Can my Mac Mini (MB139LL/A) read Mini-disks or DVD-RAM?

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Level 1

9 points

Can my Mac Mini (MB139LL/A) read Mini-disks or DVD-RAM?

I know that a big problem with many slot loading drives is that they cannot accept mis-shaped disks (such as ones in a rectangle shape used as business cards) or mini-disks, but some slot-loading drives can. Can my Mac Mini accept them?

Also, DVD-RAM is not as popular a format as DVD-ROM, DVD-R or DVD+R and few devices support it, does my Mac Mini support it?

I want to make sure the drive at least supports mini-disks before I wind up getting a disk stuck in my Mac Mini, at least if it can't read a DVD-RAM disk then there will be no harm done as long as the drive can physically accept the disk with no problems.

Mac Mini, Mac OS X (10.5.6)

Posted on Apr 18, 2009 7:23 AM

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Answer 1

Apr 18, 2009 10:37 AM in response to Cyber Akuma

No, the mini doesn't support mis shapen discs (like the 8 cm ones).

It may support DVD-RAM.

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Answer 2

Fortuny

Level 7

21,461 points

Apr 18, 2009 10:17 PM in response to Cyber Akuma

Hi,

Mini-Discs and/or shape-discs are an absolut no-go with the slot-loading drives Apple uses in their Macs.
Once in you most likely will never get them out unless you take the Mac apart.

From the specifications I found here http://support.apple.com/kb/SP7 the SuperDrive in your Mac Mini can not read or write DVD-RAM.

Regards

Stefan

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Answer 3

Cyber Akuma Author

Level 1

9 points

Apr 19, 2009 11:47 PM in response to Cyber Akuma

Hmm, I see, that is a disappointment.

I can understand not supporting DVD-RAM since it is not that common a format (although MANY drives now support it) but I am extremely surprised to hear that the Mac Mini does not support any type of mini-disk since Macs are popular for video editing and many video cameras record on mini-disks.

Does ANY type of Mac with a slot-loading drive support mini-disks or only the Mac Mini doesn't?

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Answer 4

varjak paw

Level 10

182,668 points

Apr 20, 2009 7:38 AM in response to Cyber Akuma

No slot-loading drive supports minidisks and other non-standard sizes and shapes The inject/eject mechanism physically just can't handle those "disks". If you need to use minidisks or non-standard shapes, get an external tray-loading drive.

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Answer 5

a brody

Level 10

85,314 points

Apr 20, 2009 7:59 AM in response to Cyber Akuma

This article is very specific about tray loading versus slot loading drives:
http://support.apple.com/kb/HT2446?viewlocale=en_US

If you want to use non-standard discs, get an external tray burner that connects via USB or Firewire.

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Answer 6

Cyber Akuma Author

Level 1

9 points

Apr 20, 2009 8:20 AM in response to varjak paw

Dave Sawyer wrote:
No slot-loading drive supports minidisks and other non-standard sizes and shapes The inject/eject mechanism physically just can't handle those "disks". If you need to use minidisks or non-standard shapes, get an external tray-loading drive.

There actually ARE slot-loading drives that can work with minidisks just fine, I have two devices with such a type of slot-loading drive.

This is why I asked if Macs with slot-loading drives supported this too.

And why did you feel the need to put "disks" in quotes? Are you implying that they somehow are not disks just because they are smaller?

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Answer 7

a brody

Level 10

85,314 points

Apr 20, 2009 8:33 AM in response to Cyber Akuma

Cyber,
Apple is very specific in their knowledgebase, and usually in the computer manuals that come with their computers what media is supported. Please read my earlier post at the end of the thread. Just because there are some slot loading drives that support alternative media, doesn't mean that Apple can, or should support those same media. There may be issues of compatibility with these drives, or difficulty building drivers for these drives to tightly integrate with the platform none of us knows about. Unless you become an engineer at Apple, the likelihood of knowing the why it was chosen that way is probably nil. As long as the documentation is there, I think you should be thankful that at least Apple is aware what those drives work with and do not, and not try to outsmart the drives, and just get an external drive when needed.

In the meantime, the people who use these non-standard discs need to be made aware that their choice of such discs is considered non-standard by a lot of people in the industry, and if they desire to provide accessibility to their info, they need to provide it in another format so as not to make it harder on those who don't have the appropriate drives. It is not like standard CD-Rs are expensive. It is the optical drives themselves which are more.

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Answer 8

varjak paw

Level 10

182,668 points

Apr 20, 2009 8:59 AM in response to Cyber Akuma

I put "disks" in quotes because some of the non-standard media is not round and hence not a "disk".

I know what you asked that that's what I answered: no slot-loading drive in a Mac supports minidisks or odd-shaped media. I am aware of a very few slot-loading drives from other vendors that can at least in theory support round 80mm disks, though reports I've seen don't rate them as highly reliable when using those disks. I know of no slot-loading drive that can handle the odd-shaped media such as the "business card" media.

Again, if you need to use 80mm disks or odd-shaped media, get an external tray-loading drive.

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Answer 9

Cyber Akuma Author

Level 1

9 points

Apr 20, 2009 9:25 AM in response to a brody

a brody wrote:
Cyber,
Just because there are some slot loading drives that support alternative media, doesn't mean that Apple can, or should support those same media.

Yes I understand, this is why I asked if my Mac Mini could support it, I asked because I know its possible and was curious if my Mac Mini supported it.

As for should, I am not saying they should, just that I am surprised that considering that Macs are famous for image and video editing, and many cameras use minidisks, I am surprised that the slot-loading Macs do not support it.

a brody wrote:
Unless you become an engineer at Apple, the likelihood of knowing the why it was chosen that way is probably nil.

Sorry but that is a cop-out answer. History has proven time and time again that just because a group of engineers built something does not mean they made the smart or consumer-friendly choice. Just because a company decided "it should be like this" does not mean it could not have been done equally as well or better in a different way.

I do not support the "compant made the best decision" viewpoint because, well, the point of ANY company is to make money, and if that means scaling back features or locking away abilities from the consumer than that is what they will do. No company is out there to make friends.

Dave Sawyer wrote:
I am aware of a very few slot-loading drives from other vendors that can at least in theory support round 80mm disks, though reports I've seen don't rate them as highly reliable when using those disks. I know of no slot-loading drive that can handle the odd-shaped media such as the "business card" media.

Sorry about that, I should have been more specific.

I meant mini circular disks when I siad mini-disks, not the oddly shaped ones, I am aware that no slot-loading drive to date can handle oddly shaped disks.

As for it being not realiable, depends on the drive, but at least one of my systems has a slot-loading drive specifically designed to me used with mini-disks as well as full sized disks. So far my other system has shown no problems with slot-loading minidisks either and the manual states that it supports them even though this is not an advertised feature like my other system.

Unfortunately, none of them support DVD-RAM even though they support mini-disks.

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Answer 10

a brody

Level 10

85,314 points

Apr 20, 2009 9:37 AM in response to Cyber Akuma

Cyber,
If you want to provide Apple feedback, here are the pages for doing so:

http://www.apple.com/feedback/

http://www.apple.com/contact/feedback.html

Note the unsolicited ideas policy.

If the discs shown in the aforementioned article are non-standard, then you can believe it is non-standard. Some are round, while others are oblong, it doesn't matter, only a certain set number of discs are known to be standard.

They have had these non-standard restrictions since 1999, when the first slot loading Macs appeared, in the form of the slot loading iMac G3. Next all Powerbook G4s had them, and next iBook G4s had them, next the iMac G5, Mac Mini, and MacBooks, MacBook Air (as an external drive), MacBook Pros, and iMac Intel.

Those cameras which use minidiscs have obviously not been used very much in the Mac field, unless they have been with the Mac Pro, and PowerMac G5, PowerMac G4, which have tray loading drives. The iMac G4 and eMac both had one as well. So there are plenty of Macs that have had them built-in.

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Answer 11

Alex--

Level 1

46 points

Apr 20, 2009 10:08 AM in response to Cyber Akuma

Cyber Akuma wrote:
Also, DVD-RAM is not as popular a format as DVD-ROM, DVD-R or DVD+R and few devices support it, does my Mac Mini support it?

Depends on the actual device Apple used in a specific production batch, the restrictions in firmware (if Apple flashed drives with their own firmware), and on support in operating system itself.

On an example, specs for my MacBook Pro don't mention DVD-RAM at all. The "SuperDrive" is actually an Matshita UJ-857D. The drive itself (as manufactured by Matshita/Panasonic) supports reading and writing DVD-RAM. However, the drive as shipped in MacBook Pro does not support writing DVD-RAM (it can read from them though).

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Answer 12

Apr 22, 2009 9:27 PM in response to Cyber Akuma

You said that some slot loading drives can accept 8 cm disks, can you be so good as to tell us which ones they are?

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Answer 13

Cyber Akuma Author

Level 1

9 points

Apr 22, 2009 10:10 PM in response to taxicab6109

taxicab6109 wrote:
You said that some slot loading drives can accept 8 cm disks, can you be so good as to tell us which ones they are?

I know these are not computer systems, but both my Nintendo Wii and Sony Playstation 3 can, both have slot-loading drives that state in the manual they can accept mini-disks (the Wii has to since it is backwards compatible with the GameCube, a system that used mini-dvds exclusively).

Unfortunately, while they have no problems with mini-disks, neither of them can read DVD-RAM disks regardless of size.

I know that such drives exist for computers as well but I do not know of any in particular. But these consoles prove that it is possible to have a slot-loading drive that works perfectly fine with mini-disks. The disk doesn't even need to be inserted in the center of the drive.

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Answer 14

mooblie

Level 4

1,954 points

Apr 23, 2009 8:45 AM in response to Cyber Akuma

I fitted a [_Teac DV-W28SLC |http://www.teac.co.jp/dspd/pdf/DV-W28SLCeA4.pdf] to my Mini, and now it reads and writes DVD-RAM too! Apparently this is the Teac equivalent of the Sony AD-7640A - available in UK on eBay at the moment for 20 GBP!!

It still retains all the other functions as well: r/w DVD±R(W or DL)), r/w CD-R(W), bootable and Burn-Folder-friendly. A real Superduper Drive!

I always felt DVD-RAM was the unsung hero of the DVD family - a truly monster floppy replacement! (even if a little slow).

I wouldn't want to put small or non-circular discs in it, though; although the spec. does actually say "12cm AND 8cm".
-------------
TEAC DVD+-RW DVW28SLC:

Firmware Revision: A.06
Interconnect: ATAPI
Burn Support: Yes (Generic Drive Support)
Profile Path: None
Cache: 2000 KB
Reads DVD: Yes
CD-Write: -R, -RW
DVD-Write: -R, -R DL, -RAM, -RW, +R, +R DL, +RW
Write Strategies: CD-TAO, CD-SAO, DVD-DAO

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Answer 15

May 3, 2009 1:35 AM in response to mooblie

£36.99 sadly

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