Do all external DVD drives work on Macs?

Question

Level 1

10 points

Do all external DVD drives work on Macs?

Sorry to sound new. It is my first time on a Mac. I just got a 15.4" MacBook Pro Core 1 Duo. I love this machine. However I have been a long long time user of PC.

The first thing I noticed was that the DVD drive can not burn Dual Layer Discs. I would like to purchase an external drive or put a internal drive into an external enclosure and connect via USB2.0

I have selected this due to reviews about it's abilities to be converted to RPC1, and have good success at backing up copy protected discs. The drive is:
http://www.tigerdirect.ca/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=232154 5&sku=L12-1118
LiteOn SHM-165P6SX

Lite on has a very poor website and does not have this particular model in detail. The internal version LiteOn SHM-165P6S spec sheets does not indicate that it works on OS X. It only says:
Support OS: Microsoft Windows XP / 2000 SP4
OS Requirement: Pentium 4 1.3 GHz or higher CPU and 128 MB or higher RAM are required

That's it.

Can this thing work on a MBP via USB 2.0?

15.4" MacBook Pro Core 1 Duo Mac OS X (10.4.8)

Posted on Dec 11, 2006 6:14 PM

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Answer 1

Dec 11, 2006 10:29 PM in response to Cheers!

The only thing I can suggest is:

1. You get what you pay for. You're looking at a no-name brand; common complaints are usually that they:
a. Die within 3-6 months
b. Are "selective" to which DVD brand they will burn on

2. Trust a reputable company. Companies like Sony and HP have nice drive options which are a little bit more then the $90 unit you're looking at. Sony and HP WILL be around to fix warranty claims... Company X may be out the door tomorrow

3. Reputable companies offer software and compatibility with Macs. Just do a search, you will see that.

I would suggest a Sony Drive. Mine is 1.5-2 years old and I got it at Best Buy for $125. It works via firewire OR USB! Do some web searching, you will find a great unit for under $140 that will last you years, and that is dual layer.

I would get this one if I were you:
http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage.jsp?skuId=7996387&type=product&productCatego ryId=cat01041&id=1155071062283

$40 more then el-cheapo

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Answer 2

Dec 11, 2006 10:44 PM in response to homertime33

I'm sorry but Lite-On is most definately not a "no-name brand." Furthermore, I'm willing to bet that the Lite-On drive is just as good, if not better than comparable options from Sony and HP. Both Sony and HP rebadge drives from other manufacturers, sometimes even rebadging Lite-On brand drives.

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Answer 3

Cheers! Author

Level 1

10 points

Dec 12, 2006 5:57 AM in response to homertime33

a good majority of Sony's drives were re-badged LG drives until Lite On bought out LG's optical unit.

That Sony drive you pointed to is not a real sony drive. I believe is an external version of Sony 18x DRU-830A mounted in a nice external enclosure. The Sony 18x DRU-830A is actually a Samsung SH-S182D drive with a new face plate and a firmware reworked by Sony to say Sony.

If you care for the best money can buy, don't get a Sony. Get a Plextor 755 UF external. It has USB and Firewire. But you CAN NOT easily change the region to RPC1. You actually either need to modify the firware from scratch or hope that some else smarter than you does it and wait for it to be posted on the net.

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Answer 4

Dec 12, 2006 8:20 AM in response to Cheers!

All your point's being??

Every company re-badges things... for instance only 3 companies make LCDs

This does not change the SPECIFICATIONS that the company DEMANDS of the product, and the warranty that they provide.

So go out and buy your Daewoo Cars, your Lite-On and Memorex DVD drives, or your Apex TV... I'll continue to trust brands that have worked for me for years on end.

But Cheers!, you seem to be so knowledgeable about DVD drives already, how come you couldn't figure out the USB question? I'm being serious with that question, not sarcastic.

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Answer 5

Cheers! Author

Level 1

10 points

Dec 12, 2006 7:21 PM in response to homertime33

I'm knowledgeable about burning/ripping/backing up stuff. Been doing it for a while. But with a PC. I've seen too many of the Mac commercials on TV with the "PC" and "MAC" guy and got brainwashed. I bought a Mac.

First time Mac user too. Last time I used MAC OS was like 10 years ago with the square ugly 16 color Macintosh computers. I hated it then. I thought I would give the new Macs a try. Seeing how if push comes to shove and I really hate Mac OS X, I could run bootcamp and put XP on and then Vista later on.

It's day 3 on the new MacBook Pro. So far so good.

I did find out the answer about the DVD burner:
http://svp.co.uk/products-solo.php?pid=1570
A user for that store wrote a review and said the following:
Review by Anil Khedun from London on 29/10/2006 11:32:33 Rating: 10/10
Great DVD writer for Mac
I needed an external writer for my Mac PowerBook (OSX 10.4.8)
and took a chance on this writer. I'm very impressed so far as it
works perfectly with Toast 7. DVD Video, CDs, and backups all
write with ease via the connected USB cable. Just make sure you
have Toast or other good quality burning software as this
package does not include anything for the Mac. It's 100%
compatible with Toast and Tiger though. Recommended.

Which is exactly what I was hoping to hear.

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Answer 6

CRM

Level 1

35 points

Dec 20, 2006 9:43 PM in response to Cheers!

If I were you I'd check out Other World Computing (eshop.macsales.com). The are a Mac specialty site. They have good external drives. Look at this, it has both firewire and USB 2.

http://eshop.macsales.com/item/Other%20World%20Computing/MRFWU2D109A/

Personally I prefer firewire. The actual drive is a Pioneer DVR-109. I own the actual drive myself, but in a different enclosure. The drive is natively compatible with Mac OS X burning and iLife so you don't need any extra divers. Hope that helps.

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Answer 7

Cheers! Author

Level 1

10 points

Dec 31, 2006 12:43 PM in response to Cheers!

I have tried the LiteOn SHM-165P6SX on a MBP CoreDuo 2.16 Ghz and it works fine with Toast 7.

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