Welcome to the MacNN Forums.

Mac Man 020581 · Apr 30, 2003, 04:30 PM

Hello,
I have an iMac (15") 700MHz, 640MB RAM, 40 GB HD, CD-RW - OS X 10.2.5 / OS 9.2.2 and I would like to buy an external DVD-Burner. Which are the good ones, which one should I buy? Will it work with iDVD? Any OS X complications? Thanks, I am clueless.

CreepDogg · Apr 30, 2003, 05:22 PM

I think there are a number of external burners out there - I've always been very happy with LaCie products (www.lacie.com), and they make one.

You can also check this out for an option for an internal burner, if you wish to go that route.

Neither will work with iDVD - iDVD requires a G4 to run. However, there is third party DVD authoring software available - I believe the option from MCE comes with some software. Probably not as slick as iDVD, but would work. Good luck

Mac Man 020581 · 05:54 PM

I have a Flat Panel iMac, the FP iMac is a G4

Mac Man 020581 · Apr 30, 2003, 06:16 PM

Are there any cheaper solutions?

CreepDogg · May 1, 2003, 08:31 AM

Sorry - I read 15" and 700 MHz and thought of the last line of G3 iMacs... Anyway - I could be mistaken, but I thought for the flat panel iMacs you could just directly buy the Pioneer drive that is normally used for the SuperDrive (internal). That, of course, requires taking apart the machine to install, but would work with iDVD. External drives tend to be more expensive, and Apple has configured iDVD so it will only work with internal drives. Apparently there was once a software patch to get it to work, but it is no longer available.

Mac Man 020581 · May 1, 2003, 04:05 PM

Well, I would never be able to install that drive myself and since the external drives don't work with iDVD, that kills that idea. I think I might wait till my next machine for a DVD burner. Thanks!