For enthusiasts of physical media and home theater PC (HTPC) builders, few drives have achieved the cult status of the LG WH16NS60 and its OEM clone, the ASUS BW-16D1HT .
ASUS responded by updating the drive’s firmware. Later versions (1.03 and above) turned the drive "UHD Hostile," intentionally breaking the ability to read 4K discs. | Firmware | UHD Support | Notes | | :--- | :--- | :--- | | 1.00 – 1.02 | ✅ Full | The "Holy Grail." Works natively with MakeMKV. Very rare today. | | 1.03 | ⚠️ Partial | Still works but may require a "clean" firmware flash. | | 1.04 – 1.05 | ❌ Hostile | Blocks UHD reads. Can be flashed back (downgraded) using a special recovery tool. | | 1.06 – 3.10 | ❌ Locked | Contains encrypted bootloaders. Downgrading requires a physical flasher (e.g., Raspberry Pi Pico or Arduino). | The Flashing Workaround The community, led by developers like Mike Chen (MakeMKV) and Teddy Rasputin , has created custom "MK" firmware that restores UHD functionality. bw-16d1ht firmware
For new users: Stop hunting for old stock. Instead, buy a or a pre-flashed LG BP60NB10 (external). The Pioneer drives currently offer better support for modern UHD discs without the cat-and-mouse firmware war. Disclaimer: Flashing drive firmware with unofficial builds voids your warranty and carries a small risk of bricking the device. This article is for educational purposes. Always verify that you own a legal copy of any disc you wish to back up. For enthusiasts of physical media and home theater
While the ASUS BW-16D1HT is technically a standard 16x Blu-ray writer, its true value lies not in burning discs, but in what its firmware allows it to do: | Firmware | UHD Support | Notes |
You can usually flash down to 1.02-MK or 1.03-MK using a simple Windows flasher (SDFtool Flasher).
However, ASUS has spent years trying to close the loophole. If you own one of these drives, understanding its firmware version is the difference between a functional ripping machine and a paperweight. Officially, 4K UHD Blu-ray drives must use a software handshake (AACS 2.0) to decrypt discs. However, a handful of "UHD Friendly" drives—including the early BW-16D1HT—could read raw sector data from UHD discs without this handshake, allowing tools like MakeMKV to do the decryption.
