Great superdrive alternative

[financeguy]

I wanted to see if there were any alternatives to the $100 superdrive that seems pretty fragile and some people suggested this Fastmac (http://fastmac.com/blurayext) for $110, which can ready Bluray discs.

I did a little diging on this forum and found this tread (http://forums.macrumors.com/showthread.php?t=647170), which basically says it's a Panasonic (Matshita) UJ-120 drive in an external enclosure and an IDE-to-USB bridge.

Then I went on eBay to see if they sell the UJ-120 and found this seller (http://cgi.ebay.com/Panasonic-Blu-ray-UJ-120-DVD-RW-RAM-Slim-External-Drive_W0QQitemZ150375418504QQcmdZViewItemQQptZPCC_Drives_Storage_Internal?hash=item230312ca88&_trksid=p3286.c0.m14) selling it for $80.

I took the plunge and bought it, and it works fine. When I plugged it in, nothing happen, but when I inserted a DVD it played it and when I inserted a blank disk, it let me burn it with itunes.

Anyway I just wanted to let everyone know that this is a great alternative for $80. I haven't tried the bluray yet, but I got what I wanted.

[NC MacGuy]

If you purely wanted a superdrive alternative, there are plenty cheaper that work just fine. If you want bluray under Windows, that's your prerogative I guess.

[alpinadvl]

2 questions,

1. Does it work off a USB hub.... if you plug the drive into a USB hub attached to the MBA, does the drive still work ?

2. can you boot into the drive... example for reinstalling OS X?... I believe you restart and hold down "C" until the drive loads?

thanks !

[NC MacGuy]

2 questions,

1. Does it work off a USB hub.... if you plug the drive into a USB hub attached to the MBA, does the drive still work ?

2. can you boot into the drive... example for reinstalling OS X?... I believe you restart and hold down "C" until the drive loads?

thanks !

It should do both. I don't think there's ever been a problem w. the Air using other ext. USB opticals. The problem is using the MBA superdrive either on a hub or w. other computers.

[financeguy]

If you purely wanted a superdrive alternative, there are plenty cheaper that work just fine. If you want bluray under Windows, that's your prerogative I guess.


Yes, this model is pretty slim, compatitible with PC laptops, and can play bluray under windows. I think having these extra options. In any case I think it is a much better deal than a superdrive or fastmac.

[stoconnell]

The whole SL upgrade process has gotten me thinking about this, and I really don't want to do the Apple solution since it really is a one trick pony. I like the idea of being able to use it with the Air and possibly other future or existing machines (should one have a failed drive, etc). I also don't always have access to another Mac or a Windows box. It would also be a nice feature to be able to use a single USB and not wall wart, too.

There are 2 that kind of fit this at least based on impressions:

1) Fastmac Blu-Ray drive http://fastmac.com/blurayext (looks like the base model is $99.95)
2) Plextor PX-610U drive http://www.plextoramericas.com/index.php/dvd-rw/external-dvd-rw/px-610u, which has both a Mac and a PC version. The PC version is relatively inexpensive at amazon. I believe the only difference is the software bundle, and I don't need Toast for my modest use cases.

Are there others out there that work off the MBA's single USB connection w/o external power?

Looking at the Panasonic drive you listed (and re-reading your comment .. sigh), it looks like it works as well without external power.

[financeguy]

Are there others out there that work off the MBA's single USB connection w/o external power?

Looking at the Panasonic drive you listed (and re-reading your comment .. sigh), it looks like it works as well without external power.

Yes, it does not need external power and work's off the MBA's single USB connection.

[Gadgetman99]

I use the Pioneer DVR-XD09. It is a USB DVD player/burner. It boots fine on the MBA and I did a re-install of Mac OS before selling my old MBA. Small, thin and about $85. Plus it works with other PC's (unlike the superdrive).

[1rottenapple]

thats good to know... I got my mba apple superdrive on ebay for $50. used of course but its a drive, it works and I use it like once a month, usually for importing dvds.

[stoconnell]

Yes, it does not need external power and work's off the MBA's single USB connection.

Sweet. Thanks for the clarification.

[Scottsdale]

I highly recommend anyone considering buying an MBA SuperDrive rethink and buy an external BluRay drive. Apple is going to potentially cave and support BluRay at any given update... when it does, Blu Ray will be capable on the Mac and the same $100 will get you BluRay instead of just DVD: it's backwards compatible too.

Also note, the MBA SuperDrive has a terrible cable which splits apart due to design and poor materials. I have gone through two and only used the first one maybe five times. It looks nice, but that's about the only positive.

[jdechko]

I totally agree with looking for a Blu-Ray drive. Sure Mac OS X can't play back movies (yet) but there is ripping software for the mac that does a pretty good job, looking at this thread (http://forums.macrumors.com/showthread.php?t=748615).

[breakfast]

I'm looking for an up-to-date external drive for my rev.C MBA under SL.

Does anyone have a good recommendation handy?

Lightweight, bootable and one USB-conection only for both power and data would be great.

Thank you! :)

[jessica.]

I highly recommend anyone considering buying an MBA SuperDrive rethink and buy an external BluRay drive. Apple is going to potentially cave and support BluRay at any given update... when it does, Blu Ray will be capable on the Mac and the same $100 will get you BluRay instead of just DVD: it's backwards compatible too.

Also note, the MBA SuperDrive has a terrible cable which splits apart due to design and poor materials. I have gone through two and only used the first one maybe five times. It looks nice, but that's about the only positive.
Funny, 6 months later and it's still not the case. This post reads so "matter of fact" too. Holy thread revival is always good for a laugh.

I'm looking for an up-to-date external drive for my rev.C MBA under SL.

Does anyone have a good recommendation handy?

Lightweight, bootable and one USB-conection only for both power and data would be great.

Thank you! :)

I would spend the money on an Apple one and actually hack it to run on all machines. Check out this write-up here:
http://tnkgrl.wordpress.com/2008/06/24/macbook-air-superdrive-for-all/

I really need to do this to my own. It would seem the consequence of screwing it up is minimal at this point as I hardly use the drive today.

[breakfast]

Na, no screwing around for me... :D

More like looking for a non-Apple product that works fine. Any ideas?

PS: Nice ***** cat! :)

[stoconnell]

I'm looking for an up-to-date external drive for my rev.C MBA under SL.

Does anyone have a good recommendation handy?

Lightweight, bootable and one USB-conection only for both power and data would be great.

Thank you! :)

I recently picked up one of the Plextor PX-610U units from amazon.com (option 2 in my earlier comment) for about $90. I didn't buy the Apple-specific version as it includes some software I don't care about and is $20 - 30 more. It only requires one USB port and is compatible across multiple machines.

[Scottsdale]

Funny, 6 months later and it's still not the case. This post reads so "matter of fact" too. Holy thread revival is always good for a laugh.



I would spend the money on an Apple one and actually hack it to run on all machines. Check out this write-up here:
http://tnkgrl.wordpress.com/2008/06/24/macbook-air-superdrive-for-all/

I really need to do this to my own. It would seem the consequence of screwing it up is minimal at this point as I hardly use the drive today.

"Apple is going to potentially cave and support BluRay at any given update..." - by me.

I don't call that matter of fact, and I call it "POTENTIALLY" cave at "any given update." That means that within a few updates Apple MIGHT cave and support BluRay.

The more important factor though is the Blu Ray drive buyer, for the exact same $100, gets Blu Ray for the MBA on Windows 7... and a drive that actually works in USB hubs for DVDs/CDs within OS X. And eventually, Apple will either cave in and make the optical drive relevant by using Blu Ray, or it will completely remove the optical drive from the Mac notebooks. Even then, Apple will eventually be forced to allow Blu Ray as a standard to play movies on Macs via external drives, iMacs and Mac Pros. Blu Ray is going nowhere, and a DVD/CD drive is just about WORTHLESS as of right now.

I think an external Blu Ray drive lasts many years. Especially if it's not an Apple MBA SuperDrive which would be fortunate to last one year. All in all, the Blu Ray external drive has so many benefits right now that there is zero reason to buy an MBA SD. I would use one with an MBA in Windows 7 if nothing else... and it's fully backwards compatible with DVD and CDs. There was no reason to buy an MBA SD over an external Blu Ray when I wrote the post, and there's certainly no change to the Macs not even an update since I wrote it. I said within "any given update," and that's not even one update yet.

[gglockner]

If you have another Mac with an optical drive, you can eliminate the need for the USB SuperDrive. Besides AirDisk, you can buy a USB flash drive, then copy a disk image on your Mac to the USB flash drive and use the flash drive on your MacBook Air. This is what I (will) do for the 1-2x per year when I really need an external optical drive on my MBA.

[ctrack52]

I used a Toshiba External DVD PA3761U-1DV2 ($54). Works great using the MBA Rev 2. Loaded all my software and that's the last time I needed a DVD RW with my MBA. I do have a SuperDrive, bought it on sale $75 but it is still in it's original packaging. Not much need for a DVD drive so far.

[Celphish]

Would this work?
http://www.bestbuy.com/site/Asus+-+8x+External+Double-Layer+DVD&%23177;RW/CD-RW+Drive/9361497.p?id=1218091194134&skuId=9361497
I am getting my MBA tomorrow, and only have a pc tower...

[Ice-Cube]

I need one that is multi-region actually. Any ones out there like that?

[Celphish]

Can you use any usb DVDrw external drive on the macbook air?

[Scottsdale]

Can you use any usb DVDrw external drive on the macbook air?

Yes, as some of us were discussing, why not buy an external Blu Ray reader which is DVD/CD backwards compatible. A non-Apple brand is less than an MBA SuperDrive. The MBA SD is actually junk too. Its cable is terrible and frays on many drives. In addition, one can play BluRay in Windows 7 on the MBA. With OS X, it will work as a DVD/CD, and when OS X gets Blu Ray support it will play Blu Ray in OS X too. There is no reason to buy Apple's inferior tech and it doesn't even work in USB hubs and in all honesty is just about the most worthless Apple product available. I have bought two stupid MBA SuperDrives, and they're nothing but junk... only pretty until the cable frays and becomes unusable too. I saw an aluminum Blu Ray drive a few weeks ago, and it looked nicer than the MBA SD. I asked the guy where he got it, and he replied "online." Don't know the brand but there are plenty of options.

[Celphish]

Thanks for the info, Your everywhere man, I've seen you on like 7 different threads...Thanks again:)

[stoconnell]

Can you use any usb DVDrw external drive on the macbook air?

Yes, but you have to be careful if the drive uses a Y-style USB adapter requiring 2 USB ports (one for power, one for data). If you have a powered USB hub then these will be fine or if you have a power supply they will be fine. It just depends on your expectations in terms of it being portable and working with the single USB port on the MBA (hence, my purchase of the Plextor PX-610U) as it can function on the one port w/o external power.

[breakfast]

Can anyone comment on the LG GP08NU20?

They have a black (http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B002YIG8BQ) and a white (http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B002A3MIZK) version and the comments on Amazon are somewhat ambiguous.

What matters to me is

-does it work with the current MBA? ...it apparently does the job (http://www.amazon.com/review/R2QHBS17566WXE) for the mini...
-can you boot from it?
-does it run on one USB connection only (i.e. power+data)?
-does it "deliver sound (http://www.amazon.com/review/R3M47OL04SLWIB/)"?

[stoconnell]

Can anyone comment on the LG GP08NU20?

They have a black (http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B002YIG8BQ) and a white (http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B002A3MIZK) version and the comments on Amazon are somewhat ambiguous.

What matters to me is

-does it work with the current MBA? ...it apparently does the job (http://www.amazon.com/review/R2QHBS17566WXE) for the mini...
-can you boot from it?
-does it run on one USB connection only (i.e. power+data)?
-does it "deliver sound (http://www.amazon.com/review/R3M47OL04SLWIB/)"?

Newegg.com does a nice thing and usually tells you what's in the box and often tend to have more photos. In this case ('http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827136182&Tpk=LG%20GP08NU20'), there's a photo showing a typical USB Y-cable, so it likely won't work with just a single USB connection for data and power. I know the Plextor PX610U will send audio over USB interface (tested with a CD when I bought it).

[breakfast]

Thanks!

Too bad I can't get the Plextor PX-610U in Europe. Seems to be the ideal drive.
BTW, there seems to be two Plextor PX-610U versions. PX-610U (http://www.plextoramericas.com/index.php/dvd-rw/external-dvd-rw/px-610u) and PX-610U for Mac (http://www.plextoramericas.com/index.php/dvd-rw/external-dvd-rw/px-610u-for-mac). Yours is the Mac-version, correct?

edit: Just read the specs, so what's the deal with the built-in battery? Never heard of anything like that. Is that the reason why this particular model doesn't need external power... because it sucks juice from a battery...?!

[stoconnell]

Thanks!

Too bad I can't get the Plextor PX-610U in Europe. Seems to be the ideal drive.
BTW, there seems to be two Plextor PX-610U versions. PX-610U (http://www.plextoramericas.com/index.php/dvd-rw/external-dvd-rw/px-610u) and PX-610U for Mac (http://www.plextoramericas.com/index.php/dvd-rw/external-dvd-rw/px-610u-for-mac). Yours is the Mac-version, correct?

edit: Just read the specs, so what's the deal with the built-in battery? Never heard of anything like that. Is that the reason why this particular model doesn't need external power... because it sucks juice from a battery...?!

I didn't bother with the Mac-version as the only difference seemed to bundled software (I think they relicensed something Mac-specific). I have Disk Utility. I don't actually burn discs all that often, so it was not terribly appealing to me. The U might be for US (DVD region-specific *****), maybe there's a different model PX-610 or a follow on that you can get there.

[stoconnell]

I didn't bother with the Mac-version as the only difference seemed to bundled software (I think they relicensed something Mac-specific). I have Disk Utility. I don't actually burn discs all that often, so it was not terribly appealing to me. The U might be for US (DVD region-specific *****), maybe there's a different model PX-610 or a follow on that you can get there.

Of course, the U is probably USB :rolleyes:

Poking around there is also a

http://www.plextor-digital.com/index.php/en/Portable-DVD+/-RW/px-608cu.html

which may be available across the pond, etc. This model is listed as "In stock" on amazon.co.uk

[breakfast]

Oh good, thanks.

And what's the deal with the battery? Any ideas? :confused:

[breakfast]

Hello,
I'm still wondering about the built-in battery. Is this battery the reason why this drive doesn't need external power? Thanks.
Thanks!

Too bad I can't get the Plextor PX-610U in Europe. Seems to be the ideal drive.
BTW, there seems to be two Plextor PX-610U versions. PX-610U (http://www.plextoramericas.com/index.php/dvd-rw/external-dvd-rw/px-610u) and PX-610U for Mac (http://www.plextoramericas.com/index.php/dvd-rw/external-dvd-rw/px-610u-for-mac). Yours is the Mac-version, correct?

edit: Just read the specs, so what's the deal with the built-in battery? Never heard of anything like that. Is that the reason why this particular model doesn't need external power... because it sucks juice from a battery...?!

[drummerlondonw3]

Yes, as some of us were discussing, why not buy an external Blu Ray reader which is DVD/CD backwards compatible. <snip>

this has to be the sanest option. Especially with an Air where the lack of HD/SSD space could be offset by BR discs (if needed)

[godslabrat]

I'm almost positive I'm getting the MBA when the next revision hits. As such, I'm going to need *some* optical drive solution, and I agree with the posters that say a non-Apple external BluRay drive would be best. Although I wouldn't use the drive much, I would most certainly use it for BluRay, and the option to plug it into another computer that lacks a Blu drive seals the deal.

I am thankful for this thread, because although I know what type of drive to get, I have not yet decided on a specific model.

[stoconnell]

Oh good, thanks.

And what's the deal with the battery? Any ideas? :confused:

Not sure really. I can tell you that I was able to install Snow Leopard from the unit (PX-610U) only plugged into the USB port on the Air -- in fact, there isn't even a port to plug a wall wart into it. I have to say it did what I wanted it to do, and I have the ability to use it on another type of machine should the need arise.

[breakfast]

Bought this drive (Transcend (http://www.transcendusa.com/Products/ModDetail.asp?LangNo=0&ModNo=261)) and am disappointed.

While it is a neat product, small but not flimsy at all, no issues with power, one USB connection perfectly ok for both data and power, it has one major flaw that makes it unusable for me:

Whenever you eject a CD/DVD and put a new one in, Finder doesn't refresh.
No chance to to access the contents of the new disc.
No matter if you press the eject button on the actual drive or if you click on the small triangle next to the drive entry in the left pane of the Finder window. It simply doesn't show you the new content. Fat chance.
(Btw. clicking on the triangle makes the drive go away completely and you're left with unplugging it and plugging it in again.)

Has anyone else ever experienced something like this with a 3rd party device?

Thanks.

[i7QuadCoreMania]

I did the superdrive hack for my 10v originally, but use it for my ultimate 13" mba now here are some pics

http://s296.photobucket.com/albums/mm184/r32-1163/SuperDrive%20Hack/

[thinkdesign]

Wirelessly posted (Mozilla/4.0 (compatible; MSIE 6.0; Windows CE; IEMobile 8.12; MSIEMobile6.0) Sprint T7380)

The $100. price the OP cites, was the price of the SuperDrive for the previous three generations of the Air.

The new Air's model of SuperDrive is $80.

(And, it can be covered under the AppleCare warranty extension, if you get the SupeDrive on the same receipt as the Air. Which was a struggle for me earlier this week, as the store's computer didn't want to recognise a 3rd item on the receipt. Had to call the manager over..... There's an apple.com or store.apple.com policy page on what all can be included under the coverage of an AppleCare policy at no extra cost, if bought at same time as the computer.)

[i7QuadCoreMania]

Wirelessly posted (Mozilla/4.0 (compatible; MSIE 6.0; Windows CE; IEMobile 8.12; MSIEMobile6.0) Sprint T7380)

The $100. price the OP cites, was the price of the SuperDrive for the previous three generations of the Air.

The new Air's model of SuperDrive is $80.


I also noticed the price change when I ordered my BTO 13" air, but ignored it as thought it was some discount for buying it together with the Air, although I was surpised to see the new price reflect in the store buying separately as well.

Is there any hardware changes with the old air drive and the new? model # change?

[breakfast]

...
Is there any hardware changes with the old air drive and the new? model # change?Different topic. Look here (http://forums.macrumors.com/showpost.php?p=11413717&postcount=23), where btw you can see that they cost the same.

[breakfast]

Anyone with this issue?
Bought this drive (Transcend (http://www.transcendusa.com/Products/ModDetail.asp?LangNo=0&ModNo=261)) and am disappointed.

While it is a neat product, small but not flimsy at all, no issues with power, one USB connection perfectly ok for both data and power, it has one major flaw that makes it unusable for me:

Whenever you eject a CD/DVD and put a new one in, Finder doesn't refresh.
No chance to to access the contents of the new disc.
No matter if you press the eject button on the actual drive or if you click on the small triangle next to the drive entry in the left pane of the Finder window. It simply doesn't show you the new content. Fat chance.
(Btw. clicking on the triangle makes the drive go away completely and you're left with unplugging it and plugging it in again.)

Has anyone else ever experienced something like this with a 3rd party device?

Thanks.