5.0 out of 5 stars Beautiful drive to complement your Mac.

T. · January 3, 2014

(function() { P.when('cr-A', 'ready').execute(function(A) { if(typeof A.toggleExpanderAriaLabel === 'function') { A.toggleExpanderAriaLabel('review_text_read_more', 'Read more of this review', 'Read less of this review'); } }); })(); .review-text-read-more-expander:focus-visible { outline: 2px solid #2162a1; outline-offset: 2px; border-radius: 5px; } If you have spent sometime looking around at the latest crop of Blu-Ray burners, you have no doubt drooled over Pioneer's newly designed (~late-2013) flagship model.In truth, it looks almost as good in person as it does in the pictures. It wasn't formed from a single piece of aluminum, so the bottom (an exposed side in vertical position) has a separate piece that mounts into the top enclosure. The finish is identical, but the transition is not as smooth as I would have expected.I have the drive sitting next to a late-2013 15" MacBook Pro ("MBP"). The finish on the two products is optically identical, but the MacBook seems to be smoother to the touch. Laid flat, the height is spot-on with the top of the MBP's bottom case (i.e. the keyboard and trackpad). I'm sure if my desk was less cluttered, they would look great together. I have opted to leave the drive in the stand. The stand really decreases the footprint, and I didn't notice any performance improvements in the horizontal position while encoding off an audio CD. Reading DVDs and CDs is plug-and-play with OSX.How does it work? Flawlessly so far. Is it worth the ~$100 premium over Pioneer's base USB 3.0 drive? Probably not, but that's a personal decision. Though I really didn't consider it at the time of purchase, the vertical mount really is a helpful space saver, which you cannot do with the base BR drive as it top-loads.A few thoughts on Blu-ray video in OSX:-Don't project your experience with playing DVDs on your Mac onto your expectation for Blu-ray video. Apple, in it's marketing genius, has ensured that you will feel like a hacker trying to get this to work. They want you to transition to their compressed "HD" content.-You will not find a solution that flawlessly plays the menu's like a home theater blu-ray player does (as of Jan '14)-Not wanting to feel like a hacker, I coughed up $55 for a two-license package of Mac Go's player. It works. I had some difficulty finding the next episode on an HBO-series disk using their title browser, but once I figured it out I was good to go. The latest version includes support for titles, but it doesn't work on all disks... hence, I still feel like a hacker trying to play my movies.-HD video sings on the MBP 15" retina display. After watching a few titles, I tried to put in a DVD and couldn't get over the graininess. Don't expect a marked improvement if you have low-res... all this is to say, consider why you want Blu-ray on your Mac before you jump in. It is a lot of work getting it going.Helpful? Please say so with the link below. Thanks.

5.0 out of 5 stars Brilliant Blu-ray Player for Mac.

m. · July 22, 2014

Bought this to watch blu-ray movies on my 15" retina MBP.I have a sizeable collection of blu-ray movies (2D & 3D), which I watch at home (in my bedroom), using a Pioneer HTZ-BD32 home theatre system and a 40" Samsung 3D LED TV. While I enjoyed watching movies at home, I wanted something that would enable me to watch blu-ray movies on my rMBP when I was not at home. After researching a few blu-ray players/writers, I settled on the Pioneer, mainly because of my good experience with the home theatre system. The cost was a bit of a concern, especially considering that I could get 2 Samsung blu-ray writers for the same price as 1 Pioneer BDR-XU03. I placed my order on Friday, 18 July 2014. The estimated delivery date was Wednesday, 23 July 2014, at 20h00. The blu-ray writer was delivered on Monday, 21 July 2014, at 09h00. Very impressive, considering I'm in South Africa.First of all, this thing is beautiful. It makes the Apple Superdrive (which I have) look outdated. It's also much thinner and lighter than the Superdrive. It matches my rMBP in terms of looks and thinness. If the Pioneer logo was not on the BDR-XU03, one would assume it was made by Apple; that's how beautiful it is. The included stand is a nice touch; it gives it a sense of style and sophistication.Does it play blu-ray movies on a Mac right out of the box? No, it doesn't. At least not without additional software (which is clearly stated on the box). I bought MacGo Mac Blu-ray Player for $40 to accompany the BDR-XU03. It's a match made in Pioneer heaven. I can now play all my 2D and 3D (in 2D mode on rMBP) blu-ray movies on my rMBP. The basic settings are there: movie language, subtitles, chapter selection. Played movie in full screen mode. The clarity is amazing on the retina display. I also downloaded the Pioneer Drive Utility, which has additional functionality for the BDR-XU03, like playing the blu-rays at slower speeds to reduce drive noise when watching movies. DVD movies also play well, with the standard options available on blu-ray movies.I have not used the blu-ray writing capability of this device yet, and shall update this review once I have done that.Overall, I'm very happy I bought the BDR-XU03 for my blu-ray movies.

Perfect fix for laptop

K. · September 30, 2018

(function() { P.when('cr-A', 'ready').execute(function(A) { if(typeof A.toggleExpanderAriaLabel === 'function') { A.toggleExpanderAriaLabel('review_text_read_more', 'Read more of this review', 'Read less of this review'); } }); })(); .review-text-read-more-expander:focus-visible { outline: 2px solid #2162a1; outline-offset: 2px; border-radius: 5px; } The drive in my laptop failed and it was more economic to buy this than have it repaired. This one also plays Blu-ray disks. Does exactly what it says in the advertising

Works well with my MacBook Pro

M. · October 29, 2020

I replaced my old Pioneer XD05B Blu-Ray drive which stopped working after a couple of years with this one. This drive is quieter and feels much more well-built although the body is plastic. It's a bit thicker than the XD05B. I only use it to play regular Blu-Ray movies on my MacBook and works great so far. Hope this one lasts longer.

Supero mis expectativas !

D.A.G.M. · November 25, 2018

Llego antes de tiempo, muy rápido. los materiales son muy resistentes y bien hechos. Vale su precio. Obvio para Mac necesitas una aplicacion aparte para ver peliculas BluRay, hay que bajar una buena app, por que con aplicaciones gratis o chafas jala mal el dispositivo y hace mucho ruido. Recomiendo: BluRay Player Pro. Tambien quema a una velocidad media lenta pero excelente. Totalmente recomendado

Pioneer xs06

G.G. · August 23, 2018

Je trouve que c'est un excellent produit car j'ai eu une mauvaise expérience avec un autre article. Lis les dvd et bluray parfaitement . Ne saute pas et ne fais pas de bruit. Je n'ai pas encore essayé de graver mais vu la qualité je pense qu'il ni aura pas de soucis. Le prix est un peu excessif mais quand on voit un produit qui fait sauter les dvd et qui ne lis pas les bluray à 75€ ca reste assez correct pour eviter les soucis.dommage qu'une housse ne soit pas fourni avec car je le remet dans le carton d'origine apres chaque utilisation.

Buen producto y diseño muy bonito.

M. · March 8, 2018

El aparato cumple todas mis expectativas,funciona bastante bien.Lo bueno es que lee y escribe muchos formatos y su diseño es muy bonito y pequeño.Todo me ha llegado en la fecha prevista,es mas un dia antes incluso.Es mi primera compra en Bolo y estoy contenta porque todo salio bien y venia muy bien envuelto.