Usb Blu Ray Player For Pc
Why y'all should trust the states
Andrew Cunningham has been testing, reviewing, and otherwise writing about PCs, Macs, and other gadgets for AnandTech, Ars Technica, and Wirecutter since 2011. He has been building, upgrading, and fixing PCs for more than 15 years, and he spent v of those years in IT departments buying and repairing laptops and desktops as well equally helping people buy the best tech for their needs.
Who this is for
The ubiquity of streaming services, cloud storage, and increasing broadband speeds have reduced the need for optical discs, and optical drives are absent from near all new laptops. Simply plenty of people occasionally need such a drive, whether to play a movie on DVD or Blu-ray, to install software that isn't downloadable from the Internet, or to back up data or an old CD collection. If you still need an optical drive, whether you lot'll use it every mean solar day or but once in a while, you're likely to want one that connects via USB.
Over years of testing, we've found that external optical drives have few big differences betwixt them—they tend to look akin and perform similarly. If you lot already have an optical drive that serves you well and works with the discs you have, you lot won't proceeds much, if anything, from upgrading to i of our picks.
Whatsoever bulldoze that can rip and burn Blu-rays can also handle DVDs, and either type of bulldoze can play, rip, and burn CDs just fine. Don't buy a Blu-ray drive unless you actually demand 1, though; DVD burners are about one-third the toll of a good Blu-ray burner, and prices for Blu-ray drives haven't fallen much over the years. "Combo" drives, which can burn CDs and DVDs but will just read Blu-ray discs, do exist but are rare, and they're no cheaper than adept Blu-ray burners.
Yous as well shouldn't purchase a portable bulldoze for a desktop reckoner that has room for an internal bulldoze, because drives with a dedicated power source tend to be faster and cheaper than portable USB-powered options. Nor should you lot buy one to use with an iPad, since iPadOS doesn't back up them.
How we picked
The following attributes are what you should wait for in a portable optical drive, whether yous need it only every once in a while or use information technology nearly every day:
- Read and write capability: DVD drives must read and write DVDs and CDs, and Blu-ray drives must read and write Blu-rays, DVDs, and CDs. We didn't require Blu-ray drives to back up reading and writing to Ultra Hd (or UHD, or 4K) Blu-ray discs, but nosotros considered it a nice bonus if you didn't accept to pay much more for that feature.
- Speed: If all yous'll use your drive for is playing discs, just about any drive y'all buy will perform similarly. Simply if yous're called-for or ripping discs, the charge per unit at which a drive can move data from your computer's hard drive to the disc or vice versa becomes more important.
- Price: A good DVD drive shouldn't cost more than $40, and a practiced Blu-ray drive should cost around $100.
- Dissonance: All optical drives make noise, simply the bulldoze shouldn't drown out the picture or show yous're trying to watch.
- Connector and cable: Drives should use standard detachable USB cables so that a frayed or cleaved cable doesn't ruin the entire drive. On the drive's terminate, we prefer the nevertheless-common Micro-USB port, though the larger Mini-USB is fine too (optical drives with USB-C ports are rare to nonexistent). About all of the cables included with drives we tested had USB Type-A connectors on the figurer's terminate, but the inclusion of a USB-C cable or a USB-A–to–C adapter in the box is a squeamish bonus.
- Operating organization support: All drives we tested were detected by Windows 10 and macOS 10.15 Catalina without our installing any additional software, and the operating systems' built-in disc reading and burning features worked without requiring whatever extra drivers or configuration.
- Sturdiness: Few external disc drives are pretty, but the case shouldn't fall apart under calorie-free force per unit area, the connections shouldn't exist wobbly, and the buttons should work when you printing them.
- Usable software: Both Windows 10 and macOS offer tools for called-for data to DVDs and Blu-ray discs, and macOS however includes a DVD actor app for playing video discs. But macOS can't play Blu-rays without extra software, Windows 10 can't play Blu-rays or DVDs, and neither operating system includes software for burning video discs that y'all tin can play in DVD or Blu-ray players. Free (but potentially illegal) solutions are available for all of those bug, which we cover in the Playing DVDs and Blu-rays section. Just if a drive comes with decent playback and burning software, that'south a plus.
- Other extras: All the drives we tested came with one-year warranties and claimed to back up the archival M-DISC format, though we didn't test those claims.
With those criteria in mind, we scoured retailers for the acknowledged and summit-rated optical drives, and we checked manufacturer websites for models released since our previous update. We ended upwardly with four new models to examination: the Asus ZenDrive U9M, the LG BP60NB10, and the Pioneer BDR-XD07B and BDR-XD07UHD. We as well retested four picks from the previous version of this guide, since they were all still available for purchase.
How we tested
We tested each DVD drive past burning an ISO file from a test DVD of video files. Nosotros used blank single-layer DVDs from Staples for this test. We then ripped video files from three different test DVDs to compare speeds. When testing Blu-ray drives, nosotros performed the same DVD ripping and called-for tests to exam their speeds with DVDs. Then, we burned and ripped test video files using bare Verbatim BD-R discs and ripped video files from three boosted test Blu-rays.
Every bit we tested, we took note of how easy it was to insert and remember discs from each drive, and we paid attention to the racket each drive produced. We also noted the cables that each drive shipped with and what disc-called-for software they included.
Our pick for DVDs: Asus ZenDrive U9M
Our option
If you don't demand a drive that tin can read and write Blu-rays, get the Asus ZenDrive U9M. Information technology was able to rip DVDs more chop-chop than any drive we tested, and Asus includes both a USB Type-A cable and a USB Type-C cable so you tin can connect information technology to almost any computer without buying some other cable. It'due south generally a few dollars more expensive than our budget pick, and it's a little louder when ripping and burning, but those are modest trade-offs. The ZenDrive costs only a third of what yous'd usually pay for a good Blu-ray burner, only if you think y'all'll demand a Blu-ray bulldoze at some betoken, the better pick is to spend the money on a Blu-ray model now than to have to buy a second optical drive later.
The ZenDrive U9M burned a test DVD at roughly the same speed as everything else we tested—some drives took a little less time and some took a little more, but they all finished burning a disc in the aforementioned 30-second range. But when ripping files from our test DVDs, the ZenDrive was nearly twice as fast every bit the LG DVD drives nosotros tested, a effect you'll definitely notice if you're ripping discs oftentimes. That extra speed comes at the cost of some noise—the U9M was a bit buzzier when ripping or burning than the other DVD drives we tested, though non dramatically and then.
None of the slim optical drives we tested felt similar they would survive being run over by a auto, simply the ZenDrive's sturdy silver plastic is less flimsy and flexible than the plastic of the LG DVD drives we tested. The drives are almost exactly the same size, but the ZenDrive is a bit heavier—not hefty enough that you lot'd detect it in a laptop bag, but substantial plenty that it won't slide effectually as much on a table or desk when you go to pop the tray open.
The ZenDrive U9M uses detachable Mini-USB cables rather than the more mutual Micro-USB (which we adopt) or USB Type-C (which would be platonic but isn't actually used in external optical drives). That means that if either of the cables in the box frays or breaks or disappears, you're less likely to accept a spare one just sitting around somewhere. But it's easy to observe actress or replacement cables for a few dollars, and the included cables feel sturdy enough that you shouldn't demand to worry about breaking them.
The ZenDrive's included software leaves a lot to exist desired, though this would be a bigger drawback if all external DVD drives didn't come with software that was pretty bad. Information technology includes basic disc-burning software called CyberLink Power2Go, a bare scattering of utilities, and a drive-backup tool that you probably shouldn't use. Backing upwards an even halfway-total 256 GB difficult drive to DVDs would accept forever, and the result would exist pointlessly outdated inside a couple of months—apply an external hard drive or a cloud backup service instead. Information technology has no included software for creating video DVDs or playing DVDs on Windows 10, and no Mac software included at all. Luckily, there are free and paid alternatives you can utilise to do all of that, and those options are normally amend than the software that comes with these kinds of drives.
Our pick for Blu-rays: LG BP60NB10
Our choice
LG BP60NB10
Best for Blu-rays
Repose, fast, and relatively inexpensive, the BP60NB10 is one of the few Blu-ray drives we tested that can handle 4K UHD Blu-ray discs.
If you need an external optical drive that can handle Blu-rays and you don't mind slower performance with DVDs, nosotros recommend the LG BP60NB10. Information technology ripped Blu-ray discs significantly faster than the Pioneer Blu-ray drives we tested, and it made less racket while burning and ripping discs. It supports Ultra HD (or UHD) Blu-ray discs and doesn't price more non-UHD Blu-ray drives from other manufacturers. Since it'southward usually slower to rip DVDs than the Pioneer Blu-ray drives we tested, it isn't the best option if you're working with DVDs oftentimes.
Like all the drives we tested, the BP60NB10 didn't burn discs much more chop-chop or slowly than any other drive. Still, information technology was nearly twice as fast to rip our test Blu-rays, and only half equally fast at ripping ii of our three test DVDs. If you're just playing discs, the BP60NB10'due south UHD Blu-ray support is a nice extra—not really worth paying more for, since a 4K Blu-ray'south extra resolution won't register on the majority of computer screens, simply worth having if it doesn't add much to the cost of the drive.
The BP60NB10 comes with passable video-playback and video-editing software for Windows that can handle both Blu-rays and DVDs. PowerDirector isn't professional-quality disc-authoring software, but it will go the job done for home movies, and information technology's not a 30-day demo like the version that comes with LG'south DVD-just drives. If you lot're a Mac owner, you'll be able to play DVDs just fine, but you lot'll need to await up 3rd-political party options for playing Blu-rays or for creating video discs in either format.
Runner-upward for DVDs: LG GP65NB60
Runner-up
LG GP65NB60
A cheap and capable DVD drive
This DVD-only drive is tedious when ripping discs, but it'due south quieter and less expensive than other options if you plan to sentry, rip, or burn only DVDs, not Blu-rays.
If you're looking for the cheapest practiced DVD drive you can get, or if the Asus ZenDrive U9M isn't available, get the LG GP65NB60 instead. It didn't rip our exam DVDs as quickly equally the ZenDrive, its sleeky plastic feels flimsier, and information technology doesn't include a USB-C cable in the box. But the GP65NB60 usually costs around $ten less than the ZenDrive and doesn't make as much noise, and it's from an established visitor you'll be able to get support from if something breaks.
The GP65NB60's software is marginally ameliorate than the ZenDrive's since it lets you lot play video DVDs on Windows without additional software; the included version of the PowerDirector video-editing software is just a thirty-day demo, though. Mac owners don't need extra software to play DVDs, but burning video DVDs still requires separate software.
Runner-up for Blu-rays: Pioneer BDR-XD07B
Runner-up
If yous desire to rip Blu-rays occasionally but you'll exist primarily working with DVDs, the height-loading Pioneer BDR-XD07B is a proficient pick. It took nearly twice as long to rip Blu-ray discs as the LG drive, but just around half as long to rip two of our 3 test DVDs. It's a little louder when burning or ripping than the LG drive, but it's tolerably quiet during playback, and it likewise has a smaller footprint than any other drive we tested.
Different the LG Blu-ray drive we recommend, this Pioneer bulldoze doesn't support Ultra HD Blu-ray discs. The Pioneer BDR-XD07UHD looks and performs exactly the aforementioned as the XD07B and can read UHD discs, but it typically costs around $30 more than than either of our Blu-ray picks.
Pioneer bundles in the same CyberLink-provided suite that comes with the LG BP60NB10, including PowerDirector for creating video discs and PowerDVD for playing DVDs and Blu-rays in Windows. Even so, this version is more hard to install—instead of installing the software from a disc, you need to enter a product primal on Pioneer'southward website, create an account on CyberLink'south website, and then download the software before you lot can install it. Mac owners, as usual, are on their own for Blu-ray playback and video disc creation.
Playing DVDs and Blu-rays
Microsoft doesn't include native support for DVD or Blu-ray playback in Windows 8 or x, probable because the required codecs are expensive to license and that toll would be passed on to anybody who buys the operating system. The DVD Thespian software included with macOS allows Mac owners to play DVDs, but that operating system has never supported Blu-ray playback.
To play Blu-ray discs legally on a Mac or a Windows PC, you need to buy software that licenses those codecs. The people who brand Blu-ray movies would adopt that you watch them on your television, so nobody has an incentive to brand Blu-ray playback software that isn't a dumpster fire, which could explicate why nobody does. The CyberLink software included with our favorite DVD and Blu-ray drives is a decent selection—more of a modest trash-tin fire—for Windows users.
A few options exist for Mac owners, all from small companies with questionably translated websites. The Leawo Blu-ray Player is free to download simply locks some features behind a paywall and requires the Java Runtime Environment to be installed earlier disc menus will piece of work properly. The Macgo Blu-ray Player works fine with disc menus just overlays a watermark on your video until you pay for the software. Another paid option, the Aiseesoft Mac Blu-ray Role player, didn't work properly with Blu-ray disc menus in our testing. Both the Leawo and Macgo players worked fine when we tested them with macOS Catalina, and both promise compatibility with several older versions of macOS every bit well.
Fifty-fifty if you observe programs that featherbed the DRM (digital-rights management) on commercial DVD and Blu-ray discs—encryption designed to prevent you from copying the content from the discs, or even playing them on certain screens—they aren't legal to apply in the US. Equally Whitson Gordon of Lifehacker explains, the moment you bypass the DRM of a disc—even if you're merely making a personal fill-in of media that you lot purchased or watching a Blu-ray without licensing the codec—you lot could find yourself in violation of The states copyright police force. Macworld too addresses some common questions almost the legality (and morality) of DVD ripping in this helpful explainer.
In October 2015, the Library of Congress issued several exemptions to the DMCA (the mechanism by which publishers get material in violation of copyright taken downwardly) related to DVD and Blu-ray footage, merely as Gizmodo reports, those exemptions apply only to "documentary filmmakers, 'noncommercial' videos, multimedia east-books containing film assay, college professors and students with educational purposes, and kindergarten through 12th form teachers with educational purposes," and only if their usage meets certain weather.
The competition
We eliminated any DVD drives that cost more than than $twoscore and any Blu-ray drives that cost more than $130, likewise as any models that didn't both read and write discs and whatsoever that had poor or few reviews on Amazon. We also eliminated older versions of currently available drives, and nosotros didn't retest anything we've ruled out since we showtime published this guide in June 2013.
The LG SP80NB80 was a runner-up DVD drive choice in the previous version of this guide, and it performs about the same every bit other LG DVD drives like the GP65NB60. Information technology'south a fine drive if you tin can find it for less than $30, merely it's usually more than expensive than that, and it isn't always available on retail sites.
Our previous Blu-ray bulldoze pick, the Pioneer BDR-XD05B, looks and performs identically to the newer BDR-XD07B only is older and usually costs more. It's withal a fine bulldoze if you lot don't need to work with UHD Blu-ray discs and y'all tin notice it for less than $100, though.
The Pioneer BDR-XD07UHD is the same drive equally the BDR-XD07B, but it supports UHD Blu-ray discs. It performs just every bit well as the non-UHD version of the drive, but it's also effectually $30 more expensive than the BDR-XD07B and the LG BP60NB10 (which does support UHD discs).
The LG WP50NB40 was a runner-upward Blu-ray drive pick in the previous version of this guide. It performs about the same as (and looks basically the same every bit) the BP60NB10, but it doesn't support UHD discs and is commonly the same price equally the BP60NB10.
Previously dismissed models
The LG GP70NS50 burned and ripped DVDs at most the same speeds equally other drives we tested in 2017, merely information technology currently costs more than than our picks, and its silver paint scratched a few times in our travels.
The Buffalo DVSM-PT58U2VB (aka the Buffalo MediaStation) ripped and burned DVDs at roughly the aforementioned speeds as the LG drives we tested.
In a previous round of testing, the Dell DW316 was notably slower at called-for DVDs on Windows. If you were ownership a Dell laptop and needed an external drive mostly for reading discs, this model would not exist a bad add together-on purchase, but you can exercise better otherwise.
The Pioneer BDR-XD05 was a old Blu-ray drive pick, only the visitor has replaced it with the BDR-XD05B.
The Sea Tech (formerly Archgon) Dr.-3107S is big, heavy, and expensive, and it doesn't come with Windows software. We also encountered several errors when trying to play DVDs that worked without issue on the other drives.
Although the Pioneer BDR-XU03 has positive owner ratings and is thin and light, it'due south as well expensive correct at present.
Sources
-
Whitson Gordon, Is Information technology Legal to Rip a DVD That I Own?, Lifehacker , January 23, 2013
-
Corynne McSherry, Kit Walsh, Mitch Stoltz, and Parker Higgins, Victory for Users: Librarian of Congress Renews and Expands Protections for Off-white Uses, Electronic Frontier Foundation , October 27, 2015
-
Katharine Trendacosta, The New DMCA Rules Don't Make it Plenty, Gizmodo , October 28, 2015
-
Nathan Alderman, All-time apps for playing Blu-rays on your Mac in 2020, iMore , Jan 10, 2020
Usb Blu Ray Player For Pc,
Source: https://www.nytimes.com/wirecutter/reviews/the-best-external-blu-ray-drive/
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