Does my Macbook Pro support M-Disc DVDs?
I have a Macbook Pro 15-inch early 2011 with a MATSHITA DVD-R UJ-8A8 drive.
Does it support the use of M-Disc DVDs?
No.
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11 replies
Any suggestions for similar media?
Not sure I understand your question, the superdrive plays standard CD and DVD, nothing else.
The M-discs are some sort of writeable DVDs that have can last 1,000 years. They are made of some other type of material versus a regular DVD-R or DVD+R.
Does anyone know of similar type of long life writeable DVD that would work in my Macbook Pro?
The problem is that "similar" media do not qualify as archival media (as defined by ISO 10995 standards). Though it's a pain to have an external drive, the benefits of having true archival media (never have to worry about data degredation, corruption, or infections) are invaluable.
If you use "compatible" media with your built in drive, it will not be archival. "Compatible" media will contain an organic based write layer. Organic layers have shown to fail repeatedly.
As soon as the Bluray version of the M-Disc is released, I will be putting all of my DV tapes and RAW images on M-Disc. One and done.
I had the same question. Found a clear article on the M-Disc.
http://www.extremetech.com/computing/92286-m-disc-is-a-dvd-made-out-of-stone-tha t-lasts-1000-years
I'm going for the external LG M-Disc SuperMulti Drive. That way I can read and write M-Discs.
NRaygun wrote:
No, superdrive doesnt have the POWER to burn MDISK
get one of these:
rchaser4 wrote:
The problem is that "similar" media do not qualify as archival media
Nonsense, utterly UNTRUE.
Archival is 60+ Archival DVD + R have been around now for nearly 17 years
Taiyo Yuden by JVC and others are rated for roughly 100 Years.
True longevity, long-term professional data protection. The Gold and Platinum standard
When it comes to long-term data protection, there is optical and there is NOTHING else, period. While modern notebooks and macbooks have forgone, for the most part internal optical DVD/CD readers/writers, this is most entirely due to the fact that commercial videos and movies have gone to online rentals and Itunes purchases, additionally nearly all software now is online purchase and download. The other reason for this is the removal of a 'high' failure point of an internal optical drive which is both mechanically complex, prone to dust on the laser diode lens due to users inserting dusty disks / media, and that the superdrive is not currently capable of fitting in the super-slim form factor machines such as the current Imac, Macbook Pro and especially the Macbook Air. However external USB DVD burners and readers are going nowhere anytime in the foreseeable future,... and until a new optical technology emerges for data preservation, DVD writers aren’t going anywhere.
Online media and software however has no bearing or impact on the fact that the fragile nature of ferromagnetic storage has not gotten any better now than it was 20 years ago aside from improved production specifications in physical hard drive builds. There are many that would point out in incorrect conjecture that “optical is a dying or dead medium”, such people don’t know what they're talking about and are directing their comments at optical based movies and software, not data archiving and protection which in fact is growing in scope, not declining.
While low grade consumer DVD blank media has a life between 8-15 years best case, professional DVD blank media has both a different standard of manufacture and chemically a different read/write layer that has serious professional longevity with 19 years real world testing and age-stress progression testing proving that at the very minimum, 60 years viable protection if stored correctly and in some patented mfg. standards, 100+ years data retention and preservation. While "gold" disks have been superceeded by even better technology manufacted disks, this is still a term of reference as implying professional DVD blank media.
In fact a new breed of disks that use a higher powered write-laser are commercially available and have a rated life of 1000 years and are referred to as M-DISK. Governments, military, and professional businesses have much time and money invested in high-importance data storage on optical media out of necessity given the extremely fragile nature of ferromagnetic storage. Such new optical technology creates permanent pits in the disk surface, which are not affected by light like consumer DVD media which uses a organic dye layer to write and read from of the data.
While DVD media are only 4.7GB single layer in scope, and cannot store massive amounts of data, not even by the 100-pack, most vitally important priority data people own are picture collections, texts, audio, and other small scale media. In such an evaluation, high priority data is necessitated out of prudence, to be written to professional archival grade DVD media, not low-grade consumer DVD blanks. Such professional DVD blank media is only roughly 30% more expensive than low grade consumer DVD blank media.
This is the one I am considering. Price just dropped to $39 USD. 🙂 It's M-Disc compatible. Need to archive graphics.
http://www.amazon.com/LG-Electronics-GE24NU40-DVD-RW-USB/dp/B00CD8OF8U/ref=pd_si m_sbs_pc_2
Yes, thats the one most everyone is getting I recall...... now if they could only drop the price of the blank media
At last someone that uses the word archive and knows how important it is. Need 100 more like you posting here.
data loss is rampant, not enough people know or take it seriously.
Methodology to protect your data. Backups vs. Archives. Long-term data protection
Does my Macbook Pro support M-Disc DVDs?