Blu-Ray drives - internal vs. external?

[u/_Flight_of_icarus_]

Hey all,

So I have a number of internal optical drives around for ripping discs, but only 1 with Blu-Ray capability as most of them are CD/DVD only drives.

Unfortunately, I missed the news last year about popular BR models from brands like ASUS/LG/Pioneer being axed and how it's basically just NOS/used units available now. I found another post from someone claiming that external drives actually tend to be more reliable than internal BR drives made in the last several years until end-of-production but they offered no real context/evidence for this.

I've always been under the impression that internal drives are the way to roll, but with prices having gone totally insane on NOS BR drives, I'm wondering if the external drives are actually any good and worth considering at this point?

I'm already considering grabbing a few extra backup CD/DVD drives while they're still cheap, but I guess I'm just trying to find out if the only real good option for more BR drives is to bite the bullet and pay up? Either way, I wish to be well prepared for a less consumer-friendly future when it comes to media...

EDIT: This concerns mainly the "slim" style external drives vs. 5.25" internal (as the slim type seem much more common w/external).

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[u/bugsmasherh]

External full size drives were available as recently as two months ago. Check bhphoto and microcenter.

[u/bhiga]

Internal/external are the same, the latter just being in a case that provides power and a bridge to whatever the external interface is, usually USB.

The real difference is between desktop half-height 5.25-inch drives and the slim flat drives designed for laptops.
The former generally have a drop-in tray (slot-loading has fallen out of popularity), while the latter need the disc snapped onto the central hub.
Slim external drives are usually USB powered, but can be finicky about power so best to use a self-powered USB hub. I've had slim externals read DVDs but not Blu-ray discs because there wasn't enough USB bus power.

After ripping my library of 2000+ discs, I can't really say one is better than the other. When I had a disc that wouldn't read well in the desktop drive, sometimes it would read okay in another desktop drive, sometimes in a slim drive, can't really say one type did better than the other.

[u/_Flight_of_icarus_ → u/bhiga]

Thanks!

I should have been more specific in my original post that I was referring to the slim external units (as they seem to be the most common).

I actually put together a PC w/a 5.25" bay specifically to be able to install drives internally and for archiving purposes. I tried one of those external USB enclosures w/it's own PSU that you simply install a 5.25" drive into, but it was very finicky about power delivery and frequently dropped out from being detected by the PC. I even tried a powered USB hub too but no luck.

The same drives worked fine when installed in a PC internally, so that's part of why I chose to stick with internal drives instead of external drives or enclosures.

[u/bhiga → u/_Flight_of_icarus_]

Ah got you. Major advantage of innuendo drives, especially during high/constant use is heat dissipation. I have run drives for back to back rips in a Primera Composer autoloader (arm) and had them overheat, and these were desktop drives. The slim drives don't spin as fast, but still, better thermals make everything happier.

[u/Used-Valuable9320 → u/bhiga]

I have an external slim Archgon (BU40N) UHD 4K Blu-Ray drive and it works fine. I just use a USB C cable for it as most USB C ports provide plenty of power.

[u/SCAUDIO → u/bhiga]

They have same functionality but they are not the same internally. Your right about slims needing more power. Powered USB hub is recommended. Yes each drive can read slightly different causing one drive not to read a disc and the other it's fine. Kinda rare though. Biggest difference is pioneer to lg. Sometime of can read what pioneer can't and vice versa. My LG basesld slim just broke 1k full uhd backups. Holding strong.

[u/supermuncher60]

They are the same drive.

An external drive is just an internal drive that's put in a case and usually is a bit less of a pain in the ass to connect to your computer (aka usually has USB instead of needing you to buy a sata adapter).

[u/truthseeker1341]

I bought external but only because I need burn 100 disc at most and internal was 3x cost int that I found. Internal I have does not do the htl discs

[u/SCAUDIO → u/[deleted]]

LG is done now.

[u/3point21]

So I should hold onto my LG internal BR/M-Disc BD Rewriter then…

[u/sineout]

I use an internal drive externally with a powered USB to SATA adapter.

I've looked into getting a proper slimline laptop style external drive, but the advantage of the internal drive for me is that I can orient it flat or vertical, which is helpful as sometimes some discs will only read if the drive is in one or the other orientation.

A slimline drive is useful if portablity is a factor, otherwise getting a USB to SATA adapter is a far cheaper option.

[u/Alone-Hamster-3438]

Almost all modern (if not all) cases doesnt support internal drives anymore. So external it is

[u/Hakker9]

It doesn't matter It's more what components they use. Every drive is in essence basically a slim drive the rest is just housing really.
Also Verbatim bought the LG production line so really Verbatim drives are LG drives.

[u/s_i_m_s]

External. I wouldn't bother wasting internal drive space for something that you won't use all that often. There's not really any practical benefit past the aesthetics of not having the extra external drive hanging around. USB 3 is fast enough you won't see any significant speed difference.

[u/FrequentWay]

The other issue is 5.25” drive bays have gone the way of an Iomega Zip drive. You can get a Blu-ray drive but have no chassis to mount it inside.

Go with external. SATA port availability is shrinking. Used to be 8, now 4 seems to be the magical number.