First Look: Buffalo MediaStation BRHC-6316U2

 

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Posted on 7 Apr 2008 at 11:09

The MediaStation is Buffalo's first external optical drive, and one of the first we've seen that can play both Blu-ray and HD-DVD movies. This isn't as enticing now that Blu-ray has triumphed over HD-DVD in the high-definition disc format war, but it's still a useful feature if you already have a collection of HD-DVD movies.

We had a look at the Japanese version of the MediaStation. The bundled Nero Showtime software couldn't play our HD-DVD and Blu-ray movies, but they played back flawlessly using alternative software, such as CyberLink's PowerDVD Ultra. A Buffalo spokesperson assured us that this issue would be fixed before the MediaStation's UK release.

The MediaStation can also write CDs, DVDs and Blu-ray discs but not HD-DVD discs. It filled a rewritable Blu-ray disc in 39 minutes and 24 seconds which is the fastest time we've seen. It was also quick at burning write-once Blu-ray discs, taking just over 23 minutes. The MediaStation can also burn double layer 50GB Blu-ray disks - although these are currently difficult to acquire.

Like Buffalo's DriveStation range of external hard disks, the MediaStation can be used in TurboUSB mode once the included driver is installed on your computer. Buffalo claims TurboUSB has 'better read and write performance' compared to standard USB Hi-Speed. However, there was no improvement in our disc burning tests with TurboUSB mode enabled, so it seems rather pointless.

Buffalo's MediaStation is a promising high definition optical drive. It's especially appealing if you want to watch HD movies on a computer which doesn't have room for an internal HD drive. You'll have to pay a premium for the pleasure though - the MediaStation's estimated UK price of £333 including VAT isn't cheap.

The MediaStation will be available in the UK by the end of April.

Author: Alan Lu