Western Digital WD TV Live Network-ready HD Media Player WDBAAN0000NBK-NESN $149.99

Nifty Little unit! WDTV live reviewed here is a nifty little unit which plays most of the popular media files like (MKV, VOB, WMV, DVD ISO, DVR-MS) The full list can be seen in specifications. The player is well built and has good use for people who would like to free up their PC and use a simple device to view multiple Media files on their big screen TV upto 1080p resolutions via directly attached USB storage device or using NAS /File server storage on their home network. WDTV live also has some streaming media capabilities using wired or wireless Internet access (Only certain approved USB wireless adapters). The functions included are YouTube, Flickr, Pandora and live365 which can come handy if you would like to casually browse these features; Implementations of these features are very basic at best. Rather than praising the good things about WDTV Live which many reviewers have already done let me share the problems so that you are aware of what you are getting into. As of Firmware version 1.01.17: Some advertised features like "You Tube" does not work as when you attempt to login to your "You tube" account it crashes the WDTV live and reboots! - Yes as many users have reported this and I confirm that WDTV live Firmware version 1.01.17 still has this issue. Another annoying issue is HDMI pass-thru... Can anyone confirm if this is true? My TV has multiple HDMI inputs going to it, one optical audio to my audio receiver, so I don't have to switch audio inputs I have my WDTV -> HDMI -> TV -> Optical out -> audio receiver In this fashion, when I select Audio mode as "Stereo" in WDTV live, I get 2-Channel Sound in my TV and 2-Channel sound via my Audio receiver. When I select Audio mode as "Digital" in WDTV live, I expect that TV would continue to receive 2-channel sound via the HDMI cable and the digital signal (AC3, Dolby Digital or DTS) must pass-thru the HDMI interface via TV's Optical out to my Audio Receiver - This DOES NOT WORK. What happens is that whenever I select Audio mode as "Digital" in WDTV live, TV does not receive any audio on the HDMI interface, I have to use the Optical out TSO link directly to my audio receiver to get Dolby Digital (AC3, 5.1 or DTS) This is a big bummer for me and I hope every one will agree that 5.1, AC3 or DTS must be passed via HDMI cable to TV and let the Audio receiver do the decoding, why must I dedicate my optical input to WDTV live? - I have other devices like DVD player, PS3 that needs 5.1 AC3 and or DTS Audio too from my home theater audio receiver. Another annoying bug... Fast Forward (FF) and Rewind (REW) of MKV files are poorly implemented in this firmware, It takes a long time to FF or REW a MKV file and it never seems to stop at the correct point in time when I press the remote, Bear it in mind that this is with a directly attached USB drive and not via a Network Share or NFS server. Sometimes, when you do too much of FF or REW the WDTV live player loose it's brains and the Audio/Video goes out of sync and in the worst case situation it drops the movie and goes back to selection screen at random. Having said... Here are the PROs and CONs PROS: [+] Small nifty little Media player unit [+] Supports variety of Media file formats CONS: [-] *DOES not* Support DVD Menus (Yet in the latest FW level) [-] *DOES not* pass-thru dolby 5.1, or DTS via HDMI interface (only 2-channel AC3) [-] Tiny remote which has even tinier strangely placed buttons Even with the above mentioned annoyances I think it is still OK to own this unit, in the future WD may release FW updates to address these issues but do not take my word for it, see WD user forums and read the shortfalls of this device before making a decision to buy. Rating: 3 (rbhatta, 2010-02-08) Product reviewed: Western Digital WD TV Live Network-ready HD Media Player WDBAAN0000NBK-NESN

Magic little box delivers great value. This purchase was a Xmas gift to myself. I have researched this item and purchased the model that includes internet connectivity. I didn't have a friend who had one of these media players, so this was my first experience with this technology. I was impressed with the capabilities right away. I can now enjoy my music, movies, youtube videos, and pandora via my home entertainment system. You will have to educate yourself as to the ins and outs of the on-screen menus. I have this media player connected to my 37" Vizio TV, my WD passport hard drive, and Cat5 eithernet internet connection. I can listen to music from pandora, or YouTube videos via the web. I can transfer photos, videos, and music to the Passport via my home network. A Couch potato's dream. It is transportable, so I can bring my media to other locations. I love it. Pros: Easy set up, Portable, Easy to use. Cons: Slight problem with YouTube account set up ( Solution: Setup your account using Gmail address ) I would enjoy a larger more sophisticated remote control and possibly a better layout in the menus for search criteria. Overall... A lot of value for the money... Highly recommended. Rating: 5 (R. Morganstern, 2010-02-08) Product reviewed: Western Digital WD TV Live Network-ready HD Media Player WDBAAN0000NBK-NESN

Things I miss It's a very good piece of equipment but I miss more on-line services, like the weather, e-mail checker, facebook and tweeter connection. Rating: 4 (CCV, 2010-02-07) Product reviewed: Western Digital WD TV Live Network-ready HD Media Player WDBAAN0000NBK-NESN

Great Product! This is excellent product came from to Western Digital. Support all kind a format video except Real Player. It is better that they should be to improve some about feature: - Put a reverse Video. I think that it is too slow. - Add Option for Sign in in flickr's account. - Associate with Apple for get Rent movie, Music or video from Itune Store. - Build in a Wireless Adapter. Rating: 5 (D. Santana, 2010-02-07) Product reviewed: Western Digital WD TV Live Network-ready HD Media Player WDBAAN0000NBK-NESN

Value for money I am using Weston digital for over two years and the upgrade has taken care of DTS compatibility. Amazingly easy to connect and use.I found it much better than MVIX or popcorn. MVIX is to bulky and could not handle all the formats. Rating: 5 (Sunil Patil, 2010-02-07) Product reviewed: Western Digital WD TV Live Network-ready HD Media Player WDBAAN0000NBK-NESN