Pioneer BDR-S12U - UHD Issues: Is a Firmware Update Worth It?

[bimbi]

Hello all,

A few years ago, I bought a UHD drive here on the forum: the “PIONEER BDR-S12U.” It “mostly” worked pretty well. But over the last two years, it's gotten worse and worse. Lots of read errors, I/O errors, SCSI errors...
What helped was restarting the PC, cleaning the disc (even though there was no visible dirt), reinserting the disc, and trying again, and again, and again. Eventually, I’d get lucky and the copy would work. Sometimes I’d just exchange the disc on Amazon, and the replacement would work right away. It was all pretty strange.

Anyway, here’s the situation. Seven days ago, “Avatar 3”-> no problem. And now I’m trying to add the "Transformers 7 Movie Collection" to my media collection; so far, I’ve only managed to move two discs. And I’ve been at it for almost a week.

System: Kubuntu 26.04 LTS

Here are my drive’s specs:

Code: Select all

Drive Information
OS device name: /dev/sr1
Current profile: BD-ROM
Manufacturer: PIONEER
Product: BD-RW BDR-S12U
Revision: 1.01
Serial number: BCDL006587WL
Firmware date: 2020-07-21
Bus encryption flags: 1B
Highest AACS version: 82

LibreDrive Information
Status: Enabled
Drive platform: RS8F01
Firmware name: PIONEER BDR-212T
Firmware type: Original (unpatched)
Firmware version: 1.01/ID43
DVD all regions: Yes
BD raw data read: Yes
BD raw metadata read: Yes
Unrestricted read speed: Yes

Disc Information
Label: REVENGE OF THE FALLEN
Timestamp: 2017-10-09 17:46:36
Protection: AACS2.0/C v61
Data capacity: 89.15 Gb
Disc type: BD-ROM UHD
Number of layers: 3
Bus encryption flags: 80

Do you think updating the firmware would help?

I know it doesn't help right now, but it's incredibly annoying. You buy some UHD Movie you can't really use. What a shame that the movie market has become so complicated.

Best Regards

[MartyMcNuts]

Hello all,

A few years ago, I bought a UHD drive here on the forum: the “PIONEER BDR-S12U.” It “mostly” worked pretty well. But over the last two years, it's gotten worse and worse. Lots of read errors, I/O errors, SCSI errors...
What helped was restarting the PC, cleaning the disc (even though there was no visible dirt), reinserting the disc, and trying again, and again, and again. Eventually, I’d get lucky and the copy would work. Sometimes I’d just exchange the disc on Amazon, and the replacement would work right away. It was all pretty strange.

Anyway, here’s the situation. Seven days ago, “Avatar 3”-> no problem. And now I’m trying to add the "Transformers 7 Movie Collection" to my media collection; so far, I’ve only managed to move two discs. And I’ve been at it for almost a week.

System: Kubuntu 26.04 LTS

Here are my drive’s specs:

Code: Select all

Drive Information
OS device name: /dev/sr1
Current profile: BD-ROM
Manufacturer: PIONEER
Product: BD-RW BDR-S12U
Revision: 1.01
Serial number: BCDL006587WL
Firmware date: 2020-07-21
Bus encryption flags: 1B
Highest AACS version: 82

LibreDrive Information
Status: Enabled
Drive platform: RS8F01
Firmware name: PIONEER BDR-212T
Firmware type: Original (unpatched)
Firmware version: 1.01/ID43
DVD all regions: Yes
BD raw data read: Yes
BD raw metadata read: Yes
Unrestricted read speed: Yes

Disc Information
Label: REVENGE OF THE FALLEN
Timestamp: 2017-10-09 17:46:36
Protection: AACS2.0/C v61
Data capacity: 89.15 Gb
Disc type: BD-ROM UHD
Number of layers: 3
Bus encryption flags: 80

Do you think updating the firmware would help?

I know it doesn't help right now, but it's incredibly annoying. You buy some UHD Movie you can't really use. What a shame that the movie market has become so complicated.

Best Regards

No, firmware has absolutely nothing to do with problems reading discs. Try cleaning the lasers.

[bimbi]

No, firmware has absolutely nothing to do with problems reading discs. Try cleaning the lasers.

Thank you for your reply. So buy a cleaning set like this could help?

Cleaningset1
Cleaningset2

[Billycar11]

No, firmware has absolutely nothing to do with problems reading discs. Try cleaning the lasers.

Thank you for your reply. So buy a cleaning set like this could help?

Cleaningset1
Cleaningset2

no take it apart and clean it with lint free cloths and water or alcohol

eject tray
unplug drive with tray out
pop off front bezel clips on sides and bottom with plastic tool
undo screws from bottom will be under stickers if you have an s13, 213 does not have stickers.
flip backover and remove top cover
clean lasers with a lint free cloth or qtip and water or alcohol and dry with another do this 2 times and do not let it air dry you must remove the residue with a dry one!

[bimbi]

Oh, okay, thanks a lot. I didn't know I could do it that way. I will do that over the next week

[bimbi]

I've cleaned the whole thing now—twice, and very carefully. The drive seems to be completely broken now. It doesn't recognize any disks at all.
I've attached a photo of the inside. Does that look okay to you?

Bildschirmfoto_20260808_215146.jpg

... Uploadfestature seems to be broken...

Edit2: That should work: https://deepdoc.at/dokuwiki/doku.php?id=temp1

[Billycar11]

I've cleaned the whole thing now—twice, and very carefully. The drive seems to be completely broken now. It doesn't recognize any disks at all.
I've attached a photo of the inside. Does that look okay to you?

Bildschirmfoto_20260808_215146.jpg
... Uploadfestature seems to be broken...

Edit2: That should work: https://deepdoc.at/dokuwiki/doku.php?id=temp1

looks ok
double check that bronze looking motor shaft in bottom right make sure its not popped out of its bushing.
looks like its not as it looks straight compared to the bracket as it sticks out about the same the whole way down but i cant see full thing

only other thing to do is direct sata or new usb case i have seen the psus get week and die making the drives seem like its dead but its the usb case