Beginner Looking for Recommendations on Drive

[MovieNovice25]

Hello!

I'm new to this and am starting to shop for a drive to make into a LibreDrive. I'm a computer science major, so I'm comfortable with working with commands, but the rest is pretty new to me.
I plan to work with DVDs and standard Blu-Rays, since UHD Blu-Rays are so large. That being said, having the ability to rip a UHD disk in the future would be nice, just not necessary right now. It sounds like Pioneer optical drives are the best, but it doesn't seem like they are making them anymore. I was also having some difficulty finding a retailer for new drives from other manufacturers (LG and Asus). I did see the LG WP50NB40 and the LG BP60NB10 at Newegg, which were both on the Ultimate UHD Drives Flashing Guide recommended list.
https://www.newegg.com/lg-model-wp50nb4 ... MNEKGF1130
https://www.newegg.com/lg-model-bp60nb1 ... MG8KPV2431

Any thoughts on these two drives, or any other drives and retailers to recommend? Any other tips or things to keep in mind would also be appreciated!

Thank you for your help!

[MartyMcNuts]

Hello!

I'm new to this and am starting to shop for a drive to make into a LibreDrive. I'm a computer science major, so I'm comfortable with working with commands, but the rest is pretty new to me.
I plan to work with DVDs and standard Blu-Rays, since UHD Blu-Rays are so large. That being said, having the ability to rip a UHD disk in the future would be nice, just not necessary right now. It sounds like Pioneer optical drives are the best, but it doesn't seem like they are making them anymore. I was also having some difficulty finding a retailer for new drives from other manufacturers (LG and Asus). I did see the LG WP50NB40 and the LG BP60NB10 at Newegg, which were both on the Ultimate UHD Drives Flashing Guide recommended list.
https://www.newegg.com/lg-model-wp50nb4 ... MNEKGF1130
https://www.newegg.com/lg-model-bp60nb1 ... MG8KPV2431

Any thoughts on these two drives, or any other drives and retailers to recommend? Any other tips or things to keep in mind would also be appreciated!

Thank you for your help!

There are a few of these threads already, so you probably should have posted in one of those but anyway, Pioneer ceased manufacturing optical drives late 2023 I believe and closed up shop in April 2025. LG just recently ceased manufacturing most (if not all) models. ASUS don’t make drives. They were sourcing both lG and Pioneer models to put in their enclosures. So, essentially no one is manufacturing optical drives anymore.

Pioneer drives (all models) are superior readers and writers than drives from any other manufacturer but you will struggle to find one anywhere these days. The world’s supply has been pretty much drained. Depending on where you are located, Billycar11 has some if you are in USA. If you are in Australia, nz, australasia or some European countries, I have some available.

Those LG drives you mention are ok. The WP50 is cheaper and can be cross-flashed to be a BP60NB10 anyway, so would probably be the better choice. Honestly, I would personally go for a Verbatim 43887 instead as these usually contain a Pioneer BDR-UD03 inside which can be cross-flashed to BDR-UD04 firmware for UHD compatibility. The other option would be be the Verbatim 43888 which has a LG BU40N inside.

[MovieNovice25]

Hello!

Thank you for your suggestion, that really helps!