WDTV Live PLUS Options

[neverlift]

WD TV Live Plus

WD has just release a new version of the WDTV Live player that now has the ability to play Netflix (US Only). It also supports DVD navigation which might be helpful to some. If you do not live in the US and have no need for the DVD navigation this release is pure garbage and offers nothing but one upgrade that should've been included in the first version of the WDTV Live. WD should have had the Netflix abilities already built in then simply release a firmware update. I would not recommend anyone spending 149 USD for this upgrade?

File Formats Supported
Video - AVI (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
Photo - JPEG, GIF, TIF/TIFF, BMP, PNG
Audio - MP3, WAV/PCM/LPCM, WMA, AAC, FLAC, MKA, AIF/AIFF, OGG, Dolby Digital, DTS
Playlist - PLS, M3U, WPL
Subtitle - SRT, ASS, SSA, SUB, SMI

Note:
- MPEG2 MP@HL up to 1920x1080p24, 1920x1080i30 or 1280x720p60 resolution.
- MPEG4.2 ASP@L5 up to 1280x720p30 resolution and no support for global motion compensation.
- WMV9/VC-1 MP@HL up to 1280x720p60 or 1920x1080p24 resolution. VC-1 AP@L3 up to 1920x1080i30, 1920x1080p24 or 1280x720p60 resolution.
- H.264 BP@L3 up to 720x480p30 or 720x576p25 resolution.
- H.264 MP@L4.1 and HP@4.1 up to 1920x1080p24, 1920x1080i30, or 1280x720p60 resolution.
- An audio receiver is required for multi-channel surround sound digital output.
- Compressed RGB JPEG formats only and progressive JPEG up to 2048x2048.
- Single layer TIFF files only.
- Uncompressed BMP only.

For details, please refer to the user manual.

File Formats Not Supported
Does not support protected premium content such as movies or music from the iTunes® Store, Cinema Now, Movielink®, Amazon Unbox™, and Vongo®

Physical Specifications
Capacity N/A
Interface Ethernet, HDMI, Composite A/V, Component video, USB 2.0

Physical Dimensions
English
Height 1.57 Inches
Length 3.94 Inches
Width 4.94 Inches
Weight 0.67 Pounds

Metric
Height 40 mm
Length 100 mm
Width 125.5 mm
Weight 303 g

Environmental Specifications
Temperature (English)
Operating 41° F to 95° F
Non-operating -40° F to 149° F

Temperature (Metric)
Operating 5° C to 35° C
Non-operating -40° C to 65° C

Electrical Specifications
Current Requirements
Power Dissipation
AC Input Voltage 100-240 VAC
AC Input Frequency 50-60 Hz

Reason for edit: Added link to official page

[WDUser]

With the newest pre-release beta FW for the Live i.e. 1.03.22, DVD support has apparently been added to the older model as well. So for sure if you're living outside the US, this new product is completely useless.

Some initial thoughts according to the information I have at present regarding the Live Plus and how it was released:

* As usual, WD gave no advance notice regarding this 'new' product to anyone, apparently including their own Resellers/WDSelect Channel Partners! (IMG:style_emoticons/default/blink.gif)

* Expectedly, there was a massive sh*t-storm raised about how WD had burnt their existing users as usual, showing absolutely no concern for them at all. I have a friend who had just bought a new Live a few days ago, and when I told him the news, he went completely stark raving bonkers (IMG:style_emoticons/default/tongue.gif) about how he was going to throw his player from the roof and buy another manufacturer's offering immediately, since this probably meant the Live would never get DVD menu support now.

* WD subsequently released the beta FW mentioned above for the Live, which supposedly adds full DVD menu support to the older model. Couldn't the morons working in the marketing dept. have mentioned earlier in bold letters on the site that the existing customers would be getting DVD menu support as well, but Netflix wouldn't be possible since hardware changes are involved? That way they could have escaped from some of the abuses at least. But of course, knowing their FW QA dept., why should Marketing be any better? (IMG:style_emoticons/default/rolleyes.gif) WD really needs to learn how to communicate better, but I guess they just don't care or give a damn what we think, just as long as we keep forking over the $$$ to them.

* Releasing a 'new' product just a few months after the Live, with barely any changes is slimy and completely in keeping with WD's known character/behaviour. US customers who bought the Live recently will certainly feel extremely pissed off (and rightly so).

* Moreover, it is speculated that maybe the company line about new hardware being required for Netflix is a blatant lie, which is why the product was never announced and silently released so prople would continue to buy the Live and help WD get rid of their existing inventory. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/angry.gif) Unless the Live Plus is opened up and the chips etc. inside confirmed as being changed, this will remain speculation. But if proved that there's nothing in the Live Plus that the Live doesn't have, things might get sticky for WD and they may just find themselves the target of one or more lawsuits.

* As for DVD menu support, if it's eventually proved that what the Live is finally getting now is exactly the same as what the Live Plus will ship with, why the *beep* was this most-requested feature (by far) delayed till now? (IMG:style_emoticons/default/angry.gif) Clearly they're more focussed with making people buy newer models by hook or by crook, rather than supporting models released less than a year ago.

* If the Live gets it, I'm pretty sure WD should add DVD menu support to the Gen. 2 as well, considering the hardware inside is the same when it comes to the decoding bits. If they don't, I fully advocate Gen. 2 owners ganging up and filing a lawsuit against the company.

* I don't know what's so special about the chips inside the Gen. 2/Live (maybe someone can tell me?), but if any naïve soul still thinks the Gen. 1 will get DVD menu support, IMO now's the time to shut up and look elsewhere.

* If they were working on this new model for the last so many months (while ignoring the existing ones), why the hell couldn't they have added more compelling features (such as Blu-Ray menu support) and released a truly useful update a little later? Most probably, the real reason for this unseemly haste was to beat the Seagate FreeAgent GoFlex TV (with Netflix and Mediafly support, the latter has been added to the Live and Live Plus as well) to the market, esp. considering the fact that it has a retail price quite similar to that of the Live Plus (while the Live has become slightly cheaper now).