Hi Everyone,
Looking for a good external blu-ray burner for a recently bought 2012 Imac, any suggestions?
iMac, Mac OS X (10.7.4)
I'm in the same boat. I've heard it said that you can't write to BluRay disks with Mac OS. Is this a restriction placed by the operating system or merely reflecting the fact that no BluRay-writing software is included with the iMac?
LaCie makes a USB 3.0 Blu-ray Burner/Player:
http://www.lacie.com/us/products/product.htm?id=10602
I plan to try one on the new 2012 iMac soon and report back.
Not Mac/Apple compliant! 😢
This one will work with a Mac - be aware that no blu-ray burner will work with a Mac without Roxio Toast and its' blu-ray plugin:
http://www.lacie.com/us/products/product.htm?id=10596
I've had an external LaCie burner for years (not blu-ray obviously) and it's been very reliable.
I have used three different brands of non-compliant Blu-ray burners in a 2010 Mac Pro. Examples of software that works include Toast, MakeMKV, Mac Blu-ray Player, Pavtube Blu-ray Ripper.
I don't see why the same software wouldn't work with the LaCie Blu-ray burner/player attached to the new iMac. I will report back as soon as I test it.
I looked at the system requirements of yours on the LaCie site and here is what it says:
The included software (Cyberlink Poower DVD) also requires some version of Windows.
This MCE product seems to fit the bill (don't have one myself):
"MCE Fovea Extreme USB Blu-ray Player / Recorder for MacBook Pro with Retina Display, All Macs"
Today I received the LaCie USB 3.0 Blu-ray Burner/Player:
http://www.lacie.com/us/products/product.htm?id=10602
I connected it to my Retina MacBook Pro (15") USB 3.0 port. (It's bus powered so that's all you need is the USB 3.0 cable supplied with it.)
Using the installed Blu-ray Player software I purchased earlier this year from macblurayplayer.com, I was able to play a Blu-ray movie.
And using the installed Pavtube Blu-Ray Ripper for Mac I purchased earlier this year, I was able to rip a Blu-ray movie to iPad 3/4 Retina compatible format (full 1080p).
Tomorrow I'll install the same two pieces of software in the 2012 iMac and confirm that it also works there.
I just ordered this drive from Lacie:
http://www.lacie.com/us/products/product.htm?id=10596
I never noticed they had a prortable that had USB 3.0
Should I return it or is firwire 400 just as fast as USB 3.0?
I was planning on using a firewire to thunderbolt dongle for the new imac.
USB 3.0 is a faster interface but the player/burner may not go any faster than the FireWire model. The published specs may give an indication. Otherwise, you would have to construct a test case where to time how long it takes to burn a set amount of data or video to the drive and how long it takes to copy that same data to your internal drive.
The MCE is only USB2. Fromwaht I have read it is fine forplaying Blu-ray but burning disks can be slow. That is OK for me as I am looking for an archiving system.
This is slightly off topic but relevant. I have had a Lacie Firewire 400 DVD burner for many years (after the Superdrive died on my iMac). I just tried it with an Apple Thunderbolt to Firewire adapter on a Macbook Pro. The Lacie burner did not work and behaves like it is not getting enough power from the Macbook via Thunderbolt. I have seen other articles that mention Thunderbolt will not power some Firewire devices.
So be cautious about Firewire Blu-ray burners - if there are any.
Thanks for that! I've had a FW400 LaCie burner for years as well - fortunately, I am not in the market for a new iMac, but it's good to know. I wonder why it would not work since there are adapters?
It may be that the TB-to-FW adapter doesn't pass power through or enough power through to the FW bus powered optical drive.
At any rate, the good news is that for new iMac, new MBA, and new rMBP owners, the absense of an internal optical drive is not a handicap. In fact, it can be a bonus since you can use a Blu-ray bus powered device that can burn, play, or rip Blu-ray as well as DVD and CD.
Got my MCE Blue ray optical drive.
The Bu-ray movie software is trial only. You have to pay for the full version at:
http://www.macblurayplayer.com/
It works well on my iMac with a single USB2 connection and no need for external power. However it seems to want an internet connection every time I play a Blu-ray disk. I used Little Snitch to block it and it refused to play the disk. Once unblocked it played. This might be software protection or something built into Blu-ray. Pls don't post any suggestions for getting around this as it will breach the discussion terms of use.
External Blu-Ray Burner for 2012 Imac
