Advice needed on external BD drive and does iMovie/iDVD support Blu-ray?

[NJRonbo]

Need some quick advice and I know this covers both software and hardware, but I am hoping someone can help.

Just shot some vacation footage. Normally I would import to iMovie, do the editing and then import to iDVD to make a DVD.

But I was thinking....why not try Blu-ray?

Now I know Mac does not officially support Blu-ray.

Can I simply buy a Blu-ray external drive, plug it in USB for FIREWIRE and expect it to work with iMovie or iDVD?

Does iDVD even have a setting to import to Blu-ray, preserving the video in its full high-definition glory?

Finally, does anyone have a recommendation for an external Blu-ray drive?

Thanks

 

[rtheb]

Roxio Toast Titanium v11.0 supports blu-ray burning on the Mac.


I saw this slim blu-ray burner Sony Slim External Blu-Ray Rewriter 6x USB BDX-S500U (Black) that looks interesting and is supposed to be fast, but I haven't bought one yet.

If you buy this one or some other lets us know how it is working.

Here is a review from SonyRumors which discusses the Mac burning but points out that there is no blu-ray playback on the Mac. Still sounds like what you are looking for.

 

[NJRonbo]

Thank you for this information.

The Sony sounds like a great burner. Quite expensive, though.

What would be the settings for saving my project in iMovie and then how would it be brought over to Roxio Toast so that it remains in full 1080 HD?

 

[rtheb]

Thank you for this information.

The Sony sounds like a great burner. Quite expensive, though.

What would be the settings for saving my project in iMovie and then how would it be brought over to Roxio Toast so that it remains in full 1080 HD?

Here is a step by step guide from OWC on how to create a blu-ray video:

Burn your HD Movies to Blu-ray Disc using Toast.

If you do buy the Sony Burner please give us a review and let us know how everything turned out.

Here is an in depth review of the Sony BDX-S500U Portable 6x Blu-ray Disc Writer .