TechTips - Review of the Western Digital WD TV HD Media Player

People are moving more and more towards digital media and often times are forced to view and listen to their digital media files on their PC. Typically they don't have the tools, knowledge, or just don't want to hook their PC to the TV so they can view their media. Well now there is an easy to use device that hooks to your TV and plays almost any media file from a USB stick or external hard drive. The Western Digital WD TV HD is a small portable easy to use media playback device that is just what the doctor ordered for digital media.

The Good

Small device, the Western Digital WD TV HD is tiny smaller than most external hard drives. Its small size makes it easy to move from room to room or just to pack it and take it with you. It fits in the palm of my hand and doesn't even weigh a pound.

Simple to use, you just hook it up to your TV with either the composite connectors (included with the device) or an HDMI cable (purchased separately). Once connected just turn it on with the remote (also included with the device) and you can use the menu options to view your media files.

Easy to use interface, the interface has very few options which make it easy to use. Some people complain that it's too simplistic but what more can you ask for, it has three basic options for Viewing your files sort by date, folders, and view all media. Then you just pick the media file and hit play, its that simple.

1080p playback, the Western Digital WD TV HD supports up to 1080p playback so if you have files that are in 1080p you will be able to play it back in the 1080p resolution, you don't lose any quality.

The Western Digital WD TV HD Plays almost any file format and works with nearly all USB hard drive/thumb drive. I have yet to find a file this thing won't play, I have tried AVI, WMV, FLV, MKV, and many others, all have played and none have had any problems ( I have heard that some files won't play audio but I personally haven't experienced this).

Two USB ports for multiple devices to be hooked up at once, comes in handy if you have more than one external hard drive like I do. I use a 250GB and 320GB Seagate external hard drive hooked to the device. One has all my movies and the other has all my Music I can play all of them through the Western Digital WD TV HD. It looks and sounds great on my 50" Samsung plasma TV hooked up via HDMI.

The Bad

The Western Digital WD TV HD gets hot when it is used heavily for a long time. I haven't had any issues with it malfunctioning due to heat but I can't imagine it is very good for the device to be this warm all the time. I wouldn't recommend enclosing the device in a cabinet or any other small space.

The remote lags, when you click a button it seems like it takes a second for the Western Digital WD TV HD to respond. It's not a big deal but a more responsive remote would be nice. I sometimes hit the button and it takes 2-3 seconds to respond, sometimes I hit the button again (thinking it didn't work) then it does work and then the second click registers which is a pain.

Video files don't always fit the screen (I have a 50" and some files will only take up 75% of the screen so I get the black letter boxes on the sides) and there is no option other than zoom, the zoom often distorts the video. Maybe the next firmware update will fix this with a fit to screen option or something.

No networking support for the base model, the newest model has an Ethernet port so that you can join it to your network and play videos via the internet or your PC. That model costs $140.

Included conversion software is limited and takes a long time. The software isn't the best but if you have the time you can use it to convert you files to MKV but of course this takes time.

The Verdict

Overall I am happy with the Western Digital WD TV HD, looking back I might have waited for the new version since it has networking capabilities but the player works fine for what I wanted it for. I use it to watch movies on two HD TVs I have, on in living room and the other in my bedroom. It was getting to be to much of a hassle to move the computer back and forth, and I also like to be on the computer while watching movies. This device does what I need and its very portable, so I am happy. I hope this review helps you decide if the Western Digital WD TV HD is right for you.

You can get one here for $99 and you don't have to pay taxes and its free shipping.