4K Blu-ray Burner Types You Should Know: External, Internal & Software

I've lost count of how many times my favorite 4K movies suddenly disappeared from streaming platforms, or played in disappointing quality due to unstable internet connections. Then I understood that I needed a more dependable solution if I wanted to save my 4K content, either it family videos, travel footage, or blockbuster movies.

And I'm clearly not alone. More users are looking for ways to back up 4K video collections, avoid subscription dependency, and enjoy consistent playback on home theater systems. In this guide, I'll walk you through the main types of 4K Blu-ray burners available, so you can choose the best way to protect and enjoy your 4K content.

Can You Burn 4K to 4K Blu-ray?

Yes, you can burn 4K videos to a 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray disc, but only with the appropriate equipment and tools. You'll need the following three elements to complete this successfully:

4K Blu-ray Authoring Software: You need a program specifically designed for UHD authoring, like DVDFab UHD Creator, which supports HDR10, Dolby Vision, and UHD Blu-ray structure creation.

A Compatible 4K UHD Blu-ray Burner Drive: This could be an external USB 3.0 burner or an internal SATA burner that supports writing to BD-XL media.

Blank UHD-Compatible Discs: Standard BD-R discs won't hold full-length 4K movies. You’ll need BD-XL media, typically:

• BD-25 2160p (25GB, single layer)
• BD-50 2160p (50GB, dual layer)
• BD-100 2160p (100GB, triple/quad layer)

Common Types of 4K Blu-ray Burner

Technically, for one thing, a 4K Blu-ray Burner refers to an authoring program that can burn 4K Ultra HD videos into a blank 4K Blu-ray disc for better playback or backups. For another, it might involve external 4K Blu-ray drive or internal Ultra HD Blu-ray drive that helps users write 4K data into a hard drive on the computer or save data information.

Warm tips: if you choose to write 4K digital data into blank UHD Blu-ray drive, then you shall ensure the quality of 4K Blu-ray optical drive. The higher the quality, the faster the writing speed will be.

Now let's dive into the common types of 4K Blu-ray burner.

4K Blu-ray Burner Software

4K Blu-ray burner software is the core tool for creating UHD Blu-ray discs from 4K videos. These programs support authoring, menu creation, and 4K video encoding with formats like MP4, MKV, and MOV. Most work alongside a physical Blu-ray burner to produce discs that play on UHD players. A top choice is DVDFab UHD Creator, covered in detail below.

External 4K Blu-ray Drive

The Pioneer 4K UHD Blu-ray Burner (BDR-211UBK model) excels as an external burner solution with its fast writing speed and broad media support. It can read/write single and dual-layer BD-R discs, DVDs, and CDs at speeds up to 16X. With features like Quickplay for faster disc readiness, Auto Quiet mode for optimal speed adaptation, and Peak Power Reducer to minimize power consumption during peak operation, it's a top choice in the market.

• Faster burning speed up to 16x2 on BD-R single-layer discs, 14x on BD-R DL discs and 8x writing on BD-R triple-layer discs
• Support Ultra HD Blu-ray Playback bundled CyberLink software
• Amazing data storage capacity
• Smooth movie playback driven by PowerRead

Nevertheless, if you want to watch 4K UHD movies with this external 4K Blu-ray burner, it can only work with Windows 10 and one Intel processor. 

Internal 4K Blu-ray Burner Drive

When it comes to best internal Blu-ray drive, LG WH16NS60 shall come at the top of this list. This package comes complete with CyberLink Software and a SATA Cable, allowing for both reading and writing functionalities - effectively serving as a Blu-ray burner. Have a quick look at its features.

• Write and Read Quad, Triple and Double Layer BD-R discs with 16x BD-R writing speed
• Silent Play technology automatically controls disc read speed for optimal noise reduction
• Jamless Play technology automatically skips past damaged parts of a disc and maintain smooth playback
• M-DISC (DVD) Supported and 4K Ultra HD playback

Aside from being an internal Blu-ray or DVD burner used to read and write 4K media data, it can deliver life-like and accurate colors with 4K resolution playback. But remember it is only available on Windows.

Best 4K Blu-ray Burner Software: DVDFab UHD Creator

Professional 4K Blu-ray burner software is currently not widely available, despite a high demand from home theater enthusiasts. We're primarily focusing on DVDFab, the leading provider of DVD, Blu-ray and 4K UHD solutions globally. Their premier product is the DVDFab UHD Creator, which specializes in burning 4K Blu-rays with high-quality.

DVDFab UHD Creator

With this UHD Creator, you can effortlessly burn any popular video format to standard 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray disc, ISO image file, or folder for better playback on home theater.

Features:

• Burn 4K videos of 200+ formats to 4K Ultra HD Blu-rays
• Retain premium HDR10/Dolby Vision quality 
• Output high-quality video (2016p) & audio (DTS-HD, DTS:X, TrueHD, TrueHD Atmos)
• 20x faster burning speed with GPU Acceleration
• Generate user-friendly .nfo file for Media Server
• Also serve as a UHD Copy program that can losslessly copy UHD disc, ISO file, folder to a blank UHD disc or save as ISO file or folder on hard drive

This most professional 4K Blu-ray burner enables users to create cinema-equivalent 4K UHD Blu-rays  that can be played on standard 4K UHD players like 4K Ultra HD TVs, Xbox One S and PlayerFab.

Above all, you can choose to preserve the HDR10 and Dolby Vision image quality of the original content for the purpose of quality playback on 4K UHD TVs. To satisfy your personal needs, you can select output quality as BD-25 2160p, BD-50 2160p, and BD-100 2160p and burn 4K videos to a blank disc. If you don't have a blank disc at hand, you can also save the output 4K Blu-ray as an ISO file or folder saved on your computer's HDD.

How to Burn 4K Blu-rays with DVDFab UHD Creator

With clean and intuitive interface, it's quite easy to burn 4K Blu-ray with DVDFab UHD Creator. Refer to the following tips.

Final Thought

Now you have gained a better understanding of the common types of 4K Blu-ray burners and mastered how to burn Blu-ray with the world’s only professional 4K Blu-ray burner: DVDFab UHD Creator. This best 4K Blu-ray burners can meet all your personal needs to create stunning 4K Blu-ray content playable on the 4K home theater system.