These drives are installed directly into your computer tower or laptop, and will require a little bit of technical know-how when installing. If your computer previously had a built-in optical drive that needs to be replaced or upgraded, you can opt for an internal optical drive. This is especially helpful since you might only need to use an optical drive every now and then. Most external drives connect via USB for simple plug-and-play setup. Luckily, with an external optical drive, you can add this functionality to your computer in no time. Blu-rays offer an average of 25GB of storage per disc and dual-layer Blu-rays offer around 50GB of storage per disc.ĭiscs are also lightweight, easy to store, making them ideal for backing up files or sharing large amounts of data.
The biggest benefit of optical discs is their massive storage capacities. CDs and DVDs share a very similar wavelength, so they can share the same lens.īlu-ray discs, on the other hand, use a very different wavelength, and require a specific lens. Each type of disc requires a different type of laser, or electromagnetic wavelength.
Optical drives use lasers and lenses to read and write data to and from optical discs, such as CDs, DVDs, and Blu-rays. Some optical drivers also give you the creative power to burn your own music albums and create your own family movies. Optical drives are an essential piece of computing hardware.
