Topic: External USB Blu-Ray BD-Rom Reader, DVD-RW, CD-RW Review with Pictures
Hey guys.
Link where I bought it: http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?Vi … 0121191160
After Cashback it ended up costing about $114.00
Here are the specs and capabilities.
Dimensions of Case:
Length: 14 cm (5.5 inch)
Width: 13.5cm (5.2 inch)
Height: 1.8 cm (0.6 inch)
* Drive Specifications:
* Internal drive: Panasonic UJ-120
* 2X BD-ROM Reading
* 5X DVD-RAM Writing
* 8X DVD-R Writing
* 2X DVD-R DL Writing
* 4X DVD-RW Writing
* 8X DVD+R Writing
* 2.4X DVD+R DL Writing
* 4X DVD+RW Writing
* 8X CD-R Writing
* 8X CD-RW Writing
* 24xCD Reading Speed
* 8xDVD Reading Speed
* 1.6XBD Reading Speed
* Compatible with Windows 95/98/Me/NT/2000/XP/Vista
A few weeks ago I got this external USB Blu-Ray player. Included in the box was the drive, USB Cable, Power to USB cable, and driver software.
The software comes with Nero for DVD and CD burning. The Blu-Ray software it comes with does not work at all. I messed with it for a few days before I wanted to bash my head through a wall. The only thing that would play them is PowerDVD 8. It was very simple for me to find. PowerDVD 7 would not work for me even though it was set up for Blu-Ray Playback. PowerDVD 8 is also set up to play HD Movies so if you already have one of those drives, you’re good.
The driver software took about 5 seconds to install. From that point the drive is plug and play.
On my desktop the drive works perfectly just on the single USB cable.
However, on my N10J it requires the Power to USB cable to be plugged in as well. The N10J does not seem to have sufficient power output to run it. I first tried using the Power to USB on the N10J while the computer was on, but since the drive takes more power on start up, it shuts your laptop down immediately. They build that into your computer so you don't fry anything. This only happened 20% of the time, but that was enough for me. If you want to run the drive on both USB’s from your Laptop, the best way is to plug them in with the computer off, then turn on. I just bought an adapter that plugs into the wall with a USB output. It’s the same kind Ipods/Iphones can charge on. I also tried it on a powered USB Hub and that worked out as well with no issues. Either way you do it, it’s very cheap.
Once I had all that situated, I did some testing. It burns DVD's and CD's just like any other drive does. Since it is only 8X DVD R and 4x DVD RW it takes quite a bit longer that I am used to. A DVD took me about 30 minutes for 4 GB, and about 7 minutes for 700 mb on a CD.
Since this is a portable drive, I do no expect to be using those functions very often. I will be primarily using it on vacation to play Blu Rays and DVD’s.
With the PowerDVD 8 the playback is perfect on the laptop and through the HDMI Cable. I ran it through my 47” 1080P Vizio LCD and it plays audio and video perfectly. There were no hiccups and it was instant.
Just my Audience while setting it all up.
Plugged into the Vizio
The drive is very small and discrete. It is perfect for travel in hotels and airplanes. It will definitely drain your battery sooner as you will need to run it with the graphics card on, along with it powering the drive motors.
All in all I am very happy with this drive. This drive is offered in some HP laptops OEM as well as a few others. There have been many instances where people claim this drive does not play Blu-Ray in their laptops when installed OEM. However, it is their playing software that is the problem. I would definitely suggest this drive if you guys want a very small portable Blu-Ray Player that also reads and writes DVD’s and CD’s. This is definitely not the cheapest method for Blu-Ray playback on your Asus N10J, however it is the most portable and relatively cost efficient.
