Anyone else have a hard time ripping Criterion 4K discs lately?

[Cannikin]

Just got a bunch of discs from the Barnes and Noble 50% off sale and so far half of them can't be opened by MakeMKV. The drive just makes the chugging sound for a minute or two and then acts like there's no disc inserted. One of the ones that could read failed about 1/5th of the way into the rip. I haven't tried a soap-and-water clean yet, but that's next.

I'd have this happen to the random disc over the years, and could usually trade it in either at B&N or Amazon to get one that worked, but it's been happening more and more with Criterion discs specifically. Around the time of the big boxed Star Wars set from Disney a few years ago I read somewhere that a lot of the discs coming out of one pressing plant in Mexico were causing problems. I've noticed a lot of the Criterion discs used to have "Made in Mexico" printed on the shrink wrap, although none of these did.

Just wondering if it's happening to anyone else, or maybe it's time I finally got a new player? This ASUS BW-16D1HT is 5 years old now and has ripped something like 4,000 discs at this point!

[BrettTheRipper]

I have four 4K titles ordered from Barnes & Noble that should arrive in the next day or two, and I'll let you know if I have any trouble. In the meantime, the last batch I ripped (also from B&N) was during the previous Criterion sale in July, and I don't remember having any trouble with them.

I have several different models of flashed drives, but for those last ones, I think I used the LG WH16NS40; it's fast and pretty reliable with 4K disks. However, if you're in the market for a new drive, live in the U.S., and can afford it, you should consider one of the Pioneer BDR-XD08Bs that Billy is selling.

[Cannikin]

Oooo first I've heard of this Pioneer drive! What are the benefits? Better at reading certain discs?

[MartyMcNuts]

Oooo first I've heard of this Pioneer drive! What are the benefits? Better at reading certain discs?

Pioneer drives are well known to be the best readers and writers. Since Pioneer exited the optical drive business earlier this year, their drives are near impossible to find as the worlds stock is almost gone. Those that are still available are expensive but worth it.

Regarding your discs, you should always insert the disc and let the OS initialise it before opening MakeMKV. This usually helps with the 'no disc' issue.