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Alternatives to Superdrive?
- Thread starter scrummy
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Something like this would work (yes it works with 1 USB port)
http://www.amazon.com/Asus-External...578O/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1315022424&sr=8-2
as well as the other Samsung, Pioneer drives or what have you
http://www.amazon.com/Asus-External...578O/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1315022424&sr=8-2
as well as the other Samsung, Pioneer drives or what have you
I have a superdrive mainly cause of the look for my desktop area, but I do have a cheap dvd drive from Target that I picked up for like $30-40 and it works just fine....
Basically all DVD USB External drives will work.
Superdrive is just a fancy word for nothing special but an Apple made DVD drive with USB
Superdrive is just a fancy word for nothing special but an Apple made DVD drive with USB
Basically all DVD USB External drives will work.
Superdrive is just a fancy word for nothing special but an Apple made DVD drive with USB
I just returned an HP external drive to Best Buy because the drivers weren't compatible and it caused kernel panics any time I'd leave it plugged in.
Most drives will work, but there are some exceptions. Unfortunately, I don't think there's really a way to know which ones don't without trying them out.
now if you want real speed buy a plexter external. though it needs power. it is about 2x the speed of the superdrive thats 2x in real use.
Using this with my Air right now and it works fine. I bought the silver one from B&H photo for $39, and it matches the Air's aluminum body perfectly. They actually sell all the other colors that Samsung makes for this drive here. So $39 vs $79 for pretty much the same thing. You do the math
If you own another mac with a drive, use that one by connecting with a firewire... cheapest option of all...
Anybody have another alternative with a Blu-ray reader or writer (for those who may use a Bootcamp/Parallel Windows?)
I know from experience that LG Ultra drives do not work with Mac OS X.
Typical as this was one I had already so ended up buying a Super Drive anyway.
Anyone else had problems with the USB cable splitting next to the drive body (where it bends most I guess). Mine went after about 4 months. Never got round to returning it and that was 2 years ago now !!!!!
Typical as this was one I had already so ended up buying a Super Drive anyway.
Anyone else had problems with the USB cable splitting next to the drive body (where it bends most I guess). Mine went after about 4 months. Never got round to returning it and that was 2 years ago now !!!!!
One thing I don't like on the Samsung drive is you need to plug it in 2 USB ports. No power required. The SuperDrive is nice, but pricey. However only needs one USB to work.
It seems from reviews that some of these drives come with dual-USB cables but will work fine with a single connection. I have a Rosewill drive on order from Newegg (was on sale @ $25) which is reported to be this way. Will post when I get it and determine if it's true.
I so rarely need optical that if it does require two USB, it won't be a big deal. Hope it'll be fine with one though.
I so rarely need optical that if it does require two USB, it won't be a big deal. Hope it'll be fine with one though.
http://www.amazon.com/External-SBW-...PIOA/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1315330452&sr=8-3
This works too if you need to read Blu-Ray.
Just remember there's no native Blu-Ray movie playing software. "Bag of hurt" and all that.
This works too if you need to read Blu-Ray.
Just remember there's no native Blu-Ray movie playing software. "Bag of hurt" and all that.
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I have a Samsung & it works fine with just one USB plugged in. Just make sure to plug in the main and not the secondary one. Samsung sells separately extension cables that let you to plug in both USBs but I'm too cheap for that
In theory it might be running more slowly with one USB than with two but as far as I'm concerned it doesn't make much difference for uploading music or watching DVDs. YMMV.
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Unless you need to burn a DVD... The $20 after rebate one is DVD-ROM.
The $30 after rebate models burn DVDs.
I looked at 3rd party drives and in the end end, even though it cost twice as much, I just got the Superdrive. Never have to worry about compatibility and frankly, some of the other drivers were butt-ugly - not that is a real big deal as I rarely use the drive.
I received the drive this morning, used a basic A-to-B cable I had handy instead of of the dual-usb cable it shipped with.
Seems to read CDs and DVDs (data & video) just fine. Haven't had a chance to try burning anything. Happy with my $25 purchase.