There is no doubt that WD TV, released almost a year ago, has significantly revived the market for high-definition media players. It very successfully combines the "correct" processor, convenient software shell, spectacular design and, most interestingly, low cost.
The only thing that upset us was the lack of a network connection. This significantly complicates the work with large media libraries, which are most conveniently stored on network drives or personal computers. Of course, since then, enthusiasts have already solved this problem, but for the mass user, this “upgrade” is not easy.
So release updated version player with a built-in network controller looks very interesting. Western Digital obviously wants to repeat the success of the first model, but the chosen time of the announcement was chosen well - just before the New Year holidays. Let's see if it works.
Contents of delivery
The player is packaged in a compact cardboard box, decorated in dark colors. The name of the model looks the most contrasting. So if you are looking for a device on the shelves in the store, then you will find it quickly. Also on the packaging you can find several photos, a brief description, specifications. Localization is present only partial. The size is also pleasing - only about 20x18x10 centimeters. Several of these will fit in a familiar plastic bag at once :).
Let's see what is inside and whether there is enough equipment to start working with the device. The box contains: player, remote control, batteries for it (2xAAA), a leaflet with a brief description of the installation process, a CD with full descriptions and programs, two audio-video cables, a power supply (12 V 1.5 A), two sets of rubber feet .
Wires are presented in two options - composite video plus stereo audio and component video. Both cables on the player side use a four-pin minijack connector. Today, this is a fairly common option. But you can't buy them in any store.
On the CD, the user can find pdf file with full manual English language(the Russian version can be downloaded from the manufacturer's website), several samples of media files, a program for searching for a device on the network.
In general, we can say that the kit is quite sufficient. It’s a pity, of course, there is no HDMI cable, but it’s probably not worth demanding this from a device positioned as “high-quality and inexpensive”.
Appearance
Like its predecessor, the model considered today at the first meeting causes only delight. It is simply impossible to believe that a modern multi-format device with full HD video support can fit in such a compact body. And the new model is even more interesting - among other things, there is now a network controller.
Actually, the case itself has remained practically the same - plastic is used, the dimensions are 12.5x10x4 cm. Only now, instead of black glossy, it has become gray matte. Of course, this is more practical in terms of cleanliness and preservation of appearance.
The included rubber feet can be attached to one of the two sides, which corresponds to the horizontal and vertical position of the player. On the front panel there is a small window with device status and USB activity indicators (two stylish white LEDs), as well as an IR signal receiver from the remote control.
There is one on the side (or top) side USB port and a reset button. On the back panel are all the other connectors. Here you can find the power supply input, the second USB port, HDMI, optical digital audio output, network port, analog AV connectors.
Compared to WD TV in new version added a component video output and, of course, a network port. As space is severely limited, this has led to the replacement of conventional audio-visual "tulips" with mini-jacks. This is a little less convenient, but the main connection option today is HDMI, so the remark is not very significant.
The player is passively cooled - the grilles are located at the ends. In this sense, vertical installation is more efficient. The consumption is very small, so that overheating is possible only in case of an extremely unsuccessful installation. In particular, the manufacturer does not recommend installing an external HDD. This solution also has an undeniable plus in the form of a completely absent noise, especially when working over a network.
Let's once again praise the remote control - compact, with a reasonable minimum of buttons, convenient and functional design. As with the case of the media player itself, matte plastic was used for the remote this time, which significantly affected appearance during operation. It is worth paying attention to the absence of any volume control from the remote control.
Internal organization
In terms of filling, the new model is similar to the first one - the platform based on the Sigma Designs media processor is again used. But there are differences: the main chip is now SMP8655, the memory capacity has grown significantly (up to 512 MB RAM and 256 MB flash), a network chip has been added, and a separate HDMI output chip, on the contrary, has disappeared.
The main processor has a large heatsink. The remaining microcircuits do without cooling systems.
The player has one board, which ensures the reliability of the design. In addition to these components, you can also find a console output on it, which will allow you to modify the firmware.
The filling is placed in a metal casing, which ensures the rigidity of the structure and the "solidity" of the player, due to the relatively large weight. Well, in turn, all this is in a plastic case, consisting of two elements. If desired, it can be disassembled even without using a screwdriver.
Connection and settings
By and large, this entire section could be fit in one sentence - "connect the HDMI, network and power cables, turn on the player and start watching the video." Indeed, in our case, you can do without preliminary settings - HDMI immediately started working in 1080p mode, the network card received an address via DHCP, and the player found several DLNA servers on the test network. Nevertheless, let's go through the settings pages of the player's interface.
There are seven groups of parameters in total. The first - "Audio and Video" - is used to set the operation of the outputs - the type and mode of the video output is configured, DeepColor support on HDMI is activated, the aspect ratio of the screen and the audio output mode (stereo analog or digital) are selected. We note here the lack of support for auto-selection of frame rates depending on the type of source material, although 1080p24 itself is present in the parameters.
The following three groups refer to video, photo and music playback respectively. For all types of files, you can select the playback sequence and the type of list of files and directories (thumbnails, list, preview). The player supports the use of external jpeg files to design folder icons.
In addition, subtitles are configured for the video - font size, outline type, automatic use if available. To view photos in a slide show, select the interval and type of transition (one of seven options or random selection), as well as the zoom mode. For music files, the only additional option is to show the file name or track name.
Next comes File Management. In fact, this is not a settings page, but a built-in utility for copying and moving documents between network and local drives. There is also an option to delete files.
Obviously a new item for this model - “ Network settings". This is about specifying the parameters for connecting to the network. Manual mode for setting IP addresses is supported, as well as DHCP. Interestingly, the device can also be used with wireless networks, but apparently you need to connect a special USB adapter for this. There are more than a dozen models listed on the site's compatibility list, including 802.11n. Of the really available in Russia, we note the D-Link DWA-140. You can remember five wireless networks and quickly switch between them. Supported modern standard WPA encryption so that connecting the player to a wireless network will not compromise security. Although, of course, it should be noted that for an HD player this option of network integration is not very interesting because of the low (for the tasks under consideration) performance.
There are also options that allow access to connected USB drives over the network, auto-connect network resources and reset stored network details (username and password). Network access speed is typical for this class of devices - about 5 MB / s for reading and 3 MB / s for writing (and writing is also supported on NTFS). The device name can be overridden from the default "WDTVLIVE", but here working group does not change.
The last page is dedicated system settings. In particular, the choice of the interface language (there is Russian, although the translation is sometimes incorrect or with errors), the inclusion of file indexing (a function similar to WD TV that allows you to work with information from tags, and not with folders, applies only to local drives, creates a hidden folder on removable disks, requires free space), timeout selection for screen saver, setting the code page, resetting all options, checking for firmware updates and installing them (the tests used the recently released 1.01.17). Localization touched not only the menu - the player works correctly with Russian file names both locally and over the network, tags are also read correctly. To access some updates, WD requires you to register your device on the site. For WD TV Live, this can be done directly from the player's interface. Just enter your name and email address.
So, we have finished with the settings, you can start working with media files.
Working with multimedia
"Communication" with the player occurs through the menu using the remote control. Its design is quite pleasant and convenient - a “grid” version similar to its predecessor is used with a choice of points vertically and horizontally. Separately, we note good speed response without discomfort.
On FullHD-devices, the picture does not “ring” - obviously in the original version, the design was focused on standard definition or 720p. Although, of course, this does not affect the work with files and still looks very high quality.
The first choice consists of the Video, Photo, Music, and Settings items that were described above. After determining the content type (affects file filtering while viewing lists), you must select the source - local drives, network resources, media servers or Internet services (different for each content type).
Two USB 2.0 ports are provided for connecting local drives. Working with USB hubs is not supported, which is not very convenient. But several partitions on disks can be used. File systems while it can be FAT/FAT32, NTFS, HFS+. When using disk indexing, it is advisable to use the corresponding button on the remote control to disable them.
There are no special presets for network resources. UPnP AV/DLNA servers are found automatically. The player works with WMP from Windows 7, TwonkyMedia and MediaTomb servers, as well as NAS with built-in DLNA service. The speed of work in this mode is very high - we were able to play test files with a video bitrate of 52 Mbps, and there was even room for fast forwarding. Of course, this is one of the positive features of the device in question.
To connect ordinary network folders (SMB/CIFS protocols), there is a built-in network browser. When accessing a resource, a username and password are requested if necessary. This data is saved and you do not need to repeat the action later. Generally this option not bad, although in the case of a large network it might be more convenient to have a list of favorite resources for quick access. The speed of working with SMB is usually slower, but this time we could not determine the exact limit. As a rule, we check the speed of work with a regular PC under Windows control and network drives and the results are almost the same. But with the device in question, the numbers were very different, and the repeatability was poor - sometimes it was not possible to read a file with a video bitrate of 30 Mbps normally from a computer, and 50 Mbps video was also well shown with a NAS. As one test, we looked at a 40 GB m2ts file from a disk image without any problems. So just keep in mind that the network speed may be enough for remixes, but we do not undertake to predict success.
Let's start as usual with the simplest - photos. The device can work with files jpeg formats, gif, tiff, bmp, png. During playback, the image can be rotated and scaled. The orientation flag from exif is read and used correctly. There is also a mode for displaying brief information about the file - modification date, resolution, size. On the fly, you can also change the repeat mode for the slideshow. To set these options, use a special dedicated button on the remote control with the same name. Unfortunately, its action "interrupts" all other controls - if the "option" menu is visible on the screen, then you must first remove it, even to stop playback.
Photo previews are visible only when working with local and network resources, as well as with a DLNA server. Indexing local disks allows you to use for navigation, in addition to "by directories", also sorting by date (similarly for video files). There is a built-in library search system that works with indexed content.
An online photo viewing service provided by flickr. When using it, you can select some categories of files, such as the most interesting or recently published. Only now there are clearly some problems with the resolution of the pictures - they look very sad on a FullHD TV.
Let's move on to music. According to the manufacturer, here we can use the mp3, wma, wav, aac, flac, mka, aiff, aac, ogg formats. In addition, you can decode DD and DTS directly in the player and output in stereo. In general, all this was confirmed (we did not check some rare formats). Fans of high quality sound will certainly enjoy working with flac. It’s a pity that there weren’t enough developers for ape. The sound output is also not very good - the maximum sampling rate of the decoded signal is 48 kHz, even if the original file (for example, in wav format) was recorded at 96 or 192 kHz.
Tags are supported in mp3, wma and flac formats. Russian versions are visible both in Unicode and in cp1251 (with the appropriate choice of code page in the settings).
If your library is already boring, you can use the built-in clients for Live365 and Pandora services. They provide access to a huge number of Internet radio stations. True, the first works in VIP mode for only five days (to demonstrate the full range of features), and the second is available only in the United States (and requires registration). However, in the free version of Live365 you can find something interesting to listen to. And if this is not enough - purchase a VIP account (about $8 per month).
By the way, if you first turn on the music, and then return to the photo mode, you get a slide show with music.
In addition to individual files, the player also works with playlists in pls and m3u formats, which may be useful for some users. Sorting for local drives is by album, artist, genre, date.
This model of the player, of course, is primarily intended for viewing modern high-definition video formats. However, it is quite compatible with "regular" video and can display such familiar formats as mpeg, avi/divx/xvid and wmv. It's a pity that the manufacturer never got around to working with DVD-Video: neither folders nor disk images can be fully used - only file-by-file or only the main movie (and even then not always). Although switching audio tracks and subtitles works fine with them. To fully enjoy the picture, you should look for something with FullHD resolution in mkv, ts/m2ts, mp4 or mov containers. There are no problems with codecs either - all the capabilities of the chip from Sigma Designs are used. The player successfully decodes mpeg1/2/4, wmv9, h.264/avc and vc-1. In particular, you can view recordings from modern HD cameras without any editing or processing.
During viewing, you can use rewind - up to 16x (depending on the format) in both directions. Of course, the actual speed depends on the performance of the data source. Unfortunately, there is no provision for quick timecode navigation. Some compensation for this can be the automatic memorization of the position when playback is stopped. If you then select the same file, the player will offer to start from it or from the very beginning. Another fast way navigation is the use of the next / previous file buttons during rewind - they allow you to "jump" at once for 10 minutes.
Files can have multiple subtitles and multiple audio tracks. Switching - only through the options menu. This, of course, is not very convenient. Also, through it, you can try to scale the picture by 1/8x, 1/4x, 1/2x, 1.1x, 1.2x, 2x, 4x, 8x.
With HD soundtracks, the situation is ambiguous. From the test set of files, some variants were successfully played, in some there was no sound (although the player correctly determined the track format). So there is no unequivocal answer about the applicability of the player in this case. Of the successful options, we note DTS HD output as DTS, full-fledged DD TrueHD, LPCM output with a downmix in stereo.
Subtitles are supported both external (srt, ssa, smi/sami, idx/sub) and embedded in the video file (mkv with ssa or srt). When setting the player to Russian, you can use cp1251, Unicode and UTF8 to display text correctly. You can also have multiple language versions of external subtitles that differ in suffixes. External subtitles do not work when playing files through a media server.
In addition to files, the user can view videos from the popular YouTube service. You can select by popularity, rating and other criteria. A coup is the support for HD formats streamed from this service. In this case, on large screen TVs, the videos do not look as terrible as they do for standard definition.
Complete programs
Full versions of user manuals and various documentation are written to disk in pdf format. Unfortunately, Acrobat Reader is not included. Although, of course, most likely everyone already has it installed.
There are also several examples of media files on the disk - photos in jpeg, music in mp3 and video in mp4. Note that the video and photos are in FullHD resolution, so that the user can immediately evaluate the possibilities of his new acquisition.
The disk shell is presented as an interactive program that links both to files on the disk and to various network resources (for example, to the Adobe website). There is also a WD Discovery utility that will help you find the player on the network and organize access to connected USB devices.
There are no programs for transcoding media files included. Apparently, this time the manufacturer considers his product "omnivorous", which was confirmed in our tests. Although, of course, several times on specific samples we were asked to re-encode the file for playback on the player.
findings
The new model of the WD TV Live player turned out to be certainly successful. In addition to all the positive characteristics of its predecessor, it also received a very fast network that allows you to view almost any type of content from remote resources.
Some users will also benefit from the increase in HDMI output version, which has resulted in (currently partial) support for the new HD soundtrack formats. Of course, you will need an appropriate receiver to use them.
Unfortunately, in pursuit of high-definition video, the manufacturer forgot or did not have time to implement full-fledged support for the still popular DVD-Video today - the player cannot display disc menus.
In our opinion, WD TV Live can successfully compete today with numerous models of the NMT family. First of all, on its side is a “licked” design, a beautiful and convenient user interface, very fast network connection. The price of $149.99 declared by the manufacturer at the beginning of sales (we are talking, of course, about the USA) has already managed to drop to $119.99 today and looks great. In the local market, it, unfortunately, differs markedly from this figure. The current average retail price of this model in Moscow is $128() .
We thank the 2L agency for providing the player for the test.
The WD TV feels like a quality device. Laconic design, user-friendly interface and high performance cannot fail to appeal to potential buyers. Viewing photos, videos and listening to audio is easy for the player, and the design and ergonomics of the shell often outperform competing solutions, including those with Android on board. This media player will appeal to everyone who is looking for a miniature and stable model for playing files from HDD and local network.
The problem is that WD TV is not alone in this discipline on the Russian market. And the implementation of streaming services for the domestic market does not hold water. In fact, video services relevant to Russians are limited only to ivi.ru and YouTube, with the proviso that the search for videos allows only Latin characters. Such a careless adaptation of software for the domestic market raises a lot of questions.
Of course, many shortcomings will be fixed in unofficial firmware, but you least expect functionality at the level of "gray import" from a world famous brand. Let's hope that the existing shortcomings will be corrected in the next software updates.
You can't spoil porridge with butter folk wisdom
Editorial gg has long been approaching Western Digital media players - a well-known manufacturer hard drives. The Live TV model, at first glance, did not promise any surprises. Well, there is support for Internet services (YouTube and Facebook are now everywhere), well, there is built-in Wi-Fi (good, but not a feat). Well, there's support for FullHD video (who's surprise?) But in practice, the device turned out to be damn user friendly and extremely pleasant to use.
Along with the TV Live model, WD's line of media players also includes the TV Live Plus and TV Live Hub players. The first one differs from TV Live in design and lack of Wi-Fi ( wireless network only available as an option, you need to buy a special USB accessory). The second - the same lack of Wi-Fi and built-in terabyte hard drive. Thus, TV Live can be safely called the optimal and most popular model among other WD media players.
| Specifications for WD TV Live Media Player (WDBGXT0000NBK) | |
|---|---|
| Dimensions | 125x100x30 mm |
| The weight | 190 g |
| Interface | Ethernet, Wi-Fi b/g/n, USB 2.0 (2 pcs), HDMI, composite output, optical output |
| Video signal format | PAL |
| Video file formats | VI (Xvid, AVC, MPEG1/2/4), MPG/MPEG, VOB, MKV (h.264, x.264, AVC, MPEG1/2/4, VC-1), TS/TP/M2T (MPEG1/ 2/4, AVC, VC-1), MP4/MOV (MPEG4, h.264), M2TS, WMV9, FLV (h.264) |
| Image file formats | JPEG, GIF, TIF/TIFF, BMP, PNG |
| Music file formats | MP3, WAV/PCM/LPCM, WMA, AAC, FLAC, MKA, AIF/AIFF, OGG, Dolby Digital, DTS |
| Playlist file formats | PLS, M3U, WPL |
| Subtitle file formats | SRT, ASS, SSA, SUB, SMI |
Appearance
A small neat box a little larger than a pocket-size paperback book. The first USB port and a sensor for the remote control are placed on the front panel. Well, of course, the LED indicator of operation.
On the back side there are elements designed for mounting the media player on the wall in both vertical and horizontal orientations. True, the question remains how to use the remote control in this case, if the sensor for the remote control is directed to the ceiling.
The rear panel has everything you need - an HDMI output, another USB, an optical output, a composite AV input (the appropriate cable is included in the package) and Ethernet. Although using such a device is much more pleasant if there is Wi-Fi (you can use an iPhone / iPad or an Android smartphone / tablet for control).
The remote control is a bit big for me. But it is very comfortable to hold in your hand thanks to the ergonomic design of its lower part.
Video review
The media player's menu exceeds any expectations with its neat design, localized menu (there is no Ukrainian language, though) and a large number of settings. You can change the background (and download new themes from the Internet). Manage the color, size, position of subtitles (and even correct their synchronization with the video sequence).
It is possible to enter parental passwords and program the remote control using its number keys to quickly navigate to certain sections of the menu or launch Internet services.
But screen keyboard was not very comfortable. To get to the punctuation marks, you need to switch the display page. There is no Cyrillic. But there is to install the WD TV Remote app from Google Play or App Store, then (subject to a Wi-Fi connection, a smartphone or tablet will not work via Ethernet) the problem of entering text in any language immediately disappears.
As always, a significant part of the available web services are useless in our conditions. Traditionally, you can use Accuweather, Picasa, Flickr, Facebook (I never found the opportunity to write), vimeo and YouTube. By the way, YouTube has two options - regular and YouTube Leanback, designed to work with TVs. In this case, you can log in to your account without entering a password - the application will offer a code that will need to be entered on the page activate. You can then return to the TV and enjoy your saved channels and playlists.
The player has access to two online gaming services - Funspot and Playjam. The games there, of course, are simple (darts, sudoku, chess), they can entertain / entertain guests. Especially if the house does not game console or (oh horror) computer or tablet.
In the dry matter
Despite the fact that I did not expect any special miracles from the media player, he managed to leave the best impressions of the work. With the main task - video playback, he coped with a bang, never finding a video that he could not play. For a month and a half of work, the player received two firmware updates, which indicates the serious intentions of the manufacturer. Everything in it turned out to be done well and thought out to the smallest detail - from the ergonomics of the remote control and the ability to program it to the excellent design of the menu and a large number music, photo and video playback settings. The last straw was an excellent application (at least for Android, but I don’t believe that it works worse on iPhone) WD TV Remote, which, if you have a home WiFi networks makes player control and text input (the same passwords in services or searching on YouTube) much more comfortable. In the end, I was left with no choice but to crown WD TV Live with our highest accolade, Editors' Choice.
five reasons to buy WD TV Live
- compact housing dimensions
- built-in Wi-Fi b/g/n
- ergonomically shaped programmable remote control
- Firmware regularly updated by the manufacturer
- a special application for iOS and Android that makes it easier to work with the player and enter text
The appearance of a compact and inexpensive player WD TV (Western Digital TV) was greeted by users with enviable enthusiasm. No wonder, because at that time it was, perhaps, the most affordable device from such an eminent manufacturer, capable of playing HD video files. But among the most advanced enthusiasts, the euphoria quickly subsided: the novelty had too many shortcomings. The list of complaints included, first of all, the HDMI interface old version, which did not allow digital HD audio streams to be transmitted to the AV receiver; lack of a DTS decoder (without it, films with the corresponding sound accompaniment went without sound if the audio signal was taken from analog outputs). Also quite modest functionality was frustrating, including the lack of access to the network. We are about all this. What awaits us in the next generation model, dubbed WD TV Live?
Differences between WD TV Live and WD TV first generation
Despite the fact that externally the devices practically do not differ (color does not count), inside they are fundamentally different. WD TV Live is based on the more advanced Sigma Designs SMP8655 (500 MHz) processor, while its predecessor had the Sigma Designs SMP8635 (300 MHz). A 10/100 Mbit wired LAN controller appeared, the HDMI interface "grew" to version 1.3, providing the ability to transfer all audio streams to the AV receiver. Finally, a DTS decoder has been implemented. This means that now the player can be connected directly to the TV even "by analogy", without being afraid to remain in complete silence on films with a DTS track.
Packing and scope of delivery
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The device is delivered in a colorful cardboard box of corporate design, inside of which there is itself, a remote control with two AAA batteries, a small amount of waste paper ( full version Instructions are included on the included CD), network adapter with nozzles for the so-called European and English sockets, as well as two non-standard cables for outputting analog composite, component signals and stereo sound. On the one hand, they have the usual RCA ("tulips"), and on the other - 4-pin "minijacks". An HDMI to HDMI cable is not included and must be purchased separately. The same applies to the patch cord for connecting to the local network. For an inexpensive device, such a manufacturer's savings are quite acceptable.
Appearance
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The black gloss that the first generation WD TV sported was beautiful, but extremely impractical (especially considering the "no" scratch resistance of the coating). Either this circumstance, or the desire to at least slightly change the design of the novelty for the sake of its visual differentiation with the previous generation model was the reason, but the WD TV Live case is now matte, and its color is dark gray. A DTS icon has also appeared on the top bar. There are no other changes compared to the "simple" WD TV. Perhaps it would be possible to make legs or revise the design so that the player can stand upright. With the current version, this is not recommended, since when installed on the sidewall, the ventilation holes are completely blocked. However, the player is so small that it would hardly occur to anyone to save 5-6 cm of space in the bedside table in this way. But the legs certainly would not hurt.
Switching
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As you can see, the body of the device is small, so the connectors on the rear panel are grouped extremely tightly. Now it is clear why the designers were wiser with non-standard adapter cables: there is simply nowhere to place full-fledged RCA outputs. It is hardly possible to consider such a decision as inconvenient, since only a few of WD TV Live buyers will connect the player by analogy - the rest will use HDMI switching, and they will be completely right. The photo does not require comments, however, let's list the ports from left to right: power adapter connector, USB 2.0 port (the second one is on the left side when looking at the device from the front), HDMI v1.3, SPDIF TosLink optical digital audio output, RJ45 port for connections to a local network and two "minijacks" - to output analog audio and image signals using the supplied adapter cables.
HDD
As with the first WD TV, WD TV Live does not provide for installation inside a hard drive case - there is no free space for it. As a data source, it is proposed to use any drives with a USB interface or network resources, including home computers, on capacious hard drives where you can place as many movies and music as you like. The only question is - will the bandwidth of the player's network controller be enough to display high-bitrate records? We will find out a little later.
Construction and cooling
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Click on the picture to enlarge it
The design of WD TV Live resembles an onion: many layers. Having removed the upper plastic “suit”, we see a metal shielding box with perforations. And only inside it is the only electronic board. Let us recall that the device has an external power supply, and there is no space for the HDD at all. The main processor is hidden by an aluminum heatsink attached with a spring clip and hot melt adhesive. To dismantle the heatsink, you have to warm it up thoroughly with a hair dryer, and then, grabbing and praying, carefully but with effort, remove it - the main thing is that there should not be a fragment of the processor crystal on the heatsink, otherwise the player will turn into a heap of useless scrap metal. In general, everything worked out, but the bent ribs in the photo are our work, we noticed it only later and immediately corrected it. The heart of the player is a modern media processor Sigma Designs SMP8655 (frequency 500 MHz).
Click on the picture to enlarge it
Unlike the SMP8652 and the blue-ray SMP8642, it does not support Macrovision and other protections, so by connecting an external optical drive WD TV Live cannot be turned into a licensed Blu-ray / DVD-Video player. In addition, we have serious doubts about the effectiveness of processor cooling: the heatsink is large, but the air exchange inside the two-layer case with small holes is weak, and it also happens naturally. It is not surprising that the player, after two hours of work - like boiling water, however, did not freeze even once. But now it is winter, the room is quite comfortable +23 Celsius. I wonder what will be hot in the summer if there is no air conditioning at home? Will there be overheating? Now we cannot answer these questions, we can only hope for the competence of Western Digital designers ...
Remote control
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Having paid great attention to the filling of WD TV Live, its creators somehow bypassed the remote control. Yes, the first WD TV had the same, but that doesn't mean anything. The remote control is far from the most convenient for the male palm (this is especially true for the proximity of the “down” and “stop” buttons). It is small in itself, and even the buttons are located close. Well, at least the body is plump, so it lies well in the hand. Functionality is only basic. Many additional functions are called by pressing Option, after which the desired position is selected on the pop-up on-screen menu with cursor keys.
Main characteristics
| WD TV Live | |
| Firmware version during testing: | 1.01.24 |
| CPU: | Sigma Designs SMP8655 |
| Support for file types and containers: | |
| CPU Cooling: | Passive (aluminum heatsink on hot melt adhesive) |
| Internal hard drive: | Not provided |
| Analog video outputs: | Composite (RCA, via adapter cable), Component (3 RCA, via adapter cable) |
| Analog audio outputs: | 2 RCA (stereo), via adapter cable |
| Digital audio outputs: | Optical (TosLink) |
| HDMI: | v1.3 (up to and including 1080p; HD audio support) |
| Built-in audio decoder: | Dolby / DTS (stereo downmix) |
| LAN connection: | Wired (Ethernet 10/100 Mbps), Internet radio, YouTube |
| USB host ports: | 2 (1 side + 1 rear) |
| USB slave: | No |
| eSATA Host: | No |
| eSATA Slave: | No |
| Dimensions: | 12.5 x 10 x 4 cm |
| Estimated price in Moscow at the time of publication of the article: | 3500 rubles (as of January 2011) |
Testing
The user interface has not changed: the same single-level grid structure was the first WD TV. Up and down - select a category, and delve into the functionality of this category - to the right. On the one hand, such a menu is extremely clear for mastering, you won’t get confused in it, however, unlike the usual one, when there is start page with pictograms leading to different nooks and crannies, there is too much to press the buttons. For example, to start a video from a USB-connected hard drive, you need 5-7 "poke", and when working with a remote network drive - much more. But the launch of the selected files is extremely fast, in seconds. You can evaluate this speed, as well as see the design of the menu, in the video below. Please do not pay attention to the quality, since the shooting was carried out from the TV screen.
For those who did not have time to read the names of the test videos, we inform you that the player successfully coped with high-bitrate ones, one of which, an excerpt from the Bond movie "Casino Royale", has an average of 50-60 Mbps, and the rise of ducks goes off scale and does more than 110 Mbps. All their player displayed smoothly, without hitches. In general, in terms of "omnivorous" WD TV Live is a step higher than its predecessor. Of course, the crumb from WD falls short of the reference one in this regard, but its price is completely different! But the playback of BD-images here is "no". and the player learned to show DVD-images with the menu only by the end of 2010.
The settings menu offers a fairly large assortment - so that the user does not feel offended. Of the important, two points should be noted: for video via HDMI there is an auto-selection of the frequency, and the display of positions (files) can be carried out either in the form of a list or in the form of cover icons that must first be prepared.
Checking the work on the network was carried out according to the usual method: no useless numbers and complex manipulations. We do what the vast majority of users would do. Namely, they “shared” a folder on a Windows computer (SMB protocol) and entered it from the player. The entire system communicates through a 100-megabit Asus brand router. At the end of the settings, we are trying to play several files with different bitrates. Of greatest interest is the already familiar excerpt from the intro of the Bond movie, in which the bitrate ranges from 50 to 60 Mbps. On the previously tested Dune HD Base 3.0 (using the same method, on the same equipment), this video was displayed without problems. At first, WD TV also pleased me, but after a few seconds, “brakes” began:
It's a pity, but this device is not suitable for playing high-bitrate files over a network. Perhaps, if you are smart with alternative firmware and settings; if you use a gigabit switch, rather than a 100-megabit router, then the situation would change, but let's not forget that the mentioned player from Dune coped with the task without doping, but WD TV did not. However, let's not be too strict. Firstly, so much has been said about the record-breaking network speed of the latest Dune models, and secondly, WD TV Live is a lower class player - it is intended for ordinary users, and not for HD video streaming enthusiasts.
Advantages:
- In relation to single video files, the player is almost "omnivorous"
- Quickly start playing any media files
- HDMI v1.3
- DTS audio decoding (in stereo mode)
- Access to YouTube and internet radio
- Attractive price
Disadvantages:
- Potentially inefficient CPU cooling
- Mediocre network speed
- Overly compact and low-functional remote control
- “Long” menu structure makes it difficult to access content
Conclusion
The relatively new WD TV Live fixes many of the critical flaws of the first generation WD TV and improves media compatibility (thanks to the new processor). If we consider this device in relation to the price, then this is a very worthy product that can be safely recommended to ordinary users. Enthusiasts should beware of this player - at least due to the lack of support for Blu-Ray images, and also because of the impossibility of installing an HDD inside, and not the fast work with a network. But, again, in its class of entry-level models, WD TV Live definitely deserves attention. And even in January 2011, when we updated the price and some nuances in the article (in particular, we added information about the new support for DVD images), that is, almost a year after testing, WD TV Live is still one of the best players in the initial level.
Test conducted in February 2010, article updated in January 2011
Today we got our hands on a media player from Western Digital called WD TV Live. This product is a device for playing video, music, and viewing photos from a computer, removable media, and the Internet with the ability to connect both via Ethernet and Wi-Fi.
It makes no sense to talk separately about the packaging, since no features were found in it. Much more interesting is its content.
WD TV Live comes standard with step-by-step instruction for connecting and configuring a media player (by the way, the instructions are really clear, so people who encounter this technique for the first time will be spared hours of blunting and mental suffering in the style of “what to do with it”). The box also predictably contains the media player itself, an adapter for connecting to the mains, an AV cable and a remote control.
The first thing you should pay attention to is the absence of an HDMI cable in the kit, so if you plan to connect a media player through this interface, then take care of purchasing an HDMI cable in advance. This cannot be called a minus, since the inclusion of such a cable in the package would affect the price, and people who already have an HDMI cable will obviously not want to overpay for what they already have.
Now about the remote control. With his not too modern form, in the hand it lies very comfortably, and the main navigation and control buttons are located quite thoughtfully.
We pass to the main, that is, to the player itself. The case is made of matte black plastic. In general, TV Live looks quite strict and technologically advanced and will perfectly fit into the interior next to the HD panel.
The bottom of the player is equipped with special grooves for mounting the device on the wall.
There is only one USB 2.0 port on the front panel for quick and easy connection of a portable hard drive or other storage. The rest of the ports are hidden on the rear panel. There is another USB 2.0, HDMI, AV, an Ethernet port and an optical audio output.
And now, in fact, about how to use the media player. In our case, TV Live was connected to the TV via HDMI, and was used to connect to the Internet. wifi router. If there is no Wi-Fi, then the obvious option is to connect via Ethernet.
So, when you connect the player to the TV and press the power button on the remote control, a language selection menu appears in front of us. The Russian language was found, which means that there should be no problems with mastering the interface. However, the interface itself is made as clear and intuitive as possible, so even a child can deal with it.
After that, the main menu of the player appears in front of us. All menus are as clear as possible and unified in terms of internal structure among themselves. For example, by selecting the Video section, a list of sources available for viewing appears on the screen, including removable storage, general network folders, media servers within the network, and interactive services on the Internet. Menus for music, images and other files are similarly arranged.
The Services section contains by default 15 services through which you can view and listen to various content. YouTube Videos, for example, opens up a familiar directory with video categories broken down by various parameters.
If you don’t feel like watching anything, then you can turn to game services and pass the time with one of the exciting toys.
Recently, it has become quite popular to turn your mobile gadgets into controls for other devices. A similar possibility is implemented here. If for one reason or another you do not want to use a standard remote control, you can install a special WD TV Remote application available for devices on iOS (App Store) and Android (Google Play Store). The applications are free and can turn your smartphone and tablet into a full-fledged control panel. The only requirement for the operation of such a remote control is to be on the same local network.
Outcome
WD TV Live will surely find its place in any home. With the combination of the ability to play all popular video and audio formats from both local sources and various resources and services on the Internet, this media player is a great home entertainment center. It is far from always that watching movies and videos on a computer can be called convenient and comfortable, but with a similar media player connected to a widescreen TV, evening movie viewing will become much more pleasant.