Trying To Get a LG WH16NS60 To Work

[GeorgeJohn]

Looks like my attempt to flash the drive isn't working. Is my problem that the drive has version 1.03? I have included what I did below:

Note: to be absolutely safe I first deleted all the .bin files except for this drive, made a copy of HL-DT-ST-BD-RE_WH16NS60-1.03-NM00600-212005081010.bin, and renamed it to file.bin.

C:\Program Files (x86)\MakeMKV>sdftool -l
Found 1 drives(s)
00: \Device\CdRom0, \Device\CdRom0, G:
HL-DT-ST_BD-RE__WH16NS60_1.03_212005081010_KLGK99G4150


C:\Program Files (x86)\MakeMKV>sdftool -d G: rawflash -i f:\in\file.bin -v
Loaded SDF.bin version 0x7e

Reading input file f:\in\file.bin
Flashing flags = 0x0 : 0 0 0 0 : ---- ---- ---- ----
Current Drive ID: HL-DT-ST_BD-RE__WH16NS60_1.03_212005081010_KLGK99G4150
Ready to write drive flash memory.
Type "yes" to continue, "no" to abort
yes
Operation started: Sending flash image to drive
100% Operation finished
Operation started: Programming flash
100% Operation finished
Done successfully
Command produced 0 file(s)


*** From MakeMKV (looks like nothing changed)

Drive Information
OS device name: G:
Current profile: DVD-ROM
Manufacturer: HL-DT-ST
Product: BD-RE WH16NS60
Revision: 1.03
Serial number: KLGK99G4150
Firmware date: 2120-05-08 10:10
Bus encryption flags: 17

LibreDrive Information
Status: Possible (with patched firmware)
Drive platform: MT1959
Harware support: Yes
Firmware support: No
Firmware type: Original (patched version available)
Firmware version: 1.03
DVD all regions: Possible (with patched firmware)
BD raw data read: Possible (with patched firmware)
BD raw metadata read: Possible (with patched firmware)
Unrestricted read speed: Possible (with patched firmware)


*** Lots of errors when I try to read an Ultra BD. I have included only a few lines at the end.

Downloading latest HK to D:/MakeMKV ...
Saved AACS dump file as D:/MakeMKV/MKB20_v61_Ex_Machina_9D65.tgz
LibreDrive compatible drive is required to open this disc - video can't be decrypted.
Failed to open disc

*** The good news is the drive still works as before.

[MartyMcNuts]

Looks like my attempt to flash the drive isn't working. Is my problem that the drive has version 1.03? I have included what I did below:

Note: to be absolutely safe I first deleted all the .bin files except for this drive, made a copy of HL-DT-ST-BD-RE_WH16NS60-1.03-NM00600-212005081010.bin, and renamed it to file.bin.

C:\Program Files (x86)\MakeMKV>sdftool -l
Found 1 drives(s)
00: \Device\CdRom0, \Device\CdRom0, G:
HL-DT-ST_BD-RE__WH16NS60_1.03_212005081010_KLGK99G4150


C:\Program Files (x86)\MakeMKV>sdftool -d G: rawflash -i f:\in\file.bin -v
Loaded SDF.bin version 0x7e

Reading input file f:\in\file.bin
Flashing flags = 0x0 : 0 0 0 0 : ---- ---- ---- ----
Current Drive ID: HL-DT-ST_BD-RE__WH16NS60_1.03_212005081010_KLGK99G4150
Ready to write drive flash memory.
Type "yes" to continue, "no" to abort
yes
Operation started: Sending flash image to drive
100% Operation finished
Operation started: Programming flash
100% Operation finished
Done successfully
Command produced 0 file(s)


*** From MakeMKV (looks like nothing changed)

Drive Information
OS device name: G:
Current profile: DVD-ROM
Manufacturer: HL-DT-ST
Product: BD-RE WH16NS60
Revision: 1.03
Serial number: KLGK99G4150
Firmware date: 2120-05-08 10:10
Bus encryption flags: 17

LibreDrive Information
Status: Possible (with patched firmware)
Drive platform: MT1959
Harware support: Yes
Firmware support: No
Firmware type: Original (patched version available)
Firmware version: 1.03
DVD all regions: Possible (with patched firmware)
BD raw data read: Possible (with patched firmware)
BD raw metadata read: Possible (with patched firmware)
Unrestricted read speed: Possible (with patched firmware)


*** Lots of errors when I try to read an Ultra BD. I have included only a few lines at the end.

Downloading latest HK to D:/MakeMKV ...
Saved AACS dump file as D:/MakeMKV/MKB20_v61_Ex_Machina_9D65.tgz
LibreDrive compatible drive is required to open this disc - video can't be decrypted.
Failed to open disc

*** The good news is the drive still works as before.

Your drive has encrypted firmware so change rawflash to rawflash enc

[GeorgeJohn]

Wow, thanks for your very fast response. As you will see below, your suggestion worked. THANKS!

Unfortunately, there are issues with my attempts at ripping an ULTRA HD Blu-ray disc that surprised me. Please see below. Looks very similar to this on the forum:

"UHD Backups Stall at About 50%"

viewtopic.php?p=64037

One speculation is this happens when the process moves to the second layer. The OP is from Jul 14, 2018.
After a day of testing *my* working theory is anything with one layer works. Anything with two layers fails.

I will continue testing and let you know if anything happens that is counter to this working theory, *especially* if I ever get a two layer disc to work.

I should mention that the LG drive is *external*. It's in a Vantec NST-536S3-BK NexStar DX USB 3.0. It it attached to a USB USB 3.2 Gen 2 Type-A Port on the motherboard.
Note: I documented all of this because there may be something important that I overlooked and/or don't understand. This is all very new to me. The 11th generation Intel CPU (I9-11900K) forced my hand (loss of SGX support). My older system had an I7-7700K which has it and works with the CyberLink software. My new system doesn't. So, this looked like a promising workaround solution.

*** the flash update process

C:\Program Files (x86)\MakeMKV>sdftool -d G: rawflash enc -i f:\in\file.bin -v
Loaded SDF.bin version 0x7e

Reading input file f:\in\file.bin
Flashing flags = 0x0 : 0 0 0 0 : ---- ---- ---- ----
Sending image in encrypted format
Current Drive ID: HL-DT-ST_BD-RE__WH16NS60_1.03_212005081010_KLGK99G4150
Ready to write drive flash memory.
Type "yes" to continue, "no" to abort
yes
Operation started: Sending flash image to drive
100% Operation finished
Operation started: Programming flash
100% Operation finished
Done successfully

Command produced 0 file(s)sd

*** the resulting drive information

C:\Program Files (x86)\MakeMKV>sdftool -d G: --info
SDF.bin version: 0x007E

Drive Tool SDF present

Drive Specific SDF present

[Drive Specific SDF] Embedded Info Strings:
8000:LibreDrive Information

8013:Status
8105:Enabled

8001:Drive platform
:MT1959

8002:Firmware type
8107:Patched (microcode access re-enabled)

8003:Firmware version
:1.03

8005:DVD all regions
8100:Yes

8006:BD raw data read
8100:Yes

8007:BD raw metadata read
8100:Yes

8009:Unrestricted read speed
8100:Yes


[Drive Specific SDF] Embedded Status Message:
8099:Using LibreDrive mode (v%1 id=%2)
:06.2
:4083C4CCDB14


Identification SDF present

[Identification SDF] Embedded Info Strings:
8000:LibreDrive Information

8013:Status
8102:Possible, not yet enabled

8001:Drive platform
:MT1959


[Identification SDF] Drive autodetect string:
mtk:19:59:JB8 :HL-DT-ST:BD-RE WH16NS60 1.03:NM00600:-

*** MakeMKV's view of this. Looks promising.

Drive Information
OS device name: G:
Manufacturer: HL-DT-ST
Product: BD-RE WH16NS60
Revision: 1.03
Serial number: KLGK99G4150
Firmware date: 2120-05-08 10:10
Bus encryption flags: 17
Highest AACS version: 61

LibreDrive Information
Status: Enabled
Drive platform: MT1959
Firmware type: Patched (microcode access re-enabled)
Firmware version: 1.03
DVD all regions: Yes
BD raw data read: Yes
BD raw metadata read: Yes
Unrestricted read speed: Yes

No disc inserted

*** Getting reading to read an Ultra BD. Looks VERY promising:

MakeMKV v1.16.3 win(x64-release) started
Using LibreDrive mode (v06.2 id=4083C4CCDB14)
Using direct disc access mode
Evaluation version, 30 day(s) out of 30 remaining
Loaded content hash table, will verify integrity of M2TS files.
Using Java runtime from C:\Program Files (x86)\Java\jre1.8.0_291\bin\java.exe
Title #00006.mpls has length of 5 seconds which is less than minimum title length of 120 seconds and was therefore skipped
Title #00005.mpls has length of 21 seconds which is less than minimum title length of 120 seconds and was therefore skipped
File 00000.mpls was added as title #0
Title #00001.mpls has length of 116 seconds which is less than minimum title length of 120 seconds and was therefore skipped
Title #00007.mpls has length of 10 seconds which is less than minimum title length of 120 seconds and was therefore skipped
Title #00008.mpls has length of 8 seconds which is less than minimum title length of 120 seconds and was therefore skipped
Title #00001.m2ts has length of 116 seconds which is less than minimum title length of 120 seconds and was therefore skipped
Title #00011.m2ts has length of 5 seconds which is less than minimum title length of 120 seconds and was therefore skipped
Title #00010.m2ts has length of 21 seconds which is less than minimum title length of 120 seconds and was therefore skipped
Title #00013.m2ts has length of 8 seconds which is less than minimum title length of 120 seconds and was therefore skipped
Title #00012.m2ts has length of 10 seconds which is less than minimum title length of 120 seconds and was therefore skipped
DEBUG: Code 233 at kZiHFAlydMtxamzT9q3TOZjq:0
DEBUG: Code 233 at TPma1H8FyuBdxzBCA3b7cTP8:0
DEBUG: Code 233 at DZ2Cs6GdJHcOVItkKOXV+6wA:0
DEBUG: Code 233 at MPGelGPKmFfg80GVzB1MVlM7:0
DEBUG: Code 233 at pmoUlzam0PKt7F0lxsO27ZDM:0
DEBUG: Code 233 at ux6TdX6+EW33Sfl+jhwthMWg:0
DEBUG: Code 233 at e8P9Qu81DPFzS9vqNquScJT2:0
DEBUG: Code 233 at Z5wzm9KFw5wIUv4UmDJlrbUZ:0
DEBUG: Code 233 at TsskPxo3FQJ38amKk0/T+FT8:0
DEBUG: Code 233 at JePehWVAbXf19cT4YYop3UCj:0
Operation successfully completed

*** OOPS (The target drive is a WD Red NAS WD30EFRX 68EUZN0 3TB. Its write benchmark is 84 MB/s)

Note: this comes as a bit of a surprise. The maximum transfer rate I'm seeing (so far) is [6.0X] or 26.1 M/s. And, with 32 GB of DDR4-3200 memory, there's plenty of room for buffering data. Oh, well. I'll try again with my fastest drive. See below.

Program reads data faster than it can write to disk, consider upgrading your hard drive if you see many of these messages.
Program reads data faster than it can write to disk, consider upgrading your hard drive if you see many of these messages.
Program reads data faster than it can write to disk, consider upgrading your hard drive if you see many of these messages.
Program reads data faster than it can write to disk, consider upgrading your hard drive if you see many of these messages.
Program reads data faster than it can write to disk, consider upgrading your hard drive if you see many of these messages.
Program reads data faster than it can write to disk, consider upgrading your hard drive if you see many of these messages.
Program reads data faster than it can write to disk, consider upgrading your hard drive if you see many of these messages.
Program reads data faster than it can write to disk, consider upgrading your hard drive if you see many of these messages.
Program reads data faster than it can write to disk, consider upgrading your hard drive if you see many of these messages.
Program reads data faster than it can write to disk, consider upgrading your hard drive if you see many of these messages.
Error 'OS error - {Device Timeout} The specified I/O operation on hs was not completed before the time-out period expired' occurred while reading '/BDMV/STREAM/00000.m2ts' at offset '33080340480'
Error 'OS error - {Device Timeout} The specified I/O operation on hs was not completed before the time-out period expired' occurred while reading '\Device\CdRom0' at offset '33080340480'
DEBUG: Code 3221225653 at \zlO<XK'!<p!d<l/E":29395149

*** Trying again to my fastest drive. It can write at 5GB/s (Samsung 980 PRO PCIe 4.0).
This was looking good until about half way into the process. It was transferring at around 25 M/s [6.0X]. It's now at around 100 K/s [0.0X] [SAFE]. I don't see any error or warning messages.

Note: I did check the Samsung drive's temperature. It's fine.

*** Trying again to an older SSD (Toshiba OCZ TR150 480 GB). This benchmarks at 524 MB/s.

Error 'OS error - {Device Timeout} The specified I/O operation on hs was not completed before the time-out period expired' occurred while reading '/BDMV/STREAM/00000.m2ts' at offset '33048883200'
Error 'Internal error - Operation result is incorrect (78)' occurred while reading '\Device\CdRom0' at offset '33048883200'
DEBUG: Code 117637198 at \zlO<XK'!<p!d<l/E":29395149
Error 'OS error - {Device Timeout} The specified I/O operation on hs was not completed before the time-out period expired' occurred while reading '\Device\CdRom0' at offset '33048883200'
DEBUG: Code 3221225653 at \zlO<XK'!<p!d<l/E":29395149
Error 'Internal error - Operation result is incorrect (78)' occurred while reading '\Device\CdRom0' at offset '33048883200'
DEBUG: Code 117637198 at \zlO<XK'!<p!d<l/E":29395149
Error 'OS error - {Device Timeout} The specified I/O operation on hs was not completed before the time-out period expired' occurred while reading '\Device\CdRom0' at offset '33048883200'
DEBUG: Code 3221225653 at \zlO<XK'!<p!d<l/E":29395149
Error 'OS error - {Device Timeout} The specified I/O operation on hs was not completed before the time-out period expired' occurred while reading '/BDMV/STREAM/00000.m2ts' at offset '33059960832'

*** Trying a different Ultra HD Blu-ray now

I found something short, around 2 minutes and 18 seconds. It appears to have worked. YAY!!

005011:0000 Operation successfully completed
005014:0000 Saving 1 titles into directory file://F:/Video/UHD_IMAX_FOB
AV sync issues in F:/Video/UHD_IMAX_FOB/title_t01.mkv
AV sync in 1,2,3 at 0:01:09.736 (2.333ms) : encountered overlapping frame, audio skew is +2.333ms
004047:0010 AV sync issue in stream 5 at 0:00:00 : Forced subtitles track #5 turned out to be empty and was removed from output file
005005:0080 1 titles saved
005036:0104 Copy complete. 1 titles saved.
SUCCESS!! I have confirmed using VLC that this is a 3840 x 2180 video, and it plays beautifully.
Note: Handbrake successfully processed this into a 1080p format m4v.

*** Trying a larger file (8004.6 M) on the same disc.

Read rate is 31.0 M/s [7.2X]

Note: this turned out to be a 1080p video.

*** Same disc. Source size is 18,315.2 M. Speed is 22.2 M/s [5.1X]

And, one more file that is around 21 GB.

SUCCESS!! These are 3840 x 2180, too.

*** Different disc. This file is 48,215 M

Failed at around 32.6 GB. Huge error log.

*** Different disc. Source size is 16,867.7 M
Success.
*** Different disc. Source size is 16,362.6 M
Success.

*** Different disc. Source size is 42.3 GB
Success!! Note: very likely single layer!!

[dcoke22]

MakeMKV will tell you how many layers the disc is on the main screen after it reads the disc but before you start an operation. It is in the Info box on the right, in the Disc Information section.

numberlayers.jpg (58.99 KiB) Viewed 17410 times

[GeorgeJohn]

Thanks for that tip.

I did quite a bit more testing today. Looks like yesterday was adverse sampling. I have totally focused on 2 and 3 layer testing today. I haven't had a single failure.

I have been busy transferring files to my Synology DS220J and testing various client apps to see what can handle these 4k mkv files without any or little transcoding on the Synology end. The Synology doesn't have much CPU power, so I need to be gentle with it. So far, VLC has worked out the best.

[MartyMcNuts]

Thanks for that tip.

I did quite a bit more testing today. Looks like yesterday was adverse sampling. I have totally focused on 2 and 3 layer testing today. I haven't had a single failure.

I have been busy transferring files to my Synology DS220J and testing various client apps to see what can handle these 4k mkv files without any or little transcoding on the Synology end. The Synology doesn't have much CPU power, so I need to be gentle with it. So far, VLC has worked out the best.

I would also suggest getting off 1.03 as it really a crappy firmware. Plenty of people have had read issues using it. WH16NS60 1.02 from the MK/old folder is the recommended firmware and works a lot better.

Also, the majority of read issues can be solved by giving the UHD disc a good clean.

[GeorgeJohn]

Thanks for the 1.02 and cleaning tip. Sad to hear that LG went significantly backwards from 1.03 to 1.02.

I'm such a n00b. I just learned today that while the first layer is read center out, the second layer is outermost in. The first one I tried, that failed, had finger prints on the outer edge. I will give it a thorough cleaning and try again.

[GeorgeJohn]

Footnote/Update:

Cleaning the disc was (most likely) the answer. After cleaning, the disc that failed before worked perfectly.

If 1.03 continues to work, I'm going to leave it alone. As they say, if it ain't broke ...

Would you like some very picky feedback about MakeMKV, and some less picky feedback about sdftool.exe?

[dcoke22]

Would you like some very picky feedback about MakeMKV, and some less picky feedback about sdftool.exe?

Sure.

[Coopervid]

Why? In almost all the posts we recommend to clean the disc. This is very annoying to repeat it again and again.

[GeorgeJohn]

The 'dirty' disc actually came as quite a surprise. I handle my discs very carefully. I have ripped many hundreds of discs without any problems (but, never an Ultra HD Blu-ray). In this case there was a slight fingerprint at the outside edge that I overlooked. So, sorry about that. FWIW, I did make a good faith attempt to read the forum to learn what might be going on. And, I linked the thread that mentioned a problem with the layer change as a possible cause. It seemed like a reasonable working theory.

[MartyMcNuts]

The 'dirty' disc actually came as quite a surprise. I handle my discs very carefully. I have ripped many hundreds of discs without any problems (but, never an Ultra HD Blu-ray). In this case there was a slight fingerprint at the outside edge that I overlooked. So, sorry about that. FWIW, I did make a good faith attempt to read the forum to learn what might be going on. And, I linked the thread that mentioned a problem with the layer change as a possible cause. It seemed like a reasonable working theory.

I think, mainly due to the data density of UHD's, they are notorious for fingerprints/microscopic dirt particles and even a clear film coating from the manufacturer. You will find they often require cleaning, even when brand new in the box!

So, whenever you purchase a UHD, try it and if the rip fails, clean the disc and try again. This should be done before an other troubleshooting.

Enjoy!

[GeorgeJohn]

Thanks for the cleaning tips and comments.

I suspect that in general I haven't had this issue much in the past because I had enabled my Pioneer HD Ultra Blu-ray drive set to deal with errors. And, my guess is that it did a pretty good job. You are right about brand new discs sometimes not being clean! I have seen that myself. And, I had one that I could never clean successfully. I have no idea what was on it. Some glue or something.

Of course the Pioneer is no longer an option with my 11th generation Intel I9-11900K. This LG drive was purchased specifically for this purpose. And, much to my delight, it's working pretty well! It's also quiet, which is very nice. The other positive surprise is it's working well as an external drive. That was forced upon me because my new case has no optical storage option. The front of it has a 360mm radiator for an AIO Corsair water cooler. My seven (6 case, 1 CPU cooler) fan air cooling setup in my old Corsair case was way too insufficient to keep this small furnace of a CPU cool. With the CPU running full blast, I see over 300W+ actual at the wall plug. That's with the GTX 1080 idle. I hit the 100C throttle point with the air cooling. I now hit around 70 maximum. Note: the new case has *only* six fans. And, my prior system had a really good Coolmaster cooler, and the 7 fans were excellent, especially the one (Noctua) on the CPU cooler.

Quite an adventure.

[GeorgeJohn]

Here is my picky feedback.

*** 1) A typo that is probably rarely seen.
I can't easily reproduce this typo because my drive has been flashed and the "Harware [SIC] support" status is no longer shown. And, it's *possible* I might have caused it; although, I think that's pretty unlikely. Notice that the word hardware is spelled "Harware". This probably went unnoticed because there aren't that many drives, users of MakeMKV have, that have hardware support for ripping Ultra HD Blu-rays that haven't been flashed to support them.

*** 2) Controlled Folder Access issue

This may not be worth addressing, or it can't be addressed. Consider this a FYI.

I have the Windows 10 "Controlled folder access" enabled as part of Update & Security->Virus & threat protection->Manage randomware protection. This prevented sdftool.exe and makemkvcon64.exe from running until I allowed them through "Controlled folder access".

Note: these apps aren't the only ones I have had to enable, including Samsung's SamsungMagician.exe, WinTV10.exe, Audacity.exe, Futuremark's FMSIScan.exe, and audacity.exe. My guess is all these applications are attemping to update the "Program Files (x86)" or other protected parts of the system. Of course ransomware can attempt to do that, too. My understanding is that Microsoft's recommendation to developers is they store user specific application data in the %AppData% folder area. For example: C:\Users\[User Name]\AppData\Roaming

Quoting from a Google search result: "The AppData folder is unique for each user and it contains app-specific settings for a user. It has three sub-folders; Local, LocalLow, and Roaming."

*** 3) sdftool 'help' suggestions

a) if a user runs sdftool with no command line switches, show the help

b) Question: why are two hyphens needed and not just one for some of the options like "--help"? Why not "-help" instead?

c) Key (?) command line options like "rawflash" and "enc" don't appear when the --help switch is used.

Note: "-d [Drive Name] help" does show the "rawflash" command and the "enc" option. That's what my drive needed. And, I did do a Google search for this information, too, without success. Although, I imagine it appears in every post on this forum.

d) Should "rawflash enc" be included in "Typical usage"? That's what (I think) my drive required. How popular is the LG WH16NS60? Seems like a good choice for this particular application, which is ripping Ultra HD Blu-rays.

Note: unfortunately my Pioneer Ultra HD Blu-ray drives (I have two) aren't supported. As usual , I bought the wrong products for my eventual future needs. Then again, I didn't expect Intel to drop SGX support. That forced me to go down this rabbit hole. But, it has proven both interesting and successful (so far). Learning what clients work well (and don't) in my home environment has been interesting. And, I have more to go. Clearly, I have too many gadgets.

FYI, this is what I see on my system:

Built-in commands:
--help prints this help
--list, -l lists all available drives
--tips[=addr] starts TIPS server
--info prints SDF information and embedded text
--version prints this tool version


Switches:
-d, --drive=NAME select which drive to use
-n, --no-drive use a "dummy" drive
-i, --in=PATH specify input file, may be used multiple times
-o, --out=PATH specify folder for output files (if any)
-v, --verbose increase verbosity level
--all-yes answer yes to all questions
-f, --sdf-file=PATH specify explicit path to SDF.bin
--sdf-version=VERSION use specific SDF.bin version
-t, --sdf-type=TYPE use specific entry from SDF.bin
--config=PATH specify explicit path to SDF.conf

Typical usage:

sdftool -l list all available drives
sdftool -d D: help list all commands available for the drive
sdftool -d D: dump -o c:\out dump drive firmware
sdftool -d D: flash -i file.bin flash drive firmware

[Coopervid]

...and why don't you use SDFtool Flasher?