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Mac Pro Blu-ray & HD-DVD player

Tallest Skil

Tallest Skil

macrumors P6
Original poster
Aug 13, 2006
16,044
4
1 Geostationary Tower Plaza
Now, let's not let this degenerate into an argument about the end of the war.

Okay, so we've probably heard about the LG GGW-H20L Blu-ray burner/HD-DVD reader. It's quite cheap for a dual format drive. I was wondering if there would be any extra complicated setup other than connecting the cables that are already in the Mac Pro. I know that there isn't true support for either format in OS X. That's fine.

Here's my plan:
Use the drive as another DVD/CD burner in OS X
Use the drive to burn Blu-ray and HD-DVD data disks in OS X
Use the drive to watch Blu-ray and HD-DVD movies in Vista in Boot Camp, as OS X doesn't support that yet.

Do I need to do anything special to allow these things to happen? Thanks for the help, I'm psyched beyond imagination about getting a Mac Pro.
 
1. Blu-ray has won the war.
2. existing Blu-Ray players are not very good.
3. a bunch of SOTA players was announced in Las Vegas last month.

best bet is to check reviews in places like c-net before dropping your money.

If you can, wait a few months before investing.

BTW, why do you need more than one DVD/CD burner?
 
1. I'm... going to have to agree....:p
2. How so? I mean, I've read that players that are out now won't be able to read disks from later this year, (which I think is abominable) but it that really the case? So what do you mean by "good"? If you mean read/write speed, of course, they're "slow", but they're still faster than DVD/CD speeds.
3. Were there any dual format ones? I know that it's useless at this point to expect HD-DVD to win, but that's why I wanted a dual format player; to capture a piece of short-lived history that will readily become outdated.

Examples: My four gig iPhone. Nice two month run, there. My Tri-State University (I'm not going there) t-shirt. It's Trine University now.

I like limited-run objects. It'll be fun ten years from now to show my friends a format they will have never heard of.
 
I like HD-DVD :(

I don't believe current BR players are "not very good," but it would be foolish to say that future BR players wont be better. Like any tech item, future revisions will always be made and improve a product.

My real reason for posting is to correct your idea that current BR players wont be able to play future BR discs. It's just the picture in picture feature on the disc that you wont be able to utilize on current gen players... or so I've heard.
 
Morisato said:
I like HD-DVD :(

I don't believe current BR players are "not very good," but it would be foolish to say that future BR players wont be better. Like any tech item, future revisions will always be made and improve a product.

My real reason for posting is to correct your idea that current BR players wont be able to play future BR discs. It's just the picture in picture feature on the disc that you wont be able to utilize on current gen players... or so I've heard.
Click to expand...

Picture in picture. THAT'S IT?! Wow. Cool. Thanks. I like HD-DVD, too. I wanted it to win so that Sony would have had two format failures. And because I hate Sony in general.
 
Unless these new features require a physical change in the drive hardware, you'd think a firmware update would be sufficient.

Plextor has just announced their BR-writer/HD-DVD reader as well.
 
So I did a bit of searching because I'm waiting for someone to answer my DVD+R DL question... found here... https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/431449/ (self promotion!) and the basic difference is between the BR players are...

Profile 1.0 is first generation BR player.

Profile 1.1 can play multiple video/audio streams (for PIP) due to hardware configurations... meaning no firmware update can fix.

Profile 2.0 has higher internal memory and has internet connectivity (another hardware thing) for downloadable content. Some 1.1's have an ethernet port but is only capable of firmware updates and not downloadable content.

So all in all, go answer my DVD+R DL question... I mean... buying a 1.0 player will only mean you can't use PIP (doesnt mean you cant access the commentary... just cant watch it in sync with the movie) and buying a 1.1 player means you cant get downloadable content. You can still play future BR disc... unless of course they start pressing incomplete discs and fixing them through downloadable content... as it seems like they are doing with video games...

I don't hate sony... I just dislike them... but the main reason I like HD-DVD is because I think it would be better for the industry and consumers as HD-DVDs are easier and cheaper to press. Cheaper production costs means cheaper price for consumers (theoretically). Also, there's a special way to burn HD-DVD video onto regular DVDs... as long as it can fit onto the DVD's restricted data space. It plays in HD-DVD players as if it's an HD-DVD.
 
This is by no means a certainty, but using a computer to play Blu-Rays may actually be pretty future-proof (just like the PS3) - Processor horsepower? Check. Ethernet Connection? Check. Persistent Storage? Check - these are all the things required for BD Profile 2.0, which most early Blu players lack - but the PS3 and all computers have them in abundence.
 
Sorry for the revival, but this is relatively pertinent to anyone who wants a BD/HD-DVD drive for their computer...

The Plextor drives that are going to be out at the end of February... the only place I've found info on them (well, the only place on their site) is Plextor Europe. Are they coming out in America, too? If not, I don't think I want to have to spend an arm and a Euro to get one over here. Besides, I'd have to switch it from PAL to NTSC, if it'd even be possible.

Can someone find me a link where it says specifically that the PX-B920SA is coming out in America? Thanks.
 
Tallest Skil said:
Sorry for the revival, but this is relatively pertinent to anyone who wants a BD/HD-DVD drive for their computer...

The Plextor drives that are going to be out at the end of February... the only place I've found info on them (well, the only place on their site) is Plextor Europe. Are they coming out in America, too? If not, I don't think I want to have to spend an arm and a Euro to get one over here. Besides, I'd have to switch it from PAL to NTSC, if it'd even be possible.

Can someone find me a link where it says specifically that the PX-B920SA is coming out in America? Thanks.
Click to expand...

I may be mistaken, but I don't think BD or HD DVD use Pal or NTSC. As far as I know, that's limited to standard definition TV.
 
SeVeN said:
my PS3 wont read future BR discs? why not?
Click to expand...

Yeah, it will. I wish that my original thought was true; then there would have been six million worthless PS3s out there (as opposed to 8.5 million now ;)).

So, Blogger, I could just find a European store that sells the drive and import it? Or do we have proof yet that it's coming out in the U.S.?
 
Tallest Skil said:
So, Blogger, I could just find a European store that sells the drive and import it? Or do we have proof yet that it's coming out in the U.S.?
Click to expand...

I believe so. I don't know if they'll import it, but I wouldn't be surprised.
Personally, I'm waiting for the market to sort its self out and for the prices to come down.
 
Blogger said:
I may be mistaken, but I don't think BD or HD DVD use Pal or NTSC. As far as I know, that's limited to standard definition TV.
Click to expand...

There's no PAL/NTSC issue, but the drive may be locked to the European BR region code. However, I assume that you're given 5 changes like you are with DVD.
 
Nermal said:
There's no PAL/NTSC issue, but the drive may be locked to the European BR region code. However, I assume that you're given 5 changes like you are with DVD.
Click to expand...

That's nice to know. Anyone have an idea on the price of the Plextor when it launches? If it's exorbitantly high, then I have no problem dropping the benefits of 4x BD-R and...

Okay, can someone recommend me a Blu-ray burner/HD-DVD player that's out right now (or if they all suck enough, the price of the Plextor)? I was looking at the LG that I had referenced before to compare specs and it turns out to not be a burner. Should I just wait for the Plextor one or is there a good combo BD burner/HD-DVD player out now?

Edit: What about the LG GGW-H20L? 6x BD write speed and HD-DVD read. That's nice.
 
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