buffalo - 6x external usb 2.0 blu-ray disc double-layer dvd±rw/cd-rw drive for mac

Buffalo - 6X External Usb 2.0 Blu-Ray Disc Double-Layer Dvd±Rw/Cd-Rw Drive Portable BR Writers

I have a few dozen discs to rip, not hundreds, and I tend to click Rip and then walk away for hours at a time, so a faster drive wouldnt actually give me greater throughput.

Buffalo - 6X External Usb 2.0 Blu-Ray Disc Double-Layer Dvd±Rw/Cd-Rw Drive Portable BR Writers

I came across this on a Macrumors.com forum post: Quote: portable BR writers are either 6x or 8x, which means a max theoretical speed of n X 4.5 MBs.

This equates to 27 MBs and 36 MBs respectively.

Some desktop BR drives are 12x, which is a theoretical speed of 54 MBs.

I vaguely remember ripping taking around 20-40 minutes, and most movies I had were in the 10 (or 15)-20GB range iirc, so do the math from there to figure out what speed I was getting.

Cant tell the model number from system info or any markings on the drive, but from searching around I think its a 12x model.

Its been sitting my buy later cart forever, while I wait for someone from Ars to give me a testimonial.

Really your bottle neck will be the decryption which is CPU bound.

The data rate is only 19MBs according to the Resource Monitor, so USB 2.0 wouldnt be a bottleneck at all.

I rip to MKV and then convert it to TV3 format via Handbreak.

Ive ripped my entire movie collection and Batch Rip has saved me hours and hours of time.

Mine just arrived.

Im ripping How To Train Your Dragon right now.

So USB is not the bottleneck (ripping on an old Core 2 Duo iMac).

So USB is not the bottleneck If you only rip the largest file, which is the movie, it actually goes much faster.

I confess I barely have time to watch the movies I want anymore.

The extras are rarely worth it for me.

Memories of my 20s when I had so much free time I actually experienced boredom - now I crave reaching the point I could possibly be bored).

So USB is not the bottleneck (ripping on an old Core 2 Duo iMac) Well the CPU load was really low, so I checked out System Profiler, and it looks like my drive is connected at USB 1 speeds: All the ports on my iMac7,1 are 2.0, so something must be forcing this downward.

Im using the two really short cables that came with this drive, and theyre both plugged directly into the ports on the back of the iMac.

Remaining time is now reporting more like 40 minutes, which is way better.

MakeMKV reports the read rate at 9.0 Ms (2.0x) which I assume is MBytessec, or 72 Mbps plus overhead, so way below the maximum bus speed.

Encoding it in Handbrake is taking 22 hours....

So yes, I think Id endorse the drive.

Would I want a faster drive Yes, but Im not sure how much Id pay for the speed.

Buffalo - 6X External Usb 2.0 Blu-Ray Disc Double-Layer Dvd±Rw/Cd-Rw Drive For Mac