Charanjit Chana

Why is no one (to my knowledge) developing software that makes HD-DVD or Blu-Ray discs Mac compatible? I've tried the Windows alternatives via boot camp on my MacBook but the amount of time it takes, the lack of support and the general feeling of shame from booting a Mac into Windows is just not enough to make me fork out for the full version of HD playback software that I can't get to work during it's trial period.

I think I'm going to weigh up the practicalities and cost of building a media centre for myself. Oh, and get rid of XP on my MacBook. The 10Gb I'll get back will be much appreciated.

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The HD DVD saga rolls on... I managed to get the XBox 360's HD DVD drive to mount with my MacBook, but only if I held the USB cable in place. Not ideal. I popped into PC World and managed to exchange it for another. Luckily, there were no problems with this one which now has pride of place next to my TV!

In OS X, the drive mounted and the HD DVD was recognised. Apple's DVD player actually started but didn't play anything. VLC was unable to comply with my wishes either :(

I decided to restart my MacBook and booted into Ubuntu. I re-connected the drive but unfortunately, Ubuntu couldn't mount it. I have seen a walkthrough to get HD DVDs playing on Ubuntu. so I know it's possible. I just need to spend some time to get it installed!

I finally got my hands on the XBox 360 HD DVD drive I'd been after for almost a week now. After Gamestation refunded me for the order they couldn't fulfill, PC World came through and had the drive waiting for me when I went to collect it instore.

As an added bonus, Play.com sent me an email saying that they'd sent out the Batman Begins HD DVD that I'd ordered yesterday. Once I have them both I'll be doing my best to get the HD DVD playing on my MacBook and subsequently into my HD TV!

While I wait for Batman Begins to arrive I'll be trying a few other things because although it was just under £30, I don't want what will effectively be a dead drive if I can't find away to get the HD DVDs to work!

My order with Gamestation for the XBox 360's HD DVD drive has just been canceled. I am annoyed that it took them 4 days to tell me, although they did refund me for the drive, the movie I bought and delivery.

I went straight to the Game website, but they are still out of stock. I began to rack my brains for another retailer that I could try and after some time, I tried PC World, Dixons and Comet. I tried HMV, Play.com, Toys 'R' Us and many others, but they were all above what I am willing to pay for what will be a part time and make do solution for my HD needs.

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I have been looking for an input device for sometime now. With Blu-ray now the 'winner' in the 'war', I've primarily looked for a Blu-ray device, but a few films that I want are still only available on HD DVD.

I suddenly remembered an email I sent out to friends which showed them an USB HD DVD drive for under £20. I didn't really take notice because I was so set looking for a Blu-ray drive, but once it hit me, I went on the hunt for that email.

The HD DVD drive in question is Microsoft's one for the XBox 360. It has a USB interface and, from my research, is a Toshiba drive. A few people have already hooked one up to their Macs and made some progress with it. I'm hopeful that the versions of Apple's DVD Player and VLC I have are both up to date and have some sort of support for playing HD DVDs as I ordered Batman Begins at the same time as I ordered the drive!



I do feel somewhat odd plugging a Microsoft branded product into my MacBook, but I had previously plugged a Mighty Mouse into a PC successfully, so I can only hope that this new pairing is half as good.

If worst comes to worst, I should be able to at least read the disk and rip the contents. Any DRM might be a problem, but again, I should be able to get around this. Once I have the content, VLC should be able to handle it in it's usual support everything way!

I am hopeful that even if neither player is able to handle the discs directly that an application will arrive for OS X soon. It would be far more convenient and I wouldn't mind putting my hands in my pockets to get it.

Since my MacBook has a DVI output, sound won't be transfered to my hi-def TV, so I'll need to figure out a new audio setup too, but for the £30 I paid for the drive, movie and delivery, I'm more than happy to use my MacBook's built in speakers for testing purposes with the intent to upgrade/sort out the setup at home.

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