Pioneer Slim External Blu Ray Writer BDR-XD05B (Black)

Initially I attempted to use this Blu-ray drive with VLC, which is installed on my Windows 8.1 computer (apparently a 32-bit version of VLC). I really like VLC, and use it to watch DVDs, and to do a number of other video-related activities. So I followed the directions from the internets (search for "vlc bluray", the first link), but was not able to get VLC to work. It *might* be because the aacs file I downloaded didn't have data in it for the particular Blu-ray disc I was playing (the 2015 movie Casino Royale), or maybe something else. If that really is the problem this solution is certainly not scalable or sustainable, because the solution shouldn't depend on specific movies' presence in a data file. So I happen to have a licensed copy of Cyberlink PowerDVD, which I bought a couple years ago before I was aware of the free VLC. I really didn't like PowerDVD, though I can't remember exactly why, so I switched to VLC for DVD movies. But as I mentioned above, I couldn't get VLC to work with this Blu-ray drive. So I fired up PowerDVD, and after one minor stumbling block, it worked great. The stumbling block was this: I got an error when I tried to start the video indicating that it could not play to the hardware because of (insert technical mumbo-jumbo here). My solution, which I needed to do anyway, was to turn my LG 55" TV on. That TV is always connected to my computer via HDMI cable, but I normally just use a 24" monitor (connected to the computer with VGA) when I'm using the computer. So when I turned on the LG TV and then clicked on "play" in PowerDVD, the Blu-ray disc started with no problem. Since I have my computer set to replicate the displays on both screens, I was actually then able to see the Blu-ray content on my 24" monitor as well, but probably not with the high-definition available on the big TV. I also am using this drive to rip CDs (using dBpoweramp CD Ripper), and it works great. In the Amazon reviews there is a lot of discussion of the power supply for this Blu-ray drive. What I got in the box was a cable (picture is attached) with an external hard drive type plug at one end (to the left in the picture) and two USB type A plugs at the other end. One of the type A plugs is 3.0 - I can tell that because it has blue plastic inside it, and it has the SS logo on its housing. The other plug is type A 2.0 (with white plastic inside and no SS logo). I plugged the external drive end into the Blu-ray drive, and the USB 3.0 end into a USB 3.0 extension cord (purchased here: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B014RWATK2/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o02_s01?ie=UTF8&psc=1), which in turn I plugged into an available 3.0 jack on my computer. I left the USB 2.0 plug dangling. My *interpretation* of the not-very-informative manual is that the 2.0 plug is optional, and only necessary if no 3.0 jacks are available, meaning if no 3.0 jacks are available, plug the 3.0 and 2.0 plugs into two 2.0 jacks on the computer, to provide power (from one of the jacks) and data (from the other jack). Again, this is my *interpretation* only - it may or may not work for you; please don't blame me if it does not work for you or if damage results to your computer. So after figuring out how to plug this drive in and how to configure PowerDVD (turn on the HDTV!), I'm very happy with this drive.

First of all, I will start by state over a question I had when I bought it : what kind of USB cable does come with this. The answer is that it's a USB3 type micro-B cable for the drive plug, and for the computer plus it's a dual type A plug (one is USB3, the other one is USB2). If you plus it into a USB3 port on your computer, you only need to plug the USB3 part of the cable, but if you use a USB2 port, you will need to plug both of the plugs to get enough power. Also, the cable is around 18in long. However, you can use almost any USB3 microB cable to use the drive, so if you want a longer and more permanent cable for it, don't hesitate. For the drive itself, it works fine. You will need an additional software to read bluray disks, but that's true for all bluray drive for PC. For Windows users, just purchase and install something like PowerDVD (I don't know what is available for Mac or Linux) and you will be all set. The drive doesn't need big setup : just plug it and start to use it. When used, it emits some noises (not a show stopper at my sense) on loading disks, but when the content is loaded, I barely ear it.

I received this product yesterday . Excellent product till now . Plug and play . Quite. Smallest as possible and light weight . Excellent design and compact .

Very easy to use, so far no problems burning BLU_RAY Discs

as described!!!👌