Legit Reviews

Today, Western Digital is launching their new WD TV Live Streaming Media Player. The first thing you notice with this new generation is that Western Digital has changed the form factor rather dramatically making the new player more sleek than the original WD TV. Along with the form factor chance, Western Digital has integrated Wi-Fi directly into the box. With the built in wireless-N, you no longer have to worry about getting a compatible dongle or placing the player near access to an Ethernet cable.

Kaos Kid wrote:hmmmmm getting closer and closer to turning in my HTPC, once we start getting hitch-free 1080 streaming I'll have to seriously consider something like this.

gwolfman wrote:I think I might swap out my HTPC as well. Too bad they can't include an RDP/VNC client on these to connect to a PC if desired; that would be sweet!

Btw, I'm seriously considering getting this. What software (DLNA, uPnP, etc.), if any, do I need on my Win 7 "server" to get the WD TV Live to access my DVD/Blu-ray .iso backups and .mp3/.flac music files?

Also, did you or can you try multichannel .flac/.wav to see if they play correctly? I think I'll add it to my Christmas list as soon as I get the answers to my questions above. Thanks for the review!

Edit: Oh, did you have any trouble with FastEthernet w/ Blu-ray backups (since they axed GigE)?

Digital Puppy wrote:You can use Windows Media Player to stream...just turn on "Media Streaming".

If you aren't running W7 or just don't like WMP, you can use a bunch of different programs (our favorite is PS3 Media Server) to setup a DLNA compliant UPnP server.

I didn't try multichannel FLAC/WAV because I don't have any. If you have one to send for me test I can let you know if it works.

http://code.google.com/p/ps3mediaserver/

gwolfman wrote:

Digital Puppy wrote:You can use Windows Media Player to stream...just turn on "Media Streaming".

If you aren't running W7 or just don't like WMP, you can use a bunch of different programs (our favorite is PS3 Media Server) to setup a DLNA compliant UPnP server.

I didn't try multichannel FLAC/WAV because I don't have any. If you have one to send for me test I can let you know if it works.

Thanks for getting back to me! Does WMP share the .iso files correctly? I assume WMP does not transcode, correct?

I presume PS3 Media Server shares .iso files correctly; is this the download location?

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http://code.google.com/p/ps3mediaserver/

I can up a multichannel FLAC later today, which hosting site do you prefer? If I don't hear back form you I'll assume megaupload. Should I send the link via PM?

Digital Puppy wrote:

Kaos Kid wrote:hmmmmm getting closer and closer to turning in my HTPC, once we start getting hitch-free 1080 streaming I'll have to seriously consider something like this.

When you say "hitch-free" are you talking about the ability to play 1080p without hiccups or stuttering? or are you talking about the ease.

For the WD TV Live, 1080 plays with no problems at all when wired (Ethernet or USB). The only time there is some issue is when you play the 1080 media over wireless. And even then, YMMV depending on your home setup and bitrate of your multimedia file.

Kaos Kid wrote:

Digital Puppy wrote:

Kaos Kid wrote:hmmmmm getting closer and closer to turning in my HTPC, once we start getting hitch-free 1080 streaming I'll have to seriously consider something like this.

When you say "hitch-free" are you talking about the ability to play 1080p without hiccups or stuttering? or are you talking about the ease.

For the WD TV Live, 1080 plays with no problems at all when wired (Ethernet or USB). The only time there is some issue is when you play the 1080 media over wireless. And even then, YMMV depending on your home setup and bitrate of your multimedia file.

I guess I would mean over wireless. My wi-fi router is in the basement so all 4 computers upstairs are on wireless connections. I watch mainly 10GB + .mkv 1080 rips on the HTPC with varying encoding sources so I haven't yet found a commercial media box that can handle all the different sources that I accumulate, that is why right now it is just easier to maintain an HTPC with KLite codecs and MPC-HC. I am doing this archaically by transferring the rips from my surfer to my HTPC via a "Tornado" transfer cable rather than trying to stream from a NAS, I can seldom get the connection to stay solid for that large of a file transfer from the basement to upstairs over wireless--perhaps that is my routers fault though.

gwolfman wrote:Here's the multichannel FLAC file, I'm sure you'll recognize the song. I'll PM you the password.

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http://www.multiupload.com/ZMN8I4QACC

There's a tag in the file (seen below) which specifies which channels are present (in this case 5.1). Can you try to see if plays correctly with and without the tag (I use Foobar2000 to edit tags).

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WAVEFORMATEXTENSIBLE_CHANNEL_MASK : 0x003F

Thanks! Waiting anxiously for the results.

Digital Puppy wrote:Took the tag out (with some help!) and the file played with no problems!

Let me know if there are any other files you want me to check. If you don't mind, I'd like to leave those files in our "Multimedia Test Folder" for future reviews.

Digital Puppy wrote:The WD TV settings were on "Pass Thru" and I was getting sound from all speakers. It would be great if your flac was like my other test audio where it literally "calls out" the channel: "Left!" ... "Center!" ... "Rear Surround!"

The other hard thing for me is that I normally don't listen to music in "surround" mode. For me it's all about L/R/S.

Thanks again for helping us out with the review and giving me a new media format to play around with.

gwolfman wrote:

Digital Puppy wrote:The WD TV settings were on "Pass Thru" and I was getting sound from all speakers. It would be great if your flac was like my other test audio where it literally "calls out" the channel: "Left!" ... "Center!" ... "Rear Surround!"

The other hard thing for me is that I normally don't listen to music in "surround" mode. For me it's all about L/R/S.

Thanks again for helping us out with the review and giving me a new media format to play around with.

I might have one of those. Let me take a look and I'll PM you if I find it. Thanks again.

http://www.multiupload.com/XHMSOWIT6Y

gwolfman wrote:Were you able to try the last audio test files I uploaded?

I have two more FLAC files I would like you to try if you still have the (review) unit. One in particular is a stereo 24-bit/192kHz; my guess is the device's chipset can't handle 192kHz. The second is also 24-bit but of an unusual/rare sampling rate: 88.2kHz. Let me know if you're up for the test. Thanks again!

Digital Puppy wrote:

gwolfman wrote:Were you able to try the last audio test files I uploaded?

I have two more FLAC files I would like you to try if you still have the (review) unit. One in particular is a stereo 24-bit/192kHz; my guess is the device's chipset can't handle 192kHz. The second is also 24-bit but of an unusual/rare sampling rate: 88.2kHz. Let me know if you're up for the test. Thanks again!

I did try the last file that you posted...I'm kind of scratching my head because when played, they didn't come across as "discrete"...the sound played, but not out of the individual channels. When I played a test video (DTS encode), i could clearly hear discrete audio. I don't think that the audio settings/rules would change for Audio and Video playback...

Shoot me the new files, and I can at least tell if (and how) they play.

gwolfman wrote:Never got around to uploading the audio files, sorry.

However, if you remember testing this or if you happen to still have the device, I was wondering if you tested any videos with multiple audio tracks (i.e., an .mkv with both a DTS and AAC (Dolby Digital) audio stream, or an .mkv with an English track and another in a foreign language)? Are you able to select the audio track you want to listen to? Thanks!