PioneerExternal Blu-ray Drive BDR-XD08B USB 3.2 Gen1 (USB Type-C) / 2.0 Slim Portable BD/DVD/CD Writer Black

I've been using this for about a year and a half now - I've traveled with it and used it at home and it has never given me a problem reading or writing discs. I had a cheap $20 drive that worked when it wanted to so out of necessity I decided to buy something of quality and this certainly is quality. It seems built to last, unlike a lot of electronics these days.It's easy to use and again, unlike the cheap options, it works ALL the time.I mainly use it to back up my media collection (movies, games, music) so I can take that stuff on the road without carrying it all around when I travel. I use it A LOT. The one thing I have not tested is the BD writer so I cannot comment on that.If you're looking for an external disc drive you can count on to work, don't think, just buy it.

This is a replacement for a cheaper one that was returned. Reads and writes well. You get what you pay for.

Very happy with it!

Works well for the price

Great brand with strong reputation made me choose this drive. The USB Drive is super convenient and works out of the box, no special drivers. Warning, you will need BD/DVD player software to play movies as Windows does not come with the codecs necessary. Sadly, this is true for any player you purchase. For the most part, the player is extremely quiet and all features work perfectly. You can download a special (but rough) utility from the manufacturer to tweak the player. For example, you can make it read faster or quieter or prioritize the quality of writing/reading.One small gripe, imperfections in some of my Blu Ray movies caused some minor skipping. Needed to adjust the drive to prioritize quality, which made it louder as the disc spinned. To be fair, it was now making just as much noise as my other drives that didn't have a quiet feature. When I played the same movie on a regular Blu Ray player hooked up to my TV, it did not have the same skipping issues.

Needed a Windows 11 Blu Ray Player, and this worked.You will need to get a Blu Ray program to watch a Blu Ray.I recommend PowerDVD 23 for Windows users.

I bought this because I love the push button open and a good brand name. However, brands change over time. Typically they degrade in product quality and customer service. Which I found here. The player has issues displaying video on the left side, pixelated or just blurs. Pioneer support was to first blame it on the software player. When I said I have tried other PC's, programs etc. Their answer, I could return it for "inspect the drive for manufacturing defects". This means the parts are in place and it working. I asked to escalate. The person I was emailing with appears to be the supervisor. I have never contacted anyone about a warranty. I will not contact Pioneer again. I would suggest you do not either, they are not the company we used to know. If I send this back and get "we find nothing wrong" I'm out $12 for shipping and get it returned as it was before I sent it.

This review is for the Pioneer BDR-XD08B. I had need of an external optical drive to rip a goodly number of CDs. Thing is I didn't want a drawer type: More flimsy parts to wear out or break so I chose this little top loader. And little it is being about the size of a CD Jewel case and half again as thick. And while it has a plastic lid, the base is metal with rubber feet. Nice. The best part is the SPEED. This little thing is fast!I plugged it into my Win11 box and it was recognized immediately. I decided to time how long a rip via iTunes would take of a 60 minute CD. It took a few moments to settle in but wound up spinning up to about 22-24x and was done in 4 minutes! My laptop drive used to take 3 to 4 times that long. I'm pleased. If anything goes sideways I'll update this review but so far, so good!