How to Rip 4K Blu-ray and DVD Discs with MakeMKV

If you want to build a massive digital movie collection on platforms like Jellyfin or Plex, you need to know how to rip Blu-ray, 4K Ultra HD discs, and DVDs. Hardware manufacturers are making it increasingly difficult to find drives that allow for unencrypted disc backups, but we are still lucky to have the LG BU40N—the gold standard for quiet, reliable disc reading.

In this guide, I will show you how to use a bare-bones LG BU40N drive, a specific USB adapter, and MakeMKV to flash custom firmware and enable LibreDrive support. This process will bypass factory encryption and allow you to rip DVD, standard Blu-ray, and 4K UHD discs directly to your PC.

Required Hardware & Free Software

To successfully flash your drive and rip your discs, you need specific hardware and software tools.

Links located below video.

• The Drive: LG BU40N Internal Ultra Slim Blu-ray Drive.
• The Adapter: A Slimline SATA-to-USB adapter. Crucial Note: Not all adapters will work. You must use an adapter that passes RAW commands to the drive.
• A Windows PC: Required to run the flashing utility. Do not use a USB hub; connect the adapter directly to a USB port on the back of your computer motherboard for adequate power.
• The Software: All required files are available for free in the TROYPOINT Toolbox.

Get software & files through the TROYPOINT Toolbox

LGBU40N Drive on Amazon

Slimline SATA to USB Adapter

Jellyfin Tutorial

Handbrake Software

Step 1: Download and Extract the Software

1. On your Windows PC, open a browser and go to https://troypoint.com/tb
2. Scroll down to the Windows PC Downloads section.
3. Copy the current MakeMKV Beta Key to your clipboard. (MakeMKV requires this key to operate for free while in beta, and it is updated regularly).
4. Download the following three files to your Downloads folder:
   • MakeMKV Software
   • SDFtool Flasher
   • All You Need Firmware Pack
5. Open Windows Explorer, go to your Downloads folder, and extract all three zipped files by right-clicking each and selecting Extract All. You can delete the original zip files after extracting them.

Step 2: Install and Register MakeMKV

1. Open the extracted MakeMKV folder and double-click the .exe file to run the installer. Leave all settings on default.
2. Once installed, open the MakeMKV application.
3. Look at the right side of the screen under drive info. You will see Firmware type: Original, but it will also note that a Patched version is available.
4. Click Help in the top menu, select Register, and paste the MakeMKV Beta Key you copied earlier.
5. Click OK and restart the application when prompted. Close MakeMKV completely for the next step.

Step 3: Flash the LG BU40N Drive

You must flash custom LibreDrive firmware onto the LG BU40N before it will read 4K discs. Ensure the drive is completely empty before starting this process. Do not insert a disc yet.

1. Navigate to your extracted SDFtool Flasher folder.
2. Right-click the flasher utility and select Run as administrator to ensure proper read/write permissions.
3. In the application, select your LG BU40N drive from the top dropdown menu.
4. Leave the “Include boot” box unchecked.
5. Click the folder icon next to “Please select a firmware to write.”
6. Navigate to your extracted All You Need Firmware Pack -> Slim external drive folder.
7. Select the BU40N 1.03 MK firmware file. (Note: You can also use the 1.00 firmware if you plan to use ripping software other than MakeMKV, but 1.03 MK works best for this setup).
8. Click Start. The process may occasionally hang at 90%—just let it sit until it finishes.
9. Once it says “100% operation flashed successfully,” click Exit.

Step 4: Rip Your 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray

1. Open MakeMKV again. The right-side panel should now show Firmware type: Patched, confirming LibreDrive is enabled.
2. Insert your 4K UHD disc, standard Blu-ray, or DVD into the drive.
3. Click the large optical drive icon in the center of the MakeMKV window to scan the disc.
4. Once scanned, MakeMKV will display a list of all files on the disc. To save storage space, uncheck the extra features and language tracks you don’t need. Keep the main video file (the largest size file), the chapters, your preferred audio track (e.g., True HD Surround 7.1 English), and your preferred subtitles.
5. Set your Output folder. (I point this directly to the directory my Jellyfin server monitors).
6. Click the Make MKV button on the right side to begin ripping.

The ripping process speed depends on your disc and USB connection. A full 4K Ultra HD rip generally takes around 50–60 minutes and produces a file around 65GB. If you want to compress this massive file into a smaller size, I highly recommend running the finished MKV file through the free HandBrake software.

Troubleshooting Ripping Errors

If you encounter read errors or drive connection issues in MakeMKV, try these four fixes:

• Verify Your Adapter: Not all SATA-to-USB adapters work. You must use an adapter capable of passing RAW hardware commands to the LG BU40N.  Link located below video for the one I used in this tutorial.
• Change USB Ports: Ripping requires consistent power. If rips fail randomly, move the adapter from a front-panel USB port or hub directly to a USB port on the back of your computer’s motherboard.
• Perform a “Base Reset” Flash: Sometimes leftover factory data causes errors. Open the SDFtool Flasher and flash the drive to the older BU40N 1.00 firmware to factory reset it. Once completed, flash it back to the 1.03 MK firmware.
• Update MakeMKV: Always ensure you are running the most recent stable release of MakeMKV, as encryption keys are updated frequently.