Customer Ratings & Reviews

Great box to stream movies and watch Netflix or youtube.

Great device for streaming media. Plays any format.

I love it it's fast and I can watch movies on my tv.

I was primarily looking for something to watch video files on for the bedroom TV but also wanted something for watching YouTube, Netflix and other internet content. Setup was fairly intuitive if you are a tech geek which I am. However, I could see the process being a little confusing for people who do not install gadgets on a regular basis. The pdf manual is not as comprehensive as it could be. For example, while the manual describes the use of a USB hard drive for content, it does not give any direction as to whether the unit should be powered off when connecting/disconnecting a drive. As far as watching videos from a drive, no issues. Seems to play virtually any common video format. It would be nice to be able to create playlists with the ease of what you can do with a computer-based media player, but the manual on this issue is hopeless. A work around is to create a folder of the clips that you want in your playlists, but this is an inelegant solution. The Netflix app is excellent; however, the YouTube app, while it gets the job done, is a little clunky and slow. As far as the other apps/online content, nothing particularly wonderful in my view and a lot of stuff of no interest. On the hardware side, the remote is OK but I'd recommend downloading the free WDix TV Media Player app (avoid WD's official app). The WDix app offers all of the controls of the hardware remote AND had a volume control, which the hardware app amazingly lacks. The player itself seems to shut off and reboot inexplicably from time-to-time, particularly after watching videos on YouTube. Whether this is a bug in the firmware or a settings issue, I do not know. I have only lived with the unit for a few days. In sum, it works very well for watching videos from a hard drive and if you love Netflix, the app on this unit is perfect. However, for YouTube, this is not the best alternative. Unless I'm with my girlfriend and we want to watch something on YouTube together, my Samsung tablet is far more reliable and straightforward. I assume (and hope) that with time, the unit will improve with firmware updates adding a greater selection of content and perhaps a web browser. However, I'm not quite ready to get rid of cable and rely exclusively on this box at the moment.

Bought this product in hopes of streaming PC files over TV. Hardly lives up to product hype. From the outset, WD TV Live failed to work on a regular basis. Fails to load files. Fails to play files. So much potential in this product yet so little overall customer satisfaction.

I'm using this as a dvr companion. Works well for that.

Ideal for web movies storaged in a external hard disk, easy to use and simple installation.

OK if you like to over-complicate your PC time with another gadget

I had troubles with this router and would not recommend if you are using wireless n. I had issues accessing my windows 7 samba shares as well because I wasn't in default workgroup.

My only reason for purchasing this device was to have the capability to watch MLB baseball games using a slingbox and the slingplayer app available on this product, It was difficult to find the appropriate on line controls associated with this app and the tv picture quality was fair. I had no interest in the other apps so I can not comment on them. I returned it several days after it was purchased.

*Please Read* I purchased this device in January of 2012. Having used this device now for 10 months, I can provide a valid review. When I received this device, reliability was an issue! It would freeze during most movies and would require a hard reset before it would function again. Also would have trouble streeming even basic .avi files [no audio or lagging video]. This happened frequently. As updates came along, the device slowly improved. With the most recent firmware update, I believe it has finally come together! No more freezing, no lagging, no issues streeming video files from PC via network [wired or wireless]. One thing I noticed by trying different settings, is that it's best to use Audio via HDMI. I noticed that with a Optical [toslink] cable used for Audio, this was part of what caused movies to freeze. Since the most recent update to it's firmware, I have played MANY different files with NO issues at all! Examples include small .avi files [both w/ storage and streeming via wifi network from PC] up to files HD files w/ bitrates > 45mb/s, .m2ts [raw bluray files], .mkv files with video rated High @ L4.1 and even .mkv files with video rated High @ L5.1 [which is not even supported by the player]. Overall , this device has slowly become a great device and now plays all files [as it did before], but with no issues at all. The only reason I rated each category as well as overall rating 4/5 is because it did not work this great from the beginning. Great device!

Not a good prodcut did not work as expected heavily disappointed

So far I have been pleased with the WD Live device. I mostly wanted it to stream videos from my server to my TV. I tried over my 802.11n, and that was just way to slow. I ended up getting a netgear powerline adapter and now it is working great! Although for the price $90 for the WD Live, I have been thinking about going with the Logitech Revue. Because the WD Live is a little slow, but honestly it does serve all the needs I purchased it for, its just, I know that I would be able to do a lot more with the Revue... By the way, at the time of purchase I was trying to decide between this and the Sony S..200... I decided to go with this because some content is protected by Cinavia, and so I'm sure the Sony probably wouldn't be able to play it. But this device, the WD Live played the Cinavia encoded content with NO problem. This was done with firmware version 1.04.12. There was a new version just released which I plan to install and use, but that was the version that I played the movie on.

I purchased this porduct to specifically use it with Slingplayer which WD claims to support. Could not get it to work with Slingplayer. I spent hours on the phone with WD Level 2 tech support. Finally, I suggested they try it with their unit. WD's unit did NOT work with Slingplayer either. What a crock! Took it back to BB and got a refund.

WD player worked great to play YouTubes on my Samsung SmartTV, that is, until Google changed the software stopping the YouTube function through the WD media player that sits in my junk pile of useless technology.

The WD LIVE is a great choice for someone looking for a media player that can display their photos,videos, stream content from you tube, Netflix, blockbuster , pandora radio and much more. It's compact size is perfect for tucking it away on the shelf. The interface is beautiful and easy to use and setting it up couldn't be easier. The WD LIVE played every file type I threw at it. I'm very happy with it and would definately recommend it to anyone.

WD TV Live is an awesome box. I had a roku before and this one blows the competition away. You can use your USB flash drive or external portable hard drive to play your media files. With the latest firmware, it plays pretty much anything, except for the alac and mp4 formats. I have not had the opportunity to test out streaming from my PC, but I heard people are getting good results with that providing that you have a decent router. Other than that, the unit is very fast in operation. The interface is nice, although obviously not as nice and smooth as with Apple TV. The remote control is a little too big, but you can install an app on your apple or android phone and it makes up for it. The only serious flaw I see is the continuous lack of support for Amazon video. Overall, I highly recommend this box to anyone who wants to stream video and play their video/audio collection on TV.

I bought this unit on sale over the Sony SMP-N100 because it offers more services and features. Although it's slightly more money, you get what you pay for. The WD TV Live unit has a 1080p picture and will do surround sound. (You will need it connected to an HDMI receiver or connected with an optical cord for surround sound.) It was easy to install and hook up. I elected to connect hard wired to the internet beacuse I only have wireless-G and a weak signal in the room where the TV is located. The wired connection streams content great; there is no stuttering, pausing or dropped frames. I use it mostly for music, You Tube and Netflix. It doesn't have all the content found on You Tube that is on your computer, but the hi-def videos are great on your TV. Netflix runs flawlessly, again in hi-def and surround sound. There are more than enough music stations to plug into. It can also accept a USB wired or wireless keyboard which is great for inputting versus the remote. Only negative was it had difficultly finding content on my PCs until I changed some network settings, but it does work with Windows 7 machines.

I've had a Micca media streamer in my bedroom for a number of years, and I really like it. It doesn't really connect to the net though. I was looking for something that would do both. I posed my question to the very knowledgeable folks at the avsforum.com, and the WDTV Live was the one unanimously recommended. The WDTV has built in apps for YouTube, Netflix, Hulu, Pandora, and a whole host of other services- both video and music. I am particularly fond of the YouTube app. I set up my "watch later" queue at YT on my computer, then my saved videos come up in the list. Trying to do this within the app with the remote is an exercise in futility- use your computer to set up your queue. As I do not have Netflix *yet*- I cannot comment on it, but hear it works fine. I plan on getting it sometime soon. I have it connected via an ethernet cable, and the streaming works fine- no stuttering whatever. Trying to fast forward a streaming video on YT is abysmal though. It FF's only 10 *seconds* at a time. Yes, you read that right... :-( It does better on local media, like from a thumb drive, but I think it tops out at 16x. It could stand some improvement here. I read in the manual that a certain button combo would make it skip 10 minutes at a time- but I have NOT been able to get that to work at all. I play media files from a thumb drive. I haven't tried a hard drive yet. It plays mkv's, mp4's, avi's including those with idx/sub and srt sub subtitle files just fine. The unit also runs hot. Seriously hot. I have mine standing up on end with a usb fan blowing on the bottom of it. The usb fan is connected to the tv's usb port, so when the tv goes on, the fan goes on. Clever, aren't I? lol It can also be a bit glitchy and "loses" the network every so often. Even with the minor annoyances, I love it. I can live with them. Nothing in life is perfect, and this thing is the best of it's kind out there. In fact, I like it so much I am planning on buying 2 more- one for my bedroom and another for my 84 year old mother. For the price, it's a no-brainer. You get a lot of bang for the buck.

I bought this unit to use primarily on the road. I backup my Blu-rays in ISO format on portable USB HDDs. I have been looking for something to play straight ISO files without having to convert them. In the past, I would have to lug around my laptop and play the ISO files by mounting the ISO on a virtual drive with my laptop connected to my TV via HDMI. Not the ideal setup but it worked, plus I didn't have to carry around a bunch of discs that have a tendency to get scratched. With WD TV Live, I connect the portable HDD via one of the USB ports and connect the HDMI output to my TV and voila!!! I have been able to play the all of the ISO files as well as every other format that I have thrown at it. The interface is clean and easy to navigate. If using a wired connection, this unit is plug-n-play. If you use a wireless connection, it takes a few minutes to setup on a secure network because you have to use an on-screen keyboard (similar to the on-screen keyboard on the PS3 or Xbox 360) to type in your password. I found the on-screen keyboard easy to use. I would suggest using a wired connection (if you have one available) when streaming HD movies. Unless you have a strong wireless connection, you may run into occasional picture degradation due to the nature of wireless signals. This is not a limitation of this unit, just normal issues with wireless connections. I tried streaming with both a wired and wireless connection and I did not run into any issues either way. Another feature of this unit is that it turns any TV into a "smart" TV. The TV I have in my living room is already a "smart" TV that connects to the internet, however, because the menus and other internet features are slow to load and navigate through, I prefer to use the internet features of this unit. They are quicker to load and easier to navigate. Even if your TV already boasts some of the features that this unit has, likely you will prefer the menus and quick response of this unit over your TVs. Sharing files over your home network is not as easy as plug-n-play, but I did not have too much difficulty setting it up (caveat: I have excellent knowledge of file sharing and networking). I am sharing the files from a Windows 7 PC connected to the same "Home Network" as the WD TV Live unit. If you have limited knowledge of file sharing using a Windows PC or setting up a "Home Network" you will find that sharing files from your PC to this unit will be troublesome. You will likely need to search the internet for tutorials. Overall, this is a nice little unit that is ultra portable and easy to use. It delivers on features and plays almost any file format you can throw it.