Users in the market for a new 4K / Ultra HD Blu-ray drive, who want to be able to make backups of their purchased movies, will need to do extensive research before buying a drive. Mainly because the drive needs to be UHD friendly, which means it has to be a specific drive with a specific firmware version installed. Three MakeMKV users saw a business opportunity.
Ultra HD Blu-ray friendly drives are Blu-ray drives that can read Ultra HD Blu-ray discs, but who don't work with official software such as PowerDVD. But they will work with AnyDVD, DeUHD, DVDFab and MakeMKV to make a backup of Ultra HD Blu-ray movie discs. Only a handful of Ultra HD Blu-ray drives are UHD friendly, and they are able to copy UHD movies because they can be flashed with a firmware that uses a loophole in the AACS 2.0 protection. In the beginning all drives had this firmware installed when they were sold, nowadays most drives come with newer firmware in which the loophole is closed.
We compiled a list with UHD friendly drives, but if you purchase them now, it's likely you'll get it flashed with the latest firmware, in which the AACS 2.0 loophole is closed. There are instructions online on that explain the process of flashing them to UHD friendly firmware, but it requires some technical know how. And this is exactly where the MakeMKV users come in, you can purchase a drive that is UHD friendly out of the box, or you send them your drive, and they install UHD friendly firmware for you.
“Are you looking for a "works right out of the box" 4K UHD blu ray drive guaranteed to work with makemkv? Mac, PC, Linux compatible, internal and external (via SATA > USB enclosure), We've got em!,” user jonghotti writes.
The three users live in different parts of the United States, so they are available for support around the clock. It's also possible to get the drives if you don't live in the U.S, they appear to ship internationally.
Don't expect the lowest price, but do expect a tested drive, which means you can be sure it at least works with MakeMKV.
“Pricing based on current market conditions. We cannot price match. We offer quality gear, thoroughly tested and guaranteed to work for you. 24/7 tech support, pre sales consulting, bulk discounts. Each drive tested by making a Full Disc Backup of a brand new 4K UHD blu ray using makemkv,” jonghotte concludes.
Users who are interested can contact them through the MakeMKV forums.
The three MakeMKV users are not the first who saw a business opportunity in shipping UHD friendly drive. Also, Arusoft ships UHD friendly drives that are guaranteed to work with their DeUHD Ultra HD Blu-ray copy software.
Discuss this in our Ultra HD Blu-ray Forum.
