In modern realities, few computer users understand that an optical drive is a very necessary thing. In the age of the Internet, information overload and miniature flash drives, these devices are gradually going out of fashion. Moreover, most laptop manufacturers are already stripping their devices of this familiar attribute. But you should comprehensively assess the situation and, perhaps, you will realize that it is too early to abandon this important component of the computer ecosystem.
What it is?
An optical drive is a device for reading data from an optical medium. The latter include compact discs (CDs), DVDs, Blu-ray and mini-discs. At first, conventional drives appeared that could only work with standard format compacts. And they only knew how to read data. Recording at first was quite complicated (technologically) and expensive.
Then came the devices with the ability to write to CD. Then came the time for DVD discs. As usual, first devices that can read them, and only then write. The crown of the era of DVD has become the ability to read and write two-layer discs. The main difference from standard DVDs is the increased memory capacity. However, the write and read speeds left much to be desired.
The final step in the evolution of the optical disc drive is the ability to read and write Blu-ray media. These discs are used for recording and viewing HD content and have good storage capacity (about 40 gigabytes). Such drives are the most expensive in our time, but also the most popular. However, whatever you say, the read speed of a USB drive is much higher than that of CDs. Therefore, in our time, most PC and laptop users prefer flash drives. And this is justified in terms of speed. And now we will analyze the classification of drives and their capabilities.
CD-R / RW
The optical drive CD-R / RW was the very first device that was able to not only read information from CDs, but also write to them. In those days, these devices were in great demand. However, they did not live long. The fact is that on a standard CD it was possible to fit only 700 megabytes of information. But in modern realities this is catastrophically small. So, for example, the average movie now "weighs" one and a half gigabytes. So consider it. That is why the CD era quickly ended. Currently, the installation of an optical drive format CD-R / RW in personal computers and laptops is not performed. For the above reasons.
However, there are still industries in which CDs are used. For example, in the music industry. Many artists still release albums on CD. But this does not mean that the corresponding drives are still alive. Their work can easily perform an optical drive DVD-RW. By the way, we will talk about him in the next section. In the meantime, to summarize the CDs and related drives. They are hopelessly outdated. And both morally and physically.
DVD-R / RW
This drive is the successor to the previous one. The main difference is the type of supported discs. 4.5 gigabytes of information fits on optical media of the DVD format. And these are several films. It is not surprising that these discs quickly robbed compacts of their target audience. Optical media of this kind are used in the gaming industry. Filmmakers also liked to record their creations on such discs. But the latter now prefer Blu-ray discs. You can’t record content on DVD DVD. It is not surprising that the DVD-R / RW optical drive is the most popular type of device in modern PCs and laptops. Although the latter begin to massively get rid of this component.
The main feature of drives of this kind is omnivorous. They successfully cope with the writing and reading of both DVD and CD discs. Therefore, these drives are so popular among gamers and fans of storing information on optical media. Also an important plus is that for most models there is no need to look for an optical drive driver for Windows 7 or some other OS. The system finds it automatically in its repositories. It is reliably known that only Plextor products need to install additional drivers. However, they come with the device. So problems should not arise.
DVD-R / RW DL
This is the next evolutionary step. DVD-R / RW DL optical drive is a device that can work with two-layer DVD-ROM drives. They have several advantages and disadvantages compared to regular DVDs. Of the advantages, it is worth noting the increased volume. Now the disk contains almost 10 gigabytes of information. Of the drawbacks is the write-read speed. She is negligible. But you have to pay for the increase in space. Optical drives of this kind are universal devices with the ability to record almost all known optical media (except for Blu-Ray). This omnivore becomes a decisive factor when choosing a drive.
As for the recording speed of two-layer optical media, the driver of the optical drive plays a huge role here. Therefore, it is recommended to use exclusively original drivers from the manufacturer. Standard system does not fit. They do not know how to work with large disks. Although the volume is not so big. In any case, the recording speed of such media does not exceed 12x. And this is very small. Not surprisingly, optical drives are out of fashion. The write speed to the USB stick is much higher. Now let's move on to the most advanced type of drive.
Blu-ray RW
At the moment, this is the most advanced and popular type of optical drive. These devices can not only read blu-ray discs, but also write to them. It is worth noting that the capacity of such media can reach 40 gigabytes. This is unrealistic a lot. Modern producers of multimedia content just use such discs to record movies in Full HD format. Therefore, having such a drive on a PC or laptop does not hurt. However, these devices have one feature: the installation of an optical drive driver in Windows 7 is highly recommended. Moreover, the original software is required. From the manufacturer.
The blu-ray drive is a true universal device. It easily copes with all types of optical media. That is why it is installed in the most expensive laptop models. The Blu-ray optical drive is the most advanced device for reading information from optical media.
Spray drives
There are also such devices that print a picture on a blank when recording. Their design has special paint tanks. After writing information to the disc, the process of spraying the image onto the surface of the medium begins. The user selects the picture. However, such devices are considered semi-professional. Therefore, they are quite expensive.
Top Drive Manufacturers
The tone here is set by Japanese companies. Drives from Pioneer and Plextor are famous for their quality. Pioneer, by the way, released the very first CD-ROM drive. And it was they who developed the ability to read and write DVDs. And indeed, it was in this company that they developed all the currently available formats of optical media. Plextor also did not lag behind. However, they did not invent anything, but only brought to perfection. Not surprisingly, these two companies are the best. After them, there are already such "middle peasants" as LG, Sony, Technics and so on. But to this day, the “cutters” from the “Pioneers” are the best.
Conclusion
So, an optical drive is a device for reading information from an optical medium. Also, the device can write files to disks of various formats. If you want to equip your PC with such a device, then keep in mind that you only need to buy a Blu-Ray “cutter”. It is he who is the most universal. With regard to a particular manufacturer, it is best to choose a device from the "Pioneer" and "Plextor". They were pioneers and still supply quality components. If you need a multifunctional and high-quality device, then you do not need to spare money.