Top PC Blu-ray Burners

If you're unsure (or even if you are sure) whether or not your computer is well-equipped in order for a Blu-ray drive to run smoothly, it's recommended that you also check out Making your PC Ready for Blu-ray.

How this guide works
Note that the brief reviews of the following Blu-ray burners take place in no particular order.  For the most part, I will concentrate on performance, compatibility and price when discussing them.  None of these burners are ranked.  The purpose of this guide is for you to read about the individual burners and make a decision based on what you're reading on which one is right for you.  No one burner is listed as better or worse than another.

Philips SPD7000 Blu-Ray Disc Writer
Costs roughly: $400

Features

• Easy to install
  
• Writes for a variety of media

Drawbacks

• Only records at 2x speed for Blu-ray, DVD or CD
• Single-layer burning only
• Pricey for its limited features
• Copy Protection messages may prevent the reading or burning of some Blu-ray discs, regardless of whether or not the disc contains original content by the user

Pioneer BDR-202BK Retail Blu-ray Disc Writer
Costs roughly: $400

Features

• Can burn up to 4x maximum speed for Blu-ray discs
• Backwards compatible for burning to DVDs and CDs
• Can be installed horizontally or vertically
• Lightweight (just over 2lbs)
  
• Rapid burning speeds of up to 1.5Gbps; takes between 22-25 minutes to completely fill the space of a Blu-ray writable disc

Drawbacks

• Only capable of burning single-layered discs
• Transferring data from a burned Blu-ray disc to the hard drive can be a slow procedure; can sometimes take up to 40 minutes

Sony BWU200S Internal Blu-ray Disc Rewritable Drive
Costs roughly: $580

Features

• Burns up to 4x maximum speed for Blu-ray discs
• Backwards compatible for burning to DVDs and CDs
• Creates high-quality CDs and DVDs (16x burning speed)
  

Drawbacks

• Expensive, even for current Blu-ray players
• Bulky, weighs around 3.5lbs
• Can only burn single-layer discs
  
• Downloads and updates are required in order to play commercial blu-ray discs.  Sometimes these downloads come at a price
• Has some difficulty reading burned Blu-ray discs, such as slow reading times
  

LiteOn Group LH-2B1S
Costs roughly: $300

Features

• Incredibly light (under 2lbs)
  
• 32x CD writing speeds
• Competitive price
• Does not require heavy system specs to run (only needs 512MB RAM and 2.0Ghz processor)
  

Drawbacks

• Single-layer burning for Blu-ray, but can burn dual-layer for DVDs
  
• Blu-ray reading and writing is only at 2x speed

LG GGW-H20L
Costs roughly: $300

Features

• Impressive writing speeds: up to 6x for Blu-ray
• Competitive price
• Can write on double-layered discs
• Able to read now-dead HD DVD discs
• Supports LightScribe technology
• Easy installation

Drawbacks

• Can use up a good portion of your CPU and RAM while burning
• Only reads Blu-ray discs at 2x speed; much lower than its writing speed
• Writing quality of CDs and DVDs is inconsistent

• Mac's Safari, now for Windows
• USB Flash Drive Buyer's Guide
  
• An Introduction to Wireless Networking
• Zonet Wireless USB Adapter: Worth it?
• Linksys Wireless G Router: How good is it?
• Wireless G Buyer's Guide to Choosing a Router
• Wireless N Buyer's Guide to Choosing a Router