I've got an odd and frustrating issue. I have a few DVD-Rs which play fine in an Xbox One S, however when I try to read them with makeMKV it shows the DVDs as blank. The drive I am using is an archgon MD-8107-U3 which I flashed a couple of years ago following the old versions of the instructions given in this forum (viewtopic.php?f=16&t=19634). I am using makeMKV v1.16.5 and I've tried using three different computers-- an iMac, a linux box, and a Windows machine. I have several other similar DVD-Rs that makeMKV rips without trouble, and I've been able to rip Blu-Rays and 4K UHDs without problems. So, my issue is very specific to a small number of DVD-Rs.
I have only the two optical drives in my house (i.e., the archgon and the Xbox). If I could use the Xbox to rip the disk I'd do so but I am unfamiliar with any homebrew software that allows me use the Xbox drive in that fashion.
Any ideas and advice on what to do next? Thanks.
DVD with content shows as blank
Re: DVD with content shows as blank
DVD-R is a funny beast. While most are non-commercial home-made disks, there are commercial, "burn on demand" disks out there, which often have structural problems. And the dye doesn't always provide readability for Bluray drives. Every one I own requires I dig out a DVD reader to get a valid rip.
MakeMKV Frequently Asked Questions
How to aid in finding the answer to your problem: Activating Debug Logging
How to aid in finding the answer to your problem: Activating Debug Logging
Re: DVD with content shows as blank
Forgive my naive question, but by digging out a "DVD reader" you mean a different, non-Blu-Ray, external drive? I clawed around my 'old electronic stuff' pile and found a Rioddas BT638 External DVD/CD drive and tried that with the same result, the DVD is found as blank. I'd purchase another DVD reader if you have another suggestion.
I also just bought a video capture card, so I can play this in the Xbox One and capture the video. But that's going to be painful and I'd much prefer to rip it directly from a computer.
I also just bought a video capture card, so I can play this in the Xbox One and capture the video. But that's going to be painful and I'd much prefer to rip it directly from a computer.
Re: DVD with content shows as blank
Yes, a non-BD drive. I keep several here, going back to an original Sony USB/Firewire case with full-size Sony DVD drive in it, and occasionally have to use them.
I try to avoid buying "burn on demand" disks, but sometimes it's the only edition available, and none of my BD drives like them.
I try to avoid buying "burn on demand" disks, but sometimes it's the only edition available, and none of my BD drives like them.
MakeMKV Frequently Asked Questions
How to aid in finding the answer to your problem: Activating Debug Logging
How to aid in finding the answer to your problem: Activating Debug Logging
Re: DVD with content shows as blank
My word we can read Egyptian papyrus that's been around for six thousand years and I'm struggling with a DVD-R produced last month 
Unfortunately the "burn on demand" disks were the only ones available for purchase in my case. It's odd that of my three drives (one DVD/CD, two 4K UHD/Blu-Ray) it is only the UHD Drive in the Xbox which reads these particular DVD-Rs. I may go ahead a purchase another DVD/CD drive just to give it a shot as they are cheap. But I'll give the video capture card a go first, maybe it won't be too bad. My wife will just think I'm nuts when I hook up that contraption, but after twelve years of marriage she has gotten pretty used to that concept
Unfortunately the "burn on demand" disks were the only ones available for purchase in my case. It's odd that of my three drives (one DVD/CD, two 4K UHD/Blu-Ray) it is only the UHD Drive in the Xbox which reads these particular DVD-Rs. I may go ahead a purchase another DVD/CD drive just to give it a shot as they are cheap. But I'll give the video capture card a go first, maybe it won't be too bad. My wife will just think I'm nuts when I hook up that contraption, but after twelve years of marriage she has gotten pretty used to that concept
Re: DVD with content shows as blank
I figured I'd respond to my own thread in case it helps anyone out.
I bought a bunch of content on several DVD-Rs. I wanted to rip them because my household runs on Roku and I have a Plex server. At a rate of roughly two out of every ten DVD-R discs, when inserted into the external optical drive on my computer would show up blank so I could not rip them, yet they were playable in my Xbox One S. Interestingly, playing them on the Xbox One S required me to clean the drive with a laser lens cleaner first; they were finicky.
So, I tried to rip them with three drives, as follows:
1. Archgon MD-8107-U3 (the drive inside is an LG BU40N) UHD 4k drive flashed with v1.03 firmware for makemkv
2. Rioddas BT638 External DVD/CD drive
3. LG SP80NB80 Slim Portable DVD Writer
I did not open the Rioddas to find out what drive is actually inside although I learned it may actually be a very old drive from some other company (https://www.legitreviews.com/rioddas-ex ... iew_222217).
All three of these drives showed the disc as blank and it did not matter if the drive was connected to an iMac, a Windows 11 machine, or a Linux machine (heck, I figured I'd give different OSes a try even though the problem ought to be in the drive).
So, having invested altogether too much effort, I turned to using a video capture card to play the disc on the Xbox One S and capture the content. It is a far slower way to do it and much more annoying in terms of physical manipulation of components, but it worked. The Xbox One S contains a Philips DG-6M5S which I could buy but then I'd be in for a real voyage of discovery given it is decidedly not offered as plug-and-play.
At any rate, perhaps the above information will help someone from investing the kind of time that I did.
I bought a bunch of content on several DVD-Rs. I wanted to rip them because my household runs on Roku and I have a Plex server. At a rate of roughly two out of every ten DVD-R discs, when inserted into the external optical drive on my computer would show up blank so I could not rip them, yet they were playable in my Xbox One S. Interestingly, playing them on the Xbox One S required me to clean the drive with a laser lens cleaner first; they were finicky.
So, I tried to rip them with three drives, as follows:
1. Archgon MD-8107-U3 (the drive inside is an LG BU40N) UHD 4k drive flashed with v1.03 firmware for makemkv
2. Rioddas BT638 External DVD/CD drive
3. LG SP80NB80 Slim Portable DVD Writer
I did not open the Rioddas to find out what drive is actually inside although I learned it may actually be a very old drive from some other company (https://www.legitreviews.com/rioddas-ex ... iew_222217).
All three of these drives showed the disc as blank and it did not matter if the drive was connected to an iMac, a Windows 11 machine, or a Linux machine (heck, I figured I'd give different OSes a try even though the problem ought to be in the drive).
So, having invested altogether too much effort, I turned to using a video capture card to play the disc on the Xbox One S and capture the content. It is a far slower way to do it and much more annoying in terms of physical manipulation of components, but it worked. The Xbox One S contains a Philips DG-6M5S which I could buy but then I'd be in for a real voyage of discovery given it is decidedly not offered as plug-and-play.
At any rate, perhaps the above information will help someone from investing the kind of time that I did.