which Blu Ray burner to buy?
 

I guess Blu Ray isn't going away, and I need to make some HD copies of a short film, so it looks like I'm in the market for a BR burner.

I've always had bad luck with optical drives, none seem to last more than 2 years for me (considering I never burn more than 1 disc a month, this sucks), so I'd like to find something from a reliable brand.

Cheap-ish is good. I've seen lots of options under $250, so I'd like to cap it at that. Any suggestions?

And also, any leads on where to by BR discs cheap?

Thanks!

My Lacie burner (external) has been working great for me. I use it at least every other week and have for about a year.

As for Blu-Ray disks, I am getting about $2.65 per disk in the 25GB size. The 50GB size are still pricey, though less than half the price I was paying a year ago. I think I paid $48.99 or something for them last year in a pack of 5. I bought some 2 weeks ago at $17.99 and bought a pack of 10.

Just do some looking around on the search sites like nextag and you can find the deals.

Two models come to mind:

LG GGW-H20L or the Sony NEC Optiarc BWU-300S

I can vote for the LG. I've had one for about a year without issue. I've probably burned about 30 disks, which is not a lot but I've had no coasters thus far.

I have the LG as well and can echo what Tripp said.

I've heard good things about the Pioneer BDR-203BKS. Also on previous tech support calls with Adobe concerning Encore, they've recommended Pioneer drives and Verbatim media as it's what they use in house.

I bought this burner several months ago. It is excellent. I thoroughly checked out reviews on newegg dot com and other places. It is pricier than other burners, but I wanted to buy a problem-free device. So far, I've had not a single problem or glitch. I ready spotty reviews about the included Blu-ray player software; I didn't bother installing the software since I don't watch BR on my system. It burns just great.

$0.02,
Steve

LG GGW-H20L

Had this for almost 2 years with no hiccups at all. It was also the cheapest BR burner back then, but I dont' know about now.

Amen on the LG burner too. Good price and reliable burner.

How much do the sont and Pioneer model cost?Are them external?

thx

I'm looking at the BDR-205 because it writes faster then the rest, but my question is about a SATA connection.

My Mac Pro Dual Core was purchased in 2006. Does it have a SATA connection inside? I can't see one. Now I want an internal drive so what SATA part do I need to buy so I can hook up this burner in my Mac?

Would I need to buy or upgrade anything else to get this working?

I do have the latest Toast with the Blu-Ray plugin as well as I'm exporting with Final Cut Pro

I bought a Pioneer 12x BDR-205 Blu-ray burner. I haven't used it a lot, but so far it has been very good. I buy my blank blu rays from SourceRite | Featured Products / Hot Deals (in Canada) and I have been very happy with them in terms of price and quick shipping. ~$5 for a printable blank 25 gb blu ray and blu ray case.