LG WH16NS60 with 1.00 firmware

[TwinPeaks]

So I just received my LG WH16NS60 from Ebay that I had ordered to use makemkv on, and the sticker on it says it has the original 1.00 firmware on it. Do I still need to flash the firmware or is it just good to go out of the gate? Here is the Ebay listing I got it from if anyone is interested.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/387389665471

[VA1DER]

I have the same drive with the same firmware from eBay very recently, though it looks like a different vendor.

If you really do have the 1.00 firmware in it, then this drive and firmware works just fine in MakeMKV as it is. This is what MakeMKV sees on mine:

Code: Select all

Drive Information
OS device name: D:
Current profile: BD-ROM
Manufacturer: HL-DT-ST
Product: BD-RE WH16NS60
Revision: 1.00
Serial number: <redacted>
Firmware date: 2117-04-25 17:56
Bus encryption flags: 17
Highest AACS version: 77

LibreDrive Information
Status: Enabled
Drive platform: MT1959
Firmware type: Original (unpatched)
Firmware version: 1.00
DVD all regions: Yes
BD raw data read: Yes
BD raw metadata read: Yes
Unrestricted read speed: Yes

I don't know why the weird firmware date on mine. I wondered if my drive had been flashed by the vendor, but it also shows 1.00 on the sticker.

In any case, it works very well - so far I've ripped The Abyss UHD, Star Trek: TMP UHG, and Star Trek: TWOK UHD and a handful of non-UHD discs. All ripped fine. MakeMKV is a champion.

The latest patched firmware for this drive is 1.03. I rather enjoy having an unpatched, unencrypted firmware on mine, though, so I don't use v1.03. I can't tell you if 1.03 offers any real benefit. My experience with other drives suggests that later firmwares often try and roll back features or burn speeds on various media, and I tend not to go with later patches if I can help it. That said, I don't have a lot of experience with this drive yet and I would defer to the judgement of others on that count.

If you do decide to patch you firmware, here are some tips:

• You will find some talk about a WS16NS60 needing to have a DE firmware flashed first before flashing something else. You do not need to do this as you have an unpatched, unencrypted, clean 1.00 firmware. You can go directly to firmwares in the MK pack.
• You can find the custom patched firmware pack in this thread.
• If you do decide to flash a new firmware, BACK YOURS UP FIRST. Since your firmware is unencrypted you can do this, and it's valuable to have.
• Useful firmwares in there are the 1.03 firmware I talked about for your WH16NS60, and a 1.v5 firmware for a WH16NS58.
• I use the WH16NS58 firmware occasionally since this version of the drive is for disc duplicators and has the diagnostic commands enabled on it. With this firmware you can do error-rate scans with qpxtool and vptools. This firmware from all accounts is not as good for UHD ripping though.
• I have gone back and forth between my original 1.00 firmware and the NS58 firmware a few times, but it's not great to reflash too many times so I have an actual WH16NS58 on order as a dedicated scanning drive. I recommend if you want to do a lot of scanning and ripping to do the same.

[Woodstock]

I don't know why the weird firmware date on mine. I wondered if my drive had been flashed by the vendor,

A lot of drives (mainly LG/Asus) have the firmware date a century ahead. They say "2117" but mean "2017".

[Billycar11]

i started seeing these a few years ago something is off with them as LG would not ship them with 1.00 and lg does not sell the WH16NS60 anymore in most countries
but they are obviously for the Chinese market so maybe they are from the same factory.