= Choosing a bluray drive =

== The problem ==

Against my better judgement, I've ordered some Japanese blurays. Never mind that they're absurdly expensive for two episodes of anime, I don't even own a bluray drive yet.

That can be fixed. I don't know what I'm doing though, maybe I'll want to rip BDs? Is that hard these days? When I was a wee lad you'd buy a Liteon CD burner because they were good rippers. That was more for the dodgy copy-protection methods in use on games - not really the case for video-type discs.


== Assessment ==

Looks like anything is fine, really. I dunno if region-locking is going to screw me over or not, in which case I'd want something that can take an "RPC1" firmware. Haven't found any indication yet whether region control works the same as it did on DVDs, and people suck at writing helpful pages full of clear, concise information. :(


== What I'll get ==

LG CH12LS28 from IJK: http://ijk.com.au/branch/ijk/product_info.php?cPath=39_532&products_id=135905

$68 and can write blurays should I feel the urge. $12 for credit-card surcharge and delivery brings it up to basically $80, home and hosed.


== What to know ==

Well that was easy:
 * http://forum.slysoft.com/showthread.php?t=24169
 * http://lifehacker.com/5559007/the-hassle+free-guide-to-ripping-your-blu+ray-collection
 * http://www.maximumpc.com/article/features/rip_your_movie_dvds_and_watch_them_anywhere
 * http://gizmodo.com/5161848/how-to-rip-blu+ray-discs

If it comes to it, I'll fork out for AnyDVD. Less fucking around == big win.


= Choosing a bluray drive in 2021 =

Well it's nine years later, what's cool?

AACS looks well and truly broken, and there's lots of handy software that will do whatever you need it to do. There is a very nifty-sounding approach to dodging the restrictions called LibreDrive, detailed here: https://www.makemkv.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=19&t=18856

Assuming you want to go that route and are happy with the features provided by the drive, grab one of the supported models from the list on that page, almost all of them are Asus or LG drives.

Internal 5.25" models that are readily available:

|| LG   || BH16NS55      ||  $89 || BD-R write at 16/12/8/6 speed (SL/DL/TL/QL), BD-ROM read at 12/8x (SL/DL) ||
|| Asus || BW-16D1HT-PRO || $149 || BD-R write at 16/12/6/6 speed (SL/DL/TL/QL), BD-ROM read at 12/8x (SL/DL) ||

Actually use this list, it's good for UHD as well. UHD Bluray is a different physical format, so you drive must support it if you want to use them: https://www.makemkv.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=16&t=19634

Here's an available external drive that's recommended: https://www.jw.com.au/storage/lg-bp50nb40-usb2-0-slim-bluray-writer-267638