HP DVD + RW Writers

How to Find the Right DVD, CD, and Blu-ray Drives

You love working from your computer, but let's face it, everybody needs a break from too many PowerPoint presentations or Word documents. Slipping your favorite DVD in would be a wonderful respite from work, but you don't have a DVD drive and aren't sure where to look. Fortunately, there's a way to select the right drive for your HP PC laptop or desktop.

What Are the Drive Types?

Before you start browsing drives for your Windows PC, you'll need to know which exact type of drive your machine requires, and compatibility is a must. To that end, there are a few basic DVD and CD drive types to consider.

• An external drive is a peripheral that you connect to your computer via a USB cable or cord. Thus, it's not installed directly in your machine.
• Select an internal laptop drive when you want to replace, add, or upgrade to a new internal drive for your HP laptop or notebook computer.
• Many PCs have space for an internal drive. This is a specific type, so you'll need to know the exact model, number, and type you need for compatibility.

Which Formats Can Drives Read?

After you figure out the basic type of unit you're seeking, then you can begin to think about which media formats you need to read. There are some basic options or more complex drives that read and write discs of many formats.

• There are optical drives that read and write CDs. With this type of drive, not only can you play any CD, but you can also burn your own song mixes using music you have on your computer.
• A Blu-ray drive plays Blu-ray movies.
• Any model with the letters RW or R can burn and/or play recorded discs that you've made yourself, and rewritable discs can be reused. With these, you can burn new content over existing content.

Which Interface Should You Pick?

The interface simply means that this is how you'll connect or install your external or internal accessory to your Windows computer, but there are a few common options.

• USB is a common way to connect an external model. You simply plug one end of the USB cable into the DVD or CD drive and the other into your computer.
• An eSATA interface means that you use this type of cable to connect an external component.
• SATA I, SATA II, and SATA III are a few other interface options. These require using SATA cables to connect interior components inside your computer. You may also require an IDE drive, which creates compatibility between these two components for internal use.