I've just bought a Blu-ray Disc of a movie and want to play it (and possibly rip it) on my MacBook Air M2. Does anyone have recommendations for a good external Blu-ray/DVD drive? I tried Googling and even asked AI, but I'm still not sure if those suggestions are reliable. Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance!
Finding a drive is the easy part. There is, e.g.,
I have the CD/DVD (only) version of this drive. Advantages include the fact that it has its own power source, and that the power supply and the cable to connect it to a computer are both detachable and replaceable. (The data cable in the box is a very short USB-A to USB 3.0 B cable, but you can find longer USB-C to USB 3.0 B ones.)
The issue is going to be on the software side.
Macs do not come with built-in software for playing Blu-Ray video discs, and third-party drives generally do not come with software for playing Blu-Ray video discs. You would need to get a drive and add a third-party Blu-Ray player application from someone else. I am not familiar with the alternatives.
Jzapko13 wrote:
I recommend Verbatim Blu-Ray Slimline (If you want you can purchase a 4K version of this) USB 3.2 Gen 1 (USB-C)
I looked this drive up on Amazon and in the first paragraph under the description, it states:
"Slimline CD DVD Blu-ray writer with 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray Includes a FREE 25GB Verbatim Blu-ray disc; Blu-Ray Playback not compatible with Mac systems"
Just something to watch out for...I have no personal experience regarding this.
I would think that at this point in time (regarding optical media), anything out there would likely work as well as anything else.
The one thing I would be aware of however is that some external optical drives draw more power than what can be supplied by the MacBook's built-in USB-C ports. In this case, you will need to use a powered UCB-C hub in which the hub itself is powered externally by a USB-C power delivery adapter. Then the external optical drive is plugged into one of the USB ports on the hub which will supply the required power to operate it properly.
Here is an example.
The exception that I am aware of (though not through personal experience) where the optical drive can be powered directly from the MacBook's built-in USB-C ports is Apple's SuperDrive but this is a CD/DVD drive only and not Blu-ray.
I recommend Verbatim Blu-Ray Slimline (If you want you can purchase a 4K version of this) USB 3.2 Gen 1 (USB-C)
Ive got this and its very good at playing those DVD and really slim so if you need you can pack this very easily.
Happy to help!
Oh sorry…
But like DVD and CD for mac it is great.
Just sorry for the blu-ray
Recommendations for an external Blu-ray/DVD drive for the MacBook Air M2
