(Asmcom:) Pioneer UHD 4K Drives, MakeMKV Discounted Software £39.99, Worldwide Service, Excellent Service!!!

[nicholfd]

Have sent a query to Asmcom about this, but does anyone know if they still offer licence keys for MakeMKV (as per thread title) as I couldn't find any option to add this to an order.

I'm pretty sure it is a "coupon" or discount on MakeMKV - not a direct purchase from Asmcom. Purchase are directly from MakeMKV.

We purchase MakeMKV licenses in bulk directly from MakeMKV. This is fact.

Asmcom

Thanks for informing me - I stand corrected!

Thanks,
Frank

[LeeAdama]

Hi everyone!
I've had the chance to test the drive these past few days.
This Pioneer BDR-XD08EMB-S is incredible; I managed to back up all the movies that wouldn't work on my other drives, except for The Italian Job.
I tried every possible configuration without success, but the disc itself doesn't appear to have any defects.
The second disc with a problem is the third in the Star Wars: Andor series. I was only able to back up two out of four episodes. This one clearly has a manufacturing defect.

[f.zst]

So... I received my drive (Pioneer BDR-XS07TS) from Asmcom and I could test it out yesterday.

It came in a very well packed box with a healthy amount of foam protection so everything was neatly placed and unharmed inside even though the package had been opened by customs. Speaking of customs, with 50 bucks, the import fees were a little higher than expected but well, importing stuff is never cheap

In the box came the drive, a complementary USB-C to USB-C cable, the power supply and some haribos - nice touch thx So after I let the drive warm up to room temperature and after eating the haribos I tried to rip my very first blu ray. I enabled the settings as of Asmcom's instruction email and proceeded like described. I already tested a DVD a regular BD and a UHD (with makemkv) - all worked like a charm, no issues whatsoever. What I will say though, I was surprised how loud the drive is. I don't know what exactly I was expecting, maybe something along the lines of the noise of a BD-Player or a 3.5" hard drive but this thing can get really loud! The noise level ranges from reasonable to definitely bothersome, I guess depending on what part of the disc and how fast it's reading. It's probably not something you like to have running on your desk while you are working. So I'm glad I didn't get the top loader since these ones are said to be even louder.

Anyhow, I was so excited to finally get my first BD rip! I am so stoked to finally be able to digitise my BD collection! I should have done this years ago!
I was so happy, I just ordered 10 new blu rays Honestly, the film industry is just so stupid... If they gave us the ability to buy a digital copy - not a stream! - alongsie the physical copy somewhere 5-10 years ago, maybe they would have been able to save the market for physical(/digital) movies.

So I am very happy with my purchase even though it's quite a high price for just a "small little plasticky drive" but that is the price I have to pay for being so late to the party and I am very happy that I managed to still get a Pioneer drive! It's probably one of the best things I bought in years! The only critisism I have is that the cable of the power supply is pretty short (around 1m) so you have to have a power outlet very close by. The ordering process and service I've experienced so far from Asmcom was top notch thank you - I will recommend his shop without hesitation!

[t-force]

Hi Asmcom - do you have any of your Pioneer drives left? I’ve currently got an LG BU40 that really struggles with BD100 discs, so thought I might give a Pioneer a go.

[asmcom]

This has been my third time ordering from asmcom and as usual it's been a flawless process
The drive was well packaged, and shipped fast with excellent communication

For anyone who has concerns paying with paypal friends and family, that's totally fair, but also consider that there are 1700+ post on this thread lending credibility to asmcom being a trustworthy seller

Hopefully I won't be needing any more drives in future, but asmcom will be the first place I'll check if I do.

Hello megacityone,

Thank you very much for taking the time to post such a detailed and positive review. We truly appreciate your continued support and trust in us.

We are very pleased to hear that your third order was once again a flawless experience, with excellent communication, fast shipping, and secure packaging. We work very hard to maintain these standards for every customer.

Your comments regarding PayPal Friends and Family and the long-standing history of this thread are also very much appreciated. With over 1,700+ posts and years of feedback, transparency and trust are extremely important to us. We are also proud to have maintained 100% positive feedback on eBay since 2008, which reflects our long-term commitment to honest and reliable service.

It has been a pleasure serving you, and we are grateful for your continued loyalty. Should you ever need another drive in the future, we will be more than happy to help.

Kind regards,

Asmcom
UHD Friendly Drives Team
orders@uhdfriendlydrives.co.uk

[asmcom]

Hi Asmcom - do you have any of your Pioneer drives left? I’ve currently got an LG BU40 that really struggles with BD100 discs, so thought I might give a Pioneer a go.

Sorry we are out of Pioneer drives at present.

Kind Regards

Asmcom

[asmcom]

So... I received my drive (Pioneer BDR-XS07TS) from Asmcom and I could test it out yesterday.

It came in a very well packed box with a healthy amount of foam protection so everything was neatly placed and unharmed inside even though the package had been opened by customs. Speaking of customs, with 50 bucks, the import fees were a little higher than expected but well, importing stuff is never cheap

In the box came the drive, a complementary USB-C to USB-C cable, the power supply and some haribos - nice touch thx So after I let the drive warm up to room temperature and after eating the haribos I tried to rip my very first blu ray. I enabled the settings as of Asmcom's instruction email and proceeded like described. I already tested a DVD a regular BD and a UHD (with makemkv) - all worked like a charm, no issues whatsoever. What I will say though, I was surprised how loud the drive is. I don't know what exactly I was expecting, maybe something along the lines of the noise of a BD-Player or a 3.5" hard drive but this thing can get really loud! The noise level ranges from reasonable to definitely bothersome, I guess depending on what part of the disc and how fast it's reading. It's probably not something you like to have running on your desk while you are working. So I'm glad I didn't get the top loader since these ones are said to be even louder.

Anyhow, I was so excited to finally get my first BD rip! I am so stoked to finally be able to digitise my BD collection! I should have done this years ago!
I was so happy, I just ordered 10 new blu rays Honestly, the film industry is just so stupid... If they gave us the ability to buy a digital copy - not a stream! - alongsie the physical copy somewhere 5-10 years ago, maybe they would have been able to save the market for physical(/digital) movies.

So I am very happy with my purchase even though it's quite a high price for just a "small little plasticky drive" but that is the price I have to pay for being so late to the party and I am very happy that I managed to still get a Pioneer drive! It's probably one of the best things I bought in years! The only critisism I have is that the cable of the power supply is pretty short (around 1m) so you have to have a power outlet very close by. The ordering process and service I've experienced so far from Asmcom was top notch thank you - I will recommend his shop without hesitation!

Hello f.zst,

Thank you very much for your detailed and honest review — we truly appreciate the time you took to share your experience. We are very pleased everything is working perfectly with DVD, BD and UHD, and that the packaging and accessories arrived safely.

Regarding the import fees, you unfortunately should have disputed part of those charges, as they are very often applied incorrectly on optical drives.

Your drive is classified under:

HS Code 8471.70.30.00
(Optical disk drives – units of automatic data processing machines)

Under normal U.S. MFN tariff rules, this classification typically carries a very low or zero base duty rate.

Trump Administration Tariffs (2025/2026)

a) Baseline “Reciprocal” Tariff
As of 5 April 2025, a 10% baseline tariff was introduced on many imports in addition to regular duty (which could have brought totals to ~12–13% if applied).

b) Exemptions for Electronics
However, official guidance issued in April 2025 exempted many electronic products — including items under heading 8471 (computers, disc drives, optical storage units) — from the additional 10% reciprocal tariff. Refunds were permitted where this had been wrongly collected.

This means that when correctly declared under 8471.70.30.00, the drive should normally only be subject to the standard MFN duty (often low or zero), not the additional 10% tariff.

Other considerations
• The U.S. has removed the low-value exemption, so even lower value shipments can be assessed.
• Carriers often add brokerage/processing fees separate from customs duty.
• Misclassification by carriers is unfortunately common.

If you ever receive higher-than-expected charges again, we strongly recommend querying the carrier and requesting confirmation that the item was classified under 8471.70.30.00.

Thank you again for your trust and recommendation, we are delighted you are enjoying digitising your collection. That first successful UHD rip is always a great feeling.

Kind regards,
Asmcom
UHD Friendly Drives Team

[Denverdrop4]

I was lucky enough to get hold of a Pioneer BDR-XS07TS, and it works exactly as I had hoped. Solid build, quiet operation, and flawless performance with MakeMKV so far.

I also want to give credit to Asmcom for a very smooth buying experience. Communication was clear throughout the process, and they proactively sent helpful information on how to use and set up the drive—even though everything worked perfectly out of the box and I didn’t need additional support.

Overall, a great experience with both the drive and the seller. Highly recommended.

[t-force]

Hi Asmcom - do you have any of your Pioneer drives left? I’ve currently got an LG BU40 that really struggles with BD100 discs, so thought I might give a Pioneer a go.

Sorry we are out of Pioneer drives at present.

Kind Regards

Asmcom

Do you expect that you’ll get any more? Obviously I’m well aware that they are a distinct rarity these days.

[asmcom]

I was lucky enough to get hold of a Pioneer BDR-XS07TS, and it works exactly as I had hoped. Solid build, quiet operation, and flawless performance with MakeMKV so far.

I also want to give credit to Asmcom for a very smooth buying experience. Communication was clear throughout the process, and they proactively sent helpful information on how to use and set up the drive—even though everything worked perfectly out of the box and I didn’t need additional support.

Overall, a great experience with both the drive and the seller. Highly recommended.

Hello Denverdrop4,

Thank you very much for taking the time to leave such a detailed and positive review.

We are delighted to hear that your BDR-XS07TS slot-loading Pioneer Slim 4K LibreDrive-friendly Blu-ray Writer is performing exactly as expected with MakeMKV, and that you are happy with the build quality, quiet operation, and reliability.

We also really appreciate your kind words about our communication and support process. We always aim to provide clear guidance in advance so customers can get the best experience straight out of the box, even if no additional help is needed.

Your recommendation means a great deal to us, and we are very grateful for your trust and support.

If you ever need any assistance in the future, please do not hesitate to contact us.

Kind regards,
Asmcom
UHD Friendly Drives Team
orders@uhdfriendlydrives.co.uk

[LayzeeDayzee]

Hi all,

As I said before, I’m posting a review for the drive I purchased from Asmcom now that I’ve received it and tried it out.
I received my drive, a Hitachi BU40N fitted in a Vantec enclosure with firmware 1.00DE, a few days ago. First things first, I love the drive, it’s great! But to begin with there was one issue, one of my 4K discs wouldn’t rip (War of the Rohirrim) and I wasn’t sure why. Contacting Asmcom, they helped me immensely over the past few days troubleshooting the issue, they were so unbelievably helpful and patient, always responding to my emails within an hour at the most despite what I imagine is a very hefty workload. They helped me come up with potential solutions, offered to refund the drive in full if I wasn’t satisfied with it, offered to sell me an upgrade to a potentially better drive, offered to sell me a separate power supply for my drive at a significant discount to the standard retail price in case it was a power delivery issue and even helped me flash the drive to the more optimal 1.03mk firmware. Eventually we determined that it was probably just an iffy disc that works in a 4K Blu-Ray player but not this drive, something that I wouldn’t have been able to figure out without their help, and the drive was able to rip the other 4K disc I’ve tried so far (The Super Mario Bros. Movie (2023)) with no issue, as well as standard Blu-Rays, so I know that it works perfectly.

A truly great product, but honestly I think it’s the customer service that truly shines here. I genuinely didn’t think that there was customer service this good left in the world any more, seriously, it cannot be overstated how good Asmcom is in this regard. I would absolutely, 100% recommend them to anyone looking to purchase a UHD friendly drive, you will NOT be disappointed. Great products and even better service.

Thanks again for everything Asmcom!

Kind regards,
LayzeeDayzee

[asmcom]

Hi all,

As I said before, I’m posting a review for the drive I purchased from Asmcom now that I’ve received it and tried it out.
I received my drive, a Hitachi BU40N fitted in a Vantec enclosure with firmware 1.00DE, a few days ago. First things first, I love the drive, it’s great! But to begin with there was one issue, one of my 4K discs wouldn’t rip (War of the Rohirrim) and I wasn’t sure why. Contacting Asmcom, they helped me immensely over the past few days troubleshooting the issue, they were so unbelievably helpful and patient, always responding to my emails within an hour at the most despite what I imagine is a very hefty workload. They helped me come up with potential solutions, offered to refund the drive in full if I wasn’t satisfied with it, offered to sell me an upgrade to a potentially better drive, offered to sell me a separate power supply for my drive at a significant discount to the standard retail price in case it was a power delivery issue and even helped me flash the drive to the more optimal 1.03mk firmware. Eventually we determined that it was probably just an iffy disc that works in a 4K Blu-Ray player but not this drive, something that I wouldn’t have been able to figure out without their help, and the drive was able to rip the other 4K disc I’ve tried so far (The Super Mario Bros. Movie (2023)) with no issue, as well as standard Blu-Rays, so I know that it works perfectly.

A truly great product, but honestly I think it’s the customer service that truly shines here. I genuinely didn’t think that there was customer service this good left in the world any more, seriously, it cannot be overstated how good Asmcom is in this regard. I would absolutely, 100% recommend them to anyone looking to purchase a UHD friendly drive, you will NOT be disappointed. Great products and even better service.

Thanks again for everything Asmcom!

Kind regards,
LayzeeDayzee

Hello LayzeeDayzee,

Thank you very much for taking the time to write such a detailed and thoughtful review. We truly appreciate your kind words and support.

We are very pleased to hear that your Hitachi BU40N in the Vantec enclosure is now working correctly and that the upgrade to firmware 1.03MK helped optimise performance. As you experienced, some UHD discs can be borderline and may work in standalone players but struggle in PC drives, so careful testing and troubleshooting is always important.

We are also glad we could assist you with step-by-step diagnostics, power delivery checks, firmware flashing, and disc inspection, and that together we were able to confirm that your drive is fully functional on other UHD and Blu-ray titles. Again, we found that cleaning your Blu-ray discs is very important, especially brand new discs which have a film on them.

At UHD Friendly Drives, we believe in honest advice, fast communication, and real technical support, including offering refunds, upgrades, and discounted accessories when appropriate. Our goal is always to make sure customers are 100% confident in their purchase.

Your feedback means a great deal to us, and comments like this motivate us to continue providing specialist UHD-friendly drive support for the MakeMKV community worldwide.

Thank you again for your trust and recommendation. If you ever need further assistance, please do not hesitate to contact us.

Kind regards,
Asmcom
UHD Friendly Drives Team
orders@uhdfriendlydrives.co.uk

[Stefyboy7]

Hello Asmcom,

I read that everything is going better with you which I am delighted to hear, I also saw recently that you are back in business with a message that you have secured a last batch of drives.

Am I too late or has it not been updated? Since I am looking for an 5.25" internal drive for my PC.

Welcome back and I am looking forward to your message.

[Subsonic]

Just received my drive !
That was some fast af shipping

[Subsonic]

ok i was NOT expecting the haribos LMAO
thanks c: