First Time Edit Help (Transcoding)

[Silver Screen Samurai]

Hello, Fellow editors!
I'm a first time faneditor, and excited to be joining this community of creative and passionate artists; such as Spence, Bionic Bob, and many more, who have reignited my love of the craft.

As of right now, I'm attempting to start work on my first fanedit, and any answers, guidance, or just general advice offered to the following set questions and details would be most appreciated. Regardless, I thank anyone who takes the time to read this.

TECH DETAILS:
I have the following operational tech ready to go for this edit:
-A legal copy of the Blu-Ray
-A Sony Blu-Ray Player
-A 2018 Macbook Pro, complete with 4 ports
-An HDMI to macbook adapter
-MKV (to transcode the Blu-Ray files)

In terms of software to edit the film, I'm all set on my end. The real struggle is just transcoding the video files onto my computer, in order to access them and do so.

QUESTIONS:
-So after loading the Blu-Ray disc, and adapting it to the Macbook, it does not show up as a device; MKV doesn't read the disc either, simply saying "The program can't find any useable optical drives." Am I missing an important step? Am I using an incorrect piece of software or device which the program can't read?
-I'm aware Macbooks are not technically designed to read Blu-rays. However, I was under the impression MKV could still access the VIDEO FILES from them regardless. Am I mistaken in this notion? If so, is there an alternative Mac-based computer any editors on here would recommend using?
(Also, feel completely free to respond with any questions of your own which might help you to understand the situation better.)

If my questions appear silly or inept, my deepest apologies. Know they are asked with the deepest regards, respect, and wisdom for the faneditors on this site.
​​​​​​I am honored to be a member of this community, and I thank anyone who offers even minimal help.

 

[DigModiFicaTion]

I think @"ssj" is one of our only mac editors, that admits it anyway

 

[slekyr]

I haven't edited on the Mac in a few years but when I did the best software was Pavtube. It took the bluray disc and created an editable file with the ProRes codec that can be used in Final Cut.  I'm assuming you are using Final Cut since you are on a Mac.

Also you have to be ware of the compatibility of the software. With High Sierra and now Mojave, there are many older programs that are not compatible anymore.

Not sure if any of this is useful but I hope that it helps at least a little bit.

 

[GelflingHand]

I have the following operational tech ready to go for this edit:
-A Sony Blu-Ray Player

-So after loading the Blu-Ray disc, and adapting it to the Macbook, it does not show up as a device;

That's a blu-ray player, not a blu-ray drive? I'm pretty sure that won't work; the computer is designed for HDMI output, not input, and the player isn't designed to be accessible to a computer. You'll need to buy a drive!

 

[ChainsawAsh]

A player won't do you any good. You need an external USB Blu-Ray drive.

EDIT: Er, yeah, what GelflingHand said.