**NEW** WDTV Live Streaming (Gen. 3), Hardware Options

[neverlift]

Here we have the all new revamped WDTV Live. Same remote and UI as the WDTV Live HUB. I have yet to see this out in the wild so have not had the opportunity to take it for a test drive. Doesn't seem like much of an upgrade if you already own a wdtv live plus hooked to your network.

 LR_WDTV_Live_2011.jpg ( 21.71K ) Number of downloads: 58


 04645358_photo_western_digital_wd_tv_live.jpg ( 148.49K ) Number of downloads: 32


 04645362_photo_western_digital_wd_tv_live.jpg ( 225.93K ) Number of downloads: 25


 35026900_DT2_620x433.JPG ( 90.94K ) Number of downloads: 27


 35026900_DT_620x433.JPG ( 95.54K ) Number of downloads: 30


 35026900_DT3_620x433.JPG ( 111.64K ) Number of downloads: 22

[GaPony]

I'll take it just for the new remote! The old style remote has been my only complaint with previous models. Since I already have a 60TB server for my movies, I wasn't going to spend $200 for the WDTV Live Hub.

[GaPony]

I've been playing with this for about a week now and have to say that its everything the WDTV should be. It starts fast. The menus are very snappy and it even does a decent job of generating moviesheets (or whatever they're calling them) on local drives. Nothing too fancy, but adequate. Hopefully, they'll decide to support them on network storage, at some point, although I still prefer using list mode. This has also been improved alot with double rows and sideway navigation.

I haven't tried everything yet, but so far, its looking good.

[neverlift]

Thanks Pony, but the one big thing its missing for a lot of people would have to be VPN support right out of the box. I could be wrong about the VPN but heard there is no support....true?

Cheers!

[GaPony]

That's true. I'm just happy to see the stuff that's supposed to work, actually working well. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/smile.gif)

They will never be able to please everyone. Neither will any other company.

[neverlift]

The Unboxing video...

[weezypenguin]

so what is the performance of the WIFI? is it any good for actually streaming video?

[Arcthelad]

My short review of the WDTV Live-S

[neverlift]

@Arcthelad thanks for sharing your review.

[Trendecide]

I think gen3 is enticing, but doesn't have the icing on the cake. We need to see more in the way of customization... either allowing developers to make channels like the Roku or the ability to create apps like Android/Google.

The NIC needs to be gigabit as a gigabit hardline is going to do a better job of streaming uncompressed Blu-Ray than the Wireless N.

With rumors of Apple entering the TC market next year and Microsoft putting IPTV on the next xbox, there's certainly a lot more room to grow here.

[GaPony]

I think gen3 is enticing, but doesn't have the icing on the cake. We need to see more in the way of customization... either allowing developers to make channels like the Roku or the ability to create apps like Android/Google.

The NIC needs to be gigabit as a gigabit hardline is going to do a better job of streaming uncompressed Blu-Ray than the Wireless N.

With rumors of Apple entering the TC market next year and Microsoft putting IPTV on the next xbox, there's certainly a lot more room to grow here.

Is there something you've been unable to play over the wired connection? The combined total transfer rate for Blu-Ray is 54Mbps, with combined AV bitrate of 48Mbps (40Mbs for the Video). There are very few Blu-Ray movies that even come close to approaching this number. In any case, a 100Mbps is more than capable of streaming even the most demanding Blu-Ray. I've never had an issue over wireless n, but you have to keep your expectations reasonable. Trying to use wireless n from a couple hundred feet with a half dozen walls in the way, isn't going to get you maximum performance. To be honest, I actually thought the ethernet port was gigabit with this new version.

There are always going to be several products where manufactures differentiate their brand by specializing in doing one thing better than everyone else. For some that may be a robust collection of services, for others it may be a highly customizable user interface. You should just buy the product that suits your needs, instead of expecting every product to be able to do everything.... especially for $99.00. If you want UI customization, spring for a PCH. If you want a robust developers channel, perhaps the Roku is for you, instead of the WD TV.

Who knows whats coming in the future. It has little to do with whats available in the market today. Certainly, WD is in a better position for innovation in this area, than either Apple or Microsoft, as neither has a decent device for streaming a wide variety of high bandwidth content to an actual TV.