Verbatim 43888 with LG drive?

[Coopervid]

Yes the Pioneers are slower. One bad issue is that LG has the "jamless play" feature. The LGs just skip hard ro read sectors. Pioneers don't and LGs flashed to ASUS don't do as well. And the Pioneers are the better readers for hard to read discs. And they are far better burners.

[Mr_Orange]

Yes the Pioneers are slower. One bad issue is that LG has the "jamless play" feature. The LGs just skip hard ro read sectors. Pioneers don't and LGs flashed to ASUS don't do as well. And the Pioneers are the better readers for hard to read discs. And they are far better burners.

The Verbatim has managed to rip one UHD title that I had cleaned 4 times and still failed to rip with LG, otherwise having two discs ripping at once just saves me time.

I don't burn anything to disc so that's immaterial.

[Coopervid]

Yes the Pioneers are slower. One bad issue is that LG has the "jamless play" feature. The LGs just skip hard ro read sectors. Pioneers don't and LGs flashed to ASUS don't do as well. And the Pioneers are the better readers for hard to read discs. And they are far better burners.

The Verbatim has managed to rip one UHD title that I had cleaned 4 times and still failed to rip with LG, otherwise having two discs ripping at once just saves me time.

I don't burn anything to disc so that's immaterial.

So? You should be a happy camper. Aren't you?

[Mr_Orange]

Yes the Pioneers are slower. One bad issue is that LG has the "jamless play" feature. The LGs just skip hard ro read sectors. Pioneers don't and LGs flashed to ASUS don't do as well. And the Pioneers are the better readers for hard to read discs. And they are far better burners.

The Verbatim has managed to rip one UHD title that I had cleaned 4 times and still failed to rip with LG, otherwise having two discs ripping at once just saves me time.

I don't burn anything to disc so that's immaterial.

So? You should be a happy camper. Aren't you?

100%. I'm not here with an issue. I was just confirming for another poster that I had ordered from the same place and received the Pioneer version of the 43888.

[Coopervid]

The Verbatim has managed to rip one UHD title that I had cleaned 4 times and still failed to rip with LG, otherwise having two discs ripping at once just saves me time.

I don't burn anything to disc so that's immaterial.

So? You should be a happy camper. Aren't you?

100%. I'm not here with an issue. I was just confirming for another poster that I had ordered from the same place and received the Pioneer version of the 43888.

Fine! But I'm sure soon the Verbatims with BU40 will also arrive here. Then no more Pioneer drives. The last resort now will be the full size 212V.

[makwm]

Resolved

[StuBFrost]

Hello

I am in the UK and have just bought this drive from Amazon UK and it has come with the Pioneer drive which is all good. However, I am not convinced that the device is brand new. I watched an unboxing video from 2 years ago and it showed that the box was sealed (mine wasn't) and that the USB cable was in a plastic bag (again, mine wasn't).

Could someone who has recently bought this drive confirm if there is a way to check that the drive is new?

Thanks

Stu

[Nilspferd]

Hello

I am in the UK and have just bought this drive from Amazon UK and it has come with the Pioneer drive which is all good. However, I am not convinced that the device is brand new. I watched an unboxing video from 2 years ago and it showed that the box was sealed (mine wasn't) and that the USB cable was in a plastic bag (again, mine wasn't).

Could someone who has recently bought this drive confirm if there is a way to check that the drive is new?

Thanks

Stu

Hello.
I recently bought the 43888 from Amazon DE (Germany) with the Pioneer drive. The box was sealed and the USB cable was in a plastic bag.

[StuBFrost]

Hello

I am in the UK and have just bought this drive from Amazon UK and it has come with the Pioneer drive which is all good. However, I am not convinced that the device is brand new. I watched an unboxing video from 2 years ago and it showed that the box was sealed (mine wasn't) and that the USB cable was in a plastic bag (again, mine wasn't).

Could someone who has recently bought this drive confirm if there is a way to check that the drive is new?

Thanks

Stu

Hello.
I recently bought the 43888 from Amazon DE (Germany) with the Pioneer drive. The box was sealed and the USB cable was in a plastic bag.

Thanks for confirming. Trying to decide whether to send it back or keep it in case I don’t get the Pioneer drive again.


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[StuBFrost]

Hello

I am in the UK and have just bought this drive from Amazon UK and it has come with the Pioneer drive which is all good. However, I am not convinced that the device is brand new. I watched an unboxing video from 2 years ago and it showed that the box was sealed (mine wasn't) and that the USB cable was in a plastic bag (again, mine wasn't).

Could someone who has recently bought this drive confirm if there is a way to check that the drive is new?

Thanks

Stu

Hello.
I recently bought the 43888 from Amazon DE (Germany) with the Pioneer drive. The box was sealed and the USB cable was in a plastic bag.

Thanks for the reply. Not sure what to do now as I may send it back and not get a Pioneer drive but I’m also annoyed that the drive is obviously not new.

[Mr_Orange]

Hello

I am in the UK and have just bought this drive from Amazon UK and it has come with the Pioneer drive which is all good. However, I am not convinced that the device is brand new. I watched an unboxing video from 2 years ago and it showed that the box was sealed (mine wasn't) and that the USB cable was in a plastic bag (again, mine wasn't).

Could someone who has recently bought this drive confirm if there is a way to check that the drive is new?

Thanks

Stu

Mine was sealed too. Amazon AU, fulfilled by DE.

[gypxz]

Would have preferred the Pioneer version but have flashed the LG drive to firmware 1.03MK and its ripping with no issues.

Went into a bricks and mortar store to compare the packaging and they are identical. There is no unique identifier on the box to know whether or not the drive is a LG or Pioneer. So from here on in it will just be pot luck on which drive you receive. Unless you know the store has really old stock.

Thanks to ripthem we know based on the label on the physical drive that:

Model Code: KIAA = LG Drive
Model Code: KIAB = Pioneer Drive

I find that model code a little strange as you would think the Pioneer would be A as its an earlier version.

Would be good if someone can post a model code of an older version that at least 12 months old.

Not really. I live in China and I'm new here. I noticed that 43888 is open to use so i bought one these days and it's bu40N version with model code KIAB.

[mtx00]

I recently bought a 43888 from Amazon Australia, then discovered this thread, and assumed it was going to be an LG drive. I then bought one from Officeworks, assuming it was going to be a Pioneer drive.

Both boxes looked identical, and showed a picture of the drive on bottom right corner on the back of the box (see the second image "Verbatim 43888 - LG BU40N.jpg" from this post: viewtopic.php?p=164009#p164009). Due to me assuming both were going to be LG drives, I returned one to Officeworks.

This is what MakeMKV is reporting for the one I kept:

Drive Information
OS device name:
Manufacturer: PIONEER
Product: BD-RW BDR-UD04
Revision: 1.14
Serial number:
Firmware date: 2020-06-15
Bus encryption flags: 1B

LibreDrive Information
Status: Enabled
Drive platform: RS8A10
Firmware name: PIONEER BDR-US04
Firmware type: Original (unpatched)
Firmware version: 1.14
DVD all regions: Yes
BD raw data read: Yes
BD raw metadata read: Yes
Unrestricted read speed: Yes

The sticker on the bottom of drive unit itself says "Model code: KIAA".

I lost track of which box came from which retailer, so the one I returned to Officeworks could have been either an LG or a Pioneer.

So it seems the retailer, model code and box design are not definitive ways to determine if you're going to get an LG or a Pioneer. It's just one big lottery as to which drive you're going to get.

[liamtoh1]

Wanted to just update this forum that I placed an order on Jan 9th for the Verbatim 43888 drive https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07MTP9VKX on Amazon.com (sold and shipped by was Amazon Germany). The tracking said Australia Post Global that the item was shipped from Germany. The drive box had 1st pic mentioned in viewtopic.php?p=164009#p164009. The back of the drive had model code KIAB and it was the Pioneer BDR-UD04 drive. I am glad that I lucked out.

[albydarned]

For what its worth, ordered from the us store here last week on sale for $86.
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07MTP9VKX?re ... title&th=1

Came with a Pioneer drive still:

Screenshot 2025-01-22 at 5.05.03 PM.png (10.54 KiB) Viewed 372 times

Ripping some blu rays as we speak.