Western Digital WD TV Live HD media player gets official
By Joseph L. Flatley 
posted Oct 13th 2009 10:23AM
posted Oct 13th 2009 10:23AM
Hope you didn't spend your well-earned shekels on a WD TV Mini -- it turns out that the HD-less wonder was just a waypoint to Western Digital's latest. The WD TV Live HD media player is an unassuming sort that doesn't really offer any surprises: 1080p video playback, support for all your favorite codecs, both Pandora and Live365 Internet radio apps, WiFi, two USB ports for external storage, HDMI, composite and component video outputs, SPDIF audio output, and more. No big whoop, right? All this can be yours for an MSRP of $149.99, but we hear that Best Buy has 'em for $119 -- and we wouldn't want you to pay any more than that. PR after the break.
Update: "That's WiFi ready." As in "WiFi adapter sold separately."
Update: "That's WiFi ready." As in "WiFi adapter sold separately."
WD(R) Unveils WD TV(TM) Live HD Media Player With Network Capability and Enhanced User Experience
Consumers Can Stream HD Content from USB Drives, Network Drives and Popular Internet Sites to Their Big Screen TVs
LAKE FOREST, Calif., Oct. 13 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- WD® (NYSE: WDC), the world's leader in external storage solutions, today introduced the WD TV Live HD media player featuring network capability and Full-HD 1080p resolution. The new WD TV Live HD media player makes it easy for anyone to play HD (high definition) videos stored on USB and network drives, as well as Internet content from popular Web sites, on the biggest screen in their home -- their HD television. Building on the success of the WD TV HD media player, the WD TV Live HD media player offers a new, more responsive interface to help consumers enjoy a world of digital content in their living room, without a computer.
The network capability of the WD TV Live media player enables users to stream or transfer movies from PC or Mac® computers or a network-attached storage device such as WD's My Book® World Edition(TM) and WD ShareSpace network drives to their HD TVs. The WD TV Live media player also allows users to stream rich content from YouTube(TM), Flickr® and Pandora®. The HD onscreen menu brings together all of the users' available media in an elegant and simple-to-navigate interface.
Consumers are amassing large libraries of digital videos, photos and music on their computers. According to research firm Parks Associates, the average consumer had 123 GB of videos, photos, and music in 2009 which will grow to 1.3 TB by 2013 (Digital Lifestyles: 2009 Outlook). In addition, an increasing number of consumers are looking for seamless access to their personal media, as well as to Internet media. According to Parks Associates, the sales of connected consumer electronics devices, such as connected TVs and digital media adapters, is expected to more than double from 57 million units in 2009 to 115 million units in 2013 (Home Networks for Consumer Electronics 2009).
Consumers are investing millions of dollars in HD TVs, with HD televisions representing more than 50 percent of TVs sold in the U.S., according to Parks Associates (Home Networks for Consumer Electronics 2009). But consumers' digital content is often relegated to the relatively small screen on their PC or Mac computers. The WD TV Live HD media player is the newest member in the family of WD TV media players by WD, which make moving digital content from a computer to playing it on a big screen TV simply plug-and-play.
Like the popular first-generation WD TV HD media player introduced last fall, the WD TV Live media player connects directly to a users' HD TV and plays almost any file stored on a connected USB drive such as My Passport(TM) portable drive. The WD TV Live media player features powerful media processing, which enables playback in Full-HD 1080p resolution. WD TV Live media player also will play movies and photos stored on other popular USB devices such as digital camcorders and digital cameras.
"The media enthusiast community has embraced the first WD TV HD media player and given us tremendous feedback," said Dale Pistilli, vice president of marketing for WD's branded products group. "With the new WD TV Live media player we're giving them what they asked for -- network connectivity and Internet-content streaming capabilities -- and offering them a simple way to enjoy all of their digital media and enjoy it on their HD TVs."
WD TV Live HD Media Player
Features of the WD TV Live HD Media Player include:
The WD TV Live Media Player is available now at select retailers and online at shopwd.com. Covered by a 1-year limited warranty, the MSRP for WD TV Live Media Player is $149.99 USD.
Consumers Can Stream HD Content from USB Drives, Network Drives and Popular Internet Sites to Their Big Screen TVs
LAKE FOREST, Calif., Oct. 13 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- WD® (NYSE: WDC), the world's leader in external storage solutions, today introduced the WD TV Live HD media player featuring network capability and Full-HD 1080p resolution. The new WD TV Live HD media player makes it easy for anyone to play HD (high definition) videos stored on USB and network drives, as well as Internet content from popular Web sites, on the biggest screen in their home -- their HD television. Building on the success of the WD TV HD media player, the WD TV Live HD media player offers a new, more responsive interface to help consumers enjoy a world of digital content in their living room, without a computer.
The network capability of the WD TV Live media player enables users to stream or transfer movies from PC or Mac® computers or a network-attached storage device such as WD's My Book® World Edition(TM) and WD ShareSpace network drives to their HD TVs. The WD TV Live media player also allows users to stream rich content from YouTube(TM), Flickr® and Pandora®. The HD onscreen menu brings together all of the users' available media in an elegant and simple-to-navigate interface.
Consumers are amassing large libraries of digital videos, photos and music on their computers. According to research firm Parks Associates, the average consumer had 123 GB of videos, photos, and music in 2009 which will grow to 1.3 TB by 2013 (Digital Lifestyles: 2009 Outlook). In addition, an increasing number of consumers are looking for seamless access to their personal media, as well as to Internet media. According to Parks Associates, the sales of connected consumer electronics devices, such as connected TVs and digital media adapters, is expected to more than double from 57 million units in 2009 to 115 million units in 2013 (Home Networks for Consumer Electronics 2009).
Consumers are investing millions of dollars in HD TVs, with HD televisions representing more than 50 percent of TVs sold in the U.S., according to Parks Associates (Home Networks for Consumer Electronics 2009). But consumers' digital content is often relegated to the relatively small screen on their PC or Mac computers. The WD TV Live HD media player is the newest member in the family of WD TV media players by WD, which make moving digital content from a computer to playing it on a big screen TV simply plug-and-play.
Like the popular first-generation WD TV HD media player introduced last fall, the WD TV Live media player connects directly to a users' HD TV and plays almost any file stored on a connected USB drive such as My Passport(TM) portable drive. The WD TV Live media player features powerful media processing, which enables playback in Full-HD 1080p resolution. WD TV Live media player also will play movies and photos stored on other popular USB devices such as digital camcorders and digital cameras.
"The media enthusiast community has embraced the first WD TV HD media player and given us tremendous feedback," said Dale Pistilli, vice president of marketing for WD's branded products group. "With the new WD TV Live media player we're giving them what they asked for -- network connectivity and Internet-content streaming capabilities -- and offering them a simple way to enjoy all of their digital media and enjoy it on their HD TVs."
WD TV Live HD Media Player
Features of the WD TV Live HD Media Player include:
- Full-HD 1080p video playback and navigation with the included remote control and crisp, animated navigation menus;
- Play a wide variety of file formats including support for a wide variety of the most popular file formats with no need to spend time transcoding;
- Play videos, music and photos from the Internet on your big screen TV and discover new music with Pandora Internet radio or listen to thousands of radio stations via Live365 Internet radio;
- Ethernet port for wired or WiFi connection(1) to access files anywhere on the network to play movies, music, and photos from any PC or drive on a home network;
- Turns a USB drive(2) into an HD media player and plays content from most popular USB drives, and digital cameras, camcorders, and portable media players that can be recognized as mass storage devices;
- Unlimited media collection, just add more USB drives for more space;
- Two USB ports for seamless media playback from multiple USB drives and ability to access them simultaneously while a media library feature collects the content on all the drives into one list sorted by media type;
- Transfer files by copying, moving or deleting files stored on a USB drive, a network drive, camcorder, or a camera to the attached USB drive using the on-screen menus;
- Picture Transfer Protocol support to show photos and movies directly from digital camera or video camera and or any digital imaging device that supports Picture Transfer Protocol;
- Advanced navigation options including thumbnail and list views, media library and search;
- Photo viewing to create custom slide shows, zoom and pan and search;
- Movie viewing with fast-forward, rewind, pause, zoom and pan, view subtitles, and search;
- Music playback with fast-forward, rewind, pause, shuffle, repeat and search;
- File copying between USB devices;
- HDMI® 1.3 port, composite video and component video output(3) for the highest quality HDTV or home theater;
- SPDIF digital output that sends digital signals to your AV receiver for the best surround sound experience; and,
- Ultra-compact design to fit easily into a home entertainment center.
The WD TV Live Media Player is available now at select retailers and online at shopwd.com. Covered by a 1-year limited warranty, the MSRP for WD TV Live Media Player is $149.99 USD.
Oh and plus - you can bet their stuff is fake!
they probably are
they just make new accounts
anyone know if this box supports ShoutCast?
Assuming you don't have a NAS, and just want to operate this thing by attaching an external (or 2) HDD, how do you get the media ONTO those external HDDs?
Do they show up as network drives that you can drag and drop to? Or do you have to physically detach them whenever you want to transfer something? Thanks.
You attach 'em them to your PC and load them up. I have one, It's a pain. Will buy more when wifi is built in.
Currently use my Archos 5 over Wifi instead.
Crawdad... No.. they show up on your network.. You can go to the WDTV Live on your network, and see the drive as a network share.
does anyone know what the difference between this and the Western Digital WD TV HD Media Player is?
Makes you kind of wonder who would pick up the Mini at 99.99 when you get a far superior product for 20 bucks more
If they drop the price on that baby to $50 it could be really attractive.
I already have a WD TV...TIME TO UPGRADE!!!
Awesome new functionality!
How is the user interface? Is it usable? Is it stable?
The vast majority of media extenders out there have crappy, bug-ridden interfaces. I was planning to purchase a nettop, but this may do the trick if the software is ready for prime time.
@Spiny - The UI on the existing one is good but slow. Apparently the new one is faster.
(source: http://wdtvhd.com/index.php?showtopic=7100 )
I just picked one up today at Best Buy and the user interface is definitely snappy. And it's very tiny, dead silent, played HD content (MKV) like a champ (even with subtitles and multiple sound tracks).
I'm used to using XBMC for Windows, but I was starting to get fed up with remote issues, stability issues, etc.
After 1.5-2 hours of use, this thing seems pretty good with the following caveats:
* It supports many formats, but not all the ones I need. No Quicktime (which my wife's camera takes), some of my old WMV's don't work and some obscure codecs aren't supported
* The interface is intuitive but takes a good number of clicks to browse to your media in folder mode (Ex. Video > Media Servers > (pick media server) > (pick share) > Folders > (pick folder) > (pick sub-folder) > (pick file))
* Mine isn't displaying my JPEGs properly, but I'm hopeful that this will be fixed in a firmware update soon
* There are very few options that you can change, but it automatically scales all video to fit your screen with the original aspect ratio
In short, it's not as easy to use, feature rich or protocol friendly as XBMC, but this is very simple to use, requires minimal power and for $120, I would have no qualms about recommending this to friends.
a nettop is just $199 and can decode 1080p plus what ever webcast and rmvb.
Who the hell uses rmvb aside from badly encoded chinese movies? Seriously, if this is stopping you from getting one then import some badly translated nettop from China.
hasn't the old one become a de-facto standard, almost? good little machine...
I'm really considering buying this...unless someone has a reason why I shouldn't.
I am with you dude....lead the way......this one's got it all covered.....Move over Seagate and the rest
I am also thinking on buying this. My only question is: Can it be used as a Media Extender with Windows Media Center? If yes, Get Visa, Get Ready, GOO GOOO GOOOOOOOO! Power Rangers
No.. it is not a Windows Media Extender... For that, just buy an xbox arcade, and make sure its well ventilated. I got red ring of death while watching a movie, testing out the extender capabilities.
I don't really understand... Since this doesn't seem to have a hard drive in it whats the point?
You're right...You really don't understand.
You can plug an external USB drive into it. This new model adds network streaming support that the old one lacked making it that much more versatile desirable.
well, if that were true, then the Seagate Freeagent theatre should be where the WD TV is today
You're missing the point - the best part is it can stream straight off your NAS
"network streaming support"
"ability to add an external"
why do you even want an attached hard drive?
this thing is way more future proof than a box with a 250gb hard drive in it. the cost of a hard drive would take away this things value.
@Dennis Wolff
"You're missing the point - the best part is it can stream straight off your NAS"
HUH? I mentioned that as being what makes it so desirable. Network streaming FYI includes the NAS and any computing device in the house that has files shared as well as internet streaming. Perhaps you read it as internet streaming.
@Tyler,
"why do you even want an attached hard drive?"
Never said I did. That's precisely why I passed on the original. My whole house is wired so I avoid sneakernet as much as possible.
sorry chad, i was using your points to ask the original poster that, not you hahaha
i should have been more clear
Wait.. I'm not hearing about WiFi anywhere else. Are you guys sure you have your facts right?
Update: Press release says wifi adapter is sold seperately
http://www.breitbart.com/article.php?id=prnw.20091013.LA87695&show_article=1
It doesn't come with WiFi but since it runs a Linux kernel any USB WiFi dongle that has Linux drivers should work with it. At least that's what I had read yesterday.
Further update: WDTVHD.com has custom firmware that allows you to use a USB network adapter on your existing WD HD TV to achieve some of the same functionality as this new unit.
@chad - yeah, but the engadget report says it has wifi. These guys need to fact-check before they release...
From the WD website:
WiFi Ready
Supports wireless network connection with optional USB wireless adapter.
Pisses me off when they mention something like that as if it's included.
Netflix would make this thing a Necessity!!!!!!
I'm sooooo close to wanting it, I just don't want to have to have a roku box and this. Seeing as the roku box could never handle the shit this thing can do, hopefully this box will get netflix.
I used to have the original WDTV, it's perfect at just playing files, but a full HTPC with XBMC trumps all.
a PS3 and a server running PS3MS is also pretty damn hard to beat, especially if you already had the PS3.
+1 for XBMC
can they play mkvs w/o transcoding? I have a 360 and that's the biggest place it struggles. and it's really slow at audio menus.
I picked one up at the local Best Buy yesterday.... shelf tag had it priced at $139, but their website has it at $119. They matched the website price on the spot. Had it up and running on my network in a matter of minutes... it found both my pc and my NAS and a few seconds later I was streaming video straight from the NAS. Great little box!
This is interesting but i'm gonna just stick it out and wait for the PS3 to MKV support...
Will that ever happen though - all the research I've done says not!?
I'm hopping that once MKV support gets bigger Sony will take it. Devices like this only help the PS3 cause. :)
"Oh and plus - you can bet their stuff is fake!"
"they probably are
they just make new accounts"
Sorry didn't understand what you meant. Explain?
Install PS3 Media Server on a decent machine with network access to your media. It's a fully DLNA compatible and will live transcode MKVs to MPEG4, which the PS3 can play back. You need gigabit ethernet to really take advantage of it, but it lets you get around having to store stuff on the PS3 itself, and you can have it draw from files on multiple network locations if necessary.
http://code.google.com/p/ps3mediaserver/
It runs on Mac, Windows, and Linux, as it's written in Java.
Just picked one up this morning. It's SICK!! Automatically detected all my network connected devices, including my NAS. I was streaming from the NAS and Pandora in just a couple minutes. Sooo worth $119.
does it have dts downmix now?
Im not sure how it handles DTS, because I usually strip off that audio track, (it wont play at all on an apple tv) It Supports DTS 2.0 + Digital, (I am guessing 2 channel DTS?) DTS doesnt even list DTS 2.0 on their website. It does list DTS Digital out, which is described as "DTS bitstream pass-through is necessary for playback of DTS soundtrack through a DTS-capable system. "
I guess I could rip a disc, and see what the player does.
Why are these people not banned!?
whoa, that was quick hahaha
Ah - I see they have been ... good!
Who me? What did i say?
Don't worry A1 it wasn't you - someone posted a blatant advert and it was deleted almost immediately ... which is great!