OmniDrive Firmware Lets Blu-Ray Drives Rip Gamecube, Wii, and Xbox 360 Games
OmniDrive simplifies the process of preserving retro game discs by removing the need to modify the original console hardware, making disc ripping as straightforward as ripping a DVD.
Reporting from 1 sources: GIGAZINE.
Third-party firmware called OmniDrive, based on the MediaTek MT1959 chipset and developed for Hitachi-LG Data Storage Blu-ray drives, enables the drives to read and rip game discs from older consoles including GameCube, Wii, original Xbox, and Xbox 360. The firmware improves read accuracy and supports CD, DVD, Blu-ray, and derivative media. A tutorial from the YouTube channel Archades Games demonstrates the process, and tests showed perfect ISO rips of Xbox 360 games. The firmware is not compatible with all drives and can brick incompatible hardware.
OmniDrive is third-party firmware for optical drives based on the MediaTek MT1959 chipset, manufactured by Hitachi-LG Data Storage. It improves read accuracy and integrity for game discs from older consoles. The firmware supports CD, DVD, Blu-ray, and derivative media, and can read formats including GameCube (NROM), Wii (RVL-ROM), Xbox (XGD1), and Xbox 360 (XGD2/XGD3).
Archades Games published a tutorial on applying the firmware and tested it by ripping an Xbox 360 game with the open-source tool Media Preservation Frontend. The test produced a perfect ISO file. Tom's Hardware noted that the method is a dramatic improvement over previous approaches that required modifying the console itself. Flashing OmniDrive onto an incompatible Blu-ray player will likely brick the device.
Synthesized by Yomimono from the 1 cited source below, including Japanese-language reporting where cited, then editorially reviewed before publishing.