External DVD drive for iMac

Hardware
1

Hi guys!

I am considering to pick up a USB-C style DVD/CD player for my iMac. It also needs to be able to burn, but I guess all of them will do that.

My initial use case would be to rip my CD collection to the Synology. That way, I can make them available to play again, as I currently only have a CD player in my car.

Of course, there is the Apple SuperDrive, but given my (expected) very limited use of the device, I am also looking at non-Apple brands. Ideally, any USB-C device should just work, right?

Anyway - looking for suggestions for a decent alternative to the Apple SuperDrive, hopefully at a lower cost :slight_smile: Thanks!

2

I have a cheap, generic no-name external drive I bought 6 years ago, works fine. I’ve heard good things about the OWC/Macsales USB 3 external, which sells for $130. But you can find less expensive alternatives. Check out this article:

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3

If you own any Blu-Rays, you can get a Blu-ray drive that will work on your Mac and rip those too (MakeMKV.app is your best bet).

Just beware that Blu-Rays export to like 50GB in mkv, so you might want to plan to re-encode them to something smaller. (See Don Melton’s scripts, etc)

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