External Bluray player for 13" MBP.

I would like to buy an external USB BluRay drive for my 2010 13" MBP. I will use an external monitor to view the 1080p video, but will most-likely use Handbrake to rip content (of only DVD's that I produce, or those that are legal to rip) and view via Apple TV. Any suggestions?

Last I heard there is no software available to watch blurays on OSX so any watching you would do would have to be on windows. Could be wrong though.

mapexvenus said:

I would like to buy an external USB BluRay drive for my 2010 13" MBP.

Click to expand...

You can read and burn Blu-Ray data disks, but you can't use a Blu-Ray reader to play Blu-Ray movies unless you run it under Windows on your Mac, as OS X does not support watching Blu-Ray movies.

Here are Blu-Ray drives for the Mac:

OWC Mercury Pro 12x Blu-ray Pioneer BDR-206 External
$220
OWC MRF8BDSD12X Mercury Pro 12X Blu-Ray+DVD DL/CD... in stock at OWC

OWC Value Line
USB 2.0 Super Multi Blue External 12x Blu-ray Combo Drive
with LightScribe
$110
OWC OWCVLU2BD12XLS Value 12X Blu-Ray Reader/16X DVD... in stock at OWC

Isn't it a bit negative of Apple not to include the facility to watch Blu ray Dvd's - never mind record to them, taking advantage of their significantly increased storage capacities etc ?

Especially with the recent launches of the upgraded iMacs and MBP ?

I'd have thought it would have been a 'Marriage made in Heaven' !

Or - are their 'politics' involved here ?

pedropete said:

Isn't it a bit negative of Apple not to include the facility to watch Blu ray Dvd's...
I'd have thought it would have been a 'Marriage made in Heaven' !
...Or - are their 'politics' involved here ?

Click to expand...

It's hard to say for sure what is going on. Apple is even on the board of directors of the Blu-ray Disc Association.
Blu-ray Disc Association Welcomes Apple to Its Board of Directors

Lots of folks have presented conjecture on Apple's Blu-Ray support:
Will Apple Ever Support Blu-ray? Apple News, Tips and Reviews

It appears that Apple saw that Blu-Ray disks, at first, were very slow to gain acceptance, and that at this point they may feel that optical disks in general are on their way out.

Apple is looking to distribute movies via downloads (iTunes Store) instead of on optical disks. And to distribute software via download also (Mac App Store).

There are very strong rumors that soon Macs won't come with an optical drive of any discription, and that OS X 10.7 won't be available on disk. Just as when Apple abandoned the floppy drive, and SCSI, etc., there are likely to be users who find this to be an imposition, but Apple tends to be at the forefront of abandoning waning technology.

I agree with everything Randy said, but I do expect they will relent and place a Blu-Ray burner (at least as an option) in the next version of the Mac Pro, since BR authoring is important in the pro world.

Steve went into this problem in some (not enough) detail at an All Things D conference some time back ... licensing is "a bag of hurt" in his words. Judging from the history the BR gatekeepers have, he may be right. Of course, it can also be said that he has incentive not to adopt BR in consumer Macs (iTunes downloads FTW!).