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The new iMac-no DVD drive

K

kjdean

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Nov 7, 2011
9
0
The new iMac does not have a DVD drive-so how do I play my DVD's etc?
 
theSeb said:
The super drive will work with any Mac that does not have a DVD built in. Look at the date of the questions/answers you've linked to. The 2012 iMac did not exist. The super drive will work with a 2012 iMac.
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Nice! Just bought super drive for my rMbp. I want to get this desktop even though I use my laptop 90% of the time lol.
 
hideous cheese said:
Do you think the SuperDrive will be updated for USB3?
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There is no need. Reading and writing from/to a DVD is barely fast enough to saturate a USB 2 connection. Therefore USB 3 is a waste of time and money. It's like putting a tractor on the freeway and expecting it to be able to reach 100 MPH. It's not going to happen.
 
JesterJJZ said:
Too bad digital content isn't good enough compared to the stuff you get on discs...:rolleyes:
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Depending on where you get it from. Digital content is comparable to DVD quality. It is not comparable to BR quality. So I've created my own digital library from my DVDs and BRs using an external BR drive and makeMKV.

If you're concerned about quality then you shouldn't be using a computer to watch movies in the first place.
 
Probably not, it wouldn't make the optical drive any faster.

The limiting factor with the external optical drive isn't USB2's 480 Mbps throughput: it's the rate data can be read from DVDs. Reading data from a DVD at 8x speed is 84 Mbps.

Doesn't matter if you put a fancy USB3 bus on the external optical drive, you're still not reading discs any faster than 84 Mbps.
 
JesterJJZ said:
Too bad digital content isn't good enough compared to the stuff you get on discs...:rolleyes:
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theSeb said:
Depending on where you get it from. Digital content is comparable to DVD quality. It is not comparable to BR quality. So I've created my own digital library from my DVDs and BRs using an external BR drive and makeMKV.

If you're concerned about quality then you shouldn't be using a computer to watch movies in the first place.
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I have to respectfully disagree with you guys on that one. "Good enough" is subjective, and I believe 1080p iTunes content is totally comparable to blu-ray. I know it doesn't have the incredible bit rates that blu-ray has to offer (or the HD audio), but after several months of enjoying 1080p iTunes content on my HDTV through Apple TV, I must say I am thoroughly impressed with the quality. I used to be a huge blu-ray collector until about a year ago when I started making the switch to all digital and I'm very happy. I understand I don't get the full-out pristine quality as blu-ray, but to my eyes, the differences are marginal enough that I simply don't care. And I know that most consumers will just not be able to tell a difference.

That said, I am also fully aware of 4K and now 8K "Ultra HD". But until then, the lines between blu-ray and 1080p digital content have definitely blurred for the consumer. No pun intended. :p

Edit: I also find that having my content immediately accessible through iCloud and being able to play immediately without any of the annoying advertisements or disc loading at the beginning is a huge convenience that I enjoy over physical discs.
 
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Icaras said:
I have to respectfully disagree with you guys on that one. "Good enough" is subjective, and I believe 1080p iTunes content is totally comparable to blu-ray. I know it doesn't have the incredible bit rates that blu-ray has to offer (or the HD audio), but after several months of enjoying 1080p iTunes content on my HDTV through Apple TV, I must say I am thoroughly impressed with the quality. I used to be a huge blu-ray collector until about a year ago when I started making the switch to all digital and I'm very happy. I understand I don't get the full-out pristine quality as blu-ray, but to my eyes, the differences are marginal enough that I simply don't care. And I know that most consumers will just not be able to tell a difference.

That said, I am also fully aware of 4K and now 8K "Ultra HD". But until then, the lines between blu-ray and 1080p digital content have definitely blurred for the consumer. No pun intended. :p
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I cannot disagree with anything that you've said. It is definitely subjective and most people won't see the difference in a "blind" test between 1080p digital content and direct BR. There are also other factors like what TV or projector is being used for the output.
 
ZMacintosh said:
easy, external Apple SuperDrive -- or get with the times and get digital content :cool:

http://store.apple.com/us/product/MD564ZM/A/apple-usb-superdrive?fnode=5f
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Definitely get an external drive... but Apple's drive is a complete ripoff.

You can get a perfectly functional, attractive, slimline external DVD reader/burner for $30 and sometimes less on sites like Amazon and NewEgg. No need to pay $80 for the same product from Apple.

I used my $25 Samsung drive (got it on sale) many times over the summer with my MacBook Air to watch, rip, and burn movies. Worked great.
 
get a USB 3.0 DVD drive

Don't waste your time using Apple's ancient and outdated "superdrive" - there's nothing "super" about it: USB 2.0, flimsy and short connecting wire, breakable wire with any use, and very slow response time! Like iWork, it appears Apple plans to let the so-called "superdrive" die a natural death, despite the need of many who use CDs and DVDs for a host of tasks. The notion that everything can be obtained "on-line" is as absurd as it is ridiculous! If you want a good DVD drive, just google USB 3.0 external drives, and you'll find that a number of companies that offer CD/DVD drives. What's the use of USB 3.0 on Apple computers if a peripheral such as a "superdrive" is still using yesterday's slower and outdated technology?
 
speedplay1 said:
Don't waste your time using Apple's ancient and outdated "superdrive" - there's nothing "super" about it: USB 2.0, flimsy and short connecting wire, breakable wire with any use, and very slow response time! Like iWork, it appears Apple plans to let the so-called "superdrive" die a natural death, despite the need of many who use CDs and DVDs for a host of tasks. The notion that everything can be obtained "on-line" is as absurd as it is ridiculous! If you want a good DVD drive, just google USB 3.0 external drives, and you'll find that a number of companies that offer CD/DVD drives. What's the use of USB 3.0 on Apple computers if a peripheral such as a "superdrive" is still using yesterday's slower and outdated technology?
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The Apple superdrive is overpriced and not super at all, but, as I, and others, have already said, there is no need for USB 3 on DVD drives.

Reading and writing from/to a DVD is barely fast enough to saturate a USB 2 connection. Therefore USB 3 is a waste of time and money. It's like putting a tractor on the freeway and expecting it to be able to reach 100 MPH. It's not going to happen.
 
speedplay1 said:
Don't waste your time using Apple's ancient and outdated "superdrive" - there's nothing "super" about it: USB 2.0, flimsy and short connecting wire, breakable wire with any use, and very slow response time! Like iWork, it appears Apple plans to let the so-called "superdrive" die a natural death, despite the need of many who use CDs and DVDs for a host of tasks. The notion that everything can be obtained "on-line" is as absurd as it is ridiculous! If you want a good DVD drive, just google USB 3.0 external drives, and you'll find that a number of companies that offer CD/DVD drives. What's the use of USB 3.0 on Apple computers if a peripheral such as a "superdrive" is still using yesterday's slower and outdated technology?
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I am not sure if you are serious or joking...

What on earth can a usb3 external slim cd drive do more than a usb2 external slim cd drive? It's not faster, consume more or less energy, I really don't understand. The cd/dvd drives are not limited by usb2 as far as I understand.

By the way, does anyone know when the thunderbolt floppy drives are going to come out since I really need a speed improvement over the current floppy drives I have... :D
 
whats the point of buying an elegant all in one machine if you have to connect wired external hardware to it for basic functionality?
 
imac'n'me said:
whats the point of buying an elegant all in one machine if you have to connect wired external hardware to it for basic functionality?
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An optical hard drive does not really count as basic functionality for most buyers.

I've used mine 3 times this year.

In the US, the world's largest music market, digital channels have overtaken physical formats to become the primary source of revenues for record companies. Globally, 32 per cent of music industry revenues come from digital sources, far surpassing the film, newspaper and book sectors. New services launched across Latin America, while in China record companies are working in a landmark partnership with the largest internet company Baidu.
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What basic functionality are you referring to?
 
theSeb said:
Depending on where you get it from. Digital content is comparable to DVD quality. It is not comparable to BR quality. So I've created my own digital library from my DVDs and BRs using an external BR drive and makeMKV.

If you're concerned about quality then you shouldn't be using a computer to watch movies in the first place.
Click to expand...

well I have no tv so my computer is the only option. My question is can I use an external dvd drive and use in my older mac since the one in it is rather lousy?
 
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