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OWC Mercury Pro External USB 3.0 Blu-Ray Reader/Writer

BH #OWCMR3UBDR16 • MFR #OWCMR3UBDRW16
 110 reviews
OWC Mercury Pro External USB 3.0 Blu-Ray Reader/Writer
Key Features
  • Max 12x/16x BD-R Read/Write Speed
  • Max 16x DVD±R Read and Write Speed
  • Max 48x CD-R Read and Write Speed
  • Read & Writes Blu-ray up to 128GB
The Mercury Pro External USB 3.0 Blu-Ray Reader/Writer from OWC / Other World Computing features a USB 3.0 interface and can be used with Windows, Mac, and Linux systems. The plug-and-play optical drive requires no special drivers for use and supports writing to Blu-ray and DVD media at speeds at up to 16x and CDs at up to 48x, while also supporting the reading of Blu-ray media at speeds up to 12x, DVD media at speeds up to 16x, and CDs at speeds up to 48x. It also supports a wide range of disc capacities, including single (25GB, double (50GB), triple (100GB), and quad layer (128GB) Blu-ray media, single (4.7GB) and dual layer (8.4GB) DVD media, and CD media up to 700MB, or 79 minutes of audio. This optical drive also supports M-DISC media and its 4MB buffer helps to ensure uninterrupted disc burning sessions.
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OWC Mercury Pro Overview

The Mercury Pro External USB 3.0 Blu-Ray Reader/Writer from OWC / Other World Computing features a USB 3.0 interface and can be used with Windows, Mac, and Linux systems. The plug-and-play optical drive requires no special drivers for use and supports writing to Blu-ray and DVD media at speeds at up to 16x and CDs at up to 48x, while also supporting the reading of Blu-ray media at speeds up to 12x, DVD media at speeds up to 16x, and CDs at speeds up to 48x. It also supports a wide range of disc capacities, including single (25GB, double (50GB), triple (100GB), and quad layer (128GB) Blu-ray media, single (4.7GB) and dual layer (8.4GB) DVD media, and CD media up to 700MB, or 79 minutes of audio. This optical drive also supports M-DISC media and its 4MB buffer helps to ensure uninterrupted disc burning sessions.

The Mercury Pro External USB 3.0 Blu-Ray Reader/Writer includes a 2' USB 3.0 Type-B to Type-A cable and operates using an included 100 ~ 240 VAC power supply at 50-60 Hz. It is protected by a limited 1-year warranty.

General Features
Configured for Your Workflow
Now with an updated design, Mercury Pro brings optical media back to your workflow. With a sleek, durable aluminum chassis and a USB 3.0 interface, Mercury Pro delivers reliable performance that is cool and quiet
USB 3.0 Connectivity
The Mercury Pro is plug-and-play compatible with both Mac and PC workflows, making it a versatile solution. With USB 3.0 connectivity, playback of optical media, data transfers, and archiving all happen as quickly
Long-Term Archiving
M-DISC is a solution for safe and long-term data storage, and the Mercury Pro supports this format, making it a good solution for reliable long-term backup and archiving. M-DISC is an archival-quality storage solution that helps protect your data from degradation and loss for 1000 years or more.

M-DISCs use a proprietary layer made from inorganic, rock-like material for permanent data storage, protected from data rot and extremes of light, humidity, and temperature change. Because the M-DISC ready Mercury Pro engraves the data into this layer, write once and read virtually forever
Reliability & Support
The Mercury Pro is backed by OWC's limited 1-year warranty and 24/7 customer support
Operating System Compatibility
Windows XP and later
Mac OS 10.6 and later
UPC: 812437022612

OWC Mercury Pro Specs

Enclosure Type
External
System Connection
USB-A 3.0 / 3.1/3.2 Gen 1 (5 Gb/s)
Loading Mechanism
Tray
Functional Orientation
Horizontal or Vertical
Maximum Read Speed
Blu-ray
BD-R (DL): 8x
BD-R (TL/QL): 6x
BD-RE (SL/DL): 8x
BD-RE (TL/QL): 6x
BD-ROM (SL): 12x
BD-ROM (DL): 8x
BD-R (SL): 12x
CD
CD-R: 48x
CD-ROM: 48x
CD-RW: 40x
DVD
DVD±R (DL): 12x
DVD±RW: 12x
DVD-ROM (SL): 16x
DVD-ROM (DL): 12x
DVD-RAM: 5x
DVD±R (SL): 16x
Maximum Write Speed
Blu-ray
BD-R (DL/TL): 12x
BD-R (QL): 6x
BD-RE (SL/DL/TL): 2x
BD-R (SL): 16x
CD
CD-R: 48x
CD-RW: 24x
DVD
DVD+R (SL): 16x
DVD-R (DL): 8x
DVD+R (DL): 8x
DVD-RW: 6x
DVD+RW: 8x
DVD-RAM: 5x
DVD-R (SL): 16x
Access Time
Blu-Ray: 180 ms
DVD: 160 ms
CD: 150 ms
Buffer Memory
4 MB
M-DISC Support
Yes
AC Input Power
100 to 240 VAC, 50 / 60 Hz
Certifications
RoHS
*as per Manufacturer
Operating Temperature
41 to 113°F / 5 to 45°C
Operating Humidity
15 to 90%
Storage Temperature
-40 to 149°F / -40 to 65°C
Storage Humidity
10 to 80%
Dimensions (W x H x D)
6.5 x 2 x 8.3" / 16.5 x 5.1 x 21.1 cm
Weight
4 lb / 1.8 kg
Packaging Info
Package Weight
5 lb
Box Dimensions (LxWxH)
10.1 x 9.55 x 5.05"

OWC Mercury Pro Reviews

Worked for short time, then bricked

By Marty
Rated 1 out of 5
Date: 2023-09-05

I used this drive sparingly several times over about 2 months. Seemed to work fine. Then suddenly stopped responding. I tried 3 different Mac computers, and went very carefully through ever step in the recording process many times. The drive light was on, but nothing was recording. I have other OWC gear and never had any problems. But this one was a dud,

Works Great, But Note some Limitations

By Paul
Rated 5 out of 5
Date: 2023-01-29

I bought this to use with an M2 MacBook Air. I wanted to be able to access CDs, DVDs, and Blu-rays. I was pleasantly surprised that it's a very solid enclosure, with outboard power supply so it doesn't have to draw all its power from a USB port. It seems quite well-built and it works great, but there are a few things to note: - First, it uses a strange older USB connector. You'll need an A to C cable of some kind. I tracked down one of the stacked connector cables but I think it will probably work with any USB A to C cable. - Second, while Macs come with a DVD player app, they don't come with a Blu-ray player app. You'll need to set the region if you use Apple's DVD player app. For Blu-rays, I was able to use the VLC open source player and it works great. It has a slightly complicated GUI. You might need to set the Blu-ray region, which is buried in preferences. Note that I had some trouble playing some Blu-ray audio discs like the discs that come with XTC's surround sound releases. The menus won't work correctly. I think this has something to do with Java support but I was not able to solve it by installing Java on my Mac. You should also note that it won't recognize 4K Blu-ray discs at all - it just spits them out. I wasn't really expecting it to work though. I haven't tried writing Blu-rays but so far I'm very happy with it.

Works as promised!

By Brian
Rated 5 out of 5
Date: 2022-12-23

Got this as a gift for my brother so he can rip Blu-ray discs and he says it works great!

Solid

By Jason
Rated 5 out of 5
Date: 2022-10-21

I bought this to archive photos and documents. The drive is shrouded in a hefty aluminum case with nice anti vibration pads underneath, and easy power rocker switch and usb connection in the back. I it comes with a usb cable A to B so I bought an A to C for a direct connection to my MacBook Air M1 and it all worked perfectly for burning onto the 100G Verbatim M-Discs. The packaging is pretty nice and I kept it all to store the drive when I am not using it. I expect this drive will outlast me, so I am satisfied.

Performance is good, reliability is unacceptable

By Alexander
Rated 1 out of 5
Date: 2022-08-27

01 Jan 2022 -- I purchased this drive. It worked great reading Blu-ray discs of all kinds (film, TV shows, etc.). Didn't use it for writing. It is a bit loud, yes, but that's because it spins discs fast to read 24MB per second off dual- or quad-layer Blu-ray medium. Mid-February 2022 -- The drive began to behave erradically. Discs would stop being read, I'd have to power reset the drive to get it to be recognized by the computer. Eventually it became so problematic that I couldn't use it anymore. 7 April 2022 -- I asked for a replacement under the warranty from OWC. 20 April 2022 -- They received it, confirmed the behavior and approved the replacement. They were not quick to run their own tests on it. 13 May 2022 -- I finally received a replacement drive. RMA took 5 weeks from start to finish. I continued using the drive until today 26 Aug 2022 when the drive outright failed dead. No lights, no tray movement, nothing. Through usage the drive can get quite hot, depending what it's doing, and I suspect that's what killed it. I sent a request for another replacement, but I don't have any hopes of getting another. Two drives failed within 8 months. I would suggest NOT using this drive, and look for another manufacturer.

Built for Business!

By Bartley
Rated 5 out of 5
Date: 2022-07-27

I needed an update from my Apple Super Drive and this is the perfect replacement for me. Plug & Play and built like a tank.

Works great

By Richard
Rated 4 out of 5
Date: 2023-03-10

Max speed is for CD not DVD. Most I have ever got was 6X Burns 100GB disc flawless. No eject with Mac Keyboard.

Makes it easy to play Blu Ray on a Mac

By Hilton
Rated 5 out of 5
Date: 2023-02-27

But you do need to purchase Blu Ray software for Mac.

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