WD today introduced its new My Passport AV portable media drives, designed specifically for video storage and playback. The new portable media drives offer plug-and-play functinality and are available now at select retailers and WD's online store with capacity of 320 GB.

The My Passport AV portable media drive is designed to meet the requirements of the video streaming environment. It delivers the formatting and low-power consumption that assures out-of-the-box compatibility with many leading CE (consumer electronics) devices.

WD worked to ensure that the My Passport AV portable media drives operate with the Direct Copy feature offered in Sony's new Handycam video recorders. Direct Copy lets Handycam users offload and archive HD video directly to a My Passport AV portable media drive without a computer, creating room to shoot more HD videos when their Handycam hard drive becomes full.

Consumers can then play back their stored videos using Sony's latest Blu-ray players or any of the WD TV media players by just connecting the My Passport AV portable media drive via the USB port on these players. Specific Handycam and Blu-ray model compatibility information is available on the WD Web site.

The included stand and extra long cable makes it easy to position the drive neatly in entertainment centers, maximizing the airflow and minimizing heat around the drive.

The New My Passport AV portable media drives feature a 2-year limited warranty and are available now at select retail stores and WD's online store. MSRP for the My Passport AV portable media drive with 320 GB is $109.99 USD.

My Passport AV portable media drives are formatted FAT32 and are compatible with Windows XP, Windows Vista, Windows 7, Mac OS X and Apple's Tiger, Leopard, and Snow Leopard.

The My Passport AV portable media drives are compatible with the following devices:

- WD TV family of media players;
- 2010 and later Sony camcorders with Direct Copy functionality;
- Sony 2010 Blu-ray Disc Players including BDP-S370, BDP-S470, BDP-S570;
- Sony 2010 Blu-ray Disc Home Theater Systems including BDV-E370, BDV-E570;
- JVC LT-32P689 television;
- Samsung LN32A550 television;
- Phillips 42PFLA332D television;
- Microsoft Xbox 360 (compatible with the USB media playback feature); and,
- Sony PlayStation 3.

For a complete list of devices compatible with the My Passport AV portable media drives, visit the WD Web site.