Planex new USB 3.0 HDD Enclosure Plays Nice with A/V Racks

Home theater buffs know that choosing the right HDD enclosure to go with your A/V rack setup isn't one of the easiest tasks in the world, so many will probably rejoice when seeing this Planex PL-35STU3 HDD case that comes with USB 3.0 connectivity in order to support transfer rates up to 5Gbps.

Compatible with almost all standard sized 3.5-inch hard drives available out there, Planex's solution was specially designed in order to fit naturally inside your A/V rack, while being used together with a PS3, DVR unit or HTPC.

As a result, the unit can support hard drives up to 2TB in capacity, the company stating that a new firmware upgrade will be launched in the not so distant feature that will make this play nice with 3TB drives as well.

However, until that moment comes, you can rely on the front panel LED indicators to tell you just how much space is available on the installed drive, a pretty neat trick that should prove fairly useful if you find yourself recording all sort of TV shows and games.

Furthermore, since this comes with USB 3.0 connectivity it will be able to keep up with your fast HTPC computer, provided that it features such high speed interfaces.

As far as pricing and availability are concerned, Planex's USB 3.0 enclosure is bound to hit Japanese stores sometime during December, for 6,300 Yen (about $75 US).

At this price point I wouldn't call the PL-35STU3 one of the cheapest USB 3.0 enclosures available, although its pretty unique design makes it one of the few options available to A/V enthusiasts that don't want to ruin the look of their home A/V setup.

Unfortunately, we don't know if this will make it out of Japan, although Planex products can be usually found at retailers across the US, Amazon being one such example. (via akihabaranews)