Western Digital Intros Portable Video Drive

Western Digital has introduced an external media drive for storing video and playing back the content on a high-definition television.

The My Passport AV, unveiled Wednesday, plugs into the USB port of a game console, camcorder, TV, digital video recorder or Blu-ray player to playback content on a TV. The device offers formatting that WD claims assures out-of-the-box compatibility with many consumer electronics devices.

My Passport AV supports, for example, Sony's Handycam video recorder, which includes a "direct copy" feature that enables users to offload and archive video directly to a My Passport AV. Content can then be played back on a TV, for example, through a Sony Blu-ray player or Western Digital's family of TV Media Player products.

Other supported devices include Windows and Mac computers, some models of JVC, Phillips and Samsung Electronics flat-panel TVS, Microsoft Xbox 360 game consoles with the USB playback feature, and the Sony PlayStation 3.

The My Passport AV, which includes 320 GB of storage, sells for a suggested retail price of $110. The device comes with a two-year limited warranty.

Western Digital also offers easy-to-use backup devices for home PCs and Macs. About a year ago, introduced a redesigned My Book World Edition storage drive.

The drive offers "plug-and-play" installation and automatic continuous backup. Once plugged into a network router, My Book can begin backing up files from all computers on a network after only a few clicks with the mouse, according to Western Digital. Changes to files on the connected computers are automatically and continuously backed up.