Ultimate UHD Drives Flashing Guide Updated 2024

[IdeaFix]

Hi.

English is not my own and it is difficult for me to make a decision myself.

I need to watch original 4k blu ray disks on windows pc wothout an Intel SGX. Is it enough for it to get "Blu-Ray RE ASUS BW-16D1HT/BLK/G/AS, internal, SATA, черный, Ret" in my local retail and flash it by "good" firmware? I need no rip disks, but watch.

I can not understand the difference between UHD Friendly and UHD Official.

I found only LG BU40N and ASUS BW-16D1HT in local retail.

[theflash]

The first post in this thread has turned out to be completely useless as it really doesn't go into as much depth as it should, such as helping a user check if there firmware is compatible or not (or whether it is encrypted, which from what I can see, all that is provided in that regard is a single incomplete list). It also doesn't cover the use of tools such as SDFTool aside from the recovery option and a link to the tool.

I have recently purchased a Hitachi-LG BH16NS40 (SVC CODE: NS51) so I can finally have a reason to build up my Blu-ray collection. I immediately began to use it to create rips from what I had already purchased. I knew I had a UHD BD in my collection, which I knew wouldn't read. I decided to look further into what MakeMKV was listing as possible to patch to enable LibreDrive options, which seemed very useful as it would allow raw data reading, which would also mean reading UHD.

I though it would be a good idea to search the forums to find guides on firmware flashing and discovered this thread (although, as stated in the first paragraph, was mostly useless to me).

From searching the forums, I found users who have the same drive (including svc code) as I do, which was actually the main bit of help I managed to get from this thread. Through the posts I found, I discovered that I would need to flash an MK firmware and then cross-flash to a different drives DE firmware (specifically, the preferred WH16NS60) and from there did the simple process.

Firmwares flashed:
MK: BH16NS40 NS50 1.05 > DE: WH16NS60 1.00.bin

Although, since doing this, I have had slower read rates, is there anything I can do to remedy this, such as flashing another MK firmware?

[Billycar11]

Firmwares flashed:
MK: BH16NS40 NS50 1.05 > DE: WH16NS60 1.00.bin

This wouldn't even work 1.05 directly to 1.00 show us your makemkv drive info. Ns60 is faster than the ns40.
The guide is a hard balancing act I could make it way longer but then no one will read it I tried to keep it to the bare minimum of the info people need to know and least amount of steps.
But I have the bh16 1.05 listed as encrypted
As for why I don't have sdf tool gui instructions listed I believe Marty will have the best ones in his post as he made it and deserves all the credit and can provide the best instructions for it even if I were to give instructions for it I would just copy his making It redundant

[theflash]

Firmwares flashed:
MK: BH16NS40 NS50 1.05 > DE: WH16NS60 1.00.bin

This wouldn't even work 1.05 directly to 1.00 show us your makemkv drive info. Ns60 is faster than the ns40.

The way I wrote that is a bit stupid and could definitely have been written better, here's an improved version, with up to date info.

Stock > MK: BH16NS40 NS50 1.05 (To remove encryption flag and allow cross-flash) > DE: WH16NS60 1.00 > MK: WH16NS60 1.03

Pre-flash info:

Drive Information
OS device name: \Device\CdRom0
Current profile: CD-ROM
Manufacturer: HL-DT-ST
Product: BD-RE BH16NS40
Revision: 1.05
Serial number: ***********
Firmware date: 2120-05-06 13:31
Bus encryption flags: 17
Highest AACS version: 68

LibreDrive Information
Status: Possible (with patched firmware)
Drive platform: MT1959
Harware support: Yes
Firmware support: No
Firmware type: Original (patched version available)
Firmware version: 1.05
DVD all regions: Possible (with patched firmware)
BD raw data read: Possible (with patched firmware)
BD raw metadata read: Possible (with patched firmware)
Unrestricted read speed: Possible (with patched firmware)

Current info:

Drive Information
OS device name: \Device\CdRom0
Current profile: CD-ROM
Manufacturer: HL-DT-ST
Product: BD-RE WH16NS60
Revision: 1.03
Serial number: ***********
Firmware date: 2120-05-08 10:10
Bus encryption flags: 17
Highest AACS version: 68

LibreDrive Information
Status: Enabled
Drive platform: MT1959
Firmware type: Patched (microcode access re-enabled)
Firmware version: 1.03
DVD all regions: Yes
BD raw data read: Yes
BD raw metadata read: Yes
Unrestricted read speed: Yes

[Billycar11]

Stock > MK: BH16NS40 NS50 1.05 (To remove encryption flag and allow cross-flash) > DE: WH16NS60 1.00 > MK: WH16NS60 1.03

That a really weird way to do it and unnecessary you could have went directly to WH16NS60 1.02/3mk as the guide says in one step instead of 3

[theflash]

Stock > MK: BH16NS40 NS50 1.05 (To remove encryption flag and allow cross-flash) > DE: WH16NS60 1.00 > MK: WH16NS60 1.03

That a really weird way to do it and unnecessary you could have went directly to WH16NS60 1.02/3mk as the guide says in one step instead of 3

Yea, I tried that, it gave me an error, so I went to a BH16NS40 MK firmware, and then the DE firmware, but then realised I wanted MK firmware for the drive and flashed a WH16NS60 firmware.

[Billycar11]

Yea, I tried that, it gave me an error, so I went to a BH16NS40 MK firmware, and then the DE firmware, but then realised I wanted MK firmware for the drive and flashed a WH16NS60 firmware.

It does not give an error this has been tested many times by me and other flashers on here.
We will just leave it here the guide is not wrong it is the correct downgrade sequence
And it is 100% not needed to do 3 steps to downgrade that drive.

[asmcom]

Yea, I tried that, it gave me an error, so I went to a BH16NS40 MK firmware, and then the D E firmware, but then realised I wanted MK firmware for the drive and flashed a WH16NS60 firmware.

It does not give an error this has been tested many times by me and other flashers on here.
We will just leave it here the guide is not wrong it is the correct downgrade sequence
And it is 100% not needed to do 3 steps to downgrade that drive.

Billycar11's guide is 100% correct. I understand that some customers cannot be bothered reading. Billycarr11 has written this guide as short and sensible as he could and it makes sense.

I sell on eBay and include all important information in my adverts but 9 times out of 10 customers will contact me and asked simple questions that are already in the 1st & 2nd paragraphs of my eBay drive advert.

As Billycar11 says you are making the flashing of this drive very difficult by not following the recommended steps.

I recommend flashing your drive exactly as the procedure says and then leave it alone.

Also why don't you buy a flashed drive of Billycar11 which has been thoughly tested and works 100%. Any drives which are giving hash errors or not flashing correctly are discarded and returned for an RMA.

Surely this would be easier than all the hassle you are having.

Asmcom

[alexfirth91]

I purchased a slim optical drive on Amazon and just wanted to be clear which firmware to flash.

Code: Select all

Drive Information
OS device name: D:
Manufacturer: HL-DT-ST
Product: BD-RE BU40N
Revision: 1.02
Serial number: ----------
Firmware date: 2120-12-01 17:16
Bus encryption flags: 1F
Highest AACS version: 65

[Billycar11]

I purchased a slim optical drive on Amazon and just wanted to be clear which firmware to flash.

Code: Select all

Drive Information
OS device name: D:
Manufacturer: HL-DT-ST
Product: BD-RE BU40N
Revision: 1.02
Serial number: ----------
Firmware date: 2120-12-01 17:16
Bus encryption flags: 1F
Highest AACS version: 65

BU40N 1.03 MK with enc

[Billycar11]

Thank you to

and chris for the PCB pictures of the vantecs and knowing the logos we now know most are flashable except the jmicron chipset

[SanDiegoDana]

I just wanna give a big thank-you to all for the work.

I can confirm the following went more or less exactly to plan, as expected: Repeating here as there seem to be some negative comments in here and I just wanna say "no, it works fine, for real" :

Source computer : Mac, Monterey, Apple Silicon
Target drive : BH16NS40, 1.05, Manufactured July 2020, SVC Code NS51 (Purchased January 2022 from OWC)
Chassis : OWC Mercury Pro

The only difference below was I had to replace the parameter "main" with "enc" as this out-of-the-box firmware was encrypted (as the Windows instructions said, though the Mac one didn't, it is the same tool with the same parameters)

Mac/linux commands to flash.

1. download sdf.bin (link is at the bottom of the first post in this thread, under "Useful Links")
2. download the all you need firmware pack (also in first post, in the firmware section)
3. Extract the file you need for your drive from the all you need firmware pack pick from the recommended firmware section. (the "LG 5.25" one in the .zip file)
4. then in terminal on the Mac: copy sdf.bin and the firmware file extracted from "the all you need firmware pack" into /tmp folder.
5. in terminal change directory "cd /Applications/MakeMKV.app/Contents/MacOS"
6. type "./makemkvcon f -l"

This will show your drive identifier should look similar to this ''/IOBDServices/D5D25996'
Found 1 drives(s)
00: /IOBDServices/D5D25996, /dev/rdisk3, /dev/rdisk3
HL-DT-ST_BD-RE_BU40N_1.01_211910161032_MOFK6283224

7. to perform the flash, type "./makemkvcon f -d '/IOBDServices/D5D25996' -f /tmp/sdf.bin rawflash enc -i /tmp/your firmware filename here

And now I have an MKV writing at 30.0M/s [7.0x], 20148.5 M done (so far) with no issue.

[theflash]

Yea, I tried that, it gave me an error, so I went to a BH16NS40 MK firmware, and then the DE firmware, but then realised I wanted MK firmware for the drive and flashed a WH16NS60 firmware.

It does not give an error this has been tested many times by me and other flashers on here.
We will just leave it here the guide is not wrong it is the correct downgrade sequence
And it is 100% not needed to do 3 steps to downgrade that drive.

You shouldn't completely dismiss the fact that errors can happen for any number of reasons, no matter how erroneous or rare it may be.

For me the flash worked first try when I chose the correct firmware, any subsequent errors were user error (open disc tray mostly).

Yea, I tried that, it gave me an error, so I went to a BH16NS40 MK firmware, and then the D :mrgreen: E firmware, but then realised I wanted MK firmware for the drive and flashed a WH16NS60 firmware.

It does not give an error this has been tested many times by me and other flashers on here.
We will just leave it here the guide is not wrong it is the correct downgrade sequence
And it is 100% not needed to do 3 steps to downgrade that drive.

Billycar11's guide is 100% correct. I understand that some customers cannot be bothered reading. Billycarr11 has written this guide as short and sensible as he could and it makes sense.

I sell on eBay and include all important information in my adverts but 9 times out of 10 customers will contact me and asked simple questions that are already in the 1st & 2nd paragraphs of my eBay drive advert.

As Billycar11 says you are making the flashing of this drive very difficult by not following the recommended steps.

I recommend flashing your drive exactly as the procedure says and then leave it alone.

Also why don't you buy a flashed drive of Billycar11 which has been thoughly tested and works 100%. Any drives which are giving hash errors or not flashing correctly are discarded and returned for an RMA.

Surely this would be easier than all the hassle you are having.

Asmcom :mrgreen:

Hassle? What hassle, where? First I'm hearing of it.

I had no issue flashing the drive, the only issue I mentioned was a slightly slower read speed, insignificant as it may be. I have had no major trouble with the drive after flashing it, it still rips Blu-ray media perfectly, as well as other media such as CDs in EAC. I see no point in wasting money on a pre-flashed drive when I can easily do it myself without any hassle, even the CLI method is straightforward. My complaint was that the guide wasn't informative enough, and the actual important part isn't noticeable at a quick glance, as it should be when it's the main point of the guide (try using list bbcode, actually the entire post needs its bbcode sorting out, it's a bit messy). I never said I had issue flashing the drive, I literally mentioned in my first post that I had managed to flash the drive, although soon after I posted that, I cross-flashed the drive, which made the list at the bottom inaccurate which I updated in my subsequent post. So, it's just you pair misreading my posts at this point assuming I'm having any sort of issue.

[asmcom]

Yea, I tried that, it gave me an error, so I went to a BH16NS40 MK firmware, and then the DE firmware, but then realised I wanted MK firmware for the drive and flashed a WH16NS60 firmware.

It does not give an error this has been tested many times by me and other flashers on here.
We will just leave it here the guide is not wrong it is the correct downgrade sequence
And it is 100% not needed to do 3 steps to downgrade that drive.

You shouldn't completely dismiss the fact that errors can happen for any number of reasons, no matter how erroneous or rare it may be.

For me the flash worked first try when I chose the correct firmware, any subsequent errors were user error (open disc tray mostly).

It does not give an error this has been tested many times by me and other flashers on here.
We will just leave it here the guide is not wrong it is the correct downgrade sequence
And it is 100% not needed to do 3 steps to downgrade that drive.

Billycar11's guide is 100% correct. I understand that some customers cannot be bothered reading. Billycarr11 has written this guide as short and sensible as he could and it makes sense.

I sell on eBay and include all important information in my adverts but 9 times out of 10 customers will contact me and asked simple questions that are already in the 1st & 2nd paragraphs of my eBay drive advert.

As Billycar11 says you are making the flashing of this drive very difficult by not following the recommended steps.

I recommend flashing your drive exactly as the procedure says and then leave it alone.

Also why don't you buy a flashed drive of Billycar11 which has been thoughly tested and works 100%. Any drives which are giving hash errors or not flashing correctly are discarded and returned for an RMA.

Surely this would be easier than all the hassle you are having.

Asmcom

Hassle? What hassle, where? First I'm hearing of it.

I had no issue flashing the drive, the only issue I mentioned was a slightly slower read speed, insignificant as it may be. I have had no major trouble with the drive after flashing it, it still rips Blu-ray media perfectly, as well as other media such as CDs in EAC. I see no point in wasting money on a pre-flashed drive when I can easily do it myself without any hassle, even the CLI method is straightforward. My complaint was that the guide wasn't informative enough, and the actual important part isn't noticeable at a quick glance, as it should be when it's the main point of the guide (try using list bbcode, actually the entire post needs its bbcode sorting out, it's a bit messy). I never said I had issue flashing the drive, I literally mentioned in my first post that I had managed to flash the drive, although soon after I posted that, I cross-flashed the drive, which made the list at the bottom inaccurate which I updated in my subsequent post. So, it's just you pair misreading my posts at this point assuming I'm having any sort of issue.

Lucky for you that Martymcnuts and Billycarr11 released their flashers to the public, so people like yourself could save money and flash your own drive. I would hope you consider donating to their ongoing development and hard work which has made flashing drives for you hassle free as you said. Delighted to hear you are happy with the hassle free flashing

[EyzOnJim68]

I have purchased the same writer and I want to downgrade the firmware so i can rip 4K UHD discs. However, I am going around in circles trying to sift through a multitude to posts on the same subject but never tracing back to the original where the links i assume can be found. So, if you can post links in your reply to it would be very much appreciated:

I need the links for:

SDFTool Flasher
BU40 1.00 Firmware

Thanks in advance,

Jim Hernandez
____________________________________________________________________________

Drive Information
OS device name: I:
Manufacturer: HL-DT-ST
Product: BD-RE BU40N
Revision: BU10
Serial number:
Firmware date: 2117-05-30 17:28
Bus encryption flags: 1F
Highest AACS version: 72

LibreDrive Information
Status: Enabled
Drive platform: MT1959
Firmware type: Original (unpatched)
Firmware version: 0.BU10O
DVD all regions: Yes
BD raw data read: Yes
BD raw metadata read: Yes
Unrestricted read speed: Yes