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Hello all,

I have a BDR-XD08UMB-S, and it's been excellent in ripping my Blu-Rays, and I just started today on some DVDs (much more noisy but faster). I missed one teensy tiny detail as to the date the firmware was from when I bought it but otherwise I'm pretty happy with it.

That being said, I am interested in getting another Pioneer, and this time I want to get some firsthand opinions, as I'd like to be in this for the long haul. Do you guys prefer the clamshell top-loaders, popping open a tray, or just inserting the disk, no fuss no muss? I'm leaning towards going internal this time, but I'm wary of mechanical issues down the line.

Thank you!

My Pioneer BDR-S13UBK is probably my best drive. It is in a Vantec enclosure and connected via USB. Since I have multiple drives sitting on my desk, I prefer a tray loading drive.

dcoke22 wrote: ↑

Tue Apr 23, 2024 4:45 am

My Pioneer BDR-S13UBK is probably my best drive. It is in a Vantec enclosure and connected via USB. Since I have multiple drives sitting on my desk, I prefer a tray loading drive.

I'll add it into consideration, thank you!

Have any of your drives gotten stuck or broken or anything?

I prefer tray loading (internal) drives myself, mainly because the disc itself has the least contact with anything.

It's placed on the tray with my finger in the center hole only, it's not being dragged-in across some dusty piece of felt (or whatever that fluffy stuff is), and I don't have to 'pinch' the disc (ie. get greasy fingerprints on the shiny side) to remove it.

PlainSimpleTailor wrote: ↑

Tue Apr 23, 2024 8:36 am

Have any of your drives gotten stuck or broken or anything?

Physically, no. I do have a couple of LG based drives which get confused from time to time and need to be power cycled. Having them in external enclosures with their own power supplies makes recovering from a confused state pretty easy.