Dear forum,
I have started to read up on using makemkv in this forum. Before buying actual hardware and starting out, I do have a few questions which I hope you might shed some light on which I did not make out from reading subthreads.
1. I will be buying a pre-flashed drive. I notice there are forums sections specific to Libre drives and UHD drives. Is there any difference / what should I go for?
2. I will be using an external enclosure for the drive: are there any performance disadvantages of slim drives in contrast to classic 5.25 drives?
3. Considering that the market changes, hardware and firmwares: is there a clear "best drive" in the market in terms of performance, compatibility etc.?
4. I have both a Windows Intel machine and a M1-based Apple Mac: are there any advantages in using rather one of the other platform?
Thanks in advance for your time and help!
A few questions from a newbie
Re: A few questions from a newbie
A UHD drive is one that is capable of reading a UHD blu-ray.
LibreDrive is part of the technology that allows MakeMKV to overcome the encryption of UHD blu-rays.
In order to rip a UHD, one needs a UHD capable optical drive that supports the LibreDrive technology. The list of these drives is maintained in the Ultimate UHD Drives Flashing Guide post.
If you're buying new hardware, this is the way to go. Drives with lesser capabilities aren't any cheaper, generally.
Generally speaking, no. I personally don't have any slim drives, but it is my understanding that many of them use a USB Y-connector for their data and power connection, as they're powered from USB. As long as both USB connections are connected to high powered USB ports, you should be fine. 5.25" drives in external enclosures are often powered by their own power supply.
I don't recommend getting too wrapped up in getting a drive that rips as fast as possible. In an ideal world, a faster drive will save time compared to a slower drive. However, it is often the case that things are not ideal. There are several situations in which MakeMKV will slow down the ripping process in order to increase the odds of getting a successful rip. The real time waster is failed rips, IMHO. To that end, I have 3 different drives I use for ripping. When a rip fails in my main drive (this is uncommon) I try it in one of my other drives where very often the rip works without a hitch. It has been my experience that some discs and drives just don't get along. Having multiple drives has the side benefit of allowing me to use MakeMKV's multi-drive support to rip more than one disc at the same time which is handy for ripping a TV show for example.
I don't think there's a clear best drive. That said, the LG BU40N has a good reputation (though I don't have one, so don't have any first hand experience). And the Pioneer drives are held in high regard. I have a Pioneer BDR-212U which has generally worked well for me. When ripping a UHD, the Pioneer's max speed is generally about 4x, which is a little lower than some other drives.
Things like a LG WH16NS60 can work well and be fast in ideal conditions, but there are plenty of reports of the drives dying premature deaths. I happen to have one of those LG drives and it has survived hundreds of rips. YMMV. It is my understanding that the drive sellers on this forum generally test the drives they sell before they're shipped to the buyer, improving the odds of getting a good drive.
A surprising number of 5.25 inch desktop drives have all the same internal hardware made by LG. They may start with different firmware (and a different logo on the front), but they're all the same hardware inside.
I don't think so. I happen to use a Mac, but MakeMKV works just as well on Windows (or Linux).