You can use this physical media to securely store backups of your computer or free up space on your hard drive by offloading photo libraries and old files. You can also save important data to the archival-quality disc formats that many of these drives support. If you’re looking to read from or burn a lot of Blu-rays, the Mercury Pro is the best one we’ve tried. But James also noted that it’s not a replacement for a dedicated Blu-ray player. While videos look great on the connected laptop, that quality doesn’t translate if you connect the laptop to a TV. At 8.6 x 6.6 x 2.3 inches and almost 4 pounds, this is a somewhat bulky device that’s too heavy to truly be portable. The aluminum build looks great and feels durable, but it’s best left at home. Blu-Ray Write Speed: 16x | Blu-Ray Read Speed: 12x | 4K UHD Support: No | Compatibility: Mac, Windows It also includes CyberLink Power2Go 8 software, which streamlines the process of burning your data to discs and includes optional data encryption to protect your files and personal information. Our reviewer James noted that this software does not appear to work on Macs. The BW-16D1X-U includes support for both M-Disc and BDXL disc formats. M-Disc is a proprietary archival disc format that’s designed to preserve data for up to 1,000 years. BDXL (which stands for Blu-ray Disc Extra Large), is a type of Blu-ray disc that can store more than five times the data of a regular Blu-ray, making it an effective storage format for large collections of files. This Blu-ray drive can support these archival and high-capacity formats as a data backup solution. Blu-Ray Write Speed: 16x | Blu-Ray Read Speed: Not listed | 4K UHD Support: No | Compatibility: Mac, Windows If you occasionally want to make copies of discs or burn some files to a Blu-ray, the BDR-XD05B is a solid device to have on hand. The biggest caveat is that it’s only Windows compatible. This device weighs only 8 ounces, so it’s definitely portable. But our reviewer James noted during his testing that the lightweight construction feels pretty flimsy. Also, like most of these drives, it doesn’t perform like a dedicated Blu-ray player. Blu-Ray Write Speed: 6x | Blu-Ray Read Speed: 6x | 4K UHD Support: No | Compatibility: Windows The write speeds aren’t the fastest, but it supports both M-Disc and BDXL discs and is a lower price than many drives with this technology. M-Discs are an archival media format (this drive actually comes bundled with a Verbatim M-Disc), and BDXL discs are high-capacity Blu-ray formats that hold several times the data of standard Blu-rays. One downside is that it requires two USB connections: one to your computer, and another to a power supply. The short length of the included cords can make it tricky to connect it to a wall adapter if needed. Blu-Ray Write Speed: 6x | Blu-Ray Read Speed: 6x | 4K UHD Support: No | Compatibility: Mac, Windows, Vista But this Blu-ray drive has a few other standout features. It supports the high-capacity BDXL disc format and has a few intelligent playback modes, including PowerRead, PureRead2+, and Auto Quiet mode. The PowerRead and PureRead2+ modes automatically provide smoother playback for music and movies, and the Auto Quiet mode automatically reduces the sound of the disc in the drive. These modes emphasize the BDR-XUO3 as not only a disc reader and writer, but a device suitable for media playback as well. Blu-Ray Write Speed: 6x | Blu-Ray Read Speed: 6x | 4K UHD Support: No | Compatibility: Mac James Huenink is a writer and copywriter who has written for various publications including VPNside.com, The Federalist, Amendo.com, and Brew Your Own Magazine. He specializes in portable entertainment devices, and has reviewed several of the Blu-ray drives on this list.
What to Look For in an External Desktop Blu-ray Drive
Writing and Rewriting
The most basic Blu-ray drives are useful only for playing Blu-ray movies. If you want to burn your own Blu-ray discs, look for one that’s capable of writing or rewriting. Drives that can both write and rewrite Blu-ray discs are more flexible, but rewritable Blu-ray discs can’t store as much information as regular ones.
Compatibility
There are two compatibility issues to look out for with an external Blu-ray player: port type and operating system. Blu-ray players that support USB 3.0 transfer data faster, but that doesn’t help if your computer has only USB 2.0 ports. In that same vein, some external Blu-ray drives only work with Windows, others only work with Macs, and some can be used with both.
Speed
If you want an external Blu-ray drive only to watch movies, speed isn’t a big concern. But if you want to rip Blu-ray movies to your hard drive or burn your own Blu-ray discs, a faster drive will save you a lot of time.
