optical disk drive
optical disc drive
optical drive
optical storage

    (Or "optical disc drive", "optical storage") A generic
   term for any device that reads and/or writes optical media,
   i.e. compact discs, DVDs and/or Blu-ray discs or future
   media that uses light (from a small laser) to read data off a
   removable, rotating disk.

   At least one such drive is commonly installed in most personal
   computers to allow them to play and/or record audio and video
   media and load and store data such as program installers.

   The floppy disk has been replaced by optical media due to its
   vastly greater capacity, e.g. 50,000 megabytes for a dual-layer
   blu-ray disc compared with 1.5 megabytes for a floppy (over
   30,000 times as much).

   (2014-04-27)