Pioneer Electronics USA Internal Blu-Ray Writer (BDR-209DBK)

Since I have gotten two comments on my review of this Blu-ray player, let me preface what I wrote below with the following. I think of myself as an average computer user at best and not a tech geek. Therefore I MADE SOME ASSUMPTIONS WHEN I BOUGHT THIS PLAYER. My own fault 100%, I admit, but it was based on a couple of factors: 1) My computer has a built in HDMI output. I then figured that since this cost extra it would be enabled to work with the EXISTING SOFTWARE. 2) This assumption was backed up by the first review of the product that said WINDOWS 7 (NOT Nero, Roxio, or other software) recognized the drive and it worked immediately. 3) Yes the first review says 'burning immediately'. I assumed that since it's a Blu-ray PLAYER/burner the proper playing of the Blu-rays went without saying.So then, like I said below, the first reviewer was accurate as far as his review went. I was just trying to expand on that and point out that there were some details that were omitted that the average user (like me) would have liked to know beforehand. If someone was thinking of buying this and was under the impression that it would work with Windows 7 to PLAY BLU-RAYS as purchased, being that it's a Blu-ray PLAYER and all, they would be incorrect just as I was. My review was to help others learn from my mistakes, since I do appreciate and factor reviews that I read here on Amazon into my purchase decisions. With that said, my experience...Please realize a few things. These bulk drives DO NOT come with software!!! (Hence the price) What does that mean? Well everything from the other review is correct with One Critical Exception."Great little burner... installed in a Windows 7 machine, it was detected and drivers were installed immediately. Was burning within minutes... "The exception being that Windows 7, among others, WILL NOT play Blu-rays!!! Why, because Microsoft wouldn't pay the additional $20 licensing fee to Sony. So then to watch Blu-rays on your Blu-ray player you have to do one of the following: 1) Either download free non-Microsoft software. Here's how that went. 1st (most popular if googled) downloaded codec didn't fix the problem. Uninstall. The 2nd one that was 'supposed' to work great was more of a pain in the butt than I had the patience to try and configure and install. (Maybe others who are more tech savvy then me could have) Uninstall #2. 2) Or you can buy $65-100 media bundle software with Blu-ray playing capability, if you don't already have it. Which is what I ended up doing. Works great now but I would have loved to use Windows Media Player since it was already on my computer and free! **Plus you need an HDMI video card (which I had) and an HDMI to either HDMI or DVI-D cable. Purchased that here on Amazon for about $7. Thanks Amazon!!! Don't go to a big box store and pay $40 for an HDMI/DVI-D to test your system like I had to.So weigh the costs before buying. My $70 Blu-ray upgrade became a $142 project.Player works great now on Blu-rays and DVDs and they look spectacular. I will update soon if I run into any burning issues.

This replaces an LG BD-RW which held up for a few years of rather light use.After 5 or 6 years, the LG started getting rather flaky: Tray wouldn't open except after several attempts, it wouldn't recognize a disk, it writes but doesn't read...I decided I had to try another maker's product.This time I studied the reviews from users, and Pioneer seems to be the current winner.I've only burned and ripped a few Blu-Ray and DVD so far, but all have been without error.The big difference, this time, is that it's NOT inside my PC's case. I hope it'll last longer.I've had several optical drives fail on me within the past several years, and it could be due to the fact they've been part of my assembled PC with air/dust/whatever always being drawn through them by the fans, always powered on with the PC even though I wasn't always using the drive, etc...This one sits atop my desk, connected only when I need/want it, by a SATA-to-USB3 device. The same device can be used to connect spare HDDs when I need those too. It is my hope and expectation that by NOT supplying constant power to this drive, and by NOT having a constant airflow through it, it will outlast several of my latest optical drives. I will be removing the LG from the PC case and reinserting the blank-plate from its position, keeping this Pioneer handy for whenever it may be needed.This drive, at roughly 6x2x7-inches, was shipped by Amazon within a 12x6x16-inch box.That's a bit of overkill for exterior packaging. However, Amazon failed to provide ANY padding material within,leaving the drive to be slammed about inside as it was transported. Surprisingly, the bubble-wrap sleeve covering the drive was sufficient for this scenario, as it arrived undamaged and fully functional. It seems a good testament to the build quality and solidity of this particular drive.Time will be the determining factor of how this new approach works for me, but considering that the drive was probably shifted around violently within the shipping box and arrived unscathed, I have fairly high hopes for a successfully long service life of this drive.

I like Pioneer drives and have used them for years, mostly without issue. I picked this drive as it was cheaper than the other drives here. What I failed to take into account was that the Pioneer drive is about 10mm longer than the DVD-R drive it was replacing in a Lenovo M82 SFF chassis. The stock DVD-R is 170mm, the Pioneer measures out to 180mm which is about the maximum clearance for the drive bay without cables. With the cables there is no way to make the drive fit. There just isn't enough room even if you use 90 deg adapters for the cables. The extra length most likely isn't a problem in a bigger case but if you have a small form factor PC from Lenovo or Dell, you might want to make sure of your current drive's depth before you buy.I did do a test burn before I swapped the drives back so I could close the case and it worked just fine. I expect it would perform just as well as my previous Pioneer DVD-R drives though I had to return it to get the slightly smaller LG drive (165mm depth). Hopefully the LG will not only fit in my case but work as well as Pioneer drives had for me in the past.