ReviewHub logo

Tech

Outdoors

Kitchen

Appliances

More

The Best External Optical Drives for DVDs and Blu-rays

Updated Dec 10, 2022
When you buy through our links, we may earn a small commission at no additional cost to you.

Modern laptops rarely include optical drives for CDs, DVDs, or Blu-rays, and music and video streaming services make it so you never need to play a disc if you don’t want to. But if you have decades’ worth of CDs, DVDs, or Blu-rays to watch, or home movies to archive, the Asus ZenDrive U9M is the best USB DVD burner, and LG’s BP60NB10 is the best Blu-ray burner. Both drives are quick to rip data from discs to your computer or to burn new discs with your own data, and both work with PCs and Macs and are reasonably priced.

Asus ZenDrive U9M, the best usb dvd drive

Asus ZenDrive U9M

The best USB DVD drive
This drive ripped DVDs faster than the other DVD-only drives we tested, and it includes a USB Type-C cable for newer laptops.
We recommend
LG BP60NB10, best for blu-rays

LG BP60NB10

Best for Blu-rays
Quiet, fast, and relatively inexpensive, the BP60NB10 is one of the few Blu-ray drives we tested that can handle 4K UHD Blu-ray discs.
We recommend
LG GP65NB60, a cheap and capable dvd drive

LG GP65NB60

A cheap and capable DVD drive
This DVD-only drive is slow when ripping discs, but it’s quieter and less expensive than other options if you plan to watch, rip, or burn only DVDs, not Blu-rays.
Another good choice
Pioneer BDR-XD07B, faster at dvds, slower at blu-ray

Pioneer BDR-XD07B

Faster at DVDs, slower at Blu-ray
The BDR-XD07B is a more compact drive that’s best at ripping DVDs. It supports Blu-ray but not 4K UHD discs.
Another good choice

Subscribe to the newsletter

Get notified about promotions, exceptional deals, and stay up to date.


© 2023 ReviewHub. All rights reserved