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General discussion (archive)External Blu-Ray for PC(10 posts)(10 posts)
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This is my favourite topic
Posted November 29, 2009
I want to get a Blu-Ray drive for my PC, and Newegg has inexpensive $50 models, but they aren't USB. Instead, they use something called SATA. Is there a way to convert this to USB and still get the same quality, or am I better off looking for a USB only Blu-Ray drive?
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Posted November 29, 2009
Don't you have an E-SATA connecion available ?
Posted November 29, 2009
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductList.aspx?Submit=ENE&N=2000090092+1053807122+1053907126+1054007129
get one of these (make sure it has a SATA "internal interface"), and you have an external drive using USB. Depending - you might save money (especially at the higher quality end) in comparison to buying an "USB Drive"*. Plus - drives sold as "internal drives" often come with a longer warranty than those sold as external ones.
If you however have a desktop PC and there's still room for a 5.25" drive ... direct SATA/IDE connections from the drive directly to the mainboard are way faster than an external USB solution. My USB connection is actually preventing my external burner from working at full speed.
*USB drives are actually simply this; IDE/SATA drives in an external casing.
Post edited November 29, 2009 by Mnemon
Posted November 29, 2009
I don't think USB can keep up the transfer speeds needed to play a blu-ray movie decently, SATA (and, by extension, eSATA), and FireWire/i.Link/IEEE1394 can.
Don't be fooled by USB's "480 Mbps" speeds seeming higher than FireWire's "400 Mbps" - USB may get higher spikes than FW but FW keeps the higher average speed.
SATA you plug in internally (like the hard drives and maybe the DVD drive already present), eSATA is an external version of it (the plug is slightly different otherwise it's the exact same thing), and FireWire is also external.
Post edited November 29, 2009 by Miaghstir
Posted November 29, 2009
I would consider buying an internal drive and putting it in an enclosure yourself. Not only will you have greater reliability but it should also be more affordable and there should be USB enclosures available.
Posted November 29, 2009
Wikipedia has good articles about the types of interfaces you may find on a BD-ROM drive, with pictures so you can check which connectors your PC has.
Internal interfaces:
SATA
IDE/PATA
External interfaces:
USB
Firewire
eSATA
Posted November 29, 2009
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Miaghstir: I don't think USB can keep up the transfer speeds needed to play a blu-ray movie decently, SATA (and, by extension, eSATA), and FireWire/i.Link/IEEE1394 can.
Don't be fooled by USB's "480 Mbps" speeds seeming higher than FireWire's "400 Mbps" - USB may get higher spikes than FW but FW keeps the higher average speed.
SATA you plug in internally (like the hard drives and maybe the DVD drive already present), eSATA is an external version of it (the plug is slightly different otherwise it's the exact same thing), and FireWire is also external.

So if I have a FireWire connection on my desktop, will that allow for a consistent, high-quality Blu-Ray image?
Posted November 29, 2009
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TheCheese33: So if I have a FireWire connection on my desktop, will that allow for a consistent, high-quality Blu-Ray image?

The image quality will be the same no matter what interface you use. If you use an interface that isn't fast enough then you'll get stuttering playback, but pristine image quality.
According to the Blu-ray article on Wikipedia, the maximum data rate for movie watching is 36 Mbit/s = 4.5 Mbyte/s. Any modern interface should be good enough: USB 2.0 will give you around 20 Mbyte/s, Firewire 25-30. SATA, eSATA and IDE will all be faster than the drive is capable of, so you'll be good in any case.
That said, I would recommend an internal drive if you're on a desktop computer and willing to open it in order to mount the drive. Internal drives are cheaper, and you won't have to use a separate power supply like you'll need for an external drive.
If the choice is between USB and Firewire then Miaghstir is right - Firewire is considered to be better, but is a bit more expensive. I'll guess that the greatest difference you'll notice is that Firewire will put less load on your CPU when in use.
Post edited November 29, 2009 by tor
Posted November 29, 2009
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tor: That said, I would recommend an internal drive if you're on a desktop computer and willing to open it in order to mount the drive. Internal drives are cheaper, and you won't have to use a separate power supply like you'll need for an external drive.

I actually like having separate power supplies with my external drives. Simply 'cause ... I can turn them off when not needed, rather than the "always on" way it is with internal solutions.
I still would go for an internal drive and put it in an external casing, though.
Posted November 29, 2009
avatar
tor: The image quality will be the same no matter what interface you use. If you use an interface that isn't fast enough then you'll get stuttering playback, but pristine image quality.
According to the Blu-ray article on Wikipedia, the maximum data rate for movie watching is 36 Mbit/s = 4.5 Mbyte/s. Any modern interface should be good enough: USB 2.0 will give you around 20 Mbyte/s, Firewire 25-30. SATA, eSATA and IDE will all be faster than the drive is capable of, so you'll be good in any case.
That said, I would recommend an internal drive if you're on a desktop computer and willing to open it in order to mount the drive. Internal drives are cheaper, and you won't have to use a separate power supply like you'll need for an external drive.
If the choice is between USB and Firewire then Miaghstir is right - Firewire is considered to be better, but is a bit more expensive. I'll guess that the greatest difference you'll notice is that Firewire will put less load on your CPU when in use.

I'll probably get a friend of mine who's built a computer before to help me, then. Thanks for the advice!
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General discussion (archive)External Blu-Ray for PC(10 posts)(10 posts)
(10 posts)