@kdfrawg In amongst my collection of stuff is a USB 2.0 Sony tray-loading DL DVD burner that's about the same size as the Apple device. The Sony also requires a 5 volt external power source but if you have a spare USB port, that will suffice.
Reading up on the internet, it's possible that replacing the Mac's internal drive with another brand can help re regional coding. The built-in Apple ones don't accept firmware updates, apparently.
It's a dark art.
// @streakmachine @jextxadore