Western Digital's WD TV HD Media Player reviewed: pretty good, but has its quirks

by Darren Murph posted Nov 11th 2008 at 6:43PM

Western Digital's WD TV HD Media Player is an interesting contraption. Rather than being a self-sufficient media server, it simply acts as a bridge between your hard drive / USB key and your television. PopPhoto was able to corral a unit for review, and overall, they appreciated the media liaison's abilities. The actual connection was "pretty much plug 'n play," though the omission of an HDMI cable in the box was a bit of a bummer. The unit did a satisfactory job of parsing the information on the HDD and finding photos, songs and video clips, and the on-screen result was fantastic. Not everything was peachy, though -- for instance, large files introduced lag when rotating / changing, and DRM-laced material wouldn't play back at all. Furthermore, it chose to truncate iPod song names, which could obviously be annoying to some. All in all, the WD TV showed some promise but feel short in a few key areas, so you'd better give it some serious thought before plunking down $130.

Filed under: Reviews, Media streamers, Other hardware, Others

Tags: hd media player, hd media streamer, hd streaming, HdMediaPlayer, HdMediaStreamer, HdStreaming, review, reviewed, stream, streaming, WD, WD TV, WDAVN00BN, WdTv, western digital, WesternDigital

Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)

Highly Ranked

WDTV_owner @ Nov 13th 2008 12:15PM

very nice unit, but does not play VC-1!!!!
MKV files play great... DTS stutters occasionally

Highly Ranked

Another WDTV owner @ Nov 13th 2008 4:06PM

Your warnings about its shortcomings are absurd...of course its not going to play DRM content and did you really think an HDMI cable would come in a $130 product.....duh !

I have found the unit very well built and a perfect fit for a home with multiple HD and SD TV's and a variety of digital content to move and update. It plays everything I have thrown at it....

Low Ranked

3rd owner @ Nov 13th 2008 7:55PM

Bought it. Returning it.

It may work out for people who have lots of media in one pretty basic format (mp3.s, ripped dvd's etc..) But i bought it to finally watch the collection of random videos i've been downloading through the years on to an old external drive.

About 1 in 40 videos played, and it ended up corrupting the files on the drive (tried with a 4gb flash drive i had with similar results.

Also i got a bad audio hiss till after a first video would play and then it would be silent. Now i could have gotten a defective unit, but in the end (after it corrupted my video collection drive) i really had no reason to save any of those videos anyways and if they were gone i wouldn't miss them and i might as well stop saving crap i'll never watch again in the first place...

Neutral

4th poor owner @ Nov 29th 2008 3:06PM

I just bought it and really regret that I did...if they don't start upgrading the firmware this device is doomed. Don't buy it folks, go for the Popcorn Hour, that thing supports everything...

Highly Ranked

Jerry @ Dec 11th 2008 9:26AM

Just purchased it and think its great!. It collects any and all files on a usb connected flash drive or my no name usb connected HDD and sorts them into music, photos or videos. It was simple to connect, doesn't take much room and couldn't be much easier to use. So far its pretty close to what I was looking for at a price ($99 at Best Buy) I was willing to play. I think this will be a winner!

Its not perfect and there are limits: no home network connection (but my S3 HD TIVO has that and this is much faster, easier to use and more flexible for photos/music and video). Plugging in a large HDD with lots of videos,music and photos will take the unit awhile to collect them and sort them out. I have noticed that when you shut off the unit power remains to the USB ports.

Advantages are: ability to plug in any flash drive or usb connected HDD (I use 2.5" HDDs and they require no additional power ) and move easily from pc to the TV Media center. This doesn't lock you into a IDE or SATA or 2.5" or 3.5" drive and you don't have to take anyting apart to connect the hdd. The wide variety of media support! HDMI and AVI connections, small size. I'm happy with the picture quality and the Menu and sort features are nice. Remote is nice and small..

Neutral

dukeduke @ Dec 11th 2008 4:22PM

It's okay.. sometimes it plays the sounds ahead of the video. I suppose they will eventually come out with firmware updates to fix this problem.

Also, I had to do return to factory setting numerous times when it refuse to read video files. I never had this problem with IOMEGA Screenplay. However, I am really hoping that they fix this problem so I can use different harddrives. I like the idea of having harddrives for different files so I don't have to move files around if it was a built-in harddrive.

D.

Neutral

Michael T @ Dec 26th 2008 11:29PM

Don''t trust negative comments that don't tell you 'why' it's not a good product. It just sounds like you work in the PR department of Popcorn Hour trying to smear the competition.

Neutral

GAB @ Jan 1st 2009 2:39AM

Does anyone know for sure whether it will play M2TS files? If it does not, will the WD Media Player convert them by itself? Or will I need to convert them on the HDD to be attached, before connecting it to the WD Media Player? The reason I ask is because I have a Sony SR1 AVCHD 30GB HDD camcorder which records High Definition video files in the M2TS format and all my videos are in this format.

Neutral

DrVag @ Jan 6th 2009 3:23PM

Yes mate it does play m2ts files with out converting them

Neutral

Brad in FL @ Jan 5th 2009 11:11PM

According to the latest release notes, yes, it supports .M2TS

- Added sequential .M2TS file playback function

Neutral

Florian @ Jan 6th 2009 3:36PM

I would like to find out if someone tryed to play iso. and/or dvd, vob. files from the hdd_? does this kind of media works on this player_?

Highest Ranked

Brad in FL @ Jan 5th 2009 10:54PM

http://www.westerndigital.com/en/products/wdtv/releasenotes/WDTVreleasenotes101.pdf

Version 1.01.01:
New Features:
• Added .MKV chapter selection for video playback for MKV with chapter support
• Added .MTS file extension support
• Added .TP file extension support
• Added .TS file extension support
• Added 1080p 24hz support
• Added disk volume name to folder navigation in list mode
• Added EXIF orientation flag functionality for auto picture rotate
• Added file size in filename
• Added jump feature to the remote: While fast forwarding or reversing, if the “Next” or “Prev” buttons are pressed, video will jump 10 minutes in the respective direction
• Added progress indicator for the duration of the FF or REV function
• Added a blinking status LED behavior while drive is mounting; previously the light just stayed on
• Added sequential .M2TS file playback function
• Added additional subtitle support (SMI, SUB, ASS, SSA)
• Added user selectable font size for subtitle support
• Added song title scroll in music playback to prevent truncation
• Added embedded subtitle display in .MKV files
• Added additional subtitle encoding support for the following: Western Europe (ISO), Traditional Chinese (Big5), Simplified Chinese (GB18030), Japanese (Shift-JIS), Korean (EUC-KR), Cyrillic (Windows-1251), Cyrillic (KOI8-R), Greek (ISO); previously only UTF-8 was supported
• Added display sizing menu for photo playback: Fit to Screen, Full Screen, Keep as Original
• Added accelerating scroll speed based on how long the arrow is held down on the remote when navigating folders with a large number of files; previously only one, constant speed was available

Resolved Issues:
• Resolved issue when 2 drives were connected, then one drive was disconnected, the files from the disconnected drive still showed up on the file list but were not playable
• Resolved "repeat one" failure during music playback; previously songs would not repeat
• Resolved artist name truncation issue during music playback
• Resolved issue where WD TV would not turn back on with remote after extended period of inactivity; previously WD TV had to be unplugged and was unrecoverable with the remote
• Resolved image size and position issues during video playback; previously the image displayed did not fill the screen until the picture was zoomed in and then out again

Resolved info bar display issues in PAL (European display standard) mode
• Resolved issue of the slideshow playing while in the Option menu during playback, slideshow now pauses if the Option menu is accessed
• Resolved issues surrounding drives going to “sleep” and folders showing as empty; previously drives equipped with a sleep feature would not re-initialize before the WD TV timed out and displayed the folders as empty
• Resolved issues with DVR-MS file playback, FF and REV now function properly; previously FF or REV during a DVR-MS file would cause the file to stop playing and the video signal to be lost
• Resolved issues with forced resolution changes dropping video signal; previously the signal would be lost if the user switched between forced resolution and auto
• Resolved photo self re-sizing issue; previously during photo playback the pictures would randomly re-size themselves
• Resolved Status LED behavior by blinking to reflect accurate read cycles while data is being read; previously the LED just stayed on
• Resolved subtitle default to “on” issue (subtitles now default to “off”, unless there is an external subtitle file created, then subtitles default to “on”)
• Resolved subtitle position issue, the subtitles were moved down towards bottom of screen; previously during playback of some files subtitles were positioned too high blocking the view of the video
• Resolved the 1-2 second FF during initial playback of .MPG video; previously video would play in what appeared to be FF for the first 1-2 seconds and then slow to standard play rate
• Resolved video signal failure when pan function in video files with subtitles is used; previously subtitles would stop functioning, video would stop playing, or TV would lose signal
• Resolved zoom issues while file info is displayed during video playback; previously signal would fail or video would stop playing
• Resolved zooming issues while subtitles were on; previously the screen used to go black and the video would stop playing

Known Issues:
• When image is rotated 90 degrees there is some elongation in the rotated view
• If the user unsafely removes an HFS+ formatted drive from the media player without using the Eject button, the drive will become read only media

Neutral

GAB @ Jan 6th 2009 6:06AM

Hi Brad,

Thanks for that piece of info.
Much appreciated.

Yeah, I can see that now on their update, but what do they exactly mean by 'Added sequential .M2TS file playback function'.

Sorry, its just that 'sequential' word makes it sound a bit vague.

Could this possibly mean that the files still need to be converted before the player will actually play them? On the other hand, if this thing can play them straight out without conversion, then I'm sold!

Maybe someone who is about to try or has already tried these files can post here!

Cheers
Gab

Neutral

DrVag @ Jan 7th 2009 7:17AM

Mate i have a sony Hdr-Sr7 and all i am doing is to put the files in to the hard drive and play it through the machine witgh out converting anything it runs fine and with no probs either in sound or video .It plays and supports almost everything .

Neutral

Brad in FL @ Jan 6th 2009 7:50PM

Gab,

Since I'm just now venturing into this WD TV thing, I have not used that format. My guess is, it means it will play the next file in sequence, if similarly named and numbered...?

BIIIIIIIIIIG thread here.

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?s=59cba6a918b2328105f85cad24d9deed&t=1080840&page=107

Neutral

Brad in FL @ Jan 6th 2009 7:55PM

GAB,

Yes, I believe people ARE able to play .ISO, HOWEVER, it does NOT support DVD menus. Everyone at the above thread is hoping they will add support.

I would like to see some sort of thumbnail for xVid video files.

I threw a bunch on last night (first time messing with it), and while it found all the videos in the folders, it just listed them in some sort of flood format.. ie 5 generic icons across and then down. Other than the text under it (which I was testing on a 26" ooold CRT, and text was hard to read), I had no way to tell what file was what.

If anything, I would like to be able to put each movie into it's own folder, and maybe along with a JPG for the Movie (aka album) art.

The menu is sort of sluggish, but works fine.

The remote sucks ass. I guess people are able to use Harmony, so need to find the code for my non-Harmony remote. :)

The box stays warm all night, even if turned off, so I unplugged it.. not sure if that was smart, but when I did, it did turn off my external hard drive - Seagate FreeAgent Desk 1.5TB I got at BestBuy for $135.

Haven't tried turning it back on, yet.

But it played xVid and MPG4 files just fine. Don't think will have time to mess around anymore tonight... but yeah, check thread above. over 110 pages of discussion on it.

Brad

Neutral

GAB @ Jan 7th 2009 5:56AM

Hi Brad & DrVAG,

Thanks for your help guys. Much appreciated. I think I'll go out and get myself one of these things in a week or so. I'm just gobsmacked by the idea of backing up everything on my computer to an external Hard-Drive and then attaching it to this thing and watching and listening to everything on it on my TV & HDTV. Hopefully it beats creating DVDs & Blu-ray discs and should save us a lot of money in the process.

Cheers :-)

Neutral

Brad in FL @ Jan 7th 2009 10:42AM

That's my thought. I have a ton of random DVDs in DVD5 format and a lot with Divx/xVid.

My goal is to put all/most onto a hard drive and put both in his room. I prob could have used something that didn't do 1080p, as he doesn't have a HDTV in his room, but figured the price was right.

Only concern is if my hard drive goes out... soooooooo.. thinking maybe doing the carbonite.com thing once I get the hard drive stuffed with junk, and then backup 1.3tb of data to carbonite.. heh.

I bought a Seagate 1.5tb the other day.. reviews are very mixed. We'll see how long it lasts. Has 5 year warranty, and bought with MasterCard so it's doubled.

But this is where I see media going. My wife bought me a BlueRay (already had HD DVD player) for Christmas. I opened it, but I haven't hooked it up. I really think removable media will go away. Only concern is backup. What happens if that hard drive or flash memory bites it? Then what?

Carbonite is looking better and better.. that, and BrightHouse now offers 500MB back up - it's not a ton, but at least can put some pictures on there.

Like I said, the menu can be clunky, and they need to make the fonts bigger. But plays everything just fine. :)

Neutral

GAB @ Jan 8th 2009 7:57AM

Hi Brad,

This is how I reckon it should be done. This is how I'm gonna do it anyway because I guess I already have a few External HDDs. Everyone should really do this if you really prize your valuable memories and collection.

You have your computer backed up to 2 external HDDs.
One is for Off-Site storage and only retrieved when an backup update is due. The other can be almost considered as permanently attached and used only on the Media Player. The trick is that when changes are made on your computer, you will need to update both External HDDs. But the beauty of this is that one of the HDDs will never come in contact with the Media Player, just in case it corrupts or somehow stuffs up anything. This could be overkill, but who cares! I love this sort of shit!

Cheers :-)

Neutral

Skip @ Jan 30th 2009 7:49PM

After pressing one of the arrow keys the unit keeps cycling for a while and stops at some random point no matter how quickly I tap the key or turn the remote aside. A new unit with possibly sticky keys and an unfriendly sales outlet. Otherwise a good product. Any Suggestions?

Neutral

Victor @ Feb 7th 2009 11:10AM

Hello there! I'm think of buying this device; does anybody out there know if it supports or going to support Real Media format (RMVB)?? this format compresses to 500 MB per DVD movie in high res....and want to build my movie library this way....

your responses will be appreciated.

Thank you!!

Neutral

todd @ Feb 9th 2009 11:09AM

I own this unit as well. I must say that I like it, it does its job well for what it is. Remember that it is not a videophile piece of hardware. But it does what it does admirably.

It renders HDMI output very nicely, even the Composite output does a very good job to an older TV. Certainly as good as any 480i cable broadcast.

Music is good, menus good, very easy - even simple - to use.

If you want to travel with your music / video collections, or have some degree of easy portability for whatever reason, this unit works very well.

I wish it did a better job with titles, too. Oh well. It was $130.00. I am happy with it !

Neutral

doc808 @ Feb 13th 2009 10:05PM

Got a WDTV last week. I have a Sony SR11 HD handycam, with video backed up to an external 500 gig WD drive. (second backup on another ext HD) I was hoping to plug and play the AVCHD files directly through the device onto my HDTV using HDMI hookup.

After a few minutes of loading my approx 300G of pictures and video, it was able to index my files and I could flip through the menu with ease. Thumbnails were blank, though. Not bad, so far...

Playing video is very disappointing. Video comes on about 10 seconds after sound. Between each clip, there is a 4-8 second delay. Recall, this is handycam video where clips can run from a few seconds to a few minutes. These problems make watching quite unenjoyable, since there are dozens of pauses when trying to just watch a 30 minute event.

Popcorn Hour A100 or 110 sound like good devices, but I fear a similar experience. I wonder if a faster hard drive would make a difference. I have a feeling the pauses and delays have more to do with the large file sizes and memory limitations.

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