New USB-Powered Blu-ray Drive From Samsung Announced

A slim, sleek new external Blu-ray drive has been announced by Samsung.  The SE-406A is the perfect portable companion too, as it doesn't need a mains power cord, instead drawing everything it needs from the USB cable.

The drive plays standard and 3D Blu-ray discs, plus it can read/write DVD discs.  It comes bundled with CyberLink's TrueTheater software and can convert 2D material into 3D.  Of course, to view 3D content you're going to need a compatible screen and a pair of glasses. 

Samsung have added 'Buffer Under Run' technology to the writer, which prevents errors when data transfer speeds get too high, while the drive supports 8x DVD-RAM and DVD+RW recording, and 6x DVD+R Dual Layer, DVD-R Dual Layer and DVD-RW recording.  On the playback side, it's happy with BD-R and most rewriteable DVD and CD formats.

Available in black or white, the SE-406 is compatible with both Windows and OS X, and will go on sale in the USA next month with a retail price of $150.  That's a good price for a 3D capable USB-powered drive, and this could work well in HTPC setups, especially as it can easily be transported to another computer in the house when needed.