Next SuperDrive more flexible

[Wry Cooter]

I've read recently in some articles which I can't find now, but also prevalent in some discussion at Macintouch

http://www.macintouch.com/dvdstandards.html

Regarding the HP/Compaq merger forcing the writeable DVD drives in Macs by default becoming a Macintosh only phenomenon, rather than shared by others in the Wintel world (which can affect how easy a Mac User might be able to find media, etc...)

Since we are all looking towards a new tower design this summer, do you think a new SuperDrive might be included? Not only faster, as is rumored, but perhaps more flexible as well? Because from some Points of View, it looks as though Apple is bound to have their choice of DVD writing drives ghettoized by the other 90 percent.

Comments?

[LethalWolfe]

Whoa... I'm dizzy from reading all that... gimme a second...

Okay. Well. I bought a QS w/superdrive. I'm not gonna buy another DVD burner until this format mess is cleared up. So put me in the "call me when it's done" catagory.


Lethal

[Beej]

Oh man, what an utter mess.

So which do you guys think will win out in the long run? I have a feeling DVD-RW will win out, purely because it has a good grip in the marketplace right now.

[jelloshotsrule]

i agree. i don't like the idea of making a dvd with professional dvd authoring software and still having some people not able to view it..

then again, i'm not too worried about it. it's always nice to see drives improve though.

[Wry Cooter]

Originally posted by LethalWolfe
Whoa... I'm dizzy from reading all that... gimme a second...



Just for jollies I pulled out the various formats being discussed in the article.
Do you know which ones your SuperDrive can read or write? Or which are identical? If you went to a compUSA for media, which would you buy?

DVD+R
DVD+R/RW
DVD+RW
DVD-General
DVD-R
DVD-R/CDR
DVD-R/CDRW
DVD-R/RW
DVD-RAM
DVD-Recordable
DVD-recording
DVD-ROM
DVD-RW
DVD-VR

Apparently Sony and Compaq were both using the Pioneer A03 (the superdrive) as well, but are not any longer. I'm not sure if the A04 or any future planned superdrives for mac desktops are more flexible or not. (the list doesn't really go into CD-r or CD-RW burning). I thought the pioneer mech MIGHT be able to be used more flexibly that Macs drivers allow, from the OS at least.

[menoinjun]

Hope this helps-

The ones that are supported by sony and hp are

DVD+R DVD+RW

The DVD-R drives can write DVD-RW also and usually dvd-ram.

The superdrive can write

DVD-R DVD-RW (only with toast) CD-R, CD-RW and I'm not too sure about DVD-RAM. I don't think so though.

-Pete

[LethalWolfe]

Here is all I care about. I'm going to use my Superdrive to write DVD-R General Media. My Superdrive cannot write DVD-R Authoring Media, and I don't want to write DVD-R Data Media.

But I havn't heard too much 'bout Data, so maybe that flavor of DVD-R is going away and we'll only be left with General and Authoring.

All the other formats can go to Hell as far as I'm concerned. :) In a few years when one format has returned from Hell to be crowned "Offical Consumer DVD Blank Format" someone drop me an e-mail. ;)

Lethal