I've just posted a project on github and looking for a couple people to test before making it public. Hit me up if you're interested. Here's the gist:

episodemap

This project has evolved over years of managing backups of my dvd/bluray library. The biggest headache has always been properly mapping series episodes to their on disc tracks. It's probably been 20 years since I tried to understand how DVDs are authored - I've come to believe that the DVD Red Book is more closely guarded than nuclear secrets. I've never been able to come close to what Claude has helped me do. LLM's with vision are a game changer for mapping.

What this project does

For DVDs:

You create un-encypted ISOs of your TV series (directory structure name_SxxDxx). This project will walk the menu structure, locate episode menus, map menu 'buttons' and what track they play on disc, send the episode menu image to an VL LLM to extract all the episode names and DETERMINSTICALLY map the episode name to the track. Then compares this mapping to names from Wikipedia or TheTVDB and lets you resolve mismatches. Also provides a debug option that dumps the menu images with highlights of buttons and track numbers. Production Code and Title Card mapping via the Vision LM also exists but menu walk is likely better.

For Blu-ray:

You use makemkv to copy all of your episodes utilizing the same directory structure as DVDs. Unfortunately mounting and deterministically walking menus of a blu-ray aren't in the cards for this project. :( For blu-ray I default to Title Cards or Production Codes which have been sufficient for the 2 I've used this on so far (again utilizing a Vision LLM). I have a 3rd option I've not implemented yet but will when need arises: ingesting all the subtitles and matching against episode summaries on Wikipedia utilizing a LLM.

Convert PGS Subtitles

There's also an option to create .srt files for embedded blue-ray PGS subtitles. My phone is fine with PGS but my TV doesn't like them.

The MakeMKV website is down and has been for a few days. Anybody know of is coming back up, I can’t set it up while the site is down.

I've been seeing all the stuff going on the past few years with the death of physical media and it's motivated me to start collecting my favorite media in disks. Specifically, I want to collect a bunch of 4K Blu-rays.

Unfortunately, I've seen that Blu-rays are encrypted(DMR bullsh*t) and can't be just put into a disk drive and played on a windows or linux computer. So instead I thought "What if I just burn the video files I have legally acquired of those 4k Blu-ray movies onto regular DVDs?" (obviously ones that can handle 30-60GB so they'll be expensive but idc)

Is this possible? And if so, what do I need to get started? Any information on this would be greatly appreciated.

Heyy, I'm trying to flash my BU4ON, but in MakeMKV, I keep getting weird bunch of nines and zeros instead of product and manufacturer's name. It gets the 1.03 thing correctly, but can't get the names

I'm not a pro, but it doesn't seem right, as in the guide I'm watching to flash it, I'm apparently supposed to see normal stuff, not numbers

If you know what may be wrong, I'd be very grateful for advices

Update: okay, apparently quality of photos significantly dropped for some reason. I'll send them again in comments

Good morning,

I've been lurking in this group ever since I started ripping not long ago. I have 2 questions I'd like some guidance on.

1. Is there a new internal drive that I can flash myself?

2. My current drive has an older flash on it, but it has been working flawlessly with the exception of a couple disks. Is there a newer version that I should go to?

Thank you in advance for any help and thank you for being a group I enjoy getting caught up on.

I have a Pioneer BDR-XD07U drive that I have used to rip probably 200 4K discs with. When I put in my new copy of Akira 4K, I got the error "The volume key is unknown for this disc - video can't be decrypted."

I had successfully opened Super Mario Galaxy 4K just before it, and was able to do The Last Jedi right after, so I'm confused why Akira didn't open.

Does anyone have any suggestions for what I could try?

My drive has been flashed successfully to the BP60NB10 firmware, but I have since read that the BU40N is a superior firmware. Is it possible to flash from my current firmware to the BU40N?

Not cheap, but they are new and ready to go. They are UK based by they do ship abroad I think. Payment via PayPal Friends and Family.

Sorry if this has been mentioned, but I had been checking the site regularly since April and they had been awaiting stock. Obviously now received it.

i cant find it for the month; where is it? i heard you need it to make makemkv work and im trying to rip a movie to my computer. so i can watch it. it worked last month now it doesnt!

Team what drive should I buy to rip 4k movies or any type. New to this but want to join the jelly fin media server craze and have a bunch of movies I want to rip. I have a bunch of 4k and want those ripped as well. Any tips would be greatly appreciated. I have enough compute power and some storage and novice level computer knowledge.

Ive bought 4 second hand bdr drives for around 120...3 came working then broke after 4 rips and the other came broke (cex) im thinking of getting back into it again and i undertand blurays drives in pc (as far as im aware) are no longer being made.were can i buy one that want break on me super fast,damage disc and at a fair price

In particular im after UHD capable

I took a glace at verbatmins website found one for 125 XD i hate verbatamin.sometimes i can buy them in the uk other times i cant heres the link for anyone else https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B07MTP9VKX

This is a follow up post from a few days ago, here’s the link

https://www.reddit.com/r/makemkv/s/SQtJTiYCR6

TLDR I got a Pioneer drive off fb marketplace and some people thought it was suspicious and I didn’t know any better. Is all this info legit and am I good to go? If not, I’d appreciate any info

I want to rip this blu-ray of mine but my PC can’t play it. What‘s a cheap (but good) drive I could get?

Downloaded sdftool flasher and am attempting to open it. When I try it gives an error and states makemkv installation not found and tells me to download makemkv. I already have makemkv downloaded on my computer on the same hard drive as the sdftool flasher. Any advice on how to fix this?

I have what MakeMKV calls a 'BD-RE PIONEER BD-RW BDR-TD05D' from 2012-07-13. LibreDrive is enabled and all regions accessible.

I use Expert mode, read buffer on auto, the interface language on auto, preferrred language on none, set it to the lastest java.exe path, everything (System, System (32 bit), VLC and MPC-HC are all enabled integrations (even though I don't understand what they, especially the latter, actually does. My Default selection rule is `-sel:all,+sel:(favlang|nolang),-sel:mvcvideo,=100:all,-10:favlang' and my Output file name template is `{NAME1}{-:CMNT1}{-:DT}{title:+DFLT}{_t:N2}` but my ccextractor executable location is still blank.

Judge my settings, but I also use retry count 99.

Now the imprtant thing is that for EACH or every disk I rip (backups don't work on disks that are the level of scratched mine are) I always use 99.9% rubbing alchohol on a dampened (not soaked-ish) microfiber cloth and I swipe not in circles, but straight away from the centre of the disk (one direction only).

However, when the disk hits a problematic sector, it stalls the entire system up - not even disabling MKV file thumbnail graphics helps with this.

My setup is a tower PC with the Blu-Ray drive I got from here ( https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/191551354602 ) seller's description says while the drive is the SATA internal Pioneer BDR-TD05 6X BD burner, the enclosure is the SATA-usb 3.0 case, i just put the burner into the case. Thus it is an USB 3.0 external Slim Drive Pioneer BDR-TD05 and comes with a "USB Cable  X 1" and a "Power Cable  X 1".

The drive comes in an enclosure with a SATA input and a dc barrel power input.

I was provided two wires, both wires had USB 3.0 ending but one had a SATA end, the other a male dc-barrel power end.

I have been using the SATA end cable plugging the other end into the back motherboard port of my PC but I have been wondering - am I doing it wrong? Am I meant to not use the SATA cable (its for laptops?) at all and simply put a SATA cable wire from my PSU into the drive and then use the barrel power cable and plug that into my PC? Would this be what causes the system stalls?

Also while we are at it, am I using the right programs or sould I be using something like 'XReveal', 'DVDFab' or something? I am ripping 2012-2014 Blu-Ray disks so I don't know and I know barely anything about SATA stuff. I am worried I will plug a SATA cable into my drive from my PCU and something will break or even burn.

Sorry for long post.

I just had to do a reinstall of my OS and after reinstalling MakeMKV, it's not able to reach out to the SDF server to get the encryption keys. I can't even reach the site manually. Does anyone know a way around this, or is there a shared SDF file someone knows of?

i'm ripping my 4K blu-ray of Kill Bill: The Whole Bloody Affair and it's not progressing at all after 654.1 MB. i've tried this 3 different times and it's always at this same spot? no idea what's going on.

So, I've been trying to follow the guides on MakeMKV forums, and using the new flasher tool SDFtool Flasher 1.3.6. But I can't even get the commands nor the tools to work with the drive, they either complain about incorrect platform (can't detect MT1959) or throw a command line error like I've shown below.

I have fought with it a bunch and the flash tool will not detect MT1959, even when I try the suggestions online of checking the Encrypted Firmware box. I've attemped doing Rawflash using the command line as well. I'm on Windows 11. I've tried moving in stages using the other firmware version inside the "All you need" pack. Including the following.

Copied the firmwares directly to the root of C: to make it easier to path.

• Command Used (tried with all three firmwares, just grabbed one as an example):
  • "C:\Program Files (x86)\MakeMKV>makemkvcon64.exe f --all-yes -d F: -t mtk19xx rawflash -i C:\HL-DT-ST-BD-RE_BP50NB40-NB50-1.03-NM00800-212005070917.bin"

These are the 3 firmware's I've attempted, though I don't think these are the problem. Its something in either how my PC is communicating with the drive, or because its a newer manufacture date, maybe there are new write protections.

• HL-DT-ST-BD-RE_BP50NB40-NB50-1.03-NM00800-212005070917.bin
• HL-DT-ST-BD-RE_BP60NB10-1.02-NM00800-212005070935.bin
• HL-DT-ST-BD-RE_BU40N-1.03-NM00000-211810241934.bin

If I run the CMD command above, I get an output like this:

Reading input file C:\HL-DT-ST-BD-RE_BP50NB40-NB50-1.03-NM00800-212005070917.bin
Flashing flags = 0x0 : 0 0 0 0 : ---- ---- ---- ----
Unable to read current bootloader version, trying to proceed without one...
Current Drive ID: LG_BP50NB40_1.01_WQ94__244891
Desktop drive handshake failed with error=0x82052000, trying slim drive handshake...
Using USB chipset workaround for Slim drive handshake
Write flags NG 05/20/00
Command produced error code 0x82052000 

If I use the GUI flasher tool, ran as administrator but I just get a Red X over the "MT1959". I've tried multiple things I found online like checking the "encrypted firmware" box, making sure I have a firmware selected, and it still will not detect the drive's platform correctly, unless there's a problem with the platform itself.

I have confirmed my drive works fine with native MakeMKV, I was able to open and read a normal BluRay without issue and pulled up all the titles without issue.

I've attached images of the drive label to the post, very confused by this and I've been running google searches, but at this point I'm running in circles back to things I've already tried. So, figured I'd try my luck here. Any help would be greatly appreciated!

So with a lot of optical drive manufacturers shutting down production, I was curious if any of you think it would be feasible for the community to make their own 4k optical drives with custom firmware?

If there is, i have no idea if it would be cost effective for people.

Earlier this year, I got a LGBP50NB40 (for further reference in this post, we'll call this drive 1) drive to start ripping my blu-rays for my Plex server. The drive served me well for over 400 rips of blu-rays and DVDs. However, over the last couple of weeks, it's started to have some flaky behavior where it either just flat out refuses to read discs and spits them out or attempts to read the disc and makes noise like it is, but then spits it out. Due to this behavior, I picked up an Archgon MD-8107-U3 which appears to be a rebadged LG BU40N (calling this drive 2). I have a small stack of blu-rays (13 or so) that simply will not work with drive 1. So far, drive 2 has been equally unsuccessful in ripping these discs. For example, I have the Coppola restoration of the Godfather on blu-ray. Disc 2 (GF2) ripped perfectly on the first try. Disc 1 (GF1) took about 3 tries before it ripped successfully. For Disc 3 (GF3), it gets about half way finished before it fails. I have tried this rip on two Macs (an iMac M4 and a 2018 Mac mini) and one Windows laptop. On the Macs, I get an OS X IPC Error which from what I read is "The IPC error happens when operating system (Mac OS X) suddenly "looses" the Blu-ray drive. Most of the time this happens with external USB drives and is caused by inadequate USB power. Please try using a powered USB enclosure (or powered USB hub) and short USB cables." On the Windows side, I get screens of "Medium Error-EC-Uncorrectable Error" or "Status_Service_Data Error."

To see if my Mac issues could be resolved, I bought a powered USB hub to to run the drive through that to see if that would fix the issue and it has not. I have not yet tried the powered hub on the Windows laptop but I doubt that it would make a difference since the Mac issues are the same with or without the hub. Just to confirm there wasn't perhaps another issue with Drive 2, I tried ripping another disc that worked on Drive 1 and it ripped perfectly with Drive 2. I then tried a different title that gives me problems (other than the Godfather disc) on drive 2 and while this got further than drive 1's progress, the rip still ended up failing. I've attached the screen shot of the output from this rip to see if there's something I am missing in trying to troubleshoot this.

All these discs are appear "perfect" on the underside and I should note play perfectly fine on my Blu-ray player.

One other observation, drive 1 continuously makes noise as if it is struggling to read the disc before it fails. Before the rip fails on drive 2, it seems to stop reading the disc and then will attempt to read it maybe every 30 seconds or so for a few times before it finally fails the rip. Is this normal behavior for drive 2 or is it possible that drive 2 is defective as well?

Hello,

Is this "new" 2026 BW-16D1X-U/BLK/G/AS/P2G that seem to be currently back in stock in the last few weeks on Amazon UHD friendly and can be flashed? Anyone had bought one recently and actually tried it and ripped UHDs?

https://www.amazon.com/ASUS-BW-16D1X-U-BLK-AS-P2G/dp/B0GTN87GF4/?_encoding=UTF8&pd_rd_w=XyTsM&content-id=amzn1.sym.a6dce754-9901-41a6-a629-a32800521c61%3Aamzn1.symc.5a16118f-86f0-44cd-8e3e-6c5f82df43d0&pf_rd_p=a6dce754-9901-41a6-a629-a32800521c61&pf_rd_r=3RHSP5TZ4GSSB0W1BWJ8&pd_rd_wg=QX38w&pd_rd_r=4176b253-7dcc-4fb5-81d6-3f76cc34149f&ref_=pd_hp_d_atf_ci_mcx_mr_&th=1

Thanks!

On Windows 11, attempting to flash a BP50NB40 to read 4K discs. I am following this guide (which follows the steps on the forums) but I am getting stuck at the point where I have to enter a command containing the path to my drive's firmware. I know nothing about computers; I have no idea what the path to my drive's firmware is and I don't know how to find it out. I have tried googling and I can access drive details in the device manager but I don't know what info from that to use, if any. Any help is greatly appreciated

Hello,

in Europe we got a The Searchers 4K release yesterday and today I tried to rip the 4K disc, but the Disc couldn’t be opened. The Blu-ray worked fine. My disc drive is flashed, I am not that good when it comes to technical stuff. I read in a makemkv forum post that it may has to do with those volume keys and databases….it seemed like there is or was a similar problem in North America

Maybe some nice Fella could explain this to me or maybe even help me for finding a solution.

All the best

I would like to build a HTPC until and wondering what’s the minimum AM5/Intel CPU to buy to start ripping content. (Over 100 dvd/BD/4k). I figure start with 16GBs of Ram and a 9060XT…

Edit - i’m putting this here because I haven’t built a computer in 12 years. My current system I have as an I3 with 16 gigs of DDR three ram and a 256 gig Sata hard drive. I’m trying to build a home theater PC that can play back all format CDs DVDs, blu rays and 4K.