Hello! I have done a bit of research at this point, but still have a few questions
TLDR; I bought a Matashita drive on Amazon not knowing they have a stupid RPC-2 rule that cannot be changed.
Do not need a 4k UHD Blue-Ray player, but looking for one to handle 1080p. Want to avoid this dumb RPC-2 fiasco again.
EDIT: Additionally, is there anyway to check if the "cheapo" drives in Amazon magically contain some of the better BU40Ns, etc?
Looking for recommendations or any guidance.
If the firmware can be flashed/controlled, that would be a benefit for sure. Not sure if these "basic" ones are even available anymore, but I would hope it allows me to save a little money.
TIA for any guidance or directions
New to MakeMKV; questions about drives
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AstralWanderer
- Posts: 64
- Joined: Wed Feb 04, 2026 10:45 am
Re: New to MakeMKV; questions about drives
Welcome to the forums Nicksnax,
RPC-2 refers to the region coding used by DVD players, which can nowadays be trivially bypassed by using software like VLC Player that accesses the disk directly, using open source algorithms to bypass the CSS encryption used on DVDs. Video resolution varies from 720x576 (PAL) to 720x480 (NTSC). If this is your issue, then just using VLC Player is the simplest solution.
Non-UHD Blu-ray players use a different (and much more complex) system called AACS (which has a different type of region coding where the world is split into 3 regions rather than 6 with DVD). VLC Player can be used to bypass this as well, but this requires extra setup (see the Bluray drive Doesn't work with VLC thread for more details). This should work with pretty much any BluRay drive and the video resolution of most HD content is 1920x1080.
MakeMKV offers an alternative approach of making an unencrypted copy of your BluRay onto your hard disk, which you can then play without needing the disc (which should then be stored somewhere safe, away from any environmental hazards). For standard BluRay disks, it can handle most cases without the need for drive firmware flashing.
However firmware flashing will enable a feature known as LibreDrive (see What is LibreDrive?) which can then handle any standard BluRay disc plus the enhanced protections used with UltraHD BluRays (video resolution 3840x2160, UHD discs have so far been region-free). For advice on flashable drives and how-tos, see the Ultimate UHD Drives Flashing Guide Updated 2026 thread.
Be aware that most manufacture of UHD-capable drives stopped in 20224/2025 so remaining drives are much harder to get, are increasing rapidly in cost and there is an increasing number of fakes being sold. If you need to purchase a UHD-capable drive then it would be safest to check out the Drives for Sale forum, and to do so sooner rather than later.
RPC-2 refers to the region coding used by DVD players, which can nowadays be trivially bypassed by using software like VLC Player that accesses the disk directly, using open source algorithms to bypass the CSS encryption used on DVDs. Video resolution varies from 720x576 (PAL) to 720x480 (NTSC). If this is your issue, then just using VLC Player is the simplest solution.
Non-UHD Blu-ray players use a different (and much more complex) system called AACS (which has a different type of region coding where the world is split into 3 regions rather than 6 with DVD). VLC Player can be used to bypass this as well, but this requires extra setup (see the Bluray drive Doesn't work with VLC thread for more details). This should work with pretty much any BluRay drive and the video resolution of most HD content is 1920x1080.
MakeMKV offers an alternative approach of making an unencrypted copy of your BluRay onto your hard disk, which you can then play without needing the disc (which should then be stored somewhere safe, away from any environmental hazards). For standard BluRay disks, it can handle most cases without the need for drive firmware flashing.
However firmware flashing will enable a feature known as LibreDrive (see What is LibreDrive?) which can then handle any standard BluRay disc plus the enhanced protections used with UltraHD BluRays (video resolution 3840x2160, UHD discs have so far been region-free). For advice on flashable drives and how-tos, see the Ultimate UHD Drives Flashing Guide Updated 2026 thread.
Be aware that most manufacture of UHD-capable drives stopped in 20224/2025 so remaining drives are much harder to get, are increasing rapidly in cost and there is an increasing number of fakes being sold. If you need to purchase a UHD-capable drive then it would be safest to check out the Drives for Sale forum, and to do so sooner rather than later.