I got a Samsung blu ray reader/writer drive over 10 years ago and it’s still going. Nice if you want to watch movies in high quality. No reason to buy an Apple dvd drive imo.
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is Apples superdrive worth it, or should i look for a third party?
- Thread starter TrancyGoose
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That's not quite fair, you're comparing the vertical resolution of laser disks and DVD's to the horizontal resolution of Bluray and 4k.
But, of course, there is a huge difference in resolution anyway - 425/480 vs 1080/2160.
I'd go third party (full size rather than slimline if you can). Any Superdrive you find today is likely to be "new old stock" and, in my experience, those slimline mobile optical drives ("Apple Superdrive" or other) were pretty unreliable. Not saying that 3rd party is automatically better - just that it's not worth paying an Apple Tax on these.
Apple still makes these. You can still buy them from the Apple Store online. They even list compatibility with Mac Studio, etc. on their website.
They didn't bother to update the connector though, and still use USB-A.
I stand corrected (although, who knows when they were actually manufactured...)
Still, my experience is that mobile-style optical drives are unreliable and there's no point paying over the odds for a "premium" one (quite possibly with the same innards as the rest).
Yes, they use the same innards, as in standard third party slot-load optical drives, with their own USB adapter board. The difference is that macOS has specific drivers for the SuperDrive, that ensures the USB ports provide sufficient power to the drives. Also, the drive is specifically built to function optimally within the power limitations, which isn't always the case with cheap no-name third party USB-powered optical drives. (Name brand third party drives should behave better than the no-name ones though.) Furthermore, companies like CalDigit also have drivers for their docks specifically for these SuperDrives, again to ensure proper power delivery.
However, I personally use tray-load 5.25" desktop optical drives with their own power supply. In general, like you, I don't like USB-powered mobile drives, and I don't like slot-load.
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Disk you will always have, a digital copy can be delisted for numerous reasons. It's happpening and ongoing. So no sale here, I always buy the physical media and rip it that way I'm the one in control of what I watch...iTunes, Movies Anywhere, Vudu, etc. streaming purchases don't get you get the best video and audio quality. I understand that iTunes 4k downloads are 1080p. You can purchase a modified 4K Blu-Ray drive to rip 4K disks via MakeMKV to disk. You then play them using a suitable player. A modified player is not required for DVDs or 1080p Blu-Rays, just 4K. If you are considering writing disks then you probably want to spend more to get a quality drive. Forget the superdrive. At a minimum just get a Blu-Ray drive that will allow you to rip or play DVDs as well.
You need modified firmware in order to rip 4K movies:
There is no need to purchase new disks if you are going to rip them. Since they will only be used once buy them used. The digital copy usually has already been redeemed when you buy used, but GOT doesn't offer digital anyway. Season 1 on Amazon US is ~$31 new but ~$9.50 used. On the UK site its ~£15 new and £35 used (?). If the price is too high I check other Amazon sites. Most recently purchased High School Musical (1080p) from the UK site as was too costly on the U.S. site.
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With Black Friday just a week away the best 4K movie deals of the year are here - just $9.99 including digital - for iTunes or Movies Anywhere (which is available on iTunes) depending on the studio.
Best 4K Blu-ray Deals
www.blu-ray.com
Q-6
? That's exactly what I was suggesting. Rip them from the optical disk. Any digital copy if it exists would be a bonus.
I bought a Superdrive when I got my first iMac in 2012. It failed not many years later with a CD inside it, which I couldn't get out whatever I tried, so I tend to agree with Fishrrman's advice about the slide-out tray. I replaced it with an ASUS drive which cost £24 instead of the £79 or so the Apple device cost (it seems to be about the same price now as it was then) and it's been absolutely fine. The Superdrive is aesthetically pleasing, but you're paying a large premium for its looks, I think.