Top Products – Low Prices Mac Software Archgon SEA TECH 1 Aluminum External USB DVD+Rw, RW Super Drive for Apple-MacBook Air, Pro, iMac, Mini

Archgon SEA TECH 1 Aluminum External USB DVD+Rw, RW Super Drive for Apple-MacBook Air, Pro, iMac, Mini

Price: ~~$33.95~~ - $22.70

To calculate the overall star rating and percentage breakdown by star, we don’t use a simple average. Instead, our system considers things like how recent a review is and if the reviewer bought the item on Amazon. It also analyzed reviews to verify trustworthiness.Learn more how customers reviews work on Amazon

Customers say

Customers like the quality, speed, size and appearance of the optical disc drive. They mention that it's a quality aluminum build, works quietly and reliably, and fits right in with their computer. They also like the ease of use, performance, and value. However, some customers have different opinions on compatibility.

AI-generated from the text of customer reviews

636 customers mention524 positive112 negative

Customers like the performance of the optical disc drive. They say it works great, is reliable, and serves them dependably for their music and videos. Some say that it is an excellent peripheral and has no problems with a powered hub.

"…It installed perfectly and easily and worked great right out of the box…." –

"…It is a great drive and has served me dependably for my music and videos, for us who are not totally immersed in the more modern, dvd drive-less…" –

"…with an unpowered hub probably won't work, but I'm having no problems with a powered hub, even without using the second plug used for additional…" –

"…Works perfectly without any problems at all. Initially I tried following the instructions, but found they were unnecessary…." –

314 customers mention232 positive82 negative

Customers like the quality of the optical disc drive. They mention that it has a quality aluminum build, it works quietly and reliably, and it's a great little CD drive. Some say that the drive itself is fantastic and seems built to last.

"…The device is lightweight and so far so good with it being able to play DVDs and no damage…." –

"…The casing it comes in is very nice looking and it feels solid when held…." –

"…Notably, this uses a Panasonic DVD drive mechanism, and seems reasonably well made…." –

"…The tray does feel a bit flimsy, you'll want to support it as you put the disc in (and make sure the edge of the disc is UNDER the lip of the case),…" –

220 customers mention186 positive34 negative

Customers find the optical disc drive easy to use. They mention it's universal plug-and-play, and comes with complete instructions. The sleek, compact, and beautifully designed unit is easy to connect to the USB-C port and does pretty much everything. Customers also love the easy fix for the onboard superdrive.

"…This one came highly recommended, and I can see why. It installed perfectly and easily and worked great right out of the box…." –

"…It came quickly and is easy to connect to the MacBook Pro…." –

"…about, and would highly recommend for anybody looking for an easy to use CD player…." –

"…It's plug and play, but the only thing that got me was that I was used to a CD of drivers and software to install, but had I put in a blank DVD, I…" –

168 customers mention142 positive26 negative

Customers like the value of the optical disc drive. They say it does what it claims, and is a good price.

"…(or buy a second one – at this reasonable price, that's definitely do-able!)…." –

"…So far worked great and it was almost half the price…." –

"…It is simple to use, inexpensive, remarkably thin, and very easy to set-up…." –

"…Overall, it does everything promised, was a less expensive solution than dealing with Apple, and was easy to install and use, even for a computer…" –

127 customers mention121 positive6 negative

Customers like the appearance of the optical disc drive. They say it looks good, is a perfect match for the brushed silver finish, and is nifty. Customers also say it's unobtrusive and works like a charm.

"…It has worked out fine, it matches the mac perfectly, and I cannot tell you how much joy it brings me to see it pop open when I hit "command e"…" –

"…The casing it comes in is very nice looking and it feels solid when held…." –

"…It is unobtrusive and super small and works like a charm. You have to use the control of the Apple DVD app to eject the DVD…." –

"Shipping/delivery was faster than expected! Neat and small unit. ;-)…" –

78 customers mention67 positive11 negative

Customers like the speed of the optical disc drive. For example, they say it's faster than expected, it plays DVDs and lets them download cds perfectly, and is quiet. Customers also appreciate the packaging, saying it'd be easy to repackage and return.

"…Shipping and delivery were very fast, much faster than promised…." –

"…It is shipped well-packaged with minimal waste." –

"…The drive works instantly as you plug it in, OS X mountain lion recognized it immediately, and I have used it to read and write CDs and DVDs…." –

"…Even made my first DVD. It seems faster than my original mac drive. Did not have to call tech support…." –

38 customers mention38 positive0 negative

Customers are satisfied with the size of the optical disc drive. They mention that it is unobtrusive, fits easily out of the way, and works as expected. It is solid and looks great, and fits right in with their Mac Air. Customers also mention that the size is portable.

"…It takes very little space on my very crowded desk, so I keep it close to my keyboard where it's handy at all times…." –

"…It is unobtrusive and super small and works like a charm. You have to use the control of the Apple DVD app to eject the DVD…." –

"Shipping/delivery was faster than expected! Neat and small unit. ;-)…" –

"…It's slim, lightweight, takes up less room than a paperback book, and operates pretty quietly. Would definitely recommend!" –

51 customers mention19 positive32 negative

Customers are mixed about the compatibility of the optical disc drive. Some mention that it works well and pairs great with their Mac, while others say that it would not recognize the drive. They mention that they need to use both cables to ensure that their computer recognizes the device.

"…The pictures show that the drive is not at all recognized by the computer (2019 MacBook Pro w/ Touch Bar) and the software I use to rip my CDs…." –

"…The drive works instantly as you plug it in, OS X mountain lion recognized it immediately, and I have used it to read and write CDs and DVDs…." –

"…of 5 because there is still something fishy in that the photo CDs are recognized eventually, many minutes after inserting the disk…." –

"…Initially the player would only make a ticking sound and was not recognized by the Mac even with the additional power cord plugged into one of the…" –

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Kathy Parsons

Very happy with it!

Reviewed in the United States on December 29, 2014

Verified Purchase

The internal CD/DVD drive in my iMac (four years old) quit on me. I review a LOT of music, and most of it still comes to me on discs, so being without a player was not an option. This one came highly recommended, and I can see why. It installed perfectly and easily and worked great right out of the box. It takes very little space on my very crowded desk, so I keep it close to my keyboard where it’s handy at all times. My only complaint is that I can’t get the player to eject the discs using the eject button or with a keyboard command. I have to drag the icon on my desktop to the trash and then it will eject. It’s not a major issue, but a small annoyance. My new MacBook Pro doesn’t have an internal disc drive, so I can see that I’ll probably be using this external drive with that computer as well (or buy a second one – at this reasonable price, that’s definitely do-able!). I’ve burned a few CDs with it to listen to in the car, and so far it’s flawless in that regard. I also used it to install new tax software (GROAN!!!), and it did that job perfectly as well. So, other than the ejecting issue, I love this drive!
UPDATE: I’m not sure what I was doing wrong before, but using the eject command is working now. I’ve been using this player very regularly for several months now and have had no problems. Great little addition and I recommend it!

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7 people found this helpful

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KnightinTunisia

5 stars

Reviewed in the United States on August 30, 2013

Verified Purchase

I have owned this for almost 10 years now and am providing an update. It is a great drive and has served me dependably for my music and videos, for us who are not totally immersed in the more modern, dvd drive-less culture in which we live.

But this morning, I spilled a cup of coffee and some of it got on the drive. It seemed to fail and wouldn’t close. I thought it was time to replace my dependable and dearly beloved Sea Tech drive. I disconnected it, threw the cable in the trash and then it hit me… poke around with a paper clip in the hole on the face of the unit and… voila! I fished the cable out of the trash, wiped it off and the drive is working perfectly!

I want to add that when I got it 10 years ago, with my limited skills, I had a few little problems understanding how to open and close it. I called them and they saw me through promptly and clearly. So I give this a high ranking.

I intended to get the slot drive but overlooked the details and got this one with the tray. It has worked out fine, it matches the mac perfectly, and I cannot tell you how much joy it brings me to see it pop open when I hit “command e”…

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206 people found this helpful

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Samantha

Added power to the hub and it worked just fine. Other than the tray (which means you have …

Reviewed in the United States on December 5, 2015

Verified Purchase

Drive works well, only used it for ripping a few CDs so far. Shipping and delivery were very fast, much faster than promised.

I have to wonder if some of the negative reviews are because of power issues. Using this with an unpowered hub probably won’t work, but I’m having no problems with a powered hub, even without using the second plug used for additional power. When I first tried it in the hub without power, even without a disc in it just sat there with the green light blinking and the mechanism clicking. Connecting the second plug (to the same unpowered hub) allowed it to spin up the disc, but it wasn’t able to read anything. Added power to the hub and it worked just fine.

Other than the tray (which means you have to press a button to open it to load a disc), it seems to work as well as the Apple built-in drive (before it broke), about the only difference being that the Eject keyboard key is only used for the built-in drive.

I can’t use the Apple external SuperDrive because Apple doesn’t allow that to be loaded in a system that originally had a working built-in drive, and replacing the built-in drive is somewhat of a pain. This is a much cheaper and easier alternative.

The tray does feel a bit flimsy, you’ll want to support it as you put the disc in (and make sure the edge of the disc is UNDER the lip of the case), but with reasonable care it shouldn’t have any real problems. Just don’t use it as a cup holder. The read mechanism is part of the tray, so can be easily cleaned (if it ever becomes necessary) without having to try to do anything inside the case.

The model number I got was MD-8107-U2, which I don’t see on Archon’s web site. I see more issues with Archon customer service than with Seatech, which is why I decided to go with this (slightly more expensive) option. I’ll update if I run into any issues.

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3 people found this helpful

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Kristi

great price and easy to use

Reviewed in the United States on December 8, 2012

Verified Purchase

The aluminum external USB DVD Super Drive for Apple I purchased to use with my MacBook Pro. The reason why is that I have some DVDs–a television series–that the MacBook Pro internal DVD player was either stating it could not play or was playing and damaging areas of the discs. (I also tried playing the same DVDs on a large DVD player connected to a TV and that too was posing a lot of problems with playing the DVDs.) I thought I would give this device a try. It came quickly and is easy to connect to the MacBook Pro. No software, just plug the cable that comes with it into the USB port and to the DVD player and play. The external device opens the DVD player app automatically after I insert the DVD, or I can open the app first and insert the DVD. Either way works well. The device even skips over the damaged areas of the discs with ease and continues on to the next good segment. The device is lightweight and so far so good with it being able to play DVDs and no damage. Unlike the DVD player built in to the MacBook Pro in which a disc just sits in it, the external Super Drive has an inner circular slot to which the disc plugs in so that it is stable. It is shipped well-packaged with minimal waste.

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8 people found this helpful

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Mark Alan Newman

works with ALL disks

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on June 12, 2021

Verified Purchase

easy to use plays all types of disks

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Darrel G Frederick

Instructions are good, if you are using it for a failed …

Reviewed in Canada on January 16, 2015

Verified Purchase

The brushed aluminum case matches the IMAC perfectly. Plug it into the USB port and you are off and
running. Instructions are good, if you are using it for a failed unit on your MAC computer you don’t have
to do anything. If however you have purchased it for a laptop you may have to go into System Preferences
but the instruction sheet covers it. It’s an Archgon, but the recognized player will show up as Matshita
DVD-RAM UJBEO – USB2. It’s perfect for an older IMAC replacement.
The unit is a Panasonic, there is a button on the front to open the tray. As has been mentioned in another
review you have to press the CD or DVD down with quite a bit of force ( fingers underneath the tray and
thumbs pushing down ) …….. no problems have been encountered. This is the second unit I have ordered,
a good price , …… it’s an excellent unit and do recommend.

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4 people found this helpful

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Amazon Customer

Just buy it, you won’t regret it!

Reviewed in Canada on December 3, 2015

Verified Purchase

Works great, easy to set up, easy to use, looks great…what more can you ask for?!

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Loraine H.

Five Stars

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on January 31, 2015

Verified Purchase

Arrived early very pleased with product just what we needed, highly recommend .

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Sheffield Shopper

Stopped working after I’d used it a few times

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on October 20, 2020

Verified Purchase

The whole thing is flakey and tends to crash while playing a DVD. After using it a few times, it now only plays audio with no video at all. There doesn’t seem to be an easy way of returning it as Amazon’s customer service portal takes me around in an endless loop.

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1mm anybody aluminum casing
Mac & Window PC compatible
Both USB and C port cable included
Price: ~~$33.95~~ - $22.70

Tags: macbook air software reinstall drive

Archgon SEA TECH 1 Aluminum External USB DVD+Rw, RW Super Drive for Apple-MacBook Air, Pro, iMac, Mini

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