WH16NS40 firmware for MakeMKV & AnyDVD

[revengineer]

Hello,
I am looking into purchasing a secondary WH16NS40 drive for use with both MakeMKV and AnyDVD. The latter only works with UHD friendly drives so I cannot install the WH16NS60 v1.02 MK firmware. My current WH16NS40 has a modified v1.02 firmware, but the process for flashing this was more tedious a few years ago. For the MK firmware, I see that v1.03 is the oldest firmware included for this drive. Is this what I should be using when I receive the drive.

TL;DR: What is the best firmware for the WH16NS40 for use with both MakeMKV AND AnyDVD?

Thank you!

[Coopervid]

Look here and buy one of the drives that's highlighted bold and that's the most affordable in your region. The others are more or less legacy and there is a chance that you will get drives with the old MT1539 chip. So don't go for those.

https://forum.redfox.bz/threads/guide-f ... dvd.79023/

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[revengineer]

Thank you @coopervid for your response. I previously read your instructions on the Redfox forum - very nice work by the way. I took away that I should not use any of the LG firmware but instead cross flash to an ASUS firmware. I read somewhere that such cross flash may not be unproblematic. So instead I am wondering if any of the LG firmware would be better to avoid potential issues. In specific, would the WH16NS40 1.03 firmware would work and be just as good as the 1.02 firmware, which has served me well on my first drive.

[Coopervid]

There is no 1.02 MK firmware for your drive that enables Libredrive to read UHD. 1.03 MK is the only one.
So I would recommend to flash that.

I have 2 LG BH16NS55 and flashed them to ASUS BW16D1HT 3.10MK. The ASUS firmware worked for me better on critical UHD discs and I think ripping is also faster compared to the LG firmware.

Once you are on a MK firmware you can cross-flash to this firmware as well and you can also always return to your native firmware if you think it's better.

[revengineer]

Indeed, for the 1.02 firmware I would be using the DE firmware since MK is not available. I am surprised there is no other feedback. Maybe inquiring about AnyDVD-related firmware in the MakeMKV forum is not my smartest move. I may consider using the ASUS firmware per your suggestion after all.