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AnyDVD UHD Drives and Firmware Questions

I'm sorry but I don't know why.

Regarding Asus firmwares 3.00, 3.01 and 3.02 perform in the same way, I don't know their own differences.
 
I think someone should point out that this is all experimental at this point. We do not know what’s going to happen in the future and certainly ripping UHD discs is not as simple as ripping Blu-ray discs. The reason the speed seems slower because you’re ripping over 100 GB. This certainly isn’t for everyone just those that want to experiment with the new UHD process.


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I think someone should point out that this is all experimental at this point. We do not know what’s going to happen in the future and certainly ripping UHD discs is not as simple as ripping Blu-ray discs. The reason the speed seems slower because you’re ripping over 100 GB. This certainly isn’t for everyone just those that want to experiment with the new UHD process.

Not sure if your reply was a response to my question about the Asus drive and the speed I was seeing, or something more general, but I was trying with a normal Blu-ray not a UHD disc, out of interest to compare two different drive types.
 
Asus UHD Friendly drive with firmware greater or equal to 3.00 have not riplock. ;)
Do you have a view why the rip speed appears to be a little slow or is this normal with current drives?

Incidentally, do you know what difference there is between the 3.00, 3.01 and 3.02 firmware versions?
I'm sorry but I don't know why.

Regarding Asus firmwares 3.00, 3.01 and 3.02 perform in the same way, I don't know their own differences.
There is a significant difference between 3.00 and 3.02; especially in drive noise, rip speed and OS compatibility with Windows 10. I went from 3.00 to 3.02, so I don't have personal experience with 3.01; but, I have seen many people on the forums say similar things regarding a reduction in drive noise with 3.01 (over 3.00). I would suggest updating to 3.02 to ensure the drive is operating optimally.

There are several factors to consider when trying to identify Rip Speed. Some things would be: interface (SATA, eSATA or USB), destination drive (7200 RPM, 5900 RPM or 5400 RPM HDD, AHCI SSD, NVMe SSD) and it's interface, is the system accessing the destination drive for other processes simultaneously, how full is the destination drive currently, how fragmented is the destination drive (for HDDs only), etc.

UHDs are either BD66 (Double Layer, 66GB Capacity) or BD100 (Triple Layer, 100GB Capacity) BDXL Discs (currently); I haven't seen or heard of UHD using BD128 (Quad Layer, 128GB Capacity) BDXL Discs, yet. Regardless, these discs are much larger than Standard Blu-ray (BD25 and BD50) Discs and if you look at the Read Speed for BDXL Discs, it is slower than BD Discs (as well as, the overall read speed is slower than the the burn speed).

I hope this helps illuminate some of the reasons for variance in Rip Speed. All you can do is try to make sure everything is optimized to ensure optimal results.
 
I will try the Asus BW-16D1HT first (delivered Monday from Amazon) and if not working because of the FW version, I’ll then try the LG BH16NS55. I hope that one of those will work cause the WH16NS40 is too expansive at now ...

Thanks a lot for your advices ...

LePousson
I would trust Asus over LG. The Asus drive is a rebadged LG, however, they still have the last "UHD Friendly" firmware posted on their support page (along with the a newer that removes it); unlike LG, which only lists the current firmware that removes "UHD Friendliness" altogether. Plus, it seems (from what I have read) that the Asus Drives are faster and more flexible (firmware wise). If your Asus Drive arrives with Firmware version 3.00 or 3.01, I would suggest updating to 3.02; but, stay away from 3.03 or higher.
 
I have two LG BE16NU50, one running ASUS firmware 3.01, the other 3.02.
Just wanna confirm SLKabaker's comment on the reduced noise compared to v3.00.
In addition to that there seems to be no obvious difference between 3.01 and 3.02.
 
From my experience, I own two ASUS BW-16D1HT drives. One was manufactured in 2015 and the other in 2017. Both came with the 3.00 firmware. I can top 30 MB/s using the ASUS drives using the 3.00 firmware so I don't really see where I'd need more speed. Looking at the drives there are clear design differences externally speaking. Both are then housed in Vantec NextStar DX USB 3.0 external enclosures. I also own an LG WH16NS60 installed internally in my Cooler Master Cosmos II tower which has 8 fans and liquid cooling. Noise-wise the ASUS drive manufactured in 2015 is quieter than the one from 2017, however, as I noted there are obvious physical design differences and I attribute the differing noise level to that. Neither is loud, IMO. Also, both of the ASUS drives installed in the external enclosures that should be easier to hear than the internally installed LG WH16NS60 are more quiet than the LG. The LG was noisier when I first got it, IMO, but has seemed to quiet down with use although it's still my loudest drive. Speed-wise the ASUS drives are on par with my Pioneer BDR-205 & BDR-2209 drives if not faster. I'd say the ASUS drives are faster than the LG WH16NS60.

Given that I don't consider the ASUS drives loud running the 3.00 firmware and both are more than speedy I don't see a reason to really push for an update to the 3.02 firmware.

Just my two cents. YMMV.
 
Teddyraspin or anyone else.. question..

BH16NS55 so you can crossflash to ASUS, what model is supported there highest model or older model ? and is 3.00 3.01 or 3.02 all uhd working ?
any other drives also that the BH16NS55 is compatible to be crossflashed to ? and what firmwares are compatible with UHD what about BH16NS68 ?
or WH series drives ?

cheers.
 
From my experience, I own two ASUS BW-16D1HT drives. One was manufactured in 2015 and the other in 2017. Both came with the 3.00 firmware. I can top 30 MB/s using the ASUS drives using the 3.00 firmware so I don't really see where I'd need more speed. Looking at the drives there are clear design differences externally speaking. Both are then housed in Vantec NextStar DX USB 3.0 external enclosures. I also own an LG WH16NS60 installed internally in my Cooler Master Cosmos II tower which has 8 fans and liquid cooling. Noise-wise the ASUS drive manufactured in 2015 is quieter than the one from 2017, however, as I noted there are obvious physical design differences and I attribute the differing noise level to that. Neither is loud, IMO. Also, both of the ASUS drives installed in the external enclosures that should be easier to hear than the internally installed LG WH16NS60 are more quiet than the LG. The LG was noisier when I first got it, IMO, but has seemed to quiet down with use although it's still my loudest drive. Speed-wise the ASUS drives are on par with my Pioneer BDR-205 & BDR-2209 drives if not faster. I'd say the ASUS drives are faster than the LG WH16NS60.

Given that I don't consider the ASUS drives loud running the 3.00 firmware and both are more than speedy I don't see a reason to really push for an update to the 3.02 firmware.

Just my two cents. YMMV.
I would suggest downloading the 3.02 Firmware, just to have. Like I said, there have been issues with the 3.00 and Windows 10. I am not the only one to experience this. As well as, Disc Compatibility. So while it works great now; if, in the future it doesn't, you have the update when needed. I am happy the noise doesn't bother you; regardless of that, it still makes it even quieter.
 
Teddyraspin or anyone else.. question..

BH16NS55 so you can crossflash to ASUS, what model is supported there highest model or older model ? and is 3.00 3.01 or 3.02 all uhd working ?
any other drives also that the BH16NS55 is compatible to be crossflashed to ? and what firmwares are compatible with UHD what about BH16NS68 ?
or WH series drives ?

cheers.
@TeddyRaspin is definitely more knowledgeable about this than I am. What I do know, is that the Asus Firmware is faster than LG's and it can be put on the LG BH16NS55; because, both drives (ASUS BW-16D1HT & LG BH16NS55) use the same (or similar enough) PCB/Chipset. Asus gets the internals of their drive from LG. Which is why I switched to buying the Asus Drives, seeing as their Firmware is better, might as well get whatever else Asus may be optimizing over LG's Stock Configuration. I don't know, regarding the BH16NS68, if it will support Asus' Firmware.
 
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I would suggest downloading the 3.02 Firmware, just to have. Like I said, there have been issues with the 3.00 and Windows 10. I am not the only one to experience this. As well as, Disc Compatibility. So while it works great now; if, in the future it doesn't, you have the update when needed. I am happy the noise doesn't bother you; regardless of that, it still makes it even quieter.

I had all the firmwares archived prior to receiving my drives and there are always sites like Firmware HQ. Regardless, I archive everything. ;)

You can hear them, sure, but you can hear any drive to some extent. Loud? IMO no so there's no level of noise tolerance. With respect to compatibility... we'll see. I've run into no issues with any UHD, Blu-ray or DVD discs thus far. If there comes a time that I run into a problem only then will I contemplate updating one of the drives and leaving the other with the 3.00 firmware.

If it ain't broke then don't fix it. It's always easier to properly update the firmware than playing games downgrading the firmware via unofficial flashing methods so blindly updating to the latest firmware simply because it's the latest version isn't actually the best course of action, IMHO. Newest doesn't always mean best. I'm also not saying the 3.02 firmware is bad. I'm just saying that staying at 3.00 leaves me more options and I'm not jumping through hoops.
 
@TeddyRaspin is definitely more knowledgeable about this than I am. What I do know, is that the Asus Firmware is faster than LG's and it can be put on the LG BH16NS55; because, both drives (ASUS BW-16D1HT & LG BH16NS55) use the same (or similar enough) PCB/Chipset. Asus gets the internals of their drive from LG. Which is why I switched to buying the Asus Drives, seeing as their Firmware is better, might as well get whatever else Asus may be optimizing over LG's Stock Configuration. I don't know, regarding the BH16NS68, if it will support Asus' Firmware.

thanks ;) my question was more on what other drives are also compatible with this BH16NS55
like WH drives or the BH16NS60 ? or WH60 ? or other models not sure of the model names but would be great to know what ones or all that can be crossflashed to and what firmwares latest that supports UHD ripping :) as obviously the higher model drives would support better or more optimal features :)
 
thanks ;) my question was more on what other drives are also compatible with this BH16NS55
like WH drives or the BH16NS60 ? or WH60 ? or other models not sure of the model names but would be great to know what ones or all that can be crossflashed to and what firmwares latest that supports UHD ripping :) as obviously the higher model drives would support better or more optimal features :)
You have to keep in mind that official UHD Drives prevent AnyDVD HD from decrypting UHD Discs. You have to stick with BDXL ("UHD Friendly") Drives. ASUS BW-16D1HT with Firmware 3.02 (or lower) will allow you to Rip UHD Discs with AnyDVD HD; Firmware 3.03 or higher will block AnyDVD HD. From my understanding, any LG Drive that ends in NS60, is an Official UHD Drive and will not work with AnyDVD HD. I believe you have to stick with BH & WH Drives that end in NS40, NS50 & NS55 that have a SVC code of NS50. Depending on the specific LG BDXL Drive, either 1.01 or 1.02 will be the last "UHD Friendly" Firmware. For sure, 1.03 and higher will prevent AnyDVD HD from decoding the UHD Disc.
 
Does anyone know if the ASUS BW-16D1X-U External Drive is "UHD Friendly"? I don't see anything on the specs that refers to it as being an Official UHD Drive or UHD Compatible Drive. Just wondering if anyone has used this drive with AnyDVD HD (or any other UHD Decryption Software)?
 
I had all the firmwares archived prior to receiving my drives and there are always sites like Firmware HQ. Regardless, I archive everything. ;)

You can hear them, sure, but you can hear any drive to some extent. Loud? IMO no so there's no level of noise tolerance. With respect to compatibility... we'll see. I've run into no issues with any UHD, Blu-ray or DVD discs thus far. If there comes a time that I run into a problem only then will I contemplate updating one of the drives and leaving the other with the 3.00 firmware.

If it ain't broke then don't fix it. It's always easier to properly update the firmware than playing games downgrading the firmware via unofficial flashing methods so blindly updating to the latest firmware simply because it's the latest version isn't actually the best course of action, IMHO. Newest doesn't always mean best. I'm also not saying the 3.02 firmware is bad. I'm just saying that staying at 3.00 leaves me more options and I'm not jumping through hoops.

FWIW I upgraded mine to 3.02 and haven't had any issues at all with it. My thought was that it was the very last firmware update the drive is ever going to see and we know it works with UHD so given that it probably has bug fixes as pointed out by SLKabaker, it's probably worth upgrading. I see zero reason to ever need to touch the firmware again on this drive.
 
FWIW I upgraded mine to 3.02 and haven't had any issues at all with it. My thought was that it was the very last firmware update the drive is ever going to see and we know it works with UHD so given that it probably has bug fixes as pointed out by SLKabaker, it's probably worth upgrading. I see zero reason to ever need to touch the firmware again on this drive.

No arguments with your reasoning but I also don't wholeheartedly agree. ;)

But, as I noted, I can always easily upgrade the firmware to 3.02 if I run into an issue. It's a no-brainer. A cakewalk. No hoops to jump through. Downgrading. Little bit harder and right now I don't have a running system that would work with DOSflash using FreeDOS with things set to IDE. It's a pain in my *** that I just don't need to deal with unless it becomes an issue. :) There are also many people who might make a mistake somewhere
 
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No arguments with your reasoning but I also don't wholeheartedly agree. ;)

But, as I noted, I can always easily upgrade the firmware to 3.02 if I run into an issue. It's a no-brainer. A cakewalk. No hoops to jump through. Downgrading. Little bit harder and right now I don't have a running system that would work with DOSflash using FreeDOS with things set to IDE. It's a pain in my *** that I just don't need to deal with unless it becomes an issue. :) There are also many people who might make a mistake somewhere

If you upgrade to 3.02 I believe you can downgrade with a modified flasher using the official firmware so it's not exactly a difficult proposition. :) And that's a windows flasher, btw, no freedos and all that jazz. If you flash to 3.03 or above then yea, it becomes problematic.
 
If you upgrade to 3.02 I believe you can downgrade with a modified flasher using the official firmware so it's not exactly a difficult proposition. :) And that's a windows flasher, btw, no freedos and all that jazz.

WARNING: There is a LOT of sarcasm, dry humour, and bluntness to follow. For those who might get offended easily then just stop reading and go flash the firmware on your optical drives or something. ;)

You believe. Key words in all of that. LOL! I'm not saying you are wrong. But are you right? ;) You probably are. Most certainly are but whatever. :p

I get what you are saying. And, in theory, I agree. But, practically speaking I don't see the need to blindly update unless an issue is encountered and I do have an understanding of this stuff albeit not on the level of you or people like TeddyRaspin. But, I see far too many people here and elsewhere that are so giddy to get on board with all of this UHD copying stuff that they are doing things that are far outside their wheelhouse and that is where problems can occur. Some really don't understand basics. Even for people super knowledgeable things can go wrong. A person that doesn't know enough? That can get real fun. AnyDVD and all these other lovely KISS-type software have to some extent helped with the dumbing down of complex things and opened up accomplishing them to everyone. To some extent I feel that this makes some people feel more empowered than they are or should be and they don't always think things through before leaping head first.

I've seen comments here and elsewhere about the 3.01 and 3.02 firmware being better for noise, speed, and reading [some] discs. That is awesome for people who had loud drives, slow drives, or read issues. I, however, have no noise issue, my drives are damn fast, and I have no disc read issues. So... why is it so important for me to update? ;) And, btw, I have no issue with people noting differences and how the newer firmwares might be better but it does irk me somewhat when people are way way too overly-enthusiastic about it and saying everyone... absolutely... must... update... now. It walks. It talks. It slices. It dices. Etc. I hope you see where I'm going with this? Again, people are free to their opinion and they can do whatever they want. It doesn't mean everyone should or has to. ;)

Anyway, I'm clearly in the minority here, I've made my opinion known, and I'll leave it at that. :) People can do whatever the h*** they want to their own hardware. If they make a mistake then it sucks to be them. I'll be sitting back happily using my drives and I might even roll my eyes when I see someone run into an issue because they made a mistake or accidentally flashed 3.03 instead of 3.02 because they definitely meant to flash 3.02. Etc. I might even chuckle which is mean of me. Sorry but I might. You get my drift. :p

PS: Did I use enough emojis? Not sure if I did. Maybe? No idea. I was attempting to at least maybe somehow lessen the bluntness of my words since on paper they can be inferred to be much more serious. Here's a few more. :cautious::whistle::confused::eek::rolleyes:o_O

NOTE: Seriously. Really. My intent was not to offend anyone and I hope people aren't. I was merely expressing my opinions and happened to do so in a style that is most definitely much more like I am in real life than I normally act here. Some people have always thought I was too serious.
 
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You have to keep in mind that official UHD Drives prevent AnyDVD HD from decrypting UHD Discs. You have to stick with BDXL ("UHD Friendly") Drives. ASUS BW-16D1HT with Firmware 3.02 (or lower) will allow you to Rip UHD Discs with AnyDVD HD; Firmware 3.03 or higher will block AnyDVD HD. From my understanding, any LG Drive that ends in NS60, is an Official UHD Drive and will not work with AnyDVD HD. I believe you have to stick with BH & WH Drives that end in NS40, NS50 & NS55 that have a SVC code of NS50. Depending on the specific LG BDXL Drive, either 1.01 or 1.02 will be the last "UHD Friendly" Firmware. For sure, 1.03 and higher will prevent AnyDVD HD from decoding the UHD Disc.

Thanks for the information so my information is what are the model names of the drives with SVC code NS50/NS55 that are compatible with crossflash between different models ?

WH??????
BH???????
ASUS?????

just want the model names :) as i gather most firmwares with 1.01 or 1.02 or 3.01 3.02 are working UHD friendly and 1.03 and 3.03 are not
just wanted to know what drives and what features they have being quietness and speed and riplock or not or better burn capability ect.... :)

latest LG`s seem to end in 60 or 68 on the model numbers but unsure of those. i ask these questions becuse i have a BH16NS55 that came with 1.03 fimware and i downgraded it to 1.02 with calibration data and it works for all UHD moves i have ripped so far :)
but i wanted to experiment and find out if im missing anything or a feature or more speed or blank disk compatibility :)
 
Thanks for the information so my information is what are the model names of the drives with SVC code NS50/NS55 that are compatible with crossflash between different models ?

WH??????
BH???????
ASUS?????

just want the model names :) as i gather most firmwares with 1.01 or 1.02 or 3.01 3.02 are working UHD friendly and 1.03 and 3.03 are not
just wanted to know what drives and what features they have being quietness and speed and riplock or not or better burn capability ect.... :)

latest LG`s seem to end in 60 or 68 on the model numbers but unsure of those. i ask these questions becuse i have a BH16NS55 that came with 1.03 fimware and i downgraded it to 1.02 with calibration data and it works for all UHD moves i have ripped so far :)
but i wanted to experiment and find out if im missing anything or a feature or more speed or blank disk compatibility :)
I gave you enough information to be able to know which drives were, at least initially, "UHD Friendly" by looking for drives that read BDXL and eliminating any drive that is listed as UHD Compatible (Official UHD Drive). Secondly, I pointed out that the model numbers that end in NS60 or NS68 are Official UHD Drives; so they are not useful for Ripping UHD Discs. It is not that hard to go to LG's website or Amazon's and look for BDXL Drives with Model Numbers that begin with WH or BH and end with NS40, NS50 or NS55. As far finding a drive with an SVC Code that ends in NS50 (SVC is a different number than the model number), was the more recent drives, but no online retailer will tell you in advance; order and find out (just like with whatever the drive's current firmware is). As far as Asus is concerned, the BW-16D1HT and the BW-16D1HT Pro were the most recent "Internal" BDXL Drives released. Part of the issue, is I am in the U.S. and I don't know where you are; so instead of listing a specific [LG] drive that is in the wrong region, I gave you enough information to figure it out quite easily! ;) The best firmware for the LG BH16NS55 is LG's 1.02 or Asus' BW-16D1HT 3.02 adapted for LG. Make sure you are comfortable with potentially "bricking" your drive when flashing modified firmware; if you are just learning this.

@TeddyRaspin has a great guide for dealing with Firmware: https://forum.redfox.bz/threads/dumping-downgrading-firmware-on-uhd-friendly-devices.74479/

Here is an old list of UHD Friendly Drives: https://club.myce.com/t/the-ultimat...drive-list-with-recommendation-of-best/399725
 
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