Western Digital WD TV Live Plus HD Media Player

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Plays most content material, but not well. WD breaks functionality in firmware Immediately after you get unit, refuses to repair it. Bought unit eight months ago and was incredibly pleased. WD has updated firmware 4 occasions since then and they have broken DVD viewing more than network, an dfthey are ignoring this issue, apparently favoring fixing mkv troubles and adding streaming content providers like Blockbuster (HA!) into their menus.I ripped my whole DVD collection to a WD20EARS installed internally on a Pc, viewing DVDs now stutters and is jerky and unwatchable. WD forums are total of complaints and they do nothing to repair this. I could downgrade to firmware 1.3.49B to repair this, but would be left with out other improvements and fixes since of that.If you purchase this and don’t return it, I suggest you present an precise review as I have carried out here, in order to warn other individuals. BTW, their firmware updates damaged the standard WDTV the identical way, which I also own. In this situation loyalty has no reward :-(

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- Plays avis, mpgs without having a hitch- Easy to setup, - Easty to play even for non-tech family- Has lately viewed to enable discover your last choice- Only can connect with two HDDs; not chained additional than this - Plays slow to clients when both use wi-fi- Firmware update will "break" your capability to play ISOs- Firmware update causes as well a lot of troubles; keep away from for now For the amount this costs, it is a excellent purchase, but not best. For sharing out files from the USB drives connected to it on a G network, we noticed that client systems had skips. But if it was just viewing files from a media server, it played fine. So we just connected it by the CAT-five connection on it since we utilized it to share files out. This may not operate for every person, so beware. It may perform better on an N-network.Also, some reveiwers say it only performs with WD HDDs, but it has also worked with iOmega & generic HDDs I have built, but this was only with original firmward.Also, some of the literature even on WDs internet site stated it could connect far more than 2 HDDs, but I have only been in a position to connect 2 to it straight it. Even with the cons, I would suggest it to others and even am about to get a different one now.

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was simple to set up almost plug and play streams flawlessly nearly any file excellent develop top quality tivo, Pandora and other on-line services streams 1080 mkv files and ripped blue ray files off my gigabit hardwired network with no freezing. Some people have complained about remote excellent its not fantastic but I have observed more affordable remotes and come on its beneath 贄 You are going to teach the commands into a universal remote anyway. doesn't display film picture when used with windows house server occasionally its a bit unresponsive I hooked up a wireless usb keyboard and it worked but did not strengthen the user interface much Had a minor disagreement with WD's tech help Purchased two before xmas and was streaming 1080 mkv files instantly unit did a firmware update and then could not play my vob motion pictures anymore, WD tech support says to reset to factory specs and if that doesn't operate to roll back the firmware. Do a google search lots o posts say to either not upgrade the firmware or to roll it back if it upgrades itself. W T H if you are WD and can't get firmware appropriate before releasing it that's just sad

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I would enjoy to give this a 5 but i can't It's fantastic purchased mine from ideal obtain wish i waited a week later could have purchased the wd media player with the 1TB difficult drive installed for another 70 bucks. but this will do just fine. As i found out the tough way. When i bought this from ideal obtain i was also going to obtain the wd 3TB external tough drive, but they had been out so i bought the seagate3TB external tricky drive. The WD media player would not read teh seagate hardrive but when i attached my wd 1TB external it read that just fine. I spoke with WD tech support & come to discover out it will only read other WD devices, but there is absolutely nothing on the package or inside the package that tells you that.

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It's helps bring my media to my HDTV 1080p with no tension....lol... Appreciate this product. It functions just excellent. None

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Straightforward to setup. Functions as advertised.Video looks wonderful. No internal wifi. Effortlessly fixed with a USB adapter. I got a Rosewill RXN-EasyN1 adapter as it is listed as a tested adapter on WD's web site. It can be located right here at Newegg; http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16833166041. I purchased one for my nephew and tried it out before shipping it to him. I liked it so a lot I bought an additional.

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1) Performs nicely with out possessing updates shoved down your device weekly! Stream from two USB 2. docks flawlessly! 2)No forced updates from WD, in contrast to the PS3 scandle-debacle with regards to Netflix users becoming forced to swallow continuous technique updates (which have absolutely nothing to do with streaming Netflix). three) No getting forced to join a"playstation network", which is a blatant, illegal, de facto product registration by any manufacturer; particularly if you don't want to use or want it. Possessing 'other' functions removed from your media device (you paid for it) by a manufacturer with out your consent or information, just so you can continue to use your Netflix streaming subscription is NOT a Pro. Thankfully, WD is not so heavy-handed or run by greedy control-trolls! 4) This nifty small box handles Netflix far far better than it's competitors and plays all our video formats flawlessly in lovely HD. The a number of audio outs are considerably appreciated. All in all, a good job & product by WD, a good bang-for-your-bucks 1) Not Cost-free:Ɯ) Created in Rd China - Americans will need jobs too.two) At times a Netflix title should be stopped-restarted due to heavy Netflix/cloud/network/internet congestion; not a heavy issue if you're in will need to have a beverage or restroom break. It would be fantastic if WD could create the optional capability/capacity to use a DDR memory-stick/flash drive slot or even rovide a slide-in laptop SATA drive port to better cache/buffer the Netflix streaming video more smoothly when congestion is heavy. Other users have issues with the WD updates not helping them as considerably as they'd like, but soon after getting my PS3 literally fried with sony corp-cop's mandatory/forced program updates each 2 weeks, it's cool that WD doesn't care if you use the updates they provide or not. You can even roll the update back if you try it then don't like it; how refreshing! What a fantastic business model notion from WD, to be totally free to use your buy - your product, as you like, and for the objective you purchased it for! Something other corporations just can't wrap their greed about, considerably much less their heads:)

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Makes network media accessible at the Television Wireless networking is an unreliable headache Acquire a Roku Manufacturer Response:We apologize for any inconvenience this may well be causing you. We presently have a list of all supported adapters for your product situated right here http://wdc.custhelp.com/app/answers/detail/a_id񳫍 . If you continue to have troubles, please go to this link http://support.wdc.com/rs/, copy and paste the URL of this overview where indicated and supply the requested information and our technical assistance team will be pleased to assist you further. In the future, you may also want to think about posting your problems to our WD Community exactly where you can interact with other WD prospects. www.community.wdc.com.

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Plays almost everything. Excellent for Netflix streaming. Network updates are straight forward. Priced ideal. none Probably a single of the most applied (and least high-priced) media devices I own.

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*Plays all the AVIs and MKVs I've thrown at it.*Supports NetFlix.*Hulu Plus Promised*Supports DLNA regular*Includes Composite and Component cables*Supports a lot of USB wifi adapters*HDMI connector *Overscan's as well much. Everytime I watch something, I have to hit "Options, Zoom Out" to zoom it to 90%. Otherwise it chops off letter box format items. I in all probability wouldn't have this problem on an HDTV.*Doesn't seem to deal with unique bandwidths on Netflix. My Roku will pause to "adjust streaming quality". On HD content material type Netflix, the WD Live Plus frequently drops the connection, when it really should just decrease the steam high quality.*Interface is inconsistent and leaves some thing to be desired.*Can't play Real Media Files*No integrated wifi. Even 802.11g would have been appreciated. With Netflix, Pandora, Blockbuster, and Amazn Video on Demand, the ability to connect a USB HD to turn this into a file server, AND the potential to play media from a Samba share (eg: Windows file sharing), this is a certainly worth the cash. At the same cost as a Roku HD, this item delivers a lot, much much more, even with it's inconsistent UI.

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From the owners manual available on WD internet site:Operating Program CompatibilityThe media player is compatible with the following operating systems:Windows®: Windows XP, Windows Vista®, Windows 7Mac® OS X®: Leopard®, Snow Leopard™Note: Compatibility might differ depending on user’s hardware configuration and operating program. Doesn't support HDMI 1.fourǗ.4a. With the improve in 3D availability this unit will show its limitations. IMO WD wants a 3rd generation that is compatible with 1.4a and finish XP compatibility. Just as millions switched to HDTV the time has come to switch to 64 bit (Apple or MS).

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Plays every little thing. Great GUI. Pretty rapid. Best feature set out of all the tiny media devices. Wireless not built-in. I purchased the Sony, Roku and WD at the very same time. The Roku was a P-O-S, so that went back promptly. The Sony was great, but lacked codec assistance. If not for that, it would effortlessly be the best. The WD is a device made for people that like to tinker, but also works for the average person. And if you don't know, b-rad has custom firmware that consists of characteristics that would blow your thoughts with a box this modest.

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It plays all of my media files flawlessly.The audio and video high quality are outstanding.Depending on the top quality of the file it is playing of course . Netflix and many other of the on the net services that this devise offers will NOT work in Canada.This issue is a critical peeve for me as one of the key reasons why I purchased it was to get netflix.In all of the marketing that I read for this devise not when did I read anywhere that some of this devises services had been unavailable in Canada.Since of this I will not obtain a different wd media player.And I will not recomend them to anybody else.

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Quite good runs cool and does almost everything I want hooked up to Windows household server with no issues on my house network.I place my roku in the closet no need to have for that now the WD streams netfix incredibly good as nicely. It would be nice to have a set up booklet that a single could read it looks like the fine print in a contract no a single desires you to see.But it took me only a few minutes to have it streaming from my WHS it took longer than that to do the firmware upgrades. Good product and the price tag is ideal!!

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size user guide necessary to be downloaded on your personal computer screen as I have only usual Television-->Then it gave me all broken, bleeding screen --> customer help agent looks Really impatient and do not have substantially expertise about their package --> I spent 2 hours call them to know what's true difficulty --> finally product challenge .. so Newegg, as usual, no dilemma to refund the dollars. So smooth.ANDthe Warranty is ONLY 1 year!!! Be cautious I bought it mainly because of 3 years warranty but it is ONLY 1 year I discovered.. anyway, I am sending back and will acquire Seagate Madia player plus. Hope it will be a great a single with a great service. WD service is seriously bad.Even their item issue, they asked me to pay for return delivery fees. What the.... Manufacturer Response:We are sorry to hear about the unsatisfactory support that you received, and we apologize for the experience with the WD Television Live Plus, as your expertise is not typical with our products. We appreciate the feedback, and would like to assist you in resolving any problem you are possessing with our item. If you would like to make contact with us for additional support, please go to: http://support.wdc.com/rs/Copy and paste the URL of this critique exactly where indicated and offer the requested data and one particular of our technical help staff will be contacting you relating to this issue.You could also speak to us at 1 齠) 275-4932, or through our help site at: http://support.wdc.comWestern Digital also has its own forums, WD Community. In the future, you may also want to think about posting your difficulties to our WD Community where you can interact with other WD buyers. www.community.wdc.com

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Compact, economical and flexible. Fidelity is outstanding In shuffle mode it does not show which track is playing. The only assume that kept me from giving this a rating of 5 is its shuffle mode limitation.

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This device does what it avertises. Easy install, uncomplicated menus. Interface is great. None that I can consider of. I wish they have implemented a slow-motion feature and search function, like to jump at ''X'' minutes.I run it from usb, havent tried network yet. Like other users mentioned, no netflix in Canada.

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- Handles every single file I've thrown at it with no any blips.- Supports wireless USB cards and now USB keyboards- Supports Netflix, Mediafly, Youtube, Pandora and other people.- Clean and Uncomplicated to use User Interface- Full 1080P HD help through HDMI 1.3- Effortlessly hackable with totally free user created builds of the Firmware. The user produced firmware is produced from GPL'd code that WD released. It also overcomes the limitations beneath- Capability to use DLNA and also to stream video from the device to your Pc.- Can use WD's computer software to copy files to the device more than the network so you don't have to pull the hard drive. - No Hulu assistance- No USB hub assistance- Only supports two challenging drives or 1 hard drive with a Wifi usb card- No Torrent or FTP support I really like this factor. My wife named it the Doodad since the name is the stupidest one I've ever heard. Even the guys at greatest purchase didn't seriously know what it was. WD is performing themselves a huge disservice since this factor hands down beats most boxes out there. Nothing in this price range comes close.

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Plays most media files, has ethernet port, is wireless prepared, supports Asian languages(both menu and caption), supports interaction with some of the preferred media web-sites like youtube, can access other LAN shared folders, automatic detect on firmware upgrade is good, automatic network configuration was good, MKV file assistance is greater than WD Television base very first geneneration model(no audio/video sync issue noticed at least those few I've tried so far), the usual HDMI, component, composite connection choice, plus the optical audio and digital audio output is good, being in a position to play digital audio converted to plain stereo is also a nice function(existed since the WD Tv base initial gen), Most of these cons that I am listing right here are comparing to the base WD Tv initially generation model that I've had for over a year: slow begin (probably due to network initialization). Looks like FLV file is not supported, but it does play some FLV(probably those with MP4 or some other recognized encoding) and those FLV files that it can\'t play, displaying the "not supported format" message is fine, but in some situations, it tries to play and the unit seem to crash and lock up that I can't even use remote to go back or power off. I have to physically unplug the power from unit then replug. Getting to do factory reset to clear youtube search list is not good. Supports only restricted web websites (would be nice to have one thing generic so that similar website may be accessed). To play a file, it takes a bit to start off (not immediate), and in some files the rapid playing can not be stopped to regular play by pressing play button(have to press quit button) There had been two reasons why I got this certain model: 1. I thought these internet site viewing was cool and could be helpful at occasions. two. plain base model was no longer readily available.Even though following trying it out, I assume I prefer the old WD Television base model. I am not certain if the next gen model would have comparable concern as the initially gen(what I have), but as far as this model goes.. it added few goodies, but for most important media playing function from local usb media, although it has some improvements like I no longer see MKV file audio/video sync problem, but see some regression problems which was fine prior to like the delay ahead of playing and etc. I gave the original one particular five eggs, but this, I think it only deserves 4 per some of the difficulties I've noticed.

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Plays Almost anything. HD looks excellent. Does NOT play RM/RMVB files. If your library consists of a lot of RM files, skip WD as WD will not upgrade the firmware to assistance RM files (based on on the web forum). The only WD that plays RM is the Mini. Offered this unit is marketed as plays every thing, I didn't bother check the specs in detail. Surprise, surprise. Will acquire another brand and relegate this one particular to play HD movies only on anther setup. WD does offer conversion softwares and network play of RM files, but for me, and I suspect for most folks, the reason for obtaining this hardware is so I don't have to use a Pc to play files. Shame on WD for not supporting a single of the most well-liked file formats out there. And shame on me for becoming a life-extended WD loyalist/gullible s*cker.

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I have had no major issues with the box, so far it has played almost everything I have tried. I have two, one set up with a wired connection to my windows server, and the other is wireless employing this adapter: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16833122373. I have streamed 720p MKV's with no issues working with this. Have tried only one particular 1080p and it worked as well, but your mileage might vary with your set up.The wireless adapter on the WD-Television is about 35-40 feet away and by way of a couple of walls. My router is a Netgear 3500 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16833122334&cm_re=netgear_3500-_-33-122-334-_-Product I don't care significantly for the GUI it makes use of but I got used to it. It is sorta slow to boot up as men and women have stated just before and the remote is sorta dinky. Overall I am quite satisfied with the acquire.

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Fantastic Item , I WOULD Get Again NONE

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Tiny, fast, HDMI and composite connections. Plays everything. Takes a while to read an external hard drive. Cautious when picking an external drive. Quickly forward during films doesn't always perform. Found a 9.99 trendnet wireless device and it worked wonderfully. It works incredibly nicely. I use it largely for Netflix and it functions quite nicely.

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I have backed up my whole music and movie collection to a NAS drive for years. This small device, has played each and every file format i can throw at it, although streaming the content material over my house network. This essentially makes my dvd/blueray player obsolete. I have purchased one of these for every single Television in my property. When powering on the device it can take it possibly 30 seconds just before the device is prepared to be used. I have been seeking for 1 of these common purpose media players for a while, and this was the initially one that i although could fill all of my requirements/wishes. It has surpassed all of my expectations. This is a truly fantastic device.

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If you are looking for a inexpensive unit to stream movies from a network share, external challenging-drive. or usb stick... this is a good option. - Menu technique and interface is really clunky.- Remote is ridiculously low-cost.- Their firmware update broke local network sharing (quickly fixed)