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Asus BW-16D1X-U

Posted: Mon Apr 05, 2021 12:12 am
by KlatuVerataNikto
I'm pretty new to this so please be gentle.
I purchased an Asus BW-16D1X-U.
The specs say it will read BD XL, yet everywhere on this forum says it is not 4K friendly.
Make MKV says LibreDrive is "Possible, not yet enabled."
Am I missing something?
Screen Shot 2021-04-04 at 8.02.37 PM.png
Screen Shot 2021-04-04 at 8.02.37 PM.png (317.49 KiB) Viewed 47745 times

Re: Asus BW-16D1X-U

Posted: Mon Apr 05, 2021 1:17 am
by MartyMcNuts
KlatuVerataNikto wrote:
Mon Apr 05, 2021 12:12 am
I'm pretty new to this so please be gentle.
I purchased an Asus BW-16D1X-U.
The specs say it will read BD XL, yet everywhere on this forum says it is not 4K friendly.
Make MKV says LibreDrive is "Possible, not yet enabled."
Am I missing something?

Screen Shot 2021-04-04 at 8.02.37 PM.png
I'm 99% sure that drive is not UHD capable. I know there is an A204 firmware in the MK firmware pack but your drive shows as A104. I think you might be s**t out of luck.

Re: Asus BW-16D1X-U

Posted: Mon Apr 05, 2021 1:36 am
by Woodstock
Marty, this is a different drive than the original BW-161X-U had. The earlier drives used a Pioneer RS8600 inside the enclosure.

Re: Asus BW-16D1X-U

Posted: Mon Apr 05, 2021 4:25 am
by Billycar11
KlatuVerataNikto wrote:
Mon Apr 05, 2021 12:12 am
I'm pretty new to this so please be gentle.
I purchased an Asus BW-16D1X-U.
The specs say it will read BD XL, yet everywhere on this forum says it is not 4K friendly.
Make MKV says LibreDrive is "Possible, not yet enabled."
Am I missing something?
open it up and show us the drive inside

Re: Asus BW-16D1X-U

Posted: Mon Apr 05, 2021 10:49 am
by d00zah
MakeMKV does report the desired 'Drive platform: MT1959'... a re-badged BH16NS40 per the 1st label in the next post.

Re: Asus BW-16D1X-U

Posted: Mon Apr 05, 2021 1:34 pm
by KlatuVerataNikto
Billycar11 wrote:
Mon Apr 05, 2021 4:25 am
KlatuVerataNikto wrote:
Mon Apr 05, 2021 12:12 am
I'm pretty new to this so please be gentle.
I purchased an Asus BW-16D1X-U.
The specs say it will read BD XL, yet everywhere on this forum says it is not 4K friendly.
Make MKV says LibreDrive is "Possible, not yet enabled."
Am I missing something?
open it up and show us the drive inside
Will this do?

Re: Asus BW-16D1X-U

Posted: Mon Apr 05, 2021 2:53 pm
by KlatuVerataNikto
I meant to include this photo too:

Re: Asus BW-16D1X-U

Posted: Mon Apr 05, 2021 8:15 pm
by KlatuVerataNikto
d00zah wrote:
Mon Apr 05, 2021 10:49 am
MakeMKV does report the desired 'Drive platform: MT1959'... a re-badged BH16NS40 per the 1st label in the next post.
Based on what you see is this drive 4K friendly?

Re: Asus BW-16D1X-U

Posted: Mon Apr 05, 2021 8:39 pm
by d00zah
KlatuVerataNikto wrote:
Mon Apr 05, 2021 8:15 pm
Based on what you see is this drive 4K friendly?
It looks like it, to me, but as this drive seems to be something new, could you check the following?

- Is there a FW dump file in your MakeMKV data directory... dump_FW_[~20 hex characters].tgz?

The data directory path is defined on the 'General' preferences tab. Unsure where the default is for linux.

When LIbreDrive was "younger", there was a request to submit these dumps to support@makemkv.com, IIRC. Mike might want a full dump?

I'd wait for Billycar11, or MartyMcNuts to weigh in. Patience.

Re: Asus BW-16D1X-U

Posted: Mon Apr 05, 2021 8:53 pm
by KlatuVerataNikto
Yes, there is a firmware dump file. FYI I am using MacOs Big Sur.
I will definitely wait for Billycar11 or MartyMcNuts to weigh in here.
Thanks so much for all of the help!

Re: Asus BW-16D1X-U

Posted: Mon Apr 05, 2021 10:39 pm
by Billycar11
Looks like it's probably a BH16NS40 same as the asus desktop drive.
Weird that they changed the drive have it labeled as bh50n
I would probably flash it with asus 3.10 or WH16NS60 1.02.
UHD is probably possible on it but really no one has tried with that exact setup hopefully it's just a sticker change

Re: Asus BW-16D1X-U

Posted: Mon Apr 05, 2021 11:11 pm
by KlatuVerataNikto
Billycar11 wrote:Looks like it's probably a BH16NS40 same as the asus desktop drive.
Weird that they changed the drive have it labeled as bh50n
I would probably flash it with asus 3.10 or WH16NS60 1.02.
UHD is probably possible on it but really no one has tried with that exact setup hopefully it's just a sticker change
Thank you! Is there a guide here or YouTube video on how to flash the drive and where to get the firmware?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Re: Asus BW-16D1X-U

Posted: Mon Apr 05, 2021 11:16 pm
by MartyMcNuts
Yep, it appears that the BH50N is the same as a BH16NS40.

Someone else has one and flashed it. (Page 5 of the Ultimate UHD Drive Flashing Guide)

Re: Asus BW-16D1X-U

Posted: Mon Apr 05, 2021 11:46 pm
by d00zah
KlatuVerataNikto wrote:
Mon Apr 05, 2021 11:11 pm
Thank you! Is there a guide here or YouTube video on how to flash the drive and where to get the firmware?
Flashing firmware on a Mac for LibreDrive

I'm gonna guess this 2020 FW is encrypted, so the 'enc' switch is required for the 1st flash?

From the Ultimate UHD Drives Flashing Guide Updated 2021 (1st post is recommended reading)

Unlocked Flashers, Downgrade Enabled Firmware and MK Firmware:

New! The all you need firmware pack: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1HRnbXi ... sp=sharing
Billycar11 wrote:
Mon Apr 05, 2021 10:39 pm
I would probably flash it with asus 3.10 or WH16NS60 1.02.

Re: Asus BW-16D1X-U

Posted: Tue Apr 06, 2021 4:14 pm
by KlatuVerataNikto
I couldn't get the drive to flash on my Mac. Admittedly, I'm not great in terminal. Even copying and pasting the commands from the step by step thread did not work for me.
I busted out my old windows laptop running Windows 10. I downloaded and used the flashing tool. The flashing tool would not open unless I ran it as an administrator. The Asus firmware would not flash onto the drive. I ended up using the WH16NS60 1.02 firmware and it worked like a champ. Libre mode is enabled and I'm ripping 4K discs! Also, currently ripping Solo: A Star Wars Story with no problems!