Envy 14 - After market Blu Ray Burner

Hello:

I was wondering if an after market upgrade to the Envy's ODD would be possible? It looks like the drive is 12.7mm (at least from what I gathered from the manual) so would something like Sony BD-5730S work?

It'll be a while before I personally would be able to afford this upgrade.

 

The HP Envy 14 has a slot loading drive. That is not a slot loading drive.

 

You can try the dell ones it could work but i don't really know where it will go and what will happen.

 

Yeah, you're going to need to get an external or a slot load.

 

delete this

 

just pick this up

Plextor ships PX-B120U USB-powered Blu-ray drive for $100 -- Engadget

 

only $1000

heck I'll get 2 for my $900 laptop just in case one breaks

 

Whoa, thanks +1 for the heads up! $100 is very affordable. I wouldn't need BD on the go, but it would be great as a BD movie player through my laptop at home. Although it looks like it isn't even a DVD burner, but it is a CD burner . Guess you can't expect much for $100 though.

 

Have you looked at the M a t s u s h i t a (the censoring thinks that is a bad word ;-) internal BD burner? It's $299, and it should fit, but unfortunately it's only 1x speed for writing BD-R media. You would be sitting around waiting a long time to burn a 50GB BD-R DL if that's something you are planning to do. Some of the external drives would be much faster. I have a Buffalo 12x external BD writer but I think the higher speeds are only accessible with USB 3.0

UJ-235A Blu-Ray SATA SLOT LOAD Drives For Laptops 12.7mm - BLUERAY UJ235A

 

It won't fit. The Envy 14 requires a 9.5mm drive, not a 12.7mm drive.

 

has anyone found a drive that will fit the 14?

 

Everything I've heard so far suggests that there aren't any yet.

 

bluray and the lack of the 5830 are the ONLY two reasons why i'm holding back on purchasing the envy14

shucks

well, keep updating finds guys!!

 

That's what I thought too - I originally posted something to that effect, but then I deleted my response above when I checked the maintenance and service guide for the Envy 14 and found out it says the optical drive is 12.7mm. The fact that the service guide also calls it "tray load" when it should be slot load, does not lend confidence ;-)
http://h10032.www1.hp.com/ctg/Manual/c02280351.pdf

If the service manual is inaccurate and it is limited to 9.5mm drive, then the only 9.5mm optical drive I'm aware of that is readily available is the 2x BD-R / 1x BD-R(DL) Lenovo. It has some kind of Ultra-bay connection - I don't know if that makes it incompatible.

 

Has anyone been able to confirm definitively whether the ODD is 12.7mm or 9.5mm?

 

From the part number listed in the owners forum part 1, it is a 9.5mm Panasonic drive.

Found link http://speccy.piriform.com/results/sQoS1r4SblLeuwIWym2fK8J

Part number is UJ897.

 

Thanks for all the information guys. I got my E14 on Tuesday (7/27/10). I've been busy with summer classes, prepping for fall, work, blah-blah-blah.

Anyway, after looking at the offerings of external blu ray players coupled with the difficulty in finding an appropriate drive to fit I've changed course, I think it would be more prudent for me to try and find a caddy and replace the odd with an hdd in the near future. A 160gb ssd is fine for now, but I have a feeling before this semester is over I'll be searching for additional storage.

I've yet to see a definitive answer for whether or not a swap of the odd is even possible for this machine, but from what I've skimmed through so far is that it is possible, but may require some tweaking. If anyone else has found information on the hdd caddy swap, please PM a link or drop it here.

PS - If you're not a 'die-hard' gamer, SC2 works fine. (Only thing I've been able to test up to this point, other than productivity software and programming stuff - who cares about work?)

 

I bought a panasonic 9.5 mm tray loading BLURAY Burner that I want to swap the guts with the envy's 9.5 mm slot drive. I'm crossing my fingers I can make it work to have a slot loading 9.5 mm bluray drive.

 

I'm pretty sure your only chance of getting that to work would be to cut open the Envy's case to make room for the tray...

 

There will probably be a drive that will fit the envy 14 once more and more laptops turn to the slot drive way of discs. I guess we're going to have to wait for a little while for it to become more mainstream.

 

Umm, you missed the point - I'm going to make my own 9.5 mm SLOT loading drive by combining parts from both drives

 

Fair enough - I thought you meant you were planning on putting the slot-loader in the Envy.

However, I still don't think that's possible. Slot-load drives are set up WAY differently from tray-load drives, if I'm not mistaken. I suppose there's a faint possibility that you could frankenstein the reading components of the Blu-Ray into the static and mechanical components of the slot-loader, but I would bet against it.

 

Meh : Dell 5V759 Slot-load Blu-ray CA10N SATA **GRADE A** ! - eBay (item 150453722137 end time Aug-08-10 18:34:55 PDT)

Better ask the reseller of those parts if that's 9.5mm tho, it's not specified.

 

You're absolutely right that I'll have to frankenstein it. I've already bought a 9.5 mm superdrive from a macbook to experiment with. The mechanical pieces are relatively easy to swap, the biggest problem is the electromechanical switch that detects when a disk is present - that's mounted to the circuit board that goes with the laser and they aren't the same for each type of loading mechanism.

 

If you google that part number: CA10N

I found this:

Slim SATA Slot-loading HLDS 4X Speed BD-R/BD-RE CA10N Blu-Ray ...USD72.10 Wholesale Price at DHgate.com

shows it as a 12.7mm drive.

 

I will be swapping the ODD with another HDD when my E14 arrives. That is assuming the BUS the ODD is connected to is SATA2. If not I will use the eSATA BUS for my large files. That is also assuming I will decide to keep the E14.

The only reason I can think of that HP still puts ODDs in their devices is that casual users are behind the paradigm shift and still think that CD/DVD/BDs are necessary. An additional HDD is much more useful. I haven't touched any type of CD in over a year and refuse to use CD's at work. The only reason BD will stick around for any amount of time is the PS3, poor ISP infrastructure, and BDs are somewhat useful for long term storage. I still prefer a home server with a RAID 5 or 6 array.

Anyone who disagrees understand this: everyone wants thinner, lighter mobiles with more power. CD/DVD/BD drives are a major constraint in achieving this compact, powerful computer goal. What's more, ODDs are no longer necessary in any aspect of computing. I know some people "need" an optical drive to justify lugging around that case with 1000 DVDs in it. Liberate yourself.

 

I agree with what you're saying, and I fall into the "poor ISP" infrastructure category currently living 'out in the boonies.'

If the odd to ssd/hdd swap is possible, then I will be getting either an external BR or DVD burner, because I still use DVD's all the time out of necessity. I'm actually using the e14 as a more mobile DTR. I've got an external esata hdd, that should work - for now.

 

The eSATA will operate just as fast as an internal SATA2. I just don't like carrying around additional hardware.

If you have enough storage space on your PC I can't see why you would use DVDs out of necessity. If you don't know how to modify executables to remove the DVD check code, you can simply burn an ISO and mount it with a program like DAEMON Tools. It just tells your computer that you have a DVD drive with a DVD in it.

Most of these applications will let you mount 16 or more drives at once. You can change DVDs at any time by un-mounting a disk and remounting a different ISO, but DAEMON Tools Pro Advanced allows up to 32 ISO's to be mounted at once. I can't imagine needing over 32 DVDs on a single outing, but if you do, you can fit about 100 uncompressed DVDs on a 500gig HDD anyway.

Besides reducing the need to carry around DVDs, your DVD content will operate at HDD speed. No more waiting for that player to spin-up, position the laser, and start reading.

You may know all of this and just have some need for DVDs that I can't imagine, but I am sure that MOST computer users, even business, can circumvent the need for CD/DVD/BDs altogether with a gentle push. Then we can demand manufacturers to stop putting them in devices.

 

All the time was an inaccurate overstatement. A more accurate figure would be once or twice a week. Also, not everything I do is for me personally, and it all depends on the task - I'm usually backing up songs, converting analog video to digital video and burning the output, etc. I know about mounting drives and ISOs. The heart of the issue is changing the way I think about storage and media, and actually sitting down and making the images. I can't download digital copies of games, so I get the retail package every time (boo - more disks).

I still need an ODD to complete some of my tasks, but it doesn't have to be on board the laptop.

 

You are connected to the internet, right?

 

It's not a very reliable connection. I once tried to download a game, and I gave up after around the 5th day. Many people where I live still have dial-up or no internet at all. There isn't enough population density out here. No DSL, Cable, or anything like that. I do have a Wireless Internet connection, which isn't the best, but is better than dial-up.

 

Sorry to hear that. I spend so much time outside of the US that I forget how sparse decent ISP infrastructure is there. Hopefully Google will be successful at forcing ISPs to improve infrastructure with their fiber-to-the-home plan.

At any rate, If I hold on to my E14 I will be replacing the ODD with an HDD and I will post info on what worked. At the moment HP claims that no slot load BDs will fit into the E14, and they are probably correct since the E14 uses a 9.5mm ODD. There have been rumors of 9.5mm slot load BDs in the works for years, but I have yet to see one for sale.

 

I have good news for you guys I have oppened my envy 14 to upgrade the CPU to a i7 620 cpu not listed but works like a charm. Edit and yes the optical drive is a 9.5 should of taken it out and not just eye ball it.

 

Are you certain its 12.7mm SATA? Better take some calipers to verify. Part of the problem is HP and everyone else was saying it was a 9.5mm of which no Blu-Ray slot load drive exists in that height or are too expensive.

Well, here's one:

http://www.sparco.com/cgi-bin/wfind2?spn=A3RC614 $1015

 

I know I had a dell m4400 with a 9.5 bluray burner tray load not slot but I will take some pic's nex time it's oppened. even the hp envy 14 service manual state it's a 12.7 ok it also says it's a tray load but it says 12.7mm google hp envy 14 service manual.

link http://knownlink.com/download-hp-envy-14-service-manual-guide-hp-envy-14-repair-guide.html

 

I know, look at my sig, I have a perm link to it.
However, it has been found that the drive is actually 9.5mm.

 

Ok I will take pics once i get my drive.

 

Just one quick question if you take your screen edge on the ruber half way down and pinsh the lid is there a gap?

 

I know this is basically a dead thread cuz the last post was a while ago and not relative. Has anyone found a way/or found a blu-ray to put into the envy 14?

 

nevermind this post, just found a 9.5mm tray-load that I thought was a slot-load at first...

 

Actually I think I know what you're talking about. Both of my Envy 14s have had this.

Run your finger along the left or right edge of the screen, along the rubber guard. When you're about halfway down, pinch the screen. I can feel a gap somewhere in there, like the screen isn't properly secured.

I think it's a design flaw.

Personally I'd be in favor of the community making a list of the design flaws in the Envy 14. Unfortunately I feel like it would be subjective in many areas...

 

Just found this on ebay - it doesn't specify, but it in an HP Blu-ray reader, looks like it might be the thinner 9.5mm type.
HP TS TB23L Internal Laptop Blu-ray/Dvd-writer Slot-in on eBay (end time 28-Nov-10 17:17:57 GMT)

 

that's the envy17 blu-ray reader.

too big for the envy 14 I think.

 

Yep, too big.

 

My HDX BD burner crapped out this week and parts wanted 329 dollars to replace it. I got it down to 250 dollars with free overnight shipping with my case manager, but man,, that's crazy how much HP wants for a tray BD R writer. But while I had him on the horn, I asked him why BD writers have vanished from HP's site with no way to configure on any model that I know of. His reply was HP is having "driver issues" with the BD writers now with there new models. Not sure that made any sense, unless HP is up to installing more multimedia software, like quicklaunch etc.. that is interfering with other devices. I know I have a MS BT mouse that refuses to work with my HDX because of how the HP software corrupts windows.

But as for optical drives and their usefulness, all I can say is there is nothing better for backing up. I have never had any issues with a disc back up that is stored properly. I have had no less then 8 HD failures over the years. There is online storage too, but you have to be online to access that and its slower then having it on disc. And its limited on how much. I can't imagine what I would do without DVD and BD backups. I can't think of anything that can back up a ton of data, that is as secure and robust as optical media. And don't say buy a couple tera bytes of this and that.. what happens when that monster fails with its spinning platters zooming at 7200 rpm's with moving parts everywhere. Or my BD R disc that just sits in my storage bag.. doing nothing for 10 years, until that day that I need it.

Yep I know many people who don't burn onto the plastic. They come to me with their machines wanting me to do magic on their hosed operating systems.. too dumb to have made another partition to put their precious data. Or thinking I can do magic on a HD that is completely shot. Some people like buying huge external HD to backup.. not a good idea either.

But its beyond belief to me, that HP currently does not offer as much as one system with a BD burner. Correct me if I am wrong there. But the last I checked.. it does not exist. Can it be because they can't write drivers? If my case manager is right on that, HP is rather pathetic I think.

 

Burnable media has a shelf life, and its unpredictable. They are also prone to scratches, breaking, warping, and UV clouding (i.e. from light exposure). Just recently I went to remove a DVD from its case and it broke when removing it, it was wedged tight into the little spring that attaches it in the center, pushed on it to remove it, and crack, there goes the DVD. In these cases it doesn't matter what quality the burnable media is.

I'm not saying burnable media isn't a good solution, bottom line is to have a backup of a backup.

I have a Windows Home Server (WHS), it has data redundancy internally. I also back the critical stuff up to an external drive and store it in a safety deposit box. I also store that same critical stuff (mainly photos, videos, pertinent security files, etc) in online storage. I never touch any burnable media for prolonged or critical storage.

 

That's why you put them in soft cases. If stored correctly, you can avoid all the above. The only time I have broke a disc is when I dropped a spindle full of discs.. And many of the centers were cracked. They still played though. I also agree that there are rare occasions when media is bad. The only time I can remember when the media lost information was some really cheap compusa discs. But that store has some of the worst products that bore their name. I remember I bought a compusa pci/usb2 card... dead on arrival.

Kodak used to make some really tough CDR media It had a hard plate with some gold in the mix. They claimed you could expose that to direct sunlight and still be ok. I still have some of those when I really am serious about keeping it for a long time. I'm sure there are some brands out there that are really tough and can deal with more environmental conditions.

Wow.. a quick search showed that Kodak is back in the game.. with the gold plated DVD R. Amazon.com: Kodak Preservation - 25 x DVD-R - 4.7 GB 8x - gold - spindle - storage media: Electronics

Personally, This would be the route I would go for the real important stuff.

 

Sorry to bring back and old thread, but I've got an update.

I just got my first envy14 Friday and gutted it to see what I have to work with. The 12.7mm slot loading drives are too big - if you try to put them in, the top tray (keyboard) will not lay flush with the rest of the case and the disc opening on the drive will be about 2 mm too high for the opening on the case. There's 4 possible options:

1.) cut a hole in the bottom of the case that would let the 12.7mm drive drop down a couple mms and fit in there. This will reduce case integrity though. you would still have that extra black cover on the bottom, so it's not like the drive would be exposed.

2.) Frankenstein your own 9.5mm optical drive. I am backing off from this route. I have a 9.5 mm slot loading bluray, the envy 14's drive, and a 12.7 mm slot loading HP bluray drive. When I had them all apart yesterday, it looked like MAYBE it could work, but the risk of ruining the drives is high.

3.) Use an external bluray drive

4.) Wait for someone someday to make a 9.5 mm slot loading bluray drive.

 

HP used to sell an external BD drive for $100 and it had the same last-etched design to go perfectly with the Envy, I haven't seen it there for the past 2 months..anyone know of another place to get them? I dont know the model number so I cant check eBay either..

 

I don't know if it is the same one, but I got a BD ROM/DVD RW when I ordered a (long since returned) TM2, and it had the same basic color and design as the Envy. Works like a charm too. Don't have a part #, but may be a good idea to search on "HP TM2 Blu ray ext"