Ultimate UHD Drives Flashing Guide Updated New Pioneer Flashing 2026

[rudolf_slch]

Hey everyone I wanted to post this on the forum to let everyone know that there is an affordable slim 4K Blu-ray optical drive that has a factory firmware that works out of the box with MakeMKV. I tested it with 4K, Blu-Ray and standard DVDs last night and it works successfully without any firmware modification.

Hi,

thank you very much for this information. I ordered the device, it arrived today and indeed
it is working perfectly! I should have read your post before because some days before I
bought a VERBATIM 43888 without thinking! Only then when I realized that it will only work
after flashing I started reading this forum. Anyway I have I nice drive now. I let makemkv 'prepare'
the drive and with a simple 'dd' I can generate an image from the disc as I always do with
discs! Thank you!

[Stefan2k22]

For the Asus SBW-06D2X-U, it states only the 8510/8511 platform is compatible with flashing. Are there versions of this unit around with a different platform? Would it be safe to buy one now?

there are 4 versions at least really one has lg
so could be more

known ones are BU40N ,UD03 8510, UD03 8511, UD03 8590 there could be more

Got one of these drives. Mine reports this in MakeMKV
OS device name: \Device\CdRom0
Current profile: BD-ROM
Manufacturer: HL-DT-ST
Product: BD-RE BU40N
Revision: FR07
Serial number: XXXXXXXXXXX
Firmware date: 2119-05-10 13:48
Bus encryption flags: 1F
Highest AACS version: 64

LibreDrive Information
Status: Possible, not yet enabled
Drive platform: MT1959

Any tips on how to enable Libredrive on this one or what firmware I might need?

[Mr_Orange]

For the Asus SBW-06D2X-U, it states only the 8510/8511 platform is compatible with flashing. Are there versions of this unit around with a different platform? Would it be safe to buy one now?

there are 4 versions at least really one has lg
so could be more

known ones are BU40N ,UD03 8510, UD03 8511, UD03 8590 there could be more

Got one of these drives. Mine reports this in MakeMKV
OS device name: \Device\CdRom0
Current profile: BD-ROM
Manufacturer: HL-DT-ST
Product: BD-RE BU40N
Revision: FR07
Serial number: XXXXXXXXXXX
Firmware date: 2119-05-10 13:48
Bus encryption flags: 1F
Highest AACS version: 64

LibreDrive Information
Status: Possible, not yet enabled
Drive platform: MT1959

Any tips on how to enable Libredrive on this one or what firmware I might need?

Follow the instructions on page 1 of this thread to flash a BU40N to 1.03MK.

[Billycar11]

Got one of these drives. Mine reports this in MakeMKV
OS device name: \Device\CdRom0
Current profile: BD-ROM
Manufacturer: HL-DT-ST
Product: BD-RE BU40N
Revision: FR07
Serial number: XXXXXXXXXXX
Firmware date: 2119-05-10 13:48
Bus encryption flags: 1F
Highest AACS version: 64

LibreDrive Information
Status: Possible, not yet enabled
Drive platform: MT1959

Any tips on how to enable Libredrive on this one or what firmware I might need?

Sure see guide below or email me or Marty for an automated flasher

[stingray21]

Hey everyone I wanted to post this on the forum to let everyone know that there is an affordable slim 4K Blu-ray optical drive that has a factory firmware that works out of the box with MakeMKV. I tested it with 4K, Blu-Ray and standard DVDs last night and it works successfully without any firmware modification.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0H1HNDPCL?re ... asin_title

IF the link doesn't work you can search for the title "JOTEC Premium Aluminum 4K UHD External Blu-Ray Drive
4K Blu-ray Burner, USB 3.0 & Type C Dual Interface, Compatible with All PC & Mac Models, Support 100GB 128GB"

The manufacturer ships both BU40N BU50N models. It retails for $142.99

In my case it handshakes with the MakeMKV status message of-

Drive Information
OS device name: /dev/rdisk4
Current profile: DVD-ROM
Manufacturer: HL-DT-ST
Product: BD-RE BU40N
Revision: FR07
Serial number: XXXXXXXXXXX
Firmware date: 2116-12-20 16:51
Bus encryption flags: 1F
Highest AACS version: 82

LibreDrive Information
Status: Enabled
Drive platform: MT1959
Firmware type: Original (unpatched)
Firmware version: 0.FR07J
DVD all regions: Yes
BD raw data read: Yes
BD raw metadata read: Yes
Unrestricted read speed: Yes

I used the forum to flash a Verbatium BU40N (much more expensive but I was able to get it flashed thanks to everyone and Mike). I decided to buy a cheaper drive as a back up to flash while the process was in my memory. And much to my surprise the JOTEC has a better build quality and works out of the box with old school factory firmware.

I ordered this drive from amazon because of the post above and it says in the amazon reviews that it works out of the box (without flashing). However it does not read any 4K Bluray for me, nor does it show any LibreDrive information in makemkv:

Drive Information
OS device name: F:
Manufacturer: HL-DT-ST
Product: BD-RE BU40N
Revision: CB05
Serial number: XXXXXXXXXXXXX
Firmware date: 2117-11-29 13:51
Bus encryption flags: 1F
Highest AACS version: 57

The SDFtool Flasher also shows "MT1959 Platform: X"

Does this mean the drive cannot be flashed?