External DVD/Blu-Ray Drive for MacBook Pro.

[AutoMechanic]

Hello,

I’m looking to get an external DVD/Blu-Ray drive for my MacBook Pro for when we travel so I can still watch my DVDs and Blu-Ray disks and also would prefer it play CDs. My MacBook Pro is a 2019 model with Intel i9 processor. I see Apple makes their own version but I don’t believe it plays Blu-Ray based on what I researched. I’m not seeing many brands that do. However if it doesn’t do Blu-Ray it’s not totally a deal breaker but strongly preferred. Really looking for the best one to get like brands as I’m seeing a lot of off brands online. So far the only name brand ones I’ve found are LG, Apple and Pioneer. Is there really one that’s better than the other? Would also prefer if I could buy it locally but that’s also not a deal breaker either. I’m not really tech savvy so if there are any certain specs I should look for I would also appreciate that information too.


Thanks.

 

[3783-KC1]

Just look up your options on a Mac forum and see what other people have used/works. There isn't too much to differentiate these things on. I know things are different on a Mac software wise, but aren't external devices usually plug and play?

 

[AutoMechanic]

Just look up your options on a Mac forum and see what other people have used/works. There isn't too much to differentiate these things on. I know things are different on a Mac software wise, but aren't external devices usually plug and play?

I honestly don’t know haha. I know with chargers the Apple devices are rather finicky so I am not sure on something like this. But I’m seeing lots of different specs on these devices like one says 8x external then the other says 6x external and double layer and I have no clue what that means.

 

[redhat]

As far as the device working, from a Plug N Play perspective, you'd be good to go. But from what I recall on at least the Windows side was with Blu Ray... you'd need the player software which would have the codec to decode the movie. This was years ago. I'd assume it hasn't changed and Mac is the same.

 

[ripcord]

You just need a USB player.

https://www.amazon.com/External-Blu-ray-Drives/b?node=1292123011

 

[3783-KC1]

Ok the 6x or 8x just refers to the rate at which they "burn"/transfer information to a blank disc. "Double Layer" is a neat part of the DVD standard which allows for twice the space on a disc as a normal DVD by storing the data on multiple layers. Some discs are DL some aren't. You might see something on Blu-Ray or 4K players saying "Quad-Layer" which is the same concept.

 

[ripcord]

As far as the device working, from a Plug N Play perspective, you'd be good to go. But from what I recall on at least the Windows side was with Blu Ray... you'd need the player software which would have the codec to decode the movie. This was years ago. I'd assume it hasn't changed and Mac is the same.

Yes, software to play Blue-Ray on MacOS is required. Open source VLC can be used with a bit of installation hackery, but it isn't hard. The other option is to purchase Macgo Pro.