Pioneer External Blu-ray Drive BDR-X13EBK (New!) Reliability & 16x BD-R Writing Speed USB 3.2 Gen1 / 2.0 BD/DVD/CD Writer with PureRead 3+ and M-DISC Support

After a brilliant long-serving unbranded Blu-Ray drive finally ran out of steam in summer '23, I purchased the widely promoted Bunud drive to replace it. I was looking for a drive that would help me back up the remainder of my Blu-Ray collection, and particularly my 3D collection. After initially impressing, I found there were some 3D discs that this drive couldn't process, no matter how many attempts, reinstalls of software, etc etc. Very few forums offered clarity for the lay person. I was also getting increasingly concerned at some of the mechanical noises made by that drive. I decided that a further hardware upgrade was worth trying. Enter this Pioneer drive...WOW! What an absolute beast! Delivered within 24hrs, the drive is considerably bigger than most of the immediate competition, and not much smaller than the Mac Mini it's now connected to. It's bulkier, but the build quality is evident. Unlike a lot of the cheaper external optical drives, this is NOT reliant on your USB port (or dual ports) for power. It has a separate power cable, and comes with two power cables for UK and EU sockets. The single USB 3.0 cable should plug directly into your computer for best results (rather than via a hub). The drive was instantly recognised by Mac OS Sonoma, and the drive tray is robust and responsive to operating system commands and push-button activation.My first test was on my most troublesome 3D disc. Where the other drive had failed repeatedly around the 20% mark, the Pioneer completed the back-up job in one go. Running almost silently the entire time too. There is almost no heat or air emitted from the drive - and virtually no vibration, even on a hard surface. The final output was spot on, and now I can approach my remaining back-up tasks with much more confidence.Note: This drive has noticeably upgraded specs compared to cheaper alternatives, but you will be constrained by your computer's processing power and software limitations. The drive itself is capable of the specs described, but your kit may not be able to utilise it to that degree. I have not tested the burning capability (as I have no use for this functionality), and I also have no use for the PowerRead or PureRead3 software as I typically use DVDFab and MakeMKV.In summary, I'm delighted with this drive, and it's proven again the lesson of 'buy cheap, buy twice'. This Pioneer looks and feels like a proper bit of kit. Excellent value, and highly recommended.

Well worth it this device has excelled at helping me to rip my old 2000 CD collection from FLAC into the much better WAV format — ably assisted by DBPowerAmp software. It took me five months but well worth it. And saved me buying a lot of the music again in HiRes..!

Great External blueray drive. Unfortunately won't read DVD -R not CD-R Which a lot of the older generations have there music and film library collection. The Blueray side state's it plays 4k. I just bought a new computer which is upgraded to be able to play 4k movies. But still this Pioneer External Blu-ray Drive BDR-X13EBK still won't play in 4k. The software is well not fit for the purpose it's designed to unless you upgrade after just spending an arm and a leg. And your consultantly being barmbarded with adverts for upgrading the software. Now the positive side of the Pioneer External Blu-ray Drive BDR-X13EBK. It's fast at copying your data and burning. A fast improvement from the older versions. It gives you the options to change the speed settings. It's reliability is flawless. Would I recommend to purchasing this product. If It's a price war for value then Yes. Otherwise No.

Much more reliable than the cheaper drive I bought previously. Worth the extra spend.

Very good external DVD/Bluraydisc burner. Top quality

Not sure where the five star European reviews came from - I learned the hard way that Pioneer have withdrawn all support for any optical drive purchased in the UK or Europe. Firstly, the link for the drive's software produces 404s, and the QR code on the manual doesn't work. After several fruitless hours trying to get through to Pioneer UK/Europe I hit on the ruse of complaining to their 'car product' division via online support form. Here is what they said:'Unfortunately Pioneer UK/Europe no longer support Optical drives, we don’t manufacture them for sale in Europe and the UK, drives are still being made in Japan and other over seas countries, but not for this location. Pioneer Corporation announced this decision in summer 2009.' This came officially from Pioneer Europe NV (UK Branch) Customer Relations Department, and should be a red flag for anyone purchasing any Pioneer optical drive.I've returned the drive and made Amazon aware of the issue.

Very fast burner for M-Disc. 25GB, 50GB works seamlessly to MacBook Pro. Expensive but worth the money for a dedicated dvd burner and player

Previously had a Samsung external bluray drive that was old & touch and go with windows 11 that I used to rip my collection for private use.. Taking somewhat 1hr 30min per disc.. Now between 20-30mins per disc with this drive, it's really fast! Really Should have got this a long time ago... Sadly the software that's included is very limited but comes as an extra, although a lot bigger the tray loading functionality gives me more reassurance.. I've had many other brands in the past and with my old desktop having a pioneer drive, it always performed, always a solid brand that I had no issues with... So if your on the lookout for a new external drive You won't be disapointed with this product, #Update, after one week no issues what so ever in the uk, I do not rely on pioneers software for my media as use other 3rd party but can confirm that the cyberlink software that is free with this product works as it should, as the latest review suggests pioneer may have issues with their software but works flawlessly with others, hardware top notch!