I have an external Blu-ray drive (Samsung SE-506BB) USB connected to a 27" iMac. what do i need to do to get it reading blurays and then what do i need for writing? and also a good authoring program to along with the samsung player

Thanks for this. I spent most of the day searching for a solution for why Toast 12 with HD-BD plug-in wasn't showing the BD selections for my new SE-506CB. Tried everything anyone said with zero luck. Found this, went to the link and downloaded the TSDNMAC.app and the SE-506CB_TS02.bin file (vs. the BB version). Followed the instructions http://www.tsstodd.com/kor/Firmware/FWDownload/maceng.htm, the machine rebooted and all is well. Toast now shows CD, DVD, DVD DL, BD, BD DL, BD XL 100, and BDXL 128. Awesome! Hemanthsai, you rock!

How about for DVD writing and Reading?

Also data disks only if you use the built in Burn utility. To create movie disks you need separate software, such as Toast Titanium.

I tried vlc,which canot play most blurays, and powerdvd is somewhat expensive for me, and upgrate service is not free. After selection, i choose ufusoft mac blu ray player, i do think it is an ideal choice. And the blu ray playing steps is very easy.

I have the Samsung SE-506 and my MB pro 10.10.5 does not see that it is connected if there is a Blu ray disc in the tray. I have blu-ray playing software, but without the drive showing up I have no way to access the discs. Drive does not appear in finder, disk utility, or in system report with a blurry disc in the tray. Works fine with DVD, just no BD. Any ideas?

Does any Blu-ray disk appear on the desktop when inserted? Such as any you've created as a data disk? If not, the laser for Blu-ray disks may be dead. All such drives use different lasers for the type of disk in the drive. So it's entirely possible to still use DVD or CD disks, but not Blu-ray. The only real way to test that is to try another drive.

No disc shows up on desktop. Same problem with another blu ray drive from different manufacturer. Same result with a different blu ray disc.

Create a new user account and login to it. Test there to see if the same thing happens.

If it does, all you can really do (as far as free), are these steps. I've ordered them as easiest to most time consuming.

1) Reset the NVRAM. Restart the Mac and hold down the Command+Option+P+R keys. Keep holding them through two or three startup chimes.

2) Reset the SMC. Reset the System Management Controller (SMC) on your Mac - Apple Support

3) Reinstall the OS and see if it fixes the issue. Make sure to create a full backup first.

After that, it's more likely you're looking at a hardware issue. The drive itself could be bad, or it sometimes it's simply a bad cable. Swap out a different cable and test again.

I have an SE-506 which worked great with 10.7.3 but didn't mount at all on my new MacBook Pro early 2015 with 10.12 Sierra and it didn't mount at all when I connected it to the USB port. But when I used a Targus USB hub (has a red light but doesn't plug in) it mounted on the desktop. I haven't tried burning anything but at least it mounted. Yeah!

That is just weird. But at least you have a solution!