New blu-ray drive - Pioneer not widely available?

[tipsen]

Hi
I'm looking to replace my old Pioneer BDR-XD05T external drive with something similar - preferably supporting 4K/UHD. I've been very satisfied with the Pioneer drive and was looking for a newer model from them but apparently they seem to be sold out in most of Europe - anyone knows why this is?
Any suggestions for external/portable drives which are also compatible with MakeMKV?
Cheers, Tipsen

[dcoke22]

I'm looking to replace my old Pioneer BDR-XD05T external drive with something similar - preferably supporting 4K/UHD. I've been very satisfied with the Pioneer drive and was looking for a newer model from them but apparently they seem to be sold out in most of Europe - anyone knows why this is?

A few months ago Pioneer got out of the business of making optical drives.

[Coopervid]

Hi
I'm looking to replace my old Pioneer BDR-XD05T external drive with something similar - preferably supporting 4K/UHD. I've been very satisfied with the Pioneer drive and was looking for a newer model from them but apparently they seem to be sold out in most of Europe - anyone knows why this is?
Any suggestions for external/portable drives which are also compatible with MakeMKV?
Cheers, Tipsen

You can check with asmcom.

viewtopic.php?f=20&t=19387&start=1350

[VA1DER]

Looks like asmcom is out of the good 5.25" Pioneers.

You can find some NOS Pioneers at Ali Express, but you have to be careful there because some vendors have cottoned on to certain Pioneers being quite sought. But you can generally find actual BDR-S13C-X there. You'll pay a lot though. And these will have encrypted non-LibreDrive firmware so you'll have to wait for a promised but still highly uncertain firmware upgrade to make them work with MakeMKV.

Other options if you want one that will work with MakeMKV today is a 209 patched to think its an S11. Either that or you're limited to XD08 and UD04 slimlines. I have a UD04 myself and no one should dismiss it. I have to admit it's even a little better at reading marginal BluRays than my 5.25" LG WH16NS60. But 5.25" Pioneers are the best there are, if you can manage it.