Media Player Review: Western Digital WD TV

Digital media players have been around for quite some time. However, they are almost always associated with the technologically advanced, like those who seek only the latest in technology. Lately though, we can see that this is being introduced to the greater general audience. One of these products is the WD TV.

The WD TV is a complete solution where one can take their digital media such as photos, music, and videos, and play them back on their TV. It's as portable as a pico ITX computer box and takes in the form of a miniaturized MyBook, Western Digital's external desktop storage product line. If you are into black and glossy exteriors, you will love this. The only aspect where it's not complete is the storage option. The WD TV does not come with its own hard drive, but has two USB 2.0 ports to accommodate flash and hard disk drives, including even those not made by Western Digital. It outputs audio and video via HDMI, optical S/PDIF, and a set of RCA jacks. Audio is also outputted along with the video when using the HDMI port. There's also a mini remote, which is the only way to control the WD TV.

Upon turning on the WD TV, we were greeted by an interface that's a cross between Windows Vista's media center and the Playstation 3's crossbar menu. The interface is donned with well-made, intuitive graphics. From the main menu, users can choose what kind of activity they want to do, and these include viewing photos, watching videos, and playing music. Users can browse their storage devices' contents manually or have the WD TV search for media automatically. The WD TV supports most major formats for these main activities, including most video formats. We downloaded several optimized videos from the Internet in standard 720p and 1080p HO formats (in AVI and MKV), and as expected, the WD TV was able to play these on our full HO display in optimal viewing resolutions without a hitch. We did find however that it does not perfectly stretch videos that are smaller or different in aspect ratio as what the TV would allow, so do expect to adjust the video output between wide and normal to remedy this. The WD TV also has a nifty feature that remembers the position where you stopped your last video.

Photos can be viewed individually or the WD TV can be set to slide show mode. Music playback, on the other hand, is handled by a media player, making use of a digital audio player organization scheme. While the media player can read playlists, it cannot create them.

Our only main gripes about the WD TV's design are the lack of quick access between the main menu and the current multimedia file being viewed or played, the cheap feel of the remote, and the GUI's somewhat leggy response. But despite these minor flaws, WD still manages to graciously pull this one off As far as taking digital media into your living room is concerned, the WD TV nails it. Count on WD to provide firmware updates, providing new features and format support moving forward.