Buffalo is really embracing USB 3.0 and the extra bandwidth it affords. But, bar giving you more time, the speeds of up to 5 Gbps (USB 2.0 maxes out at 480 Mbps) have been fairly underutilised. However, with the company's external USB 3.0 Blu-ray drive, the extra bandwidth opens up all manner of new possibilities.

Not only does it offer improved playback and burning performance (limited only by the burn speed of the recordable disc - 12x), the BR3D-12U3 drive can playback 3D Blu-ray discs, convert 2D movies to 3D on the fly, and upscale standard definition video to 1080p.

Additionally, the drive is backwards compatible with USB 2.0, so can be bought with future-proofing in mind, ready to hook up via USB 3.0 when your computer is.

Paul Hudson, sales director for Northern Europe at Buffalo Technology believes that 3D on home computers will directly benefit from a rapid adoption of USB 3.0:

"As USB 3.0 is gaining ground and sophisticated digital media like HD and 3D are evolving, there is an increased demand for access to these combined technologies," he says. "The new USB 3.0 Blu-ray burner provides early adopters with a USB 3.0 plug-n-play solution for superfast burning and the best possible play back of Blu-ray, as well as 3D and HD".

The Buffalo Blu-ray 3.0 drive retails for £199.99 and comes with a host of software, including CyberLink Media Suite.

Will USB 3.0 take off? Let us know in the comments below...