External Drive Plays HD DVD Discs, Burns to Blu-Ray

Sure, there are plenty of USB-equipped external PC drives that play both Blu-ray and HD DVD discs, but this new model from Buffalo burns to Blu-ray, too. Nice trick, although you'll pay dearly for it.

Set to arrive in the first quarter of this year, Buffalo's MediaStation Blu-ray/HD DVD drive is big and bulky, and it sure ain't pretty. But it reads and plays both of the competing HD disc formats, and it also has an ace up its sleeve: it writes to recordable Blu-ray discs, as well as the old-fashioned DVD variety (no HD DVD burning, unfortunately). Just plug it into your PC's USB drive, fire up the bundled Nero disc authoring software, and you're in business. Keep in mind, however, that your desktop or laptop will need some significant horsepower for smooth HD playback; in other words, expect choppy video and long, long Blu-ray burn times if you use the MediaStation with an old Pentium 4 PC.

Natually, the MediaStation Blu-ray/HD DVD drive doesn't come cheap: $649, to be exact, once it hits stores in the next few months. That said, if you want combo HD playback and Blu-ray burning on your PC without installing an internal drive, the MediaStation just might be the ticket.