Any recommendation for an external CD/DVD player/burner for use with an iMac?

[Guest]

.....as my internal one has gone ker-thunk and ejects everything within seconds. Cost for a replacement drive is going to be in the order of £200

TIA

[Bryn]

As long as you have a spare USB port (preferably at least USB2) you can get reliable, reasonably fast external burners from the likes of LiteOn or LG for around £20. If you need firewire, you are looking at more like £70+.

[Resurrection Man]

Thanks Bryn for those suggestions. A quick Google suggested that they were only PC compatible but you gave me enough oif a hint to find one that is...a Samsung.

Remarkably how frustrating all the review pages on the internet are as they are undated. You do a Google search, see somethiung that fits the bill but then when you go shopping...unavailable.

[Bryn]

Thanks Bryn for those suggestions. A quick Google suggested that they were only PC compatible but you gave me enough oif a hint to find one that is...a Samsung.

Remarkably how frustrating all the review pages on the internet are as they are undated. You do a Google search, see somethiung that fits the bill but then when you go shopping...unavailable.

I think you would find that most of the £20 price point USB dvd burners are in fact Mac compatible, even if the blurb does not mention it. The problems come with Blu-ray writers. It seems Apple have been dragging their feet re. Blu-ray, though there is (to be paid for) third party software which offers Mac compatibility for Blu-ray writers.

[Lordgeous]

I purchased an LG one but it wouldnt work with my Macbook Pro - Still, was only about £20!

[Bryn]

I purchased an LG one but it wouldnt work with my Macbook Pro - Still, was only about £20!

http://forums.macrumors.com/showthread.php?t=411509

[Lordgeous]

Thanks for that but I ended up getting the internal burner replaced - local Mac store did me a good deal! Power problem interesting though. I'll experiment further.

[johnb]

Interesting topic: 'whether to use a mains power source to power a USB DVD drive'.


As most USB 1 or USB 2 ports have only 500mA available to them (which equates to a maximum of 2.5 Watts) I have always used an external power supply for external DVD drives. I would have thought that relying on the USB connection to power a DVD drive is a bit unwise (unless the USB port is known to support significantly higher current than the standard 500 mW).

PS If an external power supply isn't available it would be worth trying a powered USB hub.

[richardfinegold]

I have been very happy with the Oppo BD-105 Universal Player. I have used it with a Mac Book
Pro and a Mac Air. It does asynchronous USB with 32 bit resolution and sounds great. It also is a great all
Around player and headphone amp.

[antongould]

Thanks to this thread I purchased the aforementioned Samsung from the tax dodgers as the drive on our aging Toshiba laptop has given up the ghost - very impressed.......