Help for external drivers, ripping, etc (from a tech beginner)

[Naty0320]

Here are the basics (because knowing me, it'll get confusing fast). I have two computers, an old iMac that still has a DVD port and a new Macbook Air (the one with fingerprint ID).

I have many DVDs (and I'm about to get many Blu Ray discs as well). What I originally wanted to do was to simply get an external player for my Macbook Air. As in, I put a DVD / Blu Ray disc and I play it on my laptop (I also need to get software to play the Blu Ray discs... if anyone has anything they'd recommend, I'm open). I found after lots of research two drives that appeal to me. I just can't decide which one to get (especially because tech is not my thing, and I can't understand 80% of the stuff that they talk about in the reviews.
But, after some thinking (and Googling), I decided that I'd like to upload / copy (rip, I think is the term) my DVDs and Blu Rays to my laptop so that I won't have to carry around the drive every time I want to watch a movie. This is where the old iMac (which still works) comes in.

Basically, can I use my iMac to upload the DVDs and Blu Rays to my desktop / iTunes / whatnot (see, I have no idea what I'm talking about here)? Like, is it possible to get the DVDs / Blu Rays as files on the computer and be able to watch them without the discs? Do I need any software to do this (and is it free)?

And then, would I be able to send over all the files to my Macbook Air so that I could watch them there, which would mean that I would never even need to get an external drive to begin with?

Yeah, as you guys have probably guessed, tech is not my thing (and I don't want to have to spend any money if I can avoid it). Also, here are the two drives that I was looking into:
https://www.amazon.com/Pioneer-BDR-XD05B-Portable-Blu-Ray-Burner/dp/B00OD39P6A/?tag=mwgenius-20&ascsubtag=41-3679683-11-0000000#customerReviews and https://www.amazon.com/External-Optical-Portable-Blu-ray-Silver-Grey/dp/B07V9H1VCR/ref=sr_1_4?gclid=Cj0KCQiAxrbwBRCoARIsABEc9shHNKhNlJzY7rNE5ZHWUWaNJry1v_TFtpQYfZwofMiOtECIw4yj6eIaAiutEALw_wcB&hvadid=153633459534&hvdev=c&hvlocphy=9004563&hvnetw=g&hvpos=1t1&hvqmt=e&hvrand=4756968417102104909&hvtargid=kwd-29820142845&hydadcr=18031_9433042&keywords=apple+usb+superdrive&qid=1578025877&sr=8-4

If it's not possible, that's okay. But then out of the two drives, which would you advise for a person who wants to play DVDs and Blu Rays and potentially burn / rip in the future?

Thank you, and happy holidays! 

[Geek-9pm]

I took a loo at your link.
How many movies do you have?
I my opinion, thee is no point in paying a lot for something hared  to carry with you.
Look here:
How Many Photos, Videos or MP3 Can 256GB Hold

Shor answer, a lot on a USB flash drive that is the size of you thumb.
Look:
256 GB USB things.
Above is Best buy. Also on Amazon and even Walmart.
 
I think you should have a friend copy the DVDs onto a USB flash drive. 
When reduced to MP4, they will take half the space.

[Base10]

Hey,

I'd do what Geek suggested.  I got 491gb of movies that I've ripped to my drive as well as my tv stuff and converted them to either avi or mp4 (over a period of time obviously).  I got my external hdd for 40 bucks its a 2tb drive.  Recently I bought online another 2tb pen drive for just under 5 bucks AND IT ACTUALLY WORKS lol.  Couldn't believe my luck.  So yeah I wouldn't bother buying an actual disk drive to carry about with you tbh.  It's bulky and you need to change the movie every time.  With an external hdd you can just go through your folders and chop and change a movie or put them on a playlist and let them roll through them in the background while you do other things.

[strollin]

Another possibility is to setup a media server such as the free Plex server.  I use Plex and have 10TB of movies and TV shows that I can access on my laptop, tablet or phone via the internet.  As long as I have an internet connection, I can watch one of the movies (or TV shows) in my collection.