Suggestions for External Blu-Ray Writer

I'm almost ready to place an order for a new Clevo 870DM3, but one feature my current Clevo has which the new model doesn't was its own optical drive bay which I installed with a Blu-Ray writer.
I'm not really sure what to get since I've not had much luck finding reviews and Amazon has its limits in sorting the wheat from the chaff. So I'll put it to the experts on this forum.
I'm not picky about brands so long as the end-product works and won't break within a few uses.

 

Best one to get would the one which supports Thunderbolt 3. But i haven't been able to find one.

Other than that LG/Pioneer/ASUS should be pretty good. I have an ASUS one and its been running great for the past 1 year or so, though i have barely used it 4-5 times. :S

 

Thanks for the advice. What's the model number for your Asus drive?
Another issue I'm facing is some of the models available on Amazon are reputedly end-of-life so buying them now would be counterproductive should the purchase fail early.
Most of the drives I've seen are USB2.0 (a few USB 3.0). I've read that burn speeds will be slow because of drive limitations and the interface used, would a USB3.0 compliant drive do the trick? I haven't found anything with Thunderbolt support (not sure if the 870DM3 has Thunderbolt in the first place).

 

I got this one for $100 last year -
https://www.amazon.com/External-Blu...943981&sr=8-7&keywords=external+bluray+burner

I think there is a cheaper one without the software bundled.
The Pioneer one is a great option as well :
https://www.amazon.com/Pioneer-Exte...943981&sr=8-1&keywords=external+bluray+burner


The DM3 has 2 x Thundebrolt 3 ports.

 

The Asus drive looks huge! I'll need to carry the drive around in my pack so probably not the most practical option.
The Pioneer one looks good, but it's expensive.

Any thoughts on the Samsung offerings? Amazon seems to rate them as popular choices in their category.

 

I have not tried the Samsung one, I have had multiple LG/Pioneer/ASUS drives over the years and all 3 have lasted me pretty well. But seems like its USB 2.0 , so it will be painfully slow.
But if the reviews seem good enough, the Samsung might be worth a shot if that one is cheaper.

 

I think you're putting too much thought into this. External optical drives are a commodity. It doesnt matter what you get, as long as it's from a reputable brand (Sony, Panasonic, LG, etc).

Sent from my SM-G935V using Tapatalk

 

Not counting Samsung as one of the reputable brands?

I have no in-depth knowledge of this commodity/tool/resource, hence I'm asking for recommendations. If all of the products do the job they claim without breaking down after a few tries, then I'll happily settle for that.

Regarding software for viewing Blu-Rays, that should be an easier search since I've seen recommendations for both paid and free options.

 

The main thing to note about the Samsung one is that it is USB2.0.
Softwares are aplenty out there. Personally i just i just use my PS4 for blu ray movies these days. Much more convenient, specially after looking at the costs of some of these software's.

 

Ok. I've got a better idea of what to look out for when shopping for the drives.

No console here, but if the drives come bundled with software I'll use them.

 

Buy external BR reader or dvd drive, swap the drive from your old laptop.

At least I'm pretty sure that would work

 

Not when the new laptop has no slot to take the drive from my current one.

 

Just plug it into a usb port?

 

My current Clevo was built at a time when Blu-Ray drives were still standard issue for the top-end machines, so it's not connected to my system via a USB port and there's no way it's going to fit into the new system when it arrives.

That's why I'm asking for suggestions in the first place; new system doesn't have a built-in disc drive while old system's BR/RW drive came with the old system and can't be grafted onto the new.

 

You didn't read correctly my first post. Get a cheap external usb dvd/br drive. Remove the drive from the enclosure, replace it with the drive from your laptop. Replace the laptop's drive with the cheap one.

BR drive inside your old laptop has same connectors that are in those slim external drives.
This example was first hit in amazon with usb3: https://www.amazon.com/External-Connector-DLAND-Macbook-Surface/dp/B01GPKT5PY
I'm suggesting this because you wrote you installed the original drive in your laptop so you definitely can do this yourself and it's like a 50% cheaper option to do.

 

That's me being terrible with my description. What really happened was I chose a Blu-Ray RW drive when I bought my current Clevo all those years ago and the vendor did the installation for me.

Not sure if the product you linked is going to work with my current laptop anyway since it's connected by USB and my own drive isn't (unless I'm misunderstanding something on a fundamental level).

There's also the issue of read/write and burn speeds. My current CD-drive being an old and out-of-production model isn't going to be as quick as USB3.0 or thunderbolt-powered external drives.

 

If you would take apart one of those external drives, it would have inside a small adapter card that translates mini sata (whatever the correct name was) to usb. The drives inside your old laptop and those externals have same connectors. It would make no sense to manufacture several different types of drives.

But this is just theoretical now

 

Oh well, I learnt something new today at the very least.

The current laptop will probably be passed on so I can't disassemble the drive and reuse it. Hence the need for an external.

 

FWIW I owned a Slim Samsung DVD external with usb 2.0 that went in the trash because it died just outside the Amazon return policy window. You do get what you pay for. Highly suggest usb 3 as the 2.0 drives will be shockingly slow. Asus frequently goes on sale if price is an issue.

 

Thank you.

Gclub