It's a nice looking drive. With this, can you view blu-ray movies on a Mac, or is this just for storage/backup?

I'm thinking that with USB 2 and therefore no HDCP, it might well be data only.
I've asked the vendor.

Hey, that's great. Now can we use DVD Studio Pro to author a pro quality Blu Ray DVD with this thing? No, we cannot. Other than backup to media with an unknown life span, what's the point?

You'll have to wait a bit longer for FCP Studio (DVDSP) update in order to author Blu-ray content. If you have the money, though, you can do it right now with Adobe's Encore. If you have much less money, you can do it with Toast Titanium 9.

In other words, for ordinary consumers who want to transfer their HD stuff from those new AVCHD (or HDV) camcorders onto Blu-ray discs for grandma to watch on her new HDTV / BD combo, you can use iMovie 08 to transcode and edit, then Toast to author and burn. If the movie is shorter than an hour, ordinary DVD-DL will do. If it's longer, get this drive and Blu-ray blanks and you're good to go.

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vasic wrote:
In other words, for ordinary consumers who want to transfer their HD stuff from those new AVCHD (or HDV) camcorders onto Blu-ray discs for grandma to watch on her new HDTV / BD combo, you can use iMovie 08 to transcode and edit, then Toast to author and burn. If the movie is shorter than an hour, ordinary DVD-DL will do. If it's longer, get this drive and Blu-ray blanks and you're good to go.

If only it were that straightforward. Sadly, not all AVCHD cameras are created equal, and some just don't offer a file format compatible with iMovie. Canon HG 10? Yes. Sanyo Xacti? No. Sony? Depends on the model.

At last, JVC is producing a camera that offers a choice of capture codecs. This is getting somewhere. I hope it sets a trend.

Wouldn't you rather have a PS3?

Jose

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j.martellaro wrote:
I'm thinking that with USB 2 and therefore no HDCP, it might well be data only.
I've asked the vendor.

Doesn't the HDCP requirement hint a bit to the technology morass that SJ was taking about? I find it odd that you can watch DVD's via USB/firewire, but to support DRM, you need a special connector and/or a patch to your BR player etc. Not sure if the BR technology is all that - yes it is clearer, but on my 1080i set - the up-convert of a DVD is pretty nice to look at. And DVD's are soo much cheaper all the way around. (The player, the disks, the connection cabling/the TV sets it will work with..) http://www.practical-home-theater-guide.com/hdcp-1.html

I am with SJ on this one - I think I will wait and see.