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    Blu Ray external Drive for MacBook Pro

    Discussion in 'Apple and Mac OS X' started by tyronne, Nov 12, 2008.

  1. tyronne

    tyronne Notebook Evangelist

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    Deos anyone know how to make a blu ray work with macbook pro?

    Which brand and model should i buy to make it work with macbook pro?

    and which program should i use?

    It is probably easier to bootcamp to vista and use external blue ray player to make it work with macbook pro but i dont want to use vista i would like to make it work with mac os thanks heaps.
     
    tyronne, Nov 12, 2008
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  2. gary_hendricks

    gary_hendricks Notebook Evangelist

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    An external Blu Ray drive for the MacBook Pro is possible, but those are not out on the market yet. Apple is also silent on its support for Blu Ray drives I think.
     
    gary_hendricks, Nov 12, 2008
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  3. Wolfpup

    Wolfpup Notebook Prophet

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    There are external USB Blu Ray drives, though surprisingly few. The one on Newegg goes for under $150 right now.

    OS X has no way of playing Blu Ray discs right now, but it should work under Windows. (And hopefully eventually OS X?)

    A Macbook Pro (with Vista) is one of the systems I'm toying with getting, but I'm wondering about this too. I'm unclear on whether there may at some point be DRM issues with playing discs over a USB connection. I thought I read somewhere that if movie studios turn on that one form of DRM in the future, USB was considered an unsecure path? But I don't really know, and that doesn't really make sense, so I guess it's probably fine.

    (Heck, Microsoft was selling a USB HDDVD drive for the 360, which would have had the same issues, if there were any.)
     
    Wolfpup, Nov 12, 2008
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  4. iNsAnEcLoWn

    iNsAnEcLoWn Notebook Consultant

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    You need to check this out:

    http://www.amexdigital.com/Press_Release-E_Portable Blu-ray Super Multi Drive.htm
     
    iNsAnEcLoWn, Nov 12, 2008
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  5. newfiejudd

    newfiejudd Notebook Deity

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    I wonder if that could fit into the Mac itself if removed from the case. That would be a nice upgrade while I am updating my HDD on my 17 MBP.
    All I could ask for then would be a better GPU and I would have the perfect Notebook for me lol.
     
    newfiejudd, Nov 12, 2008
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  6. Wolfpup

    Wolfpup Notebook Prophet

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    No, absolutely not. That's an external drive (and far from the only one). On the 17" model there MIGHT be a way to fit in a slot loading internal drive, but personally I wouldn't risk it and would just use external.
     
    Wolfpup, Nov 12, 2008
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  7. newfiejudd

    newfiejudd Notebook Deity

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    Hey thanks wolfpup. I remember seeing a blu ray drive that was slot loading on Ebay once. They said it would fit within certain mac's.
     
    newfiejudd, Nov 12, 2008
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  8. Wolfpup

    Wolfpup Notebook Prophet

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    My understanding is the 17" Macbook Pro accepts normal (12.5mm?) slot loading optical drives, while the smaller ones use (9mm?) drives, but there could be issues with how the slot lines up or who knows what, and I could be totally wrong.

    Personally I'm just going with external if I do this. Just $130 right now, I guess.

    I just hope it works for any Blu Ray movie/show...
     
    Wolfpup, Nov 12, 2008
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  9. newfiejudd

    newfiejudd Notebook Deity

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    Where did you find one for $130. That would be a nice deal.
     
    newfiejudd, Nov 12, 2008
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  10. Wolfpup

    Wolfpup Notebook Prophet

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    Newegg, etc., plus you can apparently just get an internal (desktop) drive and a <$40 enclosure for pretty cheap too.

    I'm just unsure of the whole "will USB always work for Blu Ray discs" thing :(
     
    Wolfpup, Nov 12, 2008
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  11. fastrandstrongr

    fastrandstrongr Notebook Evangelist

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    fastrandstrongr, Nov 12, 2008
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  12. chyidean

    chyidean Notebook Evangelist

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    Not exactly silent, they called it a "bag of hurt" I think. Lol.
     
    chyidean, Nov 12, 2008
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  13. Wolfpup

    Wolfpup Notebook Prophet

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    The only positive rumor was that some point release of OS X was adding it. I REALLY hoped/thought it was perfectly timed for these new laptops.

    I WOULD own one right now if they had Blu Ray.
     
    Wolfpup, Nov 12, 2008
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