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Fitting of a Panasonic Blu-Ray Drive to an iMac 27"

Arkious

Arkious

macrumors 6502a
Original poster
Mar 14, 2011
583
0
Newcastle, UK
After a large amount of discussion with many members, i have started to gather the parts i need to do a Blu-Ray Drive conversion. The iMac i have is a Late 2009 27" i7 Model (Rest is in Sig), and the Blu-Ray drive i have opted for is a 12.7mm Slot-Load Panasonic UJ-235AS Combo.

Parts & Tools Required
2 Large Suction Cups (Ordered)
1 Can-O-Air (Ordered)
1 Panasonic UJ-235 Combo Drive W/O Faceplate
1 T10 Torx Driver (Got)

Once the suction cups arrive i will remove the glass pannel, LCD and the not so 'Superdrive' to see how easy it is and if its possible. I will update this thread as i go. parts were ordered today so i should be able to take a look on sunday if they turn up on time.

Before anyone says about the warrenty, yes i understand it could effect the warrenty and applecare that i have taken out. but seriously they should have warrenty void if removed stickers over every screw they do not want us to touch a ceirtain thing like they have on the CPU. A user should be able to access the inside of the imac to remove any dust buildups on the coolers.

Also before anyone says why didnt you just get an external drive, why would you buy an imac to have an external drive? The iMac is built to be all-in-one so lets keep it that way.

Finally, when possible i will take photos so that this can be a guide if required, thanks for looking :)
 
Yes this is neat idea.

I absolutely love the idea of modifying iMac SuperDrive with Bluray Drive, that way I have all in one, keep everything clean on the desk, yet I have Bluray.

But really, I dont want to mess with warranty. Maybe I'll do it to my iMac if the AppleCare expired, so whatever I do, I dont end up voiding my warranty.

Please post the result, and video watching screenshot (on Windows of course :p)

Did you also install SSD on your iMac? Also by yourself?
 
iSayuSay said:
Yes this is neat idea.

I absolutely love the idea of modifying iMac SuperDrive with Bluray Drive, that way I have all in one, keep everything clean on the desk, yet I have Bluray.

But really, I dont want to mess with warranty. Maybe I'll do it to my iMac if the AppleCare expired, so whatever I do, I dont end up voiding my warranty.

Please post the result, and video watching screenshot (on Windows of course :p)

Did you also install SSD on your iMac? Also by yourself?
Click to expand...

I cant see it voiding the warrenty, there are void if removed stickers present but not on the parts i am removing, if apple didnt want me to remove them they should have put stickers on :)

As for the SSD, i would like to do that in the near future but the blu-ray drive is more of a priority.

Truthfully the only bit am worried about is the glass removal... crack
 
Subscribing to this thread, really interested to see how it turns out. I've got a 3 year Applecare warranty with my new iMac so I won't be attempting this for a few more years :D.
 
Dagless said:
Subscribing to this thread, really interested to see how it turns out. I've got a 3 year Applecare warranty with my new iMac so I won't be attempting this for a few more years :D.
Click to expand...

My warrenty runs out next month and i have 2 years left on applecare :p really looking forward to installing it like, just not removing that glass panel!
 
In theory, if you have your upgrades installed by an authorized Apple Tech, it shouldn't void your warranty, but how does Apple know know did the installatiion?
From experience I can say that even Apple techs could be sloppy. I took my MBP to an Apple Tech and later to the Apple store, a total of 4 times, until finally giving up and fixing the problem myself.
As owner of your iMac, I'm sure you will be more careful and will pay attention to detail, so I would say that as long as you keep the original parts and reinstall them before taking it to Apple for repair, they will not consider your warranty as void.
Best wishes on your project! please keep us informed of your progress.
 
Amazing Iceman said:
In theory, if you have your upgrades installed by an authorized Apple Tech, it shouldn't void your warranty, but how does Apple know know did the installatiion?
From experience I can say that even Apple techs could be sloppy. I took my MBP to an Apple Tech and later to the Apple store, a total of 4 times, until finally giving up and fixing the problem myself.
As owner of your iMac, I'm sure you will be more careful and will pay attention to detail, so I would say that as long as you keep the original parts and reinstall them before taking it to Apple for repair, they will not consider your warranty as void.
Best wishes on your project! please keep us informed of your progress.
Click to expand...

I couldnt agree more, i feel the same when working on my car (forgetting about the warrenty side of things). yes i will be keeping a hold of the original drive to retrofit if i run into any dificulty :) the new drive will be ordered on the 25th but i will have removed original drive before hand.
 
Arkious said:
Truthfully the only bit am worried about is the glass removal... crack
Click to expand...

I had to change the glass on my wife's 27" iMac due to a small crack in the lower right corner. I bought the glass off eBay (brand new in Apple packaging) and the suction cups from iFixit and was pleasantly surpised at how easily it went. A gentle pull on the top of the glass with the 2 suction cups at each corner and it lifted right off. Then gently slide upwards and the tabs at the bottom come free. Installation was also a breeze. So don't worry about cracking it. The glass is pretty tough. Just have someplace safe and lint free to set it down on while you do the drive swap. I would just leave the suction cups attached so it is easy to just lift it back into place.

Good luck.
 
Dadioh said:
I had to change the glass on my wife's 27" iMac due to a small crack in the lower right corner. I bought the glass off eBay (brand new in Apple packaging) and the suction cups from iFixit and was pleasantly surpised at how easily it went. A gentle pull on the top of the glass with the 2 suction cups at each corner and it lifted right off. Then gently slide upwards and the tabs at the bottom come free. Installation was also a breeze. So don't worry about cracking it. The glass is pretty tough. Just have someplace safe and lint free to set it down on while you do the drive swap. I would just leave the suction cups attached so it is easy to just lift it back into place.

Good luck.
Click to expand...

Ohh thankyou very much, that sounds a little better. yeah am trying to work out where i can put the glass whilst its not fitted lol. looking forward to it now. so you put them across the top part of the screen? what about when it came to refitting, it didnt jump into place did it? did u get much dust inside the screen on refitting? mine has had bits in since i bought it lol :p
 
This BR thing is cool as long as LION implements BR within the OS...
As far as playing BR titles on my iMac, I have an entertainment center for that but I have BR in my hacks for storage because Toast Dynamic Writing is awesome for file storage since it burns on the fly as you add and subtract files from the BR image... other than that I wouldn't miss it.
HD's are way cheaper.
 
Arkious said:
Ohh thankyou very much, that sounds a little better. yeah am trying to work out where i can put the glass whilst its not fitted lol. looking forward to it now. so you put them across the top part of the screen? what about when it came to refitting, it didnt jump into place did it? did u get much dust inside the screen on refitting? mine has had bits in since i bought it lol :p
Click to expand...

I just laid the iMac on it's back on a towel on a table. I put the suction cups on the top 2 corners of the screen and gently lifted upwards. The guide below shows it being down with the suction cups at diagonally opposite corners which should work as well.

http://www.ifixit.com/Teardown/iMac-Intel-27-Inch-Teardown/1236/1

When replacing it you just slide the glass back down into the tabs and gently lower the glass into place. It doesn't really "snap" into place. Just fits snugly down in a secure manner. Without the suction cups it would never come off.

I had a microfiber cloth and a can of compressed air handy for the refitting process. If you power it on afterwards and notice a speck of dust you should be able to lift the glass away just enough to blow it off with the compressed air.
 
Dadioh said:
I just laid the iMac on it's back on a towel on a table. I put the suction cups on the top 2 corners of the screen and gently lifted upwards. The guide below shows it being down with the suction cups at diagonally opposite corners which should work as well.

http://www.ifixit.com/Teardown/iMac-Intel-27-Inch-Teardown/1236/1

When replacing it you just slide the glass back down into the tabs and gently lower the glass into place. It doesn't really "snap" into place. Just fits snugly down in a secure manner. Without the suction cups it would never come off.

I had a microfiber cloth and a can of compressed air handy for the refitting process. If you power it on afterwards and notice a speck of dust you should be able to lift the glass away just enough to blow it off with the compressed air.
Click to expand...

yeah thats the guide i have been looking at, but by 'snapping' into position i meant like the snap of a magnet against metal, im glad it doesnt do that :p
i have the air and microfibre ready for that reason though, not too bothered if i get crap in there 1st time as i will be taking it apart again in the near future lol. towel on the table sounds great though
 
The suction cups and can-o-air turned up on saturday but didnt get the chance to remove the glass panel, hopefully i will be able to on wed/thurs.
 
i downloaded some blu-ray software on saturday to watch a 1 i ripped on my old laptop. i cant remember the name but it works fantastic, it opens like a media centre.
 
Wirelessly posted (iPhone 4: Mozilla/5.0 (iPhone; U; CPU iPhone OS 4_3_3 like Mac OS X; en-us) AppleWebKit/533.17.9 (KHTML, like Gecko) Version/5.0.2 Mobile/8J2 Safari/6533.18.5)

illbeback said:
This BR thing is cool as long as LION implements BR within the OS...
As far as playing BR titles on my iMac, I have an entertainment center for that but I have BR in my hacks for storage because Toast Dynamic Writing is awesome for file storage since it burns on the fly as you add and subtract files from the BR image... other than that I wouldn't miss it.
HD's are way cheaper.
Click to expand...

Blu-Ray won't be added with Lion. Apple will more than likely never support Blu-Ray.
 
Icy1007 said:
Wirelessly posted (iPhone 4: Mozilla/5.0 (iPhone; U; CPU iPhone OS 4_3_3 like Mac OS X; en-us) AppleWebKit/533.17.9 (KHTML, like Gecko) Version/5.0.2 Mobile/8J2 Safari/6533.18.5)



Blu-Ray won't be added with Lion. Apple will more than likely never support Blu-Ray.
Click to expand...

yeah so i heard... not that it matters by the slightest as there are other means
 
Other means? As in a program to run in os x or like installing Windows and playing blu ray through there instead?
 
Arkious said:
i downloaded some blu-ray software on saturday to watch a 1 i ripped on my old laptop. i cant remember the name but it works fantastic, it opens like a media centre.
Click to expand...

Interesting, what was the name of the software and is that to play in snow leopard or boot camped windows?

you have me intrigued mate, this is something I've been wondering about for a while now so real interested in how you get on
 
is there any known reason why Apple have decided to take this line with the successor to the DVD.
Surely they realise that any computer system, especially one that purports to be the 'media' system for all-round entertainment that doesn't support Blu-Ray will probably disappear the way of the dinosaurs?

Icy1007 said:
Wirelessly posted (iPhone 4: Mozilla/5.0 (iPhone; U; CPU iPhone OS 4_3_3 like Mac OS X; en-us) AppleWebKit/533.17.9 (KHTML, like Gecko) Version/5.0.2 Mobile/8J2 Safari/6533.18.5)



Blu-Ray won't be added with Lion. Apple will more than likely never support Blu-Ray.
Click to expand...
 
a) Cause its' Apple. :p b) Not sure really. But they're clearly pushing and supporting digital download, wouldn't you say? All those content on iTunes and Apple TV etc. Surely that means they just want to be locked in their own eco system.

But its' really confusing since they're associated with media stuff, like FC etc etc. so how do they turn those high definition lovely stuff on to blu ray? Think OS X does support blu-ray burning or with Toast at least. Really confusing! So Apple supports it a little bit just don't want you to play back stuff on Mac. :mad:
 
Wirelessly posted (iPhone 4: Mozilla/5.0 (iPhone; U; CPU iPhone OS 4_3_3 like Mac OS X; en-us) AppleWebKit/533.17.9 (KHTML, like Gecko) Version/5.0.2 Mobile/8J2 Safari/6533.18.5)

I think it has to do with licensing fees they'd have to pay to Sony if they wanted to support Blu-Ray. Apple likes to stick to their own technology.
 
JamDonut said:
Apart from this longggggg winded way of using VLC to play Blu-rays:

http://sites.google.com/site/ultimatemacupgrades/articles/0000002y/requirements/step-4

have you found or know of any other ways to play Blu-rays on a mac? you got me hooked on this thread, i'd love to do the same thing! but other than toast 11 to burn on it, have you got a way of taking any further advantage of the drive?
Click to expand...

It's not that long. You can remember how to do it after doing it only once and when you need to, it'll take a couple minutes the next time you gotta do it again. Probably the same amount of time as it would take to go through the warning crap and dynamic menus ;)

And yes, I have a Blu-Ray drive on my Mac Pro and have watched BD movies on it so I know :p
 
WOW. :eek: What a long winded way to do it. But nice to know it is at least possible. :) Still no program out there for click (less clicks than the tutorial) and play?
 
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