Save Western Digital WD TV Live Network-ready HD Media Player WDBAAN0000NBK-NESN

These units are very cool when they work, for all the reasons that you've already read about. The problem is, they automatically prompt you when firmware updates are available, and the most recent one (update 1.01.12) has been bricking everyone's units, rendering them totally useless and requiring that they be returned. Most estimates seem to place the figure at 90% failure rate. Western Digital has been totally unhelpful in the matter, requiring customers to pay to ship the unit back and are replacing them with refurbished units.

BUYER BEWARE.Get more detail about Western Digital WD TV Live Network-ready HD Media Player WDBAAN0000NBK-NESN.

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Nice product, plays everything, automatic firmware update, easy instructions. Would definitely recommend to a friends and also fast shipping.Get more detail about Western Digital WD TV Live Network-ready HD Media Player WDBAAN0000NBK-NESN.

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As such it is a great product and does what it says.

What I liked:

Connectivity:
TV: Connected instantly through HDMI. No issues.
USB Drive: Instant connection. Recognized all the media. Provides various option to play and the menu is user friendly.
LAN/Wired network: Easy connection. Had to restart the router & then the WDTV Live for it to recognize the network connection
Wi-Fi: Not tried yet

Playback:
Pictures: Supported all most common image types like jpeg but not RAW, NEF etc., as mentioned.
Videos: Played the mpeg, avi, dat files easily with no issues. I think these are most common file types. Camcorder recordings played flawlessly.

Remote:
Pretty simple & easy to use

Menu:
Easy to navigate & intuitive.
There is a search box to type using the remote for searching pictures, user names, login & videos.

What should be improved:

Wi-fi Capability: Come on!!! wi-fi should be integrated in the device itself. Why do I need to do the research for compatible USB wi-fi devices, read their reviews, find out which gives good connectivity and then pay extra $30 for it ??? Who uses LAN these days ???

Websites options: Only Youtube & Flickr??? Are you serious?? There must be options to connect to other video & photo sharing websites like Hulu, etc. Rather there must be an option to type the website's name and ability to connect to it.

Search Option: Please give QWERTY keyboard through the remote!!!

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I purchased this item 2 weeks ago, probably the third gadget I've tried to access photo/music/videos on my hard drive/computer via my home network on my TV/stereo system. None have worked well, including this one. While the menu, set-up, navigation, etc. are all good and as expected, the main problem is that the connection to the hard drive is intermittant- it works one moment, then doesn't work later. For example, I was listening to a song from my hard drive using this device, then, while the song is still playing, tried to access another song only to have the device tell me my hard drive is not accessible. Go figure. It is this problem that has plagued every device I've tried like this, including this device, and ultimately results my having to waste time trying to figure out what is wrong, powering off and on, etc.

As a result, I returned this device. Get more detail about Western Digital WD TV Live Network-ready HD Media Player WDBAAN0000NBK-NESN.

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Out of the box, it worked for exactly one day before (presumably) the automatic firmware update rendered it useless. The UI was a bit clunky, but it was playing 1080 HD files off of Windows 7 network shares and all kinds of cool stuff. But now it's worthless junk. It will no longer connect to my shares, regardless of the credentials entered. Scrolling takes about 3 seconds per step, half the time it won't find attached USB drives, and when it does find it (the same drive), it churns on it forever, the UI slows down even more, and you're lucky if it will play anything. The fault seems to be with the latest firmware update, but when checking, my unit says it's up to date. WD should be taken out to the tool shed for this monumental screw-up.

UPDATE:
I returned my defective unit for refund, and purchased a new replacement plus another for a friend. Both work as my first initially did with the exception of YouTube content, which no longer allows you to log in to your own YouTube account. Apparently, YouTube has imposed this limitation for some reason and it's not known at this point if the problem will ever be resolved. The new units report incessantly that a new firmware update is available, but for obvious reasons I will not be performing this update until I'm sure that the previous problems are resolved.

This is a fabulous device, and future upgrades to network services and the GUI could make it superlative. The picture quality when playing 1080p mkv files is no less than stunning.

But I do find it amusing that Amazon users voted to find my initial report of the defective device that I received as unhelpful. This was not an isolated occurrence and I would think it helpful to find out in advanced that a device that you may purchase could have the functionality of a brick.Get more detail about Western Digital WD TV Live Network-ready HD Media Player WDBAAN0000NBK-NESN.

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First off, I LOVE this device. Love, as in it has become my favorite new toy. The last time I liked a device this much was my very first iPod back in the day. The reason is pretty simple: it does everything it says it will and does it well. Many of the negative reviews of this product are dinging it because either the firmware killed the device (an understandable reason to be upset--I would be to if that happened to me) or because it doesn't have features the purchaser would like it to have (unreasonable in my opinion). This is NOT an internet browser for your TV--if you want something that does that, buy a media center PC. It also doesn't have built in WIFI. If you want WIFI, be prepared to buy a wifi adapter to connect to the USB port. If not having WIFI built in is a problem for you, then DON'T buy one! Is the WD Live perfect? No. Does it do a lot of things really, really well? Yes.

Ok, now on to what makes the WD TV Live so awesome:

1) Codec support for virtually any media file. I've thrown Xvid, divX, MKV, .AVI, FLAC, mp3, etc. files of various sizes at it and all work perfectly. I've played Blue Ray rips at full 1080p streaming from my NAS and the picture is truly fantastic. Dolby Surround decoding is flawless. This thing just works and I've yet to find a CODEC that I use which it doesn't support.

2) Ease of netwrok set-up. I don't understand people having issues with network connectivity. I plugged this into my network switch, turned it on, ran the auto network configuration, and was all ready to go. If you are not able to stream files from your Windows PC, the issue is almost certainly with permissions on the files (assuming you have them shared). Even if you share them you sometimes need to set the permissions to 'everyone' for them to be accessible (right click on the shared directory, go to 'permissions' and select everyone). You also need to make sure you either turn off 'password protected sharing' OR configure the WD Live with the correct password for each PC you want to stream files from. I am currently streaming from two different windows 7 PCs (a notebook over wireless and my personal PC over LAN) as well as my NAS and all work seamlessly. If you don't know how to properly set up a home network and are having issues with connectivity, don't blame it on this device. Do some reading first before assuming that the WD Live is to blame.

3) HDMI out with full audio pass through. No need to attach all sorts of audio cables. 1 HDMI cable to your receiver and you're done.

4) Easy to navigate connectivity to your network shares. The WD Live sorts by directory NOT meta tags, so if you want to be able to search your media files easily use iTunes or Windows Media Player to auto-organize them into files. A good naming structure is something like Music\Artist\Album. Another tip would be to download mp3tag (freeware) and use it to not just tag your files correctly, but rename the files themselves with a good naming architecture so that the file name INCLUDES the meta data. This is advice for media file management in general, but if you do it, it will make using the WD Live even more enjoyable. Since my music library and video collection is already organized and named correctly, my experience using the GUI to find and play files has been great. If you put all your files in one massive directory, you will have to sort through a long list of files to find what you want to play.

5) Support for USB hard drive/flash drive. It's not essential to have a network connection. You can use a hard drive or USB drive full of you media files. This is a great option for those who just want access to their music/video library and don't care about web streaming capability.

6) Responsiveness is great. Playing and pausing media files is instant, even a massive 12GB Blue Ray rip. Menu navigation is smooth and glitch free. It's nice when things work well, and the WD TV Live just works.

A few complaints:

1) It would be nice if the GUI supported a search function. It would also be nice if it supported meta tags. It would be even nicer if supported a keypad so that typing things in wasn't the tedious process that it currently is.

*****CORRECTION*****12-13-2009*****

The WD TV Live DOES support Meta Tags if you upgrade the firmware AND you are streaming from a NAS or PC that supports media extension. Currently I am using a D-Link DNS-321 upgraded to the most recent firmware and I am now able to sort media files by artist, genre, etc. Unfortunately the way the WD Live displays files inside these categories is by the ACTUAL file names, so for example everything in my Alternative Rock Genre is lumped together and sorts by file name. It's not broken down by artist or album, so it's really not that useful. If you rename all your files so that the first word of the file is the track number, you can at least sort by album and have songs play in the correct order instead of alphabetically. The real weakness of the WD TV Live is it's poorly designed sort features when using META tags. However, as I stated earlier in this review, I sort my media by file location, so for me it is virtually a non issue.

2) I wish the WD Live supported HULU and other web pages. The problem is that there is no built in web browser (Firefox, IE, etc.). That would require a lot more code--what is supported (Flickr and Youtube) are API applications that don't require a full browser. My guess is that WD pursued specific licensing with both Flickr and Youtube to allow their applications--that's why there isn't more diverse support for online content. My recommendation is that if this is a deal killer for you, you probably really need a HTPC not a media streamer. It would be awesome if some intrepid coder would make an alternative firmware with an API plug for HULU and other media streaming pages. Not sure if the firmware WD puts out is open source or not. My gut tells me not.

3) With only one USB in, you can't connect a wireless dongle and a USB hard drive at the same time. You might be able to use a USB hub, but I've never tried it.

4) No external power buttons. This isn't a big deal, but I really like to be able to turn things on and off when the remote is absent.

Conclusions:

This is not a perfect device. It won't bring about world peace or solve the US budget deficit. It doesn't come with every conceivable feature that anyone can imagine. It won't troubleshoot your network or let you browse the net from your recliner. Metatag sorting is not great, and if you rely solely on metatags to sort your media, you will likely be unhappy unless you take the time to properly name/sort your media files. On the other hand, it will allow you to play just about any media file known to man with breathtaking video and sound quality. It will make streaming your media collection from a PC or a NAS easy. It will provide you with wonderful versatility in your AV set up. For the price, I personally believe it is well worth buying, and while not perfect, it's very, very good.

4.5/5 Stars. Get more detail about Western Digital WD TV Live Network-ready HD Media Player WDBAAN0000NBK-NESN.

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I've owned the WD TV (old one) for about the year and was very satisfied with it. I've seen the new version with LAN (wow!) few months before general availability and buy it almost immediately after GA. This is a great value for the price! All benefits of the old one and the ability to stream content over LAN is making a big difference with the previous model.Get more detail about Western Digital WD TV Live Network-ready HD Media Player WDBAAN0000NBK-NESN.

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If you are looking at this product, you already know about it so just buy it. I havent found a video that wouldnt play. The response while flipping through videos on the USB is OK - not as fast as if it was on a computer but it worked flawlessly. You may not want to upgrade the firmware until they resolve issues but in my opinion, this is the product to buy. Don't bother with other brands as this is able to play everything I throw at it. I havent tried it in a network yet as I want to first try it as wireless. If wireless doesn't work well, I'll go with a wired connection. I like the ability to just plug a memory key in with the videos on it but I am using it with a USB 1 TB external plugged in and it worked great. What a pleasure to be able to watch all of the video's of the kids I digitized from the VCR and Hi-8 and bring it over to Grandpa's house to show him too.

If I can come up with some cons for this, I thought the user interface is a little boring and flipping through the videos was a little slow but dont use this comment as a reason not to buy it. You arent buying this for how the interface looks. You are buying it to play your videos and it does that perfectly!Get more detail about Western Digital WD TV Live Network-ready HD Media Player WDBAAN0000NBK-NESN.

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I just returned my WD TV Live after having for only 3 days. Not being able to see a DVD menu from DVD folders (video_ts) or from .iso files was a deal-breaker for me. I have had the Popcorn Hour A-100 for 2 years now and it has had DVD menus right from the start. Without the DVD menu on the WD HD Live, I wasn't able to select a subtitle to play on my WD HD Live. The on-screen option would not detect a subtitle to select either. I have also had problems playing .vob files. They played once and then they would not play the next time. I am especially surprised that the DVD menu is not available on this product when I hear they do have it on the WD HD Mini. Get more detail about Western Digital WD TV Live Network-ready HD Media Player WDBAAN0000NBK-NESN.

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A lot of good things have been said for this player so I won't repeat them here. If you are on the fence about streaming media in your house, go do it, and this player delivers. I do want to share some specifics on my setup, and what I wish it would support:

Connectivity
I have a wireless b/g network, and an existing Apple Airport Express (AE) hooked up to my old stereo for music streaming. The stereo is close to the TV, not wanting to spend $40 to get a wi-fi adapter, I thought of just connecting the WD Live to the AE over Ethernet. Apple does not seem to advertise this "bridging" feature on the AE, but it does work. Via AE, my WD Live gets on my network without setup (AE is already on the network).

Later on I needed to move the WD Live to another TV upstair, and I had to get a wi-fi adapter (no AE nearby). Make sure you buy one from the list of supported adapters from the WD Live support website. At first I bought one with a model number that was 1-digit off from the list, it did not work. Returning it and getting another one from the list work the 2nd time. Sorry I can't remember the brand or models of the adapter, it was from Office Depot.

Finding media on PC/Mac
If you use Windows Media Player to manage your files, you are in good shape. WD Live will find everything from WMP when accessing your PC as a "Media Server" from the WD menu. So if you are not seeing some of your media, add them to your WMP library - no you do not need to keep WMP running while streaming. If you select "Network Share" to connect to your PC, you will find the shared folders on your PC. You should most definitely find everything this way, as long as you shared the folders.

WD Live will also find your Mac shared folders/drives, you just need to set up files/folders share on the Mac. As far as I can tell there is no connection to your iTunes libraries, just shared folders/drives.

Caution - WD Live will find a lot of stuff on your PC that you may not remember having nor want to put in front of the kids or guests :-)

Wireless Streaming (if you must)
The biggest challenge is placement of your wireless router and TV/WD Live. In my case the TVs are almost at opposite end of the house relative to the router. Use a laptop with wi-fi to check your signal strength around the house. If you worry about signal strength, and can't move your router as in my case, get a wi-fi adapter that comes with a USB extension cable. This way, you plug the USB wi-fi adapter to typically a small stand with 6' of USB cable, and you finally plug the stand cable into WD Live. Now you can place the wi-fi adapter with additional flexibility. I put it on top of my TV.

If you are getting intermittent connectivity, check your wireless router channel selection and power output. I was able to move to a channel and higher output on my wireless router, Qwest DSL 2700HG-D combo modem. I first noticed this when setting up my AE for music streaming, now things are working well.

My wireless setup streams low-res movies without issues. It does run into hiccups when streaming hi-res 720p movies from my PC - if the network is busy doing other things :-) When this happens, one 720p movie would play well for about 3-4 minutes, then drops audio, and slows video framerate. It would not recover, and putting the movie on PAUSE does not allow more buffering as it is with YouTube. This is a BIG drawback. To re-buffer, you must stop the movie, go back to the previous menu level, select the move to continue from previous. In my case, the movie would play another 3-4 minutes (network is still busy), has the hiccups, and I would have to repeat this process.

I repeated this test another time when the network was not busy, and it played fine. Not sure what would happen for 1080p wireless streaming. I suppose I can always connect a USB drive to the WD Live or go Ethernet.

CODEC/format support
I can play most files I have on the PC including MKV, ISO, but it would not play some of my WMV files. I see only WMV9 supported, this may be the issue. After connecting to my PC, I realize I have a lot of short video clips from my digital cameras, cellphones/etc now available for viewing on the TV (a big plus), but the WD Live would not play most of them. I believe the key missing codec is actually the old MJPEG, which many digital cameras would use.

Wish List
1. allow continue buffering/re-buffering when a movie is PAUSED when the network is busy
2. add more codec support for videos from digital cameras (MJPEG)
3. add codec support for videos from popular camcorders (FLIP, Sony, Canon, Panasonic, etc)
4. a bigger and more ergo remote (the small remote makes it hard to hit the right buttons, awful when you have to use the on-screen keyboard)
5. provide a small wireless keyboard for text entries (eg: YouTube searches). I don't want a big PC keyboard nor Blackberry-like tiny keys...something in between.




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Good box, play all sorts of video type and sounds...

One thing I wish for is when playing DVD iso file, it can load up DVD menu. Another problem which I've seen is that when playing MKV file (BlueRay rip), it sometimes freezes and I have to reset the box.

Overall, I am quite satisfy with the purchase. If they have the DVD menu mentioned above, then I will be really happy.Get more detail about Western Digital WD TV Live Network-ready HD Media Player WDBAAN0000NBK-NESN.

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The top reasons for me to buy this product are
1) Watch YouTube Videos
2) Watch personal Photo & Video content on external hard drive/thumb drives

I made sure that ethernet jack is available in my living room where my HDTV resides. I had to do some work in my loft, basement. Changed some RJ-11 jacks to Cat5e jacks and used some couplers to route ethernet and/or phone to different rooms. I opened my amazon shipment and hooked it up and it immediately asked me to update to a new firmware 1.01.11 and I did. I could see picture on my philips plasma TV. So no problems with HDMI output to drive Philips TV.

First thing I tried is to sign in to YouTube and after I typed in my username and password and submit, it reboots. After I looked at the WDTV community site, I found lot of users have this problem. I could watch youtube videos by painfully typing in searches using remote. I expected it to save at least last 5 searches. It does not. If you accidentally go to home screen, you cannot go back to the videos you watched earlier. There are some features like most popular, most watched videos (by others) but I do not care about that. They need to fix this youtube account sign in problem. Apart from this there are doubts if Western Digital will negotiate a deal with youTube to continue showing their videos. Recently there are reports that some of the set top boxes have been blocked from accessing youTube like popcorn.

I tried Filckr but could not figure out how to search which I did not pursue further.

I plugged in a usb thumb drive that had some photos and videos I shot on my sony camera and it took too long to scan the drive. But I could watch them finally. I am not sure what will happen if I plug in an external hard drive with lot of data.

I had some posts on the WD TV community site but looks like they are fighting other bigger fires now. (Bricked units due to a faulty firmware. Fortunately I got this after they removed the faulty firmware ! 1.01.12)

I would advise buyers to first look at WD TV community website and see if they fix these problems. I do not know why there are many great reviews. I really do not care about too many different formats or 1080p. May be I should have purchased the NETGEAR media player(they are youTube partners according to some reports). I can change my review after they fix these problems. Get more detail about Western Digital WD TV Live Network-ready HD Media Player WDBAAN0000NBK-NESN.

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there are universal remotes availiable with a learning function starting at around 20.00. I bought a Sony for 20.00 from J&R Music in NY. I ordered it online with free shipping. It works way better than the remote that comes with the unit. I put the small remote away in case the universal breaks. I would have given 5 stars except I was one of the people who's unit was killed by the recent firmware update, and had to return it for replacement. Get more detail about Western Digital WD TV Live Network-ready HD Media Player WDBAAN0000NBK-NESN.

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I just bought this product and I can tell you I couldn't be happier. The reaction time between the remote and the unit is a bit slow, but NOT to the point where it's annoying. Play all my movies straight from my computer to the tv without any problems. Great Picture, better than burning. One of the best buys I've ever done. very very happyGet more detail about Western Digital WD TV Live Network-ready HD Media Player WDBAAN0000NBK-NESN.

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First of all, people have a wide range of use for this sort of gadget, so, just to clarify, my primary use for this item is just plain entertainment.

I had the original WDTV and I gotta say the WDTV Live surpasses the shortcomings of its predecessor, just to name a few: DTS support for stereo output -this was the real reason I replaced the old one-, improved user interface (including video previews), and improved feel using the remote -with the previous version you had to push the buttons really hard for it to act-.

I haven't got a chance to use the web/network features, but they look really promising.Get more detail about Western Digital WD TV Live Network-ready HD Media Player WDBAAN0000NBK-NESN.

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I was so excited to get this thing. When it works, it is amazing. But, it doesn't work. The latest firmware (.12) started "bricking" devices. Thankfully, I stayed on .11. This is one update after the debut firmware of .10. The .11 firmware is not mature enough for a product being sold on Amazon or other stores. If you buy this, you will be a beta tester for a product for which the company already has your money and does not owe you a thing in regards to better firmware. I raised critical issues about this product (see below) to Western Digital support, both on the phone and in their own support forums. 12 days have passed and there has been absolutely no response... no acknowledgment, no ETA for a fix, nothing!

I really want to own this product. The feature set and codec support are a good value at the price (comparable products might add better codec support and a limited web browser but at a much higher price). And, I am still following the forums to see if the critical issues will be fixed, even though I returned it to the store. I'd buy it again and re-review it if WD would fix the critical bugs.

Here are the critical issues with this unit:
1. Asynchronous audio - One of the cool things about the WD TV Live is that it offers an optical audio output in addition to the HDMI. For those of us using older A/V receivers that do not have HDMI switching, this is a selling point. However, it does not work. On certain mixes of codecs (primarily the popular H.264 with AC3 5.1) the lip synch is off. Upgrading my A/V receiver is not an option right now. Phone support from WD told me that the lip synch was off b/c I was "looking too closely at it". He tried to tell me that even in movie theaters I will notice the lip synch being off if I really look for it. Stupid! I told him that my old upconverting DVD player and Xbox360 are both hooked up the same way and there are no lip synch issues. He had no response. The issue is raised as a critical bug in the WD support forums and is being completely ignored by WD there.

2. Network drops - From what I understand, the older WD TV product is fantastic (and does not have the asynchronous audio problem). That older product is missing a key feature - network jack (there is a way to get on the network with a USB network adapter hack with some custom firmware). So being able to hook up the WD TV Live to your network and stream your media from your main server is a huge selling point for this product over the older one. Guess what? Doesn't work. At least not out of the box. Oh sure, you'll be excited because it does work for 4 or 5 minutes. The WD TV Live drops itself from the network (in the middle of watching a movie even) every 4 or 5 minutes. It also does so when another device appears or drops from the network (if my wife turns on her laptop while I'm streaming media from my main server the WD TV Live drops). There are some workarounds, but they are inconvenient or they require you to disable features (for me, I turned off the option to have the WD TV Live appear on my network as a device - which cripples the feature that I could use it as a cheap NAS with USB hard drives attached to it). Another workaround is to turn on the WD TV Live, navigate to your network share folder and then let it sit for 5 minutes before starting your movie. What?!? (and I believe you'll still get dropped in that scenario when your wife turns on her laptop.)

3. Thumbnails - I stream media to my Xbox360 using TVersity on the PC. But, one of the reasons I got the WD TV Live was so that my wife and kids could access media without turning on the Xbox360 (and I was looking forward to watching movies without a system fan roaring in the background). How cool would it be if my wife and kids could browse our media over the network (this issue only applies to networked media, not media you have on a locally attached USB drive) using pretty pictures instead of a text list? That'd be very cool. Doesn't work. If your media type doesn't support embedding a thumbnail picture, there is a way to get a thumbnail - you drop the .JPG thumbnail for your movie into the same folder and you name it the same. So OurMovie.MKV would have the OurMovie.JPG thumbnail. Good idea, except that when you actually access that folder with the device to watch the movie, all of the .JPGs for all of your movies are shown separately and shown first. Clicking on them loads them up in the Live's picture viewer (does not start the movie). You have to scroll all the way down past your .JPGs to see the movie files (which ARE showing the thumbnail).... but now you've got two of the same image and depending on which you click, you'll either get a movie or a picture. This means that you actually have to look for the file extension text below the thumbnail to see what you'll be clicking on. Totally defeats the purpose of having the thumbnail in the first place. Stupid!

4. YouTube - WD is using YouTube access as a selling point for this product. This has upset Google. Probably the most popular product in this category of device is the Popcorn Hour machines. Starting Dec. 2, they have been forced by Google to remove YouTube functionality from their devices. There has been no word from WD about their current position with Google. But, the forums are abuzz currently that YouTube functionality has broken... and it actually appears to be something YouTube (Google) did... not b/c of a WD firmware change. Think about that. YouTube service can be disrupted at any moment by simple changes to the API by Google. Without a good contract in place between WD and Google, WD will either need to remove YouTube or dedicate some developers to updating the WD firmware to stay in synch with Google's API (at least until Google threatens a suit). WD is not "some Chinese company" - they are not going to take this risk. And, judging by their complete absence in their own support forums and complete ignorance of their Level 1 and Level 2 phone techs, there MAY NEVER be any future firmware upgrades for this crippled, hobbled device.

A note about power consumption - I was also excited at the prospect of the WD TV Live using a lot less electricity than my Xbox360. And it does, while in use. It uses 6 watts while streaming full 1080p video with surround sound from the network. When sitting idle in one of its menus (or when the screensaver kicks in) it uses 5 watts. This is fantastic! However, when you power down the unit, it does not turn off. The front power LED turns off and it does not send signals to the outputs, but it's still on and using 4 watts. Considering how much time I'll use the device vs. how much time it will sit idle in standby mode, I'm not excited about that constant 4 watt drain. (This is coming from a guy who is burning only 4.5 watts total across three ceiling can lights in his basement stairwell instead of 180 watts thanks to LED bulbs.)

The device has promise, but the company that makes it does not have a good track record for continued support and fixes via firmware updates. I returned it b/c I'd rather have my own money than give it to WD with the wishful thinking that they'll fix the problems.Get more detail about Western Digital WD TV Live Network-ready HD Media Player WDBAAN0000NBK-NESN.

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This little box does everything that I expected it to, and more.

It comes with a few inconveniences that I hope will be fixed in firmware updates
1. Does not recognize ogg-encoded files named .oga or .ogv
2. Won't play ogg video
3. Displays thumbnails as separate .jpg files when associating them with videos.

The good things about wdtv live:
I installed the firmware upgrade right from the start and didn't experience the bricking problem others are complaining about. I just left it alone for 10 minutes while the upgrade ran.
I am using this box along with a HD Homerun box on my network, and can schedule my Ubuntu machine to record live TV, then play it back later in full 1080i using the WDTV. There isn't a 30 second jump ahead button on the remote to skip past commercials, but they fly by pretty quickly at 16x fast forward.

It will also play the transport stream files from my FTA satellite box directly with a much clearer picture than I get from the satellite box with my TV connected directly to it.

As a test, I downloaded a 1080p movie trailer and played it over the network. Very nice picture! no problems there.

WDTV also works very nicely with Rhythmbox, and will read the playlist files that it creates as long as they are saved in the top-level directory where my music files are stored.

Originally, I was trying to buy a blu-ray player that had these features built in to it, but the Samsung 3600 had too many complaints about network connectivity problems and no .mkv support, and the LG390 was just too expensive. I decided I'm better off with a cheap blu-ray player and a dedicated media player.Get more detail about Western Digital WD TV Live Network-ready HD Media Player WDBAAN0000NBK-NESN.

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The only good thing i could say about this product is its size and the users interface. The unit is very small and slick. I also have a ASUS O!Play and the WDTV UI design definitely looks better. However, looks is one thing, whether the product actually works is very different matter. I bought this WDTV live mainly for two features, watching movies stored in my PC and watching the clip in my youtube account.

both of this function have major bugs. let start with the youtube part, whenever i log in to my youtube account in the WDTV, it will reboot itself. so i can't watch the clips i saved in my youtube playlist. it works fine if i just watch the feature selection or search on youtube but it is painful to search the same every time.

The thing i hate the most is the network sharing. it doesn't work well with finding the share folders from my PC. You really need to try your luck to see which folder the WDTV able to see each time you power it on. Even if the WDTV found the share folder, it will show "no media found" when you click the folder. I spend many nights trying to figure that out and also calling WD support, but no use. I finally gave it up and purchase another ASUS O!Play instead. O!play doesn't work with online content like youtube but it did a far better job in pulling content from my PC. It is pretty much plug and play, less then 5 minutes and i can see all my share drive and play pretty much any video format.

if you are looking for a media player to watch content from NAS or share drive, then don't waste your time on WDTV live, go for ASUS O!play.



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Perhaps a glutton for punishment, I'm constantly on the lookout for the perfect home media server solution. Nothing bothers me more than clutter, with the greatest culprit those pesky DVD's, CD's, and anything/everything else classified as 'hard copy entertainment.'

I come to the itty-bitty Western Digital (WD) TV Live a veteran of a very difficult configuration process for a Trekstor MovieStation Maxi t.u (88570) 1TB Multi-Media SATA Hard Drive. While worth the effort, the former lacks HDMI and network attached storage capabilities. Does the WD HD TV improve on this pesky predecessor? Yes, but with some caveats.

Setting up the WD TV Live was a snap, even via wireless access point to free it from hardwire shackles. The Device seamlessly picked up my network, and within minutes I was browsing both YouTube and my Pandora account. Advantage: WD TV Live.

The HD cable - routed through an HDMI Switcher - produced terrific audio and video quality, a slight notch (albeit not as significant as I expected) above the composite video and digital audio outputs of the Trekstor. Still, the ease of HDMI is worth its weight in gold.

Configuring my Mac to speak with the Network Storage option, however, was a tad more tricky. It took several Google searches and configuration attempts to establish proper networking protocol. Even when synced, the WD TV Live was a tad finicky, requiring a restart to re-sync music folders on my Macbook. Still, the cool factor abounds, as cover art transferred along with easy access to an iTunes library. Attaching the Trekstor to the WD TV Live - once indexed - produced equally simple access to every/any movie I had previously transferred. Good stuff. Advantage: None.

Still, I was left hoping for more. For a device capable of communicating with several Web sites (Pandora, YouTube, Live365), I quickly lamented its inability to truly stream Internet content via Flash and/or other video protocol. I envisioned this device a useful way of playing embedded video content wirelessly, especially sports and/or Hulu-type content. This option - to date - is nowhere to be found either in base firmware or custom versions.

Moreover - and while a tiny little bugger - a necessity to purchase outside storage seemed a bit odd. At its price point - and being a WD product - one would think some form of storage would come inside the unit (e.g. SATA 500GB HD) as default. Even if this would raise the price point $20-30, it would be well worth it. Advantage: Trekstor.

As a whole, however, it's hard not to like the Western Digital TV Live. While there are other media players on the market, it does what it promises...and well. Even with network share speedbumps, excellent user interface and connection ease make the WD TV Live product a winner.


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This is not a bad product, but it's not a great one either. I like the fact you can watch Youtube videos,etc. on a big TV. The biggest problem, is that I've heard a firmware update will make the thing not work. So I just don't upgrade my firmware. And the contraption is neat and everything but a alpha remote control would helpled greatly. I do like that the unit is quite small and take up less space. An okay product IMO.Get more detail about Western Digital WD TV Live Network-ready HD Media Player WDBAAN0000NBK-NESN.

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Watch Video Here: http://www.amazon.com/review/R291G7VJNLG9M8 Will have a full review soon. Until then, here's a video sneak peak of the product.

IMPORTANT:
I notice many people, including myself, were unaware about being able to JUMP SEEK VIDEO
To jump-fast forward, press fast forward and *WHILE* (that's the key point) it's fast forwarding, press the NEXT button. (same method for fast jump rewinding)

* Max fast forward/rewind is 16x, so for long movies, you'll definitely need to use the jump seek (there should have just been a quick button to do this!).

I had no problem with the firmware upgrade. JUST DON'T TOUCH IT!! It will reboot and everything on its own. BE *VERY* PATIENT!

Pros:
+ Plays all the popular DivX/XviD formats -- and huge HD 1080 MKV and ISO files instantly/smooth!
+ 2 USB ports (one on the back, intended for external hard drive; and one on the side for quick removal/thumb drives)
+ So portable. Light. Silent!
+ Automatically recognizes the .srt subtitle files and displays clearly (have the ability to adjust delay/sync).
+ Good remote range (don't really have to point directly at the sensor like in cheap devices)
+ Play music while viewing your photos.
+ VERY reasonably priced! (I thought this would cost more. It would definitely cost more AND YOUR TIME to build your own Media PC with a good graphics card, processor, installing OS, etc.)

Cons:
- Does not play .flv (youtube saved flash videos) files! (I don't understand this because it has a YouTube player and this device plays practically other formats! Really disappointed by this and I hope they add this support in the future. I know my Archos and other media player similar to this device, such as the ASUS, supports it!)
- Does not play Apple QuickTime video
- Can't fast forward/rewind/seek on YouTube videos!! (even if all the video is fully buffered and loaded)
- Not Wi-Fi! (I'm sure this is something the company is saving to add in the future)
- Does not come with ethernet cable (or HDMI)
- No power switch on the physical unit.
- No ability to access DVD menu for DVD ISO files! (This would have been amazing. Such a shame! Hopefully in a firmware update?)
- Rewinding at the precise spot is difficult.
- Generic remote (somewhat sluggish menu controls)
- Typing on display keyboard/remote is not convenient at all (wish it would support USB Keyboards!)

While I don't believe this completely replaces a media PC, when you factor in the size/portability/noise, it makes this device really great to own. I really think this will make a really great gift to anyone who has a lot of videos on their computer/laptop and want to watch it on their TV (no loud fans like on a PC or slow boot-up time! And even Media PC would require a good graphics card/processor to playback 1080 Blu-ray content; so when you consider that, this is quite a bargain.)

Overall, I would recommend this product, despite the improvements this device could use to really be a 5-star product. I also own a PS3, but it's much nicer having this device (also supports more videos). Get more detail about Western Digital WD TV Live Network-ready HD Media Player WDBAAN0000NBK-NESN.

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I really love it!. I've been connecting my computer to my TV forever, always dreaming of a player like this.

This one came in so perfect, it even upscales your standard definition files.

So far i haven't seen any file it will not play, yet.Get more detail about Western Digital WD TV Live Network-ready HD Media Player WDBAAN0000NBK-NESN.

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So I have an old P4 2Ghz machine I built in early 2002. It still runs pretty well, and I have added a lot of disc space to it over the years. Then I got a PS3, and toyed with PS3 Media Server to stream media to my PS3. Then I realized it requires a lot of CPU and Network bandwidth for HD content. So it was either build a new pc or give something like the WD TV Live a try... I'm probably due for a new pc, but if the WD TV Live can do everything a whole new modern computer can do, I'd save a lot! And I did.

This is a fantastic media player. It's so compact, quiet and cool. It plays everything I would ever use. It passes multichannel audio to my receiver beautifully, and HD 720/1080p MKVs work brilliantly. It makes me wonder what kind of CPU is in the WD TV Live. It's so small, but does such a huge job.

I would recommend this media player. Especially to people looking to save a lot of money by bypassing the need for a HTPC.

PS: I have not had any network disconnect issues some have reported. I'm connecting to a Windows XP SP2 machine for streaming my files. No firmware issues either.

EDIT: 12/28/09. - I took the unit over to a friends house to show it off and when I brought it back home the toslink optical no longer worked. Very disappointing! This thing is worthless to me unless I can get the optical audio jack working. Get more detail about Western Digital WD TV Live Network-ready HD Media Player WDBAAN0000NBK-NESN.

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This device is great if you have a lan connection. it handles many codecs but not all. i'm happy with it. do research on the codecs before you buy. You might be better off with the asus oplayGet more detail about Western Digital WD TV Live Network-ready HD Media Player WDBAAN0000NBK-NESN.

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WD TV Live has some great features, but from my point of view it is still somewhat flawed. Currently, I switch between three devices (please note that this is a limited review, so I will only touch upon each capabilities and how I use them)


Apple TV with 160GB Hard Drive - MB189LL/A - great media support when combined with iTunes. However, it is not expandable, which is a pretty big flaw. It would be great if you could plug an external hard drive or USB flash drive. It has the advantage that you can rent movies, watch previews, use YouTube and Flickr. it is also the most costly option, but (as expected it works seamlessly with a Mac) and it is a wireless device - it has HD playback


Sling Media SlingCatcher SC100-100 Universal Media Player for TV - not wireless, limited media playback support and will not work with a mac. However, when coupled with a Slingbox you have the ability to watch a remote television. Does not have YouTube, NetFlix, Movie rentals, or Flickr Support. You can plug in external devices - does not support HD plyaback


Finally, Western Digital WD TV Live Network-ready HD Media Player WDBAAN0000NBK-NESN Open format that supports HD. Offers YouTube, Flickr and other support.... when combined with a PC and a service like TVersity you have nearly unlimited capabilities - including Hulu. Works great with media servers and allows you to seamlessly navigate your media library. Set-up (for me) was a bit difficult to set-up some will find it pretty difficult to use the advanced functions.. I had very limited success using WD LIve with my Mac - you lose the ability to content (including Hulu). Plays all media formats - AVI, MP4 and others. Supports Pandora and other music services (not too big of a deal for me since I do not listen to music through my TV). Unless, I am totally missing something the device is not wireless.


Final verdict, Huge advantages to anyone who uses a PC - and advanced Mac users will be able to set-up a external media network which will allow them to bypass their cable company DVRs - however, for me.... the WD Live is nice but not a necessity.

3 1/2 StarsGet more detail about Western Digital WD TV Live Network-ready HD Media Player WDBAAN0000NBK-NESN.

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Great product. Works perfect even on wireless G network, no waittime on network.

Only flaw: No flv support and will never support flv (due to the limitations of sigma chip in it)Get more detail about Western Digital WD TV Live Network-ready HD Media Player WDBAAN0000NBK-NESN.

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I purchased the WDTV as a replacement for an Archos 605 the battery of which became swollen thus rendering the product non functional and a waste of money. This used to be my media streaming device. After Archos decided that it is normal for the above to happen and hence I should pay for repairs; I looked elsewhere. The WDTV live is by far a better product and the company is more reliable and stands by its products.

The only issue I have to date is the component video out. Anyone with an older TV be aware that component video will not work; seems only to work on newer TVs; nonetheless I am thrilled with this purchase as it has composite TV out and works well on my old TV which I am replacing next year. I have tested on a more modern TV and know it delivers everything promised.Get more detail about Western Digital WD TV Live Network-ready HD Media Player WDBAAN0000NBK-NESN.

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The box comes with a stupid, simplistic, incomplete piece of paper with pictures telling you how to connect it. It doesn't cover lots of configurations, and there's no paper manual. The digital manual must have taken about 5 minutes to write, and is useless.

There are NO BUTTONS ON THE DEVICE. That's right, you can't even turn it on/off without the remote. The firmware it comes with is garbage. The sound/video options are confusing and have no help info, and I've been doing a/v crap for decades. As soon as I tried to change to high def, the display broke and never came back. I got the new firmware through the cheesy update utility, which didn't help a thing. I even went to the site and spent several hours downloading adn installing a homebrew firmware that the forum recommended. It would boot up about one in 10. After about 5 hours of screwing with it, and getting it to work about 10% of the time, I sent that garbage back. What a disgusting pos. Get more detail about Western Digital WD TV Live Network-ready HD Media Player WDBAAN0000NBK-NESN.

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First things first. It works! That is not always a slam dunk with electronics.

I have several WD NAS (network attached storage) devices, and a fair amount of ripped video (WMV, AVI) that I wanted to display on a second TV. This seemed like an ideal solution.

This product worked right out of the box. I connected it to my TV with the included composite video (red/white/yellow plugs) adapter, plugged in a network cable, and pressed the power button. It identified itself to my network, and in 30 seconds I was watching Hogan's Heroes.

The good points:

It works!

Picture image seems fine. I am using it on a 23" LCD (not HD).

It has the ability to look at all my NAS drives, even the ones that are not set up for public access. There are screens to enter login/passwords to access these drives.

The on-screen controls are laid out in a sort of grid, and are a little bit unusual-but fine once you get used to them.

In three weeks, only one system hangup/crash. Pulled the power plug for a second, and worked fine afterwards.


The bad points:

The on-screen menus are in a relatively small font- at least on a 23" TV. Can be hard to read.

I have lost network connectivity once or twice in a few weeks. No big deal, except it is not obvious what has happened, because it evidently "remembers" the file structure from the last time it was connected.

The fast-forward button seems a little squirrely. It doesn't advance the video all that quickly, and there seems to be some random amount of "recoil" after you release the button.


Summary:

I started ripping video to watch on my xbox. This provides a way to take advantage of that library on a number of other TV's for a very minimal cost. The disadvantages are minor compared to what it does well.

As a bonus, it also plays my entire library of audio (FLAC) that is set up for my Sonos system. I have also used it to browse pictures stored on my network. One thing that would have been so cool is a random slide show that would grab photos from the entire collection.
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So far this unit has exceeded my expectations. My main purpose was to be able to watch archived videos from my upstairs PC down to the living room TV. But internet access to YouTube on the TV would definitely be a plus.

The unit came with the 1.0.1.10 firmware, and downloaded 1.0.1.11, which seems to be
working just fine. Obviously, Western Digital has removed the destructive 1.0.1.12 download that has been so hotly discussed in the previous reviews.

Hooking up the unit was a snap. Since I've used all the component video inputs on my current TV, I'm using composite which is fine since I'm not playing any hi-def with this unit yet. It is connected to my home network via Cat5e/ethernet cabling.

As described in one previous review, the unit was disconnecting from the network after 4 minutes. I used a workaround that was suggested to turn the network "Share WDTV on your network" on the unit to OFF. Since then I haven't had the problem. Thanks to that reviewer for your help!

So now the network connection seems to be working just great. I'm running Windows XP SP3 with an old Netgear non-wireless router (10/100).

The unit plays the videos (mpeg and VOB) from my PC's external hard drives with no picture degradation and no audio/video sync problems (although I have to admit I live alone so I'm the only one on the home network at any given time). I even have one anamorphic widescreen film on the hard drive and you honestly can't tell the difference between the video being streamed to this unit vs. playing the actual DVD itself. I am very impressed! YouTube access works just fine.

The few gripes that I have are some of the same ones brought up by the other reviewers: the clunky fast-forward menu controls, no option to turn off displaying the subtitle during the first few seconds of video, and no DVD menu capability for VOB's. The last one is a REAL problem for me since I had DVD's with multiple episodes of half-hour programs, which makes it real difficult to get the desired show.

Overall, though, I'm really happy with this unit. I'm hoping Western Digital makes improvements on those things that are lacking.Get more detail about Western Digital WD TV Live Network-ready HD Media Player WDBAAN0000NBK-NESN.

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Thank You very much for this Western Digital WD TV Live Network-ready HD Media Player WDBAAN0000NBK-NESN, it works perfect, I had no problem! :)Get more detail about Western Digital WD TV Live Network-ready HD Media Player WDBAAN0000NBK-NESN.

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It works great!
Have a problem with the USB netwrok adaptor card because I got the wrong model. I Logged onto WD website get the network card compatible list, bought a new one and it work perfect. Get more detail about Western Digital WD TV Live Network-ready HD Media Player WDBAAN0000NBK-NESN.

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I put the device out of the box and managed to see movies from my laptop in 10 minutes without reading a word from manual. I only had to play around network security for a little while on the laptop to make folder visible and accessable. WDTV automatically updated firmware and configured its network settings. Menu and remote control are easy to use and pretty logical for such technical mind as me. Although I can understand some people complaints about menu layout. It's just a matter of perception habit and taste. Pandora and YouTube ran flawlessly. I'm very happy about HDTV quality, sound and subtitles support. I think most concerns for people here are mostly about external problems not related to the device. If they can't see a picture their purchase is the first candidate to blame. If I find any glitches I'll correct my rate.Get more detail about Western Digital WD TV Live Network-ready HD Media Player WDBAAN0000NBK-NESN.

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Nice product, does what it says. Plays Youtube videos in full screen from "top-category", "most watched", most rated, etc. You can search using onscreen keyboard. However, it would be nice if it remembered recent searches, as I had to type the same keywords again each time. Also there is no-auto-complete words option during typing searches like some LG/Samsung BlueRay youtube streaming devices have.

Cons: Played Flickr photos like in thumbnail views... not sure if I would ever want to go to Flickr to view photo albumbs in small views. Also live365 needs a paid account.
Browsing Youtube videos can be painfully boring. So another nice feature to have would be NETFLIX video streaming, whenever that becomes available. Hopefully, a new software auto-update to WD box can make this magically happen.
Also, It did not play some of the videos from created on iPhone3G (CyCorder), but it this is just FYI and did not matter to me.

Another thing I noticed on my 5 yr old Syntax Olevia 27" LCD TV was that the YPbPr /YCbCr input could not pick up any of the refresh rates or resolutions sent by WD box (I tried all available ones on WD box), picture was garbled, so I just had to stick to Component RCA (A/V) input. Maybe time for me to upgrade to a new HDMI LED TV. Again this is just FYI for you Syntax Olevia folks out there.

Also, another nice PRO feature was that it was able to pull off videos from my MacbookPro over home Wifi. To share the Movies folder on Mac on wifi, was easy. Just had to enable SMB sharing from Advanced options under Settings->sharing menu in the macbook for WD box to see them. Streaming was fairly smooth on most videos from Macbook over wifi.

Overall a very nice product. I liked its performance, small size like that of Apple TV and versatility.




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I had an older version of WD media player which even though worked ok but was unable to read the DTS audio files so I was thrilled to see this new media player out for sale.but my excitment was short lived as I was able to enjoy the product for 5 to 6 session at max and now its just blinking but not workink. the trouble shooting in manual guide indicates there is diagnostic system failure and ask to contact the tech support. I do agree with many reviewers that it is very difficult to know which one is worst! the product or the support.Even though I do believe on OLD saying "Never say Never" but WD would be my first in never buy again list for not necessarly by this failed product but for lousy incompetent support division.Get more detail about Western Digital WD TV Live Network-ready HD Media Player WDBAAN0000NBK-NESN.

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The top-rated WDTV Live does not support the PGS (full Blu-ray mode) subtitle which is fully supported by the ASUS O!Play. The Blu-ray subtitles are stored as PGC images. The ASUS O!Play shows the subtitles the same way as regular Blu-ray players without any additional processing.

The lack of the Blu-ray subtitle can present a big problem. For example, in the Blu-ray movie "Angeles and Demons", when Vittoria Vetra speaks to another CERN scientist in Italian, the WDTV Live does not display the English subtitle. Both the O!Play and the Panasonic Blu-ray player can show the subtitles. Unless one knows the language, the English subtitle helps a lot.

The WDTV Live shows the DVD subtitles just fine but the font is not smooth and the yellow text is not very attractive.

I have both the ASUS O!Play (Amazon)and the WDTV Live (Newegg). The WDTV Live supports the Dolby TrueHD pass through which is missing from the O!Play.

The WDTV Live is miserable with the Windows network shares. The shares are appearing and disappearing at random, frequently in the middle of the streaming. The O!Play has been very stable in this area.

The WDTV Live UI can become unresponsive at times without any busy indicator. When the network connection is dropped, it can take a few minutes to a few hours to it to come back with power recycling in between.

Both the WDTV Live and the ASUS O!Play are at their latest firmware levels at the time of this review.

When streaming high bit rate m2ts or Blu-ray ISO files, both players can stutter since the 100Mps ethernet is not fast enough. Sometimes, even the USB2 interface on those players is not fast enough. The eSATA port included with the O!Play has so far worked perfectly without any stutters.

Neither player is perfect. But in the end, I will return the WDTV Live and keep the O!Play for the PGS subtitle support, robust network performance and the eSATA port.
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When I first heard about it i was really excited that finally someone brought an item that play .mkv files and when it had network capabilities it felt like icing in a cake. Than when the product arrived it just turned out to be the biggest piece of crap that I ever bought. first of all it is so hard to setup the network and after couple of days i could set it up finally and now in the middle of the movies it loses connection. When even trying to view files from hard drive it takes forever to find the file the list goes on, if there is an alternate for this item get that one but not this item. I even heard that when doing firmware update some people ended up bricking this crap. If you do not believe it do a search on WD live network issue or WD live firmware bricked and see for yourself.

I was trying to give this item half star but it was not possible I don't thing this thing even deserves a star.Get more detail about Western Digital WD TV Live Network-ready HD Media Player WDBAAN0000NBK-NESN.

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The WD Live TV is easy to setup, works flawlessy with just bout everything I have thrown at it. Only issues I have run into are really related to the fact that I have Mac's and had some issues with the file system setup so that I could drag and drop from my MacBook Pro directly to the pair of 1TB WD MyBook drives I attached. To get it to work seamlessly, I formatted the drives NTFS via Parallels/Vista, and then installed MacFUSE and Tuxera NTFS. File exchange works flawlessly and I can even drag and drop to the WDLIVETV as a network attached resource directly from my MacBook Pro. Next, I setup Plex on my Mac and the WD sees the additional "Media server" on the network properly and streams movies/videos that I have on my Mac. I have not been able to get Netflix or Hulu to stream properly yet, but think I still have more tinkering to do in order to get there. I HIGHLY recommend this box for people that want a no fuss solution to media storage and serving attached to their HD TV. I think my next iteration will be a Mac Mini running Plex directly attached to my HD TV, and I will re-deploy the HD LiveTV into the bedroom.Get more detail about Western Digital WD TV Live Network-ready HD Media Player WDBAAN0000NBK-NESN.

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Very happy with device so far. Plays DVD's in folders on hard drive, photos and music with very few issues. Small and easy to set up. Good value.Get more detail about Western Digital WD TV Live Network-ready HD Media Player WDBAAN0000NBK-NESN.

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I bought the WD TV Live to replace my (hacked) Apple TV. The WD TV Live plays all the movie/video files I stored on NAS without any problems. Apple TV was having hickups with most 720p files, and sometimes even with standard definition videos (<400p). I was even surprised about how small the WD TV Live unit is, and also its ability to display Japanese folder/file names. (I suppose the multi-language support is standard these days...) Very easy to use remote.

I'm glad I made this purchase. I'd hope that the price will drop again to $109 (or below). I would purchase the second unit for my TV in dining room and the third unit for my bedroom.Get more detail about Western Digital WD TV Live Network-ready HD Media Player WDBAAN0000NBK-NESN.

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A good product compared to its competitors.. Value for money.. Not so good in wireless streaming of large movies and recognizing network shares.. Interface to XBMC would have been superb.. Otherwise a very good product..Highly recommended..Get more detail about Western Digital WD TV Live Network-ready HD Media Player WDBAAN0000NBK-NESN.

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I bought this media player because my roomate was always playing games on my PS3, that i also use as a media player and was always watching tv, i then got a tv for my room but refused to take the PS3 (the one thing about the PS3, is that it doesnt play MKV files and some AVI files dont play well either), the Western Digital WD TV Live had good reviews plus i can watch youtube on the web, the only thing i hope for is that Western Digital makes some kind of deal with HULU so i can watch my favorite HD videos. Western Digital WD TV Live plays all my files, has a array of menu options, was really slow on the initial loading of the videos i had, but i updated the firm ware and boom alot faster. Five Stars and was well worth the money! Get more detail about Western Digital WD TV Live Network-ready HD Media Player WDBAAN0000NBK-NESN.

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I purchased the WD TV LIVE (Western Digital WD TV Live Network-ready HD Media Player WDBAAN0000NBK-NESN) to leverage the WRT610N's ability to stream content in an uncluttered bandwidth. The device is coupled to a wireless USB adaptor and performs exactly as described. It immediately recognized the network and all the shared content and the PlayOn media server. This provided me with instant access to its built-in features like YouTube and Flickr, but also to HULU and other sites that are available via plugin. I highly recommend PlayOn with this device!

I have noticed some issues with using fast-forward and from watching television shows via HULU that screen is not HD. I look forward to accessing some HD content but just being able to watch classic TV shows from my past is well worth the $119 via Amazon.Get more detail about Western Digital WD TV Live Network-ready HD Media Player WDBAAN0000NBK-NESN.

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I Received this product from Amazon 2 days back. It is very compact, almost similar to my WD Passport. I haven't tried the Live feature as i am still to buy a Wireless Adaptor (Don't want to connect the RJ45) that is compatible with this. Also the HDMI cable i ordered with this is still to arrive so i have connected to my Sharp HD TV using the AV Cable. Video quality is ok but that has to be due to the AV Cable, it should be of HD quality once i connect my HDMI cable. I tested it with my Memory drive and the video/picture quality was good.
Some point i would like to bring up (Probably with WD support).

1. The data in My WD Passport is encrypted, so when i connect it to the WD TV Live it does not find any media, Is there any way i can put the password and make the WD TV get my Media files? Or the only option is the store media file in a un-encrypted format so that WD TV Live finds them.

2. Through they do provide the list of compatible Wireless Network Adaptors, But i need a more extensive list. Where can i find that. Is there any specific blog or site apart from the one mentioned i can get it from? I wish WD would embedd the wireless adaptor in future relaese. I really do not like wires all over the place.

They do have two USB slots, One on the back and one on the side, I wish they can add more may be 2 more, in their future release.

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I looked at all available media players...none were perfect but this one offered support for a wide variety of media and services. Western Digital also has done a good job of supporting Macs (e.g. this can read an attached NFS+ formatted volume) and once SMB was enabled in the Sharing System Preferences it immediately saw my shares. I would like to use this as a a 100% network media player and though it works fine for some files and file types, it has problems with large HD files (mkv, MPEG2 TS, etc). However I find no such problems with more compressed HD DIVX content. Obviously it seems the device is not caching the large files properly when their bit rate is too fast for the network to handle. WD seems aware of this issue as it's all over their forums and hopefully an upgrade will be issued. In fact when I first plugged it in it said their was an upgrade and i went very smoothly Instead, I have a small USB drive attached to it and just copy HD content to that drive. The picture quality of HD and upscaled content is extraordinary. Though it can't display the iPhoto library directly, there is a work around....select the iPhoto library in the Finder and control+click and select "show package contents" and then share the modified pictures folder in the network shares preference window. The remote is simple but adequate.

My only wish is that over time WD releases more Internet content and features such as HULU, Netflix, etc. or allow third parties to write plug-ins for it. This is a really amazing device, what it does for the money is quite extraordinary. Before this I was using a $1,000 laptop to do the same thing. My only real complaint other than the stuttering mentioned is a blah interface, it would be nice to skin it or replace it with Boxee, Plex or XBMC. Supposedly some people have gotten other media centers to work and I'd love to hear how so I can take advantage of their content.

I highly recommend this player. Get more detail about Western Digital WD TV Live Network-ready HD Media Player WDBAAN0000NBK-NESN.

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I own 2 WD HD media players. I have the non-networked version first and I really liked it. Great picture quality, flexibility, and codec support. I wanted a network version to access my library of DVD on a Windows Home Server device. Everything that can be said about the picture quality, flexibility, and codec support still hold true. However, the network function absolutely stinks. I used a wired network, and this device simply would not reliably connect. I've been on several forums to try to find solution, but nothing helps. Some times it finds my server, some times it doesn't. Some times it plays movies, then stop unexpectedly. Until WD releases a new firmware that address this problem, I cannot recommend this device if you intend to use it to play video over a network.Get more detail about Western Digital WD TV Live Network-ready HD Media Player WDBAAN0000NBK-NESN.

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I have been trying to get this device to work properly for 3 days straight. I have a WD book HD hooked up to the USB port, and when I attempt to play back recorded TV (ts format), it will not play correctly. The device starts to play the media, then after a minute or so, it goes into slow-motion with no sound. Stopping and restarting the video takes you through the same cycle. For the last 3 days, I have been reviewing all the forums and apparently it is a very common problem that nearly everyone is experiencing. What is strange is that before I purchased the item, I did a reasonable amount of research. Somehow, most all that research indicated that it would play anything you threw at it. My reality is that it hasn't played anything correctly yet.

On another note. I've registered a complaint with Western Digital when I registered the device, and their email promised a response within 24 hours. I haven't heard from them and it's been at least 48 hrs.Get more detail about Western Digital WD TV Live Network-ready HD Media Player WDBAAN0000NBK-NESN.

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Over the holidays I installed the WD Live TV and it is performing as advertised in our home. It helps to have a home network with all the cabling along with a media server already in place. The device is connected to the widescreen HD TV via HDMA cable and connected to the network via Cat 6 ethernet cable (bring your own cables). The WD automatically detected the media server shares where we store our music, photos, home videos and downloaded movies, and displays them without issue. With "PLayOn" installed on the media server, we are watching movies from Netflix, Hulu, CBS, ESPN, NFL, FoodNetwork and others. (There is a one-time charge for Playon once the trial period expires and Netflix has a monthly fee which we were already paying). So far, picture quality and sound are excellent and there are no pauses, delays, skips or jerky displays. (haven't tried any 1080p or Blu-Ray stuff yet as my router and switch ports are all 10/100 Mbps and will surely need to be upgraded to Gigabit in order to achieve the necessary through-put). The WD on-screen menus are pretty basic but functional. We have to use a PC to access the Netflix website to select the movies we want to watch and place them in the Netflix "Instant queue" in order for the WD to see them. So we just fill up that queue with a bunch of movies to watch over time. Everything else can be accomplished with the remote control. It's all "Great" so far!Get more detail about Western Digital WD TV Live Network-ready HD Media Player WDBAAN0000NBK-NESN.

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Device is good but seriously flawed do to a terrible user interface, missing controls and lacking necessary features. Does the WD TV live work well, yes... Is it a smart device not really.

(I seriously question the top reviews here.)
Where do you find this winning interface? The menu system is so unintuitive and unintelligent it is ridiculous. A *Real World* example. I select > (video) first thing to come up is (media server) every time. The device knows that I do not have a media server, yet every time I try to play a video it goes to media server first. I then scroll down to > (network share.) First thing it goes to is my networked > (printer)....yes printer. The device is even labeled printer. After that I then scroll to my > (actual network share) that oddly enough begins with a letter that comes before P. then I get "connecting" which is completely unnecessary and could be done at start up. There is zero way for any customization of these menus.

This interface flat out (FAILS) for viewing pictures. I could not zoom or use the pan option without first going into options menu. Yet the controller has a magnifying glass and eject button next to each other. Those buttons combined with the D button could do all of these tasks without having the extra headache of going into options every single time. Those buttons do *Nothing* when I use them while viewing a picture. Does that make sense?

You can not jump to the next segment in a video unless you first press fast forward. If you go past the segment you wanted you can not just press the next button back, you actually have to first press > (rewind) then the > (next back button.) All while being forced to have the video in motion. Making finding the segment/scene you want completely confusing taking many tries. Beyond that again, you can't go into the options menu with the video paused. (laughable) The video actually has to be moving on the screen to change any options.

There are some very bias reviews here. If anyone wants to validate this take one look at the WD support forum and look at the complaints there. To answer someones question here, this device supports NO menu systems that I know of. So if you plan on playing VOB files/ DVD rips that are indexed for episodes, it will be bit difficult to find the part you want to play. Also there is no option to stretch the picture, setup box art for movies or change the speed at which pictures cycle at. I could keep going on and on ripping this device about necessary features missing. I did not even touch on how poorly the device shuffles music files... Good device for the money, but far from perfect.Get more detail about Western Digital WD TV Live Network-ready HD Media Player WDBAAN0000NBK-NESN.

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This is a great little box that does everything it claims to do quite well. User interface is simplistic (read - very basic/primitive), but on the plus side it makes it usable by anyone including my 3 year old.

It got on to my wired network, found my NAS disk, all three of my PC's (running Vista and Windows 7), and displayed all relevant folders and was ready to play the media files in about 4 minutes flat from the time I cut open the box in which it came. Quite impressive. Of which one minute was just to install the batteries in the remote as without the remote the box cannot even be switched on or off. There are no switches of kind on the box -- the well hidden, recessed, reset switch being the only exception.

Navigating Youtube was quite excruciating as the on screen keyboard is the only option for search, and you don't have the befit of the auto-fill. But it is quite impressive that you can watch the many millions(?) of youtube videos on demand without requiring any computer. Once I set up my favorites list on Youtube the frustration level was greatly mitigated. Also, after each selection you can navigate to make use of the suggestions youtube makes to branch out from the preselected favorites.

Not sure why we are forced to pick audio or video so high up in the menu tree. I would have preferred the menu to allow navigating to the location of the media file first and then decide whether we are playing audio or video files.

When you are configuring to view the display on component inputs, you have to operate "blind" as the default output is only the regular video-out and possibly HDMI. So you have to connect the TV on video out first, and then configure it for component out. I don't know if this is mentioned in the manual.

The three major drawbacks (lacking features) that I see are as follows:

a) No Netflix support. This would make it incredibly more powerful and useful.

b) Cannot be configured as a Windows Mediacenter extender. I don't know if this is a technical limitation or they just haven't got the marketing alliances in place. This too would make it quite a bit more useful.

c)Instead of letting the customers fend for themselves by installing other 3rd party software like Tversity, Playon and the like to support streaming media content, they should provide an integrated software or point to an preferred alliance for this functionality.

d) No volume control on the remote. This is a rather stupid mistake on WD's part. They don't have to control the volume on the TV/audio system, but they can control the audio signal level going through their pipe. There are plenty of boxes which do this quite successfully. The good news is this can be fixed with a firmware update as the remote control's up and down arrows are not used at this time while playing media files. They can have the box recognize this keystrokes and use that to adjust the volume. Having to reach another remote just to change the volume (depending on the source) is a royal pain.Get more detail about Western Digital WD TV Live Network-ready HD Media Player WDBAAN0000NBK-NESN.