Western Digital WD TV Live Plus 1080p HD Media Player
Technical Details
- Full-HD video playback and navigation - up to 1080p
- Stream Netflix and other online media
- Play almost any type of media file
- Access media anywhere on your home network
- Supports DVD Navigation
Customer Reviews
By
O. Prusak (New York, NY)I just got the WD TV Live Plus 1080p HD Media Player and I have to say that I've finally found the perfect media streamer (for now).
I've had the WD TV Live Plus 1080p HD Media Player (not plus version) for about 5 months and it's served me well, streaming up just about every type of movie file that I've ever encountered. When I purchased the non-plus version, the only two features that I really wanted that it was missing was NetFlix support and full DVD menu support.
Yes, I am a bummered that my existing non-plus version can't support NetFlix, but I very well knew that what I purchased it.
Please Note: Most of the non-plus version marketing material says that it doesn't support full DVD menu navigation, but WD just came out with a firmware update that DOES add DVD menu support - Kuddos to WD for listening to their customers and giving them what they want.
Regarding the NetFlix support, the PLUS version has a different chip inside of it that is required for NetFlix support (something about copy protection). The non-plus version does not have the required chip in order to support NetFlix so if you read some rants about WD trying to !@#$% their customers, it's probably non-plus owners who feel cheated that they have to buy a new product to get NetFlix support.
I understand their frustration, but the truth of the matter is that there is nothing WD can do in order to get the non-plus to support NetFlix.
On the other hand, they *have* just added DVD menu support to the non-plus version, so anyone who says that they stop supporting the older products doesn't know what they're talking about.
To the point of the review, the NetFlix supports both queue playing (when you already have stuff added to your play now queue) AND browsing.
This is my first NetFlix player (other than my PC) so I can't really compare it to other NetFlix players. I know the Xbox also supports browsing, but I think that most other stand alone players do not support browsing.
The activation process was surprisingly easy (I just went to the NetFlix site and entered a code the Plus gave me).
Regarding HD content, I'm not 100% sure if the Plus supports this, but last night I was viewing some 30 rock episodes and it looked *really* good, better than viewing a DVD.
When starting to view a NetFlix video, it took about 15-20 seconds from when I clicked on play to when the video started playing. I don't know if this is good or bad. No streaming issues once it started playing. My device is connected directly to my router.
I also played around with the new MediaFly feature. Never heard of it before. Basically it aggregates some audio and video podcasts by topic. I saw some CNN and NPR content which is cool.
Overall I'd say this is the best media streamer ->currently<- on the market.
I emphasize currently as I REALLY wanted to get a POPBOX, which sounds like a better option (at least on paper), but it still isn't out and I got tired of waiting for it to be released.
Lastly, I know I didn't cover other aspects of the PLUS, but other than NetFlix support (and I think MediaFly support) the plus and non-plus devices are identical so go read some non-plus reviews for more info :)
[UPDATE June 21]
A few people correctly mentioned that the DVD menu support for the non plus version isn't officially out yet since it's still in beta.
You can see the entire thread of people who have download the beta version and successfully played DVDs with menus on the non-plus version here:
