Vaio Z2 2011 bluray PMD

Good day everyone!!!

I'm a new member to this forum. I decided to join because I just got my first Vaio laptop, the Z2. Its been a wonderful experience so far. =)

I have a question for current Z2 users. How often do you use your PMD? I have the bluray read version. I haven't really used it so far and am wondering if I should just sell it. It is still in the packaging. I get by just find with the base unit. All I do is online search and watch some movies so I do not need the extra GPU power. Also, I rarely need bluray drive as I have a separate bluray player at home. Do you think I should sell it? What would be a reasonable price?

Thanks for your time and for your expert help!

 

I use it every day, but it could have just as well have been the DVD version. I use it purely for easy connectivity to LAN/USB devices and of course to power my 3 external displays (1 to the Z, 2 the PMD). I've used the optical drive maybe 5 times in total, 1 times was to create a Blu-ray image and the rest was just to read some data that someone brought on a disc (why they do not use USB drives is still a mystery).

So in my case I would not sell it, but if you dont use any external displays, no optical drive and dont need the GPU power then you can just as well sell it.

 

One of the reasons I bought the Z2 is because I need multiple external monitors with some GPU power. Mine came with the Blu-Ray PMD. I really don't have the need for an optical drive. So I just use it for it's external monitor capabilities.

I work from two locations, so I bought another PMD from e-bay for about $225 (regular non blu-ray) drive. I think e-bay is probably your best bet if you wanna sell it.

 

I have a PMD without blueray that I would be willing to trade for one with blueray plus cash.. PM if interested.

 

My experience is pretty much the same as Sick Nick's, above.

 

I think, if Z2 users would check out what drive model is in BD PMDs, one could buy the drive only and swap it in the PMD.

 

I could be interested in something like that, although for a bit over $100 these days, I could get a stand-alone USB unit also.

 

I have the blu-ray burner. Although I haven't used it for that purpose yet, I like having the capability if needed.

 

Got my Z2 back in october, used the PMD when I was playing Starwar the old republic but towards the end I just used the onboard gaphics and I've had my pmd in a drawer. My Z2 is my only PC now and I use it for streaming stuff on my tv (crunchyroll/hulu) does everything I need it to without the PMD but don't think I would part with it. You never know.

 

I would also be interested in replacing the DVD with a BD reader/burner.

What model number is shown in device manager for the BD drives?
(maybe some BD PMD owners could check?).

I tried to find some pictures of the PMD internals, closest I found was these:
???? ?? ??? ???? - ????

 

I have the bluray version and use the PMD every day to connect external monitors and USB peripherals - but I haven't used the optical drive at all yet. CD type media is deprecated. I'll never again buy a laptop with integrated ODD.

 

Max, I'm in the exact same boat as you. I only use my PMD for external monitors and peripherals (wish it also had audio output). I almost never use the optical drive. What I find funny is that some laptop reviewers see the lack of an optical drive as a negative! I see it as a positive. That space can be put to much better use than an optical drive.

 

^Not if someone wants an ODD.

 

I've been wondering this for some time: why do so many people detest Optical media?

Do you ever make playlist/party mixes for friends or family? Why pay for a flash RAM that is so tiny when you can create on OD and print labels on the disk itself and on the envelope? Same goes for system recovery media: thumb drives are tiny and hard to label and store, and I have 8 computers each with their own recovery programs, all of which I want off the SSDs (well, only 4 have SSDs). Let's see, what else? A 50 gig blu ray R/W costs less than 10 bucks, less than $.20/GB. Fill it up with movies and music and take it with you instead of lugging an external HDD.

Lots more pros and cons, but for the tiny size and weight they take up, why the quest to rid the world of them?

 

I don't necessarily detest optical media, I just think it they are badly outdated.

When I make a playlist (mostly for car driving) it joins the number of other playlists all stored along with chunks of my music collection on a tiny 64GB USB drive that I always keep on my key ring.

Last year I gave away my complete CD collection because it just took up space and collected dust. I can understand the attachment some people have to vinyl, but CDs? Excuse me..

Just ask the next generation of web-savvy, cloud-enabled, smartphone-centric teenagers what they think about CD type media and you will be hard pressed to find a reason to invest in a dying medium which you will be very lucky to even find a way to *read* in 20-30 years.

That being said (and sarcasm aside) I see your point about using blu rays for short to mid term backup.

 

The BD Drive is a "Optiarc BD RW BD-5840H". Or so it says on my Z2's device manager.

 

No, I never make party/mixes on CD's for friends or myself. Streaming music through my phones bluetooth to my car stereo is soooo much better. None of my friends listen to CD's any more, it's all mp3s. And you can make playlists with mp3s. So much easier and faster this way. And yes, the Optical Drive does have a place, but I just don't think it's inside the computer. An external one is fine for the rare times it's needed...such as making recovery disks and so forth. Storage??? Heck no! Takes too long to write and read from optical. With terrabytes of hard drive so cheap, not worth storing on such a slow medium. Can possibly be good for archives, but how often would you do that?

Not arguing the need for them, but it's not needed often enough to justify it taking up valuable space on laptops and adding weight. I had a Dell that had a modular design, where you could take out the optical drive and put an extra battery instead. I loved that feature!

I did the exact same thing last year! Got rid of hundreds of music CD's. I was amazed at how little they were worth (pennies on the dollar). I ripped the ones I wanted first. Currently, I'm in the process of digitizing all my albums so I can get rid of those too. Turntable and records are taking way too much room in my apartment. Digital music is so much easier to manage! And I always make 2 copies...one in mp3 for the car and the other in 24bit/96khz FLAC for home use.

 

Thanks!

Specs here:
http://www.sony-optiarc.us/upload/pdfs/products/BD-5840H_Datasheet.pdf