External DVD Drives

The Bottom Line: The Plextor PX-608CU portable DVD burner is a great match for users who have a laptop without a built-in DVD burner; we just don't know who that might be.

Specs: DVD±RW (±R DL) / DVD-RAM, 24x (CD) / 8x (DVD), 24x (CD) / 8x (DVD±R) / 4x (DVD±R DL), 24x (CD) / 6x (DVD-RW) / 8x (DVD+RW) / 5x (DVD-RAM)

The Bottom Line: The LaCie d2 Blu-ray burner offers good performance speeds, but it's still prohibitively expensive. Home users should wait for Blu-ray burners to drop in price and improve in performance.

Specs: BD-RE, 32x (CD) / 8x (DVD) / 2x (BD), 24x (CD) / 8x (DVD±R) / 4x (DVD±R DL) / 2x (BD-R) / 2x (BD-R DL), 16x (CD) / 6x (DVD-RW) / 8x (DVD+RW) / 2x (BD-RE) / 2x (BD-RE DL)

The Bottom Line: Although it's pricey, the Sony DVDirect VRD-MC3 is a boon for anyone who has lots of old videotapes but less time or tech skills to digitize them using a computer. Even better, it doubles as an external DVD burner, so you can use it with your PC long after you've transferred all those old tapes.

Specs: DVD±RW (±R DL), 40x (CD) / 16x (DVD), 40x (CD) / 16x (DVD±R) / 8x (DVD±R DL), 24x (CD) / 6x (DVD-RW) / 8x (DVD+RW)

The Bottom Line: The Plextor PX-740UF is a sturdy drive that performs beautifully, but it's expensive.

Specs: DVD±RW (±R DL), 48x (CD) / 16x (DVD), 48x (CD) / 16x (DVD±R) / 4x (DVD-R DL) / 8x (DVD+R DL), 32x (CD) / 6x (DVD-RW) / 8x (DVD+RW)

The Bottom Line: Due to its small form factor, the LaCie Slim DVD+/-RW with LightScribe burner is a good choice for those who need a burner while traveling; however, its audience is limited to Windows users.

Specs: DVD±RW (+R DL), 24x (CD) / 8x (DVD), 24x (CD) / 8x (DVD±R) / 2.4x (DVD+R DL), 24x (CD) / 4x (DVD±R)

The Bottom Line: If you're looking for an external burner that's small enough to carry with your notebook computer, the Asus SDRW-0804P-D is the one for you.

Specs: DVD±RW (+R DL), 20x (CD) / 8x (DVD), 24x (CD) / 8x (DVD±R) / 2.4x (DVD+R DL), 24x (CD) / 4x (DVD±RW)

The Bottom Line: For fast ripping and burning at a reasonable price, the Iomega Super DVD Writer 16X16 is hard to beat.

Specs: DVD±RW (+R DL), External, 48x (CD) / 16x (DVD), 48x (CD) / 16x (DVD±R) / 4x (DVD+R DL), 24x (CD) / 6x (DVD-RW) / 8x (DVD+RW)

The Bottom Line: The no-frills WriteMaster SE-W164C isn't the fastest DVD burner around, but its decent overall performance and reasonable price make it a solid choice for casual users.

Specs: DVD±RW (±R DL), 48x (CD) / 16x (DVD), 48x (CD) / 16x (DVD±R) / 4x (DVD-R DL) / 5x (DVD+R DL), 32x (CD) / 6x (DVD-RW) / 8x (DVD+RW)

The Bottom Line: The LaCie d2 DVD+/-RW FireWire and USB 2.0 (16X/8X/4X/2.4X) with LightScribe is an average external drive at an average price.

Specs: DVD±RW (+R DL), 40x (CD) / 16x (DVD), 40x (CD) / 8x (DVD-R) / 16x (DVD+R) / 2.4x (DVD+R DL), 24x (CD) / 4x (DVD±RW)

The Bottom Line: This double-layer drive is versatile but is easily outpaced by other external DVD drives.

Specs: DVD±RW (+R DL), 40x (CD) / 8x (DVD), 40x (CD) / 8x (DVD-R) / 12x (DVD+R) / 4x (DVD+R DL), 24x (CD) / 4x (DVD±RW)