WD Media Box

[nikster]

I have been waiting for something like this: Western Digital now makes a media box that plays HD 1080p, all formats including H264 and mkv. And nothing else. No built-in drive, no WiFi, no shared volumes, no toaster. The interface is supposed to be nice.

http://www.engadget.com/2008/11/01/western...er/#commentform

Formats supported: MPEG 1/2/4, WMV9, AVI (MPEG4,Xvid, AVC), H.264, MKV, MOV (MPEG4, H264), JPEG, GIF, TIFF, BMP, PNG

MP3, WMA, OGG, WAV/PCM/LPCM, AAC, FLAC, Dolby Digital, AIF/AIFF, MKA.

Just posting this because I was looking for exactly such a device a while back, and didn't find any. I found plenty of devices but they all had one flaw or the other, usually either doing too little or too much. I thought about buying an Apple TV but compared to this device the Apple TV has to be hacked, only plays 720p, and costs 3x as much.

PS: Sorry for the confusing post title - "WD" makes sense, the smart-cased "Wd" rather not...

Edited November 2, 2008 by nikster

[Tywais]

PS: Sorry for the confusing post title - "WD" makes sense, the smart-cased "Wd" rather not...

Fixed.

[LivinLOS]

Really appealing (and price) if ONLY it was a networked machine too...

If it was a networked player.. I would probably pick up 3..

1080p MKV and 5.1 is essential tho.. Seems like it in there..

[Tywais]

Really appealing (and price) if ONLY it was a networked machine too...

Can't find any information on the WD site regarding it and details are sketchy. Did see that it is being sold on Best Buys for $99.00 though.

[surface]

Really appealing (and price) if ONLY it was a networked machine too...

If it was a networked player.. I would probably pick up 3..

1080p MKV and 5.1 is essential tho.. Seems like it in there..

If I didn't have a 360 I would get this, but I would need networking, and 5.1 AC3 and DTS in addition to everything else it supports to consider it at this point. 2 channel audio and no networking at the killer for anyone with a playstation/xbox.

[Khutan]

I suppose the idea is to load your content onto the Wd Player, then watch.

I am still trying to fathom what the best approach is for home streaming, either to do it by a media extender or use a dedicated Linux / indows device, hopefully allowing some level up an upgrade path.

[surface]

I don't think there is any best option, just what's best for your situation. There are too many variables to consider, such as what type of TV you have, what inputs it has, do you have surround sound, do you have a receiver/amp, how far is it all from your computer, what connectivity options your computer has, what media you want to play, want a remote, etc.

[LivinLOS]

Really appealing (and price) if ONLY it was a networked machine too...

If it was a networked player.. I would probably pick up 3..

1080p MKV and 5.1 is essential tho.. Seems like it in there..

If I didn't have a 360 I would get this, but I would need networking, and 5.1 AC3 and DTS in addition to everything else it supports to consider it at this point. 2 channel audio and no networking at the killer for anyone with a playstation/xbox.

The 360 is OK for my low def stuff.. But its a pain for the hidef multi channel and the ever increasing amount of MKV's..

[LivinLOS]

I suppose the idea is to load your content onto the Wd Player, then watch.

I am still trying to fathom what the best approach is for home streaming, either to do it by a media extender or use a dedicated Linux / indows device, hopefully allowing some level up an upgrade path.

I actually use both.. Have dedicated HTPC in a proper black anodized box that looks like a receiver / amp and the 360.. The 360 is great for some formats and it boots almost instant, if wife friendly with the remote, etc etc..

However the PC is heads and shoulder better image, plays everything, is far more flexible.. The flexibility of course comes at the expense of setup, config, work and requirement for specialist bits (satellite Rx card for UBC, good remotes (the gyration one is superb)..

As I have been tinkering with HTPC's since way way back I prefer the PC based one.. In fact I suspect we will see some kind of eee PC home box that is 1080p HDMI / DVI / VGA and digital out that can run vista media center in the next little while.. Thats probably the best for bedroom units with a windows home server storage system..

[surface]

Really appealing (and price) if ONLY it was a networked machine too...

If it was a networked player.. I would probably pick up 3..

1080p MKV and 5.1 is essential tho.. Seems like it in there..

If I didn't have a 360 I would get this, but I would need networking, and 5.1 AC3 and DTS in addition to everything else it supports to consider it at this point. 2 channel audio and no networking at the killer for anyone with a playstation/xbox.

The 360 is OK for my low def stuff.. But its a pain for the hidef multi channel and the ever increasing amount of MKV's..

mkv's only take a minute to change the container to mp4. If you want multi channel audio though an HTPC is obviously the better choice. Would be nice if MS would add support for these to the xbox, but that would eat into their media center sales. The one box solution is likely never going to happen if want an xbox or ps3 in the mix.

[LivinLOS]

Yeah I have recently been changing the container on my Documentary hidefs, which actually make a good % of my hidef viewing (see mvgroup.com.. superb.. All the BBC docu stuff).. and I am ok with 2ch there..

But for hidef feature films, the surround is more vital..

Also I get a FAR better video image out of the HTPC than I do with the XBOX.. But as I said a lot more work too..

[jpshanik]

As I have been tinkering with HTPC's since way way back I prefer the PC based one.. In fact I suspect we will see some kind of eee PC home box that is 1080p HDMI / DVI / VGA and digital out that can run vista media center in the next little while.. Thats probably the best for bedroom units with a windows home server storage system..

There is already a PC Based system that is being sold at Fortune (I imagine they have the same at Pantip) called the Eee Box. Just picked up a brochure so I don't know too much, but at about the same size as AppleTV, it had wifi, hdmi, etc. It runs on an Atom processor and I'm still undecided on those. It actually runs windows. Another option was SnaZio. It is more of a media center box than the Eee Box (which is actually a computer running windows). The SnaZio seemed to be like AppleTV with the option to download torrents on the machine itself. Both options were about 15,000B.

I am not recommending either. I just saw them and they were both being demo'd and they both looked really good in HDMI.

I did buy the WD TV though and I am pretty happy with it. Pretty much as easy plug and play as it gets. Currently running on my Tube TV with Composite connections. It cuts out the edges of the screen but for 4750B, It is the cheapest option for a name brand Media Controller I found. Did consider one of the no-name brand boxes that take a 3.5 Sata drive, but everything I read about the WD TV said "no-hassles". and that's what I got.

[angiud]

I have a WD TV and I use it in my restaurant with a 500 Gb HD connected. I can play MKV, H264 files wonderfully on a HDMI connected 50" HD tv. The result is great. Many ways to get Mkv high definition movies . And one more USB to play some pen drive too.