Pioneer BDR-212UBK - Great Drive for Every Disk! Too Bad It Isn't UHD Friendly!

[u2jimbo]

This is my first post on your forum. Please excuse me if I am posting this inappropriately.

I have a large library of DVD's and Blu Rays sitting on shelves. I thought it would be straight forward to rip them so I could stream them to my TV.
I have zero experience with computer code. I found HandBrake and all went smoothly ripping DVD's. I tried the Blu Ray's and found I needed your MakeMKV program. However, in using it, I find it can't rip. It tells me my optical drive is LibreDrive possible but not enabled. I have attached a screen shot of MakeMKV trying to rip Prometheus. It provides the make and model of my drive but I can't find what firmware version it is. On other posts there are serious cautions about flashing this drive with the wrong firmware version.

From the information provided in the screen shot, can someone inform me of:
1. whether this drive can be LibreDrive enabled;
2. what firmware I need (if it can be enabled); and
3. a link to a youtube video describing the process.

Thanks in advance for any help / guidance you can offer.
u2jimbo

LibreDrive_Prometheus_ScsiError.jpg (616.45 KiB) Viewed 23736 times

[Billycar11]

This is my first post on your forum. Please excuse me if I am posting this inappropriately.

I have a large library of DVD's and Blu Rays sitting on shelves. I thought it would be straight forward to rip them so I could stream them to my TV.
I have zero experience with computer code. I found HandBrake and all went smoothly ripping DVD's. I tried the Blu Ray's and found I needed your MakeMKV program. However, in using it, I find it can't rip. It tells me my optical drive is LibreDrive possible but not enabled. I have attached a screen shot of MakeMKV trying to rip Prometheus. It provides the make and model of my drive but I can't find what firmware version it is. On other posts there are serious cautions about flashing this drive with the wrong firmware version.

From the information provided in the screen shot, can someone inform me of:
1. whether this drive can be LibreDrive enabled;
2. what firmware I need (if it can be enabled); and
3. a link to a youtube video describing the process.

Thanks in advance for any help / guidance you can offer.
u2jimboLibreDrive_Prometheus_ScsiError.jpg

Yeah flash de bu40n 1.00 or 1.03mk
Look at pined UHD guide in UHD drives for my videos

[u2jimbo]

BillyCar11:

I wanted to let you know that I followed your guidance and have been successful in flashing my drive. I watched your YouTube video a few times; downloaded the bin file off Google; used the included flasher app and a few heart palpitations later finished the flash.

The proof is in the pudding. I have ripped three blu rays so far. Each has played perfectly on Plex. See attached snapshot of completed rip of Oblivion.

Thank-you very much for your guidance! And thanks to all of your buddies that sustain this website with your group expertise. People like me with expertise in other areas would truly flounder. The MakeMKV and LibreDrive apps are true works of art - so simple to use but (I imagine) so complex to create.

[Billycar11]

BillyCar11:

I wanted to let you know that I followed your guidance and have been successful in flashing my drive. I watched your YouTube video a few times; downloaded the bin file off Google; used the included flasher app and a few heart palpitations later finished the flash.

The proof is in the pudding. I have ripped three blu rays so far. Each has played perfectly on Plex. See attached snapshot of completed rip of Oblivion.

Thank-you very much for your guidance! And thanks to all of your buddies that sustain this website with your group expertise. People like me with expertise in other areas would truly flounder. The MakeMKV and LibreDrive apps are true works of art - so simple to use but (I imagine) so complex to create.

nice glad it worked out for you.

[Chris Kelly]

If the LG WH16NS60 has been discontinued (and considering how hard it is to find a new one from an authorized LG reseller, I think this is a sad possibility), this Pioneer has the same 16X BDR read spead, making it equal in POTENTIALLY the fastest read speed available. The thing that makes this drive an even faster reader than any of the ASUS and LG drives is the fact that its drive utility software allows the user to save settings to the drive which remove riplock and force the drive to read and write as fast as each disk format/type will allow. Now that (1) ASUS and LG don't appear to plan to released any new optical drives any time soon, (2) haven't released any new firmware for them since 2019, (3), and the latest MK firmware has been developed for them, would now be a good chance to focus on at least getting MKV to work with this Pioneer BDR-212UBK, and then modding its firmware to be libre-capable, and then applying MKV to work with slightly older models and even adapt their firmware as well?

[MartyMcNuts]

If the LG WH16NS60 has been discontinued (and considering how hard it is to find a new one from an authorized LG reseller, I think this is a sad possibility), this Pioneer has the same 16X BDR read spead, making it equal in POTENTIALLY the fastest read speed available. The thing that makes this drive an even faster reader than any of the ASUS and LG drives is the fact that its drive utility software allows the user to save settings to the drive which remove riplock and force the drive to read and write as fast as each disk format/type will allow. Now that (1) ASUS and LG don't appear to plan to released any new optical drives any time soon, (2) haven't released any new firmware for them since 2019, (3), and the latest MK firmware has been developed for them, would now be a good chance to focus on at least getting MKV to work with this Pioneer BDR-212UBK, and then modding its firmware to be libre-capable, and then applying MKV to work with slightly older models and even adapt their firmware as well?

Mike has been working on the Pioneer drives for a few months now. Just be patient. I'm sure he will let us all know sooner or later if any will be libredrive capable.

[Chris Kelly]

If the LG WH16NS60 has been discontinued (and considering how hard it is to find a new one from an authorized LG reseller, I think this is a sad possibility), this Pioneer has the same 16X BDR read spead, making it equal in POTENTIALLY the fastest read speed available. The thing that makes this drive an even faster reader than any of the ASUS and LG drives is the fact that its drive utility software allows the user to save settings to the drive which remove riplock and force the drive to read and write as fast as each disk format/type will allow. Now that (1) ASUS and LG don't appear to plan to released any new optical drives any time soon, (2) haven't released any new firmware for them since 2019, (3), and the latest MK firmware has been developed for them, would now be a good chance to focus on at least getting MKV to work with this Pioneer BDR-212UBK, and then modding its firmware to be libre-capable, and then applying MKV to work with slightly older models and even adapt their firmware as well?

Mike has been working on the Pioneer drives for a few months now. Just be patient. I'm sure he will let us all know sooner or later if any will be libredrive capable.

No rush. I just thought that now would be a good opportunity for you guys to work on the Pioneers as long as ASUS and LG don't appear to be releasing any new hardware or firmware and the latest firmwares for those have been adapted to MK versions. But if I'm wrong about that assumption, I'd be glad if ASUS, LG, and even Pioneer are lerking/lurking around the forums and decide to come out with something new and faster, sell it in a way it meets the terms and conditions of their licensing, and leave those hidden back doors for the developers here at MakeMKV.

[st4evr]

No rush. I just thought that now would be a good opportunity for you guys to work on the Pioneers as long as ASUS and LG don't appear to be releasing any new hardware or firmware and the latest firmwares for those have been adapted to MK versions. But if I'm wrong about that assumption, I'd be glad if ASUS, LG, and even Pioneer are lerking/lurking around the forums and decide to come out with something new and faster, sell it in a way it meets the terms and conditions of their licensing, and leave those hidden back doors for the developers here at MakeMKV.

Your assumption is incorrect. That’s not how that works. Would be nice for anyone who legitimately just simply wants to back up their legally purchased media content to have a more legal and less difficult venue/option to do so, but what is done here and in the likes of AnyDVD or DeUHD as additional examples does not and it will never meet the “licensing” terms/contracts between hardware manufacturers, movie studios, and AACS LA. You are definitely reaching on that one.

This has been a cat and mouse game for decades for a reason. And in the simplest terms that being money and profits. You are welcomed to blame the studios till the end of time for all these difficulties. And to an extent, the digital pirating community. Because anyone who wants to do this (backup their rightfully purchased digital content) unfortunately gets grouped into that from the perspective of the studios regardless of whether one is a legitimate content customer/purchaser or not.

[Chris Kelly]

No rush. I just thought that now would be a good opportunity for you guys to work on the Pioneers as long as ASUS and LG don't appear to be releasing any new hardware or firmware and the latest firmwares for those have been adapted to MK versions. But if I'm wrong about that assumption, I'd be glad if ASUS, LG, and even Pioneer are lerking/lurking around the forums and decide to come out with something new and faster, sell it in a way it meets the terms and conditions of their licensing, and leave those hidden back doors for the developers here at MakeMKV.

Your assumption is incorrect. That’s not how that works. Would be nice for anyone who legitimately just simply wants to back up their legally purchased media content to have a more legal and less difficult venue/option to do so, but what is done here and in the likes of AnyDVD or DeUHD as additional examples does not and it will never meet the “licensing” terms/contracts between hardware manufacturers, movie studios, and AACS LA. You are definitely reaching on that one.

This has been a cat and mouse game for decades for a reason. And in the simplest terms that being money and profits. You are welcomed to blame the studios till the end of time for all these difficulties. And to an extent, the digital pirating community. Because anyone who wants to do this (backup their rightfully purchased digital content) unfortunately gets grouped into that from the perspective of the studios regardless of whether one is a legitimate content customer/purchaser or not.

When I mentioned licensing and back doors, I ment the manufacturers who are licensed by the industry to build hardware and develop software have guidelines to follow for reasons I'm aware of which you just explained. Sometimes, their hardware and software have back doors which are supposed to be kept secret within their circles for service/repair purposes only. But you know how they get leaked--LOL. As far as the politics of the whole situation which I am totally aware of, I am a professional musician AND a consumer enthusiast. So I see this situation from both perspectives. There should be a way for the music and movie industries to maintain protection while consumers have flexibility. Until the manufacturers and the industry agree upon such a solution, this is where you guys come in and leave it up to us to use these tools in ways that would benefit us without hurting the music and movie industries. Are we on the same page? LOL.

[KingPenguin]

So I bought this drive without knowing that ripping 4k discs was different from ripping regular blurays and that LibreDrive was a thing. The return period has passed since I didn't get around to trying it out soon enough and I was wondering if there will be a new thread posted when this drive gets supported or if I just need to check the main firmware thread periodically. Is it still on the agenda to be supported for UHD ripping at some point?

[Nitz30]

Hi everyone, got this drive not long ago and wanted to know it's finally working with LibreDrive
thank you

[Woodstock]

No Pioneer drives are currently compatible with LibreDrive. But they are considered very good if you're burning disks.

You'll see the part about compatibility change when it's figured out.

[destine97]

I'm interested in purchasing a Pioneer BDR-212XJ drive for, well, aesthetic reasons (it's one of the few BDXL drives that's available with a beige-coloured bezel), but while that drive is BDXL capable, it does not support UHD playback.

Assuming Libredrive support for the BDR-212 series drives does appear, will UHD ripping be supported on this drive model?

[MartyMcNuts]

I'm interested in purchasing a Pioneer BDR-212XJ drive for, well, aesthetic reasons (it's one of the few BDXL drives that's available with a beige-coloured bezel), but while that drive is BDXL capable, it does not support UHD playback.

Assuming Libredrive support for the BDR-212 series drives does appear, will UHD ripping be supported on this drive model?

Not necessarily. You will have to wait and see.

LibreDrive does not equal UHD ripping capable. Libredrive basically disables the host certificate revocation process which will stop your drive from being revoked.

[Cheeweechoochoo]

I was looking at this post and I'm pretty sure that it is UHD friendly.

Looking at the product page https://www.pioneerelectronics.com/PUSA ... BDR-212UBK it says that it is Ultra HD Ready.

It would seem the EBK version is not https://pioneer-blurayodd.eu/products/b ... /index.php

and the DBK version (the shitty one I only seem to be able to find in Australia) can't even do XL discs https://pioneer-blurayodd.eu/products/b ... /index.php