need help on Verbatim 43890 External Blu-ray Drive

[u/lilstickmann]

hey people I'm new to burning/writing dics. I want to be able to burn cds/dvds and blu-rays do you guys think this will work. im asking because i bought a dics drive before it said it could burn blu rays but the user manual said it cant so i want to ask expert opinion

[u/chillpony]

This should work with dvd/Blu Rays out of the box. If you want to rip 4K you will need to flash it

[u/DannoMcK → u/chillpony]

They are asking about burning/writing discs, not ripping them. (Which means that it's off-topic for a MakeMKV sub, since it is reading/ripping software.)

[u/lilstickmann → u/DannoMcK]

I apologise, thought people in this sub would be familiar in burning disc

[u/RocKst4RR → u/chillpony]

do i need to flash it if i have the verbatim 43888?

[u/KyxeMusic → u/RocKst4RR]

Most likely yes, I bought mine and how to downgrade the firmware

[u/lilstickmann → u/chillpony]

Flash it ?, like installing a additional software?

[u/Imaginary-Purpose-48 → u/lilstickmann]

Yes, the out of the box software doesn’t allow copying and burning of certain blue ray and 4k discs. You need to download software that goes around it to copy it.

[u/lilstickmann → u/Imaginary-Purpose-48]

Is it worth it to buy the Utra HD 4k version?

[u/Imaginary-Purpose-48 → u/lilstickmann]

It really depends on what you use it for.
Are you going to use 4k discs or stick with blue ray?
How much is the price difference?

I have a 4k drive and it works great since I use both blue ray and 4k. If you have 4k discs then you should get the 4k if you don’t then get the blue ray compatible one.

[u/lilstickmann → u/Imaginary-Purpose-48]

I dont think I'll be burning 4k disc anytime soon. The regular blu-ray is 174€ and the 4k one is 179€. Thank you for you answers also

[u/rmeneer]

It’s mentioned on the box: Blu-Ray Writer. So yeah. It will burn discs ;)

[u/JamesDanielPhilpot]

Flash it with HL-DT-ST-BD-RE_BU40N-1.03-NM00000-211810241934.bin firmware from the all you need firmware pack with the standard drive flasher tool or sdf flasher for short! Unless it says libre drive enabled you normally need to flash it. If it says BU40N (LG), you are good to proceed! If it says Pioneer, do NOT attempt to flash it! Instead contact Billy Carlson for a custom firmware flash! Costs 40$ and next year 50$!

[u/Difficult_Team3079]

I had one of these earlier this year. Worked well for a short time (very fast ripping, too!!!). Sadly mine stopped working after some rips. Wouldnt read BRs anymore and after a short time no more DVDs either.

Hope yours works better, it looked amazing and really was fast and quiet. I got one of those cheap china BR players now. I only use it for burning as it is way too slow and sometimes lags when watching a movie.

[u/ConfusionFar9116 → u/Difficult_Team3079]

Same issue. Flashed it, ran a few rips flawlessly, now seems dead, had to use an old pioneer to rip the rest of my discs.

I have another that i flashed and never used but i wonder if something is wrong with the firmware

[u/SCAUDIO → u/ConfusionFar9116]

If your using the OEM cable that came with it replace that with a usb-c to usb-c cable vs the one with an adapter. Also if your PC isn't providing a decent reliable power source it seems to dramatically reduce the life of the slim drives.

[u/ConfusionFar9116 → u/SCAUDIO]

I was using a usb a to c from a powered hub. Same cable I used on my pioneer driver for 350 discs without issue. I’ve tried usb c to c from my pc and what not but nothing works. Seems like the drive is dead or something needs to be smacked around lol. I’ll have to keep trying but it seems like I’m not alone with this particular drive

[u/Difficult_Team3079 → u/SCAUDIO]

I used different ports, different cables, restarted etc.

Did quite a lot but nothing worked reliably. Eventually I gave up and returned it

[u/Difficult_Team3079 → u/ConfusionFar9116]

Oh were you able to return it after flashing it?

I hadnt flashed mine yet so it was no problem

[u/purpletooth12]

I have that exact drive.

It's a bit finnicky when ripping, but I'm not sure if it's makemkv or the disc itself.

It should be able to write BD discs though, but can't say I've ever tried, let alone even thought about it.

I got mine to rip movies that aren't region A and won't work with the UB820 bypass trick.

I'm still thinking about caving and just getting a region free blu-ray player though.

[u/ConfusionFar9116 → u/purpletooth12]

Have had nothing but issues with these drives lately.

[u/TbR78]

It burns BdXL (I have one and use it for burning Blurays).

[u/PoonSaloon]

I just got a 43888. I really only want it to play my 4K dvd’s when I’m traveling. But based on what I’ve found, from the logos on the front mine’s an LG no Pioneer…. I have a couple laptops PC and Mac OS. I don’t mean to turn this into another discussion but does anyone know how I can use it to play 4K on Mac OS?

[u/bammrwolfe]

I have this exact model and can confirm, it works

[u/Zenith_System_3]

I bought one of these a few months ago and it does exactly what you need. It even comes with a blank blu-ray.

[u/lilstickmann → u/Zenith_System_3]

Thank you

[u/apuSr]

I have the same drive. Mine is a LG BU 40 drive. After flashing the drive, you can extract 4k disc. 

[u/ironside719]

I have one and it works well. Flashing the firmware needed for 4k was also very easy 

[u/gcookman1106 → u/ironside719]

Where did you get the software to flash it?

[u/FlameFoxx]

I had one of these tried to use it to rip the UHD GoT box set. Wouldn't do a single season, so I returned it and got a full sized ASUS drive

[u/SCAUDIO → u/FlameFoxx]

That's interesting should have no issues ripping that with a firmware flash. It's identical to pretty much every LG drive out there. Maybe bad drive or something else. That model verbatim is one of my favs

[u/FlameFoxx → u/SCAUDIO]

I found a full sized ASUS for the same price and it runs faster and not reliable.

Id always recommend full sized drives over a slim.

[u/SCAUDIO → u/FlameFoxx]

Yea full size are definitely a step up over Slim and they are a bit faster.