An all-in-one media player and streamer
Western Digital’s excellent WD TV media jukebox media player was really lacking only one thing: network access.
The new WD TV Live allows users to stream media files across a network and view online video at sites such as Youtube, though sadly there is no built-in wireless networking so an adaptor is required if you do not want to use a wired connection.
Other than that it was very easy to set up and in general the excellent usability of the original WD TV is still in evidence on the new model.
A clean, responsive interface allows music and video to be selected and viewed from a range of categories, and there is a nice degree of control over file playback and format support on the big screen.
The WD TV Live can stream high-definition video at a resolution of up to 1080p, and we were very impressed by the smooth streaming and quality of reproduction over our home network.
Of course you can still play files directly from a memory key or hard disk plugged into one of the two USB sockets on the WD TV Live. The devices we tried were automatically recognised as soon as we attached them. The files become available to play and are listed in the categories shown in the player’s menus.
Overall we were impressed by how smooth everything worked and even beginners or those who may feel daunted by such a device can be assured that the WD TV Live is one of the simplest and most intuitive products of its type.
Unfortunately it’s not all good news. Aside from the lack of a built-in wireless network connection we were disappointed by the experience of watching Youtube video on the device.
While there are a range of ways to search for and view clips, it is awkward to type with the onscreen keyboard when entering search criteria and it is not possible to skip back and forth through files.
These are the main drawbacks of the WD TV Live, but at under £100 it’s extremely good value. As such it’s a good successor to the WD TV media jukebox for those who want to play files over a network.
