Watching Blu-ray movies on Mac is pretty sweet with one of these drives
- mar
- 06
Blu-ray discs are the gold standard in physical video formats right now. You probably have a decent Blu-ray collection of your favorite movies, but without one of the best mac Blu-ray drives, you can't play them on macOS Monterey. But Blu-rays aren't just great for movies; they're also great as storage devices for backups or other relevant data. Here are the best mac Blu-ray drives you can buy.
Windows and Mac compatible
ASUS BW-16D1X-U
Staff Favorite
The ASUS 12X Blu-ray drive has a 16X burning speed, which is among the fastest optical drives out there. Plus, by using a USB 3.0 connection, the ASUS BW-16D1X-U Blu-ray drive can also write data much faster than other drives that still use USB 2.0. The drive is formatted both for Mac and Windows, so you don't have to worry about reformatting the drive if you want to switch back and forth between operating systems.
Budget option
SEA TECH aluminum external USB Blu-Ray writer
Completely compatible with Mac, you won't need to reformat or install anything to get the SEA TECH Blu-ray drive to talk to your Mac. Plus, it uses a USB 3.0 connection, meaning all your data transferring is happening at the fast speed of USB 3.0!
A lot to offer
Pioneer BDR-XD07UHD Portable 6X Ultra HD 4K Blu-ray Burner
For both Mac and Windows, this beautifully designed reader offers BDXL support for high-capacity disc-writing for Blu-ray discs, DVDs, and CDs. It also includes M-Disc support for longer recordings. Included is the Cyberlink Media Suite, which offers Blu-ray and DVD burning and playback tools.
M-Disc compatible
Verbatim external Slimline Blu-ray writer
This small drive looks unassuming, but it's pretty fast for a Blu-ray drive. With a 6X Blu-ray write speed, an 8X DVD write speed, and a 24X CD write speed, you'll be able to move data onto any disc you want fairly quickly. Plus, it is M-Disc compatible and super compact, making it incredibly easy to take anywhere your MacBook goes.
Write on high-capcity Blu-rays
Buffalo Portable Blu-ray Drive
Although this drive does use USB 2.0, it can still reach 6x read and write speeds for Blu-rays and 8x read and write speed for DVDs. It's M-Disc compatible and can write on high-capacity Blu-rays — up to 128GB. Plus, it's plug-and-play with both Windows and Mac, meaning you can easily create physical backups or watch movies regardless of what type of PC you have.
Don't forget the software
When it comes to playing Blu-rays on your Mac, you're going to need software as well as one of the best mac Blu-ray drives. The software you need to watch Blu-Rays in macOS Monterey can sometimes be somewhat expensive. For that reason, I think the SEA TECH Blu-ray drive is worth a look for people who just want to watch Blu-ray movies.
Of course, if you plan on using Blu-rays for hard copies of your work, documents, files, and general backups, it's probably worth dishing out the extra cash for a drive like the ASUS BW-16D1X-U. It has way more power than those slimmer drives and will help you transfer all your data to the disc faster.
Either way, if you want to play, read, or write Blu-ray discs with your Mac, you're going to need to start with an excellent Blu-ray drive and one of the best USB-C hubs so you can plug the drive into your Mac.