Any way to know how much usage a BD burner has?

Ofesad · October 11, 2019

Hi guys, Ofesad here from Argentina.

Yesterday I was looking for a Bluray disc burner and I found one for crazy cheap.

According to the seller, it was brand new never used and he got the last one for sale. SATA cable included.

Since the price was a total steal: 40usd (normally it would sell for 3 times that price here), I didn't think much and bought it.

Today I received the "brand new" LG BD burner (WH16NS40).

On the exterior, I can see some markings on he side that clarely shows it has been put in a pc.

However the front and the disc tray looks pristine. No a spec of dust and they look new and shiny. No greasy fingers markings or nothing like that. Neither in the bottom of the tray or the rails and gears teeths.

So, I have my doubts about it... Maybe he had it on a pc for show but it wasn't used actually (the seller mentioned it was the last one, he had it on display).

So far the drives reads discs fine. Haven't tested burning yet (I have to buy some blanks).

Question time:

Is there any software or way to actually know how many hours or how many discs a BD burner has burned or has been working/burning?

I would think that such information could be stored in the drive, like cameras and camcorders store how many shots or hours have been taken or have been working.

emosun · October 11, 2019

16 minutes ago, Ofesad said:

Is there any software or way to actually know how many hours or how many discs a BD burner has burned or has been working/burning?

Optical disc drives are actually mostly hardware , very cheap hardware. That type of information isn't really important or ever needed so no theres not much as far as store statistics on optical drives.

kirashi · October 11, 2019

26 minutes ago, Ofesad said:

Is there any software or way to actually know how many hours or how many discs a BD burner has burned or has been working/burning?

Most pieces of hardware do indeed log power-on hours internally, but unless you have manufacturer level firmware tools / software, you won't be able to read this information yourself. Best to contact the hardware manufacturer and ask if they can tell you how to read this information, assuming it's stored.