Gateway w350a dvd drive repair

I am trying to replace a malfunctioning dvd drive on a Gateway w350a. I rarely work on laptops and have some questions about this task.
1. Do I have to replace it with the same dvd drive or can i use any that will fit/connect?
2. Is it possible to upgrade it to bluray drive?
3. Where are the best places to buy drives for laptops

TIA guys and long life tom's,

thanks for the reply,

i would also really like to know what to look for in a laptop drive to know if it is compatible with my laptop.

im gonna buy the same drive for replacement but would still like to learn about the different factors when looking for a compatible drive for future reference.

does anyone have any info they can give/ link me?

right now what i have found out from google is that the ide settings of the drive are some to look at
any more info would be appreciated

TIA again

P.S. right now my pipe dream would be to put the drive in my laptop http://www.impactcomputers.com/bc-5500a.html

here is a link to the specs of the disk drives that could of come with the laptop http://support.gateway.com/s/Mobil [...] 5Rtc.shtml

the particular drive in my laptop is the sony ad-7563a

if anyone can confirm that the BD Disk drive would/would't work in my laptop and why/why not would really be giving me a hand