Buying iBook w/ external dvdr

[Artful Dodger]

Hey everyone it's time for a new mac for me and I will be getting the 14" iBook (then after the first of the year an iMac) and maybe a firewire dvdr. Has anyone have had a problem using a set up like this since the HD is a 4200 and not a 5400? Reasons are for (yes) dvd burning alot. I make dvds for school projects and my cartoons so I just need to make sure I don't make coasters. Maybe Compusa has the best deal (by my house) on the external 8x firewire by Pioneer $80 after rebates.
Thanks for any help--- peace--Scott

 

[tutubibi]

You should be OK. I am using iBook 12" 1Ghz with external firewire LaCie (Pioneer) burner for the last couple of months and everything works fine.

 

[Artful Dodger]

Thanks for the reply 🙂. I may go get everything tonight or wait till friday since I'll be buying my iBook from my friend at the Apple store. Oh yah does it really matter on the brand of ram since I can only afford 512mb.
Most of my "extra" cash will buy a 9x12 tablet since 6x8 doesn't give me enough roomto draw.
Again thanks for the help--Scott

 

[tutubibi]

Just note that you will not be able to use iDVD (at least not without hack) to burn to external DVD burner. Toast will work fine but it's extra money if not included with the burner.

Why not just get 14" with SuperDrive?

 

[maya]

Just note that you will not be able to use iDVD (at least not without hack) to burn to external DVD burner. Toast will work fine but it's extra money if not included with the burner.

Why not just get 14" with SuperDrive?

The internal SuperDrive on all portables are 4x which takes ~28 minutes to burn a full 4.4Gig DVD. That is a long time the 8x even though it is an external will take about ~14 minutes and if he bought the 16x DVD external burner he would get the job done in ~5 minutes.

If its time he is after the external is a good option. If its things to carry around and money then internal is a better option.

 

[eRondeau]

No Worries....

I also have a 14" iBook @ 1GHz and a Lacie (Porsche) external 12x DVD burner. I have made lots of DVD's using Toast with no problems; burns a full 4.7GB DVD in about 6-1/2 minutes. (Make sure you get a dual-layer burner, but they're probably all dual-layer now.) As a bonus, the external firewire drive burns CD's at 40x, compared to 24x for the iBook's internal combo drive. Burning iTunes CD's just flies, amazingly fast! If your choice is between a 12x/16x drive for $129 or an 8x for $80, I'd spend the extra $$$.

The only time my iBook's relatively slow internal hard drive has caused me grief was while dubbing a second audio track thru iMovie, but there are easy workarounds to avoid that problem.

 

[Artful Dodger]

Well as I have an eMac w/superdrive and toast ti. which takes about 26-30 mins.(2x drive) to burn a dvd, didn't know laptops took so long to burn a DVD so thanks for a heads up on that 😱 16x looks better after reading the post from maya (thank you). My main reason for getting a 14" iBook is going to a cafe to edit some cartoons(maybe make some) or surf the web along with it being my backup Mac. Why buy an external? Yes- time, it is a big thing and if one Mac is burning I still can edit on the other wherever it may be. I will also be getting an iMac G5 around the first of the year 😀 but it also has a slow superdrive and once I make a movie with IDVD then I can make more DVDs using toast.
Thanks for all the help--peace Scott

 

[erickg]

I also have a 14" iBook @ 1GHz and a Lacie (Porsche) external 12x DVD burner. I have made lots of DVD's using Toast with no problems; burns a full 4.7GB DVD in about 6-1/2 minutes. (Make sure you get a dual-layer burner, but they're probably all dual-layer now.) As a bonus, the external firewire drive burns CD's at 40x, compared to 24x for the iBook's internal combo drive. Burning iTunes CD's just flies, amazingly fast! If your choice is between a 12x/16x drive for $129 or an 8x for $80, I'd spend the extra $$$.

The only time my iBook's relatively slow internal hard drive has caused me grief was while dubbing a second audio track thru iMovie, but there are easy workarounds to avoid that problem.

Are you able to play DVDs from your lacie external dvd burner? (i.e. on DVD Player) I'm interested in buying one not just for burning dvds, but also for being able to play region 1 and 2 dvds on my 12" ibook 1.2GHz without any kind of firmware hack. I thought I might be able to use my ibook for region 1 and the dvd burner for region 2. Is that possible?

 

[maya]

Are you able to play DVDs from your lacie external dvd burner? (i.e. on DVD Player) I'm interested in buying one not just for burning dvds, but also for being able to play region 1 and 2 dvds on my 12" ibook 1.2GHz without any kind of firmware hack. I thought I might be able to use my ibook for region 1 and the dvd burner for region 2. Is that possible?

computers are as I have understood are "region free" players. Meaning it doesn't matter what region or if it is NTSC or PAL it will play on any computer as long as you are playing it on a DVD drive.

DVD +/- and Dual Layer DVD's will play on any DVD ROM computer and stand alone player. There is the "remote" chance that your stand alone DVD player might not play a DVD+ or Dual Layer DVD however that is a remote chance. DVD +/- and Dual Layer will play on any computer without a hack.

Since some people are having issues with they iMac G5 DVD-R drive not playing DVD Dual Layer it could be a defective drive or it requires a firmware update.

 

[reh]

computers are as I have understood are "region free" players. Meaning it doesn't matter what region or if it is NTSC or PAL it will play on any computer as long as you are playing it on a DVD drive.

Many DVD discs include a region code. The first time you play one of these discs, your DVD drive is set to the region code of the disc. The drive's region code restricts DVD Player to playing discs with the same region code or with no region code.

Generally, the region code of your DVD drive matches the region code of the DVD discs available in the region where you live. However, if you insert a disc with a different region code from the one set for your DVD drive, a dialog appears to let you change your drive's region code.

You can only change the region code of your DVD drive five times. After that, the region code is set permanently and you cannot change it.

You should only change the region code of your DVD drive if you plan to play only discs with the new region code in the future.

 

[eRondeau]

Changing DVD Regions...

Are you able to play DVDs from your lacie external dvd burner? (i.e. on DVD Player) I'm interested in buying one not just for burning dvds, but also for being able to play region 1 and 2 dvds on my 12" ibook 1.2GHz without any kind of firmware hack. I thought I might be able to use my ibook for region 1 and the dvd burner for region 2. Is that possible?

I have no problems playing DVD's with the external drive, using Apple's DVD Player or any other such utility. My knowledge of Regions is limited to my Lacie Firewire DVD drive, so I don't know how other manufacturers do it. But when you first use the Lacie drive you are asked to select the Region it will be set to. You can change the Region thru included firmware only four more times. If you try to change it more than that it will refuse, and will determine the most "often" used region, which it will then permanently default to. (Use Region-1 three times and Region-2 twice, it will become Region-1 forever.) So I guess this is a universal standard. However you can certainly set it to play DVD's from other Regions, if you play enough foreign DVD's to dedicate your drive to.

 

[erickg]

I have no problems playing DVD's with the external drive, using Apple's DVD Player or any other such utility. My knowledge of Regions is limited to my Lacie Firewire DVD drive, so I don't know how other manufacturers do it. But when you first use the Lacie drive you are asked to select the Region it will be set to. You can change the Region thru included firmware only four more times. If you try to change it more than that it will refuse, and will determine the most "often" used region, which it will then permanently default to. (Use Region-1 three times and Region-2 twice, it will become Region-1 forever.) So I guess this is a universal standard. However you can certainly set it to play DVD's from other Regions, if you play enough foreign DVD's to dedicate your drive to.

Thanks! That helps a lot!

Erick.