Fastmac today announced the first & only Blu-ray optical drive upgrade for Apple’s PowerBook, iBook & MacBook Pro computers. The new slimline, slot loading drive uses one of the fastest & most compatible Blu-ray mechanisms to provide up to 50 Gb of storage on 1 disk, without sacrificing compatibility with standard DVD & CD recordable media. Fastmac’s Blu-Ray optical drive upgrade is scheduled to ship within 10 days and is available for pre-order for a special introductory price of $799.95. Each drive carries a 1 year warranty and a 30 day money back guarantee .
Fastmac’s new Blu-ray slot loading drive gives photographers, videographers & musicians the ability to save anything, anywhere- in the field, on location, in the studio, at work or at home. System administrators and database administrators can archive and retrieve large amounts of data on 1 convenient disk. And consumers can now watch today’s latest HD content in true high definition with surround sound anytime & anywhere they happen to be. Blu-ray is the next generation of storage technology & entertainment and it’s available today, only from Fastmac
“This new optical drive gives me the freedom to save anything, anywhere I happen to be with my new MacBook Pro,” said Edward Savio, President of Fastmac Performance Upgrades, Inc., in the press release “With this much storage capability, I was able to sort and backup my work on a per project basis.”
Blu-ray, also known as Blu-ray Disk (BD), is the name of a next generation optical disk format developed by a consortium of electronics and computer manufacturers including Apple, Dell, HP, JVC, Mitsubishi, Panasonic, Pioneer, Philips, Samsung, Sharp, Sony & TDK. The format was designed to enable the recording and playback of High Definition (HD) content and to allow storage of large amounts (up to 200 Gb) of data. While current optical drive technologies rely on a red laser to read and write data, the new format uses a blue-violet laser (hence the name, Blu-ray). The blue-violet laser has a 38% shorter wavelength (405nm) than a red laser (650nm), allowing the drive’s optical pickup unit to focus more precisely than ever before. Data can then be packed more densely on standard sized disks. Despite using a new type of laser, Blu-ray drives are compatible with standard DVD and CD media through the use of a combined red, blue & violet optical reader and writer.
In addition to broad support from the electronics, music, computer & video game industry, 7 out of 8 of the major Hollywood film studios support Blu-ray media and 5 out of those 7 (Disney, Fox, Lionsgate, MGM & Sony) have decided to release their movies exclusively in the Blu-ray format. With its forward and backward integration with new and old media, Blu-ray is destined to become the successor to today’s DVD format.
Fastmac’s slimline Blu-ray slot loading optical drive supports reading, writing and re-writing to single and dual layer Blu-ray media at 1x speeds. The drive is also compatible with standard DVD and CD media and can write to DVD-R and DVD+R media at 8x speed in single layer and 2x speed in dual/ double layer mode. It can rewrite to DVD-R and DVD+R media at 4x speeds. The drive also supports DVD-RAM reading and writing at up to 5x speeds and standard CD-R and CD-RW burning at 8x speeds.
Fastmac’s slimline Blu-ray slot loading optical drive upgrade requires Mac OS X 10.2.8 or higher and is compatible with the following Apple computers:
• iBook G4
• iMac G5
• iMac Intel
• MacBook Pro (17-inch)
• Mac mini
• PowerBook G3 Pismo
• PowerBook G4 Titanium (667 Mhz or higher)
• PowerBook G4 Aluminum
Blu-ray burning requires 3rd-party software such as Roxio’s Toast 8 Titanium, which enables Blu-ray disk support in the Mac OS Finder. Native support for Blu-ray burning within iLife & iTunes is expected in the future via Mac OS X 10.5 Leopard, but cannot be guaranteed at this time.
More information about Fastmac is available via http://fastmac.com/slim_bluray.php
Related articles:
Porn could be XXX factor in Blu-ray vs. HD-DVD format war – April 06, 2007
Blu-ray aims to replace DVDs within three years – March 15, 2007
MCE Technologies brings Blu-ray Disc to Apple Mac – January 25, 2007
Warner’s ‘Total HD’ disc format has both Blu-ray and HD DVD on same disc – January 17, 2007
LG announces first dual-format hi-def DVD player; plays both Blu-ray and HD DVD content – January 05, 2007
TDK pumps Blu-ray capacity up to 200GB per disc – September 02, 2006
Roxio Toast 7 for Apple Mac adds Blu-ray support – July 25, 2006
Apple and Microsoft showdown over Blu-ray vs. HD DVD? – July 14, 2006
Ricoh creates ‘universal’ optical disk lens; reads and writes Blu-ray, HD DVD, DVD, and CD – July 10, 2006
Broadcom announces decoder chip that plays both Blu-ray and HD DVD – January 03, 2006
Hooray! Blu-ray for my AlBook! I can’t wait to get one and it will… uh… did they say…
$800!!! WTF!!!
Where is the OEM build to order BlueRay option Apple?
The huge storage capacity of BD-DVD’s is sorely wanted.
Now you know why there’s no Blu-ray drive in Apple TV.
Plop one of these in the Mac mini, though and you have a sick addition to your HDTV.
And consumers can now watch today’s latest HD content in true high definition with surround sound anytime & anywhere they happen to be. Blu-ray is the next generation of storage technology & entertainment and it’s available today,
Don’t expect to watch BlueRay DVD’s on your Mac with this drive because there is no OEM hardware copy protection. (ACCS/HDCP etc)
Who cares……until a format is officially decided, I’m not jumping on the bandwagon.
$799.00!
I’ll wait. Thank you very much.
CRAP!! Where is the HD DVD drive? Also you can’t watch Blu Ray movies on it. HD DVD will win in the end because of price and the porn industry, who would of thunk it?!
Steve…sick addition?
“HD DVD will win in the end because of price and the porn industry”
Nice troll, the fact is the porn industry HD DVD sales pales in comparison to the major studios who back BlueRay and currently outselling them 3 to 1.
Need I say Playstation 3 with included BlueRay drive?
All computer makers support BlueRay.
Porn is huge, but cable companies have been tapping that market with their cable boxes, offering quicker service. Because most people are embarrased to be seen coming out of a porn store.
OtherWorldComputing (http://www.otherworldcomputing.com), has been selling internal Blu-ray for Mac for between $550-$650. I think its the Panasonic SW5582.
Regarding movie playback, from their website:
…enjoy the latest ultra-HD titles Hollywood has to offer with a picture and sound you never thought possible.
Maybe someone can help me. Everyone has been screaming for Apple to start including Hi Def displays on their laptops and the iMac. Those arguments lead me, and others, perhaps, to believe that the displays on Mac Laptops now are NOT high Def, even though their resolutions meet or exceed the 1280 pixels width.
Can we truly say that watching a Blue-Ray DVD with a Hi Def movie on a current MacBook or MacBook Pro is truly “High Def”, or are we waiting on Apple to include a true High-Def display?
If, indeed, we are able to see the true High Def image on our current apple laptops (meaning MacBook and MBP), then why is everyone screaming at Apple to incorporate high def displays? Does Apple advertise their laptops, the iMac, or any of their displays as “high def”?
Help me out, someone…..
THanks…
Why would you add a drive that is half or over half of the cost of the computer?
After the price drops $600, we’ll talk.
“Porn is huge, but cable companies have been tapping that market with their cable boxes, offering quicker service. Because most people are embarrased to be seen coming out of a porn store.”
Yeah, because the porn people haven’t discovered the internet yet. The only way to get porn DVDs is to be embarrassed by going to a porn store.
Hopefully those porn guys will discover the internet sooner or later – I bet they could sell a LOT of porn on the internet. I wonder what’s taking them so long?
The average Joe consumer will care more about price and what it perceives as being the next generation HD Video format. Hence they will choose “HD DVD” not blu-ray and costs half as much. Remember that VHS won out betamax because of price not qulaity and the porn industry adopted it, history will repeat itself. HD DVD and blu-ray are pretty much identical in terms of picture quality and sound so again in the end the masses will follow price and value. People will buy HD DVD porn online without going to smut shops. Duh! People are not buying the PS3 for it’s blu-ray player they are buying it for gaming primarily. People in general will go for price and value and whatever there local big box retailer is pushing, they just wnat to make sales and it makes sense in their eyes to push HD players that cost half the price of blu-rays.
oops “quality, want” spellcheck……
Also with history as a reference, the adult-movie/pornography industry may have a big influence in the HD DVD versus Blu-ray format war, at least when it comes to home rental and retail purchases or pressed movies as it generates multi-billion annual revenue worldwide, (with US$57 billion in annual revenue worldwide reported in May, 2006). [8] HD DVD is currently exclusively backed by several adult-movie/pornography studios/publishers, like Wicked Pictures, Pink Visual, Bang Bros, and ClubJenna Inc. (which on 22 June 2006 was acquired by Playboy Enterprises), and HD DVD is also non-exclusively backed by Vivid Entertainment, and Digital Playground Inc..
@ How about that HD?
If you look at the specs on the iMac, you will find that they meet or exceed the Hi-Def resolution. Although, Apple doen’t advertise this, it is a key selling point for a 24 inch iMac. And I’m not sure if HD is stricktly based on resolution. If it is, then the iMac would qualify.
Anyone got an answer?
@ How about that HD?
I would guess its related to the videocard’s capabilities to display each frame in full resolution…
Let’s not forget the monopoly companies that are backing HD DVD Microsoft and Intel.
Even though Apple sits on the Blu-ray Board of Directors, its DVD Studio Pro software supports authoring HD DVD media.
RE: Mr. Peabody
OWC only sells standard 5.25″ Blu Ray drives. This is the only laptop size (12.7mm) Blu Ray drive available. Price is still pretty high so I’d wait 6 months or so before making the plunge.
Better off to wait a while once it becomes more of a standard.
I would understand $199 to $299 Max but not $799. WTF
We’ve gone this far with what we got so it won’t hurt waiting.
It’s just like Plasma TV’s when they came out. I remember A 42 inch started around 14,000. Now As low as $899
Why would anyone spend that ridiculous amount of money when you can get an entire PS3 with BlueRay for less? I don’t get it.
to iMaki:
Can you burn data with your PS3 bluray drive? Can you back up your data with your PS3?
This is not just a BlueRay PLAYER… it is a BlueRay BURNER.
This ain’t just about watching pretty movies.
RTFA!!