I was relieved when my MacBook Pro arrived in 2014 without a CD/DVD drive (also known as an “optical drive”). My old (2007) MacBook Pro had a CD/DVD drive that worked great for a short while, but died after a few years of just barely getting along. When my new computer arrived, I was glad that I didn’t have to worry about that piece of my computer failing again.
However, as a musician I really need a CD burner (and ideally DVD burner, for video). I saw that many retailers offered burners that connect to your computer via USB or other ports, allowing you to burn CDs and DVDs without a drive built into your machine. But, the first ones I saw were expensive and had low ratings.
I finally jumped on Amazon, and found this burner.
I have had it for a few years at least, but I have lost track of the time I have had it because I have had no issues whatsoever. It works great on my Mac, on my Mac when running Windows, on other people’s PCs–you name it. The burn speeds are great, it is incredibly simple to use (plug-and-play), and I have been able to churn out CDs for competitions, applications, performances, and recordings.
The only downside is that it powers down after a period of inactivity (I assume to conserve energy). So, sometimes you have to unplug and plug it in again to eject a disc that you had been working with and then forgot about. It’s a very small step that takes (literally) a few seconds, at most.
Besides that, I cannot recommend a better device for the price. This was just under my price range when I bought it. CDs and DVDs are relatively old technology, but this product is new and an excellent, reliable tool to have at your disposal.
So, it’s great that your device no longer has a drive that can break. Use this external drive, and you will have a much cheaper, much more reliable, and much longer-lasting drive that you can use on multiple devices.
Check out the burner here!
Happy composing (and saving time and money),
Dan