Some Newbie Questions

[thebigC]

I am getting into physical media and I want to rip some of it. I have some uhd blu rays I want to make copies of. Looking through the guide it seems like the Pioneer drives are the best ones to get but the external ones can be quite expensive on ebay. Can I use a cheaper internal one with a sata to usb cable? Are there any possible issues with this kind of setup that justify the increased price of external drives? Can uhd drives be used to also rip cds/dvds/standard blu rays? Are there any other things that I should know getting into ripping physical media?

This community seems very cool! Thank you in advance for taking the time to read my newbie questions!

[kn1ght0fn1]

UHD drives, especially the Pioneer ones - are quite expensive since most, if not all of the manufacturers have stopped producing runs of new drives. I have always used the larger 5.25" drives personally, but I also have a machine that uses a slim USB external (LG BP50NB40) which I've used to rip dozens of discs so far without issues. (It's a small NAS box that runs Automatic Ripping Machine in Docker)

I assume that as long as you are careful and take good care of it, there's no reason you couldn't run an internal one with a USB > SATA converter.
I use the eS3U31 USB3.1/3.0 To ESATA Adapter (JMicron chipset) with my external 5.25 drives just fine - you'll need a separate power supply for the drive, though.

Most (if not all) of these UHD drives can be used to read CD/DVD/Blu-Ray discs as well - although I have seen reports of some of them not ripping CDs perfectly, and occasionally run into this problem myself as well. They rip, and the FLAC files seem to be fine, but the AccurateRip hash isn't repeatable and doesn't match...

I have an extensive stash of physical media and rip all of the digital media to my Plex server for convenience, and have done the same for several friends who also work in the entertainment/music industry who have large music/movie collections. I also used to author DVDs/Blu-Rays professionally.

[tomty89]

Pioneer drives are the best ones

Make sure you get a UHD model though, otherwise you might not get UHD ripping capability at all. Crossflashing is / can be free only when the drive has older firmware (from Nov 2022 or earlier). Also I assume you are okay with that they rip more slowly.

Can I use a cheaper internal one with a sata to usb cable? Are there any possible issues with this kind of setup that justify the increased price of external drives?

Of course you can, but at the end of the day, your mileage depends on the cable / adapter / enclosure you got. In my experience it's not really that hard to get a decent one, but it may depends on e.g. where you live in the world, and/or your knowledge / experience in picking a piece of that kind of stuff.

Can uhd drives be used to also rip cds/dvds/standard blu rays?

Sure, but do note that for cds/dvds they use different laser, so if you care about that you may want to check with a cd and/or a dvd additionally that the red laser is not dead yet (assuming you get to return the drive if it is). (But really, you probably want to get a DVD drive for CDs and DVDs anyway, so that the UHD drive might last longer. I think even a brand new DVD drive can be as cheap as 7 USD...?)

[thebigC]

Thanks a lot for your time! I plan on taking some time to look around locally to see if I can find a drive at some of the computer and resale stores I have around me before I purchase one online. For the time being I am mostly focused on cds because I don't have a lot of storage and it is expensive to buy more right now.

[Billycar11]

Make sure you get a UHD model though, otherwise you might not get UHD ripping capability at all. Crossflashing is / can be free only when the drive has older firmware (from Nov 2022 or earlier). Also I assume you are okay with that they rip more slowly.

This is no longer the case I can crossflash all 12/22+ pioneers except ud03

[thebigC]

Make sure you get a UHD model though, otherwise you might not get UHD ripping capability at all. Crossflashing is / can be free only when the drive has older firmware (from Nov 2022 or earlier). Also I assume you are okay with that they rip more slowly.

This is no longer the case I can crossflash all 12/22+ pioneers except ud03

What is crossflashing? Does it mean I can use other cheaper drives?

[Billycar11]

Make sure you get a UHD model though, otherwise you might not get UHD ripping capability at all. Crossflashing is / can be free only when the drive has older firmware (from Nov 2022 or earlier). Also I assume you are okay with that they rip more slowly.

This is no longer the case I can crossflash all 12/22+ pioneers except ud03

What is crossflashing? Does it mean I can use other cheaper drives?

Cross flashing is a making a drive act like a different one.

For UHD get a pioneer 208 and newer and for USB get a xd05 or newer.

Do not get the xs06 if you want UHD

And do not get a xd08tc as those are fake

[tomty89]

Crossflashing is / can be free only when

This is no longer the case I can crossflash all 12/22+ pioneers except ud03

I thought you charge for that though. Also no longer the case?

[Billycar11]

I thought you charge for that though. Also no longer the case?

still charge for it but now i can do all 12/22+ pioneers so you dont have to worry about what fw version you get i can cross flash all of them except UD03