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caleach · May 18, 2002, 04:40 PM

It is possible to purchase, what I have been told is the super drive used by Apple, from various resellers. It is called the A04 from Pioneer.

Has anyone had any experience with this and does it work with iDVD?

tr · May 18, 2002, 05:08 PM

yes, the Pioneer DVR-A04 is the same as the apple Superdrive used in the new macs. it will work with iDVD2, if you are using it internally (like in a G4 or new iMac). iDVD2 doesn't work with external DVD-R drives.

i put an A03 in my Sawtooth a few months ago; works fine with all apps in X (iDVD2, iTunes, Burn from Finder, Toast, DVD Studio Pro)

tr

Ken_F2 · May 18, 2002, 07:02 PM

caleach,

I am using an "after market" Pioneer A04 that I purchased online for about $340. It is identical in every way to the model used in the latest macs. Open up any new mac and it says "Pioneer A04" right on the drive.

It works perfectly with iDVD2 and iTunes.

caleach · May 18, 2002, 08:35 PM

Thanks for the feedback. I was talking to an Apple rep at CompUSA today and she was telling me that she doubted that the drives would work properly because Apple "tweaks" them for their software. I think she just doesn't want to admit that there are work-arounds for some of Apple proprietary issues.

I'll buy my drive.

Eug · May 19, 2002, 08:25 AM

Originally posted by caleach:
Thanks for the feedback. I was talking to an Apple rep at CompUSA today and she was telling me that she doubted that the drives would work properly because Apple "tweaks" them for their software. I think she just doesn't want to admit that there are work-arounds for some of Apple proprietary issues.

I'll buy my drive.

Like everyone out there in internetland says, it will work INTERNALLY. It will not work externally.

There is a difference that doesn't apply to you though. A few people have people have tried taking the drive OUT of their Macs and putting it in their PCs, but that doesn't work. The drives get recognized as CD/DVD readers only. Apparently the firmware for it custom for Apple and is not understood properly by non-Apple machines. OTOH, an OEM Pioneer DVD-RW/-R will work in both Macs and Pcs.

caleach · Jun 13, 2002, 08:18 PM

I installed the A04 drive with no problems what so ever and my son burned the first DVD without a hitch. My challenge now is how to convert divx movies to DVD. Any ideas?

dvwannabe · Jun 17, 2002, 05:06 PM

What's up with the Pioneer 104? will that work if installed internally. And here is a stupid question, what does OEM mean?

tr · Jun 17, 2002, 08:53 PM

<blockquote>quote:<hr />Originally posted by dvwannabe:
What's up with the Pioneer 104? will that work if installed internally. And here is a stupid question, what does OEM mean?<hr /></blockquote>Pioneer DVR-A04 = Pioneer DVR-104

it's the same drive, only A04 is OEM

oh, whoops...

OEM = Original Equipment Manufacturer
basically, things built/produced for companies who use the things to build other things.

for example, Pioneer sells apple a bunch of A04's in non-retail boxes (no instructions, manuals, cables, software, etc), and apple shoves them in their macs.

tr

dvwannabe · Jun 20, 2002, 01:28 PM

Has anyone successfully installed a DVR-104 or 103? Someone told me that there might be an issue with the ROM's on these versus the A04 or A03.

caleach · Jun 23, 2002, 10:59 AM

The only thing I was told about the 104 VS the A04 is that the Ao4 has a consumer warranty while the 104 does not. The A04 that I purchased also came with the Windows software, which you obvously don't need. The A04 is apparently a retail item intended for the PC market because f the bundled software, but because OS X automatically recognizes the drive no software is needed for the Mac.