WD TV Live

WDTVlive still going – Had my WDTVlive for years now - pity it is discontinued as there are no more firmware updates. I use as a music storage and player using the optical connection to an amp. Still performing but a couple of issues. If you connect a HD with plug might need a separate power supply as the device cannot power HD and itself. Also HDMI outlet can burn out somehow. WDTVlive boxes still selling Ebay with varying prices Show details

Complete rubbish – Complete rubbish brand always turning off sometimes plays sometimes doesn't. Have had 3 replacements all of them do the same thing . Unfortunately there was no other alternative till now. Thanks Show details

Pretty Dated Streamer – These units are pretty old but I was surprised when I sold mine recently on ebay there was strong demand for what is a pretty buggy piece of crap. I lost count of the times I had to do a full reset on the unit. The HDMI connection didn't work hard to connect with rca cables, which was pretty bad. Moved on to roku 3's and they never miss a beat, far superior products.  Show details

Reasonable media player – Good unit to have to play your backup movies from original discs. good picture quality, you can adjust subtitles smaller/bigger and move it up/down. play mp4 and mkv flawlessly, but not HEVC. Wirelesss / LAN setup is easy. Network file sharing from PC can be a nightmare and frustrating, I'm pretty good with windows basic networking issue so it helps a lot. I would recommend connect it to LAN instead of wireless during playback.  Show details

Wd media player – This is the second one I have because I thought the first was just wrong so got another, that was a mistake.. Wd I not only won't buy another but I will avoid your hard drives as well! Atrocious that something this clunky would be allowed to retail...  Show details

Strong unit but has some issues – I have several of these units. I use these a lot and think the quality of what's played back is excellent for what it does. Handles most movie formats (Not x265 or 4K files) and most audio formats (Not DTS-X or Atmos). However there are some issues but you can work around these once you understand its limitations. PROS: Strong picture and… Read more

audio quality. Handles most file formats. Price. Folder/File browsing menus.

CONS:

Problem 1. These units generate a lot of heat and if they become too hot (after several hours) it will freeze whatever your playing. Solution, keep the the power disconnected (from behind the unit) at all times and only connect when ready to use. Be sure to disconnect when finished viewing. Limited for a few hours (approx 5-6hrs) of use before it gets too hot/unstable.

Problem 2. Limited Memory, You can play 1 and usually 2 movies without a problem but if you watch a 3rd movie, the movie will slow down to a crawl and eventually freeze. Restart to clear the memory cache fixes the problem. This also applies if you start/stop several shows/movies. It just chews up the memory. If it freezes, just disconnect the power and reconnect.

Problem 3. Unknown File Format or unknown location. Occasionally it will not recognize the file format or unable to locate the source. Happens around 10% of the time when turning it on. Solution: resetting the unit will fix it.

Keep the firmware up to date. Helps some of the problems but not all. I recommend this unit to a lot of friends but inform them of its limitations and workaround solutions.

Garbage - avoid – Corrupted my 2TB library NTFS hard drive almost instantly. Have spent days trying to recover data - and cannot. Why does a humble little media player want to DESTROY ALL MY PRECIOUS MOVIES, TV, PHOTOS and MUSIC? Have seen this same complaint everywhere, wish I had been warned before purchase. Avoid!

Good for streaming, issues with ABC iView and other services – Have had this unit for a couple of years, works well streaming movies from a PC, easy to set-up and navigate, really like how I can cast from the YouTube App, I do a search for a clip on my phone and select the WD Live Cast option and it appears on the big screen, awesome!! UNFORTUNATELY ABC iView, Red Bull TV in the services menu have stopped… Read more

functioning with what looks to be no more updates or support for these, ah well I guess it's a throw away society.

Easy to start out with but you'll realise it's limitations – It seems like with all Western Digital gear it's built to a price point. This is no exception. It's probably one of the easiest off the shelf products to get into the world of streaming movies from a server. The GUI is much like Kodi and easy to use and navigate. Takes up very minimal space and has a USB 2.0 input on front and back of the unit… Read more

for inserting USB sticks or external HD. Has built in Wi-fi which works quite. Also has 100Mb LAN (which I connect via). Comes with remote control or you can control this unit with uni-remotes (I use a Harmony-650). That's about it for the plus'.

While it's easy to get setup and start streaming movies it soon becomes the weak link in the chain. Forget the fact that it comes bundled with a whole heap of useless apps that don't support Australian viewing. Or the fact that live TV will only work with 1 type of USB TV stick (Hauppage) which is now discontinued as well, or that it can't play H265 files (as it's hardware encoded).

The reality is that the hardware in these boxes is very much on the light side. Don't get me wrong - it will play H264 MPEG4, AVI, MKV etc with no issues - once. What tends to happen is the more files you play, they don't seem to get released from memory (probably after 4-5 files played) and the unit will run low on memory. Then it slows done (almost unresponsive). The quickest and easiest way is to remove the power and start again. It will play ISO files as well - from startup. Not after you've already played files. 9 times out of 10 if you try and play an ISO file the unit just balks and restarts (I prefer to rip to ISO as it's a direct copy of the DVD with menu's included), just saves putting the DVD in the slot and getting up.

I'd have no reservations of recommending this to someone who just wants to stream some files and is new to it. I'm at the stage after 18 months of upgrading to another box (most likely go with an andriod box). Most likely retire it to another room in the house. It's really a shame that no one in the Oz market seems to make a HTPC equivalent that can watch/record multiple live TV, easy file transfer of recorded shows to PC or NAS, stream and play DVD's. Simple task I would have thought.

Pros: Easy plug and play, easy setup and navigation, plays most files, built in wifi/LAN, can control with Uni-Remotes

Cons: Memory fills up fast and have to restart, ISO playback is hit and miss, no easy way of live TV support, useless American apps included (this is probably why there's not enough memory).

No iView support – 1 Jul 2015 ABC iview retired on some set top boxes As of Wednesday 1 July, 2015 the ABC iview service has been retired on the following set top boxes: -Topfield set-top box models: TBF-7300, TRF-2470 -Humax set top boxes -Western Digital media players If your device supports FreeviewPlus you will be able to access iview via the… Read more

pre-installed FreeviewPlus application. This includes certain Topfield devices.

For more information about this change please see our original announcement from Friday 1 May, 2015.

Slow,non responsive, and freeze during playback – Nothing really good about this product, tried upgrading the firmware a couple times and still it froze up during playback. Once froze up it will require power cycling the device as remote is not responding anymore. It appears that this product is a faulty model as on WD website this problem occur to many other frustrated user. I also notice that… Read more

the wifi antenna is really weak. It does not perform well inside a cabinet, while other wifi devices can be used behind the wall.

Freeze – Have had the WD live for six months. Has never worked with ABCs iView, and now constantly freezes with youtube. Not worth the effort.

Fix iview – Had mine for a couple of years, goes alright. Crashes every now and then but pretty reliable for just streaming from hdd. Has only ever offered iview even though SBS and Ten have streaming sites but now that no longer works. Apparently it's ABC's fault for changing their format which now requires a firmware update from WD which was supposed to… Read more

happen in December (now Feb). The company fails to monitor the social media sites that it has links to on its website, have emailed them today. This shouldn't be up to us to fix and chase up, I see Samsung and other manufacturers fixed the problem quickly. I suppose we are a small market, but as Apple and other exploitive companies have found, we do have deep pockets...

I've used this device happily for several years, but times change and the companies partners move on – I've used this device happily for several years, but I see that WD has started loosing its partnerships since iView one of my favourite, and now since a few weeks ago doesn't work anymore on it, and a few of the other apps are never accessible. though I always hope for a Firmware upgrade that will fix all these faults how long does it take

Contrary to WD claims, you CANNOT watch iView on this device – I bought this device as a Christmas present to allow a friend to watch iView on her TV. Western Digital list iView as a service available on the device and many units have been sold in Australia specificity for that purpose. However, in the last few months of 2014 iView stopped being accessible. Both the ABC and Western Digital have blamed each… Read more

other at different points and the buck passing continues with no resolution in sight. If you bought one of these in order to watch iView you can make a case that it 'not fit for intended purpose' and that under Australian law, you should be entitles to a full refund of the purchase price.

3 duds – I had 3 WiFi WDTV media players which all had the same problem - one straight from new, the other 2 the problem developed over a few weeks or months. I was using an external hard drive and playing films from it on the media player. The WDTV player would always play the first file I selected but when I came to selecting a subsequent file the… Read more

orange arrow would keep spinning around and never play. The only way to play another file was to reboot, which I had to do every single time I wanted to play another file. I also own an older WDTV player without WiFi and it has never had that problem. When the WiFi media player was working it was great. I was able to screen mirror with my Samsung devices with no problem, and play any sort of file, although sometimes it did have trouble with subtitle files even though they were in the same folder.

Good first time, value for money Media Player – I think for the price this is a decent media player. The interface is attractive and easy to use, had no trouble connecting my laptop through the LAN or an external hard drive. Even connected a $22 Logitech wireless keyboard and mouse to make it easier to search YouTube and Spotify. It would be nice to have a browser that supports flash and a… Read more ·  1

way to favourite external hard drive folders like you can with network share.

If you're inpatient, don't get this player. Sometimes the loading times are a little long, but nothing that can't be handled. Easy to setup, easy to Network Share and connect external hard drive, nice interface, low price ($112.00) Little bit slow, has iVIew, but not tenplay/Plus7 etc

Horrible with windows network shares – Had device for months now. Ongoing issues with device unable to locate content source which is a windows network share. So frustrating. I've resorted to holding the power button down for 5secs when I've finished watching as it seems the only way to restore networking for my next session. Latest firmware updates haven't helped. Very good playback… Read more

but only when it can see network shares Windows network share support. I recommend trying a different product.

Good Media Box – I've had mine for a few weeks now and it has been getting plenty of use. I had cat 6 cabling installed specifically from my living room to my computer room so I wouldn't have to rely on my wifi connection. It took a bit of Windows security/permissions configuring for it to be able to see file and folders. Once I figured it out though it was smooth… Read more ·  1

sailing. It plays all my movies and TV shows no problem. Picks up the srt subtitle files automatically too which is important to me. I've set the audio to Dolby Digital pass through on the optical port, which is connected to my soundbar and that works great.

The remote control unit has a great molded design and fits comfortably in your hand, though sometimes there's a tiny delay when hitting the buttons. I actually found the WD TV Adroid app on my phone has a snappier response than the remote control.

It has little quirks that has annoyed me though. I haven't been able to jump to a particular time in the video easily. Sometimes if it's jumping to over an hour forward it will just sit there "loading" for ever, so I just quit it and jump in smaller increments.

Another thing that I find inconvenient is having to select Videos or select Audio/Music from the main menu. I'd like to be able to just select a song or video from the same exploratory screen, instead of specifically telling the box that I am now opening Videos only or Audio only. If you try to play a song in the Video screen, even if you can see the song, it won't be able to open it. That's mildly annoying. Plays all my video formats, picks up subtitles, Dolby Digital pass through, Android app for remote control Could be faster overall, Not the best UI - different screens for playing video and music, slightly laggy remote controller

Unbelievable Box – I've owned this box for 4 years. I have about 10 terabytes of movies/music/photos. This box works very well. + It plays EVERY file i've ever thrown at it. mkv, avi, mp4, divx, FLAC, mp3, ape - the list goes on. + It accesses my NAS perfectly. The only minor hiccup is that the network won't be found for about 30 seconds after the box starts,… Read more

which is fairly common across devices.

+ It has a physical network connection and wireless connection - both work very well. Note: you can't play 1080p (ie. BluRay quality) files over a WIFI network - on ANY device

+ It has DTS, HDMI and optical out - but also supports RCA connectors if your system is old

If you're looking for a FoxTel box, this is not your cup of tea.

If you want a media player for your own collection, then this is the product you want.

If you are a big Apple fan, and you only work in the Apple eco-system, then the Apple TV is a worthy consideration because of airplay from your iPhone/iPad to your TV .. but if you use even one device that is not an Apple product, avoid the Apple TV like the plague. Apple TV only plays Apple formats - which is just plain stupid. It's like having your hands handcuffed behind your back while trying to make dinner.

In summary: there is NO competition to the WDTV Live and WDTV Live Streaming. My advice is based on four years of experience and two different NAS boxes, and over 10 terabytes of movies/music/pictures. Plays everything, small, good value, wireless, DTS support

Can't play MKV files. Why bother? – Easy setup for wireless, easy firmware update via wireless internet. Reasonable menu navigation. Limited options for photo display (no Ken Burns option, no floating pictures like Apple TV). However, the 'fall flat on face' issue is that it can't play mkv files. The web is filled with forums under the search, "wdtv streaming mkv freeze". None… Read more

of them have solutions. The same USB stick, the same file plays just fine on my WDTV Gen2. Plug it back into the WDTV Steaming . . . freeze. Called support, did software and hardware resents . . . still freezes. Then it wouldn't turn off/on. If this is their level of QA, not only will I look more closely at Roku, but I probably won't buy WD hard drives either in the future. Small, light, two USB plugs, easy Wifi setup Can't play mkv files. Probably can't play more.

Highly recommended! – I was almost put off buying this product after reading the bad reviews on here but decided to give it a go as this appeared to do everything I was looking for in a reasonably priced media player. I am glad that I did as I am really happy with it. It was relatively easy to set up and does exactly what it claims to do and I am totally happy with it. Interface is great.

Great product – I don't understand how some of these reviews can be so negative. I would recommend updating the firmware upon initial set up to avoid any problems. I guess it depends on your individual set up and expectations. For me, I find that this product does exactly what you want it to do. Super easy set up, plays just about any media type and the lip… Read more

sync function is a god send. I'm running this thru a wired connection via a home wiring Ethernet adaptor sourcing media content on a western digital portable hdd which is connected to a netgear wifi router in another room. Performance is superb and picture quality is great. If you're tired of keep having to convert files and having to move them onto a portable hdd and plugging it directly into your media player ( like I was ) then this is the gadget for you. Easy, simple set up. Great user interface, does what it says on the box.

Don't waste your money – As a media player, it does exactly what it's supposed to do, in theory at least. It is able to play virtually any video format you could ask for in full high definition via HDMI. Its loading times can be on the slow side and the remote response can be buggy, especially if you're pulling from a drive with lots of content. Features like time search… Read more

and full screen 4:3 are welcome, but opening the setup screen causes whatever video you were watching to close. It's a minor annoyance, but I shouldn't have to search through a drive again to find the video I was just watching. It also has a habit of resetting itself to a lower resolution than 1080p.

Unfortunately for me, I decided to shell out for the Wi-Fi enabled version. Attempting to stream a video from my laptop is like rolling a dice and praying for a six. Sometimes the player won't even see my computer on the network, even though it is in the same room. Other times it will tell me that there is no media present in drives filled with videos. When a video is finally playing, it will occasionally stutter, pause and then fast-forward without sound until it catches up to the appropriate point. This is due to the player's weak networking capabilities, which took an hour to transfer a 700 mb video between a local hard drive and my laptop.

Of course, I can just plug in a hard drive locally, but this defeats the purpose of buying a Wi-Fi enabled media player in the first place. Even playback from a local drive is not without its problems. For example, I have my TV shows organised into folders, with each folder containing folders of individual seasons. I should be able to press play on the title folder and be able to shuffle every episode from every season, but a lot of the time this does not work and comes up with a message saying there is no media present.

I was expecting a much better product than what I received. If you are looking for a media player capable of wireless streaming, look elsewhere. Relatively cheap, full HD, compact, local playback is relatively ok. Abysmal wireless streaming, buggy and unreliable.

Disappointing – Sadly this unit does not deliver what I had hoped to find in a relatively recent model media player / streaming client. While the build quality is solid, the available input and output options are sufficient for current and older TVs and audio equipment and the playback works for all relevant containers and codecs, there are just too many… Read more

shortfalls for me not to want to move on to a better solution.

Probably most annoying I find the fact that this player constantly resets the video settings to the lowest resolution whenever I don't *perfectly* time the sequence of turning on my TV followed by the WDTV.

If I turn on the player before the TV or even a little too late, when the TV has gone from displaying a start screen to showing me a "No Signal" message, the WDTV can apparently not perform some secret homie style HDMI handshake it requires to do Full HD output at 1080p and resets to a resolution that has bigger pixels than Minecraft.

Next the player keeps on "forgetting" my network shares and one out of every 4-5 times I fire up the unit, I need to go add the source again. And yes, all this is happening with my network shares being up and running all the time, including when the player is started and would be looking for it's configured sources.

Apart from fast forward and reverse seek (I think 2x/4x/8x/16x) and a complicated "Jump to position" feature, that allows you to enter a timestamp in hours/minutes/seconds and continue playback from that position, there is no comfortable way to quickly jump ahead a couple of seconds or minutes, say to skip the PITA 3 minute intro plus "here's what happened in the last episode, for those too amnesic to remember" you get with the average episode of Dexter & Co. Same goes for reverse. Missed a line and want to just jump back 10 seconds at the push of a button? Sadly you're stuck with the regular reverse seek. At 2x reverse this takes longer than you'd (well I'd anyway) like, and after another press on reverse, at 4x, by the time you get the subsequent press on the remote's play button to register you're just bound to have overshot the target. Doesn't sound like much of a deal I know, but so would implementing this feature be, and I sure have started to listen a lot closer before attempting to rewind just a few seconds, like I used to when I ran XBMC on an old Xbox (1st gen).

WD's own (Android) app is basically just a software version of the hardware remote, with very little added value (keyboard input). At least there is a third party app for Android that has one small benefit over WD's: A full timeline/progress bar to make the whole "jump to position" feature more convenient and even allows dragging the position indicator around for some added playback control.

Anyway, I mentioned XBMC before and that's where I'm headed again. The WDTV is going on eBay and I'm building/buying a small, low power media PC or Android unit if that can handle XBMC by now. Good build, plays most formats, I/O connections Poor interface, suffers from amnesia

This has a long way to go – Bought this because it is supposed to wirelessly stream media content from my home theatre PC. Well it can play some music, but forget about everything else. Most of the time it cannot find the shared folders on the HTPC. It can find the folders in the Public user location, but, most of the time it takes so long trying to play them it gives… Read more

some network error. That is with a 300mg network.

If you have a stand alone, always on media server, it might be OK. It might be OK if you also want to buy a portable harddrive and plug it in, but then I might as well get an old laptop and plug that into the TV and stream the media from the HTPC.

Western digital also have the annoying problem of upgrading firmware and making more problems than what it is fixing. Make sure you turn off the Auto Update.

The menu is slow and stupidly arranged. When I go to videos, I don't want another menu with 8 options and then another menu to try and find my movies.

There is very little support through their website with the support contact site returning errors. Don't buy through their on line store as they never advise what is happening. Mine showed as sent, the online tracking didn't work and when I finally got a person, they told me the correct support website (the link in the purchase email didn't work).

Might be worth looking at a Popcorn Hour instead............... It is small Network doesn't work, can't find media folders, menus are slow, can't play some formats.

Love the concept - if only it streamed via WiFi properly! – Bought a month ago. I setup a Media Centre by attaching a drive to the USB Port of my Wireless modem. (Latest Netgear DGN3700) Picks up the network fine but half way through a movie it will just stop. Message syas the sources device has been removed. SO I have to reload the media server. Also it does not read the movie length of some formats… Read more

like mpeg 2. e.g A 100 min video - The WD may only say its 70 mins long. When you skip to a time, it can't find it and when you fast forward the movie plays from a completely different place you forwarded to.

Sometimes easier to copy the video to a USB Stick and stick directly into unit.

Web Services for Aust are not as good as other countries. YouTube service restricts many videos including latest Music Vids.

Not many Games yet - waiting for more.

And I won't mention the unit will not switch on from the remote but I can turn off - go figure?

Obviously some teething Firmware problems here but overall quite

happy when it does not crash. Picture quality, Interface, Easy setup and Firmware update. Loses WiFi source constantly, Some formats not showing correct movie length, FFW faults

Cant beat this for its price! – I have purchased a few of these and for the price it cant be beaten. Its nice and small and plays almost everything you throw at it, and also has really nice subtitle display which you can also edit to change colour and position of which is great. It has a few issues for certain files if they aren't well encoded and can crash on certain HD MKV… Read more

files when using the back USB port, but aside these, for its price I wouldn't get anything else. Works on Majority of file types Upgrades can sometimes bring more issues than they solve

It plays all formats but not everything works – not bad in 115$. Media Library function sucks,goes on compiling and compiling never stops and finally halts. interface is good. problems not solved even after all latest firmware upgrades. wifi not good for heavy formats. good for making your drive shared for the entire home network. good processor,can play uninterrupted while huge stuff… Read more

being copied on attached HDD.

No automatic download support for subs

no auto download for torrents plays almost everything and price network sharing and media compilation

Great Idea, Poor Execution – This box would be amazing if it worked as advertised. Being able to stream from computers on your home network, via wifi, to your TV, would be wonderful. Unfortunately there are two big problems with the product as it currently stands: 1) Even with a high speed (802.11n) wireless network, video still stutters and plays without audio quite often.… Read more

I'm not even talking about bluray movie rips, I'm talking about low-res 420p xvid AVI files..

2) The network discovery side of the firmware is hideous. If you have media files on computers that are on or off at different times (like most home networks), i.e. your computers aren't on 24/7, then the box has constant trouble finding your shared files even when your computer is on.

That said, if you have a fully wired network at home, with your media stored in a central, always-on location (e.g. a NAS), then this box will work well for you.

Hopefully the above issues can be fixed with firmware updates, but as it stands I can't recommend this product.. Great Idea Poorly Implemented

So tiny, great value for money! – Bought it yesterday from JBHifi for my old CRT TV. takes 30 sec to start up and 5 min to install the latest firmware and network settings. A breeze to browse and the remote has a good range too. Gives details like current local time and temperature. Also has facebook,youtube, dailymotion, radio stations. Plays almost all media formats through… Read more

storage devices. Now the laptop can be spared as a media player. With a toddler around, my laptop will live longer when he enjoys his nursery rhymes and songs :) small size, quick installation, versatile. Does not play media wirelessly from PC