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Buffalo reveals slimline external BDXL burner for $275, affiliated media still makes your wallet weep
BDXL is the optical storage medium du jour, but the options for those wanting its capacious quad-layer burning capabilities in a tasty to-go form factor are fairly limited. Previous drives have lacked a certain... aesthetic appeal, but now Buffalo has unveiled its BRXL-PC6U2-BK, a slim and shiny external model that'll handle all of your BDXL disc-creation needs. The drive can run off a single USB 2.0 plug, though writing at 4x speeds requires a second USB connection to give it the juice required to do the deed. Slated for a release by the end of March, otherwise known as next week, this hot little onyx number will set you back ¥22,100 (about $275). Just don't go blowing all your cash on the drive -- BR-R XL discs ain't cheap, y'know.
Fast and the Furious 3: Tokyo Drift to introduce HD DVD 30/9 quad combo disc
Sure we said we wouldn't post about Fast and the Furious anymore until it came out but we just can't help ourselves. One minor detail released about this movie amongst all the hoopla at CEDIA 2006 was that not only will it include advanced iHD HDi features, it will be the first movie to ship as a quad-layer combo disc. With a dual-layer HD DVD on one side and a dual-layer DVD on the other, this should enable HD DVD viewers to view extras without having to flip to the DVD side, as they did with previous 15/9 combo discs. In a good or bad sign, it still has a $39 MSRP in line with previous combo releases, so no price increase but it will still cost more than a standard HD DVD or Blu-ray disc. Univeral Studios Home Entertainment prez Craig Kornblau sounded positive about its prospects in reaching people outside the current 25,000 HD DVD-equipped households, but we're still not sure many people will bite given the price premium.[Thanks, Tyler]
