What Can External DVD Burners Do?

External DVD Burners are portable burners that can read, write or rewrite CDs and DVDs for storage or sharing. Unlike internal drives, they can be moved from computer to computer and use an external power source.

Depending on the software used, a burner will:

  • Make Photo Discs
  • Make Read-Only Music or Audio CDs
  • Burn Home Movies
  • Create Back-up Copies of Media Library
  • Utilize Re-Writable Discs
  • Play DVD Movies or CDs
  • Convert Formats
  • Back-up Data Files
  • Create Karaoke Discs
  • Share Slideshows
  • Print Unique Disc Labels
  • Play DVD-ROM or RAM discs
In this site, you'll find articles related to DVD Burners, as well as comprehensive reviews and a side-by-side comparison to help you make an informed decision on which External DVD Burner is right for you.

At TopTenREVIEWS - We do the research so you don't have to.™

What to Look for in an External DVD Burner.

When choosing a DVD burner, ports are important aspects to consider. Look to see whether your computer has a USB 2.0 or 1.1 or FireWire port then choose a DVD player that will work with that port. Keep in mind that a USB 1.1 is extremely slow and that ports can be added at a reasonable price. If you use a unique disc type, such as DVD-RAM, CD-Text or CD+G look to see that these formats are supported.

Below are the criteria TopTenREVIEWS used to evaluate external DVD Burners:

  • Feature Set – We evaluated all of the features available with the DVD burner such as whether they have the ability to copy to dual layer discs and if they are compatible with popular DVD copying software. We also looked at what kind of software package comes with the hardware and noted the types of ports they require.
  • Burner Speed – Burning speed is especially significant when choosing a DVD burner. However, the type of blank media used to read/write/rewrite also impact speed.
  • Help & Support – This ranking depends on how quick the product manufacturer responded to our email inquiries about their product. We sent an email to the technical support team of every product we reviewed. This criterion also considers some of the other help/support contact methods available such as live chat, telephone, FAQs, a searchable knowledge base, troubleshooting guides, easy driver downloads, etc.
For the best product in this price range that we could find see Mad Dog's MegaSTOR Triple Format MD16X3DVD98XE.

 
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External DVD Burners Review

Smokin' Burners

Save your original DVDs and CDs, create music mixes or author your own video. Make fast portable disc copies of anything - music, movies or data - with an External DVD Burner.

What Can External DVD Burners Do?

2009 External DVD Burners Product Comparisons

TopTenREVIEWS  |  Electronics  |  Computers  |  External DVD Burners
Rank #1#2#3#4#5#6#7#8#9#10
Excellent score   Excellent
Very good score   Very Good
Good score   Good
Fair score   Fair
Poor score   Poor
MegaSTOR Plextor LG Electronics Sony Buslink LaCie HP Lite-On IOMega I/O Magic
MegaSTOR Plextor LG Electronics Sony Buslink LaCie HP Lite-On IOMega I/O Magic
Reviewer Comments Read Review
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Lowest Purchase Price (*After Rebate) Buy MegaSTOR M16X3DVD98XE
$256.04 		Buy Plextor PX-740UF
$291.00 		Buy LG Electronics GSA-2166D
$179.00 		Buy Sony DRX-810UL
$178.99 		Buy Buslink DBW-1688-U2
$113.20 		Buy LaCie D2 DVD+/-RW
$99.00 		Buy HP DVD 740E
$129.99 		Buy Lite-On SHW-1635SX
$79.00 		Buy IOMega Super DVD 16x16
$149.95 		Buy I/O Magic IDVD16DDBE
$99.99
 
Overall Rating Excellent Excellent Excellent Excellent Excellent Very Good Very Good Very Good Very Good Very Good
Ratings
Feature Set Excellent Excellent Excellent Excellent Excellent Excellent Excellent Very Good Good Excellent
Burner Speed Excellent Excellent Excellent Excellent Excellent Excellent Very Good Very Good Very Good Fair
Help/Support Excellent Excellent Excellent Very Good Very Good Very Good Excellent Fair Excellent Very Good
View Specifications Go! Go! Go! Go! Go! Go! Go! Go! Go! Go!
View Screenshots           
Features
Buffer Size 2MB 2MB 2MB 2MB 2MB 2MB 2MB 2MB 2MB  
Prevents Buffer Underrun Check Mark Check Mark Check Mark Check Mark Check Mark Check Mark Check Mark Check Mark Check Mark  
Burns to Dual Layer Media Check Mark Check Mark Check Mark Check Mark Check Mark Check Mark Check Mark Check Mark Check Mark  
DVD Copy Software Capatibility
DVD Cloner III Check Mark Check Mark Check Mark Check Mark Check Mark Check Mark Check Mark Check Mark Check Mark  
1Click DVD Copy Check Mark Check Mark Check Mark Check Mark Check Mark Check Mark Check Mark Check Mark Check Mark  
Clone DVD (X Studios) Check Mark Check Mark Check Mark Check Mark Check Mark Check Mark Check Mark Check Mark Check Mark  
Included Software
Media Suite Software Check Mark Check Mark Check Mark Check Mark Check Mark Check Mark Check Mark Check Mark Check Mark  
DVD Playing Check Mark Check Mark Check Mark   Check Mark Check Mark Check Mark Check Mark Check Mark  
Disc Labeling    Check Mark    Check Mark Check Mark   Check Mark  
Hardware Connection
Firewire (IEEE 1394) Check Mark Check Mark   Check Mark   Check Mark     
USB 2.0 Check Mark Check Mark Check Mark Check Mark Check Mark Check Mark Check Mark Check Mark Check Mark  
USB 1.1 Check Mark Check Mark Check Mark Check Mark Check Mark Check Mark Check Mark Check Mark Check Mark  
Read/Write/ReWrite Speeds
DVD-RAM 5x NA 5x NA 5x NA NA NA NA  
DVD-ROM 16x 16x 16x 16x 16x 16x 16x 16x 16x  
DVD+RW 8x 8x 8x 8x 8x 8x 8x 8x 8x  
DVD-RW 6x 6x 6x 6x 6x 6x 6x 6x 6x  
DVD+R DL 8x 8x 8x 8x 8x 8x 8x 8x 4x  
DVD-R DL 6x 4x 4x 8x 8x 4x 4x 4x NA  
DVD+R 16x 16x 16x 16x 16x 16x 16x 16x 16x  
DVD-R 16x 16x 16x 16x 16x 16x 16x 16x 16x  
CD-ROM 48x 48x 48x 48x 48x 48x 40x 48x 48x  
CD-RW 32x 32x 32x 32x 24x 32x 32x 24x 24x  
CD-R 48x 48x 48x 48x 48x 48x 40x 48x 48x  
Compatible Formats
DVD-RAM Check Mark   Check Mark   Check Mark     Check Mark  
DVD-ROM Check Mark Check Mark Check Mark Check Mark Check Mark Check Mark Check Mark Check Mark Check Mark  
DVD+RW Check Mark Check Mark Check Mark Check Mark Check Mark Check Mark Check Mark Check Mark Check Mark  
DVD-RW Check Mark Check Mark Check Mark Check Mark Check Mark Check Mark Check Mark Check Mark Check Mark  
DVD+R DL Check Mark Check Mark Check Mark Check Mark Check Mark Check Mark Check Mark Check Mark Check Mark  
DVD-R DL Check Mark Check Mark Check Mark Check Mark Check Mark Check Mark Check Mark Check Mark   
DVD+R Check Mark Check Mark Check Mark Check Mark Check Mark Check Mark Check Mark Check Mark Check Mark  
DVD-R Check Mark Check Mark Check Mark Check Mark Check Mark Check Mark Check Mark Check Mark Check Mark  
CD-ROM XA Check Mark Check Mark Check Mark Check Mark Check Mark Check Mark Check Mark Check Mark   
CD-ROM Check Mark Check Mark Check Mark Check Mark Check Mark Check Mark Check Mark Check Mark Check Mark  
CD-RW Check Mark Check Mark Check Mark Check Mark Check Mark Check Mark Check Mark Check Mark Check Mark  
CD-R Check Mark Check Mark Check Mark Check Mark Check Mark Check Mark Check Mark Check Mark Check Mark  
CD-TEXT Check Mark Check Mark Check Mark Check Mark Check Mark Check Mark Check Mark    
CD+G Check Mark Check Mark Check Mark Check Mark Check Mark Check Mark Check Mark Check Mark   
CD-I   Check Mark Check Mark   Check Mark   Check Mark    
CD-DA Check Mark Check Mark Check Mark Check Mark Check Mark Check Mark Check Mark Check Mark   
CD-Extra Check Mark Check Mark Check Mark Check Mark Check Mark Check Mark Check Mark Check Mark   
Photo-CD Check Mark Check Mark Check Mark Check Mark Check Mark Check Mark Check Mark Check Mark   
Video-CD Check Mark Check Mark Check Mark Check Mark Check Mark   Check Mark Check Mark   
Dimensions
Height (Inches) 2 2.1 1.9 2 4.25 1.7 NA 3.32 2.25  
Width (Inches) 7 6.6 6.3 6.5 10 6.3 NA 6.6 6.62  
Length (Inches) 9.75 10 9 9.8 15 10.6 NA 7.68 9.62  
Weight (Pounds) 3.2 3.5 4.8 3.5 5.7 3.31 NA 2.86 3.26  
Technical Support
Instructions/User Manual Check Mark Check Mark Check Mark Check Mark Check Mark Check Mark Check Mark Check Mark Check Mark  
FAQs Check Mark Check Mark Check Mark Check Mark Check Mark Check Mark Check Mark Check Mark Check Mark  
Downloads (Drivers, etc.) Check Mark Check Mark Check Mark Check Mark Check Mark Check Mark Check Mark   Check Mark  
Troubleshooting Guide Check Mark Check Mark   Check Mark   Check Mark Check Mark Check Mark   
Support Email/Form Check Mark Check Mark Check Mark Check Mark Check Mark Check Mark Check Mark   Check Mark  
Support Phone Number Check Mark Check Mark Check Mark Check Mark Check Mark Check Mark Check Mark   Check Mark  
Live Chat        Check Mark   Check Mark  
Manufacturer Warranty 2 YRS 1 YR 1 YR 1 YR 1 YR 1 YR 1 YR 1 YR 1 YR  
Supported Configurations
XP Check Mark Check Mark Check Mark Check Mark Check Mark Check Mark Check Mark Check Mark Check Mark  
Server 2003           
2000 Check Mark Check Mark Check Mark Check Mark Check Mark Check Mark Check Mark Check Mark Check Mark  
98      Check Mark Check Mark   Check Mark Check Mark  
ME   Check Mark Check Mark   Check Mark Check Mark   Check Mark Check Mark  
NT           
Macintosh Check Mark Check Mark   Check Mark   Check Mark    Check Mark  
 
Reviewer Comments Read Review
Read Review
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Lowest Purchase Price (*After Rebate) Buy MegaSTOR M16X3DVD98XE
$256.04 		Buy Plextor PX-740UF
$291.00 		Buy LG Electronics GSA-2166D
$179.00 		Buy Sony DRX-810UL
$178.99 		Buy Buslink DBW-1688-U2
$113.20 		Buy LaCie D2 DVD+/-RW
$99.00 		Buy HP DVD 740E
$129.99 		Buy Lite-On SHW-1635SX
$79.00 		Buy IOMega Super DVD 16x16
$149.95 		Buy I/O Magic IDVD16DDBE
$99.99

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