14 DAY TRIAL // Hard disk drives can store any sort of data, but sometimes Western Digital, Seagate and Toshiba launch one or two that have specialized purposes. The Western Digital My Passport AV-TV is an example of this.
The drive can still store all sorts of files, to be sure, but WD intends for it to be primarily used in the storing and playback of TV entertainment.
To that end, WD made it possible to directly stream such content to a television set, so long as the TV has a USB port.
It doesn't even need to be USB 3.0, unless the video quality is particularly high (thus demanding a large bandwidth).
USB 3.0 is mandatory when recording though. And yes, the HDD does work with recordable TVs, and you can even save multiple HD streams at once. Useful for dual-tuner televisions, for example.
So yes, you can actually record content from two channels at the same time, if that's what you happen to be in the mood for.
And since this is supposed to be a portable storage device, the WD My Passport AV-TV is quite thin. The company itself calls it ultra-compact. Finally, you can place the unit horizontally or vertically.
The WD My Passport AV-TV portable HDD comes in 500 GB and 1 TB and should show up for sale soon. The price isn't known, but the compatibility list of recordable TVs is, if nothing else.