Is it possible to connect an external blue ray drive via USB with a mac mini to watch HD videos?

Is it possible to connect an external blue ray drive to a mac mini to watch HD videos? Iy yes, what additional software / hardware is necessary?

Saul in PA wrote:
There is some new software that allows playing:
http://www.macworld.com/article/160977/2011/07/blu_ray_movie_playback_comes_to_t he_mac.html
Did you even read the article you linked to?
Here's a quote from it
"The video itself looked fine when it played properly, but it stopped and started constantly, and often displayed with huge, ugly artifacts. And at times, the app would freeze completely and require a force quit.
Just to make sure it wasn’t a problem with one Blu-ray disc, I tried some others. With Hot Tub Time Machine the results were much, much worse. It got a few seconds into the United Artists logo before the movie and completely froze playback. On several attempts. With David Cronenberg’s The Fly, playback was generally better—but the software played the ‘making of’ movie instead of the actual film. I thought there might have been a preference to help with the movie selection, but—wait for it—the Preferences item didn’t do anything when I selected it."
Not very promising is it

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Is it possible that iMac corrupts connected external hdd-s drive via USB?

Is it possible that iMac corrupts connected external hdd-s drive via USB? (two wd cav. green 2tb from different purchase went down in one day, both from the backside usb ports)
First one of my video storage hdd, full of files suddenly got extremely slow, and a few minutes later, it unmounted itself, but with the unmount error, but nobody even touched the cables, electricity etc. When I tried to mount it again, it did not respond, just give a periodical load light and ticking. First I thought it must be hardware failure, but since I bought a brand new drive today and it made the same problem as soon as I tried to format it. I got suspicious. The consol, said about these - i googled all but now solution so far. (WesternFresh is my drive)
Oct 23 17:10:58 xxxx fseventsd[47]: disk logger: failed to open output file /Volumes/WesternFresh/.fseventsd/636573acca1d6550 (No such file or directory). mount point /Volumes/WesternFresh/.fseventsd
Oct 24 10:55:42 xxxx com.apple.kextd[10]: Can't create kext cache under / - owner not root.
Oct 24 17:23:05 tmdc diskarbitrationd[16]: unable to probe /dev/disk1 (status code 0xFFFFFFFA).
and there was an I/O faliure not but it was on another mac - where i hoped itt will come back to live.
I think - if it is possible - that the OS maybe misunderstand something about these drives, and try to change - maybe permissions - all the time if a usb external connects...? (I am not really into it as you see )
Also about Disk Utility - it does not see any partition on the old hdd, but i shows the name of the product. If I connect the new hdd via the keyboard usb, the disk utility is able to see and format it, but the hdd will be still slow and tikking after it.
Also I tried Disk Warrior (freezd out) and Techtool Pro 6 thanks to some ol'frineds - which also not saw the old hdd, but did nothing useful with the new one.
About cav green: I have 3 of them and no error so far, and got 4 1tb cav green in 2 mybook studio II also without any problem.
Iam a bit scared, and try not to plug in any usb hdd-s now, but I have to continue work, so I need solutions.
I hope if it is not hardware failure, maybe some tricky terminal code will bring back the viability of my old hdd - and I won't have to spend a lot of money to recover data.
strange.
if anybody has a clue?
update 1:
i found this post also:
https://discussions.apple.com/message/15905481#15905481
I also made the mentioned steps - but it is a bit different sice it reproduce itself and I cant use DU.

It turned out that WD is the big bad guy in this game.
According the data rescue company where I asked for an inspection, both of the drives had their reader head loose. And in the one, which was my already-in-use disk its even damaged the platters... xxxxx
So its time to pay bunch of money to recover, and take a walk to wd service to bang on the desk.
Also note - it may be somehow related to intellispeed technology - since macs not really friendly with wd-s built-in solutions.
On the other hand, with WD GP 1Tb there is no problems at all for ages.
thanks guys, thread is closed

External Blu-Ray drive for HP Envy Lightscribe Issues

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The drive has the following logo on the bottom plate:
Which looks quite similar to the lightscribe logo, although it's not exactly the same. The HP Envy 13 support page does not contain drivers for the optical drive and I can't seem to find a dedicated support page for the drive itself. I have tried uninstalling the default windows driver which it reinstalls when the drive is plugged in again. As I said before it has been communicated in various place that the drive features lightscribe functionality and I'd be pretty upset if it turns out it doesn't!

Please recommend me an external CD/DVD writer to go with new Mac Mini

I'm thinking of buying a new Mac Mini, and I would like an external CD/DVD drive for it. It needs to be able to read and write to both CDs and DVDs, and I'm generally looking for something as cheap as possible. Obviously I don't want something that's going to break within a year though!
I plan on using it to watch DVDs, so something fairly quiet would be ideal. Speed isn't really a big issue for me.
If anyone can recommend something suitable and reliable (or, alternatively tell me what to avoid), I would be very grateful.

What is too expensive? The Apple Superdrive is $79.
http://store.apple.com/us/product/MD564ZM/A/apple-usb-superdrive
I personally use a Samsung Blu-ray drive that burns and reads all.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827151253
One caveat, there is no Blu-ray player on the Mac that is free.
http://www.macupdate.com/app/mac/47163/aurora-blu-ray-player
http://www.macupdate.com/app/mac/40390/macgo-blu-ray-player

Is possible to connect iMac 21.5" late 2009 to a New 2011 Mac Mini

Is possible to connect my iMac 21.5" late 2009 as external monitor for a new 2011 Mac Mini. iMac (Mini display port) to Mac Mini (Thunderbold Port).

Sorry, but only the 27" Late 2009 and 2010 iMac's support input to there DisplayPorts and not either 21.5" model.
iMac (21.5 and 27-inch, Late 2009) - Technical Specifications
iMac (21.5 and 27-inch, Mid 2010) - Technical Specifications
Check out ScreenRecycler to see if it works with Lion?

Can a external Blue Ray drive work with a MacBook Pro with Snow Lepard?

I am thinking about purchasing a Blu-Ray external drive so I would be able to watch BR on my MBP.
LG - 8x External USB 2.0 Blu-ray Disc Double-Layer DVD±RW/CD-RW Drive.
If anyone can give me a answer, it would be appreciated. Thank you.

Sorry, I have a 13" MacBook Pro, Mid 2010. I am running Snow Lepard.

Can I connect to Time Capsule Hard Drive via USB cable?

I'm having trouble connecting to a five year old Time Capsule Wirelessly. Indeed, I just bought a brand new one. But I need to connect to the old one's hard drive to recover lost files. Can I connect to it via USB?

No, USB is only for printer and usb external drive.. not a connection to the internal drive.
Use ethernet.. if that doesn't work, open the TC and remove the hard and use a USB drive box.
http://www.ifixit.com/Device/Apple_Time_Capsule

Is it possible to swap out an imac g4 (800 mhz) motherboard with a mac mini

recently i found an old imac G4 (800 mhz) and i brought it back to its former glory, however ive noticed its preformance to be laggy and inefficent, so ive been considering getting a mac mini. but i dont want to leave the design of the imac G4, so is it possible to take out the imacs motherboard and such and make it a moniter to use in a mac mini?

No. The heat and cooling mechanisms are different.
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Why doesn't my Macbook Pro recognize my external blu ray drive?

I bought the drive and the macbook brand new earlier this year. It is a Pioneer BDR-XD05W. Usually I have to plug and unplug at least two times before the computer recognizes a connection. Restarting doesnt really seem to have any effect on frequency. Trying to think of more information to add...but I really just want to know why the macbook doesnt recognize this accessory correctly.

Have you downloaded and installed the BDR-XD05W Drive Utility for Mac OS -
available at:
BDR-XD05W Mac Drive Utility
MtD

Use of Pioneer BDR-2208 blu-ray drive with MacPro

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Have you tried Roxio Toast 11 Titanium?
This should provide all the functions you require but.... will not provide "all" features associated with the 2208.
"All" features are software based and currently written for Windows only.
I currently use the BDR-208 as my secondary optical drive and with Toast,.... it works perfectly.
Toast 11 Titanium provides Mac drivers for BD and BDXL media not included in Mountian Lion.
I too am considering the 2208 (due to BDXL) but seeking feedback like yours before I purchase.
If my budget allows.... I will try the 2208 with Toast 11 at some point but cannot provide anything but suggestion at this point in time.
Please let me know if this solves your troubles.

Connecting MBP to blu ray player

I am just wondering if there is any way to connect an external blu ray player to mac to rip blu ray discs? If yes, which blu ray player? The BD player I have from Pioneer BDP-09 can be connected via usb? I don't need to write blu ray discs but want to rip discs to mkv format. Any possibility under OS X or Windows via boot camp?

Discussion of ripping copyrighted movies is not permitted on these forums, as it's not legal to do so.

External Blue-Ray Device

I've noticed around the web a few blue-ray external drives for PC's popping up, I know an iMac wont display HD but would it be possible to play the blue-ray disc through such a device since DVD's will be getting phased out sooner or later.
Thanks,

If you just want to use the BR disk for storing a large amount of data, as you would with a CD or DVD but with more capacity, yes. At least there are companies selling external Blu-Ray drives - OWC, for one - for such a use; I haven't used any of them so I can't say of my own knowledge how well they work.

Can i upgrade to a blu ray drive

I have a late 07 macbook 13" (white) and have been looking into upgrading the optic drive, since the one in it cant even write dvds. So i pondered why not go all the way and instead of getting an external drive get an internal drive. and on top of that make it blu ray r + rw ive found a couple af resonably priced drives, but now ive come to the Question , is it possible to do to my macbook being that it is so old. I am runing lion so im assuming it can read a blu ray disk and burn them but is my computer able to. What do i do i have the know how to install it on my on but i just need a link to an internal blu ray r + rw drive that is compatable with my computer and if there even is one.
Mac Specs:
Processor: 2GHz Intel Core 2 Duo
Memory:4.0 GB 667 MHz DDR2 SDRAM
OS: Mac OS X Lion 10.7
Current Optic Drive:
MATSHITA CD-RW CW-8221
Firmware Revision:          GA0K
Interconnect:          ATAPI
Burn Support:          Yes (Apple Shipping Drive)
Cache:          2048 KB
Reads DVD:          Yes
CD-Write:          -R, -RW
Write Strategies:          CD-TAO, CD-SAO, CD-Raw
PLEASE HELP ME ALL I WANT IS TO PLAY AND WRITE BLU RAY DISKS ON MY MACBOOK, AND TO KNOW IF I'LL HAVE TO SUCK IT UP AND BUY AN UGLY EXTERNAL BLU RAY DRIVE OR KEEP A NICE CLEAN SLEAK LAPTOP WITH INTERNAL BLU RAY DRIVE!!!

I don't know if it will work with a 2007 but I do know that the optical drive in it has an IDE interface not a SATA. So any Blu-Ray drive would have to be IDE.

Internal Blu-ray drive upgrade.

Hi, as the ongoing saga of desiring a Blu-ray Read & Write drive in a Macbook Pro 17" is still a painful bag of hurt for many people including myself, I still can't help try and track down a suitable possible solution and likely contender.
I previously had upgraded the MacBook Pro's internal 2.5" Hard Disk Drive after having learned at the time that the internal cleareance of my early 2009 unibody MBP 17" allowed a capacious maximum form-factor 'thickness' of 12.5mm instead of the usual 9.5mm for an internal HDD. This was an extremely rewarding piece of info and allowed me to grace the MBP with a 1TB HDD inside, which is absolutely fantastic especially when using space for Bootcamp and of course dealing with Hi Definition video files using FCS, in which you can 'never' have enough space for (transcoding into Apple Pro Res can turn out some seriously huge files). The now fitted internal 1TB drive has now enabled the MacBook Pro 17 to become mobile once again and not fully relying on external drives.
Except Blu-ray.
I'm personally not keen on attaching an external Blu-ray drive which is why I initially got a MBP for mobility and therefore still looking for an eventual compatible internal version. The irony is that Final Cut Studio can edit and process Hi Definition Media, albeit without proper large optical-disc storage media to store it on and FCS's Compressor will even transcode it to Blu-ray format and burn on output to Blu-ray disc (even has a Blu-ray New Batch template). Toast 10 & 11 Titanium deals with Blu-ray (via it's Blu-ray plugin). Therefore it continues to be a painful legacy that the MBP is devoid of one.
My question is this, if upgrading the internal Super-drive to another optical drive, what are the exact dimension restriction and therefore the allowed thickness form-factor for a slot-loading optical drive on it's 'own' and with it's securing bracket/bezel. Is the bracket/bezel a standard fixture that will de-assemble and be re-used with a new replacement, or would any replacement drive come with a new suitable on affixed.
Any thoughts on the following two likely contenders. The first drive by FastMac Reads & Writes Blu-ray, the second drive by Sony Reads Blu-ray only but both makes read & write DVD's (no doubt Sony has a writeable slot-loading version somewhere buried within one of their Web Site because I had a Sony Laptop about 4 or 5 years ago that burned Blu-ray). The FastMac drive looks promising if the company is legit:-
http://store.fastmac.com/product_info.php?products_id=338
http://www.play.com/PC/PCs/-/3245/2512/-/18658441/Sony-BC-5640H-Slot-Loading-Sli m-Blu-Ray-Combo-Drive/Product.html
http://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:tGtqxbfqWNsJ:www.sony-optia rc.eu/products/bluraydrivesnotebooks/bc5640h.html+Sony+BC-5640H&cd=1&hl=en&ct=cl nk&gl=uk&source=www.google.co.uk
It doesn't matter if for at least the immediate time being, it may not be actually possible to play Blu-ray movies within OS X lacking the kernels for it. If a compatible drive was found, then the rewards are:-
Storing massive amounts of data (up to 50GB on one disc). Fantastic fro backups and archiving.
Being able to FINNALLY output edited Hi Def video/movies from Final Cut Studio onto a Blu-ray disc and then playing that on a dedicated external Blu-ray player elsewhere.
Booting-up in Bootcamp for attempting to play-back Blu-ray movies using windows drivers, software and built-in OS kernels. (I'm not a Windows person, but can't deny it can save the day where some things are concerned)
Future-proofing; if one day soon Apple smiles on us all and releases a system OS update that enables 'full' Blu-ray support (or some other upgrade)

I have noted that on numerous wish lists for Mac enhancements has been Blue Ray capability. I looked at the Fast mac web site and the specifications were impressive. When I saw the price, I had to have the Heimlich maneuver performed. This is not to dissuade you or anyone else to purchase one. It simply is a reflection of my cheapness ex. for me SSD are overpriced for the value received but I take no issue for those who but them.
What I find to be very peculiar is the issue of apparent compatibility with only pre-unibody MBPs. We know that these MBP are slower than the subsequent generations. Blu-ray vidio files are huge. To load, tranferr, edit and compile these such files is best served with a fast processor. To install this on an older MBP seem like simultanously taking a step forward and a step backward.
Your list of virtues has merit but I have to take exception with your 'Future Proofing'. Apple has a habit of going down the road less traveled. If and when they integrate Blu-ray capability in their MBPs, it does not follow that the Fast Mac drive will be the same or have software compatibility.
I have both a pre-unibody MBP and a unibody MBP. I have changed the optical drive on the old machine and I have just looked inside the newer one (when I upgraded the HHD). They both APPEAR to be identical but I suspect there may be subtle physical differences. Hence this may be the reason why it can be installed only pre-unibody MBPs. (I can be bribed to take the both out and compare them!)
I would suggest to contact the technical department at OWC and find out if they are familiar with this product and what opinions they may have. I have dealt with them on several occasions and they seem knowledgeable.
Ciao.

What Blu-Ray Burners are compatible with Mac?

Any suggestions on what type of external blu-ray players are compatible with the iMacs?

Same Samsung SH-B123L Blu-Ray player has worked for me in Windows 7, Lion, and Mountain Lion. So, if you had this connected and dual-booted using Boot Camp, it would be a one device solution. Use MacGo Blu-Ray software. The player is a powered USB connection. OS X DVD player also thinks it is an internal Apple device and just works without a whimper. Fast device. 16x DVD burn. 48x read. Take it out of the box and plug it in. The operating system just recognizes it.
If you point the MacGo Blu-ray software at movies stored in your local network, it will play them too.

Is it possible to connect an external blue ray drive via USB with a mac mini to watch HD videos?

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