Compare the 10 Best Optical Disc DrivesOctober 2017

Optical disk drives cover a wide range of internal and external devices meant to both read and write a variety of removable media. This means they can be used to both read data from discs (i.e - playing a movie DVD or Blu Ray) and also writing or ‘burning’ data (i.e - creating a music CD from individual mp3s, or permanently writing files to a disk for distribution).

While most computers used to house CD and DVD drives as standard, drastically smaller devices and a move towards cloud-based streaming mean that disc drives are being used less and less. Indeed many modern laptops and desktops no longer contain a disc drive at all.

This means that even though it is legacy tech, it’s still worth keeping a drive handy for those times you want to read the data from an old DVD, burn a disc for a friend, or watch a movie when you don’t have access to Netflix. This guide will explain the major points of consideration when choosing an optical disk drive.

Mounting & Portability

The first important consideration is what type of drive you want to get. While all our drives read and write disks, there are 2 main types - internal and external. It’s important to note that generally speaking internal drives can’t be used outside of computers, and external drives have to be powered via USB, and can’t be mounted inside a desktop or laptop.

Internal drives: These are meant to be placed into the computer body itself and wired directly into the system for power and data. They are used mostly for either replacements, or if you are building your own computer from scratch. Because these drives have to fit into a specific bay, it’s important to make sure you get one that is the right measurements and compatible with your computer. This also includes the correct mounting for the machine you’re wanting to install the drive into.

External drives: These drives are meant to be plugged into a computer (usually via USB) to serve as a temporary drive when one is needed. These drives tend to be more expensive than internal drives, but can be used with any computer. They are especially useful for laptops, since the current trend in ultra-thin laptops mean that most modern models don’t have a drive built in. Because external drives are removable, they can be easily stowed away until needed, making them helpful if you only need to read a CD/DVD occasionally. They are also very portable, making them good for watching movies or accessing data on journeys where you may not have access to a stable net connection.

Media Support

There are 3 main types of optical media supported by the disc drives on our site - CD, DVD and Blu Ray:

CD: Traditionally used for music, and while rather a legacy format, there are so many CDs in circulation that you are bound to need to access one at some point. All disc drives will read and write CDs, but the downside is they hold the least information of the 3 types.

DVD: DVDs are generally used for movies, since they are higher density, so can hold far more data than CDs. DVDs are still widely used for movies and video games, and can also hold a large amount of information, making them useful for backing up lots of files. Nearly all of our drives support both CD and DVD read writing.

Blu-Ray: The newest and highest density of optical media on the market, Blu-Ray discs can hold an enormous amount of data in a single disc. They are primarily used for very high-quality movies. However because they are a new format, Blu-Ray writers are far more expensive than CD or DVD-compatible models. Moreover, not all drives support Blu-Ray reading or writing, meaning that you may find other users are not able to read the data on the disc.

Read/Write Speedas

Finally, read & write speeds measure how quickly data can be written from & to the disc. This is measures in bytes per second - the higher the speed, the faster large files (such as movies) will be burnt to the disc, or read from the drive. The read-write speeds are also affected by the USB version supported - USB 3.0 supported drives allow far higher transfer rates than USB 2 drives, so it is worth seeking out the newest drive you can for the fastest data transfer speeds.

Optical Disc Drive Prices

We currently list 113 cd rewriters ranging from £0 to £213. On average, a new cd burner costs £32 and 80% of cd burners are priced between £0 and £65. The cheapest dvd (re)writer that we found is the Samsung SU-208GB at only £0, and the most expensive is the Sonnet RACK-MIN-BDRW at £213.

Cd (re)writer Brands - Price Range

The average price of Sonnet dvd rewriters is £213 which is the highest average price of all dvd rewriter brands. Sonnet dvd rewriters start at £213 and the most expensive Sonnet dvd rewriter costs £213.

The average price of Verbatim cd writers is £64 which is the second highest average price of all cd writer brands. Verbatim cd writers start at £28 and the most expensive Verbatim cd writer costs £100.

Hewlett Packard Enterprise cd rewriters start at £0 and the most expensive Hewlett Packard Enterprise dvd rewriter costs £106. The average price of Hewlett Packard Enterprise cd rewriters is £53 which is the third highest average price of all dvd rewriter brands.

Cd Burner Brands - Average Ratings

We have analysed 1 expert reviews and 822 user reviews for cd burners and used this information to determine the average rating for each brand of dvd burner. Apple is the top rated cd burner brand with an average rating of 92%. Lite-On is the second best brand with 86% and LG is the third best brand with 78%.

Biggest Dvd (re)writer Retailers

The biggest cd rewriter retailer by number of products currently for sale is Amazon UK. We found 77 current cd rewriter offers from Amazon UK. The second biggest cd rewriter retailer is Communications Solutions with 17 offers. That means Amazon UK is over 4 times bigger than Communications Solutions when it comes to cd burners. Ebuyer is the third biggest retailer with 17 current offers.

When Are Most New Dvd (re)writers Released?

We looked at the release dates for new dvd (re)writers over the last 3 years, but couldn't see any noticeable trend. Last year most new dvd (re)writers were released in February, with 11 new dvd (re)writers released that month. The biggest month in 2015 for new cd (re)writer releases was July, with 18 new cd rewriters released that month. June was the biggest month in 2014 for new dvd rewriters, with 33 new dvd rewriters released that month.

How Fast Do Cd Writer Prices Drop After Release?

On average, in the first 6 months after release, dvd (re)writers drop in price by 57%. On a typical new dvd rewriter costing £31, by waiting 6 months before buying you could save on average £18.

Disc Loading Types

Type of mechanism by which the optical disc is loaded into the product.

Amongst new optical disc drives, the most frequently found disc loading type is tray. We found 89 optical disc drives that are dvd rewriters that have a tray loading. We found 23 cd rewriters that are dvd writers that have a slot loading, making slot the second most common disc loading type amongst new cd rewriters.

Internals

Optical Drive Types

Amongst new dvd burners, the most common optical drive type is DVD. We found 358 dvd burners that are dvd writers that have a DVD Optical drive type. The second most frequently found optical drive type amongst new optical disc drives is DVD-R. We found 162 optical disc drives that are dvd (re)writers that have a DVD-R Optical drive type.

CD Read Speeds

This measures how quickly the optical drive can read information from a CD.

Comparing all cd burners, the CD read speeds range from 14x to 48x. The CD read speeds of most optical disc drives range from 23x to 26x. The cd writer with the fastest CD read speed is the SamsungSH-224, which is a 48x CD read speed dvd burner and sells for £19.06. The SamsungSH-224, which is on sale for £0.00, has the slowest CD read speed and is a 14x CD read speed cd writer.

Faster read speeds mean that the data on the disc can be accessed quicker, making every operation faster and meaning less time is wasted waiting for the disc to load.

Biggest Dvd Rewriter Retailers

We found 77 current offers for dvd burners from Amazon UK making it the biggest cd rewriter retailer. That is over 4 times bigger than the second biggest retailer, Communications Solutions for whom we found 17 current offers for dvd burners. The third biggest retailer is Ebuyer with 17 current cd rewriter offers.

Which Are the Cheapest Retailers for Dvd Rewriters?

With the cheapest price on 50 optical disc drives, Amazon UK is most frequently the cheapest cd (re)writer shop.

Proportion of Optical Disc Drives for Which Each Retailer is Cheapest?

With the cheapest price on 64.9% of its cd writers, Amazon UK is most frequently the cheapest dvd burner shop.