TechRevu
© 2003 TechRevu/Ernest Lilley

Apple's PowerBook G4 "Titanium" has been an unusually long-lived platform. From the very first 400MHz model, released in January 2001, to the latest 1GHz update, all models of the PBG4 share a distinctive style. Though there have been several improvements to the PBG4 over the years, including a higher-resolution screen, a DVI interface for an external monitor, and Gigabit Ethernet, those early versions are still highly practical tools for the mobile professional.

Except in one way. The 1GHz model was the first to come with the DVD-burning SuperDrive. Older PowerBook G4 systems could be had with the CD-burning, DVD-reading Combo drive, but for many users-- particularly those doing video production in the field-- a Combo drive just isn't good enough.

The SuperDrive option has been immensely popular on Apple's desktop systems. Pioneer provides these desktop drives to Apple and many other manufacturers, but Pioneer doesn't offer a version of their mechanism that can fit into the narrow confines of the ultra-slim PowerBook. For the PowerBook, Apple sources Matshita's slot-loading UJ-815, which is mechanically compatible with the Combo drive in other models of the PBG4.

When the SuperDrive option was first announced in November 2002, I hurried to find out if Apple would offer the new mechanism as an upgrade for older machines. My 800MHz DVI PowerBook, bought in May 2002, shares the same exact chassis as the 1GHz, but no upgrade option was available.

In January 2003, at MacWorld Expo in San Francisco, MCE Technologies announced it was planning to offer a SuperDrive upgrade for older PowerBook G4 models. I spoke with MCE's booth staff about the new product and verified that the new drive would be compatible with Apple's iDVD application.

I had to wait a few anxious months for this drive to ship-- apparently, MCE simply couldn't get these drives from their supplier. Finally, the drive was available, and I had one shipped to me. MCE normally requires this drive to be installed by MCE or one of its authorized service centers, but for editorial evaluation purposes I persuaded them to let me give it a try myself. I worked as a computer service technician for several years, including a four-year stint in the US Air Force, and spent another ten years as a hands-on computer hardware engineer.

The installation process itself is very involved, requiring careful attention to detail. I mention it here only because doing the work revealed that Apple went to great lengths to fit everything into the slim PBG4 case. There are even two small circuit boards that attach directly to the optical-drive mechanism before it is installed into the PowerBook itself, taking advantage of the fact that one side of the mechanism is thinner than the other. Upgrading this drive requires removing and reinstalling 17 tiny screws, 4 delicate connectors, and a finicky plastic element that guides discs in and out of the loading slot-- I think MCE is right to require professional installation.

I'm pleased to say the new drive worked fine for me, and has kept working for the last few weeks since I installed it. The new drive has the same basic specs as the old Combo drive except for the new DVD-burning capabilities. As a DVD recorder, it isn't as fast as current desktop models. It records DVD-R and DVD-RW media at 1X speeds, so it takes a little over two hours to go through the whole process of making a DVD-ROM from scratch.

Using the SuperDrive is incredibly easy, as it is on any SuperDrive-equipped Mac with Mac OS X. Inserting a blank disc into the drive puts a new virtual disk on the desktop. You drag-and-drop files onto this virtual disk until you're done, or until it's full, and then tell Mac OS X to eject the disc. The OS asks if you want to burn the files onto the disc, and once you tell it to do that, the rest is automatic. The OS burns and verifies the disc and remounts it on the desktop.

A DVD-R disc holds about 4.6 billion bytes (4.28GB) when prepared for Mac OS X. I found it takes about 45 minutes to copy this much data from the 60G drive in my PBG4 to the virtual disk. Burning the disc takes about an hour, and verifying the burn takes another half hour. If you're going to make multiple copies of a disc, you'll save time by using Apple's standard Disk Copy utility to create a virtual disc image on your hard disk, and fill that with your files. You can then use Disk Copy to burn the image onto a DVD-R or DVD-RW disc as many times as you like.

Disk Copy also provides another useful capability for Mac OS X that works together wonderfully with a DVD recorder. Disk Copy can create AES-encrypted disk images for secure file storage. I've created several images on my hard disk for storing work-related files so that if my PowerBook is stolen, the thief won't gain access to the sensitive information I receive from microprocessor vendors and other computer companies under the terms of non-disclosure agreements.

I create these images a little smaller than the available room on a DVD-R (the exact number to give Disk Copy is 4,380MB) so that the image file itself-- not just its contents-- can be stored on a DVD-R. This way, the recorded disc is also secure.

DVD movies are also easy to make, using Apple's iDVD utility. Make sure you have plenty of space on your hard disk, though. iDVD project files can be huge. DVD movies also take a while to create on a PowerBook. My 800MHz machine encodes video approximately in real time-- one minute of encoding per minute of video-- but that's up to an hour and a half for a full disc. (To make full-length movie discs with two hours or more of content, you have to use Apple's DVD Studio Pro, which also allows much more control over the content and presentation of DVD-movie discs.)

iDVD directly supports burning multiple discs, which is convenient. Unfortunately, it doesn't allow you to burn movies onto DVD-RW media. This limitation is probably a result of the reduced compatibility of DVD-RW media with consumer DVD players, but I think Apple should have allowed this option with some reasonable warning to the user. Supporting DVD-RW discs would permit less-expensive experimentation. Even if the disc doesn't work, it can always be reused.

MCE offers two models of the SuperDrive upgrade, the SDPBG4 for original 400MHz and 500MHz PowerBook G4 systems, and the SDPBG4-A for 550MHz and later models. Both are $449 and are available directly from the MCE web site. This price includes the required installation service. For a list of MCE's authorized service centers around the world, see http://www.mcetech.com/resellers.html

MCE also offers the Lucid SD, an external tray-loading FireWire DVD-R/RW drive that can be used with any FireWire-equipped Mac. Conveniently, the Lucid SD can be powered by any built-in FireWire port, so there's usually no need to carry an external power supply. No installation is needed, of course, and this drive can be moved from one machine to another, making it a better choice for some customers. Because non-Apple DVD recorders aren't recognized by iDVD, MCE provides aftermarket DVD-authoring software. The Lucid SD is also priced at $449.

MCE's internal SuperDrive upgrade is unique in the market today, though I wouldn't be surprised to see other vendors offer the same mechanism eventually. MCE deserves full credit for being first to offer this option to owners of older PowerBooks, and I recommend it most highly.

--Peter N. Glaskowsky --Principal Analyst, In-Stat/MDR --Editor in Chief, Microprocessor Report --Contributing Editor, Electronic Business Comments? Send to techrevu@ideaphile.com

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