CDRW to DVDRW Conversion

[Angus]

So.... who is going to be the first to do it? I'm really drooling over the possibility of doing it and have been searching for a way to do it since day one. So far this is what I know....

The Mat****a CW-8121 CDRW drive that comes in the VPR 200A5 is the exact same drive from the early titanium powerbook G4s. This is great news if you think about compatibility.

The powerbook's DVDRW drive is made by Pioneer.

There's a conversion kit through some company that will take a CW-8121 equipped powerbook and put a new pioneer dvd burner in there. Great news. http://www.mcetech.com/sdpbg4.html

What I don't know is the product number of the powerbook's DVD burner. I can't find it for the life of me and I think it would be pretty essential to getting one into my 200A5.

So, who's with me on this hunt for the Pioneer DVDRW notebook drive part number?!?!

[Angus]

Ok well, after a bit more poking around I finally got smart and went to Apple.com's forums. Did a search for a model number on the drive. Turns out it's not a Pioneer drive afterall. Pioneer doesn't make notebook drives...but guess who does? Mat****a! Duh.

Matsu****a (Mat****a/Panasonic) UJ-815 slot loading DVD-R/CDRW drive.

Apparently there's lots of talk that users were tricked into thinking it supported DVDRW and even some talk that a new firmware will upgrdae it to DVDRW. But who knows. Hell I'd be happy with just burning a DVD. Anyways...

Now I need to figure out how the hell to get one of these drives.

[dang]

Hmm..that drive # is not listed on pricewatch. Do you have a local apple store? Try seeing if they can order you one.

[animachina]

Any news on this? Does a slot loading DVD RW drive that size even exist. I guess I could work with the cover off and use a tray loader! :smack

[Angus]

I spoke to a sorta-friend of mine about the idea of getting a DVDR drive from Apple last night. He told me that the idea won't work, not because the drive or anything like that, but because the drive Apple uses isn't available to the public and Apple won't let him order one for a Powerbook unless he sends them a dead one in return. The idea is to keep people from ordering them, big surprise! Heh!

But the good news is that if any of us ever find a way to order the Matsu****a (Mat****a/Panasonic) UJ-815 slot loading DVD-R/CDRW drive then it will most likely work. I say it will work because the same drive can be retrofitted into the early Titanium Powerbook that came with, surprise surprise, the EXACT same CDRW/DVD drive that came in the widescreen VPR notebooks.

And I don't think a slot loading drive would work at all. The mechanisms are completely different. The slot loading drives aren't at all the same really.