Purchasing bd drive advice for archive / makemkv (late 2022)

[nsuinteger]

G'day
I need to purchase an external / portable blu-ray drive that is capable of ripping (makemkv for local playback) blu-ray disks and occasionally uhd disks. The more I read about this topic the more I got confused I thought of asking the experts on this subject.
I use my ps5 for playback of the disks on big tv and the ripping to mkvs is just for convenience and archival / backup. (few weeks ago a mate's kid wrecked a friends seasons 2 disk )

My requirements.
- blu-ray / dvd ripping to mkvs
- uhd ripping is not a must due to file size, but would be a 'nice to have'. uhd playback is not needed.
- I use windows pc (ryzen system) and a m1 macbook pro.
- needs to be an external / portable drive and awesome if it works on both computers (well, there is no drive cage in my pc case )
- i can flash the firmwares myself if needed, but am not completely sure which drives found in aussie market are capable of this.

In my neck of the woods I've seen these drives in amazon market or other pc parts retailer.

https://www.amazon.com.au/LG-BP50NB40-B ... ref=sr_1_5
https://www.amazon.com.au/Verbatim-Exte ... B07MTP9VKX
https://www.amazon.com.au/Pioneer-BDRXD ... B081GJ3NX8
https://www.amazon.com.au/Pioneer-Elect ... B00FGVPTHW

Thanks in advance.

[dcoke22]

Hopefully you've seen the Ultimate UHD Drives Flashing Guide post with the list of recommended drives.

I know your drive will be external, but you can also consider a regular internal drive and put it in an external case. I have 3 'internal' drives on my desk in external enclosures connected to my computer via USB. The guide also lists recommended enclosures. (It is possible to get a USB-B 3.0 to USB-C cable to enable connecting an external enclosure directly to your M1 MacBook Pro with only USB-C ports. I got one from Monoprice, but I'm sure there are other outlets too.)

If you're going to be buying a new drive, I would recommend getting one that supports ripping UHD. Generally, they're not any more expensive than ones that don't support it.

Generally speaking, if you buy a Pioneer from the supported list, you don't need to flash it; they work right out of the box. Pioneer drives have a good reputation all around and if for some reason you're going to burn the occasional optical disc they're your best choice. One of your links was to a Pioneer BDR-XS07UHD. I think that would work right out of the box.

Finally, the guide lists some sellers who will flash if necessary and test drives before selling them to you. You'll pay a small premium for this, but they're willing to help you find the right drive and help get you going.

[nsuinteger]

Thanks for the detailed response.

Hopefully you've seen the Ultimate UHD Drives Flashing Guide post with the list of recommended drives.

Yes I did have a look!

---

I saw a pioneer external drive BDR-XD05TB for less than half off rrp from fb marketplace and thought of giving it a try and seems to be working really well for the blu-ray disks I have in hand (not uhd disks). makemkv seems to be working fine out of the box for backup and ripping. I guess for the time being I'm happy with this little drive and if/when the time comes for uhds I will look into the uhd variant from pioneer that you suggested.

Cheers!

[bort420]

G'day
I need to purchase an external / portable blu-ray drive that is capable of ripping (makemkv for local playback) blu-ray disks and occasionally uhd disks. The more I read about this topic the more I got confused I thought of asking the experts on this subject.
I use my ps5 for playback of the disks on big tv and the ripping to mkvs is just for convenience and archival / backup. (few weeks ago a mate's kid wrecked a friends seasons 2 disk )

My requirements.
- blu-ray / dvd ripping to mkvs
- uhd ripping is not a must due to file size, but would be a 'nice to have'. uhd playback is not needed.
- I use windows pc (ryzen system) and a m1 macbook pro.
- needs to be an external / portable drive and awesome if it works on both computers (well, there is no drive cage in my pc case )
- i can flash the firmwares myself if needed, but am not completely sure which drives found in aussie market are capable of this.

In my neck of the woods I've seen these drives in amazon market or other pc parts retailer.

https://www.amazon.com.au/LG-BP50NB40-B ... ref=sr_1_5
https://www.amazon.com.au/Verbatim-Exte ... B07MTP9VKX
https://www.amazon.com.au/Pioneer-BDRXD ... B081GJ3NX8
https://www.amazon.com.au/Pioneer-Elect ... B00FGVPTHW

Thanks in advance.

Ignore any LG/Asus drives.

Buy a pioneer drive with UHD support -- _usually_ have 'U' in the name, but that's not a guarantee. https://www.pioneerelectronics.com/PUSA ... -XD08UMB-S and https://www.pioneerelectronics.com/PUSA ... DR-XS07UHD are good bets.

It is technically possible to cross-flash a non-UHD pioneer drive into the UHD equivalent but the tools aren't public. All you will be doing is saving the difference in price, so IMO don't pay for flashing pioneer drives unless you are desperate to save the minimal difference in flash tool price + cheap drive AND you likely invalidate the warranty.

Buy a native UHD pioneer drive, and have fun since MakeMKV will "just work"