When I purchased my last laptop I decided to go with one that didn’t have an internal CD/DVD drive. It was so much lighter and I need to travel with it for work. I figured I could always purchase an external DVD drive later. In the past I had watch movies on my laptop, but I figured I didn’t need it any longer. Well, I was wrong and had forgotten about burning CD/DVDs with my photos. So, I began transferring everything I needed burned to my Dropbox and burning them on my son’s computer. Such a pain! Then I had the opportunity to review a external DVD drive from Novapolt, so I jumped on it!
About the Novapolt USB 3.0 External DVD and CD Drive:
- This external DVD drive, external cd drive supports plug and play and no need to install any driver – fully compatible with USB 3.0USP 2.0
- This CD DVD drive is compatible with windows XP/windows 2003/windows 8 vista/7, Linux, Mac10 OS, 2015 27″ Retina iMac, MacBook pro with OS 10.10.5
- This ultra slim external DVD CD rom drive adopted with USB 3.0 technology allows for faster data transfer speed than the USB 2.0
The Review:
I’m not going to lie. I had some difficulties getting started with the plug and play features. I know MAC’s can be difficult with non-Apple products. I was able to burn a disc right away, but I couldn’t get my DVD to play. I updated my system and downloaded a DVD player and boom the DVD worked! (Even without the player I downloaded) Personally, I was so frustrated and I don’t think I needed to be. If I would have just stepped back and let it be as easy as it implies I think I would have been fine. So, here is my checklist!
PROS:
- The price! It’s under $30. You can’t beat that!
- Works with my MacBook Pro
- I don’t have to transfer files anymore to burn discs
- I can watch movies anywhere! (Even if there is no internet)
- There is no software to download.
- The USB cord has a built-in storage place on the drive.
CONS:
- Instructions only say plug and play. I think I freaked out a bit when it didn’t work right away.
- It’s a bit flimsy. I feel as if I were to drop it that would be the end of it.
- I needed to eject my discs using the screen prompts not the button on the device. ( This might be an Apple thing though?)
Overall, you can’t beat the price and the convenience. It’s saves me time and that’s worth it!
Do you burn CDs or watch movies on your laptop?
Disclosure: I received this product at a discount in order to facilitate this review. All thoughts belong to me.
Robin Rue (@massholemommy) says
My laptop has a DVD player built in, but I know not all of them do. This sounds perfect.
ana fernandez says
I have a small laptop and it doesnt has a dvd player. SO this would be a really nice way to watch movies
Amy Jones says
Low price and high capacity and quality. Seems like a good investment.
tara pittman says
I hardly use my dvd drive in my computer either. I am glad I do have one for listening to music while I work.
Andrea says
Looks like a good product. And the price on it is really great. When I need one I know what to get.
tina says
What a terrific alternative this is! I don’t use my laptop for watching movies but if I did, this would certainly be a great option.
Michelle Gwynn Jones says
I have one in my laptop, but I do have two external hard drive (for different reasons).
Elizabeth O. says
This makes watching movies on the laptop more convenient. I’ve owned laptops before that doesn’t have a DVD slot and it’s frustrating.
Danne Reed says
Wow, never heard of an external DVD drive. Sound interesting, thanks for sharing.
Ana De- Jesus says
Its great that it costs under $30 but sorry to hear the drive was a bit flimsy :/
Nicole Escat says
I love this external DVD drive, this is perfect for our movie night dates. My DVD drive in my laptop just broke the other night!
Lexie Lane says
I like your review, thanks for sharing it. I never heard of an external DVD drive actually, I am looking for one!
jessica l marinaccio says
I dont have a drive on my laptop – i opted for a cheaper version just so I could get online and do my posts – check email etc so this looks like a perfect companion for my laptop.
tp keane says
I have so many dvd’s and Cd’s I must look into this before they get scratched.
Taylor Ebner says
One of my laptops plays DVDs, but my other doesn’t, so this would be something I could really use, considering the one that doesn’t play DVDs is the one I travel with.
Echo says
I love having external storage and an external DVD drive. $30 is a great price!
Liz Mays says
I’d definitely consider something like this if I was going to burn some CDs. Hopefully they’ll update the software on its plug and play.
Rebecca Bryant says
Ho cool. I don’t own a laptop but is I did I Would want to be able to play DVD’s. This is a cool way to do that.
Kerri says
My husband has been saying that we should get an external drive. This seems like one we should check out,
Kathy says
I do watch movies on the laptop sometimes. I don’t do it often though. I use to burn cd’s, but not anymore.
Lory says
This looks like it would be really helpful. For the price, even if it didn’t hold up forever, it’s inexpensive to replace.
Jasmine says
Only $30?! Thats an amazing price
Jamie Lee says
One of our laptops doesn’t have a cd/dvd drive in it so this would really come in handy!
Natalie says
This is pretty sweet, I need one of these for my laptop. I bought this thing like 4 years ago and there’s not a CD player in it.
Karlaroundtheworld | Karla says
It’s great that it already works with 3.0, it’s going to be the standard soon. I can relate to how non-Apple products work with Macs, took me ages (okay, just a single day but still) to use an external monitor to work with my Mac Mini.
Claudia Krusch says
I need to get one and move my pictures! My mac is showing signs of being overloaded! Thank you for sharing this!
Patricia says
I use external drive pretty often -… and that price tag is great!
Mardene Carr says
I rarely use the DVD player on my laptop…sometimes I forget that it is there actually
tauyanm says
seems like a good investment to have specially for bloggers and youtubers. I dont have DVD on my laptop. but i do use external HD which i plenty hehe
Sheena Smith says
Interesting article, it seems like a great product if you don’t have a dvd player on a laptop!
Agnes Dela Cruz says
I am needing a new EHD lately and I am having a hard time in choosing one. This gave me another edge to think and consider this brand try.