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Budget External Blu-ray Drive

Well, I'll have to check what the budget actually is, maybe 65-85 won't be a problem.
Someone told me that I should just get whatever is cheapest, but I think I'd rather get the specific model that someone else that I trust has, just to garuntee that it works. Much appreciated, TM2YC.
 
I will still take more suggestions though.
 
Ended up going with a cheap DVD drive. There aren't many movies that I own exclusively on bluray, most I either own on just DVD or have both versions. I figured that I might get a Bluray drive down the line, but if I'm going to pick out a drive for someone to get as a gift for me, I don't want them to spend too much. I will still get plenty of use out of this.
 
So, there's some Region B releases that I want to work with in the future (or just watch). My computer's built-in Blu-Ray drive is the kind that absolutely, positively refuses to work with non-Region 1/Region A discs. MakeMKV simply cannot extract anything from them. And there is, to my knowledge, no means of disabling the region protection of that drive.

With that in mind - can anyone recommend anything that'll suit this purpose?

Ideally, I'd want something that's USB 3.0, still works with Windows 7, and - especially - won't be problematic for ripping Region B Blu-Rays with MakeMKV. Your feedback is most appreciated as always, friends.
 
matrixgrindhouse said:
So, there's some Region B releases that I want to work with in the future (or just watch). My computer's built-in Blu-Ray drive is the kind that absolutely, positively refuses to work with non-Region 1/Region A discs. MakeMKV simply cannot extract anything from them. And there is, to my knowledge, no means of disabling the region protection of that drive.

With that in mind - can anyone recommend anything that'll suit this purpose?

Ideally, I'd want something that's USB 3.0, still works with Windows 7, and - especially - won't be problematic for ripping Region B Blu-Rays with MakeMKV. Your feedback is most appreciated as always, friends.
Click to expand...
@matrixgrindhouse
Hi
I don’t think the region protection is in the hardware!
It’s your software that locks it to a region.
So Buying another Blu-ray drive won’t solve the problem.
But I could be totally wrong here.
 
^ Yeah, as far as I know it's a software thing. I use AnyDVDHD:

RedFox AnyDVD HD | Backup movie DVD and Blu-ray

AnyDVD HD is a Windows based application that removes restrictions of DVD and Blu-ray media automatically in the background. AnyDVD HD is the must-have utility for the serious home theater enthusiast.
www.redfox.bz www.redfox.bz

You have to pay a fee but it's problem free ripping with any format in any region from then on. I use it's "Rip video disc to harddisk" option all the time. Then once it's on your hardrive with all locks removed, I'll extract, or encode what I want. It also works if you want to play any discs on your computer. There are probably free alternatives but it's worth it for me.
 
@TM2YC

I tried the free trial of that program in the past - doesn't work. Granted, I've only done this on region 2 DVDs, but there's no way those are harder to handle than Blus. It isn't software. As far as I can tell, my drive has draconian hardware-level restrictions against out-of-region content. MakeMKV, Dvd Decrypter, DVD shrink - all of them fail. MakeMKV spits out "Error 'Scsi error - ILLEGAL REQUEST:MEDIA REGION CODE IS MISMATCHED" type messages. Over on their forums, other people with that issue are in the same boat - it's the drives.
 
Furthermore: I had been able to use DVD shrink and decrypter to rip Region 2 DVDs on previous computers.
 
I used the trial of AnyDVD again - as I suspected, same results. My drive is indeed a Matshita. And there's no RPC1 listing for this model.


Matshita.png
 
matrixgrindhouse said:
My computer's built-in Blu-Ray drive is the kind that absolutely, positively refuses to work
Click to expand...

Sorry, didn't see that bit. I abandoned using internal drives long ago for this reason (and it gives you the flexibility to plug it into other devices of course). I can't really claim to understand why but drives that are plugged right into your motherboard seem to be harder, or impossible to region crack. An external USB drive is different and will work everytime with something like AnyDVD.
 
TM2YC said:
Sorry, didn't see that bit. I abandoned using internal drives long ago for this reason (and it gives you the flexibility to plug it into other devices of course). I can't really claim to understand why but drives that are plugged right into your motherboard seem to be harder, or impossible to region crack. An external USB drive is different and will work everytime with something like AnyDVD.
Click to expand...

Exactly. So any recommendations on externals would be appreciated.
 
My last couple of drives have been Verbatim, very slim and zero problems. I've had my one for 3.5 years and it's still their current model I think:

Amazon.com: Verbatim External Slimline Blu-Ray RW Drive - 43890 - Black : Electronics

Buy Verbatim External Slimline Blu-Ray RW Drive - 43890 - Black: Internal Blu-ray Drives - Amazon.com ✓ FREE DELIVERY possible on eligible purchases
www.amazon.com

There are cheaper ones I'm sure but make sure you get a drive that has an optional separate power cable. In my experience running data and power through your USB port at the same time increases the chance of bad burns and wasted blank discs.
 
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