BD-410 Dual-Lens Blu-ray Drive Conversion

BD-410 Dual-Lens Blu-ray Drive Conversion — $200

Upgrade aging launch-model Blu-ray hardware to the later Sony KES-410A dual-lens drive platform.

The original CECHA01 and CECHB01 PlayStation 3 systems commonly use the early BD-400 / KES-400A optical system. These drives are now approaching twenty years old, and reliable original KES-400A assemblies are becoming increasingly difficult and expensive to source.

Our BD-410 Dual-Lens Conversion replaces the aging original optical-drive configuration with a compatible later Sony BD-410 / KES-410A drive assembly.

Why upgrade to the KES-410A?

The original KES-400A uses Sony's early single-lens optical architecture.

The later KES-410A is a dual-lens optical pickup with separate optical paths for:

• CD / DVD media
• Blu-ray media

This later platform is generally easier for us to source in complete, serviceable assemblies and provides another long-term restoration option as original launch-model drive hardware becomes increasingly scarce.

This is NOT a plug-and-play drive swap

Early FAT PlayStation 3 Blu-ray drives contain a dedicated logic daughterboard that is electronically paired — commonly called "married" — to the console motherboard.

Simply installing another physically compatible Blu-ray drive does not correctly pair that replacement electronics to the console.

Our conversion includes the actual service procedure required to integrate the replacement drive properly.

Our conversion includes

• Compatible BD-410 / KEM-410ACA drive assembly.
• KES-410A dual-lens optical pickup.
• Compatible Blu-ray logic / daughterboard configuration.
• Firmware preparation required for service operations.
• Factory / Service Mode drive initialization.
• Actual Blu-ray drive remarriage to the PS3 motherboard.
• DRL / Blu-ray playback-data restoration or verification where applicable.
• SACD-related functionality preserved or restored where supported by the console and available original data.
• Mechanical, ribbon-cable and electrical-interface verification.
• Final testing across supported physical-media formats.

A real remarry — not a workaround

There are methods of working around certain Blu-ray drive problems that can make a console appear functional without performing the complete drive-initialization process.

That is not what we are selling.

When we install replacement drive electronics, we perform the proper PS3 Factory / Service Mode Blu-ray drive initialization and remarriage procedure.

The objective is to restore the relationship between the motherboard and replacement Blu-ray controller rather than merely bypassing the symptom.

Blu-ray movie playback is part of the job

Successfully launching a PS3 game does not by itself prove that an optical-drive conversion is complete.

The PlayStation 3 also maintains playback information associated with protected commercial Blu-ray movies. After drive remarriage or certain firmware/service operations, DRL-related playback data may need to be restored or verified.

We include that process as part of the conversion whenever applicable.

We test more than one disc

Because the KES-410A contains separate optical paths for different media types, final testing is performed across the formats supported by the particular console whenever possible.

Testing may include:

• PS3 Blu-ray game discs.
• Commercial Blu-ray movies.
• DVD movies.
• Audio CDs.
• Original PlayStation discs.
• PlayStation 2 DVD / CD media on backwards-compatible systems.
• SACD on systems originally equipped with SACD support when suitable test media and functionality are available.

"Reads a PS3 game" is not our definition of a completed Blu-ray conversion.

Best for

• CECHA01 and CECHB01 systems still using aging KES-400A / BD-400 hardware.
• Systems with failed or unreliable original optical pickups.
• Consoles where quality original KES-400A replacement parts are unavailable or prohibitively expensive.
• Systems with previously swapped or mismatched Blu-ray daughterboards.
• Premium Frankenstein restorations intended for long-term physical-media use.
• Collectors who want a later, more readily serviceable dual-lens optical platform.

Service price — $200

The $200 BD-410 Dual-Lens Conversion includes the compatible replacement drive hardware, installation, firmware/service preparation, Factory / Service Mode remarriage procedure, playback-data restoration or verification where applicable, and final optical-drive testing.

This is considerably more involved than simply installing a replacement laser.

We are replacing and properly integrating an electronically paired subsystem of the console.

Our goal

A Frankenstein restoration is intended to keep these early backwards-compatible PlayStation 3 systems operating for years to come.

As original KES-400A hardware becomes harder to source, the later KES-410A dual-lens platform gives us another practical restoration path while retaining the physical-media capability that makes these consoles special.

The goal is not simply to make a disc appear in the XMB. The goal is to install, remarry, restore and verify the replacement optical system properly.