My old Blu-ray drive just died on me, so I had to get a new one. The only one that I could pick up locally that seemed to be on the MakeMKV approved list was an LG BP50NB40 with the SVC code NB52. As of this writing, they are still available at my local Best Buy in northeast Los Angeles.
Bless the MakeMKV folks for having custom firmware and instructions available for this drive, so that I can rip UHD discs for personal backup. However, their tech writing is a little confusing, especially for macOS users, so I thought I would write up this guide to how I flashed the firmware on this particular drive, using macOS Sequoia 15.6.1. (This should also work on other versions of macOS just fine --- just noting for future reference.)
The original Ultimate UHD Drives Flashing Guide Updated 2025 is the source of all of the information here, and I encourage you to go there to the MakeMKV forums, if you have any questions, as they know much better than I how all of the firmware flashing works.
If you are referencing this a while after my publishing date, be aware that the firmware file names and versions may have changed. Again, please check the offigial Flashing Guide for the most recent details.
Drive Information
When I started out, here was the drive information shown in the GUI of MakeMKV:
Drive Information
Manufacturer: HL-DT-ST
Product: BD-RE BP50NB40
Revision: 1.03
Serial number: [redacted]
Firmware date: 2121-07-08 16:03
Bus encryption flags: 17
Highest AACS version: 81LibreDrive Information
Status: Possible (with patched firmware)
Drive platform: MT1959
Harware support: Yes
Firmware support: No
Firmware type: Original (patched version available)
Firmware version: 1.03
DVD all regions: Possible (with patched firmware)
BD raw data read: Possible (with patched firmware)
BD raw metadata read: Possible (with patched firmware)
Unrestricted read speed: Possible (with patched firmware)
Flashing Process
The BP50NB40 with SVC code NB52 has a multi-step flashing process, which is why the steps seem so unclear. They use their own shorthand for the commands that is not immediately clear how to translate into the correct terminal commands:
BP50NB40 to > BP50NB40-NB50-1.03MK then to > BP60NB10 1.02MK or 1.00MK
NB52 to > BP50NB40-NB50-1.03MK with enc > BP50NB40-NB50-1.03MK with bootloader/full flash > BP60NB10 1.00_HBD from Marty download/file.php?id=2143
if using command line add "full" after rawflash
Combining that with the “Mac/linux commands to flash” section on that same page, here is my translation:
Clarified Process
We'll go though all of the steps in the original process (styled here as block quotes), and then my translation for each step follows.
- Download sdf.bin
- Download the all you need firmware pack
- Extract the file you need for your drive from the all you need firmware pack pick from the recommended firmware section.
Downloading the files in the first two steps is pretty straightforward.
For step 3, my understanding is the correct firmware is the one inside the LG slim BP50NB40-NB50 folder, which as of this writing is HL-DT-ST-BD-RE_BP50NB40-NB50-1.03-NM00800-212005070917.bin
Unstated here is that for the version of the Blu-ray drive with SVC code NB52, you'll also need to download the BP60NB10 1.00_HBD from Marty (thanks, Marty!) mentioned above. Inside that folder, the file you want is DE_LG_BP60NB10_1.00_MK_HBD.bin, which you should also copy to /tmp.
- then in terminal on the Mac
copy sdf.bin and the firmware file extracted from theall you need firmware pack into /tmp folder.
You can put the firmware files wherever you like, but /tmp is useful, because the system will automatically delete it later. You don't need to use the Terminal for this part. You can just use the Finder to navigate to Macintosh HD > private > tmp, or in the menu for Finder, select Go > Go to Folder… and then type /tmp. Drag and drop the firmware files into this /tmp folder.
If you decide to put the files somewhere else, you'll just need to change the Terminal commands to point to the correct folder.
- in terminal change directory "cd /Applications/MakeMKV.app/Contents/MacOS"
Assuming you have MakeMKV in the default Applications folder, that should be right. Run this command in Terminal:
> cd /Applications/MakeMKV.app/Contents/MacOS
- type "./makemkvcon f -l"
This will show your drive identifier should look similar to this ''/IOBDServices/D5D25996'
Found 1 drives(s)
00: /IOBDServices/D5D25996, /dev/rdisk3, /dev/rdisk3
HL-DT-ST_BD-RE_BU40N_1.01_211910161032_MOFK6283224
Here is the command and output I got in Terminal:
> ./makemkvcon f -l
Found 1 drives(s)
00: /IOBDServices/B2B64D9A
HL-DT-ST_BD-RE_BP50NB40_1.03_212107081603_SIM2121TK2443The important part is to make note of the device ID that looks like /IOBDServices/B2B64D9A, and then substitute your unique ID for the one in the commands below.
- to perform the flash, type "./makemkvcon f -d '/IOBDServices/D5D25996' -f /tmp/sdf.bin rawflash main -i /tmp/your firmware filename here
or ./makemkvcon f -d '/IOBDServices/D5D25996' -f /tmp/sdf.bin rawflash enc -i /tmp/your firmware filename here
if your firmware is on the encrypted list
This is where I initially got confused, but the main trick is to substitute rawflash main for rawflash enc or rawflash full where needed. Don't worry, I show the exact commands needed below.
This particular drive requires three separate commands. Run these one at a time — and please note the difference in arguments after each rawflash command, and which firmware to use for each step. Don't forget to substitute my example /IOBDServices/B2B64D9A with your specific device ID you noted earlier:
> ./makemkvcon f -d '/IOBDServices/B2B64D9A' -f /tmp/sdf.bin rawflash enc -i /tmp/HL-DT-ST-BD-RE_BP50NB40-NB50-1.03-NM00800-212005070917.bin
> ./makemkvcon f -d '/IOBDServices/B2B64D9A' -f /tmp/sdf.bin rawflash full -i /tmp/HL-DT-ST-BD-RE_BP50NB40-NB50-1.03-NM00800-212005070917.bin
> ./makemkvcon f -d '/IOBDServices/B2B64D9A' -f /tmp/sdf.bin rawflash main -i /tmp/DE_LG_BP60NB10_1.00_MK_HBD.binFlashed Drive Information
After these threee steps, I now see this in the MakeMKV GUI:
Drive Information
Manufacturer: HL-DT-ST
Product: BD-RE BP60NB10
Revision: 1.00
Serial number: [redacted]
Firmware date: 2117-11-21 17:20
Bus encryption flags: 17
Highest AACS version: 81LibreDrive Information
Status: Enabled
Drive platform: MT1959
Firmware type: Patched (microcode access re-enabled)
Firmware version: 1.00
DVD all regions: Yes
BD raw data read: Yes
BD raw metadata read: Yes
Unrestricted read speed: Yes
A Last Word
That process seemed to have done the trick, and I was able to back up a 4K video.
This worked for me, but I could be mistaken about my translation here. Please do go see the official MakeMKV flashing guide for any questions or clarification. If you find an error, though, please let me know. Good luck!