LG WH16NS40 not responding to SDFTool_Flasher

[MartyMcNuts]

For the Pioneers, could you explain which ones are good for UHD? I've read the firmware flashing guide and the updates regarding Pioneer but I still can't tell which generations of Pioneer drives are fine. It sounds like there was awhile while Pioneers couldn't be flashed but that the new ones being produced are fine?

The relevant bits I've picked up about the pioneers:

• internal BDR models 205, 206, and 207 are too old and are not flashable to UHD, but still usable for regular BD rips
• the oldest internal that can be flashed to UHD I understand was the 208
• it needs to have a firmware date before a certain cutoff, sometime in 2022 as I recall; firmwares after that date are encrypted and cannot currently be flashed/replaced
• there are still internal models findable on ebay, but you have to be willing to bet on how old they might really be (the label could be faked), and whether the firmware date will be the right date range; but I did find 209's from a seller in San Diego that flashed to UHD, and from a china seller an apparent 212 that has some very questionable traits to it but rips UHD discs out of the box
• there's also slim drives and I haven't kept up with that range of models
• don't confuse "libredrive" support with "UHD" support; there's a recent change that gives libredrive support to those later-non-flashable firmwares, but that does not provide UHD read ability

For "generations" what I understand is there's like 4:

• oldest ones that cannot be flashed to UHD
• middle ones that didn't support UHD out of the box, but have a firmware that's old enough that they can be cross-flashed to support UHD
• middle ones that didn't support UHD out of the box, but have a firmware that's too new (ie encrypted) and cannot be cross-flashed to support UHD
• later ones that support UHD out of the box (and thus don't need to be flashed)

I haven't learned how to distinguish that last set, and they also seem to be the highest priced; I've been focusing on understanding the other three sets.

The last one:

Only UHD models support UHD out of the box. For external, think BDR-XD07UHD, BDR-XS07TUHD, BDR-XD08UMB-S and possibly a couple of other models. For internal, think BDR-S12UHT, BDR-S13U-X, BDR-S13UBK etc... The main thing is that it is an official UHD drive. It should have the UHD logo or at least say it supports UHD discs.

Yeah, the best chance at getting a 5.25" drive is buying used. If going this route, ensure you find out the firmware date from the seller. Even better, aske the seller to connect the drive and provide the Drive info & Libredrive info sections from MakeMKV. This will provide all info needed to find out if the drive can read UHD or be cross-flashed to read UHD discs.