This ASUS VivoBook laptop has no optical drive. I have done lots of
burning using k3b program with Ubu 20.04 on older laptops. I have never
had an external DVD/CD burner. Can someone here recommend an external
burner that will work via USB connector (A or C) using k3b and Ubu
20.04. I prefer to buy a higher quality burner, happy to pay higher
price for quality.

TIA. Bill S.

On 12/8/2021 4:26 PM, bilsch01 wrote:
> This ASUS VivoBook laptop has no optical drive. I have done lots of burning using k3b program with Ubu 20.04 on older laptops. I have never had an external DVD/CD burner. Can someone here recommend an external burner that will work via USB connector (A or C) using k3b and Ubu 20.04. I prefer to buy a higher quality burner, happy to pay higher price for quality.
>
> TIA.   Bill S.

This is a 5.25" full sized internal drive. You would
need a 5.25" enclosure to house this, and I'm not finding the
enclosure I want.

https://www.newegg.com/lg-model-gh24nsc0b-dvd-burner/p/N82E16827136276

DVD drives might be 12V @ 1.5A and 5V @ 1A or so.

BR drives might be 12V @ 2.5A and 5V @ 1A or so.

You need to check the specs for the unit, before pricing an enclosure.
Enclosures typically have 12V @ 2A output, and the 5V is converted
from the provided 12V. That means the 23W for the DVD drive spec,
is coming from a 24W adapter. The BR drive would draw too much
power, to be comfortable with the average 5.25" enclosure.

At least try to compare the specs, before pairing the two.

*******

The slim drives are powered entirely from the 5V rail and the motors
on those don't use 12V. That's why they can run off the 5V bus power
of the USB port.

This advert, for a GP65NB60, I can't tell whether it's legit or not.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00ODDE33U

Here is the manufacturer page. Notice they don't even spec
the DC power consumption. I need to know stuff like this, so
I will know how much margin is there.

https://www.lg.com/us/burners-drives/lg-GP65NB60-external-dvd-drive

TRANSFER RATES-WRITE
CD-R 10x CLV, 16x PCAV, 24x CAV
CD-RW 4x, 10x CLV, 16x ZCLV, 24x ZCLV
DVD-R (SL) 2x CLV, 4x PCAV, 8x CAV
DVD+R (DL) 2.4x CLV, 4x PCAV, 6x PCAV
DVD+RW 2.4x CLV, 4x ZCLV, 8x ZCLV
DVD+R (SL) 2.4x CLV, 4x PCAV, 8x CAV
DVD-R (DL) 2x CLV, 4x, 6x ZCLV
DVD-RAM 2x, 3x CLV, 5x PCAV
DVD-RW 2x, 3x CLV, 4x, 6x ZCLV

You will notice a slim doesn't have 22x or 24x speed on DVD.
DVD media, typical purchases would be 8x speed anyway, as
the most likely top speed. The 5.25" drives have theoretical
higher top speeds, but you never seem to see any media that
is even close to those speeds. And with the kinds of media
you can find today, who knows what the burn quality will be
like from a media perspective. The last ones I bought turned out
to be CMC, and those seem to be hard on the burner (the burner is
getting worse with time, as if the laser is running full blast
on a burn).

"external dvd drive" might be a good search term.

Some advertisers can't even manage to copy the specs properly,
so beware.

The protocol to get to the burner, should be pretty standardized now.
It needs ATAPI support, SCSI-like "sense codes" on error.

Paul

On 12/8/21 3:02 PM, Paul wrote:
> On 12/8/2021 4:26 PM, bilsch01 wrote:
>> This ASUS VivoBook laptop has no optical drive. I have done lots of
>> burning using k3b program with Ubu 20.04 on older laptops. I have
>> never had an external DVD/CD burner. Can someone here recommend an
>> external burner that will work via USB connector (A or C) using k3b
>> and Ubu 20.04. I prefer to buy a higher quality burner, happy to pay
>> higher price for quality.
>>
>> TIA.   Bill S.
>
> This is a 5.25" full sized internal drive. You would
> need a 5.25" enclosure to house this, and I'm not finding the
> enclosure I want.
>
> https://www.newegg.com/lg-model-gh24nsc0b-dvd-burner/p/N82E16827136276
>
> DVD drives might be 12V @ 1.5A and 5V @ 1A or so.
>
> BR drives might be 12V @ 2.5A and 5V @ 1A or so.
>
> You need to check the specs for the unit, before pricing an enclosure.
> Enclosures typically have 12V @ 2A output, and the 5V is converted
> from the provided 12V. That means the 23W for the DVD drive spec,
> is coming from a 24W adapter. The BR drive would draw too much
> power, to be comfortable with the average 5.25" enclosure.
>
> At least try to compare the specs, before pairing the two.

I understand the concept here however I need USB A or USB C interface to
it. The drives are SATA. Possibly there would be a way if my laptop had
an ESATA connector but it doesn't.
So I need to get a 'slim drive'.
>
> *******
>
> The slim drives are powered entirely from the 5V rail and the motors
> on those don't use 12V. That's why they can run off the 5V bus power
> of the USB port.
>
> This advert, for a GP65NB60, I can't tell whether it's legit or not.
>
> https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00ODDE33U
>
> Here is the manufacturer page. Notice they don't even spec
> the DC power consumption. I need to know stuff like this, so
> I will know how much margin is there.

I guess I'll have to be satisfied with a slim external drive that has
the 'highest' DC spec, or at least
'one-of-the-higher' DC specs. But that information might be hard or
impossible to find on the seller's website.

If it makes bad burns then I could try using a slower write speed. It
seems like some burning programs I've used would recommend a max burning
speed - probably based on some knowledge about the drive. I am really
hoping to use the k3b program. k3b may not recommend a safe speed or
may not have option to select a slower speed. I don't know. I've never
had to mess with any of that since years ago because k3b has always
worked with the burners I've had. But I've never used an external
burner. I will tinker with k3b on my old laptop (has internal burner)
and see what flexibility it has.

Thanks for your help.

>
> https://www.lg.com/us/burners-drives/lg-GP65NB60-external-dvd-drive
>
> TRANSFER RATES-WRITE
>         CD-R 10x CLV, 16x PCAV, 24x CAV
>         CD-RW 4x, 10x CLV, 16x ZCLV, 24x ZCLV
>         DVD-R (SL) 2x CLV, 4x PCAV, 8x CAV
>         DVD+R (DL) 2.4x CLV, 4x PCAV, 6x PCAV
>         DVD+RW 2.4x CLV, 4x ZCLV, 8x ZCLV
>         DVD+R (SL) 2.4x CLV, 4x PCAV, 8x CAV
>         DVD-R (DL) 2x CLV, 4x, 6x ZCLV
>         DVD-RAM 2x, 3x CLV, 5x PCAV
>         DVD-RW 2x, 3x CLV, 4x, 6x ZCLV
>
> You will notice a slim doesn't have 22x or 24x speed on DVD.
> DVD media, typical purchases would be 8x speed anyway, as
> the most likely top speed. The 5.25" drives have theoretical
> higher top speeds, but you never seem to see any media that
> is even close to those speeds. And with the kinds of media
> you can find today, who knows what the burn quality will be
> like from a media perspective. The last ones I bought turned out
> to be CMC, and those seem to be hard on the burner (the burner is
> getting worse with time, as if the laser is running full blast
> on a burn).
>
> "external dvd drive" might be a good search term.
>
> Some advertisers can't even manage to copy the specs properly,
> so beware.
>
> The protocol to get to the burner, should be pretty standardized now.
> It needs ATAPI support, SCSI-like "sense codes" on error.
>
>    Paul

bilsch01 wrote:
> This ASUS VivoBook laptop has no optical drive. I have done lots of
> burning using k3b program with Ubu 20.04 on older laptops. I have never
> had an external DVD/CD burner. Can someone here recommend an external
> burner that will work via USB connector (A or C) using k3b and Ubu
> 20.04. I prefer to buy a higher quality burner, happy to pay higher
> price for quality.

I have one of these

https://www.asus.com/us/Motherboards-Components/Optical-Drives/External-DVD-Drive/SDRW08D2SU/
SDRW-08D2S-U

.... which I bought principally because I had a desktop (& a chromebook)
w/ no optical. I can't even remember the last time I used it, because I
like to use USB for everything I used to do w/ optical. I accumulated
lots of CDs buying by the hundreds in my early days of booting linux
live off CDs.

It uses 2 USB connectors for adequate juice. I don't recall testing it
w/ linux, but I can't imagine it not working. Here's a review of
someone using -- 'works flawlessly under Linux (Debian Jessie)'.

http://www.tgreer.com/asus-sdrw-08d2s-u-lite-a-dvd-writer-supports-linux.html
Asus SDRW-08D2S-U LITE / A DVD Writer supports Linux -- Customer Review

--
Mike Easter

On 12/9/21 3:53 PM, Mike Easter wrote:
> bilsch01 wrote:
>> This ASUS VivoBook laptop has no optical drive. I have done lots of
>> burning using k3b program with Ubu 20.04 on older laptops. I have
>> never had an external DVD/CD burner. Can someone here recommend an
>> external burner that will work via USB connector (A or C) using k3b
>> and Ubu 20.04. I prefer to buy a higher quality burner, happy to pay
>> higher price for quality.
>
> I have one of these
>
> https://www.asus.com/us/Motherboards-Components/Optical-Drives/External-DVD-Drive/SDRW08D2SU/
>  SDRW-08D2S-U
>
> ... which I bought principally because I had a desktop (& a chromebook)
> w/ no optical.  I can't even remember the last time I used it, because I
> like to use USB for everything I used to do w/ optical.  I accumulated
> lots of CDs buying by the hundreds in my early days of booting linux
> live off CDs.
>
> It uses 2 USB connectors for adequate juice.  I don't recall testing it
> w/ linux, but I can't imagine it not working.  Here's a review of
> someone using -- 'works flawlessly under Linux (Debian Jessie)'.
>
> http://www.tgreer.com/asus-sdrw-08d2s-u-lite-a-dvd-writer-supports-linux.html
>  Asus SDRW-08D2S-U LITE / A DVD Writer supports Linux -- Customer Review
>

Thanks. I like the USB Y-cable idea. Adequate power if computer has
weak USB ports - which is likely the case with my cheap laptop. I have
the spec document for it but it doesn't mention the power or DC output
current for the USBs.
After the Christmas rush I may go for an SDRW-08D2S-U LITE.

On 12/08/2021 01:26 PM, bilsch01 wrote:
> This ASUS VivoBook laptop has no optical drive. I have done lots of
> burning using k3b program with Ubu 20.04 on older laptops. I have never
> had an external DVD/CD burner. Can someone here recommend an external
> burner that will work via USB connector (A or C) using k3b and Ubu
> 20.04. I prefer to buy a higher quality burner, happy to pay higher
> price for quality.
>
> TIA. Bill S.

Not sure exactly which model ASUS VivoBook laptop you have but you might
be able to find spec info regarding optical drives in the manual...

https://www.manua.ls/asus/vivobook-s15/manual

On 12/12/21 1:02 PM, Adam wrote:
> On 12/08/2021 01:26 PM, bilsch01 wrote:
>> This ASUS VivoBook laptop has no optical drive. I have done lots of
>> burning using k3b program with Ubu 20.04 on older laptops. I have never
>> had an external DVD/CD burner. Can someone here recommend an external
>> burner that will work via USB connector (A or C) using k3b and Ubu
>> 20.04. I prefer to buy a higher quality burner, happy to pay higher
>> price for quality.
>>
>> TIA.   Bill S.
>
>
> Not sure exactly which model ASUS VivoBook laptop you have but you might
> be able to find spec info regarding optical drives in the manual...
>
> https://www.manua.ls/asus/vivobook-s15/manual
>
>
Thanks for offering help ... but the link wants to add something to my
browser. It says the manual is a pdf file. I don't see why it doesn't
simply allow me to download the file. Besides, I already have a manual.
It doesn't specify power or current on 5 volt line of the USBs. Lots of
info about wifi though.

On 12/12/2021 06:58 PM, bilsch01 wrote:
> On 12/12/21 1:02 PM, Adam wrote:
>> On 12/08/2021 01:26 PM, bilsch01 wrote:
>>> This ASUS VivoBook laptop has no optical drive. I have done lots of
>>> burning using k3b program with Ubu 20.04 on older laptops. I have never
>>> had an external DVD/CD burner. Can someone here recommend an external
>>> burner that will work via USB connector (A or C) using k3b and Ubu
>>> 20.04. I prefer to buy a higher quality burner, happy to pay higher
>>> price for quality.
>>>
>>> TIA. Bill S.
>>
>>
>> Not sure exactly which model ASUS VivoBook laptop you have but you
>> might be able to find spec info regarding optical drives in the manual...
>>
>> https://www.manua.ls/asus/vivobook-s15/manual
>>
>>
> Thanks for offering help ... but the link wants to add something to my
> browser. It says the manual is a pdf file. I don't see why it doesn't
> simply allow me to download the file. Besides, I already have a manual.
> It doesn't specify power or current on 5 volt line of the USBs. Lots of
> info about wifi though.

I mention the manual in case it had internal options (instead of
external via USB) for optical drive.