Got a 3.10 ASUS BW-16D1HT - a little help with some doubts?

[JavierAlbadalejo]

Hello, I need some help. First and foremost, if this is the wrong place for this, let me know, or move it.. or I'll try to repost it in the proper way. I have good intentions, I'm just a bit lost in the sea of this forum.

So I have this ASUS BW-16D1HT, that I bought explicitly because it's good, and because it's UHD friendly. Now, I want to flash it, to read UHD discs alongside BD discs. Here's where my doubt is - I have seen the instructions, and the video itself (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yfpf6HoMMis).. and downloaded everything needed within the YouTube description. I assume 'Downgrade Enabled Firmware' is specifically for downgrading firmware to be able to play UHD. And the flashing goes with the .exe? And the MK folder I assume contains custom firmware of 3.10 that allows for UHD friendly, yes? That custom firware which I have heard, also fixes the sleep bug? Which would be a fantastic thing..

I'm a bit so confused and lost, but I don't wanna pay 25 dollars for help. I know it's something simple but I'm a bit lost. Can someone just help me along? HOW do I exactly do the flashing, I assume I should go with MK 3.10, does it fix the sleep bug? Do I just pick the .exe of the Downgrade Enabled Firmware, and select the 3.10 MK of the drive .bin and install?

[Billycar11]

I don't recommend the sleep bugfix on Asus drives

[JavierAlbadalejo]

I don't recommend the sleep bugfix on Asus drives

I understand you mean that because it requires flashing for the drive to act as another Drive, yes? But I read somewhere that the MK custom 3.10 firmware fixes the sleep but "accidentally"?

[SamuriHL]

It does not.

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[JavierAlbadalejo]

I thought I read somewhere that it does.. well it's kind of a problem since I worry about the noise it'd makes, or having to unplug it off, etc. Like, I'd hate to try an UHD and have to face the 'sleep bug'. Though in certain, it only happens if you have the drive stopped for two minutes..

So, okay. The only fix for the sleep bug is to flash the firmware to make the drive believe it's another drive, yes? I'd rather not do that, I dunno. So do I move on to flashing MK 3.10 to my drive, how do I do it?

[SamuriHL]

Uhd friendly drives all have the so called sleep bug. Flashing the ns60 firmware prevents it. Honestly it's really an overblown problem. The miraculous fix if you run into it is to eject the disc and put it back. Otherwise if you're really concerned about it cross flash the ns60 firmware.

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[JavierAlbadalejo]

I'm not so keen on the idea of flashing my drive to think it's another. It'd be in a way like 'faking it' when doing backups. I guess it depends on some, I've read here someone who had to unplug the drive and plug it back in to eject the disc because it wouldn't, when doing the UHD sleep bug. Regardless, I'll try anyway, because other than trying it out, I don't think I might put that many UHD discs, I just want to have the compatibility. Besides, it's really as easy as taking care not to leave the drive in idle. Which means, having the disc not playing or paused more than two minutes, yes?

Also, is LibreDrive just a firmware modification so the Drive and computer can play BD without the need of a second hand program? Sort of like AnyDVD would do, or is it only for MakeMKV to work with it?

I still don't know how to exactly do the flash. It's something so simple yet I'm so confused and I apologize for the problems.

[SamuriHL]

Sure, put the disc in and immediately open it. Sleep bug avoided. I don't have this problem because AnyDVD has a work around for it that keeps the drive spinning constantly. One could argue that rather sucks, too, but, my BW-16D1HT is only used with AnyDVD and my NS60 is used with MakeMKV. No sleep bug problems.

Um, I have absolutely no idea what you're saying about LibreDrive but no it has nothing to do with protection removal. It allows MakeMKV to ignore MKB revocation lists so that any disc with a known title key can always be decrypted, but, it in no way removes AACS protection at all. The only modification it makes to the fimware is to restore the commands that allow it to upload small chunks of firmware code to the drive's memory to enable LibreDrive mode.

There are many threads that detail the process of how to flash in detail. Check the UHD drive forum for a sticky topic at the top of the forum on that very subject.

[JavierAlbadalejo]

I don't know how I did it, but it seems that VLC already opens any disc as quickly as it can when I insert it, so that's a good fix. And when it's inserted, don't have it idle, as in, don't stop playing it for more than two minutes, got it. I considered AnyDVD, but it's way too costly at the moment.

As for what I said about LibreDrive, then I assume I misunderstood the concept about it and what it does. So it's a firmware modification for the drive that simply allows MakeMKV to open almost any disc easier, no? And LibreDrive installs with MK, yes? I don't even know where to start to try LibreDrive.. :/ I wish there was a program like AnyDVD that allowed acess to the BD's insides, without needing to rip. I figured out how to make VLC play without needing a program, but sometimes, a disc will have hidden videos or whatever that I can only acess through the BDMV folder, and it doesn't play anything without something like AnyDVD. :/

As for the last point, I am aware. It was never my intention to open another thread and bother people, it's just I'm still very confused, and don't know quite what to do. I have this drive; should I flash it when I want to read UHD BD but I want it just to be there and won't read as many UHDs, just a couple? Yes. What other benefits I get aside from that? I'm going to assume LibreDrive and the UHD friendly flashes are completely different, or the same?

I guess I should start, if I have the 3.10 ASUS version, to flash 3.10-01 MK, but how, with what program exactly? And what does it bring in benefits?

[SamuriHL]

LibreDrive is something that MakeMKV uses with compatible drives. It disables certain "features" on the drive (MKB revocation lists, bus encryption) on a per disc basis. So you insert a disc, you open it with MakeMKV, and if your drive is LibreDrive compatible (meaning a proper firmware on it) then it's able to send the proper commands to enable that functionality. That's literally it. There is a sticky thread at the top of this forum that says "What is LibreDrive". I recommend reading it.

The MK firmware is for drives that are no longer UHD friendly or on supported firmware versions (e.g. real UHD drives). The MK firmware restores the parts of the firmware that allow LibreDrive to work. In some cases, such as on the BW-16D1HT drive, doing so restores UHD friendliness for firmware that removed it such as 3.10. Firmware 3.10 MK is widely considered the best firmware for this drive.

As for flashing it, the tools are in the thread I referenced. ASUS_ODD_FW_Changer_(Modified).exe is one of those tools. You run it, select your drive, select the firmware you want to load, and click flash. That's pretty much it.