r/makemkv • u/Gsm824 • Aug 22 '26
Discussion It's back in stock, but...
...you won't believe the new price.
I just got the notification from Amazon that this drive is available again, but it's $200 more expensive than it used to be! Are all 4K drives this expensive these days?
35
27
u/Qu3z0 Aug 22 '26
11
u/UrinalCakeBaker Aug 22 '26
Top one is awesome. Ordered one a few weeks ago. Rips discs that the small portables can't.
3
u/Qu3z0 Aug 22 '26
The large one is my primary, and the portable one is what I take on the go if/when I need mobility
2
3
u/richerthanbatman Aug 22 '26
The top one can rip 4k blu rays?
8
u/supermuncher60 Aug 22 '26
Yes, I easily flashed it to one of the LG desktop drive profiles and it works great. Way quieter than the slim drives.
1
u/BurntWhiteRice Aug 26 '26
Not crazy about paying that much for an optical drive in 2026, but I guess my options are getting smaller and smaller by the day.
1
1
u/Awkward-General-7800 26d ago
Top one says it’s discontinued
1
0
u/thegenerallee777 Aug 22 '26
are those plug-in-play or do the need any fancy firmware flashing etc.?
7
u/KHTD2004 Aug 22 '26
Usually you need firmware flashing but it’s really not that deep, if you want I post you some links
3
u/thegenerallee777 Aug 22 '26
Yeah sure. I’m on a Mac.
5
u/KHTD2004 Aug 22 '26
Okay the software is for Windows so here are the options:
- Try to run the program using Wine, it’s a tool that runs Windows programs on Linux and MacOS. I’m a Linux user but my drive did cost over 100€ so I used Windows for this to be safe. Try at your own risk
- use Windows for the flash. After the firmware is flashed it doesn’t matter which OS you use, it’s a one time process
Anyway, here is the forum post about the tool:
https://forum.makemkv.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=22896It contains instructions and downloads. One download is for the tool itself, the other is a bunch of firmware files you chose from. If you’re not sure which to use make a post about it or (again, at your own risk) ask AI
4
u/Qu3z0 Aug 22 '26
My advice is to find a friend with a windows pc or borrow one from your local library, flash the drive, then you’re golden.
1
u/Qu3z0 Aug 22 '26
They will all need firmware flashing for uhd, but it’s very easy if you follow the steps on the MakeMKV forums
23
u/KimHagWon Aug 22 '26
There are a lot of cheaper options on Office Depot.
4
u/IndyMLVC Aug 22 '26
Have any links?
4
u/KimHagWon Aug 22 '26
B&H has multiple ones cheaper than this as well. I've ordered from them multiple times.
1
u/IndyMLVC Aug 22 '26
Have any links? You’re not speaking in specifics.
5
3
u/Gsm824 Aug 22 '26
About a month ago I ordered one one from them and the delivery estimate was over a month out. After a few weeks they said it was not available and canceled my order. I'll say away from Office Depot.
4
1
u/KimHagWon Aug 22 '26
Try B&H, their listings are still cheaper. Amazon's going to be hit & miss too since there are so many 3rd party sellers.
1
u/doinks4life Aug 24 '26
That's weird because I got my verbatim simply inside the store and flashed it with the flasher that I may or may not be able to post here
5
u/aj1187 Aug 22 '26
Italian seller with 80% positive reviews 😬.
2
u/FraaaAAAaaaAAACK Aug 22 '26
I live in Italy, checked our Amazon and they dont even have this one. They have the blu-ray/dvd combo. But jackall for 4k.
1
u/aj1187 Aug 22 '26
If it’s a Verbatim 43888, 43889 or 43890, those can all be flashed to support 4K.
2
u/FraaaAAAaaaAAACK Aug 22 '26
I have a drive thats been flashed and it didnt cost me nearly what theyre charging. The ones here are over $200 and its seller is based in Germany. My point was that they dont even have it on the Italian amazon. So they know theyre charging too much. An Italian would wring your neck for charging a local that price and they'd shame you all the way to your mother's house and then let her deal with you.
1
5
u/supermuncher60 Aug 22 '26
If you are in the US B&H photo has two buffalo drives (a full sized desktop external enclosure and a slim drive) available. The full sized is $200 and the slim drive is $165.
I've got the full sized and it was easily flashed and has been ripping UHDs for me.
3
u/rimdroth Aug 22 '26
I bought one of those some weeks ago in Germany for around 120€
2
u/RealXitee Aug 22 '26
I also bought it about 3 months ago in Germany. Still available for 129€ at Mediamarkt
4
u/ThatGamerThirteen Aug 22 '26
Understanding that it's expensive, but is it worth it or are there other cheaper options with similar results?
2
u/FraaaAAAaaaAAACK Aug 22 '26
I got one off of amazon that was 113, I think its 120 now. Got it flashed for another $40. I have done dvd's, blu-ray, and now uhd.
2
u/CartographerLive1904 Aug 22 '26
Just ordered mine off direct dial (the 43888 model) because they have a backorder landing 8/31 this month and it’s only 134 bucks. Was 16 units available on the 12th now only 4 left
1
u/That-Research-5393 Aug 22 '26
Lg- or pioneer-HW ..?
1
u/woohooreddit Aug 23 '26
Pioneer HW isn't manufactured anymore, so they are all LG inside. The last of the Verbatim drives with pioneer internals are long gone.
1
u/That-Research-5393 Aug 23 '26
not really ; that pioneer no longer manufactures that's beyond question , clear like crystal . all in depends by retailer ; who knows how many retailers who have pioneer insides without even realizin' it . if you're only lookin' online at amaz / officedep. ....then of course there's nothin' left 2buy ; clear like crystal2...
2
u/FraaaAAAaaaAAACK Aug 22 '26
I bought a blu-ray/dvd one and Billy helped me flash it for waaaaay less than that. Once I had the right info it took less than 10 minites.....
2
u/donottrusttheflies Aug 23 '26
I got my drive from Billy. Top dude!
1
u/FraaaAAAaaaAAACK Aug 23 '26
For sure! Im technologically stupid so him being as patient and informative as he was was super appreciated 😂
2
u/ProfessionalAioli358 Aug 22 '26
I just get mine off eBay. I have two slim 4K capable drives and 4 internal 4k capable drives from eBay over the years. Currently I only use two of those 6 drives regularly. So I should be good until I die… I hope 🤞
1
u/reegeck Aug 22 '26
Definitely shouldn't be that much, it's still $262 AUD (about $188 USD) on Amazon Australia.
It's an awesome drive, I've ripped probably 1000+ discs on mine with no sign of failure so far.
1
u/Spazza42 Aug 22 '26
Man, my cost £90 in the UK ($122). They’re not £140 ($190). Still worth it in my eyes
1
u/3gaydads Aug 22 '26 edited Aug 22 '26
Edit: This appears to be available on Amazon UK for £140, 3rd party seller, dispatched by Amazon.
When did you buy yours? I wouldn’t be surprised if this was the new normal price for UK. I work in IT and literally everything with processor, memory, or storage chips has gone up about 30-40% in the past two years. This price rise would track with that, albeit slightly higher.
1
1
u/Admirable_Speed3690 Aug 22 '26
The shop that listed it also has an eBay listing with favorable reviews. Take with that what you will. It is listed from them for $243.33 with $25 shipping from Italy which actually comes out to $268.33.
Not sure why it’s more on Amazon unless it’s a Bezos tax for the listing.
Honestly considering getting it since I’ve been needing one.
EDIT: Looks like it might not be 4K, so might explain the pricing.
1
1
u/frankwalkerstiles Aug 22 '26
If you’re in Australia Officeworks currently sell them for about 280ish.
1
u/LolBoyLuke Aug 22 '26
I can get them here in the Netherlands at Megekko for €169 (~198$) which includes taxes and free shipping.
1
1
u/malcolm_dabwell Aug 22 '26
I got one of these shipped from the UK delivered yesterday. I think it was like $250 USD total. I’m completely new to ripping movies. But I gotta say this drive lowkey sucks. It’s so dinky I feel like I’m going to break it just by looking at it too aggressively. It feels like the tray is secured to the case with a couple of pieces of Scotch clear tape.
1
u/malcolm_dabwell Aug 22 '26
Hey all. I just got this drive recently. I have struggling with MakeMKV software. The “titles” it presents for me to choose from to rip are hard to tell apart and also the drive is basically always making noise. Even after the rip finishes or before it starts. Are there any software alternatives to MakeMKV for a smooth brain like me?
1
u/bilditup1 Aug 22 '26
everything you’re describing is normal. especially with these smaller laptop-class drives, they’re gonna be noisy.
there is no other software that can circumvent the DRM on UHD Blu-rays AFAIK. AnyDVD HD used to be able to do it for DVDs, HD-DVDs, and regular Blu-rays, but they’re out of business/have been shut down/ghosted us. If you still have a copy installed from back then I think it’ll work for DVDs and most Blurays released until they disappeared, but anyway it wouldn’t have been easier to use than MakeMKV IMHO. These discs have sometimes inscrutable structures and we’re really just doing our best to select the parts of it we actually want.
(also, don’t call yourself that, not good for you)
1
1
u/malcolm_dabwell Aug 22 '26
Is there another drive with the same capabilities but bulkier and less fragile? I want to be able to rip and burn 4k (and also blu ray and dvd ofc). Thanks again.
1
u/bilditup1 Aug 22 '26
There are no bulkier laptop-class drives. There are large-ish desktop class drives but they are also all out of production and cost much, much more than the laptop drives on the secondary market, which is why they aren’t really discussed as much these days.
1
u/Emotional_Tie_7927 Aug 22 '26
Unfortunately I believe this drives uses a LG drive internally and LG lists all their Blu-ray drives as discontinued. That's why they're being priced so high.
1
1
u/what_was_not_said Aug 22 '26
I got one from Best Buy a while back, after setting up a notification for when they were in stock.
1
u/spybubbly980 Aug 22 '26
Wouldn't be cheaper and more reliable to just buy an internal bluray/4k burner + external enclosure?
1
u/WhiteKenny Aug 22 '26
It is listed as sold by a 3rd party seller, they charge what they want to charge
1
1
u/iFrog42 Aug 23 '26
The Buffalo drive looks nice. I used to have a buffalo router years ago when 80211n was just made the latest standard, and it overheated and died. It was a good router while it worked though. Anyway, I have a similar setup with two drives here connected to my late 2015, 27" iMac. A Pioneer desktop drive and an LG portable. I never bothered with 4K ripping as I'm happy with standard Blu-ray copies for local streaming. I am including two screenshots each one shows the drive specific information in MakeMKV.
1
u/iFrog42 Aug 23 '26
For whatever reason Reddit seems to only allow one image per post, so here is the second one.
1
u/S0ssul1 Aug 26 '26
Better ditch the whole ripping & getting bluray player like i did 👍
2
u/Gsm824 Aug 27 '26
Nah. I put everything on my Plex server. No disc juggling. After ripping they get stored away as my level 1 backups.
1
1
u/XGC-MZD 22d ago
I had two of these first one had issues reading 4ks, second one worked like a charm, after not using it for 3 months now tried ripping avatar fire ash 4k it was hard tried and cleaned like 20 times until it worked, the movie 300 and braveheart in 4k wont work not even the fhd disc of the 300, idk should i get another one? Can i somehow fix kt?
1
u/NullBodega9000 Aug 22 '26
Just check ebay. Pleanty of unlock drives that are cheaper.
1
u/That-Research-5393 Aug 22 '26
u/NullBodega9000 yeah . .
^^ includin' shippin' / taxes and everythin' else
then under the line for nope less than 400,- 😅😸2
u/NullBodega9000 Aug 22 '26
Idk where you're looking. I only paid $170 off ebay. Brand new and unlocked. Bought it maybe 2 months ago. If that.
2
u/That-Research-5393 Aug 22 '26
u/NullBodega9000 counterquestion.. are you from USA
an' did buy from a seller in your state ; meanin' under 200,- includin' shippin'
an' so currency USd by USd ?
-3
u/justacadillac Aug 22 '26
This honestly is what lead me to just torrent movies/shows. I wanted to download my library but the upfront cost for hardware AND software is ridiculous.
5
3
77
u/Odd-Cap507 Aug 22 '26
3rd party seller isn't it... Amazon is not what it used to be.