Drive suggestion (internal or external) Blu ray ripping on Linux (fedora)

[MTScott]

I almost pulled the trigger on an ASUS BW-16D1HT from the jungle site, but figured I'd better check in with some experts first.

The purpose of this drive is not really for burning, or even playing them... ripping to file, ultimately into an mkv (using Handbrake) to play via Kodi. At least 1/5 of my collection has been destroyed, primarily because the kids can't seem to put them back in the sleeve/case, so, I'm making them more accessible and easier to play. I've done many DVDs without issue so far, but would like to get the most out of my blu ray discs.

I'll be running kodi on either rasberry pi OS, or Ubuntu (on a pi 4B), but i'll be ripping them on a Fedora workstation. It only has SATA2, but I'm guessing an SATA3 optical drive outta be fine on it. That said I'm open to an external drive, if that is the best option.

Key items:
* It will work... no insurmountable hardware restrictions for descryption/decoding. I was looking at a fancy Pioneer, but it seems pioneer has made it difficult on some drives at the hardware level to get past encryption
* It will play nice on linux (no windows specific required drivers/software to operate it)
* It is reasonably fast.
* I don't mind spending a bit more for a sure thing, but I'd prefer it be $200 or less. $100 or less would be ideal, but, again, I don't mind paying more for something that is rock solid in operation and adaptability.

If special firmware updates are required, I guess I'm okay with that as long as there is a clear solution for now and into the future. Ideally, this thing just works when I hook it up.

A question that popped up for windows users on the ASUS unit was that ASUS partnered with a burning software company that isn't standard (like Roxio). I'm not sure if that means it won't work on something like Roxio, or you just don't get the software for free. Either way, I'm seeing that there are many nuances at the blu ray level that I don't know about, and I figured I would ask more experienced folks before I drop the cash.

[crjackson]

Well MTScott, I see no one has replied. I don’t have an answer for you at the moment. I’ve ripped my fair-share of BD’s but it’s been years literally. I’m using a MacPro but I have windows and various Linux distributions installed (including Ubuntu). I’ve never heard of an optical drive being locked to an OS, so I seriously doubt that’s a concern. I have multiple optical drives installed in my machine. If I don’t get tied up tomorrow, I check my system report for installed hardware and see what I’ve got.

I too am looking to replace one of my drives (sticking tray). If you’ve already made your purchase, how about updating this thread so I can consider what you installed too?

[jan5678]

Well i have a Pioneer BD-RW BDR-S09 (with firmware 1.51, don't update!) and it works fine on Arch Linux with Makemkv

Makemkv is also available for Arm based hardware like pi

You can after ripping compress it with handbrake if you want, but if you have the storage space i would not do that

[usually_quiet]

There is a MakeMKV download for Linux here: https://forum.makemkv.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=3&t=224

[Edit]
The link for the Mac version is here: https://www.makemkv.com/download/

The ASUS BW-16D1HT is supported by MakeMKV but will need to be flashed for UHD Blu-ray ripping
[End Edit]

I run Windows and use MakeMKV for ripping DVD, Blu-ray, and UHD Blu-ray. I have two internal drives Blu-ray drives that I use for ripping but only one of them is still made. That drive is an LG WH14NS40. I bought mine in 2016. Because my drive was made before UHD Blu-ray existed, it has an old firmware version that works for ripping UHD Blu-ray and regular Blu-ray. However, if I bought a new LG WH14NS40 today, it would not work for UHD Blu-ray ripping out of the box because the firmware would be incompatible.

I just ordered a new LG WH16NS40. I will test my new drive for ripping regular Blu-ray after it arrives. Following that, I will flash it with modified firmware so I can use it for ripping UHD Blu-ray.

In case you are interested in ripping UHD Blu-ray with MakeMKV, here is some relevant information about that:

A Blu-ray drive that can read BDXL media is required for ripping UHD Blu-ray but not all are supported. Those that are supported will usually need to be flashed with replacement firmware.

Below is a link to a post at the MKV forums containing a list of current (as of 1/31/2023) compatible Blu-ray drive models with original firmware versions that allow them to be LibreDrives without flashing new firmware. Compatible drives and compatible firmware combinations are found under sections marked "compatible". https://forum.makemkv.com/forum/viewtopic.php?p=79712#p79712 Incompatible drive and firmware combinations require flashing to be used for UHD Blu-ray ripping. If the drive does not appear in the list at all. it won't work with MakeMKV for UHD Blu-ray ripping.

There is information about flashing a Blu-ray drive that has incompatible firmware to make UHD Blu-ray ripping possible at https://forum.makemkv.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=19634