DVD 8X Burner for G-4?

[Trig Simon]

I have been plugging along using a 2X pioneer superdrive burner on my Dual G4. I want to replace it with something faster. I can get a 4X, that would work fine, since my discs are 4X from usdigitalmedia at cdtogo.com for 85 cents. But can I use a Pioneer 107 8X on a Mac? They are only $104.00. Will it work at 4X? Will I be able to upgrade my G4 to 8X when the discs are available at a $1 price?

Thanx

[Ted Springer]

My results with the A07 on a Mac has been.... not so great. Haven't tested DVD-R's, but DVD+R's do NOT play nicely with that unit and the Mac. CD-R's worked fine.

[Andrew Hogan]

I get problems sometimes when burning at 4x with my G4 DP800.
If I burn from Video_TS folder from HDD it stops halfway thru the burn, But if I use Toast 6 "Disc Copy" i can burn at 4x.

And DVDSP projects crash too if I use 4x media so I burn them slower at 2x with Toast after building the project in DVDSP.

Maybe the G4 isn't fast enough and updating to a G5 is needed...

[Charles Papert]

Anyone else have thoughts on this? My DVD drive is getting cranky, takes a long time to boot up a disc so I want to replace it. I was thinking the A07--any other suggestions? I usually burn DVD-R's. Also, is there any issue buying the OEM versions out there which seem to run $20 cheaper? What do I end up not going with that package? Thanks in advance...

[Joe Lloyd]

I've never had any luck with the A04 I threw in my G4 Powermac it actually crashes when DVDSP2 tries to burn. Although my powerbook with superdrive is flawless.

[Jeff Donald]

The OEM version probably lacks any software. Not a big deal since the Mac versions are usually worthless. I just installed an A07/107 on a friends mirrored door 733 and it works fine. The Mac recognizes it as a SuperDrive and he uses Toast so the software was not an issue. We sat and burned about 10 DVD-R's that day and it worked fine.

[Linc Kesler]

I really appreciate this thread, as it addresses a few questions I've been having as well. Here's another: burners in firewire enclosures are becoming more available, and a Pyro and a couple of other companies sell enclosures they say will work well with drives, but does anyone have experience with any of these? I did not get a superdrive with my Powerbook because I had one on my desktop and assumed it would be superseded long before the computer, but I'd like a faster burner and the ability to work on the road. Anybody done this?

Linc Kesler

[Jeff Donald]

I've put together a good dozen or so burners and enclosure combinations. The Apple OS usually will not recognize the drive, but Toast does. If you buy an external burner, just make sure it says Mac compatible, or the OS won't recognize it.

[Charles Papert]

Jeff:

I generally burn out of DVD Studio Pro 2 or sometimes iDVD; will the A07 work with those?

[Jeff Donald]

DVD SP will burn either way, internal or external. iDVD is another matter. About 90% (maybe more) of the time the drive is recognized as a super Drive and iDVD works fine. But on rare occasions it won't. iDVD will not recognize any non-Pioneer drive (internal) or any external drive.

[Joe Lloyd]

Yeah Jeff's right, its IDVD that was giving me trouble not DVDSP.