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blu-ray on mac mini? maybe?

I just installed a UJ235A in my 2009 mini and since no one seems to have done it before I decided to post some information. I'll only use the drive for making backups, so I don't know anything about playback performance, video conversion etc.

The drive appears to be working fine, I just burned and verified a dvd+rw using Toast 10 and didn't get any errors. The disc played in VLC without problems, seeking and fast forwarding is smooth, just as good as the original drive.

I don't have any bluray discs to read/burn yet, I should get some discs within a week, I can post the results then if someone's interested.


The drive is indeed 12.7mm just like the original, and fits perfectly after removing the bezel (you can just pull it off)

The installation process is simple, although the internal components can easily be damaged if you're not careful. After removing the cover, the three antennas and 10 screws need to be removed. I also removed the screw holding the IR sensor on the front right so you can just slide the drive out the front. After installing the new drive, you just replace the screws and antennas, that's it. See ifixit's teardown for details.

If you've never opened a mini before I recommend you watch this video before you do.

Pics:
Installed in mini

Comparison with DVR-TS08PA (original drive)


Some hardware information from Toast 10 Titanum:

Code: 
Inquiry Response Data	Inquiry Response Data
Model:	MATSHITABD-MLT UJ235AS  
Where:	SATA
Firmware:	1001 / MMC-3
Cache Size:	8 MB
CD/DVD Drive Capabilities and Status Page	
DVD-RAM Read	Yes
DVD-R Read	Yes
DVD-ROM Read	Yes
Method 2	Yes
CD-RW Read	Yes
CD-R Read	Yes
DVD-RAM Write	Yes
DVD-R Write	Yes
Test Write	Yes
CD-R/RW Write	Yes
CD-R Write	Yes
BUF	Yes
Multi Session	Yes
Mode 2 Form 2	Yes
Mode 2 Form 1	Yes
Digital Port (2)	No
Digital Port (1)	No
Composite	Yes
Audio Play	Yes
Read Bar Code	Yes
UPC	Yes
ISRC	Yes
C2 Pointers supported	Yes
R-W De-interleaved & corrected	No
R-W Supported	No
CD-DA Stream is Accurate	Yes
CD-DA Cmds Supported	Yes
Eject (Individual or Magazine)	Yes
Prevent Jumper	No
Lock State	Yes
Lock	Yes
R-W in Lead-in	Yes
Side Change Capable	No
S/W Slot Selection (SSS)	No
Changer Supports Disc Present	No
Separate Channel Mute	Yes
Separate volume levels	Yes
LSBF	No
RCK	No
BCK	No
Length	32
Loading Mechanism Type	Caddy
Number of Volume Levels Supported	256
Buffer Size Supported	8 MB
Features	
Current Profile	DVD+RW
Profile List	
BD-R Sequential Recording	
BD-R Random Recording	
BD-RE	
BD-ROM	
DVD-RAM	
DVD+R DL	
DVD+R	
DVD+RW	Current
DVD-RW Restricted Overwrite	
DVD-RW Sequential Recording	
DVD-R Dual Layer Sequential Recording	
DVD-R Sequential Recording	
DVD-ROM	Current
CD-RW	
CD-R	
CD-ROM	
Removable disk	
Core	Persistent
Morphing	Persistent
Removable Medium	Persistent
Write Protect	Supported
Random Readable	Current
Multi-Read	Supported
CD Read	Supported
DVD Read	Current
Random Writable	Current
Incremental Streaming Write	Supported
Sector Erasable	Supported
Formattable	Current
Defect Management	Supported
Restricted Overwrite	Supported
DVD+RW	Current
DVD+R	Supported
Rigid Restricted Overwrite	Supported
CD Track at Once	Supported
CD Mastering	Supported
DVD-R/RW Write	Supported
CD-RW Media Write	Supported
BD-R POW	Supported
DVD+R Dual Layer	Supported
BD Read	Supported
BD Write	Supported
TSR	Supported
Power Management	Persistent
S.M.A.R.T.	Supported
CD Audio analog play	Supported
Microcode Upgrade	Supported
Time-out	Persistent
DVD-CSS	Supported
Real Time Streaming	Current
Logical Unit serial number	Persistent
Media serial number	Supported
Disc Control Blocks	Current
DVD CPRM	Supported
AACS	Supported

System profiler details:

20090902-1jw9nisqkft9rbpqnk15wsp9ie.jpg
 
manisteinn said:
I just installed a UJ235A in my 2009 mini and since no one seems to have done it before I decided to post some information.
Click to expand...

That's awesome info - thanks for posting all the details.

The only thing that's holding me back from doing this now is the price of UJ235A drives. I saw some going for $370 on eBay, which is crazy.. the UJ120 tray-loading drives go for just about $70. Where did you get your UJ235A?
 
hitekalex said:
That's awesome info - thanks for posting all the details.

The only thing that's holding me back from doing this now is the price of UJ235A drives. I saw some going for $370 on eBay, which is crazy.. the UJ120 tray-loading drives go for just about $70. Where did you get your UJ235A?
Click to expand...

Got mine from ebay for $370. Here in Sweden the cheapest 5.25" burners cost around $270 so it was worth the extra $100 not having another box the size of the mini on my desk :)

The UJ120 doesn't burn bluray discs, just dvds. There are plenty of slot-loading BD-ROMs on ebay for around $130 though, for example the UJ135.
 
manisteinn said:
The UJ120 doesn't burn bluray discs, just dvds. There are plenty of slot-loading BD-ROMs on ebay for around $130 though, for example the UJ135.
Click to expand...

You raise a good point.. I personally have no need to burn BD disks, only need BD-ROM to be able to rip bluray movies.

Looking at UJ135 specs, it's 12.7mm drive just like UJ235A. So I should be able to install it in 2009 Mini, right?
 
So,

You guys will ultimately play Blu-Ray discs/movies with your Mini out to a HDCP compliant display, via a Bootcamp partition, Windows, PowerDVD9, ect., right?

I think it's a great way to go. I mean, it's undoubtedly more costly than just putting a cheap, ugly, big Blu-Ray player directly out to HDCP panel, but you get a dual-purpose Mac/Windows box, and no clutter, either. That, to me, justifies some added expense.

Peace to you all,
C. Livingstone
 
chrisliv said:
So,

You guys will ultimately play Blu-Ray discs/movies with your Mini out to a HDCP compliant display, via a Bootcamp partition, Windows, PowerDVD9, ect., right?

I think it's a great way to go. I mean, it's undoubtedly more costly than just putting a cheap, ugly, big Blu-Ray player directly out to HDCP panel, but you get a dual-purpose Mac/Windows box, and no clutter, either. That, to me, justifies some added expense.

Peace to you all,
C. Livingstone
Click to expand...

that is the way to do it! sure its expensive but ahh well its nice.

another way to do it is to rip all your movies using MakeMKV.. very easy to do and no need for windows :D
 
So,

Are you saying that you can also rip your commercial Blu-Ray movies, without the need for Bootcamp, Windows, PowerDVD, etc.?

Peace to you all,
C. Livingstone

PS: My Elgato Hybrid tuner and EyeTV software arrived today, and I'm digging watching digital TV while surfing the Web.
 
thats correct Chris, MakeMKV transcodes (i think thats the word) the BR disc to one large (40GB) .mkv file. you can leave it at that and play it, or you can convert it with handbrake etc to make it smaller. :)
 
Wow,

That's nice to know.

I don't think I want to do things that way, but I am curious about roughly how long it might take to rip a Blu-Ray movie on a 2009 Mini (C2D, 2 GHz, 4GB RAM, 7200rpm HD).

Peace to you all,
C. Livingstone
 
DoFoT9 said:
thats correct Chris, MakeMKV transcodes (i think thats the word) the BR disc to one large (40GB) .mkv file. you can leave it at that and play it, or you can convert it with handbrake etc to make it smaller. :)
Click to expand...

The files are almost always smaller than what is on the Blu-ray disc. This is because Make MKV extracts the HD audio (True-HD, DTS-HD) to compressed AC3 or DTS. For instance, Wall*E on Blu-ray is 18 gb, but after a pass through Make MKV it's about 14 gb.

chrisliv said:
I am curious about roughly how long it might take to rip a Blu-Ray movie on a 2009 Mini (C2D, 2 GHz, 4GB RAM, 7200rpm HD).
Click to expand...

Probably about 1 to 2 hours.
 
Wow,

That is very interesting, since the ripping time is relatively fast, and it almost does make the Mac OS able to play Blu-Ray content off a hard drive with just a little prep time and a cheap internal or external slimline Blu-Ray drive.

But that MakeMKV open-source software is for Windows, so I'm back to Bootcamp and Microsoft, unless there is a similar Mac program.

Anyway, I've seen some slimline SATA UJ135A Blu-Ray readable/DVD writeable drives with a slim USB enclosure for about $150, delivered, no tax. And those could be left as an external or be installed internally. I like that idea, and the price; I don't think I'd ever want burn to Blu-Ray discs, either.

But, it all seems to be getting better and cheaper, especially when purchasing, tax-free, from out-of-state resellers and others without a business presence in certain political fictions.

Peace to you all,
C. Livingstone

PS: Oh, gee! I just noticed, that there is a Mac version of MakeMKA, too, at least in Beta form. Well, I may look more closely at one of those drives. But, are the transcoded Blu-Ray content as high definition as the content played on the discs?
 
Wow,

That's pretty good, and it's not too inconvenient for somebody like me.

I don't have a strong desire to watch HD movies at this time, really. But that may change if Blu-Ray discs comes down in price, or if I ever trade or buy used ones. We'll see.

Peace to you all,
C. Livingstone
 
over here in australia (where everything technology is really expensive) the prices are getting pretty decent. the economy "crisis" is helping that :) we are seeing blu-ray movies for around $25Aus (~$20 US), and some stores have specials on, say 2 for $35Aus or something. its pretty decent!

when you consider that some retail stores are still selling DVDs for $25Aus, its pretty much a no-brainer for me.
 
OMG!!!! Thanks guys, I've had a blu-ray drive for a while watching films over in Windows hell. I kew their was the blu-ray Rip software for mac but read on here that it required a BD-WR drive not a player, so thought it out of the question!

Guss what it works!!! Ripping my first BD NOW, wow all the films I could have ripped! and will rent and re-rip!!! :) Ripping in 30 mins too, how sweet.
Cool software for a beta!

My sony maverick BD drive is slot loading and fits in my mini.
(purchased off ebay in an external usb case).
 
Wow,

It's nice to hear some firsthand feedback that it works

30 minutes is fast.

Is the Sony SATA, slot-loading, slimline drive that you installed in your Mini the model #: BC-5600S? They seem to be a few bucks cheaper than the Panasonic/Matsushita UJ135A.

Peace to you,
C. Livingstone
 
chrisliv said:
Wow,

It's nice to hear some firsthand feedback that it works

30 minutes is fast.

Is the Sony SATA, slot-loading, slimline drive that you installed in your Mini the model #: BC-5600S? They seem to be a few bucks cheaper than the Panasonic/Matsushita UJ135A.

Peace to you,
C. Livingstone
Click to expand...

I am guessing that is the one and while they are cheaper the BD read on that model is only 2x, while the UJ135A is 4x. If he is getting 30 minute rip times, you should get faster times with the UJ135A
 
Darrell,

All that was need was the Blu-Ray drive and the free MakeMKV, right?

Now, somebody on another forum that MakeMKV might not work on both BD and BD+ discs.

I didn't even know there were two kinds of Blue-Ray discs. But, you seem to have had your success with the BD type. Are you going to try the BD+ type, too? Or, are they not as pervasive yet? Or, are they now passe?

Peace to you all,
C. Livingstone
 
chrisliv said:
All that was need was the Blu-Ray drive and the free MakeMKV, right?
Click to expand...

The Blu-ray drive has to be able to write to something, even if it's a DVD or CD burner, for Make MKV to work with it.

Now, somebody on another forum that MakeMKV might not work on both BD and BD+ discs.
Click to expand...

It currently does not work with BD+ discs, but that feature is coming.
 
Just curious an update how these internal drives are working? Curious about direct blu ray disc playback. Anyone try it in Windows?
 
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