Heads up - Support for LG UHD drives

[grexe]

I am also on the verge of moving up to 4k ripping my shiny new 4k discs, but sadly the WH16NS60 is not even available in the EU yet (e.g. amazon.de).
So the good part is I am happy to wait for support by MakeMKV
Wish you all happy backup and a great movie time in 2019, and many thanks to Mike for making it happen also on Linux!

[mike admin]

but sadly the WH16NS60 is not even available in the EU yet (e.g. amazon.de).

It is BH16NS60 in Europe.

[yorick]

There's a BH16NS55 - but I think that's "UHD friendly", not UHD native, right?

The BH16NS60 I see for sale in Russia, Korea, Japan. Can't find it in Germany via Geizhals or Amazon (see https://geizhals.de/?fs=BH16NS60&in=)

[Hunts778]

As of today, MakeMKV does not support any of "official" UHD drives for reading UHD discs. From the day one, we promised that these drives will eventually be supported - this day is coming. It is planned that in about two weeks MakeMKV would support LG "official" UHD drives, namely WH16NS60 and BU50N. If you are in a market for a new drive, given the holiday shopping season is going on, you may as well buy a "real UHD" drive. All firmware versions will be supported. For some newer drives a firmware "upgrade" will be required. If the firmware upgrade would be needed, it could be done using official LG flasher - no need for DOS boot or "hacky" methods.

UPDATE: Several forum members asked for clarifications for "friendly" drives with "locked" firmware, namely ASUS with FW3.03 and LG drives with FW1.01 . These will be supported the same way as "real" UHD drives with FW 1.01 - either natively, or they might require a firmware "update" with official vendor flasher. They might be enabled a little bit later than "official" UHD drives.

The current option to downgrade the FW is always available, but please make sure you know what you are doing..

Can you tell me if it will support BP60NB10? I have just purchased this drive and it appears as Firmware rev.1.00

[jkeener88]

Owner of a ASUS BW-16D1HT, on its way, should have it next week!

[SamuriHL]

Question for Mike. I want to first clarify my ask is NOT a "when" kind of question. Just curious if there's any fundamental issues holding up release for the support of these drives. A few pages back you mentioned something about coordination with others being the cause for delay. Is that still ongoing or is something else preventing release? Thanks for any insight you can provide!

[archermoo]

Is there anything those of us who have "official" drives can do to be of assistance? I have a BU50N.

[FatMike]

Fantastic news. I grabbed my WH16NS60 about a month and a half ago. Was considering crossflashing into a "UHD friendly" drive but I think now I'll just leave that one as is for whatever Mike has on the horizon.

I ordered an ASUS friendly drive, that'll be my test unit to play around with in the meantime.

Sent from my Pixel 3 XL using Tapatalk

[Malkana]

Question for Mike. Is that still ongoing or is something else preventing release? Thanks for any insight you can provide!

An update would be good for those of us waiting so we can decide if we want to explore other avenues. We are nearly into February... There is obviously a major hiccup in the works somewhere. The lack of a response suggests it’s a ways off yet, if even possible.

[SamuriHL]

An update would be good for those of us waiting so we can decide if we want to explore other avenues. We are nearly into February... There is obviously a major hiccup in the works somewhere. The lack of a response suggests it’s a ways off yet, if even possible.

I wouldn't jump to any conclusions. The lack of response may just mean Mike is busy. We just wait for either a new release or some info on what's happening with it. Patience.

[Malkana]

The lack of response may just mean Mike is busy.

Mike is active in other areas of this forum

[jonghotti]

Come on you guys, Mike’s just a man, with a man’s courage. You know he’s nothing but a man, and he will never fail. No one but Mike, with the pure of heart, can code the fuckin’ holy grail. Yeah Mike!

[SamuriHL]

The lack of response may just mean Mike is busy.

Mike is active in other areas of this forum

Which would indicate that he's busy.

[mike admin]

Today the support for "official UHD" drives was finally enabled (not as smooth as it was hoped). As of today most "official" drives are supported, EXCEPT ones with latest firmware. If you have an "UHD official" drive, you should get one of two messages:
Code 03DF - your drive is working fine, you can make UHD backup with it
Code 01BE - your drive firmware version is not yet supported.
The proper explanation is coming soon. Thanks for the patience!

[mattyj2001]

Today the support for "official UHD" drives was finally enabled (not as smooth as it was hoped). As of today most "official" drives are supported, EXCEPT ones with latest firmware. If you have an "UHD official" drive, you should get one of two messages:
Code 03DF - your drive is working fine, you can make UHD backup with it
Code 01BE - your drive firmware version is not yet supported.
The proper explanation is coming soon. Thanks for the patience!

Congratulations Mike and everyone who worked and tested on this project.

My LG WH16NS60 - Code 03DF, working great. Fantastic work, everyone!

Yes, fantastic! If you haven't yet bought a license for MakeMKV, now is a good time.

[Looks at watch, contemplates ditching work to go rip UHD discs. What is wrong with me ...]