Here is a snippet I took from a forum discussing the differences between ROM sets for those not familiar with the various flavors of ROM sets. This may be helpful in deciding which set suits you best - each has their benefits and different missions. i.e., TruRip stays loyal to the media, not the emulation. A TOSEC set can have every variation/iteration/hack under the sun of a particular ROM. Hope the info below is helpful to some of you when deciding which set works for you
Comparison of ROMs
This is an incomprehensive list of several multi-system ROMs sets available and their pros and cons and shit.
- TOSEC
- GoodSets/GoodTools
- No-Intro
- Redump
- TruRip
TOSEC
TOSEC is a cataloging/naming system. Their mission is to identify and name all ROMS found in the wild, good dumps, bad dumps, over dumps, hacks, fakes, homebrews, ROMs with even the tiniest byte changed. For example the torrent "TOSEC (TOSEC 2012-12-28) Now Safe Update Pack", has 346 different versions of Super Mario World in it.
GoodSets/GoodTools
Maintained by Cowering, GoodSets are very similar to TOSEC but slighty more refined. They typically identify the following types dumps (the [ ] brackets and characters within are added to the name of the ROM):
Code:
[!] Verified good dump
[a] Alternative version
[b] Bad dump
[f] Fixed dump
[h] Hacked ROM
[o] Overdumped ROM
[p] Pirated version
[t] Trained version
[!p] Pending dump
Since they are just a cataloging/naming system and not a purification system like No-Intro, Redump, and Trurip; GoodSets contain all of the above types of dumps.
No-Intro
What No-Intro does is fill some DAT files, to be used with ROM managers, with information about the known ROMS released. Often there are more versions of the same ROM dump, but most of them are garbage, some examples may include: bad dumps, hacks, fakes, overdumps, underdumps, and so on. "No-Intro" lists only the best available ROM; it must be a full dump with no faults and no changes to the file, basically just the ROMS that are the closest as possible to the original licensed cartridges."
Redump
Similiar mission as No-Intro but only for optical media, also not quite as pure as Trurip: Redump.org is a disc preservation database and internet community dedicated to collecting precise and accurate information about every video game ever released on optical media of any system. The goal is to make blueprints of the data on console and PC game discs. Redump.org also provides guides to ensure the dumps are correctly done. Users of the website who follow the guides correctly are encouraged to share their results to help build the database. Multiple dumps of games with the same serial number by different people are collected to ensure the same results are gathered, which help correct any incorrect dumps in the database as well as to help recognize alternate versions of the same game.
Trurip
Trurip's mission is to have the purist most exact duplicate of the original media. In all forms; optical, magnetic, and cartridge. Now the statement of "the purist most exact duplicate of the original media" may sound very similiar to the goals of No-Intro, it is not. It is another level above that, meaning there are no added headers or tweaks to ensure the games run in emulators properly. Even trurip though can't make a exact duplicate yet in all cases, there are times that things such as the subcode are still missing. It is for sure though the purist of anything out there right now.
