Ultimate UHD Drives Flashing Guide Updated 2026

[Deterous]

Sleep bug on UHD friendly drives is fixed when flashing WH16NS60 1.02MK, but the Asus BW-16D1HT is recommended to be flashed with Asus BW-16D1HT 3.10MK.
Does this mean the 16D1HT isn't compatible with WH16NS60 1.02MK, and that the Asus is stuck with the sleep bug?
Also, does WH16NS60 1.02MK firmware have any known quirks as a result of the firmware expecting the AACS decoder subsystem on the drive?

In addition:

1) The ASUS firmware has the sleep bug but it hasn't "jamless play" when the LG firmware skips sectors of hard to read discs.

2) To get around all these issues get a Pioneer drive from a seller or PM me. Retail drives don't work anymore.

Is there more info on the "jamless play" feature somewhere, I can only find a few mentions. Does it imply that *any* DVD/Bluray rip (makemkv or otherwise, including pure encrypted dumps) may have silent read errors and bad dumps? Which drives/firmwares have this?

I'm not interested in the Pioneer drives, none of their firmware have the features I need.

[Billycar11]

Is there more info on the "jamless play" feature somewhere, I can only find a few mentions. Does it imply that *any* DVD/Bluray rip (makemkv or otherwise, including pure encrypted dumps) may have silent read errors and bad dumps? Which drives/firmwares have this?

I'm not interested in the Pioneer drives, none of their firmware have the features I need.

It's a bad feature for us it not a silent read error it ruins the rip in makemkv and ends it all LG UHD drives have this.

What feature don't pioneers have that you want they have more features than LG/asus

[Coopervid]

Only the LG firmwares have this "feature". Flash ASUS firmware and it will not skip sectors. It was discussed in the now obsolete Redfox forum in detail.

[Deterous]

It's a bad feature for us it not a silent read error it ruins the rip in makemkv and ends it all LG UHD drives have this.

"Not a silent read error" and "Ends it all", do you mean that it *does* report a SCSI read error so that MakeMKV won't silently produce bad dumps when the jamless play feature kicks in?
This matters to me as I will be making drive/firmware recommendations for dozens of people for non-makemkv related projects. Silently producing bad DVD/BD dumps is a critical issue.
I may have to flash the LG firmware on my ASUS to figure it out myself.

What feature don't pioneers have that you want they have more features than LG/asus

Specific features for reading CD-based discs (scrambled mode, C2 error reporting). Not makemkv related. I understand that for BD read/writing, the Pioneer is better made.

[Rinzler]

Hi All,

Just picked up a Pioneer BDR-212V from Amazon. I was wondering if Coopervid could PM me the firmware link please?
Thanks in advance.

Drive Information
OS device name: F:
Manufacturer: PIONEER
Product: BD-RW BDR-212V
Revision: 1.02
Serial Number: [redacted]
Firmware date: 2022-05-31
Bus encryption flags: 13
Highest AACS version: 63

LibreDrive Information
Status: Possible, not yet enabled
Drive platform: Pioneer RS8F00
Firmware version: ID06

No disc inserted

[Billycar11]

It's a bad feature for us it not a silent read error it ruins the rip in makemkv and ends it all LG UHD drives have this.

"Not a silent read error" and "Ends it all", do you mean that it *does* report a SCSI read error so that MakeMKV won't silently produce bad dumps when the jamless play feature kicks in?
This matters to me as I will be making drive/firmware recommendations for dozens of people for non-makemkv related projects. Silently producing bad DVD/BD dumps is a critical issue.
I may have to flash the LG firmware on my ASUS to figure it out myself.

What feature don't pioneers have that you want they have more features than LG/asus

Specific features for reading CD-based discs (scrambled mode, C2 error reporting). Not makemkv related. I understand that for BD read/writing, the Pioneer is better made.

all i have to say is do not recommend people the lg/asus for bluray it is just not good
it will not report a read error to makemkv but makemkv will know because it does not match the hash and makemkv will say the drive is failing or disc is corrupt.
looks like this:
https://www.makemkv.com/errors/hashcheck/
this is only for bd and UHD dvd hash no hash check so makemkv has to trust the drive and again pioneers are better at getting accurate rips
pioneers are the way for makemkv and ripping as long as they are available with old fw.
it would be bad professional advice to recommend lg/asus you can call me a shill but its the truth.

[Mr_Orange]

Is it currently safe to buy a Verbatim 43888 4K slim drive, given it contains a Pioneer drive?

[Billycar11]

Is it currently safe to buy a Verbatim 43888 4K slim drive, given it contains a Pioneer drive?

for now yes

[Deterous]

it will not report a read error to makemkv but makemkv will know because it does not match the hash and makemkv will say the drive is failing or disc is corrupt.
looks like this:

Thank you for the example, that helps. The fact that the jamless play feature can potentially silently return bad sectors for a DVD/BD dump is not a good sign, although I understand it's possible for makemkv to detect them with hash checks for BD.
I understand your push for the Pioneer drive for makemkv / bluray purposes. I hope I'm not out of line here by asking questions about flashing the drives for non-makemkv purposes here.

Are you aware of any downsides / quirks of flashing the LG BH16NS40 (MT1959 / JB8) family of drives to the ASUS firmware? (Again, I understand that it's not something that should be recommended to people here).

Sorry for the slow replies, the forum is making all my posts go through a moderator before they appear.

[Mr_Orange]

Is it currently safe to buy a Verbatim 43888 4K slim drive, given it contains a Pioneer drive?

for now yes

Great thanks. That's a good option for me for cost and for the fact that I don't have any spare 5.25" bays so it can sit on top of my tower and I can run mutiple rips as well as use it for troublesome discs when my, I have to say extremely reliable, LG BH16NS55 (flashed to WH16NS60 1.02MK) can't manage the job.

[Billycar11]

it will not report a read error to makemkv but makemkv will know because it does not match the hash and makemkv will say the drive is failing or disc is corrupt.
looks like this:

Thank you for the example, that helps. The fact that the jamless play feature can potentially silently return bad sectors for a DVD/BD dump is not a good sign, although I understand it's possible for makemkv to detect them with hash checks for BD.
I understand your push for the Pioneer drive for makemkv / bluray purposes. I hope I'm not out of line here by asking questions about flashing the drives for non-makemkv purposes here.

Are you aware of any downsides / quirks of flashing the LG BH16NS40 (MT1959 / JB8) family of drives to the ASUS firmware? (Again, I understand that it's not something that should be recommended to people here).

Sorry for the slow replies, the forum is making all my posts go through a moderator before they appear.

it can make the drive unable to burn discs and it has the sleep bug for UHD

[Platonicsolid]

Good morning. I've been successfully loading up my DVDs and Blu-Rays on an old BD-208D, but have now started hitting 4K discs it can't read. Ready to take the plunge to flash it. From my read of the threads, this should be supported?

Code: Select all

Drive Information
OS device name: D:
Manufacturer: PIONEER
Product: BD-RW BDR-208D
Revision: 1.10
Serial number: [REDACTED]
Firmware date: 2012-08-22
Bus encryption flags: 13
Highest AACS version: 81

LibreDrive Information
Status: Enabled
Drive platform: RS8301
Firmware name: PIONEER BDR-208
Firmware type: Original (unpatched)
Firmware version: 1.10/ID61
DVD all regions: Yes
BD raw data read: Yes
BD raw metadata read: Yes
Unrestricted read speed: Yes

No disc inserted

The pioneer firmware isn't included in the big pack. Appears that has to be requested, yes?

[Billycar11]

Good morning. I've been successfully loading up my DVDs and Blu-Rays on an old BD-208D, but have now started hitting 4K discs it can't read. Ready to take the plunge to flash it. From my read of the threads, this should be supported?

Code: Select all

Drive Information
OS device name: D:
Manufacturer: PIONEER
Product: BD-RW BDR-208D
Revision: 1.10
Serial number: [REDACTED]
Firmware date: 2012-08-22
Bus encryption flags: 13
Highest AACS version: 81

LibreDrive Information
Status: Enabled
Drive platform: RS8301
Firmware name: PIONEER BDR-208
Firmware type: Original (unpatched)
Firmware version: 1.10/ID61
DVD all regions: Yes
BD raw data read: Yes
BD raw metadata read: Yes
Unrestricted read speed: Yes

No disc inserted

The pioneer firmware isn't included in the big pack. Appears that has to be requested, yes?

Email me for the pioneer flasher see below for info

[djshag]

First, thanks for the helpful guide, tools, and firmware. I'm about to start digitizing several hundred Blu Ray/DVDs so we can pack up all the old discs, and this firmware should allow that process to go as smoothly as possible.

Second, I thought I'd chime in to confirm that the BENFEI SATA to USB 3.0 Cable, USB 3.0 to SATA III Hard Drive Adapter (the one with the 12V/2A Power Adapter) from Amazon worked great for flashing my new WH14NS40.
https://a.co/d/396HjXw
I saw some others reference this adapter within this thread, but since it isn't explicitly listed in the "USB enclosures/sata adapters that work with optical drives and flashing" section, and the Amazon posting only mentions CD/DVD I wanted to mention it again for anyone nervous about trying something not on that list.


And finally, I also thought it might be worth warning folks against purchasing the WAVLINK USB C to Dual Bay SATA Adapter,Hard Drive Convertor with 2 USB 3.0 Ports for External 3.5/2.5 Inch SSD HDD SATA III adapter from Amazon for use with an optical drive.
https://a.co/d/396HjXw

I initially picked up the WAVLINK adapter since it provides additional capabilities that could be useful down the line, but once I received it, I found that it doesn't seem to work with the WH14NS40 at all. With it connected, the computer doesn't even recognized there's a drive attached.

The WAVLINK, above, does work fine with some SATA SSDs without a problem, so I'm hanging on to it, but don't expect to buy one to use for reading/flashing an optical drive (at least not the WH14NS40).

-L

[dcoke22]

And finally, I also thought it might be worth warning folks against purchasing the WAVLINK USB C to Dual Bay SATA Adapter,Hard Drive Convertor with 2 USB 3.0 Ports for External 3.5/2.5 Inch SSD HDD SATA III adapter from Amazon for use with an optical drive.
https://a.co/d/396HjXw

I think the link is supposed to be to the one that doesn't work. However, it is to the one that works. Both links in your post link to the same thing. I don't know if that was your intention, but there it is.