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Roxy.music

macrumors 6502a
Original poster
Jun 9, 2019
861
90
uk
Is it better to buy a external portable burner or a internal one I have this
Icybox External Enclosure for 5.25 inch SATA Blu-Ray/CD/DVD Drives and 3.5 inch HDDs and thinking of something like this
Asus BW-16D1HT 16X SATA Blu-Ray Recorder Drive (Retail Pack)
Asus BW-16D1HT 16X SATA Blu-Ray Recorder Drive .Would the internal one have a better sound than the external portable one ?I am thinking of this one Pioneer BDR-XD05TB 6 x Slim Portable USB 3.0 BD/DVD/CD Burner or this one
Buffalo BRXL-16U3-EU 16 x USB 3.0 External Blu-ray Drive in its own enclosure that would be the same price as the external portable one
I don't need a portable one.
or the Buffalo one
Are mains powered ones better than USB ones?
 

Juicy Box

macrumors 604
Sep 23, 2014
7,570
8,911
I would think that there probably wouldn't be any performance differences, but a portable one might be nice in case you want to use it with a different computer.

A side note that might influence your decision, I noticed that my USB BluRay drive sometimes has errors if used with only one USB port, so I usually plug it into two ports for the extra power.
 

HDFan

Contributor
Jun 30, 2007
7,214
3,263
There is an Asus Blu-Ray drive that can have the firmware reloaded so that you can rip 4K videos.

I had 2 Buffalo BR-XB16U2s. One eventually died, but the other is still going after ~7 years. All of my drives require external DC power packs.
 

Roxy.music

macrumors 6502a
Original poster
Jun 9, 2019
861
90
uk
I have seen that HDfan. There are so many drives out there I read the reviews on. Amazon.Does the one I put up on here have the firm ware reloaded?
 

Fishrrman

macrumors Penryn
Feb 20, 2009
29,046
13,077
I'd suggest an EXTERNAL (so it's portable) USB Bluray/DVD/CD burner with M-DISC capabilities, in either a "top-loading" or "slide-out door loading" style enclosure.

I don't care for "slot-loaders".
 
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Roxy.music

macrumors 6502a
Original poster
Jun 9, 2019
861
90
uk
Does the Buffalo BRXL-16U3 have the firmware for 4K videos. HDfan I see it does not appear in the list.Another thing is if i got one with out the firmware can i record a pre recorded Blu Ray disc?
I would like to say i don,t own any Blu Ray disc,s and i don,t have a 4k monitor at present.
 

HDFan

Contributor
Jun 30, 2007
7,214
3,263
Does the Buffalo BRXL-16U3 have the firmware for 4K videos.

No manufacturer ships a Blu-Ray drive with firmware that permits 4K ripping. As for 4K video playback I can only suggest that you search Amazon or the manufacturers description to see if it supports 4K playback.

Here's one:


Does the Buffalo BRXL-16U3 have the firmware for 4K videos.


I don't see on the Buffalo website that it supports 4K playback.
 

Roxy.music

macrumors 6502a
Original poster
Jun 9, 2019
861
90
uk
They do them on ebay This is a genuine LG 14X Reader / Writer. Although originally designed to READ UHD/4K Blu Rays the Firmware now shipped with the original drive restricts this to standard Blu Ray Read / Write. I am experienced in what is called "Crossflashing" of the Firmware which removes this restriction. You are left with the original capabilities of the drive as shipped but now you can read/play UHD/4K discs without paying for a more expensive UHD/4K native drive.
BE WARNED - YES, IT IS POSSIBLE TO DO THIS YOURSELF IF YOU HAVE THE TECHNICAL KNOW HOW BUT IT IS NOT RECOMMENDED AND THERE IS A HIGH PROBABILITY OF BREAKING THE DRIVE IRREVERSEIBLY AND INVALIDATING YOUR WARRANTY.
ALSO - THE OFFICIAL LG FIRMWARE FLASHING TOOL ON THEIR WEBSITE WILL NOT ENABLE THIS FEATURE. THERE IS A MYTH ON THE INTERNET SAYING THAT BY SIMPLY "DOWNGRADING" THE DRIVE TO AN OFFICIAL OLDER ASUS FIRMWARE IT WILL ENABLE UHD / 4K READ CAPABILITY - TRUST ME IT DOESN'T! THIS OPERATION REQUIRES YOU TO KNOW WHAT YOU ARE DOING!
FINALLY - FLASHING THE DRIVE WITH A GENERIC "HACKED" FIRMWARE ALSO DOES NOT WORK AND WILL RENDER IT UNUSABLE. THIS IS BECAUSE EACH INDIVIDUAL DRIVE HAS UNIQUE CODES WHICH GET OVERWRITTEN IF YOU TRY THIS.
MY CREDENTIALS - I AM A SEMI RETIRED IT ENGINEER / CONSULTANT WITH 30 YEARS EXPERIENCE IN THE INDUSTRY AND HAVE PROVIDED THIS OR SIMILAR SERVICE FOR FREE TO FREINDS AND FAMILY AS A TEST. NONE HAVE COME BACK AND ANYWAY YOU ARE COVERED BY MY 100% FREE OF CHARGE GUARANTEE. GIVE ME A GO AND YOU WON'T BE DISSAPOINTED.
 

Roxy.music

macrumors 6502a
Original poster
Jun 9, 2019
861
90
uk
There is an Asus Blu-Ray drive that can have the firmware reloaded so that you can rip 4K videos.

I had 2 Buffalo BR-XB16U2s. One eventually died, but the other is still going after ~7 years. All of my drives require external DC power packs.

I’ve used for 7 years using the OWC
When manufacturers discover firmware that allows 4K rips they update it to remove the capability. There are only a few drives which can be flashed:


The "ASUS BW-16D1HT, UHD Friendly Internal 5.25" is on the list. After purchase, it would need to be flashed.

Pro 16K Blu-Ray Burner and it‘s still going!
[/QUOTE]
I have ordered the Asus one you mentioned here this guy has it with the firmware you mention.
I got a used one on eBay.
And the OWC Mercury Peo encloser
 
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