear and what's left is "Ignore read errors" and DPM. Why does that happen?

It happens because this options are only relevant for CDs.

Does it make sense to ignore read errors?

For CDs you need it to copy some protection schemes like e.g. SafeDisk.

Is DPM important?

The DPM contains information about the media topology, which is required to overcome protection schemes like e.g. SecuRom or Starforce.

If you are unsure about what these options do or whether you require them, simply select the proper datatype for the protection you want to copy in the Image Making Wizard.

[mastermind]

So basically Alcohol Images are the best (regarding completeness of the image)?

Daemon Tools Pro also makes .mds/.mdf images.