Question about non-4K UHD Blu-Ray’s
Question about non-4K UHD Blu-Ray’s
Hi, I’m currently in the market for a blu ray drive to make digital copies of my blu rays which are of the standard 1080p variety, but not entirely sure if I have to get a specific drive to flash its firmware in order to do so or if that’s only the case with 4K Blu Ray discs.
Re: Question about non-4K UHD Blu-Ray’s
MakeMKV will work most DVD or regular blu-ray drives for DVDs or regular blu-rays. For 4K UHDs, you'll need a LibreDrive capable drive. If you've got a drive sitting on a shelf, it is a reasonable place to start.
There are certain edge cases for DVDs and regular blu-rays where a rip would work with a LibreDrive capable drive but won't with a regular drive. This is mostly if you're ripping discs outside of your region or a blu-ray with a brand new version of AACS encryption. Most people won't hit these edge cases most of the time.
If you're going to buy a new drive, you might as well just get one that can do it all. Pioneer drives are considered the best, but a recent firmware update to Pioneer drives specifically disables MakeMKV support. Your best bet for a Pioneer is to buy one from a seller in your region. There's also the Ultimate UHD Drives Flashing Guide which maintains a list of all the drives that'll work with LibreDrive and how to flash them to do so.
There are certain edge cases for DVDs and regular blu-rays where a rip would work with a LibreDrive capable drive but won't with a regular drive. This is mostly if you're ripping discs outside of your region or a blu-ray with a brand new version of AACS encryption. Most people won't hit these edge cases most of the time.
If you're going to buy a new drive, you might as well just get one that can do it all. Pioneer drives are considered the best, but a recent firmware update to Pioneer drives specifically disables MakeMKV support. Your best bet for a Pioneer is to buy one from a seller in your region. There's also the Ultimate UHD Drives Flashing Guide which maintains a list of all the drives that'll work with LibreDrive and how to flash them to do so.