If you are looking for the best external Blu Ray burners, read along to know more. Internal Writers are undoubtedly inexpensive. However, the demand for an internal IDE or SATA connection makes their portability zero. When choosing a right Blu Ray writer for you, speed or performance may not be of high concern. A significant issue is that how it will be connected to the computer system. USB 3.0, 2.0, 1.1 or Firewire ports are used for providing connection to an external drive. As these writers are portable, they are also expensive. They directly operate on an external power source and leave the IDE/SATA connection on your motherboard free for other uses.
Also Read: Best PCIe NVMe M.2 SSD Drives
These burners can quickly be moved from one system to another, also, can be interchangeably used between your laptop and desktop, making them more convenient to use. They are usually encased in an aluminum shied, helping them to remain cool in most operating environments. With this being said, let us begin the main discussion of today’s topic. We are about to review some best External Blu Ray burners you can buy.
Best External Blu Ray Burners:
All the drives listed below are external drives. You can use software like ‘MakeMKV‘ to get the data off the Blue-Ray disc, and then use ‘Handbrake‘ to convert it to whatever format you want. Some of these drives come bundled with ‘Cyberlink‘ software which you can use to covert or burn disc’s. We hope this list will help you to understand more about these products and also help to choose the right product according to your needs. Here we begin:
1. Pioneer BDR XD05S BDXL Writer:
Before you make the purchase, do remember that the Silver & White versions are for the Mac and does not come with the bundled software. The black version includes Cyberlink software for Windows. Linux across distros seems to be working just fine with no issues getting detected. The drive works fine with any of the powered USB 3.0 port. The drive supports true USB 3.0 & BD-R QL. Refer to the table below of high-level specs:
| Speeds | 6x 2x 6x |
| Read Speed | 24x (CD) / 8x (DVD) / 6x (BD) |
| Write Speed | 24x (CD) / 8x (DVD±R) / 6x (DVD±R DL) / 6x (BD-R) / 6x (BD-R DL) / 4x (BD-R QL) / 4x (BD-R TL) / 6x (BD-R LTH) |
| Rewrite Speed | 24x (CD) / 6x (DVD-RW) / 8x (DVD+RW) / 2x (BD-RE) |
| Media Type Support | BD-R, BD-R DL, CD-R, CD-ROM, CD-RW, DVD+R, DVD+R DL, DVD+RW, DVD-RAM, DVD-ROM, BD-R LTH, DVD-ROM DL, BD-R QL, BD-R TL, BD-RE, BD-RE DL, BD-RE TL, BD-ROM, BD-ROM DL |
| Buffer Size | 4 MB |
| Media Load Type | Top-Load |
| Feature Highlights | Power Read
Pure Read 2+ USB Powered Auto Quiet mode |
| Interface / Enclosure | SuperSpeed USB 3.0, 9 pin USB Type A
External Enclosure |
| OS Support | Apple MacOS X 10.6 – 10.8, Microsoft Windows 7, Microsoft Windows Vista, Microsoft Windows XP SP3, Windows 8 |
| Included Software | Cyber link Power 2 go 8
Cyber link Power DVD 12 Cyber link Power Director 10 |
| Dimension | 5.2 x 5.2 x 0.6 inches |
| Weight | 8.11 oz |
2. ASUS BW 16D1XU Blu-Ray Drive:
This one is the fastest of the lot, with a write speed of 16x. It comes integrated with a “Cloud backup solution” for Android devices and is compatible with both Windows and MAC OS. It comes with Cyber Link Power2Go software suite for burning and can store up to 128 GB. Do note that this will not work as a standalone drive and is dependent on a computer to operate.
Specifications below:
| Speeds | 16x 2x 12x |
| Read Speed | 40x (CD) / 16x (DVD) / 12x (BD) |
| Write Speed | 40x (CD) / 16x (DVD±R) / 8x (DVD±R DL) / 12x (BD-R) / 12x (BD-R DL) / 6x (BD-R TL) / 6x (BD-R QL) / 6x (BD-R LTH) |
| Rewrite Speed | 24x (CD) / 6x (DVD-RW) / 8x (DVD+RW) / 5x (DVD-RAM) / 2x (BD-RE) / 2x (BD-RE DL) / 2x (BD-RE TL) |
| Recording Mode Support | Disk at once, Incremental Recording, Multi-session, Packet Writing, Random Access Write, Restricted Overwrite, Sequential Write, Session at Once, Track at Once |
| Media Format Support | CD Extra, CD Text, CD-DA (audio), CD-I, CD-ROM, CD-ROM XA, DVD-Video, Photo CD |
| Media Type Support | BD-R, BD-R DL, CD-ROM, CD-RW, DVD+R, DVD+R DL, DVD+RW, DVD-RAM, DVD-ROM, DVD-ROM DL, BD-R QL, BD-R TL, BD-RE, BD-RE DL, BD-RE TL, BD-ROM, BD-ROM DL, CD-R |
| Access Time | 160 sec, 170 sec, 180 sec |
| Feature Highlights | Disk Encryption Support |
| Interface / Enclosure | Super Speed USB 3.0 interface
External Enclosure |
| OS Support | Apple MacOS X 10.6 or later, Microsoft Windows 7, Microsoft Windows Vista, Microsoft Windows XP, Windows 8 |
| Included Software | CyberLink Power2Go 8, CyberLink PowerBackup 2.5, Unlimited ASUS WebStorage |
| Dimension | 6.5 x 9.6 x 2.5 inches |
| Weight | 2.56 lbs |
3. LG BE16NU5 Blu-Ray / DVD Writer:
The drive supports bdxl which can enable you to store up to 128GB “Quad layer“. It can playback 3D Blu-ray discs and just like the Asus drive, can write at 16x BD-R speeds. The internally motor is virtually silent for movie playbacks and its ‘jamless‘ play smooths out the playback of damaged sectors on Blu-ray or DVD discs. Refer to its specifications below:
| Speeds | 16x / 2x / 12x |
| Read Speed | 48x (CD) / 16x (DVD±R) / 12x (DVD±R DL) / 12x (BD-R) / 12x (BD-ROM) / 8x (BD-R DL) / 8x (BD-ROM DL) / 10x (BD-RE) / 6x (BD-R TL/QL/XL) / 6x (BD-RE DL) / 4x (BD-RE TL) |
| Write Speed | 48x (CD) / 16x (DVD±R) / 8x (DVD±R DL) / 16x (BD-R) / 12x (BD-R DL) / 8x (BD-R TL) / 6x (BD-R QL) |
| Rewrite Speed | 24x (CD) / 6x (DVD-RW) / 8x (DVD+RW) / 5x (DVD-RAM) / 2x (BD-RE) / 2x (BD-RE DL) / 2x (BD-RE TL) |
| Recording Mode Support | Layer Jump Recording (LJR), disk-at-once, incremental recording, packet writing, random access write, restricted overwrite, sequential write, session-at-once, track-at-once |
| Supported Formats | CD-DA [Audio]
CD-ROM DVD Video |
| Media Type Support | BD-R, BD-R DL, BD-R QL, BD-R TL, BD-R XL, BD-RE, BD-RE DL, BD-RE TL, BD-ROM, BD-ROM DL, CD-R, CD-ROM, CD-RW, DVD+R, DVD+R DL, DVD+RW, DVD-RAM, DVD-ROM, DVD-ROM DL, M-DISC |
| Buffer Size | 4 MB with buffer under run protection
150 sec, 160sec, 180 sec access time |
| Media Load Type | Tray Load |
| Feature Highlights | M-Disc Support |
| Interface / Enclosure | 1x Super Speed USB 3.0 interface
External Enclosure |
| OS Support | Microsoft Windows XP Home Edition, Microsoft Windows XP Professional, Microsoft Windows 7, Microsoft Windows Vista (32/64 bits), Windows 8, Windows 10 |
| Dimension | 6.3 x 8.7 x 2 inches |
| Weight | 2.31 lbs |
4. Pioneer BDR XS06 Portable Blu-Ray Writer:
At 6x writing speeds, this is not the fastest on the list. However, it supports both the BDXL @ 128GB Quad Layer & Triple Layer Blu-ray media @ 100GB. It is a multi-format capabable drive and can burn disc’s at 6x for BD-R, 8x for DVD-R& +R, plus 24x for CD-R, if it is still a thing. It comes with a slim enclosure and you can buy this with an optional stand.
Specifications:
| Speeds | 6x 2x 6x |
| Read Speed | 24x (CD) / 8x (DVD) / 6x (BD) |
| Write Speed | 24x (CD) / 8x (DVD±R) / 6x (DVD±R DL) / 6x (BD-R) / 6x (BD-R DL) / 4x (BD-R QL) / 4x (BD-R TL) / 6x (BD-R LTH) |
| Rewrite Speed | 24x (CD) / 6x (DVD-RW) / 8x (DVD+RW) / 2x (BD-RE) |
| Media Type Support | BD-R, BD-R DL, CD-R, CD-ROM, CD-RW, DVD+R, DVD+R DL, DVD+RW, DVD-RAM, DVD-ROM, BD-R LTH, DVD-ROM DL, BD-R QL, BD-R TL, BD-RE, BD-RE DL, BD-RE TL, BD-ROM, BD-ROM DL |
| Buffer Size | 4 MB |
| Media Load Type | Slot Load |
| Feature Highlights | USB Powered |
| Interface / Enclosure | 1x SuperSpeed USB 3.0 interface
External Enclosure |
| OS Support | Microsoft Windows XP SP3, Microsoft Windows Vista / 7 / 8 / 8.1 / 10, Apple MacOS X 10.6 – 10.11 |
| Dimension | 5.3 x 5.3 x 0.8 inches |
| Weight | 9.88 oz |
5. LG BP50NB40 Ultra Slim Writer:
Just like the Pioneer drive listed above, this one also can write up to 6x speeds for DR R discs. However, this one does not support BDXL Quad layer, but only triple layer media @ 100 GB. Apart from that, it can write CDs at 24x and dvds at 8x speeds. Refer to the specifications chart below:
| Speeds | 6x 2x 6x |
| Read Speed | 24x (CD) / 8x (DVD) / 6x (BD) |
| Write Speed | 24x (CD) / 8x (DVD±R) / 8x (DVD±R DL) / 6x (BD-R) / 6x (BD-R DL) / 4x (BD-R TL) / 6x (BD-R LTH) |
| Rewrite Speed | 16x (CD) / 6x (DVD-RW) / 8x (DVD+RW) / 5x (DVD-RAM) / 2x (BD-RE) / 2x (BD-RE DL) / 2x (BD-RE TL) |
| Media Type Support | BD-R, BD-R DL, BD-R LTH, BD-R TL, BD-RE, BD-RE DL, BD-RE TL, BD-ROM, BD-ROM DL, CD-R, CD-ROM, CD-RW, DVD+R, DVD+R DL, DVD+RW, DVD-RAM, DVD-ROM, DVD-ROM DL, M-DISC |
| Buffer Size | 4 MB with buffer underrun protection |
| Access Time | 200 sec, 250 sec |
| Media Load Type | Tray Media Load |
| Feature Highlights | Jamless Play
M-Disk Support Silent Play |
| Interface / Enclosure | 1x 4 pin USB 2.0 Type A interface
External Enclosure |
| OS Support | Microsoft Windows Vista / XP / 7 / 8 / 8.1 |
| Included Software | CyberLink MediaEspresso, CyberLink Power2Go, CyberLink PowerProducer, Cyberlink PowerDVD |
| Dimension | 5.7 x 6.1 x 0.6 inches |
| Weight | 9.52 oz |
6. Samsung 506CB / RSBDM Slim Writer:
The Samsung drive is yet another external 6x external Blue Ray writer using a native USB 3.0 interface. It can work with MAC OS (iMac includes) and does not need a separate driver. This is not as expensive as the LG drive listed above and can do most of your DVD, Blue Ray or CD writing work. Refer to the specifications table below for additional details:
| Speeds | 6x 2x 6x |
| Read Speed | 24x (CD) / 8x (DVD) / 6x (BD) |
| Write Speed | 24x (CD) / 8x (DVD±R) / 6x (DVD±R DL) / 6x (BD-R) / 6x (BD-R DL) / 4x (BD-R QL) / 4x (BD-R TL) |
| Rewrite Speed | 24x (CD) / 6x (DVD±RW) / 5x (DVD-RAM) / 2x (BD-RE) / 2x (BD-RE DL) / 2x (BD-RE TL) |
| Media Format Support | CD Extra, CD Text, CD+G (Karaoke CD), CD-DA (audio), CD-I, CD-ROM, CD-ROM XA, DVD-Video, Mixed-mode CD, Photo CD, Video CD |
| Media Type Support | BD-R, BD-R DL, BD-R LTH, BD-R QL, BD-R TL, BD-RE, BD-RE DL, BD-ROM, BD-ROM DL, CD-R, CD-ROM, CD-RW, DVD+R, DVD+R DL, DVD+RW, DVD-RAM, DVD-ROM |
| Buffer Size | 5 MB with Buffer under run free technology |
| Access Time | 130 sec, 200 sec |
| Media Load Type | Tray Media Load |
| Feature Highlights | Blu ray 3D Support
Double Optimum power control PSCT, SAT, SACT and TAC technologies Upscaling technology, Firmware Upgradable |
| Interface / Enclosure | 1x USB 2.0 interface
External enclosure |
| OS Support | Microsoft Windows 2000, Microsoft Windows XP, Microsoft Windows 7, Microsoft Windows Vista, Apple MacOS X 10.4.6 or later |
| Included Software | Cyber Link BD
3D advisor |
| Dimension | 5.8 x 5.7 x 0.7 inches |
| Weight | 10.16 oz |
Conclusion:
All of the drives featured on this list will support Windows and Mac OS. The difference is the writing speeds, form factor, multi-format support and of course, the price. We hope this should cover for almost everyone who is looking out for the best external Blu Ray burners.
Suggestions and comments are welcome in the comment section below.