Apple MacBook Air Superdrive: Switching internal DVD Drive to BluRay?

shootingstar64 · Dec 14, 2010, 08:24 AM

As written above, do you think it would be possible to change the DVD Rom within the MBA SD to a Bluray Drive?
Speaking of using the case and USB electronics to hook it to an Air or Mac mini Server? Anyone attempt to do this?

Are there any Bluray Drive Drivers for OS X so far?

Sorry, new to the Bluray world

lucashungaro · Dec 14, 2010, 09:25 AM

You can buy an external Bluray drive (an example here), but as far as I know, on OS X you'll only be able to burn Bluray discs. To watch them you'll need Windows.

shootingstar64 · Dec 14, 2010, 09:33 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by lucashungaro

You can buy an external Bluray drive (an example here), but as far as I know, on OS X you'll only be able to burn Bluray discs. To watch them you'll need Windows.

thx lucas,... but what i want to know, if it is possible to tear the original MBA SD apart and rebuilt it with just a new bluray drive?

would love to keep the nice case of the original MBA SD and not get stuck with a brick like most external bluray drive housings,.....

just burning discs would be ok,.....

as a side note i do not want to watch movies on my server

Cave Man · Dec 14, 2010, 11:07 AM

You'd have to identify the current drive so that you can determine its dimensions and interface (there are no PATA Blu-ray drives, only SATA). Then look for a replacement that fits it.

You can rip Blu-ray discs using a MBA, but you cannot play the discs because the MBA cannot both decode the video and extract the AC3/DTS core audio without stuttering. It just doesn't have enough horsepower to do so. Many Blu-ray rips will also stutter unless you rip them only with AC3 or DTS and not the HD audio tracks. Others will stutter no matter what because of the high bit rates, so you'd have to transcode those down with Handbrake. Use Plex or XBMC for playback.

bconeill · Feb 8, 2011, 12:57 PM

I've been wondering about this too, but using this sort of mod to hook it up to my MBP or Cinema Display:

http://tnkgrl.wordpress.com/2008/06/...drive-for-all/

I'm aware of Blu-Ray playback issues, but I'd like to use the drive to natively rip blu-rays to my computer (and then convert with handbrake). The problem is the original optical drive in the device is IDE (PATA), and thus the board is an IDE to USB board. In order to allow this to work for all macs (not just the MBA) we'd have to find an SATA to USB connector that would fit the enclosure in addition to a slot loading blu-ray drive that would fit. Anyone know where to start?

darrellishere · Feb 8, 2011, 01:42 PM

You cant do it! You need to re-solder and mod the bored inside the the case. It was discussed about 2 years ago, but is way to far out , for most tech people! Ordering transistors on eBay. Ouch!

But I do admit I did think about it myself, and it would look damed sexy!

But its not possible.

jdechko · Feb 8, 2011, 03:06 PM

If you're looking for a slim external blu-ray drive, why not take a look at one of these?

http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_no...lu-ray&x=0&y=0

A few are even cheaper than a SuperDrive and a Slim Blu-Ray drive, and would no doubt work better. (And have a warranty in case they didn't work).

Dec 14, 2010, 08:24 AM	#1
shootingstar64 macrumors regular Join Date: Nov 2008 Location: Monterey, CA	Apple MacBook Air Superdrive: Switching internal DVD Drive to BluRay? As written above, do you think it would be possible to change the DVD Rom within the MBA SD to a Bluray Drive? Speaking of using the case and USB electronics to hook it to an Air or Mac mini Server? Anyone attempt to do this? Are there any Bluray Drive Drivers for OS X so far? Sorry, new to the Bluray world __________________ MacBook Air \|i5 1.6GHz\|256 GB SSD • iPhone 5 \|16GB • ATV3 • iPod nano \|6G \|8GB + TikTok • iPad mini \|16 GB \| Wi-Fi + Cellular
	0

Dec 14, 2010, 11:07 AM	#4
Cave Man macrumors 603 Join Date: Feb 2007 Location: Neander Valley, Germany; just outside of Duesseldorf	You'd have to identify the current drive so that you can determine its dimensions and interface (there are no PATA Blu-ray drives, only SATA). Then look for a replacement that fits it. You can rip Blu-ray discs using a MBA, but you cannot play the discs because the MBA cannot both decode the video and extract the AC3/DTS core audio without stuttering. It just doesn't have enough horsepower to do so. Many Blu-ray rips will also stutter unless you rip them only with AC3 or DTS and not the HD audio tracks. Others will stutter no matter what because of the high bit rates, so you'd have to transcode those down with Handbrake. Use Plex or XBMC for playback. __________________ 2012 Mac Mini; i5 Quad Core ITX Hackintosh with Blu-ray playback HTPC; 1 TB eSATA Apple TV; 3.8 gHz i7 Quad Core Hackintosh, 2GB HD5870; MacBook Pro i7; MacBook Air; iPhone 4s; 1st Mac=Centris 610
	0

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Dec 14, 2010, 09:25 AM	#2
lucashungaro macrumors member Join Date: Nov 2010 Location: São Paulo, Brazil	You can buy an external Bluray drive (an example here), but as far as I know, on OS X you'll only be able to burn Bluray discs. To watch them you'll need Windows.
	0

Feb 8, 2011, 12:57 PM	#5
bconeill macrumors newbie Join Date: Feb 2009	I've been wondering about this too, but using this sort of mod to hook it up to my MBP or Cinema Display: http://tnkgrl.wordpress.com/2008/06/...drive-for-all/ I'm aware of Blu-Ray playback issues, but I'd like to use the drive to natively rip blu-rays to my computer (and then convert with handbrake). The problem is the original optical drive in the device is IDE (PATA), and thus the board is an IDE to USB board. In order to allow this to work for all macs (not just the MBA) we'd have to find an SATA to USB connector that would fit the enclosure in addition to a slot loading blu-ray drive that would fit. Anyone know where to start?
	1

Feb 8, 2011, 01:42 PM	#6
darrellishere macrumors 6502 Join Date: Jul 2007	You cant do it! You need to re-solder and mod the bored inside the the case. It was discussed about 2 years ago, but is way to far out , for most tech people! Ordering transistors on eBay. Ouch! But I do admit I did think about it myself, and it would look damed sexy! But its not possible.
	0

Feb 8, 2011, 03:06 PM	#7
jdechko macrumors 68040 Join Date: Jul 2004	If you're looking for a slim external blu-ray drive, why not take a look at one of these? http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_no...lu-ray&x=0&y=0 A few are even cheaper than a SuperDrive and a Slim Blu-Ray drive, and would no doubt work better. (And have a warranty in case they didn't work).
	0