User level: Level 1 (5 points)I'm trying to move a large number of DVDs and CDs onto a more modern backup system. I'm using an old external Apple CD/DVD burner/player connected to my 2023 MacBook Pro and it's an incredibly slow process. Is there a faster option available? Thank you, Louie
Posted on Sep 22, 2026 12:01 PM
User level: Level 7 (20,243 points)Sep 22, 2026 12:35 PM in response to louster
The Apple Superdrive operates at about 10 MB/s for DVDs. It might reach 20-30 MB/s for CDs.
If you have a 4.7 GB DVD, that's about 4700 MB. So a full DVD could take 470 seconds, or about 8 minutes or so.
The only way to speed this up would be to find a non-Apple faster external DVD reader/writer.
User level: Level 10 (162,806 points)Sep 22, 2026 12:31 PM in response to louster
Burning optical media will certainly seem slow, compared to more recent storage options.
Is there a faster option available?
For backing up the Mac, or archiving those discs?
Originally posted at discussions.apple.com/thread/256362894