BestBlu-ray drives for Mac miniiMore2019

We at iMore have looked at many Blu-ray readers over the years to check for compatibility and speed. The products offered here work well with the Mac mini and any type of Apple computer, including the MacBook and iMac.

Here will introduce the Blu-ray Drive and Blu-ray Player software, and recommend some great Blu-ray drives, as well as best Blu-ray Player software for Mac and Windows. Mac OSX doesn’t support Blu-ray. So if you want to play a Blu-ray Disc on a Mac you will need a player. I’m only using my Mac to rip, not play back - I use MakeMKV for that. Once that program is open, it does recognize that there is a Blu-ray Disc in the drive.

Thin solution: Pioneer BDR-XS06 Slim Portable Blu-Ray Writer

With a maximum write speed of 6x BD-R on single- and dual-layer discs, and 4x max write speed on BD-R triple- and quad-layer discs, this reader offers up to 156 percent more data storage capacity than a 50GB Dual Layer Blu-ray Disc. Includes Toast Light software, which allows you to burn your files to CD, DVD, and Blu-ray Disc.

$139 at Amazon

Speedy, but bulky: Asus BW-16D1X-U 16x External Blu-ray Drive

This external burner comes bundled with one pack of Verbatim M-DISC BD. Maximum burn speeds include BD-R: 16x, DVD-R/+R:16x, CD-R:40x, BD Dual Layer (DL):12x, DVD Dual Layer (DL):8x. Max read speeds: BD-R:12x, DVD-R/+R:16x, CD-R:40x, BD Dual Layer (DL):8x, DVD Dual Layer (DL):12x. Compatible with Mac and Windows. If size isn't an issue, this is the one most worth considering.

$130 at Amazon

Versatile: PiAEK External Blu-Ray DVD Drive Writer

This Blu-ray device reads CDs up to 24x, DVDs up to 8x, and Blu-rays up to 6x. It's compatible with USB 3.0 and below. Use with your Macs and Windows computers.

$106 at Amazon

Budget choice: VicTsing External Blu-Ray Drive

The least expensive choice on this list, this Blu-ray drive offers CD/DVD/Blu-ray read and burn capabilities. Super slim, just 9mm, the disc drive includes a sandblasted surface with a metal texture that's scratch-proof.

External Bluray Drive For Macbook Pro

$97 at Amazon

Full featured: OWC Mercury Pro 16X Blu-ray

This aluminum housed optical drive features USB-3 and M-DISC support. Max speeds include 16x for Blu-ray and DVD, and 48x for CD. Ships with two Blu-ray media in case.

$149 at Amazon

Includes Cyberlink Media Suite: Buffalo MediaStation 6x Portable BDXL Blu-Ray Writer

For both Mac and Windows, this beautifully designed reader offers BDXL support for high capacity disc-writing for Blu-ray disks, DVDs, and CDs. It also includes M-Disc support for longer life recordings. Included is the Cyberlink Media Suite which offers Blu-ray and DVD burning and playback tools.

$110 at Amazon

Reading speeds for Blu-ray players tend to increase the larger the chassis. Despite this, there are still plenty of impressive thin readers to select for your Mac mini.

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Optical disc drive (ODD) is a disk drive that uses laser light or electromagnetic waves within or near the visible light spectrum as part of the process of reading or writing data to or from optical discs. According to the types of optical media, the optical disc drive can be divided into 'CD' 'DVD', or 'Blu-ray', followed by 'drive', 'writer', etc.

Blu-ray Drive, as its name implies, is an optical disc drive that is specially designed to play Blu-ray Disc, a high-definition optical disc format with great dentisy. So far, all Mac and Windows-based PC haven't ship with Blu-ray drive for one reason or another, so they couldn't access to the Blu-ray Disc. Therefore, there are plenty of Blu-ray drives coming into the market. Here will share some reviews about some Blu-ray Drive, hoping to provide some references for users.

No.1 Samsung SE-506BB/TSBD 6X USB2.0 External Slim Blu-ray Writer Drive

Blu Ray Burner For Macbook Pro

It can get all the power it needs from a USB connection so there is no hassle of power cables. The Samsung Blu-ray RW supports both PC and Mac systems, as well as multimedia Television (if it has a USB input). Its price is $93.40.

No.2 ASUS External 12X Blu-Ray Burner with USB 3.0 BW-12D1S-U/BLK/G

With USB 3.0. Magic Cinema technology, extreme 12X Blu-ray writing speed enables Blu-ray 3D entertainment, and its Diamond Shape realizes aesthetics of technology. Its price is $139.99.

No.3 Aluminum External USB Blu-Ray Player/DVD/CD Combo for Apple--MacBook Air, Pro, iMac, Mini

Cladding in a beautiful aluminum casing, it uses a high performance Panasonic drive inside which plays Blu-ray disc, and reads & writes DVD and CD. Please note that package cannot play blu-ray movie or read blu-ray disc, unless it works with software for Blu-Ray playback, so you need to download or purchase additional 3rd party Blu-ray player software for Mac or PC. Also, the Blu-ray Combo drive does not have capability to burn Blu-Ray disc. Its price is $78.99.

Blu-ray Player Software is a Blu-ray media library application designed to play Blu-ray discs, BDMV folders and Blu-ray ISO files on the computers running the Microsoft Windows and Mac operating systems. Depending on the computer operating system it runs on, the Blu-ray player software is divided into two general categories: Mac Blu-ray player and Windows Blu-ray player. All of them include a large number of decoding and encoding libraries to read Blu-ray information, remove Blu-ray protection and support Blu-ray playback. It should work together with Blu-ray drive, when you want to play Blu-ray Disc. The best-in-class Blu-ray player software includes VLC media player, MPlayer, Mac Blu-ray Player, Windows Blu-ray Player, Windows Media Player, DVDfab media player, PowerDVD, etc.

Here I would like to recommand two brilliant Blu-ray player Software to all users for references.

Blu-ray Drive For Mac Mini

No1. Mac Blu-ray Player

As the world's very first and best Blu-ray player software for Mac OS X, Mac Blu-ray Player is designed to play all Blu-ray Discs, Blu-ray ISO files, or Blu-ray (BDMV) folders on all Mac models - MacBook Pro, Air, Mac mini, iMac, Mac Pro with OS 10.5 to 10.8. Also you can use this amazing Bl-ray media player software to play Blu-ray or videos of other media formats on iOS devices, such as iPhone, iPad, iPad min, and i Pod touch, just by enabling its build-in AirX function. Featuring friendly UI, high definition up to 1080p, dts stereo, SNS sharing, universal media performance, and many other great functions, Mac Blu-ray Player can allow you to access fantastic Blu-ray enjoyment.

External Bluray Drive For Macbook Air

No. 2 Windows Blu-ray Player

Blu Ray Burner Software Mac

Windows Blu-ray Player software is an outstanding Blu-ray Player for Windows-based PC, which can perfectly play Blu-ray Disc, Blu-ray ISO files, or Blu-ray (BDMV) folders on all popular Windows operating systems, such as Windows XP (SP2 or later), Windows Vista, Windows 7, and Windows 8. Apart from Blu-ray, the universal performance of Windows media player also refers to DVD, VideoCD, MOV, MKV, AVI, FLV, WMV, MP4, MPEG, RMVB, MP3, WMA, AAC, AC3, etc. 1080p HD and dts7.1/5.1 supported, Windows Media Player will present you a fantastic Blu-ray experience on Windows.