If you use one of the small notebooks that fall into the ultraportable category, you may not have an optical drive onboard. Some cheap computers could lack a DVD burner as well. When it comes time for a new DVD drive or an upgrade, an external USB DVD burner is the way to go for many users.

Buffalo has a new external USB Super-Multi drive called the DSM-SL20U2. The drive does what you expect a DVD burner to do — like burn DVDs and read them. It also adds a feature that you don’t expect from a PC DVD drive — upscaling for DVD movies.