iMac Blu-ray Drive!

[AGamble]

I bought a Samsung SE-506CB off Amazon which according to the literature should be compatible with OSX 10.4.6+ (I'm running 10.10.3 on my late 2014 iMac).

The drive can't be seen under system information or finder. The drive is powering up (USB) and looks to be reading disks but the device can't be seen by the Mac (I've tried bluray, DVD, the install software disk etc).

I've spoken to Amazon who are organising a return and refund. According to the net it should be as simple as plug and play so obviously somethings not right (no problems with my Apple Superdrive).

I'm still after a bluray drive, can anyone recommend one for my Mac? Ideally I'm after one that is compatible with OSX lol.

Any recommendations?

 

[loekf]

I bought a Samsung SE-506CB off Amazon which according to the literature should be compatible with OSX 10.4.6+ (I'm running 10.10.3 on my late 2014 iMac).

The drive can't be seen under system information or finder. The drive is powering up (USB) and looks to be reading disks but the device can't be seen by the Mac (I've tried bluray, DVD, the install software disk etc).

I've spoken to Amazon who are organising a return and refund. According to the net it should be as simple as plug and play so obviously somethings not right (no problems with my Apple Superdrive).

I'm still after a bluray drive, can anyone recommend one for my Mac? Ideally I'm after one that is compatible with OSX lol.

Any recommendations?

That's strange. I had the same model and it worked fine. Biggest let-down for me was that the drive resonates so much (vibrations) that if you're not carefull it falls off the table. It also makes a lot of noise.

I switched to the LG. This is a big robust box (more like a 3.5" internal burner instead of a slim line) and it sits rock solid on my desk. It's also much more quiet than that Samsung drive.

The LG model is the LG BE14NU40. It's a bit more expensive though and needs its own power supply.

 

[AGamble]

That's strange. I had the same model and it worked fine. Biggest let-down for me was that the drive resonates so much (vibrations) that if you're not carefull it falls of the table. It also makes a lot of noise.

I switched to the LG. This is a big robust box (more like a 3.5" internal burner instead of a slim line) and it sits rock solid on my desk. It's also much more quiet than that Samsung drive.

The LG model is the LG BE14NU40. It's a bit more expensive though and needs its own power supply.

Its very odd, I can only presume the drive I have is broken. I tried a restart, swapping usb ports etc...nothing worked. My Apple Superdrive functions without issue and all other devices show up in System Preferences as expected.

Is the Samsung the only slim line bluray which is "supposedly' Mac friendly? Ideally I'd like something reasonably sized so that I can plonk it next to my SuperDrive.

 

[Fishrrman]

I have a Samsung "506" Bluray drive (an older one, now almost 2 years old) which seems to work fine with my Mac Mini, using either OS 10.8.5 or OS 10.10.4.

Disclaimer:
I've only used it so far to burn audio and data CD's.
I haven't attempted to burn a Bluray disc with it as of yet.

But Yosemite "sees it" without problems, for the tasks I've used it for (so far).

 

[loekf]

Its very odd, I can only presume the drive I have is broken. I tried a restart, swapping usb ports etc...nothing worked. My Apple Superdrive functions without issue and all other devices show up in System Preferences as expected.

Is the Samsung the only slim line bluray which is "supposedly' Mac friendly? Ideally I'd like something reasonably sized so that I can plonk it next to my SuperDrive.

Not 100% sure. I found a few drives, but some were not available anymore, so I narrowed it down to the Samsung and this LG. Superdrive was not an option, because I wanted BD write.

 

[AGamble]

Not 100% sure. I found a few drives, but some were not available anymore, so I narrowed it down to the Samsung and this LG. Superdrive was not an option, because I wanted BD write.

Whats the LG like my friend? looks very "Applesque"

 

[loekf]

Whats the LG like my friend? looks very "Applesque"

No complaints so far. Bit on the expensive side (~100 euro vs. ~80 euro for the Samsung). But:

- It's quite silent
- Robust housing
- Real motorized tray
- Not that quick though
- Works on OSX 10.10 with Burn

 

[AGamble]

Thanks Loekf...

Any other recommendations guys?

 

[Fishrrman]

OP:
A couple of other thoughts...

Have you tried the drive with a DIFFERENT Mac, other than yours?
Results?

Some external burners need to connect to TWO of your USB ports in order to work (because connecting to a single port will not provide the drive with enough bus power).

Did the drive come with a "Y" cable for this purpose?
Did you try it?

With a 2012 Mac Mini, the Samsung 506 BluRay burner that I have seems to work ok with just a "single" cable. But some Macs might require the "Y" cable adapter.

 

[AGamble]

OP:
A couple of other thoughts...

Have you tried the drive with a DIFFERENT Mac, other than yours?
Results?

Some external burners need to connect to TWO of your USB ports in order to work (because connecting to a single port will not provide the drive with enough bus power).

Did the drive come with a "Y" cable for this purpose?
Did you try it?

With a 2012 Mac Mini, the Samsung 506 BluRay burner that I have seems to work ok with just a "single" cable. But some Macs might require the "Y" cable adapter.

Hey!

Nope, the cable came with just one USB port.

The Amazon reviews suggest it should work out the box...No need for drivers etc.

 

[mpias]

I bought a Samsung SE-506CB off Amazon which according to the literature should be compatible with OSX 10.4.6+ (I'm running 10.10.3 on my late 2014 iMac).

The drive can't be seen under system information or finder. The drive is powering up (USB) and looks to be reading disks but the device can't be seen by the Mac (I've tried bluray, DVD, the install software disk etc).

I've spoken to Amazon who are organising a return and refund. According to the net it should be as simple as plug and play so obviously somethings not right (no problems with my Apple Superdrive).

I'm still after a bluray drive, can anyone recommend one for my Mac? Ideally I'm after one that is compatible with OSX lol.

Any recommendations?

I just bought an Archgon Model MD-3102-U3 that works well. It uses a Matshita UJ-160 6X 3D Blu-ray Combo Player BD-ROM 4X BDXL 8X DVD RW Burner 24X CD-R Writer. It's a tray type mechanism and is housed in a black brushed metal case and is USB 3.0. I'm using it on a 2014 MBP. It comes with a "Y" cable but seems to be perfectly happy with a standard USB 3.0 cable.

 

[JustMartin]

I've got an Se-506 from Samsung as well. It came with a Y cable. I've never had any problems with it either in working or with vibration

 

[AGamble]

I ended up returning the 506 and invested in a LG BE14NU40 instead. Very happy with my purchase, works perfectly and a solid bit of kit.

 

[tomwvr]

I use a Pioneer BDXL - never any issues with it. It is not a front load, it is a top load. And it has a y cable as well.

 

[cynics]

I have both those drives (Samsung 506 & LG BE14) prefer the Samsung though. I can burn about 75-100 BD with the LG before it becomes inop to burning BD. I think this is a common problem because if you read the reviews people with high volume BD burns are are the people leaving negative feedback, but it's the minority because not many people burn a lot of BD. I'm on my 3rd warranty unit. I would warranty it and sell it unopened but I use it for a back up to ripping damaged disc when the Samsung can't due to a slightly different optic alignment (generally a damaged disc). Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't but it's nice option to try when all else fails.

It's a shame because it cost more then the Samsung and feels higher quality.

 

[loekf]

Pity to hear that the LG has poor durability for writing BD disks. Despite what others say here about the Samsung, that drive is way too "flimsy" for me. The vibration during DVD writes is so bad you have to be carefull it doesn't fall off the table.

Anybody experience with the Panasonic UJ-265 ? It's hard to get via Amazon.de. I wonder whether it has not been EOL'ed by Panasonic.

 

[cynics]

Pity to hear that the LG has poor durability for writing BD disks. Despite what others say here about the Samsung, that drive is way too "flimsy" for me. The vibration during DVD writes is so bad you have to be carefull it doesn't fall off the table.

Anybody experience with the Panasonic UJ-265 ? It's hard to get via Amazon.de. I wonder whether it has not been EOL'ed by Panasonic.

Imbalance in the disc in combination with its weight. I have a whole stack of CD-R's that will cause that Samsung to walk around if its to max speed. It will make the the LG vibrate but it has the mass to not move about. Never had an issue with DVD write causing vibration (unless the disc was physically broken) due to the write speeds being slower.

Its like the iPad Air 2 and its speaker vibration so many people complain about. More portable something becomes the more unusual issues you might run into.