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Hi, I have read the flashing guide (updated for 2022) but I wonder about some things. I want to avoid the "sleep bug" and I do not want to flash to another drive's firmware to avoid the 'sleep bug'. Would it be an idea to just buy a drive marketed for UHD discs or is it better to flash a cheaper drive?

If I were to buy a cheaper drive (such as the LG WH14NS40, which has a good price locally), would I need to flash it to rip UHD discs in MakeMKV or would it work without flashing? The flashing guide viewtopic.php?f=16&t=19634 says this:
LG WH16NS40, UHD Friendly Internal 5.25 sata Rip speed 8x BD 66 ~45 mins BD 100 ~1 hour if flashed properly other wise 6x rips speed and slower then BU40N

I am not concerned if the drive takes even 1 or 2 or 3 or 4 hours longer to rip a disc. Will it still rip it without any after-market flashing and with no sleep bug? I only have two UHD discs that I want to store on my PC at this point.

I am also just generally interested in your recommendations for a drive with NO SLEEP BUG issues caused by flashing. I find the UHD drives reasonably-priced now, so if your recommendation is an official UHD drive, then please let me know which one you'd personally buy. Thank you!

The 5,25" LG drives are known to be cheap but they also seem to be bad quality concerning their life expectation. If you want to go this route i suggest a LG BH16NS55 or an ASUS BW16-D1HT. Which is cheaper for you. To avoid the sleep bug you can flash it to WH16NS60 1.03 which is the best firware for those drives in my opinion regarding read issues with UHDs and doesn't show the sleep bug.

The best drives for reading UHDs seem to be the slim drives LG BU40N (no sleep bug) and the Pioneer drives that contain an "U". Pioneers are more expensive, slim drives most likely need an USB enclosure. As you can see- there is no straight answer. Reply to narrow you choices down. Pioneers also work only in conjunction with Makemkv. If you want to use other softwares not the one-fits-all choice. But Pioneers are good burners, LGs are not.

BTW- the sleep bug is really not annoying. Just push open-close on the drive and everything is fine again.

Hi Coopervid
Thanks for the suggestions.

Yes, it may not be major, but I don't want to deal with the sleep bug annoyance.
My only interest is in internal 5.25-inch models. Not USB (unless there is some fantastic USB model that I can't afford to ignore).

Do you have any thoughts about Pioneer BDRS12UHT. Is this a good choice or would you buy another brand / model? I am more and more tempted to just get a UHD drive for MakeMKV. The UHD really aren't too much more expensive than a regular Blu-Ray drive in Pioneer's range. The last time I looked the UHD drives were over $200 (Australian) which I was unwilling to pay for, but now it's better.

With the premise to just use a 5,25" drive for UHDs with Makemkv BDR-S12UHT is an excellent choice. And in addition Pioneers are excellent burners compared to the LG family.

Excellent. Thank you very much!