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Three External USB And eSATA Blu-ray Burners Tested

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The advent of affordable, high-capacity media could bring a renaissance in optical storage, but only if the performance is adequate. We tested a few of today’s fastest drives with USB and eSATA connectivity to find out where this technology stands.

Asus BW-12D1S-U

The only single-interface drive in today’s roundup, Asus chooses the performance and simplicity of USB 3.0 while shifting some of its focus towards Blu-ray 3D. The retail box includes 3D glasses, in addition to a worldwide power adapter, USB 3.0 cable, and CyberLink software suite.

A standard two-pin cable end eases a traveler’s transition to international parts, while the inclusion of both playback and burning software simplifies the user’s transition from older, outdated formats. The PowerDVD portion even includes Magic Cinema for real-time 2D-to-3D conversion.

Asus partially conceals its eject button at the right edge of its drive. The diamond-shaped lens on its top glows blue when the unit is on.

The BW-12D1S-U’s power switch is also partly concealed by being nearly flush. Impossible to grasp, the button relies on the friction of a user’s fingers to slide. A 12 V power input is found beside the switch.

24 Comments Comment from the forums
  • pirateboy 06 September 2011 12:53
    no LiteOn device? why?
    Reply
  • Crashman 06 September 2011 13:42
    pirateboyno LiteOn device? why?The eHBU212 wasn't available yet when this roundup was initiated last spring. Sorry, other reviews had deadlines.
    Reply
  • vdr369 06 September 2011 16:42
    Yeah, LG drive looks really cool and performs better, nice design and lavish looking
    Reply
  • 06 September 2011 16:44
    Could you please add a chart about the quality of the burned data itself.
    (I do not know if this is possible?) A lot of people still burn audio CDs and for this the burn quality is normally essential
    Reply
  • Crashman 06 September 2011 16:48
    Mille23Could you please add a chart about the quality of the burned data itself.(I do not know if this is possible?) A lot of people still burn audio CDs and for this the burn quality is normally essentialIt's in the photo album:
    http://www.tomshardware.com/gallery/bd-sl-scan-ASUS,0101-302721-9789-0-0-0-jpg-.html See no errors know no errors.
    Reply
  • dimar 06 September 2011 18:03
    When do we finally get eSATAp?
    Reply
  • Crashman 06 September 2011 18:17
    dimarWhen do we finally get eSATAp?It's been replaced with USB 3.0, and neither of those has enough amperage to power these drives.
    Reply
  • dimar 06 September 2011 18:29
    CrashmanIt's been replaced with USB 3.0, and neither of those has enough amperage to power these drives.
    Not true. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ESATAp
    I already have the bracket for eSATAp where I have the power supply connected using the 12v/5v molex cable.
    Reply
  • Crashman 06 September 2011 18:47
    dimarNot true. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ESATApI already have the bracket for eSATAp where I have the power supply connected using the 12v/5v molex cable.That's fine, but it doesn't contradict what I said.

    Let me be more specific: USB 3.0 is primarily for portable devices, eSATA is primarily for stationary devices, and eSATAp is something in the middle that doesn't have enough power for "big" drives such as these.

    The purpose of eSATAp WAS to combine the convenience of USB 2.0 with the performance of eSATA. But the purpose of USB 3.0 IS to combine the convenience of USB 2.0 with the performance of PCIe. This is a was vs is debate, Windows XP is still great too but many people have simply quit using it.

    Hey, I remember external SCSI too!

    BTW, some of these drives DO support eSATA. Forget the P, a USB power connector won't power these drives!
    Reply
  • dimar 06 September 2011 20:15
    CrashmaneSATAp is something in the middle that doesn't have enough power for "big" drives such as these.
    You don't get it. You actually connect the power supply power cable to the back side of the eSATAp connector. It gets the full 12v and 5v load.
    Reply