ASUS BW16D1HT, LG BE16NU50, LG BH16NS40, LG WH16NS40, and LG WH16NS60 HARDWARE Comparison (US Models Only)

[Chris Kelly]

Since I use AnyDVD and MakeMKV, I hope you guys don't mind the fact that I post the same thing in both respective forums. It's been a year. Now that I had more time with my WH16NS40 using its respective Libre firmware and crossflashing to one of the other models, trying it with MakeMKV and AnyDVDHD, I am going to try the ASUS BW16D1HT. I am curious about the differences between and similarities of internal components of these drives, including the lasers, mechanisms, chipsets, motherboards, etc.. For example, when using AnyDVDHD, why did my LG BE16NU50 live a life of stability for three years on every disc I ripped with it until its Blu-ray section died, yet my WH16NS40 has trouble with a few 4K UHD discs with AnyDVDHD, yet work fine with MakeMKV? I know the LG WH16NS60 official UHD firmware will only rip with MakeMKV, but would that firmware work best on the respective drive or one of the other drives? Also, are the internals on the LG WH16NS60 better than on any of the other drives, making flashing it with UHD friendly firmware the best choice when using AnyDVDHD?

[Billycar11]

All the same.

The WH16NS60 firmware is better and faster with no sleep bug but it's not going to fix a defective drive.

I recommend you get a BU40N and just use your other drive for anydvd. the BU40N in my experience is way better then those other drives.

[Chris Kelly]

But wouldn't the BU40N be significantly slower than those other drives, even if you set the speed string to 0=99 in the Windows Registry Editor?

All the same.

The WH16NS60 firmware is better and faster with no sleep bug but it's not going to fix a defective drive.

I recommend you get a BU40N and just use your other drive for anydvd. the BU40N in my experience is way better then those other drives.

[MartyMcNuts]

But wouldn't the BU40N be significantly slower than those other drives, even if you set the speed string to 0=99 in the Windows Registry Editor?

All the same.

The WH16NS60 firmware is better and faster with no sleep bug but it's not going to fix a defective drive.

I recommend you get a BU40N and just use your other drive for anydvd. the BU40N in my experience is way better then those other drives.

Without considering the speed registry adjustments, the BU40N is an average 2x speed slower than the fastest desktop drives but that is a good thing as you have a batter chance of getting a successful rip using a slightly slower speed.

[Chris Kelly]

I used to use non-4KUHD 9.5mm laptop drives. I think they're great for adding playback peripherals.
But I think they're more fragile and less rugged and durable than the desktop drives. I don't understand why anyone would want something flimsy like that for heavy ripping on a constant basis. I want something heavyduty, sturdy, fast, and error free.

But wouldn't the BU40N be significantly slower than those other drives, even if you set the speed string to 0=99 in the Windows Registry Editor?

All the same.

The WH16NS60 firmware is better and faster with no sleep bug but it's not going to fix a defective drive.

I recommend you get a BU40N and just use your other drive for anydvd. the BU40N in my experience is way better then those other drives.

Without considering the speed registry adjustments, the BU40N is an average 2x speed slower than the fastest desktop drives but that is a good thing as you have a batter chance of getting a successful rip using a slightly slower speed.

[Billycar11]

I used to use non-4KUHD 9.5mm laptop drives. I think they're great for adding playback peripherals.
But I think they're more fragile and less rugged and durable than the desktop drives. I don't understand why anyone would want something flimsy like that for heavy ripping on a constant basis. I want something heavyduty, sturdy, fast, and error free.

But wouldn't the BU40N be significantly slower than those other drives, even if you set the speed string to 0=99 in the Windows Registry Editor?

Without considering the speed registry adjustments, the BU40N is an average 2x speed slower than the fastest desktop drives but that is a good thing as you have a batter chance of getting a successful rip using a slightly slower speed.

The BU40N is much more error free

[Chris Kelly]

So are you saying it's best to sacrifice speed and better physical build, and instead, put up with something slow, flimsy, and fragile? How many BU40Ns have you gone through? It's easy to accidentally tap the pickup lens on those laptop drives if you're not careful while the tray is out.

I used to use non-4KUHD 9.5mm laptop drives. I think they're great for adding playback peripherals.
But I think they're more fragile and less rugged and durable than the desktop drives. I don't understand why anyone would want something flimsy like that for heavy ripping on a constant basis. I want something heavyduty, sturdy, fast, and error free.

Without considering the speed registry adjustments, the BU40N is an average 2x speed slower than the fastest desktop drives but that is a good thing as you have a batter chance of getting a successful rip using a slightly slower speed.

The BU40N is much more error free

[Billycar11]

So are you saying it's best to sacrifice speed and better physical build, and instead, put up with something slow, flimsy, and fragile? How many BU40Ns have you gone through? It's easy to accidentally tap the pickup lens on those laptop drives if you're not careful while the tray is out.

I used to use non-4KUHD 9.5mm laptop drives. I think they're great for adding playback peripherals.
But I think they're more fragile and less rugged and durable than the desktop drives. I don't understand why anyone would want something flimsy like that for heavy ripping on a constant basis. I want something heavyduty, sturdy, fast, and error free.

The BU40N is much more error free

3 bu40ns have died out of my 500+ and 2 were caused by burning not ripping just fyi i dont do any burning
also it not 2x slower its 6x instead of 8x is what marty means but it also holds the higher speed longer in the end it only ends up being 3-6 mins slower 3 mins for bd 66 and 6 mins for bd100

[Chris Kelly]

Has anyone popped the covers off any of these drives and compared what's inside them? According to everyone's posts from when they open MakeMKV, I understand they all use the Mediatek MT1959 chip. But has anyone seen the motherboards, lasers, mechanisms in these things?

[Billycar11]

Has anyone popped the covers off any of these drives and compared what's inside them? According to everyone's posts from when they open MakeMKV, I understand they all use the Mediatek MT1959 chip. But has anyone seen the motherboards, lasers, mechanisms in these things?

Yeah I have they are exactly the same except the slim drives.
Sure the WH16NS60 has and extra aacs 2.0 chip on there somewhere that's about all that's different.

[Chris Kelly]

The LG BH16NS55 isn't available in the US. So here's my plan. My objective is to use AnyDVDHD with the Windows folder copying system to copy the entire disc to my harddrive, including the folders not used for playback, and original file/folder date and time stamps. Since the LG BH16NS55 is not available in the US, I'm going to start with the ASUS BW16D1HT and flash it to 3.10MK. If I'm still finding troublesome discs, I'll restore the factory firmware in the ASUS, and return it. From there, I'll try crossflashing an Lg WH16NS60 to a WH16NS40 with AnyDVDHD. If I still find discs that don't work, I'll install the latest MK firmware for the WH16NS60, give up on AnyDVDHD, and switch to MakeMKV and max out the MakeMKV read speeds in the Windows Registry Editor. If that still doesn't work out, I'll have to restore the NS60's factory firmware, return it, and settle for MakeMKV, the LG BU40N, and the default speed for the best stability. At least I have a plan. Sound good? Wish me luck.

[Billycar11]

The LG BH16NS55 isn't available in the US. So here's my plan. My objective is to use AnyDVDHD with the Windows folder copying system to copy the entire disc to my harddrive, including the folders not used for playback, and original file/folder date and time stamps. Since the LG BH16NS55 is not available in the US, I'm going to start with the ASUS BW16D1HT and flash it to 3.10MK. If I'm still finding troublesome discs, I'll restore the factory firmware in the ASUS, and return it. From there, I'll try crossflashing an Lg WH16NS60 to a WH16NS40 with AnyDVDHD. If I still find discs that don't work, I'll install the latest MK firmware for the WH16NS60, give up on AnyDVDHD, and switch to MakeMKV and max out the MakeMKV read speeds in the Windows Registry Editor. If that still doesn't work out, I'll have to restore the NS60's factory firmware, return it, and settle for MakeMKV, the LG BU40N, and the default speed for the best stability. At least I have a plan. Sound good? Wish me luck.

you do what you want i would go straight to the bu40n makemkv can do full folder backups i have already done all the testing but you have a 75% chance of your non bu40n drive being fine.

[Chris Kelly]

Since AnyDVDHD and MAakeMKV are different software programs, I mainly using AnyDVDHD, and CooperVid recommended the ASUS BW-16D1HT to use with AnyDVDHD in his flashing guide, I have faith the ASUS BW-16D1HT and AnyDVDHD are going to get along very well together.

[Chris Kelly]

When using the ASUS BW16-D1HT with AnyDVDHD and the Windows file copying system, I had a problem with three 4K UHD Blu-rays so far. Copying would halt. I'd get an error saying the path does not exist. So somehow, either the disc or the drive all of a sudden was no longer detected. However, I'm not going to return it just yet. So unless ANYDVDHD adds more drives and conditions to its library, I'll continue using AnyDVDHD for Blu-rays and DVDs, but switching to MakeMKV and using its backup feature for 4K UHD Blu-rays. I ordered the Vantek 510 enclosure for the LG BU40N from Amazon, and an LG WH16NS60 and BU40N from New Egg since Amazon only has them from third party sellers, choosing max speed shipping from both places because I want to get this over with. I'm going to try the WH16NS60 and finally the BU40N loaded with their respective MK firmware, using both with MakeMKV. Out of the three drives, I am going to keep the one that is the most stable, and hope that buying newer copies of the 4K UHD titles which still give me grief will put an end to this saga.

[Billycar11]

Just make sure you use high powered usb ports for the BU40N or use both cables