is Apples superdrive worth it, or should i look for a third party?

[Boidem]

I WOULD NOT recommend the Apple SuperDrive under ANY circumstances.
Just not a good buy.

Why not?

I've had one for a few months now, it's been fine. Bought it to rip hundreds of music CDs I'd never got around to ripping before. Fast, quiet, works.

 

[MarkC426]

No no, the TV show i want! 😀 I can purchase the supedrive with no issues. I think @MarkC426 suggested I purchase the TV series on Apple TV. It's not there, at least for EU.

I think you misunderstood me....😉
I suggested 'iTunes' purchase not Apple TV (which is streaming).

All seasons of Game of Thrones are on iTunes Store.

 

[Boyd01]

I suggested 'iTunes' purchase not Apple TV (which is streaming).

I assumed this was the usual confusion Apple has created with the TV app. Like you, I call it the "iTunes Store". I have a Mini dedicated as a media server, running Mojave and iTunes with home sharing. I still make all my purchases on that Mac.

But all of this has been moved to the TV app now, and it would be natural to call it "Apple TV". 🙂

 

[HDFan]

Then i realised that its only 480p for dvd which is a shame on 4K monitor i have and a macbook screen. You then realise you need blueray and ordinary dvd player won’t cut it

iTunes, Movies Anywhere, Vudu, etc. streaming purchases don't get you get the best video and audio quality. I understand that iTunes 4k downloads are 1080p. You can purchase a modified 4K Blu-Ray drive to rip 4K disks via MakeMKV to disk. You then play them using a suitable player. A modified player is not required for DVDs or 1080p Blu-Rays, just 4K. If you are considering writing disks then you probably want to spend more to get a quality drive. Forget the superdrive. At a minimum just get a Blu-Ray drive that will allow you to rip or play DVDs as well.

You need modified firmware in order to rip 4K movies:

ripping uhd 4ks - www.makemkv.com

There is no need to purchase new disks if you are going to rip them. Since they will only be used once buy them used. The digital copy usually has already been redeemed when you buy used, but GOT doesn't offer digital anyway. Season 1 on Amazon US is ~$31 new but ~$9.50 used. On the UK site its ~£15 new and £35 used (?). If the price is too high I check other Amazon sites. Most recently purchased High School Musical (1080p) from the UK site as was too costly on the U.S. site.



With Black Friday just a week away the best 4K movie deals of the year are here - just $9.99 including digital - for iTunes or Movies Anywhere (which is available on iTunes) depending on the studio.

Best 4K Blu-ray Deals

www.blu-ray.com

 

[Novius89]

Get a VPN and download the show.
In my opinion there was a good thing going when streaming was new, now they destroyed it again with 10+ subscriptions we can take. Makes me sad.

 

[ian87w]

Get a VPN and download the show.
In my opinion there was a good thing going when streaming was new, now they destroyed it again with 10+ subscriptions we can take. Makes me sad.

Itunes account doesn't work that way. The region is fixed on the account regardless of where your IP is, VPN or not. To download itunes content available in different region, you have to set up a different itunes account for that region, and have billing address and method of payment specific for that region.

 

[Novius89]

Itunes account doesn't work that way. The region is fixed on the account regardless of where your IP is, VPN or not. To download itunes content available in different region, you have to set up a different itunes account for that region, and have billing address and method of payment specific for that region.

Yeah, I didn’t mean the conventional way 🏴‍☠️

 

[Gudi]

My mane purpose, to watch DVD's, i wanna get me a Game of Thrones collection and other collections on DVD, since HBO is not in Europe! 😀

DVD resolution in Europe is 720×576@25Hz. The 14-inch MacBook Pro has a resolution of 3024×1964@120Hz and the 13-inch of 2560×1600@60Hz.

Now do me a favor! Open an image editor of your choice and create a 720×576 picture. Look at it at 100% zoom and tell me this image quality is good enough for you?

 

[Boidem]

But it's a moving image, not a static one, so resolution isn't anywhere near as important. Do you go to the cinema and complain it's only 4k when what you want is 100k+ resolution to make best use of that huge screen size?

 

[Gudi]

Do you go to the cinema and complain it's only 4k when what you want is 100k+ resolution to make best use of that huge screen size?

I stopped going to the cinema after Matrix (1999). Back then movies were on film with the resolution of the chemical color molecules. 4K must've been a downgrade? 🤔

720 * 576 = 414,720 = 0.4 MP
That's is not even half a megapixel.

For comparison, the first iPhone (2007) had a 2MP camera or five-times the DVD resolution.

 

[Boidem]

I think you're somewhat missing the point....

 

[EugW]

I stopped going to the cinema after Matrix (1999). Back then movies were on film with the resolution of the chemical color molecules. 4K must've been a downgrade? 🤔

In general, well mastered modern 4K digital in a proper high end 4K laser theatre looks way, way better than film prints in theatres (unless it's IMAX film or something). Modern 4K digital camera sensors have much, much better low light performance than film ever had, and 4K digital in theatres gives you the original intended quality. In contrast, film prints shipped to theatres include a few generations of degradation because you don't get to watch the original master of course.

However, if you go to a crappy low end mall theatre, it will look bad regardless if it's digital or film. Mind you, film theatres like that almost don't exist anymore. They're almost all digital anyway.

tl;dr:

The claim that film is better than digital is largely a big myth. It may have been true 20+ years ago, but it's not 1999 anymore.

 

[Gudi]

Mind you, film theatres like that almost don't exist anymore. They're almost all digital anyway.

And they switched largely because of much cheaper distribution of content and commercials, not for better image quality. Which is of course possible with digital film, if the resolution is high enough!

So back to the topic. DVD is not only 0.4MP@25Hz, it's also encoded with a 709 (8-bit) color pallet. So you lose a lot of reds and greens, your MacBook display is capable of showing. It's a pale, grainy, flickery picture. Just like DVDs used to be. And all the time you can hear the spinning disc. By the way, Game of Thrones on DVD is a 38 discs box set for the low price of 99,99€ on Amazon.

 

[EugW]

And they switched largely because of much cheaper distribution of content and commercials, not for better image quality. Which is of course possible with digital film, if the resolution is high enough!

So back to the topic. DVD is not only 0.4MP@25Hz, it's also encoded with a 709 (8-bit) color pallet. So you lose a lot of reds and greens, your MacBook display is capable of showing. It's a pale, grainy, flickery picture. Just like DVDs used to be. And all the time you can hear the spinning disc. By the way, Game of Thrones on DVD is a 38 discs box set for the low price of 99,99€ on Amazon.

View attachment 2115757

Theory and real life aren't the same thing of course.

A DVD released in 2020 with a 2020 master from a 2018 digital source will often look better than an old theatrical film print. Film as a recording medium has some very good characteristics. Film prints as a theatrical distribution method just kinda suck. It's not just the complexity and expense of the distribution method. It's the quality, because the prints are always copies of copies of copies and they just don't look great. That's why modern digital re-releases of old film-based movies usually don't use a theatrical film print as the source. They try to get the original master, and then they re-master that digitally to correct everything. That said, a DVD from 1999 will usually look like crap by today's standards.

But that may be missing the point anyway. For example I have a bunch of DVDs that are out of print in any format. Saying the DVD quality isn't great doesn't really help anyone, since you can't get it on streaming or Blu-ray or whatever.

 

[Gudi]

For example I have a bunch of DVDs that are out of print in any format. Saying the DVD quality isn't great doesn't really help anyone, since you can't get it on streaming or Blu-ray or whatever.

What about renting Game of Thrones in HD 1920×1080 Dolby 5.1 on the TV app?

 

[EugW]

What about renting Game of Thrones in HD on the TV app?

It depends on the content and the person's preferences of course. Game of Thrones is a modern title shot and mastered on high quality digital cameras, with a higher than HD source resolution. Blu-ray and Apple TV will look good, and better than the DVD. Renting is a decent option, but some people want to "own". There are a lot of DVDs out there for cheap at 2nd hand stores.

Also, in another scenario: If you already have the DVDs, are you really going to buy it again on Blu-ray or Apple TV? Some people would, but for a laptop screen, it might must be a waste of money for the non-enthusiast. Yes, it might actually make sense from a quality point of view to rebuy GoT on Apple TV, but OTOH, I certainly wouldn't bother rebuying my Catherine Tate Show DVDs on Apple TV (if it existed there).

 

[MarkC426]

Also, in another scenario: If you already have the DVDs, are you really going to buy it again on Blu-ray or Apple TV?

I was in that boat for many years and then jumped overboard....🤿
I now have too many films/tv shows on VHS/Laserdisc/DVD/HDDVD/Bluray and now iTunes.
Some films I have in multiple formats, but then where do you stop, you can't keep upgrading your collection every time the format changes.

Made the decision a while back to get all media on iTunes, except obscure titles unavailable, I recently even bought a title on VHS, as unavailable in ANY other format, just so I had it. Believe it or not, The Phantom Menace was released on VHS.....🤓

I saw all 3 Matrix movies in IMAX....and wow.

 

[EugW]

I was in that boat for many years and then jumped overboard....🤿
I now have too many films/tv shows on VHS/Laserdisc/DVD/HDDVD/Bluray and now iTunes.
Some films I have in multiple formats, but then where do you stop, you can't keep upgrading your collection every time the format changes.

Made the decision a while back to get all media on iTunes, except obscure titles unavailable, I recently even bought a title on VHS, as unavailable in ANY other format, just so I had it. Believe it or not, The Phantom Menace was released on VHS.....🤓

I saw all 3 Matrix movies in IMAX....and wow.

I want the Star Wars Trilogy pre-Special Editions, but they are only on VHS. I can't get myself to buy the VHS though. 😀

I do note there is a "despecialized edition" out there though. I'll have to see it eventually.

 

[MarkC426]

I have the original trilogy on THX Laserdisc.....😬

 

[EugW]

I have the original trilogy on THX Laserdisc.....😬

Oh yeah, I forgot about those. How many sides per movie? 4? 🙂

 

[MarkC426]

Oh yeah, I forgot about those. How many sides per movie? 4? 🙂

Will have to dig it out and check.....it's the trilogy box set.

edit: just checked, they are the SE, 7 sides total. I have the ORIGINALS on VHS though.

 

[robfoll]

Basically, that is the question.
Is it worth getting the original Apple Superdrive for 90 EUR? Or should i go with a third party on amazon, of which there are many and some are 4 times less in price?

My mane purpose, to watch DVD's, i wanna get me a Game of Thrones collection and other collections on DVD, since HBO is not in Europe! 😀

I haven't burnt a DVD in probably a decade though!

I run a M1 Powered MBP

An external drive from a name brand like Pioneer or LG will do the job. I bought a Pioneer and it's fine, excpet that I gave up ripping my CDs and just stream hi-res from Qobuz 😎

 

[Boidem]

Thinking about if the Apple Superdrive is 'worth it'; in purely monetary terms, probably not. It's 2 or even 3x the cost of other external optical drives on the market. 4x even; you can get such a thing for twenty pounds! However; having had issues with peripherals of other brands in the past, I'm willing to pay the Apple Tax® to have peace of mind. I'm sure other drives are just plug n play too, but anyway. Back when I first owned a Mac, I bought an external CD drive (not even DVD back then) for £200 (about £350 in today's money). The price of drives came tumbling down, so I replaced it several times with progressively better models. I think the last one I bought (must be at least 10 years ago now) was £7.99. So yeah; the Apple Superdrive is way overpriced for what it is. But I'd still rather have one than a cheap plasticky alternative.

As for slot vs tray loading; the slot loading drive on my iMac G3 became faulty after a few years, which was a pain. I'd bought the external drive anyway, which had rewriting capability (early iMac drives were read only), so it wasn't that much of a big deal. But I replaced at least 3 or 4 tray loading drives in my MacPro because the tray mechanism had failed/broken. Seen slot drives on several iMacs and MacBooks last donkeys years.

 

[HDFan]

I remember how superior I felt seeing people watching VHS knowing I had a high resolution laser disk system at home.

Hard to believe now how how poor that resolution looks today - laser disks 425 vs DVDs 480, Blu-Ray 1920, 4K 3840.

I've had several buffalo drives with no issues. Prices have dropped dramatically.

BUFFALO MediaStation Desktop 16x External Blu-ray Writer for PC with USB 3.0. TAA Compliant. Plays and Burns Blu-rays, DVDs, and CDs.

BUFFALO BRXL-16U3 Desktop 16x External Blu-ray/BDXL Drive and Burner provides high-capacity disc writing with fast Blu-ray read and write speeds. The BRXL-16U3 external Blu-ray burner writes up to 5x more data on a single disc and is ideal for those seeking the best burning and playback performan...

www.amazon.com

 

[MarkC426]

I remember how superior I felt seeing people watching VHS knowing I had a high resolution laser disk system at home.

Agreed...being a film buff (at the time), the addition of audio commentaries on a separate track was/is magic, and the ability to frame advance with CAV disks.....😁