Scammed? BP55EB40 EB52 not MT1959

[Silenthunder52]

I purchased a Hitachi-LG BP55EB40 SVC EB52 external drive.
Mfd. May 2026 & Rom Ver 1.03


Plugged in via USB-C and was met with this information in MKV 2.0.0 and SDFtool Flasher 1.3.6;
MKV:
OS device name: E:
Manufacturer: HL-DT-ST
Product: BD-RE BP55EB40
Revision: 1.00
Serial number: PADL122051WL
Bus encryption flags: 1B
Highest AACS version: 31
...
No other information below this

SDF
E: HL-DT-ST_BD-RE_BP55EB40_1.00_PADL122051WL
MT1959 Platform: NO
Error: The drive you have selected does not have the correct drive platform (MT1959) and cannot be flashed.


Naturally, I opened the external drive case to find this lovely surprise.
The drive is actually a Pioneer BDR-UD03TBD drive Mfd. of January 2016 with HW & FW ver of 1.00
The Pioneer drive within is a RS8511 drive platform.


My original purpose for getting this drive was to play PS3 games right off the drive in RPCS3 and learn how to start burning UHD Movies & Games onto a hard drive, but I can't even flash the firmware for Libre or Omni support, so no dumping.

Is this amalgamation a paperweight that I'll try to return or can I salvage the situation?

[MartyMcNuts]

I purchased a Hitachi-LG BP55EB40 SVC EB52 external drive.
Image shows Mfd. May 2026 & Rom Ver 1.03

DriveExterior.jpg


Plugged in via USB-C and was met with this information in MKV 2.0.0 and SDFtool Flasher 1.3.6;
MKV says product is BP55EB40 but revision is 1.00, no Libre information at all.
SDF shows similar info except it says the drive is not on the MT1959 platform.

MKVFlasherNotMT1959.png


Opened the external drive case to find this lovely surprise.
The drive is actually a Pioneer BDR-UD03TBD drive Mfd. of January 2016 with HW & FW ver of 1.00
The Pioneer drive within is a RS8511 drive platform.

DriveInterior.jpg


My original purpose for getting this drive was to play PS3 games right off the drive in RPCS3 and learn how to start burning UHD Movies & Games onto a hard drive, but I can't even flash the firmware for Libre or Omni support, so no dumping.

Is this amalgamation a paperweight that I'll try to return or can I salvage the situation?

You cannot directly add attachments on the forum. You can upload the images somewhere else and link to them. It is better to just copy and paste the text from MakeMKV.

Well, yes, you were scammed but you actually got a better drive out of it! The Pioneer can't be used for onmidrive or games but providing the firmware date is prior to 2022/12, it can be flashed for UHD disc compatibility. Just email Billycar11 as he has a flasher for it.

[Silenthunder52]

You cannot directly add attachments on the forum. You can upload the images somewhere else and link to them. It is better to just copy and paste the text from MakeMKV.

Well, yes, you were scammed but you actually got a better drive out of it! The Pioneer can't be used for onmidrive or games but providing the firmware date is prior to 2022/12, it can be flashed for UHD disc compatibility. Just email Billycar11 as he has a flasher for it.

I'm a first timer here, whoops! I'll try to get it fixed.

I'll see if I can get a refund, if not I'll try a chargeback and reach out to Billcar11 so this thing isn't completely useless!

Is there a relatively "safe" place I can find a MT1959 platform external drive for someone from the Great White North?

[Billycar11]

You cannot directly add attachments on the forum. You can upload the images somewhere else and link to them. It is better to just copy and paste the text from MakeMKV.

Well, yes, you were scammed but you actually got a better drive out of it! The Pioneer can't be used for onmidrive or games but providing the firmware date is prior to 2022/12, it can be flashed for UHD disc compatibility. Just email Billycar11 as he has a flasher for it.

I'm a first timer here, whoops! I'll try to get it fixed.

I'll see if I can get a refund, if not I'll try a chargeback and reach out to Billcar11 so this thing isn't completely useless!

Is there a relatively "safe" place I can find a MT1959 platform external drive for someone from the Great White North?

these are the most readily available ones in the usa not sure if they ship to Canada

make sure the one on amazon is sold by Buffalo Americas Inc
because i have seen fake buffalos too

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0BLH ... Y8YWAXGN3J
https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/ ... e_usb.html
https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/ ... u_ray.html

[Silenthunder52]

these are the most readily available ones in the usa not sure if they ship to Canada

make sure the one on amazon is sold by Buffalo Americas Inc
because i have seen fake buffalos too

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0BLH ... Y8YWAXGN3J
https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/ ... e_usb.html
https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/ ... u_ray.html

Thank you both for the quick and knowledgeable replies! I've been pretty careful with parts sourcing for my computers, but this is the first time I've been straight duped.

Goodnight all!