SuperDrive

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SuperDrive is a term that has been used by Apple Computer to refer to two different storage drives: in the late 1980s to a high-density floppy disk drive; and later to a combined CD/DVD reader/writer.

[edit] Floppy disk drive

The term was first used by Apple Computer in 1988 to refer to their 1.44 MB floppy drive. This replaced the older 800 KB floppy drive that had been standard in the Macintosh up to then, but remained compatible in that it could continue to read and write both 800K (double-sided) and 400K (single-sided) floppy disks, as well as the then-new high-density floppies. This drive was also capable of reading and writing MS-DOS formatted disks with appropriate software, unlike the 400K and 800K drives. This was made possible as the SuperDrive now utilitized the same MFM (Modified Frequency Modulation) encoding scheme used by the IBM PC, yet still retained backward compatibility with Apple's GCR (Group Code Recording) encoding format, so it could continue to read Macintosh MFS, HFS and Apple II ProDOS formats on 400/800K disks.

The SuperDrive was known primarily as an internalized floppy drive that was a built in part of the Macintosh computer; however, an external version of the drive was manufactured that came in a stylized plastic case. While the external drive worked on both Apple's product lines, it was mainly intended for use on the Apple II series (in 1991, Apple introduced a slot-based interface called the Apple II 3.5 Disk Controller Card for Apple IIe and IIGS computers so they too could use 1.4 MB storage and read/write MS-DOS).

[edit] CD and DVD drive

Once use of floppy disks started declining, Apple reused the term to refer to the DVD writers built into its Macintosh models, which can read and write both DVDs and CDs. Current SuperDrives are combination DVD ±R/±RW and CD-R/RW writer drives offering speeds of 4x-36x and supporting the DVD-R, DVD+R, DVD+R DL, DVD±RW, DVD-9, CD-R, and CD-RW formats along with all normal read-only

The Mac mini SuperDrive:

burns DVD-R discs at up to 4x,
burns DVD-RW discs at up to 2x,
burns DVD+R discs at up to 4x,
burns DVD+RW discs at up to 2.4x,
reads DVDs at up to 8x,
burns CD-R discs at up to 16x,
burns CD-RW discs at up to 16x,
and reads CDs at up to 24x. [1]

The PowerBook and eMac SuperDrive:

burns DVDs at up to 8x,
burns audio CDs at up to 24x,
and burns data CDs (CD-RW) at up to 16x. [2] [3]

The Power Mac SuperDrive:

burns DVD-R discs at up to 16x,
burns DVD+R DL discs at up to 6x,
reads DVDs at up to 16x,
burns CD-R and CD-RW discs at up to 24x,
and reads CDs at up to 32x. [4]

The MacBook Pro (15 inches model) SuperDrive:

burns DVDs at up to 4x,
burns CD-R discs at up to 24x,
burns CD-RW discs at up to 10x,
reads single layer DVD-ROM discs at up to 8x,
reads double layer DVD-9 DVD-ROM, DVD-R, DVD+R, DVD+RW, and DVD-RW) at up to 6x,
and reads double layered DVDs (DVD-R and DVD+R) at up to 4x [5]

The MacBook Pro (17 inches model)/Intel Mac mini SuperDrive:

burns DVD-R and DVD+R discs at up to 8x,
burns DVD-RW and DVD+RW discs at up tp 4x,
burns DVD+R DL at up to 2.4x,
burns CD-R at up to 24x,
burns CD-RW at up to 16x,
reads single layer DVD-ROM discs at up tp 8x,
reads double layer DVD+R at up to 4x,
and reads other DVDs at up to 6x.

The MacBook SuperDrive:

Writes DVD+R DL (double layer) discs at up to 2.4x speed
Writes DVD-R and DVD+R discs at up to 6x speed
Writes DVD-RW and DVD+RW discs at up to 4x speed
Reads DVDs at up to 8x speed
Writes CD-R discs at up to 24x speed
Writes CD-RW discs at up to 10x speed
Reads CDs at up to 24x speed

The Intel iMac SuperDrive:

burns DVD-R and DVD+R discs at up to 8x,
burns DVD-RW and DVD+RW discs at up tp 4x,
burns DVD+R DL at up to 2.4x,
burns CD-R at up to 24x,
burns CD-RW at up to 8x,
reads DVDs at up to 8x,
reads CDs at up to 24x. [6][7]

83.32.138.58 17:54, 12 December 2006 (UTC)==See also==

SuperDisk - the new format designed by Imation as a successor to the floppy disk.
SuperMulti - a type of DVD drive that can read and write all DVD formats.

http://forums.macrumors.com/showthread.php?t=37248