Does anyone make USB DVD drives which aren't "slimline" ones?

[pythonmegapixel]

All of the external DVD drives I can find are 'slimline' ones like this: https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B010OC6VTW/ref=cm_sw_em_r_mt_dp_B5QQKK1MYG1M6QS2FSYQ

These seem to invariably have a cheap-feeling eject mechanism which just pops the tray out partway, and then you have to pull it out the rest of the way.

 

It will just sit on a desk so I'm not really that bothered about it being slim, and I would much prefer a DVD drive with a proper motorised eject mechanism which opens the tray all the way. These are much more satisfying to operate and drives with this sort of mechanism always feel a bit more robustly built in general. I know these mechanisms exist and are still manufactured, as I've seen them in new desktop PCs. But I can't find any that connect via USB. I also can't find top-load mechanisms anywhere.

 

Does anyone know why these seem not to exist?

[WhitetailAni]

You can make your own. Get a regular SATA ODD, and a powered SATA to USB adapter.

Plug adapter into ODD, plug in power+data to adapter, power, and PC.

Done!

[BondiBlue]

The newest ones I recall seeing were Blu-ray drives. I think ASUS made one of those, but I'm not sure if they're still available. These days I use a small LG slot loading drive, and it's held up to several years of use. I take it with me when I travel, and it's never had an issue. I also still use my old LG Super Multi desktop drive, but it's from around 2007, so I doubt you could find one these days. I bought two of them brand new many years ago, and they've both held up well. 

 

If you can't find one at a decent price you could always just buy an external 5.25" drive enclosure and install your own drive, or you could just use a SATA to USB adapter if you don't care about the looks. 

9 minutes ago, pythonmegapixel said:

These seem to invariably have a cheap-feeling eject mechanism which just pops the tray out partway, and then you have to pull it out the rest of the way.

That's because they're laptop drives in small enclosures. I've never had many issues with them, but I do see how desktop drives feel more reliable. 

[Alex Atkin UK]

12 minutes ago, pythonmegapixel said:

It will just sit on a desk so I'm not really that bothered about it being slim, and I would much prefer a DVD drive with a proper motorised eject mechanism which opens the tray all the way. These are much more satisfying to operate and drives with this sort of mechanism always feel a bit more robustly built in general. I know these mechanisms exist and are still manufactured, as I've seen them in new desktop PCs. But I can't find any that connect via USB. I also can't find top-load mechanisms anywhere.

You say that, but I've literally had more full-sized drives fail than slimline ones, quite often the eject mechanism fails.

You'll pay a huge price premium for them too as they're in less demand.  If you want it in a proper caddy, they cost more than the drives themselves these days.  If you don't have it in a caddy, the SATA adapters tend to fall out easily. (speaking from experience)

I ended up getting a new PC case purely to avoid the latter issue, and I only used a full-sized drive because its a Bluray writer. Not that I've used it for that, the media is really expensive.  I generally use it to rip Bluray and UHD-Bluray and even then mostly just to verify the media is okay when I buy a new movie or box set, as I've had a fair few turn out to be defective when I got round to watching them.

[da na]

OWC has a 5.25 external SATA enclosure, bring your own drive though, and it's like $50

[mariushm]

Like others told you, you can get a regular SATA drive and use a SATA to USB adapter, but you'll need to buy one with an external power adapter.

You need one with a separate power supply because like with most 3.5" mechanical drives, the big size optical drives need 12v for the motor spinning the disc inside.

 

Laptop optical drives and laptop hard drives are using only 5v so the usb powered adapters work because 5v is supplied by the USB port. Another option would be to

 

You can buy enclosures but they cost more than an actual optical drive : Amazon.com: OWC Mercury Pro 5.25" Optical Drive External Enclosure (NO Drive) : Electronics

 

One other option would be to get a SCSI optical drive, and install a SCSI card inside your computer.