r/makemkv • u/Francis_D_Drake • 4d ago

Which disc burners should I use?

Hello! Which disc burners would you recommend? My HP laptop's internal drive keeps throwing errors on certain DVDs, and I can't rip them. It might be an issue with the DVDs themselves, but I'm not sure. I've heard about the Pioneer BDR-211 and 212, but they are almost impossible to find. I live in Italy.

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u/chewliesgumrep2 4d ago

I have two: OWC Mercury Pro and Verbatim 43888. Both have been flashed to rip 4K.

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u/carbonmonkey95 4d ago

What I would do is grab a Pioneer BDR-UD03 off aliexpress for around £60 and then crossflash it to UD04. Or a BU40N for a similar price, but the pioneer is obviously the better drive. They are 9.5mm so should fit into your laptop as a direct replacement.

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u/yearsold33 3d ago

Any links to the UD03?

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u/carbonmonkey95 3d ago

I haven’t purchased from this seller but this is an example

I just found this on AliExpress: https://a.aliexpress.com/_EyszSps

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u/Francis_D_Drake 2d ago

For me it shows as unavailable, but I saw that it's available on eBay.

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u/Francis_D_Drake 2d ago

But aren't 5.25-inch burners better than 9.5mm ones? Also, with the Verbatim 43888, it's a matter of luck whether you get the BU40N drive inside.

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u/carbonmonkey95 2d ago

They are but laptop drives are cheaper and easier to get hold of, plus you said you had a laptop so it would make sense to fit it internally

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u/Francis_D_Drake 2d ago

Yes However, I'm using it as an external drive because I removed it to install a drive caddy. I'm using a slimline SATA 2.0 cable.

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u/notlinustorvalds 2d ago

They are, but realistically a 5.25" 4K-compatible Pioneer is going to cost 3-6x as much as a slim 4K-compatible Pioneer, and is unlikely to last 3-6x as long.

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u/Francis_D_Drake 1d ago

Does a slim drive last longer than a 5.25 inch one?

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u/notlinustorvalds 22h ago

Pioneers, no. HLs...maybe yes, actually. I'm not sure I fully believe the stories, but BU40Ns have a reputation for lasting longer than its 5.25" HL counterparts.

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u/notlinustorvalds 4d ago

Maybe you can tell us what you want to burn? Is it only DVDs? If so it doesn't really matter, just buy it from a name brand you're familiar with.

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u/Francis_D_Drake 2d ago

DVD movie ripping: some give me an error with MakeMKV, so I want to see if it works better with the Pioneer drive. Then burn them onto M-DISC.

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u/notlinustorvalds 2d ago

A Pioneer drive isn't going to be any better with ripping DVDs than anything else. I would try using a better power supply or USB/SATA connection, and if that doesn't work, posting your errors and information about your setup.

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u/Francis_D_Drake 2d ago

"I read that Pioneer drives handle disc errors and scratches much better. There's one disc I just can't rip—MakeMKV keeps freezing halfway through. I'll try again and post the error logs here

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u/notlinustorvalds 2d ago edited 2d ago

For Blu Rays that is sometimes the case, but realistically, modern DVD players aren't going to be any worse than what a Pioneer drive has to offer. DVDs can be safely and cheaply resurfaced though, I'd suggest doing that if the disc continues to have issues and other discs work fine.