Customer Reviews

Western Digital WD TV HD 1080P Media Player

5 star:		(53)
4 star:		(18)
3 star:		(11)
2 star:		(8)
1 star:		(14)

 

 

I purchased the WDTV Media Player (version 2) through Amazon two weeks ago. I have an extensive collection of movies and tv shows that I have ripped from my blurays and dvds over the past few years, plus downloads etc (over 2.8 gigs worth and counting). I built a HTPC 1.5 years ago and always hoped there would be a simple, inexpensive solution that would allow me to easily transfer my media to the TV without constantly playing with settings to the point where my wife is getting up from the couch out of boredom.

Along came the WDTV Media Player, the best solution for someone like me. I have tried as hard as I can to dig up a format (H.264, X.264, .mkv, .flac, .omg etc.) or problem to throw at this device to muck it up and I have yet to succeed. It has even been able to playback halfway decompressed files. I have it hooked up by HDMI through a Pioneer 819 AVR and set to bitstream audio codecs. I have had none of the audio syncing issues that were prevalent in the first generation machines. The user interface is attractive and intuitive. If you are use to using a HD set top box from your cable company and a PVR/DVR, this is basically the same functionality. Set up takes minutes and playback is beautiful. Unlike an previous reviewer, I have found that playback on standard definition content to be excellent. It upscales as well as any high quality dvd/bluray player. For HD playback, playback is just as good as bluray--without and time lag between pressing play and start time.

As with any device, it has its flaws-although they are minor in the scheme of things. First, it will not play menus from ripped DVD's and blurays (only the largest file in the rip, i.e. the movie). The WDTV does have its own menu that allows you to change audio tracks and subtitles on the fly. Unless the chapters are ripped and formatted correctly, you cannot skip to the next chapter. This sounds like a bigger problem than it is. This can be rectified by ripping with better quality software. If you downloaded your movie with bit torrent, you get what you pay for with your "free"/stolen content. Even using content without the ability to skip chapters, fast forward and reverse work quicker than on my panny bluray player and I am able to fast forward up 16x speed and the devise allows you to skip ahead in 30 second intervals (just enough to allow you to jump ahead of commercials from video capture off your cable box).

Other minor gripes: They are not able to bitstream lossless sound codecs (TrueHD and DTS-HD MA). Frankly, this is minor and most people will be happy with Dolby Digital and DTS (which the WDTV v2 and Live can send by bitstream over the HDMI capable--a feature lacking in the first gen WDTV). I have been told by people familiar with the Sigma 3365 processor that firmware may allow it to bitstream TrueHD, although probably not DTS-HDMA). We'll have to wait an see.

I have seen the Asus, Seagate and Popcorn C-110 and, they all have their pro's and con's. Dollar for dollar, the WDTV (v2) or WDTV Live (for an extra $20) are the best media players on the market. I give this three thumbs up and my strongest recommendation.

Update: 12/29/09 I picked up an WD HD Live at one of the big chain electric stores over the weekend to see if it was worth the extra few dollars. Pandora internet radio is a nice feature and I think the Live has a lot of "potential". There are some problems though. To test the machine, I tried to set up with a wireless dongle (g--i don't have a wireless n dogggle although I am not sure it would make much differenec). I also used a direct ethernet connection (obviously the best way to set it up).

First, HD streaming from a network harddrive was disappointing. Although 720P playback was usually not bad through ethernet. It did stutter and lose audio sync from time to time. If I paused playback to allow the WDTV LIve to rebuffer (or HDD drive--I am not entirely sure which devise had the issue), it seemed to fix the problem for a while. Using the dongle, playback about the same as with the ethernet. To be clear, some files played back without a hitch and others were far more problematic. The same files played perfectly on both the WD TV Live and WD TV (v2) when connected directly to a USB HDD.

With respect to 1080P playback, there were some significant hiccups. Using the network, playback stuttered badly on more than half of the files played. It appeared that the machine was dropping frames and lost audio sync. This was more prevalent when playing back large files (17 gig archived BD movies for example). Smaller 1080P files (8-12G) played about as well as 720P--some played perfectly and others with only minor issues. all files, however, played without issue using a direct usb harddrive. In my bedroom I am using an LG BD player that already has netflix, YouTube and pandora. The WD does not handle netflix, and the other services are redundant (Pandora is nice, but, frankly, YouTube is a pain to use with all of these systems).

In conclusion, the WDTV Live and WDTV (v2)have the same capabilities when used as stand alone devices connected to USB harddrives. Although I didn't mention this earlier, streaming SD content from a network was no problem with the Live. HD streaming capabilities were suspect, particularly with large files. As a caveat, other more sophisticated videophiles may have the time and computing power to convert larger HD files into smaller formats that will stream better. The thought of using handbrake to downsize my entire collection is not something I have any intention of doing. The WD TV LIve is a great first start. With some more firmware updates, it may be a better network streamer, but I think network streaming for 1080P is still a generation or two away from prime time.

This review is about WD TV Live and WD TV generation 2 (featured on this page), which share the same hardware minus the network capabilities.

I bought this unit recently, after having bought WD TV generation 1 a few weeks ago. There was a significant improvement in user interface, plus the capability to copy/move files between media and to play DTS audio over a stereo or HDMI output (on WD TV gen1 DTS won't decode, it only outputs it in digital mode through the optical output).

Besides occasional problems with audio sync, the unit operates beautifully for high definition video. However, for standard definition video, which needs to be upscaled by the device to play on most LCD or plasma TVs, the picture quality is quite worse than that of the WD TV generation 1. The picture is grainier, with very noticeable artefacts. This is super annoying for me and a great disappointment for a device that otherwise would be ideal.

WD has not addressed the matter and has not replied to queries about it. I hope this is solved in future firmware upgrades, because the device is otherwise excellent.

I've seen this issue addressed in many user forums, there's no clear explanation for the phenomenon, hopefully WD will address it.

Meanwhile, I'm returning my unit.

I've now owned the Gen1 and Gen2 of this product. Gen2 is quite a bit faster for loading and navigating menus which makes it nice. They've released one firmware update but I don't think it fixed any of the many bugs and may have even introduced some.

With the Gen1, I don't remember having audio/video sync problems like I experience now. This makes many of the movies I have completely unwatchable. I'm not talking millisecond differences, I'm talking 3 to 5 seconds for some movies. Sometimes more.

There are workarounds for many, but not all, problems you'll experience if you own or plan on purchasing one of these. Many of the workarounds can be found on WD's community forum. If it wasn't riddled with so many bugs for so long, I would give it 2 or even 3 more stars but WD seems to have lost interest with device.

Why didn't I give it more stars??
- Does not meet USB and HDMI mechanical specifications. Since this is the case, who knows about well the meet the electrical specs. (workaround - Some people trim 1 to 2 mm off the ends of the cable to resolve issues)
- Problems with audio/video sync (workaround - I wish there was one. Sometimes stopping the movie and resuming playback works, but mostly it doesn't.)
- Certain sized USB devices work when updating to new firmware, others do not. This is not documented so your guess as to what sizes work are as good as mine. (workaround - For updating, only use FAT32 formatted drives of less than 256MB and you should be fine)
- While the power is on, if I plug in a USB drive, the first time I go to that drive, the WD hangs for about 1 or 2 whole minutes without any sign of doing anything. (workaround - Turn off the WDTV, plug in the drive, turn on the WDTV. This takes less time.)
- The file manager (used to move files and whatnot) hides files with certain extensions. Unfortunately, it hides files with the .srt extension which contains subtitles for a given movie. (workaround - take the drive(s) to the PC and move the file)
- Sometimes when I select a movie to play, it'll start playing the audio but not the video. This requires the box to be powered off and then on sometimes unplug and plug back in even because it stops responding to the remote. (workaround - After power cycle, try again.)

This is only a smattering of the fun you'll have if you decide to buy one. In a nutshell, many bugs, slightly fewer workarounds, and even less support from WD.

This media player is not capable of playing ripped DVDs in their normal format. It is not just that it can't read DVD menus but the real problem is that it has partial recognition of DVD structured files. The only video objects (.vob files) that routinely play are the ones that correspond to the first chapter of the DVD. Try to select another vob video file and it will only play the unselected first one. This makes it impossible to play DVDs in their native structure off a USB drive. You have to re-encode the DVD files into another format if you want to watch them through this device. It would be much better if there were no recognition of DVD structure at all. Then you would be able to simply navigate by selecting the individual vob files. Not as good as menu recognition but a workable solution.

I also found a bug that gave a black screen on my HD TV whenever I changed drives. I figured out that by unplugging the HMDI cable and then plugging it back in, the display screen came back.

Do to poor design and continued bugs in this product, I returned mine. It is hard to believe that they created a USB video player that does not correctly read the most common video standard - DVD files.

With the advent of high definition media, even the least tech savvy person can easily accumulate terabytes worth of movies, music, and photos. Our parents solved the challenge of data management with a sturdy shoe box and a few scrap books and photo albums; but if you own a digital camera and dvd player, the new dust collecting repository is likely the hard-drive in your computer where those home movies of Jr. eating SpaghettiOs and all 12 sequels of Rambo are backed up. The Gordian knot riddle for our inner nerd is how to get all that stuff to travel from the computer hard drive onto the HD plasma TV in the great room. There are complicated and expensive solutions of streaming them wirelessly or running long wires everywhere. But the minds at Western Digital came up with this elegantly simple solution. Your "stuff" must be stored on an external hard drive which is so easy, even a Geico customer can put it there. (In case you are less evolved, a hard drive with a terabyte of storage, which can hold, oh, 120 uncompressed dvds of movies, sells for around $100 these days.) With this devise, you simply plug in the external hard drive in the back if it, then plug another wire (HDMI connector or 3 plug RCA connector....see your 8 year old if you need a primer on what those things are) into this media player and the other end into your TV. A menu comes up on the TV screen giving you the choice of which type of media that's stored on the hard drive that you want to play. Pick video and all your movies will appear as icons. The included small remote control makes the navigation very simple and quickly you're watching your movie, photos or music. Well, listening to the last one. If you travel and don't want to pack a DVD player along or watch a movie on your laptop, this offers a great solution for viewing on the hotel room tv. The unit is smaller than I imagined it would be at roughly 5" by 4" inches by 1 1/2". There's no on/off switch, you simply plug it in for power. Construction-wise it's made of piano-shiny hard plastic which feels solid put not impervious to falls on hard surfaces and it's a fingerprint magnet. If I were to change anything about the design, it might be to have a "Plug" built into it so you can plug your external hard drive into it directly to eliminate the need for two electric outlets, one for the device and one for your hard drive. On the negative side, if you're using it in your travels, it's still a little cumbersome to carry the unit, it's power cord, a hard drive with it's power cord, and then the usb cord to connect the two and an HDMI cord as well. In a stationary location that's not an issue of course. I imagine in time the folks at Western Digital will have another epiphany and come out with a portable hard drive that has this circuitry built into it already making for a much less cumbersome portable solution. It works well and offers a solution to schlepping around dozens of DVD's and, well, shoe boxes. I like it a lot with the caveat of wires and plugs if you'll be moving it regularly.

No frills. Runs right out of the box and it's cheap as hell. Why didn't someone tell me about this sooner?

Amazing product! Easy to set up and use. Was seriously plug and play... and the HDMI port gives my photos and videos an extrodinary 1080i display! Best part is that it's small and compact as well!

I like this. Love the customizable folders etc so you can be pretty creative with it. Plays all my unprotected video and audio formats. Sadly it doesn't play Itunes folks. Other than that its great.

Got this Media Player to attach it to a 2 TB drive with over 800 movies. Works great and no problem with any of the different formats of the videos. Note, I ended up connecting the hard drive to my PC, going into DOS to list all of the movies and importing the list into a spreadsheet to track the long list and what I had already viewed. I then connected the hard drive and the media player to my receiver in our theater room.

Pros: Works great. Very easy to connect.

Cons: It comes with composite video connection and an HDMI connection. Unfortunately neither my receiver nor my projector accepts an HDMI connection so I had to settle with the composite video connection which isn't great for viewing high definition movies. Would be great if it also came with Component Video connections (like DVD player) to get a better quality picture.

My son bought this for himself then gave it to me. I had no idea what to do with it, but I soon learned. After downloading the updates, I am amazed that this wonderful toy escaped my attention for so long. I love this toy! It plays every format of video that I have on my computer...AVI, MKV, MP4, WMV (I hope I wrote these acronyms correctly). This was surprising because my son had said that it only plays AVI files correctly. I bought video conversion software, then found that I didn't have to use it. It might have been because of the updates that I downloaded, I'm not sure.

All I know is that it does what I need it to do...play files previously only accessible via my computer or burned to a write-able DvD. After purchasing a large capacity WD portable USB HD, I now have more space to play all movies, photos and music previously available on my computer(s).