WD TV HD Media Player - Calgarypuck Forums - The Unofficial Calgary Flames Fan Community

OilKiller · 05-20-2009, 06:18 AM

Picked up one of these yesterday. If it wasn't for live sports, I would cancel my cable and simply download what I wanted to watch. What a great machine. Now if it had WIFI, it would be perfect:

http://www.tweaktown.com/reviews/174...iew/index.html

fatso · 05-20-2009, 07:17 AM

I picked up the same item about 2 months ago from BestBuy (after having read a review on it). I'm not the most tech-savvy guy, so I would burn programs I downloaded so as to watch them on my TV. This item is outstanding and saves me all the muss and fuss. Very easy to use and no set-up time. I love it.

Bertuzzied · 05-20-2009, 09:48 AM

It is great. Plays mkv and it plays my hd camcorder vids without any conversion.

Picked up a nice 320 gig mini harddrive at staples for $50. Using a usb stick is not very convenient.

The remote control sucks but i guess you can't really complain for a $120 machine.

mykalberta · 05-20-2009, 10:07 AM

If this device allowed Hulu to be streamed, I would get it in a nanosecond and cancel my Shaw TV account.

Draug · 05-20-2009, 11:18 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by OilKiller

Picked up one of these yesterday. If it wasn't for live sports, I would cancel my cable and simply download what I wanted to watch. What a great machine. Now if it had WIFI, it would be perfect:

http://www.tweaktown.com/reviews/174...iew/index.html

I'd cancel my Bell subscription too, if not for hockey. And, since I pay for the channels, I feel strangely justified in downloading whatever I want. If I could pay for US Satellite, I'd be happy.

Will the WDTV box give me anything over my current setup? I have my computer connected directly to my TV with DVI-HDMI and digital audio. I use Newsleecher to pull things down from newsgroups. It auto selected all related files, gets them all, repairs them if needed, and extracts them.

What would I gain (besides wireless connectivity) with one of these?

kremb · 05-20-2009, 11:34 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Draug

I'd cancel my Bell subscription too, if not for hockey. And, since I pay for the channels, I feel strangely justified in downloading whatever I want. If I could pay for US Satellite, I'd be happy.

Will the WDTV box give me anything over my current setup? I have my computer connected directly to my TV with DVI-HDMI and digital audio. I use Newsleecher to pull things down from newsgroups. It auto selected all related files, gets them all, repairs them if needed, and extracts them.

What would I gain (besides wireless connectivity) with one of these?

Advantages? You wouldn't have a computer whirring and buzzing away in the middle of your HT setup. There isn't a fan on the WDTV.

I keep mine on a seperate circuit to shut it off completely. It gets a little warm even when it is supposedly powered down.

This thing is starting to get hacked too. Optical drive support. Frequent updated firmware from WD. Linux based.

Who knows about live feeds in the future? Though I wouldn't cancel my cable just yet. I could see it doing a good job with half HD streams though. The hi-res clips from ted.com look great.

Apparently Harmony remotes have the interface for the WDTV remote in the database already.

http://b-rad.cc/

Huge threads over at avsforum.com

costco has them on for 129 I believe. The more users there are the better this device will be supported. I hope it turns into the wrt54g of HD media players!

cKy · 05-20-2009, 02:04 PM

Hmm.. i was leaning towards Popcorn Hour due to the network advantages.. but really, buying a bigger USB key would almost work.

Anyone heard if WD is planning on making a network version of this?

OilKiller · 05-25-2009, 09:18 AM

Downloaded and watched a Blu-ray rip of Transporter 3 last night.

Amazing PQ and DTS surround sound.

This box is fricken' genius...

So glad I bought it. I can't believe it was only $149. Just an amazing player. I had the MKV file on an 8 GB flash drive and there were no problems or delays or stuttering or anything like that on playback.

Great way to preview BD's before going out and purchasing them for my collection.

Wow is all I can say.

megatron · 05-25-2009, 09:23 AM

I picked up one of these boxes a month ago as well from Memory Express (for $135 on sale). I was tired of burning movies/tv shows to DVD just to watch them on my TV. I didn't want build/buy an HTPC, so this is a happy medium.

I don't have an HDTV yet, so the included cables were a bonus. Also, since it has an HDMI out port, it's "future proof" so when I get an HDTV (hopefully this year), it will still work.

I haven't run into a file format that it doesn't play yet.

If this had a network port on it, it would be even more awesome.

EDIT: Oh yeah, definitely get a small portable hard drive -- using an USB drive is not fun or convenient.

OilKiller · 05-25-2009, 09:28 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by megatron

If this had a network port on it, it would be even more awesome.

EDIT: Oh yeah, definitely get a small portable hard drive -- using an USB drive is not fun or convenient.

Agreed, a network port would have made this amazing.

Meh, I didn't have any problem with the USB drive. Easy to format, easy to copy files to and plug in. If I ever feel the need for a larger drive, I might pickup one of those, but this 8 GB flash drive is just fine for my needs (playback of one movie at a time).

Russic · 05-25-2009, 10:01 AM

edit: I need to reword my post as I didn't fully understand what this does.

I would have a full on geek-gasm if I could find a device that combines both the apple tv's ability to stream and the interface/itunes integration along with the file support of a device like this. I love my apple tv (love it) but the minimal amount of support for file types can be a big pain in the ass.

edit 2: I realize I just described a mac mini, but dammit those things are a little too expensive for my taste.

OilKiller · 05-25-2009, 10:18 AM

Yeah, this thing is just simply playback of HD media. Well, most video file types, doesn't need to be HD, but can playback up to 1080p.

It is simply amazing. I thought I was watching a Blu-ray copy last night watching Transporter 3. The DTS surround sound was incredible as well.

MickMcGeough · 05-25-2009, 03:16 PM

Still doesn't come close to this, IMO:
http://sagetv.com/hd_theater.html

On it's own it's a great device, couple it with a Sage server and it just doesn't get any better.

cKy · 05-25-2009, 08:10 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by MickMcGeough

Still doesn't come close to this, IMO:
http://sagetv.com/hd_theater.html

On it's own it's a great device, couple it with a Sage server and it just doesn't get any better.

IT does get better. Popcorn Hour plays everything and it's wireless. I'd say thats better

OilKiller · 05-26-2009, 07:00 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by MickMcGeough

Still doesn't come close to this, IMO:
http://sagetv.com/hd_theater.html

On it's own it's a great device, couple it with a Sage server and it just doesn't get any better.

Well, this isn't what this thread is about.

My purchase was for playback of media files that I have downloaded. I'm not interested in setting up another PVR style machine or having to deal with trying to load channels or whatever else.

MickMcGeough · 05-26-2009, 03:22 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by cKy

IT does get better. Popcorn Hour plays everything and it's wireless. I'd say thats better

Nope. Unless of course you aren't into HD stuff.

The SageTV extender works as a multi-room HD-PVR with a SageTV server. That's only cool if you've got a SageTV server, but it still does everything any other mini-media-box on the market does, except stream standard def stuff over wireless.

MickMcGeough · 05-26-2009, 03:25 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by OilKiller

Well, this isn't what this thread is about.

My purchase was for playback of media files that I have downloaded. I'm not interested in setting up another PVR style machine or having to deal with trying to load channels or whatever else.

We can't talk about the WD's competition in this thread? It does all the same stuff you were after but has a network port.

If you don't need networking, great. Someone else reading this thread might.

atb · 05-26-2009, 03:26 PM

Yeah I have the first Popcorn Hour and it works flawlessly, if I had to get another one i'd get it with wireless and an internal HD.

Wookie · 05-26-2009, 03:41 PM

So what would be the difference between a popcorn hour and WD TV HD Media player, I'm looking to upgrade from the xbox so I can watch HD.

OilKiller · 05-26-2009, 04:00 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by MickMcGeough

We can't talk about the WD's competition in this thread? It does all the same stuff you were after but has a network port.

If you don't need networking, great. Someone else reading this thread might.

Not what I was saying at all, but unless I missed something, Sage seems like another way of creating your own PVR is it not? Didn't think it was the same thing. Guess I missed something.