Is a DVD drive worth it in additional to a BD drive?

Discussion of LibreDrive mode, compatible drives and firmwares
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Teilz
Posts: 7
Joined: Sun Dec 07, 2025 10:20 am

Is a DVD drive worth it in additional to a BD drive?

Post by Teilz »

Sorry, not sure if this is the right place to ask this but was just wondering if it's worth getting just a regular DVD drive too.

I have a lot of DVDs in addition to blu-rays and UHDs and was thinking maybe it's worth getting just a regular DVD drive for those to save some wear and tear on the BD drive as DVD drives still seem a bit more readily available.

Do people usually do this?

Also, any advice on which would be a good one to get? Pioneers seem to be the agreed upon best for BD drives, is the same true for DVD drives? Or does brand not matter much with these?
DukeFleed
Posts: 69
Joined: Fri Jun 07, 2024 7:55 pm

Re: Is a DVD drive worth it in additional to a BD drive?

Post by DukeFleed »

That's exactly what I do. To preserve my Pioneer Blu-ray burner, when I rip DVDs I use an internal LG SATA DVD burner (recovered from my old PC) that I connect with a USB-SATA adapter (the same one I use for the Blu-ray burner when I connect it to my PC). I recommend an LG brand.
kaysee
Posts: 54
Joined: Wed Apr 07, 2021 12:22 am

Re: Is a DVD drive worth it in additional to a BD drive?

Post by kaysee »

Yes, good plan. If you deal with problematic optical discs, it is worthwhile to have a variety of optical drives. Some people endlessly recommend Pioneer drives. I recommend having a variety of brands and models handy. With some optical discs, my old LG drive would have trouble reading them but my Pioneer could read them perfectly. OR: the other way around, with the Pioneer not able to mount a disc that the LG could read perfectly. The Pioneer is not always the best.

In any case, offloading mechanical wear from a blu-ray drive to a cheaper and more readily obtainable DVD-only drive is a good idea. If the blue laser in your blu-ray drive wears out, then the drive is still usable as a DVD/CD drive.
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