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[The Faceless Master]

ever since the first WDTV HD was released, i've wanted one, and a few friends of mine got one. the only thing that stopped me was all the rumors of a new unit with ethernet built in, and now that time has come!

WD TV Live HD Media Player



File Formats Supported
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
Photo - JPEG, GIF, TIF/TIFF, BMP, PNG
Audio - MP3, WAV/PCM/LPCM, WMA, AAC, FLAC, MKA, AIF/AIFF, OGG, Dolby Digital, DTS
Playlist - PLS, M3U, WPL
Subtitle - SRT, ASS, SSA, SUB, SMI

Note:
- MPEG2 MP@HL up to 1920x1080p24, 1920x1080i30 or 1280x720p60 resolution.
- MPEG4.2 ASP@L5 up to 1280x720p30 resolution and no support for global motion compensation.
- WMV9/VC-1 MP@HL up to 1280x720p60 or 1920x1080p24 resolution. VC-1 AP@L3 up to 1920x1080i30, 1920x1080p24 or 1280x720p60 resolution.
- H.264 BP@L3 up to 720x480p30 or 720x576p25 resolution.
- H.264 MP@L4.1 and HP@4.1 up to 1920x1080p24, 1920x1080i30, or 1280x720p60 resolution.
- An audio receiver is required for multi-channel surround sound digital output.
- Compressed RGB JPEG formats only and progressive JPEG up to 2048x2048.
- Single layer TIFF files only.
- Uncompressed BMP only.


WD TV Live supports a list of popular online services that delievers internet content onto your HD TV.

HD video, photos and music -- they're on your computer, your USB drives, and the Internet. Now it's easy to play a whole world of Full-HD, 1080p media on your TV with the WD TV Live HD network-ready media player.

Key Features
Full-HD video playback and navigation - up to 1080p - This is the real thing; Full-HD 1080p playback. Sit back and enjoy the spectacular picture quality of brilliant high definition video and the crystal-clear sound of digital audio. Use the included remote control to make your entertainment choices using our crisp, animated navigation menus.
Play a wide variety of file formats - WD TV Live supports a wide variety of the most popular file formats. No need to spend time transcoding.
Play videos, music and photos from the Internet on your big screen TV - Explore and watch YouTube videos and Flickr pictures on the big screen. Rock out to thousands of radio stations via Live365 and discover new music with Pandora radio.
Access files anywhere on your home network - Play movies, music, and photos from any PC or drive on your home network. The Ethernet port connects this player to your home network through a wired connection or via popular, supported WiFi adapters (sold separately).
Turn your USB drive into an HD media player - Play content from most popular USB drives, and digital cameras, camcorders, and portable media players that can be recognized as mass storage devices. Optimized for My Passport portable hard drives.
Collect without limits - There's no limit to the size of your media collection; just add more USB drives for more space.
Play media seamlessly from multiple USB drives - Two USB ports on the player let you connect multiple USB storage devices and access them simultaneously. Our media library feature collects the content on all the drives into one list sorted by media type.
Transfer files easily - Copy, move or delete files stored on a USB drive, a network drive, your camcorder, or a camera to the attached USB drive using the on-screen menus.
Show photos and movies directly from your digital camera or video camera - Works with digital cameras, digital video cameras, in fact, any digital imaging device that supports Picture Transfer Protocol.

Advanced navigation options
* Thumbnail and list views - Browse your content by filename or by thumbnails of photos, album covers and movie cover art.
* Media library - This unique feature lets you view all your media by media type in one menu regardless of its location in folders or drives. You can view your content by categories such as genre, album, artist and date.
* Search - Search by genre, title, artist, filename or partial filename.

Photo viewing
* Create custom slide shows with a variety of transitions and background music
* Zoom and pan
* Search by filename, partial filename, most recently viewed and date

Movie viewing
* Fast forward, rewind, pause, zoom, and pan
* View subtitles
* Search by filename, partial filename, most recently viewed and date

Music playback
* Fast forward, rewind, pause, shuffle, repeat
* Search by filename, partial filename, most recently viewed and date.

File Copy
* Copy files between USB drives

HDMI 1.3, composite video and component video output - The HDMI port lets you connect to the highest quality HDTV or home theater. Additional composite (RCA), and component outputs ensure compatibility with virtually all television sets.
SPDIF digital output - The optical audio output sends digital signals to your AV receiver for the best surroundsound experience.
Access media files on your home network - WD TV Live supports a direct Ethernet connection or a USB attached wireless connection to your home network.
The following USB Wireless Cards have been tested and are compatible with the WD TV HD Live Media Player:
Belkin F5D8051 V3100, Belkin F5D8055 v2, Buffalo WLI-UC-G300HP, Buffalo WLI-UC-G300N, Buffalo WLI-UC-GN US, D-Link DWA-140 V1.30, EnGenius EUB-9701, Linksys WUSB100, Linksys WUSB600N V1, Trendnet TEW-644UB V1.0R, Trendnet TEW-645UB, Trendnet TEW-664UB V1.0R, Sitecom WL-329 V1 001.
Ultra-compact design - Fits easily into your entertainment center.

System Requirements
* My Passport portable hard drive or other USB storage device with supported video or audio content stored on it.
* Standard or high definition television with HDMI or composite video connections
* Home Network and broadband connectivity for online services.


Package Contents
* HD Media Player
* Compact remote with batteries
* Composite AV cable
* Component AV cable
* AC adapter
* Quick Install Guide

the MSRP is $150, but bestbuy is selling it for $120, and currently, it's sold out at bestbuy.com, but it's available in some best buy stores ... or not, might be sold out by now... but this is the new hotness!

looks like WD stepped their game up in the wake of competing products like the ASUS O!Play.

 

[Pringo]

This is one of the single most useful devices you can buy if you have a lot of video files on your computer. I have the original WDTV and it's played everything I've ever thrown at it without a problem. I have a couple of friends who are looking to pick this new one up thanks to the ethernet and DTS support.

 

[Deleted member 22576]

WANT soooo, soooooo bad.

What does the onscreen interface look like?

 

[C.Dark.DN]

it doesn't work with netflix, abc, and hulu streaming right?

 

[Drkirby]

Are those the only online sites it works with, or just examples?

And there is a picture of the interface here:

 

[C.Dark.DN]

looks like people are using PlayOn for hulu and netflix, but it's not working well?

 

[mr stroke]

I was close to buying the first one but was worried about the buggy issues(no subs, lock ups, etc.. check the AVSForum thread)
If anyone here picks one up I would be curious to know how stable they are, and how good the UI is(hopefully better than the shitty Popcorn Hour). Sure as hell can't beat the price.




(using an Apple TV and really happy but wouldn't mind switching to get 1080p)

 

[Tashi]

wow that's quite nice.

 

[mj1108]

I picked up one at Best Buy on Monday. I LOVE THIS THING. If you do buy it at Best Buy, it's $119.99 on their site. In store it rings up $139.99. Have them price match.

I hooked this up to a second wireless router I setup and it streams MKV over the network beautifully. The interface is much better than before. On the original WDTV it was a bit slugging with the remote, not so now. You can stream Youtube, Pandora and Live365. There is an option for firmware updates over the network so yeah there's no Hulu now but a firmware update could take care of that.

This is one of those devices that once you try it, you'll want one for yourself.

 

[mr stroke]

I picked up one at Best Buy on Monday. I LOVE THIS THING. If you do buy it at Best Buy, it's $119.99 on their site. In store it rings up $139.99. Have them price match.

I hooked this up to a second wireless router I setup and it streams MKV over the network beautifully. The interface is much better than before. On the original WDTV it was a bit slugging with the remote, not so now. You can stream Youtube, Pandora and Live365. There is an option for firmware updates over the network so yeah there's no Hulu now but a firmware update could take care of that.

This is one of those devices that once you try it, you'll want one for yourself.

does the UI display Cover art for movies/music?

 

[Fjolle]

I was close to buying the first one but was worried about the buggy issues(no subs, lock ups, etc.. check the AVSForum thread)
If anyone here picks one up I would be curious to know how stable they are, and how good the UI is(hopefully better than the shitty Popcorn Hour). Sure as hell can't beat the price.




(using an Apple TV and really happy but wouldn't mind switching to get 1080p)

I have the old one, and the issues are non-existant. It has locked up like 2 times on bad files, and i never hand any serious problem with subs. I think most of it is hate from popcornhour fanboys

 

[Meier]

Just curious, what makes this any better than streaming to a PS3 or 360 with an HDMI connection?

 

[Marty Chinn]

Just curious, what makes this any better than streaming to a PS3 or 360 with an HDMI connection?

Better compatibility.

 

[Deleted member 22576]

Just to be clear, I can plug in my Mybook studio edition (mac formatted) into this thing by usb and read all my content off of it, right?
The OP doesn't really mention if it can be mac formatted or if it has to be like fat32 or something.

 

[The Faceless Master]

I have the old one, and the issues are non-existant. It has locked up like 2 times on bad files, and i never hand any serious problem with subs. I think most of it is hate from popcornhour fanboys

yeah, there were firmware updates most of cfor subtitles and other issues long ago, the biggest complaints people really had still were ethernet/wifi support (which works if you use an easily installable custom firmware), usb drives not powering off when the device was turned off, the menu responsiveness and dts support, all of which are updated/fixed on the WDTV Live

Just curious, what makes this any better than streaming to a PS3 or 360 with an HDMI connection?

File Formats Supported
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
Photo - JPEG, GIF, TIF/TIFF, BMP, PNG
Audio - MP3, WAV/PCM/LPCM, WMA, AAC, FLAC, MKA, AIF/AIFF, OGG, Dolby Digital, DTS
Playlist - PLS, M3U, WPL
Subtitle - SRT, ASS, SSA, SUB, SMI

 

[Fjolle]

Just to be clear, I can plug in my Mybook studio edition (mac formatted) into this thing by usb and read all my content off of it, right?
The OP doesn't really mention if it can be mac formatted or if it has to be like fat32 or something.

It can use hfs without journaling.

 

[The Faceless Master]

Just to be clear, I can plug in my Mybook studio edition (mac formatted) into this thing by usb and read all my content off of it, right?
The OP doesn't really mention if it can be mac formatted or if it has to be like fat32 or something.

it supports FAT32, NTFS and yes, it also supports HFS+ (mac format) but doesn't support journaling.

 

[Mareg]

DTS support !!! Dang I might have to replace my first generation unit

And I just bought it like 4 months ago...

Oh well, ethernet port sounds nice too.

 

[The Faceless Master]

egg

Use coupon code EMCHDD10C for 10 bucks off. $1.99 UPS ground.

Endless possibilities:

Link 1

Link 2

from fatwallet

 

[kaching]

Is there any possibility based on either rumor or actual confirmation that this will support Netflix any time in the near future? I'm looking at the Roku player for that right now, but might hold off if there's a decent possibility this will support Netflix sometime relatively soon.

 

[flsh]

People should check out the Xtreamer. It looks really good and the specs are really nice.

 

[Particle Physicist]

Is there any possibility based on either rumor or actual confirmation that this will support Netflix any time in the near future? I'm looking at the Roku player for that right now, but might hold off if there's a decent possibility this will support Netflix sometime relatively soon.

yeah. as soon as this thing supports netflix, i'm jumping on it.