The Pioneer BDR-XD08UMB-S is the latest external and really portable Blu-Ray recorder from Pioneer that is ideal for recording and playback audio & video content of portable warriors. Pioneer has gathered all their latest tech and armed this small device with all their latest features and build quality that Pioneer is famous for. Pioneer is proud of their latest version of Pure Read 4+ which minimizes the occurrence of error data interpolation when importing (ripping) and playback audio CDs.

The XD08UMB-S is the top of the line of the XD08 series with special high-grade rubber coating results that really give you a luxury feel and provide resistance/protection against scratching and peeling of the top shell. The XD08 Series has a clamshell-type body that, compared with traditional external Blu-Ray recorders, makes it easier to take out discs and the overall dimensions are really small, slightly bigger than a CD case.

We liked the fact that the product has a USB Type-C connection, all cables are included in the retail package and you can connect it either to Windows or MAC systems with the included L-shaped USB cable that allows you to connect the drive in either direction you prefer. By using the PioneerDrive Utility, users can set the BDR-XD08UMB-S to save battery with a special Eco function and also reduce vibrations and overall noise from the drive, nice and welcomed features!

The retail package is simple and includes all the needed to get started, Windows users will get additional CyberLink Media Suite 10 for free, while MAC users will have to use MacOS internal utilities for burning/playback.

Passing to the performance, we expected a really good performer, and in most cases, we didn't get disappointed, the device will recognize all your burned discs either in CD/DVD/Blu-Ray format. There is support for burning up to 128GB Blu-Ray discs if you can find such media. Of course, re-writeable media of CD/DVD/Blu-Ray formats is supported as well as reading DVD-RAM discs.

As for the burning part, using well-known media from vendors like Verbatim, Ritek, PlexDisc, etc will get you good burning quality even at maximum writing speed. The device works very well with USB power, but in case you need it, you can add external power. Pioneer keeps supporting their products and releases frequent firmware updates for their products, improving reading and writing performance according to user feedback.

At the retail price of $140, we find the price and overall performance enough to suggest this drive to all users who wish to get a small-size external Blu-Ray recorder that can easily fit in a backpack or a laptop case, or even in your everyday bag. If you find $140 a high price, Pioneer also sells the "standard" model with more colors than black, without the high-grade rubber coating, with only Pure Read3+, the rest features are exactly the same.

Concluding this review, we have no problem suggesting this drive to all users who really are thinking of buying a top-of-the-line portable Blu-Ray recorder for on-the-road use, with style and great features.