I have Canon HD Camcorder that I use to record family events, sappy stuff, etc. I haven't purchased Final Cut (mostly because I don't know how to use it), so I use iMovie to edit the video footage. I'm sick of having to "down-convert" the footage to get it onto a DVD so others can view it, so I'm looking to buy an external Blu-Ray burner (external because I have a newish Macbook). It looks like I have three choices at this point: LG (model BE06LU11), LaCie (d2), or Buffalo Technology. Has anyone tried (and been successful) at accomplishing what I'm trying to do, and if so, with which burner? Thanks so much in advance!
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Which External Blu-Ray Burner?
- Thread starter Dexx
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Lacie D2 Blu-Ray Burner
Hey just got one of these, well over a week ago. AND
still not been able to burn a blue ray disk yet.
So many problems so far wish I didnt go down the route. I have customers that want me to produce Blue-Ray disks for their weddings and other activities.
Seems like Apple and Final Cut Studio and DVD Studio Pro will not work with output to Blu-Ray.
Watch, wait and don't buy yet.
I even have Toast with the Blu-Ray plug in to help that has not been successfull either.
Getting very frustrated....😕
Hey just got one of these, well over a week ago. AND
still not been able to burn a blue ray disk yet.
So many problems so far wish I didnt go down the route. I have customers that want me to produce Blue-Ray disks for their weddings and other activities.
Seems like Apple and Final Cut Studio and DVD Studio Pro will not work with output to Blu-Ray.
Watch, wait and don't buy yet.
I even have Toast with the Blu-Ray plug in to help that has not been successfull either.
Getting very frustrated....😕
mknawabi
macrumors 6502
waywardsage
macrumors 6502
I can't remember, but there was a slimline external blu ray drive for sale recently thats approx the size of the macbook air's external superdrive. When i find it, i'll be sure to post the link. I found out about it on gizmodo or engadget.
scottydawg
macrumors 6502
Before wasting the money on an external (or internal) BluRay burner, you should consider using what you already have. Did you know that if you buy the BluRay plug in for Toast you can burn up to 25 minutes of BluRay on a normal DVD disc with any DVD burner? I don't know about you but I don't want to watch a family movie longer then about 10 minutes so that should be plenty. Also consider the cost of media... $10 vs. about .30 cents.
I wonder why Zippydriver is struggling so much then, even while using the blu ray plug-in for toast.
Blu Ray Drive that Works
I have a Buffalo external USB 2.0 Blu Ray drive I bought from Circuit City for $249. I have only used it for data Blu Ray disks. It works perfectly with Toast on a Mac Pro running 10.5.5. It is hooked up to a USB hub and has no problems. It less than half the price of Mac=specific external drives, such as from La Cie or OWC, yet has a current 6X Blu Ray write speed. The multitudes of problems others have had trying to put a internal LG drive in a firewire or USB case is not worth the trouble.🙂
I have a Buffalo external USB 2.0 Blu Ray drive I bought from Circuit City for $249. I have only used it for data Blu Ray disks. It works perfectly with Toast on a Mac Pro running 10.5.5. It is hooked up to a USB hub and has no problems. It less than half the price of Mac=specific external drives, such as from La Cie or OWC, yet has a current 6X Blu Ray write speed. The multitudes of problems others have had trying to put a internal LG drive in a firewire or USB case is not worth the trouble.🙂
dukebound85
macrumors Core
bsheridan
macrumors 6502
Just passing on some info; Amex have a portable Blu-Ray superdrive.
I have no experience with Amex products, and only came across the company when searching for BR drives myself, so try and find some reviews on it if you can for a better picture.
b.
I have no experience with Amex products, and only came across the company when searching for BR drives myself, so try and find some reviews on it if you can for a better picture.
b.
Incorrect. OS X does support playback of commercial Blu Ray disks. You can easily and reliably write data to a Blu Ray disk, including a Blu Ray video disk, it you use the right software (Toast, etc.) and have a drive that works - such as the Buffalo external drive I described earlier.
could you give instructions or direct me to such, as how to burn BluRay on Standard DVD in Toast 9
😱
thanks
Ivan P
macrumors 68030
Bluray is a type of disc on which data is stored. DVD is another type of disc on which data is stored. Bluray can store more data because it's information is written a lot closer together, and uses a much more precise laser to read it. A standard Bluray disc used for movies these days can hold up to 50GB of data, which is almost 5 times more then the largest commercial DVD. Copying a Bluray disc to a DVD will not result in 'Bluray on DVD' - it will still just be a DVD in the end. You cannot turn a standard DVD disc into a Bluray disc, or vice versa. It has to be on a Bluray disc to be called 'Bluray' - the difference is in the disc's structure, not what's on the disc.
If you mean you want to copy a movie off a Bluray disc and then write it onto a DVD, that would involve having to majorly compress the file because, as I said above, a DVD holds nowhere near as much as a standard Bluray. You won't end up with a 1080p film on the finished DVD, because a DVD cannot be read in the way a Bluray disc can (for example, up to 50MB of data can be played back from a Bluray disc every second - that is impossible on a DVD). You'll be sacrificing the entire point of it being a storage medium for HD content by trying to chop it down to fit on a DVD.
In reference to post by scottydawg - Wanting to use Toast to burn HD to standard dvd for home videos. Purchased the plug in but need help
TheStrudel
macrumors 65816
I've burned a couple of these successfully (both video BD and HD video on DVD). Is the burn proceeding properly? What kind of video file are you feeding it? What burn settings? Which burner? I need more details before I can help.
I was told (at an apple store) that macs can't play blu ray movies. Is this incorrect?
If I buy a blu ray drive, will I be able to utilize it? Will I be able to watch blu ray HD movies on it?
Also, does anyone have any recommendations? An external or internal?
I realize that the op pointed out three models, but that was in November of last year - which in technology terms is ancient history. 😉
If I buy a blu ray drive, will I be able to utilize it? Will I be able to watch blu ray HD movies on it?
Also, does anyone have any recommendations? An external or internal?
I realize that the op pointed out three models, but that was in November of last year - which in technology terms is ancient history. 😉
I have an
iMac 2.4 GHZ Intel Core 2 Duo
4 gig Memory
ATI Radeon HD 2400 XT:
MATSHITA DVD-R UJ-875:
my camera is a JVCGZ-HD5U which produces .TOD files
I need info from scratch for the procedure.
TheStrudel
macrumors 65816
Dave, what you were told is mostly correct. You cannot watch commercial BDs in Mac OS X, because it is not supported yet (copy protection). It may be possible in windows. I bought the LG GGW-H20L a while back, and it still represents the best value for money if one is buying an internal SATA blu-ray burner. It's compatible with Nehalem mac pros, and can be made to work with the other mac pros with a little more effort (let me know if you want details).
Bockey, I've never heard of or dealt with .TOD files. How are you editing the footage? My advice would be to use a video editing program to output an uncompressed quicktime file, as I would do with Final Cut, then drag that file into Toast with the proper settings for an HD BD-on-DVD. What is your workflow for the video editing right now?
Bockey, I've never heard of or dealt with .TOD files. How are you editing the footage? My advice would be to use a video editing program to output an uncompressed quicktime file, as I would do with Final Cut, then drag that file into Toast with the proper settings for an HD BD-on-DVD. What is your workflow for the video editing right now?
.TOD files are the JVC format.
I haven't really edited anything yet, just trying to burn the files as they were shot. What are proper settings for an HD BD-on-DVD? Is there a link you know of to visit to give the novice a elementary start? Thanks.
illegalprelude
macrumors 68000
I have a Sony Blu-ray burner myself man. Its the internal one. Sony BWU-100A I think and im currently using toast 8 and everything is working as good as they can.
As for an external blu-ray burner goes, Lacie makes a pretty good one too but the unit is no longer available I dont think...pretty sure a new model is coming out.
But rumor is, Snow Leopard will support natively. Till then, Toast 8 or Toast 9 will do the trick
As for an external blu-ray burner goes, Lacie makes a pretty good one too but the unit is no longer available I dont think...pretty sure a new model is coming out.
But rumor is, Snow Leopard will support natively. Till then, Toast 8 or Toast 9 will do the trick
scottydawg
macrumors 6502
Sorry for the delay! I was camping for 5 days and when I tried to log in with the Blackberry it was a less then smooth experience. I will be happy to help if I can.
TheStrudel
macrumors 65816
I don't have a walkthrough for you, but there's the problem right there - the .TOD files are, according to wikipedia, MPEG-2 compressed files from the camera. My experience with working in MPEG-2 files is that if they're already muxed, or not precisely prepared for burning via compressor or another agency, you will run into problems. My advice is to run these through conversion (like with MPEG streamclip) or a video editing app like iMovie and instead of editing them, just export in quicktime movie (uncompressed, in HD) (which Toast likes and can work with) and just have it burn a Blu-Ray, but use a regular DVD-R in the drive. That should work for you.
Ended up using MPEG streamclip and getting the Apple plug-in for MPEG2. Exported in DV Stream with 1920 x 1080 HD settings and then burnt files in Toast as you suggested. Thanks for your help, you got me on the right road, I really appreciate it.🙂
TheStrudel
macrumors 65816
No problem. MPEG streamclip is about the most amazing free video conversion/editing app I've ever seen, used it to fix so many formatting problems, get usable video from youtube, etc. Tell other people about it, because it really does make all this nonsense much easier to deal with. Formats drive video people crazy because so many aren't interchangeable or unified, and you have to learn a bunch of them. I have no real idea why JVC saw fit to throw their own container on what's just MPEG-2, but here we are.