Looking for a budget blu-ray drive

jrm27 · Dec 12, 2012, 11:47 AM

Hi all,

I'm looking for a budget blu ray drive but have no idea what to look for. All I'm using it for is to convert my blu-ray discs so I can watch them on my WDTV live. So, I dont need anything fancy... just something that I can use with makeMKV (I guess?). Can someone point me in the right direction? Thanks!

-jon

phoenixsan · Dec 12, 2012, 12:41 PM

you have a Mac and want to connect the Blu-ray drive via USB, I can vouch a Pioneer, LiteOn, Sony and Philips one (for read only, no burning, right?)

Maybe this link is helpful:

http://www.newegg.com/Blu-Ray-Drives/SubCategory/ID-598

for read-only external drives

jrm27 · Dec 12, 2012, 12:47 PM

Thanks! That does help.

Correct, no burning of Blu-Ray discs.

Anyone else have any other info? Just want to make sure I'm getting what I need!

JRoDDz · Dec 12, 2012, 12:53 PM

Be forewarned.. Blu-Ray disks take up massive amounts of hard drive space and time to rip and convert. This could be a huge undertaking and tie up your computer for hours upon hours.

jrm27 · Dec 12, 2012, 12:57 PM

Thanks for the heads up! I've got a spare 3TB ready, and am not worried about the time commitment!

WesCole · Dec 12, 2012, 01:39 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by phoenixsan

you have a Mac and want to connect the Blu-ray drive via USB, I can vouch a Pioneer, LiteOn, Sony and Philips one (for read only, no burning, right?)

Maybe this link is helpful:

http://www.newegg.com/Blu-Ray-Drives/SubCategory/ID-598

for read-only external drives

It looks like those are internal blu ray drives. While they do have SATA to USB adapters, here are some USB blu ray drives that are guaranteed to work with Macs.

http://eshop.macsales.com/search/external+blu+ray

Dan DRC · Dec 14, 2012, 10:56 AM

http://www.amazon.com/Blu-Ray-USB-Ex...=blu+ray+drive

I have had great results with this one so far

PsyOpWarlord · Dec 14, 2012, 02:31 PM

You can use internet drives, but you just have to buy an enclosure to go with it. So that would have to be factored into the price.

KylePowers · Dec 14, 2012, 10:58 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dan DRC

http://www.amazon.com/Blu-Ray-USB-Ex...=blu+ray+drive

I have had great results with this one so far

I have this one too, except in black. Works perfectly!

Michael CM1 · Dec 15, 2012, 08:16 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dan DRC

http://www.amazon.com/Blu-Ray-USB-Ex...=blu+ray+drive

I have had great results with this one so far

Part of me also wants to buy a BD burner so I can back up photos on many fewer discs. But then I wonder how easily I would keep up with them.

I've got more than 100GB in photos, so this is obviously something I need to tackle. Is BD a good solution since the discs aren't as susceptible to failure, or are there cheap cloud alternatives for such a massive collection?

jrm27 · Dec 28, 2012, 01:14 PM

Thanks for the recommendations guys! In the case of the Amazon drive, will I need to instal AnyDVD or something like that to use it? I dont really want to watch movies on my mac, just want to use the drive to get MakeMKV to convert my BluRays.

ECUpirate44 · Dec 28, 2012, 01:17 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JRoDDz

Be forewarned.. Blu-Ray disks take up massive amounts of hard drive space and time to rip and convert. This could be a huge undertaking and tie up your computer for hours upon hours.

How much space are we talking about here?

mic j · Dec 28, 2012, 01:28 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ecupirate44

how much space are we talking about here?

mp4 is 5-10gb/BR

ECUpirate44 · Dec 28, 2012, 01:29 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mic j

mp4 is 5-10gb/BR

How much is an uncompressed bluray?

mic j · Dec 28, 2012, 01:32 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jrm27

Thanks for the recommendations guys! In the case of the Amazon drive, will I need to instal AnyDVD or something like that to use it? I dont really want to watch movies on my mac, just want to use the drive to get MakeMKV to convert my BluRays.

You do not need anything but MakeMKV (and Handbrake if you are going to view your movies on an aTV).

JRoDDz · Dec 28, 2012, 10:32 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ECUpirate44

How much is an uncompressed bluray?

Generally about 20 to 30gb ripped before compressing to MP4.

mmomega · Dec 29, 2012, 12:34 AM

Back in'09 I picked up a standard Samsung internal Blu Ray drive at Fry's and a 5.25" external enclosure that it would fit into. It used USB2 and it was much quicker than the built-in superdrive at reading/writing CD's and DVD's and I used this for the same thing as you, just ripping Blu Rays.

No special software other than MakeMKV or Handbrake or any other ripping software for ripping BR's.

I just tonight picked up an LG USB3 external BR burner from Best Buy because I will be using it to back up data not so much burning BR movies.

Tomasmekean · Jan 3, 2013, 07:11 PM

I purchased a Digistor External Blu Ray burner to backup some of my older Blu Rays that didn't come with a digital copy. The first thing I noticed was that I was getting really slow rip speeds. I gave up after one movie was going to take over four hours. I ended up just buying it on iTunes.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00...ls_o01_s01_i00

Can anyone suggest a faster Blu Ray drive for ripping? I hate for this guy to have the same problem I did.

scifi451 · Jan 3, 2013, 08:14 PM

I ended up buying a Samsung drive a year or two ago and it seems to do pretty well for me at least. Takes around 40 mins or so? (have not exactly timed it) for ripping a blu ray.

Dec 12, 2012, 11:47 AM	#1
jrm27 macrumors 6502 Join Date: Jan 2008	Looking for a budget blu-ray drive Hi all, I'm looking for a budget blu ray drive but have no idea what to look for. All I'm using it for is to convert my blu-ray discs so I can watch them on my WDTV live. So, I dont need anything fancy... just something that I can use with makeMKV (I guess?). Can someone point me in the right direction? Thanks! -jon __________________ Flickr
	0

Dec 12, 2012, 12:41 PM	#2
phoenixsan macrumors 6502a Join Date: Oct 2012	Assuming.... you have a Mac and want to connect the Blu-ray drive via USB, I can vouch a Pioneer, LiteOn, Sony and Philips one (for read only, no burning, right?) Maybe this link is helpful: http://www.newegg.com/Blu-Ray-Drives/SubCategory/ID-598 for read-only external drives __________________ Mac Pro 2010 3.06 Westmere version, 12 Core 64 GB RAM, 4 TB , iPhone 5 (black)
	0

Dec 12, 2012, 12:47 PM	#3
jrm27 Thread Starter macrumors 6502 Join Date: Jan 2008	Thanks! That does help. Correct, no burning of Blu-Ray discs. Anyone else have any other info? Just want to make sure I'm getting what I need! __________________ Flickr
	0

Dec 12, 2012, 12:57 PM	#5
jrm27 Thread Starter macrumors 6502 Join Date: Jan 2008	Thanks for the heads up! I've got a spare 3TB ready, and am not worried about the time commitment! __________________ Flickr
	1

Dec 28, 2012, 01:14 PM	#11
jrm27 Thread Starter macrumors 6502 Join Date: Jan 2008	Thanks for the recommendations guys! In the case of the Amazon drive, will I need to instal AnyDVD or something like that to use it? I dont really want to watch movies on my mac, just want to use the drive to get MakeMKV to convert my BluRays. __________________ Flickr
	0

Dec 12, 2012, 12:53 PM	#4
JRoDDz macrumors 68000 Join Date: Jul 2009 Location: NJ	Be forewarned.. Blu-Ray disks take up massive amounts of hard drive space and time to rip and convert. This could be a huge undertaking and tie up your computer for hours upon hours.
	0

Dec 14, 2012, 10:56 AM	#7
Dan DRC macrumors member Join Date: Nov 2011	http://www.amazon.com/Blu-Ray-USB-Ex...=blu+ray+drive I have had great results with this one so far
	0

Dec 14, 2012, 02:31 PM	#8
PsyOpWarlord macrumors member Join Date: Nov 2010 Location: Colorado Springs, CO	You can use internet drives, but you just have to buy an enclosure to go with it. So that would have to be factored into the price.
	0

Dec 29, 2012, 12:34 AM	#17
mmomega macrumors Demi-God Join Date: Dec 2009 Location: DFW, TX	Back in'09 I picked up a standard Samsung internal Blu Ray drive at Fry's and a 5.25" external enclosure that it would fit into. It used USB2 and it was much quicker than the built-in superdrive at reading/writing CD's and DVD's and I used this for the same thing as you, just ripping Blu Rays. No special software other than MakeMKV or Handbrake or any other ripping software for ripping BR's. I just tonight picked up an LG USB3 external BR burner from Best Buy because I will be using it to back up data not so much burning BR movies. __________________ '11 iMac 27" RAID'd SSD, '09 iMac 27" X-25M SSD, '10 iMac 27", iMacG4 1GHz768MB, '10 MacMini, '11 MacMini '12 MiniServer '12 15"rMBP, '12 13" MBAir, iPad4 16GBWiFi, iPad4 32GB4G, aTV1,2 & 3
	0

Jan 3, 2013, 07:11 PM	#18
Tomasmekean macrumors member Join Date: Jun 2007	I purchased a Digistor External Blu Ray burner to backup some of my older Blu Rays that didn't come with a digital copy. The first thing I noticed was that I was getting really slow rip speeds. I gave up after one movie was going to take over four hours. I ended up just buying it on iTunes. http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00...ls_o01_s01_i00 Can anyone suggest a faster Blu Ray drive for ripping? I hate for this guy to have the same problem I did.
	0

Jan 3, 2013, 08:14 PM	#19
scifi451 macrumors regular Join Date: Jan 2003 Location: MN	I ended up buying a Samsung drive a year or two ago and it seems to do pretty well for me at least. Takes around 40 mins or so? (have not exactly timed it) for ripping a blu ray.
	0


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