1. Roundup: External optical burners

This roundup includes products released within one year preceding the publication date of this article. The product selection consists solely of review units made available to Tom’s Guide by vendors. While the products listed here do not constitute a comprehensive listing of all products in the category, they do represent a broad range of what is available to consumers in this category. We will quickly update this roundup with new products as they become available to Tom’s Guide, and soon add data relating to product specifications and test dates. In other words, these roundups are a work in progress. Please check back frequently to see what’s new.

Your computer doesn't have an optical drive? You have two possible solutions: Use one in another computer in your home or office via the network or buy an external USB or FireWire model.

For the past year-plus, netbooks from dozens of different manufacturers have been flooding the market. They emphasize mobility and the best possible battery life. For that reason, their displays are rarely larger than 10 inches and the processor is often an Intel Atom. And above all, for the sake of mobility, they have no optical drive. That's a problem when it comes to installing your favorite software. Rather than converting all your software to saved images and using a program like Daemon Tools to mount them, a small, inexpensive external DVD burner is a great alternative.

USB powered

All so-called ''slim'' drives are self-powered via the USB port, so they don't need to be connected to an AC outlet. There are different approaches to powering the drives. For example, Buffalo Technology and Samsung use a USB "Y" cable, whereas LG supplies two separate USB cables. The first one carries the data and also powers the burner, and the second provides additional power if needed. In both cases, if your computer's USB port provides enough power for the drive, you don't need to plug in to a second USB port.

Three main choice criteria

In terms of actual use, the main point to consider when choosing an external optical burner will often be the noise it makes while operating. While it's hard to find a "silent" optical drive, some are noisier than others. There are differences of up to 4 dB between two products (and that's very perceptible to the ear).

Weight and size are also criteria that should be considered. This type of product is designed to be carried around with a netbook. So they have to be as small and as lightweight as possible.

A final point is visual design. But since that's a matter of individual taste, we won't take it into account in our ratings.