I have two LG BP50NB40 drives that I purchased from Best Buy in the US in the last month.
One is still in the box. I'm keeping it as a standby, in case I brick the first one while flashing it for LibreDrive capability. Or in case I need another drive some day. It seems the good, LibreDrive-able/UHD-flashable drives are only going to get more scarce and more expensive.
The BP50NB40 I am using states a manufacture date in April, 2024. It came with firmware 1.03.
MakeMKV sees it as platform MT1959 and a LibreDrive candidate.
Coopervid wrote: ↑Tue Nov 04, 2025 7:32 pm
There is a high chance you got scammed. People in China even put old Pioneer components in housings from other companies and sell them with new stickers.
This is for sure happening on Amazon. There is a rash of unknown brands, many with seemingly randomly-generated names such as "LLLMHHMYK" repackaging used Blu-ray drives (probably sourced from recycled laptops) in new enclosures & selling them as "new" drives. The one I returned was in fact a Sony/Optiarc drive manufactured in 2011. It had trouble with several Blu-ray titles that the BP50NB40 can back up error-free.
Coopervid wrote: ↑Tue Nov 04, 2025 8:14 pm
USB-A sometimes doesn't deliver enough power and causes issues.
Another hallmark of the fake "new" drives. Most use an oddly short USB cable, permanently wired in, with both USB A and USB C plugs.
The instructions state you only need to plug in one or the other. It would be hard to plug in both, as they do not provide enough cable between the two.
The A-plug is described as "USB 3.0" and does have the blue plastic insert, but is probably USB 2.0 electrically. Inside the enclosure was a simple PCB, that appeared to only act as a USB-to-SATA adapter.
LG BP50NB40 provides two USB 2.0 A-plugs, and recommends connecting both for reliable operation. If I'm looking at the right specs, USB 2.0 can deliver at most 500 mA @ 5V, but twice that seems to be sufficient for making Blu-ray backups. Have not tried burning BD-R.