# External Blu-Ray drive for laptop?

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/external-blu-ray-drive-for-laptop/770368>\
**Category:** In My Humble Opinion\
**Created:** [November 1, 2016, 3:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/external-blu-ray-drive-for-laptop/770368 "2016-11-01T15:21:53Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 2\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![Cuckoorex](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ad7895/32.png) [@Cuckoorex](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cuckoorex)\
**Post date:** [November 1, 2016, 3:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/external-blu-ray-drive-for-laptop/770368/1 "2016-11-01T15:21:53Z")

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My cheap Toshiba Satellite laptop’s internal DVD drive seems to be crapping out, and I was thinking of upgrading to a Blu-Ray combo drive. The easiest solution would seem to be an external drive; anyone have experience using one, and/or recommendations for a brand or model under $60? Thanks!

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**Author:** ![ReticulatingSplines](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e274bd/32.png) [@ReticulatingSplines](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ReticulatingSplines)\
**Post date:** [November 1, 2016, 5:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/external-blu-ray-drive-for-laptop/770368/2 "2016-11-01T17:03:05Z")

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I have the Pioneer BDR-XD05S, and it sucks, but regardless, it depends on why you want a Blu-Ray. You should know that if you buy an external drive, you won’t be able to play Blu-Ray movies right out of the box. You’ll have to buy ~$50 software to do so. If you just want it for more archival storage capacity or something, then go for it.