Struggling to physically read disc info

Barthax · Post by **Barthax** » Sun May 19, 2024 3:52 am

Hi,

Just looking for any tips on visually reading PS1 discs especially. Currently gaining confidence with reading CDs (mainly PC which I'm not finding any matches because that's the wild west of disc pressing) but have a match on PAL Gran Turismo (#81). Obviously another verification isn't particularly needed but best to find something solid to build from. With & without front or backlighting it's difficult but my (aging) eyes aren't finding anything regardless. Any tips?

Tried hunting for a previous discussion (surely there is one!) but fell flat. Pointers to old discussions obviously welcome: no need to repeat.

NovaAurora · Post by **NovaAurora** » Sun May 19, 2024 7:35 am

Do you have a scanner? Sometimes I find scanning the disc and then zooming in helps with readability

Barthax · Post by **Barthax** » Sun May 19, 2024 9:02 am

NovaAurora wrote:Do you have a scanner? Sometimes I find scanning the disc and then zooming in helps with readability

I used to have a flatbed scanner but it was too bulky to keep around (being part of an inkjet printer that didn't print).

Deterous · Post by **Deterous** » Sun May 19, 2024 9:06 am

If you have an iphone (or other phone with a sufficiently powerful flash/camera), use an app that allows for taking video with the flash on. At the right angle, you can see the ringcodes like in the image attached. It can take a bit of trial-and-error to get the exact angle, but I've found it to be the easiest way.

Barthax · Post by **Barthax** » Sun May 19, 2024 3:09 pm

Deterous wrote:If you have an iphone (or other phone with a sufficiently powerful flash/camera), use an app that allows for taking video with the flash on. At the right angle, you can see the ringcodes like in the image attached. It can take a bit of trial-and-error to get the exact angle, but I've found it to be the easiest way.

Thanks. No iPhone but several old phones lying around - will have to keep trying.

Deterous · Post by **Deterous** » Sun May 19, 2024 9:39 pm

Barthax wrote:Thanks. No iPhone but several old phones lying around - will have to keep trying.

I recommend using OpenCamera app in Android for this purpose: https://play.google.com/store/apps/deta … &gl=US

TonyLizard · Post by **TonyLizard** » Mon May 20, 2024 2:14 am

And to add that, for PS1 discs an infrared flashlight can be useful.
I use something like this https://www.amazon.com/MAKE-ONE-IR-Infr … 016ZPH470/
and these are the results:

or if you want the MacGyver approach, any IR light will work, so you can try to do the same thing with a TV remote.

Barthax · Post by **Barthax** » Mon May 20, 2024 9:52 am

Thanks folks. I found Manual Camera DSLR Lite app for Android which has the torch option too. Really odd thing with Open Camera is it puts the screen brightest fully up while in use and sometimes presents a far better preview than the picture it takes!

Interesting with the IR: tried a remote and got a glimpse as it flashed, so understand.

Barthax · Post by **Barthax** » Fri May 24, 2024 6:06 pm

OK, I got myself a scanner for ease.

For details, I find 600DPI is usually plentiful for certainty. For the Mould SID on transparent discs it appears useful to have a black background instead of the typical white from the scanner (IMG_20240524_171543.jpg & DiabloIII preview).

I found an IR torch is still a good choice for PS1 scans but used from a side angle so it only casts across the disc ( IMG_20240524_171708.jpg ). Directly pointing the IR torch at the disc just makes for a massive white light section. It still takes a little testing to get right but easily captures the mould too (BigRaceUSA disc). It also helped me confirm my Gran Turismo disc doesn't have have a mould stamp despite the umpteen different angles and tests I tried up to 1200DPI!