Got a tip for us?
Let us know
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.
I have the brand new MBA and I want to convert music from CDs to Apple Music files, how can I do that?
- Thread starter a-m-k
- Start date
- Sort by reaction score
Is this the only way? This basically means I need to spend the time to rip the Blu-Ray onto my computer into an MKV file first, beforehand... And then watch it (I already have VLC / love it, have used it forever).
Is there no like, "Cyberlink PowerDVD" for the Mac and for Blu-Ray (lol, I'm probably dating myself...)
Maybe in the end, it's worthwhile to just make digital copies of all my Blu-Rays... but I kind of dread having to do it, hah!
Viewing Blu-ray discs with VLC
Instructions for installing VLC media player and added programs to facilitate playing Blu-ray discs
urbanman2004
macrumors regular
Idk if I'm just the minority, but I still prefer to install BluRay/CD burner drives on the custom desktop PCs I build.
I ended up getting this an Amicool external CD/DVD drive. The only bad thing about it was the male to female adapter that came with it didn't work on my m4 2025 MBA. I am not sure if that was because of the fact I am part of the BETA program. (I was advised to participate in the BETA program when my 2020 MBA started to give me big problems which ended up with my current MBA.) The strange thing is that a male to female adapter I had to get for my external hard drive worked perfectly with it. (Just so you know if you purchase this and find you can't use the provided male to female adapter because you are part of the BETA program.)
Teletypewriter
macrumors member
Howard2k
macrumors 604
Like I said, I only used it because when my previous MBA was giving me problems the Apple supervisor (who handles bigger problems) suggested I should do it. When I took my previous MBA in, I made it perfectly clear I was using it, and they said it wasn't a problem. Being part of the BETA program had nothing to do with the problem I had. I actually don't know what it was because it was an ongoing problem that I didn't have taken care of because of personal reasons.
Last edited by a moderator:
Howard2k
macrumors 604
Exactly.
Just like it says, joining the beta program is not about increasing stability, it's about testing new features and finding bugs in partially completed systems and then reporting those problems to Apple so that they can be fixed prior to release. Also gives you an opportunity to test the apps you're developing in that context, if you can work around the bugs.
You do you, of course.
Non-Euclidean
macrumors 6502a
I am hoping MFSL has rights to the rest of ELPs catalog.
So far they have released over the last few years:
ELP
Trilogy
Tarkus
Pictures at Exhibition
and they announced Brain Salad Surgery
It’s remarkable how inexpensive these have become.
As an Amazon Associate, MacRumors earns a commission from qualifying purchases made through links in this post.
PBG4 Dude
macrumors 601
Yeah it’s like my first VCR in 1980 cost me well over $400. The last VCR I bought cost 34.99.
The only problems I have had is basically Apple Music crashing and a charging issue that was fixed with optimizing charging. I don't accidentally disconnect the cable when charging that much because I avoid using it whenever possible. (When it's charging. That's when my iPod touch is useful.)
maerz001
macrumors 68030
Believe me, when it was suggested by tech support, I was re-assured it's fine. I wouldn't have ever done it if it wasn't advisable by Apple in the first place. I also said before, when I took my 2012 MBA to the Apple Store to be looked at at the Genius Bar, I made it perfectly clear I was participating in the program and they had no issue with it.
Bazza1
macrumors 65816
As noted in this thread, external CD players are available (I have a Samsung one) for transfer to an audio file, but I truly hope that you intend on ripping to a standard audio file and nothing proprietary by Apple.
Saving to a proprietary format is a bit like taking your CD and 'ripping' it onto a reel to reel tape - it limits your playback options.
Saving to a proprietary format is a bit like taking your CD and 'ripping' it onto a reel to reel tape - it limits your playback options.
maerz001
macrumors 68030
1BadManVan
macrumors 68040
maerz001
macrumors 68030
Didn’t u experience software issues?
As described beta is for developers to find bugs.
Do u wanna risk them? R u a software tester or need new functionality to solve specific problems?
If you answer the questions with no, than just use the last public release or even older.
makes no sense to use beta on your daily machine. There where bugs of data loss, security issues and all sorts of things you don’t even want to know
I joined when I had my mid-2012 MBA, sometime last year, again, I don't remember why it was suggested to me.
I've been lucky I have only had problems I fixed by myself. (An Apple-certified nylon charging cord that was a little sturdier than the one provided wasn't charging my MBA. (I just had to turn on "optimize charging".)) Apple Music wasn't working right. It's an easy fix to get it to work right when it acts up. For some reason, all you have to do is play the first song in your playlist or library. Play a second of the song then clear what was queued and created the list you want. I like to organize my daily playlist to play the songs with the lowest play count to the highest play count. (To equalize the play counts.
Dreamholde
Contributor
That’s clever. 🙂 It’s so easy to lose track of old favorites as your music library grows!
As for all the comments regarding participation in the macOS beta program, I suspect what most people are trying to get at is this: When an Apple supervisor recommends that a non-developer install the beta version of an operating system, it’s probably because the user would benefit from some bug fix which is, at that moment, only available within the beta version of that operating system. For example, if I called in complaining about a specific issue I was having with macOS 26.2 and the supervisor knew that particular bug was fixed in the 26.3 beta, they might encourage me to join the beta program. Eventually, though, when the final, polished version of macOS 26.3 is released, that bugfix becomes available to everyone, so there’s no longer any need for me to remain on the beta version of macOS. It won’t necessarily hurt anything if I continue to install the beta versions of macOS, but it’s no longer necessary and might eventually cause other problems, since beta software is less refined and often includes brand new bugs alongside the brand new features that come with it. 😉
Anyway, to get back to the original topic, glad you were able to find a drive and adapter that work with modern MacBooks. 👍
Non-Euclidean
macrumors 6502a
I also have an alternative to song sergeant that finds a lot of problems with the users music library. Unfortunately, songs have been removed, but overall the app is worth the price.
Howard2k
macrumors 604
I'm not anti-beta at all. I'm just for using the right software for the right purposes.
Advanced users doing development or bug checking - use beta.
Normal users who are not super technical - standard release.
Use the beta, just expect it to be less stable than the released version.