www.makemkv.com

I have MakeMKV v1.16.3 installed and registered with a paid licence. I can't decrypt Garth Marenghi's Darkplace Region 2 DVD with MakeMKV.

Here's the log:

The log seems fairly normal until messages like this:

There are only a few drives out there that can't have their DVD region lock bypassed; what drive do you have?

I've seen this error with my old Toshiba, but MakeMKV powered through it anyway.

It's an LG BH10LS38. I used DVD Shrink before on the drive which decrypted DVDs from region 2 and region 1 so I doubt it's the drive that's the problem.

That drive is much newer than the one that occasionally gives me region warnings. It's also newer than the alternative firmware files found at https://tdb.rpc1.org/ to fix drives to be region-free.

Is it just this one R2 disk it complains about? Is that the only one you have to test it with?

I've ripped many Region 1 and Region 2 DVDs before with my drive. It's just that disc I reported that I can't rip.

Is there nothing that you can do then? Like I said, I've ripped many region 2 and region 1 DVDs with my drive using AnyDVD or DVDShrink to remove the region lock and copy protection.

I don't understand why I can't rip this DVD. AnyDVD apparently works and doesn't say it can't decypt the DVD but when I try to use it to rip the DVD it fails to do so as does DVD Shrink or any other program. It's AnyDVD and MakeMKVs job to decrypt a DVD so I don't understand why it matters what region my Bluray drive is when those programs remove the region?

With the combination of that drive and that disk, probably not. As I mentioned, I have had region 2 and 3 disks that got the region warning, but MakeMKV has not failed to read them anyway. For years, my UH08LS10 did not even have a region selected.

External non-UHD BD drives are not that expensive now, and a number of them have LibreDrive-capable firmware.

Is there any firmware that will let me change the region of my drive to region free or region 2 and do you think that will allow MakeMKV to decrypt the disc?

If not, I think I'll just buy 2 new UHD drives and set 1 to region 2 and the other to region 1 in case this happens again. Is there any 4K drive you can suggest that has firmware that will allow me to make it region free?

I checked the website Mike links to in the debug logs for region-free firmware, but, as I said, it's devoid of firmware for drives newer than 2010.

If you get a LibreDrive-capable UHD-friendly drive, DVD region issues go away, because LD ignores region coding.

Does LibreDrive also ignore region coding for Blurays and 4K Blurays?

What would firmware be required for on a LibreDrive if it's already region free?

Is there any UHD LibreDrive you can suggest please? I prefer LG as those always seem to burn the unbranded discs I buy.

Just wondering, do you know of any consumer 4K Bluray authoring program that exists?

Region coding on BD/UHD works differently than on DVD. The video isn't coded differently, the menus direct you to short "THIS ISN"T THE REGION YOU ARE ALLOWED TO VIEW" videos. If you have your minimum time set low enough, you'll rip those, too.

But yes, MakeMKV ignores BD/UHD regions even without LibreDrive.

At the top of the UHD forum, there are messages that will help with the selection of which drives are "best" for which situation. The recommendations change from time to time, because some drives have quality control issues.Reading the UHD FAQ will be helpful, too.

Do you have a link please? All I can see is members selling drives. Was looking for recommendations on a list of drives I can buy from a shop.

Regarding members selling drives. From what I understand drives sold in shops are unfriendly for ripping until you flash the firmware. Is that all a seller on the forum does - flash the firmware? Can't I just buy a drive cheaper from a shop and flash the firmware myself or am I missing something else that a forum seller does? Do they have special firmware that I can't download myself?

holygamer wrote: ↑

Sun Jun 06, 2021 1:05 am

Do you have a link please? All I can see is members selling drives. Was looking for recommendations on a list of drives I can buy from a shop.

Regarding members selling drives. From what I understand drives sold in shops are unfriendly for ripping until you flash the firmware. Is that all a seller on the forum does - flash the firmware? Can't I just buy a drive cheaper from a shop and flash the firmware myself or am I missing something else that a forum seller does? Do they have special firmware that I can't download myself?

list linked below im a seller i test every type of UHD disc after its flashed you would be surprised how many drives are bad from the factory.
the uhd guide has the list i recommend the BU40N