78
Western Digital WD TV Live
$119.00
Released November, 2008
The Pros:Support for nearly every popular video format: Video - AVI (Xvid, AVC, MPEG1/2/4), MPG/MPEG, VOB, MKV (h.264, x.264, AVC, MPEG1/2/4, VC-1), TS/TP/M2T (MPEG1/2/4, AVC, VC-1), MP4/MOV (MPEG4, h.264), M2TS, WMV9. Support for nearly every popular audio format: MP3, WAV/PCM/LPCM, WMA, AAC, FLAC, MKA, AIF/AIFF, OGG, Dolby Digital, DTS. HDMI.
The Cons:Transport system supports only to 16x speed and no slow motion. No menu support for DVD iso. Doesn't have Gigabit Ethernet.
The WD TV HD Media Player multi-media adapter is a convenient way to play HD movies or user-generated videos, listen to high-quality digital music and show high-resolution slideshows on the TV. It also works with popular USB drives, and digital cameras, camcorders, and portable media players that can be recognized as mass storage devices.
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It has Full HD video playback and navigation - up to 1080p. It can also provide access two USB drives simultaneously. The Media Library feature lumps the content on both drives into one list sorted by media type. Although it comes with a remote control, there are no buttons on the hardware to use as backup. It doesn't have a skip feature for movies, which can make movie-watching quite tedious. It also lacks a chapter view, not allowing for chapter-skipping. The device is also known for freezing. This product is geared at the low-to-middle end of the market.
Features
- media conversion software
- Full HD video playback and navigation - up to 1080p
- Collect without limits - add more USB drives for more space.
- HDMI and composite video connections
- Access two USB drives simultaneously
- Optimized for My Passport and My Book storage, works with many other
USB storage devices
User Reviews (8)
Pros & Cons
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7
Support for nearly every popular video format: Video - AVI (Xvid, AVC, MPEG1/2/4), MPG/MPEG, VOB, MKV (h.264, x.264, AVC, MPEG1/2/4, VC-1), TS/TP/M2T (MPEG1/2/4, AVC, VC-1), MP4/MOV (MPEG4, h.264), M2TS, WMV9
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7
Support for nearly every popular audio format: MP3, WAV/PCM/LPCM, WMA, AAC, FLAC, MKA, AIF/AIFF, OGG, Dolby Digital, DTS
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7
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7
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6
can output full 1080p high definition content
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5
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5
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3
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3
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3
USB 2.0 (for connecting storage devices)
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3
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3
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2
good improvement over the previous generation
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2
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2
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1
upgraded internal components - much better than the underpowered original
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1
In a Windows 7 household, can be used as a means to stream media from any computer in the network, wired and wireless machines alike. Thus you are not limited to movies on devices attached via USB, instead any properly configured Network computer can be used to stream files to the unit. Over wireless N, HD is no problem. Whats more, the WDHDTV LIVE provides two means (three actually) to accomplish this: 1. by connecting directly to a shared folder on the machine with the media you want. 2. Through Windows 7's (Vista's too??) media extender capablility, your shared media folders appear as a "media device" menu option and you can browse from there... and finally there is always the option to use your network to copy the file to a USB device attached to the device.
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1
and for those who don't want to go through that trouble, a relatively cheap USB dongle that sends and receives signals via WiFi will, or course, turn the WDHDTV into a wireless device. You lose only 1 USB slot, and it costs some more money. But it negates the workarounds above.
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3
Transport system supports only to 16x speed and no slow motion
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3
No menu support for DVD iso
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3
Doesn't have Gigabit Ethernet
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2
Does not support protected premium content such as movies or music from the iTunes® Store, Cinema Now, Movielink®, Amazon UnboxT, and Vongo... if you care.
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2
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1
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1
720P h.264 from Canon T1i get chopping after 20 seconds of streaming playback
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0
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0
Device remembers stop point in video, but not after being placed in standby
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Comments (1)
Yale:
#d_link_boxee_box Really wanted one of these but I couldn't wait, so I bought the
#Western_Digital_WD_TV_Live a few months ago instead. While the WDTV lacks polish it does everything I want it to, and while I'd like some WiFi streaming compatibilities I'm happy I didn't wait. I'm not that much of a tech tweaker anymore, or social when it comes to what I watch. I'm pretty into the basics when it comes to my media - so the WDTV does just fine. Maybe in a couple years a better version, or simply a more mature software platform will get me to upgrade.
Nov 16, 10
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