Product: WD TV Live Plus Media PlayerManufacturer: Western Digital
MSRP: $149.99
Lowest Historical Price: $120 History
Introduction
Following up on the very popular WD TV Live, Western Digital rolled out the WD TV Live Plus last week — a revision that looks identical to the previous version in size, shape and form factor. While the transition from their first generation player to the WD TV Live was a giant leap into network connectivity for their expansive list of file support, the transition to the WD TV Live Plus doesn’t feel as accomplished in comparison. Click on to read my full impressions of the player.
Unboxing and First Impressions
If you own a WD TV Live, you're going to have a hard time telling the two players apart. They're identical in design and each comes with the same accessories. When opening the box, you'll find the WV TV Live Plus player and the small remote on the top tray. After lifting out the top tray, the AC Adaptor, two AAA batteries, the component video cable and the composite video cable are found in the lower tray. Identical to the WD TV Live yet again, there’s no HDMI cable, optical cable or Ethernet cable included in the package.
The actual player is very small and will likely be the most compact piece of hardware in your home theater setup. The hardware is barely wider than the length of an iPhone 3G. It can be stood up on the thin sides to allow for easy access to the USB port or flat down like your other components. The remote is small as well, slightly shorter than an iPhone 3G. The buttons feel a bit cramped, and there's no back-lit feature on the remote to see it in a darkened theater room.
Specifications
The hardware dimensions are approximately 1.5" by 4" by 5", and it weighs less than a pound. The unit comes with 2 USB 2.0 ports (one on the back panel and one on the side), 1 HDMI 1.3 port, 1 Ethernet port, 1 optical cable port and the two 3.5mm jacks designed for the composite AV out / component out. Regarding video file compatibility, the WD TV Live Plus can play AVI, MPG/MPEG, VOB, MKV, TS/TP/M2T, MP4/MOV, M2TS and WMV9. Many of the video file formats have specific restrictions if you're trying to play 1080p video files over 30fps. The unit also supports MP3, WAV/PCM/LPCM, WMA, AAC, FLAC, MKA, AIF/AIFF, OGG, Dolby Digital, DTS audio files and JPEG, GIF, TIF/TIFF, BMP, PNG picture files.
Review
The reason behind the release of the new WD TV Live Plus is mainly the addition of new audio / video services that they could not include in a firmware update to the previous version of the hardware. Basically, there are now encrypted "keys" internally that can be used when new services are rolled out -- Netflix, for instance. Netflix is fully compatible on the WD TV Live Player, and the interface is very similar to the Netflix iPad application. Movies can be added / deleted from the queue and the "instant streaming" movies can be selected immediately.
As of right now, Netflix is the only service that Western Digital has rolled out. I spoke with representatives at Western Digital and asked about the obvious elephant in the room, Hulu. No comment obviously. It's unlikely that Hulu would roll out support without wanting to get paid, though. The representatives did mention that other services are on their way, just not available at this time. Similar to the previous model, you're still going to find Pandora, Youtube, Flickr and Live365 support built in.
I had no problem streaming Netflix into my home theater, although this is the third device in my system that I have that capability with. One glaring issue that didn't get addressed in this WD TV revision is internal Wi-Fi hardware. You're still required to purchase a Wi-Fi dongle for wireless access. I’m glad WD is expanding their compatibility for those adapters, but it still uses up a USB port and it's an extra cost.
Beyond allowing for new services to be added in the life cycle of the Live Plus, Western Digital also added ISO support and improved DVD menu support. If you rip all of your DVDs to a media server or perhaps just a hard drive, you can navigate through the menus with the WD TV Live Plus. The new hardware also includes compatibility with Windows 7's pushing capability. Simply put, you can "send" a file to the WD TV Live Plus from your computer and it streams over the network. (This is also available to the WD TV Live in a firmware update.)
Conclusion
If you own a WD TV Live, should you upgrade to the Plus? Probably not. With Netflix already on the current gaming consoles and many new Blu-ray players, it's hard to justify an upgrade based on streaming services. That being said, you will be hard-pressed to find any piece of hardware that has such a large amount of file compatibility and offers immediate playback through the simple GUI. During my tests, I didn't find any formats that it couldn’t handle. For anyone new to the WD TV Live series, the Plus is definitely worth picking up if you're looking for a "lite" version of a HTPC. For deal hunters, Western Digital is planning to keep both units on the market at this time. Look for discounts on last year's version (now priced around $100).
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#1
Attikai - Posted 1:12 pm PDT 06/16/10 (327 Posts)
Having bought the previous version I am very disappointed that they did not add the one major upgrade feature (netflix) of this new model with a firmware update to the previous model. Many of us who bought the latest and greatest only months ago were caught by surprise when this model unexpectedly appeared. On their forums the number one upgrade request was netflix support. The company never bothered to tell the user base about the new model so they could sell as many of their now obsolete players as possible. In retrospect I now know that I should have purchased one of WD's competitors products instead. Don't buy this player the support will not be there.
Undoubtedly when they sell a bunch of these they will release a new model that you must buy in order to get Hulu support.
Undoubtedly when they sell a bunch of these they will release a new model that you must buy in order to get Hulu support.
#2
hrbud - Posted 9:55 pm PDT 06/16/10 (80 Posts)
Every company does that. If they give out free firmware updates to an old piece of hardware they'd never make money. They make money by rolling out new stuff, even if it means the old stuff in a new box and make you believe its really new.
You buy the product for what it does today, not for what it can do next year. Expect nothing but bug fixes, not new features... and even that's uncertain.
You buy the product for what it does today, not for what it can do next year. Expect nothing but bug fixes, not new features... and even that's uncertain.
#3
Attikai - Posted 11:47 am PDT 06/17/10 (327 Posts)
Considering they set up a forum to ask us which features we want added via firmware updates I'm going to somewhat disagree with you.
They also have added other feature that way in that past which is actually why I chose WD.
See, the other way to make money is to create a big user base and get new customers because the old ones are talking up their product and practices on forums like this. Go look at their user forum and you'll see a lot of angry customers. If you think buying products from a company with a lot of angry users is something you deem a good idea then knock yourself out.
In my personal experience I recommend avoiding WD and going with another option.
They also have added other feature that way in that past which is actually why I chose WD.
See, the other way to make money is to create a big user base and get new customers because the old ones are talking up their product and practices on forums like this. Go look at their user forum and you'll see a lot of angry customers. If you think buying products from a company with a lot of angry users is something you deem a good idea then knock yourself out.
In my personal experience I recommend avoiding WD and going with another option.
#4
cjw3cma - Posted 12:03 pm PDT 06/17/10 (88 Posts)
#3 - So which 1080P / Blu-Ray ISO playing / DTS capable unit in the same price range do you recommend? I have been reviewing as many models that I can find but the unbiased reviews are weak and mostly incomplete.
Does any manufacturer have a USB 3.0 unit ?
Thanks for your reply.
#5
destiny168 - Posted 4:18 pm PDT 07/7/10 (13 Posts)
| cjw3cma wrote: |
| #3 - So which 1080P / Blu-Ray ISO playing / DTS capable unit in the same price range do you recommend? I have been reviewing as many models that I can find but the unbiased reviews are weak and mostly incomplete.
Does any manufacturer have a USB 3.0 unit ? Thanks for your reply. |
The only HD Media Player I have seen and played with myself that can do Blu-Ray ISO is the Popcorn A-200 (Brother-in-law let me borrowed it). It uses a Sigma Designs 8643 processor. It sells for total including shipping from China for about $240 with the optional Wifi N USB.
It has DTS pass through and DTS HD pass through (because not licensed by DTS)
I have not seen one yet that has a USB 3.0 but I think eSATA and USB 2.0 is fast enough for High Bitrate MKV files... It is also one of the very few Media Players that has a Gigbit port.
#6
destiny168 - Posted 10:47 am PDT 07/8/10 (13 Posts)
| Attikai wrote: |
| Having bought the previous version I am very disappointed that they did not add the one major upgrade feature (netflix) of this new model with a firmware update to the previous model. Many of us who bought the latest and greatest only months ago were caught by surprise when this model unexpectedly appeared. On their forums the number one upgrade request was netflix support. The company never bothered to tell the user base about the new model so they could sell as many of their now obsolete players as possible. In retrospect I now know that I should have purchased one of WD's competitors products instead. Don't buy this player the support will not be there.
Undoubtedly when they sell a bunch of these they will release a new model that you must buy in order to get Hulu support. |
If you read carefully on Ben's Review it mentions "the addition of encrypted keys" that makes NetFlix works. This is basically Netflix's API Source code that makes it work on the WDTV Live Plus. I don't think 3rd Party firmware developers will have access to this source code so customers will have to rely on WD for firmware updates.
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