14 DAY TRIAL // Now that storage technology has reached a point where capacity and speed are no longer the only factors taken into account when deciding on a purchase, companies are giving their devices a larger feature set and special traits in order for them to stand out. Aiming to go that extra mile, Western Digital has just released a portable storage device that is specifically aimed at multimedia files and, as such, has certain features that increase its usability and makes it useful when used with multiple types of electronics.
The latest portable drive that the company has developed is known as the My Passport AV and is equipped with a range of features that make it an appealing container for multimedia files, especially videos, when plugged into such products as TVs, DVRs and Blu-ray players, among other things. Basically, as long as a consumer electronic device has a USB 2.0 port, the drive can leverage its formatting and low-power consumption to ensure out-of-the-box compatibility and meet requirements of video streaming. For instance, multimedia content can be directly played from the media drive on an HD TV.
In addition to this wide compatibility, WD also put special effort into making its My Passport AV compatible with Sony's Handycam video recorders. Through the Direct Copy feature, the Handycam can offload and archive HD video directly on the drive, freeing up space to shoot more HD videos. This operation can be accomplished without the need for a PC and the same files can then be played on Blu-ray players by simply plugging the storage unit via USB.
"With more and more devices capable of generating and playing back HD video – camcorders, Blu-ray players, game consoles – portable hard drives are the best solution for this 8 GB-per-hour capacity-intensive content. The My Passport AV portable media drive is optimized for a better digital video experience with a growing list of consumer electronics, starting with Sony's latest camcorders and Blu-ray players," Dale Pistilli, vice president of marketing for WD's branded products group, said.
The My Passport AV has a total capacity off 320GB, has the USB 2.0 maximum transfer rate of 480 Mb/s, comes with a special stand and is backed by a two-year warranty. It is already selling through online retailers and WD's own online store, for the price of $109.99.
