I wish that decent drives didn't seem to be unobtainium anymore. I bought mine right before they started shipping with newer firmware (people started talking about that like 3 weeks after I got mine), and kinda wish I had got another drive back then. I am tempted to get an Asus, but I keep hearing horror stories about a good number of them being defective.
Anyone know how long he typically takes to reply to email? Is there a better way to reach out?
I've only emailed him once, but he replied within 24 hours. If you're looking to buy a drive, as of the last day or two, he doesn't yet have any Pioneers available.
I requested the automated flasher service for my Asus BW-12D1S-U and got a response the next day, with follow-ups occurring immediately afterwards. Flashed the Pioneer 208 drive in the Asus with absolutely no problems!
I also got flashers from Billy for a Pioneer BDR-209D and a BDR-212D. Both went smoothly and both drives are now UHD-aware friendly drives. Both started with older firmware (the 212D was v1.02), so I suspect that helped enable the process.