TV media player

[Green Cloverleaf]

Does anyone have any experience of one of these: WD TV Live?

I'm thinking about getting one to cut my DVD collection to, for convenience and so that I can clear away some of the 100+ DVDs that are scattered around the lounge, in cupboards, under the coffee table etc

Are they any good? Are they easy to use? What's the quality like?



Cheers guys!

[bobda]

Yes. We have one in work attached to our meeting room LCD for slideshows, video clips etc and it's great.

I've thrown every type of video file at it and it plays them all - no questions asked. I was close to getting one myself until I ditched Sky and bought a Humax HDR Fox T2 which will play media files.

[Green Cloverleaf]

Hmmm, intriguing

The Humax has the benefit of Freeview+ HD recording, but is more expensive. However, the WD also has built-in wifi which allows you to access the attached USB device from anywhere on your home network (e.g. you can add more media files to the WD box from your PC upstairs).

Decisions, decisions

Thanks for the feedback Bob

I have to say, I find your new avatar very disturbing

[bobda]

Well, with the Humax I can stream recorded files on the built in hard drive over my network to a PC or Mac (after installing a custom firmware or it's SD only), and you can easily add wireless to it if it's not near a network port.


Disturbing? Sorry - I thought it was amusing. I guess you haven't seen Team America?

[AmicusPro]

If you want to access files remotely, can the WD allow you to? I've opted for a Synology Diskstation but it's more expensive and probably over-kill. Gives me plenty to tinker with should I choose to though

[Green Cloverleaf]

Originally Posted by AmicusPro

If you want to access files remotely, can the WD allow you to? I've opted for a Synology Diskstation but it's more expensive and probably over-kill. Gives me plenty to tinker with should I choose to though

When you say "remotely" do you mean from the Internet, rather than from another device on your home network?

If so, I don't think the WD can do it. It says you can access a USB connected device on the WD from another PC on your home network, but I don't think it has the ability to make it available on t'internet.

Originally Posted by bobda

Disturbing? Sorry - I thought it was amusing. I guess you haven't seen Team America?

No, it's on my list of films-to-see. However, I suspect the humour may be a touch low-brow for Mrs.GC's highfalutin sensibilities (not mine, tho' )

(there was no need to remove it on my account )

[Gibbo]

Originally Posted by Green Cloverleaf

(there was no need to remove it on my account )

You have more power than you realised

[Green Cloverleaf]

Mwah ha ha ha!!! :evillaugh:

[AmicusPro]

Originally Posted by Green Cloverleaf

When you say "remotely" do you mean from the Internet, rather than from another device on your home network?

If so, I don't think the WD can do it. It says you can access a USB connected device on the WD from another PC on your home network, but I don't think it has the ability to make it available on t'internet.

Aye, I did mean remotely via the internet. You'd need to confirm your router is compatible but most appear to be and certainly newer ones. The Synology sits on your home network as a Media/Storage drive like the WD one (it has a Linux-based OS to allow control, security etc.) and you can set it up to be available remotely over the internet by doing "port-forwarding" (which is basically forwarding relevant requests from the internet to a device other than your PC - I know that's a simplistic description). It allows you to access files, media or otherwise, from anywhere you have a 'net connection and you can even set it up as your own cloud device and backup device... It all depends on what features you want/need/can justify.

Synology homepage - The do a range from Home-based 1-drive devices to business ones. With some of the higher specced ones you can set it up with a TV USB receiver and make it into a multifunction PVR, or if you want to spend a lot of money/have an IP camera laying around, you can make it into your own security system (though many would find a webcam cheaper).

Scan - plenty NAS drives to choose from and Synology aren't the cheapest (I decided on one and am happy but it has a lot of features and it's too expensive if you aren't going to use them). They come without a hard-drive though they're easy to fit.

[Green Cloverleaf]

Cheers - had a look at the website, and it looks interesting as a NAS device. However, I don't think my TV is DLNA-compliant (I'll need to check), and I was looking for something to plug directly into the TV which has a wide range of video format compatibility.

It also has to be user-friendly enough for Mrs.GC not to just give up and not bother with it.

[AmicusPro]

No problem

[WTFH]

Just bumping this thread - I have a WD TV Live Hub at home, got all the music on it, and photos. I just dump them across the network from PCs/Macs with no problem.

[Green Cloverleaf]

Now dropping (subtle) hints to Mrs.GC, as I have a birthday coming up in August......