PioneerExternal Blu-ray Drive BDR-XD08G USB 3.2 Gen1 (USB Type-C) / 2.0 Slim Portable BD/DVD/CD Writer Gold

My newest PC was unable to have a blu-ray drive installed with it, and I often watch movies and TV shows from my collection when I'm not working in my home office, so I wanted an external drive. This one was exactly what I needed. Couldn't be simpler to use; just plug into an open USB port, the PC detects it, and you're ready to watch regular DVD or blu-ray movies/shows (**NO 4K, though...just be aware of that.**)I haven't tried running any of my legacy PC games that are still on physical media, but I'm willing to bet those will work fine, as well.It's quick to recognize whatever disk is inserted, I can watch movies and shows without any lag or playback issues. It's lightweight and very portable, so it's great if you're mobile and working with a laptop. You just can't go wrong with this exterior drive.

Works well for the price

Works great for backing up my Blu-Ray disks. Reasonable price once you keep in mind that a $40 drive might work once or twice, but not again. I appreciate the detachable USB cable and the inclusion of a USB-A to -C adapter.

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 have a small library of Blu-Ray DVDs. My new system was a mini-PC without a USB Blu-Ray drive. The drive was able to play my DVD and Blu-Ray discs. There were some glitches/stuttering during play-back which I believe is attributed to the new system. The play-back software is dated, but worked on my Win11 box. Overall, installation was straight forward and I was watching videos without any installation issues.

As all pioneer Blu-ray players I've purchased, it is well crafted, reliable and functions as advertised as far as I can test it. (side note) many software companies claim to be able to perform the 4k and HDR disc play back, I have tried many and no software allows 4k play back with any 4k and HDR players. This is not a pioneer issue but should be mentioned since every company seems to claim it is capable of those play back options but not a single one of them have proven they are able.)

If I could rate it any lower I would. Simply put, it doesn't work. I went through an hour of installing all the software from an extremely shady Japanese website just for this to freeze up and crash every time I get 12 seconds into a bluray. I cannot recommend this product for anyone.

I initially plugged this into a USB dock that I was having issues with and every burn I attempted, failed. I investigated and found that the VIA driver the dock works with has issues with Windows 10, disconnecting and reconnecting constantly, so I replaced the dock and ever since then, it has burned flawlessly and even reads/writes the disks that had failed so I can reuse them. I like that the disk insert is completely lo-tech mechanical (there are no mechanisms that can fail when you put a disk in or take one out.). You can also visually inspect the inside of the drive before inserting a disk. A must have for parents of children who like sliding things into where they don't belong. Speed is average, but burns are accurate. It's portable so I can use it with a number of my devices. I replaced an old LG internal drive that stopped recognizing Blu-ray disks and now I have a Blu-ray burner that can go anywhere. Very happy. Just wish this went on sale more often.