PIONEER Internal Blu-Ray Writer BDR-209DBK

Installation was straight-forward, just as simple as a regular DVD drive with SATA power & data cables. You will need some additional software to be able to read Blu-ray discs as this listing doesn’t include any software or cables, just the drive itself.

This listing was for a “new” drive but for some reason mine arrived with a very noticeable dent on the back near the SATA ports. Thankfully it doesn’t functionally affect the drive and is only cosmetic damage.

CD-ROM Performance was very quick, started at 4X speed (briefly) and quickly rose to 33.9X speed when backing up an audio CD. Pretty happy with the results and testing with a Blu-ray movie in Leawo Blu-ray Player had no issues watching movies, quality was great.

Overall very happy with the BDR-209DBK, I’ll probably get another for my second PC.

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.

Ce lecteur fait ce que pourquoi il à été conçu et il le fait bien ,en plus ce qui ne gâche rien il est peu onéreux et à des caractéristiques de lecture/gravure de bonne facture que demander de plus

This review is for the Pioneer BDR-209D bare drive / no useless and frustrating software.

1st a word on software …
To simply play commercial Blu/DVD movie disks or any other video/audio file I use VLC (free). It works great for the beginner and has features to keep the advanced user happy. To play Blu disks you have to download and copy 2 additional files. Just do a google “VLC blu ray” search. It’s very easy and straight forward. There are even detailed instructions on youtube for the really technically challenged.

MakeMkv and Hand Brake (both free) allow frustration free commercial Blu / DVD movie conversion. After getting rid of all that pesky commercial code and saving to my hard drive I can then play the movie (with VLC) from my hard drive or burn to optical disk. Another viable playback option is the PAID version of Power DVD. Power DVD is more user friendly than VLC and gives a no hassle option to play directly to and external device such as a receiver without being routed through Windows. There is a HUGE difference in sound quality when playing directly to receiver. Even the latest & greatest motherboard sound chips don’t come close to an AVR or decent external DAC.

Now for the Pioneer:
The Pioneer works better than expected upon initial install and testing. I initially purchased an LG UH12NS30 Blu Ray player / DVD writer (first one failed within 25 days, replacement defective). The “REAL WORLD” read (Rom) speed of the LG was really lacking (~2.5x-3.5x) compared to Pioneer (~7x). The LG could not successfully burn a DVD (SATA controller errors).
The Pioneer burns flawlessly both Blu and DVD.
The drive is very quiet when playing / copying / burning.

Install: Take note that this Pioneer drive is 7.09″ in length. It will not fit in some cases. I have a Cooler Master mini-tower (great case) with a mini-ATX mobo. After pre-measuring clearance I concluded it would fit, just barely. I had to remove a corner mobo mounting screw for the drive to clear.

Quality of construction: The drive appears well built and solid as far as optical drives go. The eject button is easy to find by touch and has a solid feel when pushed.

I rip ~6 blus per week. We’ll see how long it lasts. So far so good! Great bang for the buck when on sale for $55 @ Amazon:)

UPDATE 6/17/16
Still going strong after ~2 yrs. Great optical drive;)