How do consoles tell fake discs from real discs?

[Ikith]

I've been thinking about this and have ran a google on it a couple times with vague results. The topic says it all.

I mean isn't the copy theoretically an EXACT copy of the disc? I feel stupid for asking this.

[fantasticdan]

There is extra data stamped onto the disc, to identify the game as an original/legit copy. It's not something you can do with a home cd/dvd burner.

[Ikith]

There is extra data stamped onto the disc, to identify the game as an original/legit copy. It's not something you can do with a home cd/dvd burner.

That's very interesting... Thank you. I wonder how its stamped !

[archibaldcrane]

I believe that professionally stamped discs have spaces of blank data on them that are meaningless, but when home burners recreate that data they eliminate the blank data.

[Blabj]

I know for sure PSP games have this elusive "blank space", however the fact you can rip the discs to your memory stick, move them to your computer and re-encode them as .ISO makes forging a PSP disc a fat waste of time.

[MisterBob]

Essentially mass producing discs is done a lot differently than the way home burners do it. A single image of the disc is creating and pressed onto each new created disc. This way you create discs fast and in an assembly line style fashion, as burning each one individually would take forever.