Western Digital WD TV

474 reviews

Dec, 2024

Positive
usability (182)
size (38)
price (31)
design (21)

Negative
reliability (19)

General overview
Price comparison

alaTest has collected and analyzed 474 reviews of Western Digital WD TV. The average rating for this product is 4.1/5, compared to an average rating of 4.2/5 for other products in the same category for all reviews. Comments about the design and size are generally positive. The price and usability also get good opinions, but many are critical about the reliability.

usability, price, size, design

reliability

We analyzed user and expert ratings, product age and more factors. Compared to other products in the same category the Western Digital WD TV is awarded an overall alaScore™ of 92/100 = Excellent quality.

Review analysis

(Based on 474 reviews)

Expert Reviews

User Reviews

Review Ratings

(36% of reviews)
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size
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Showing 248 review(s)

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Showing 1 - 10 of 248 Show Reviews: in English | in other languages (225)

Expert review by : Iyaz Akhtar (cnet.com)

WD TV masters your video library

This set-top box can play virtually every file type and it does it well.

The WD TV plays back pretty much any file format you can throw at it, including MKV, AVI, and MP4 video. Huge HD video files played smoothly without any hiccups. Its native app selection includes 80 choices, such as YouTube, Hulu Plus, Spotify, and...

Its streaming video support is subpar, lacking Netflix, Amazon Instant Video HBO Go and others. Many apps, especially YouTube, suffered from sluggish load times.

While not for everyone, the WD TV's adroit playback of video and music files makes it the perfect living room box for people with large digital media collections.

Nov, 2014

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Expert review by : Nick Mediati (pcworld.com)

WD TV

The Western Digital WDTV ($110 as of March 5, 2009) marks the hard-drive maker's first foray into the field of media players, but the move makes sense as an extension of the company's existing hard-disk products. The WDTV box lets your HDTV play media...

HDMI, 1080p support Straightforward menu design

Slow menu interface No automatic sync software

Overall, if you want to skip the home networking approach and connect a media-filled hard drive up to your television, the WDTV is a good bet. Full 1080p support and HDMI connectivity makes it an especially viable option for home-theater users

Mar, 2009

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Expert review by : David Carnoy (cnet.com)

WD TV HD Media Player (winter 2009) review: WD TV HD Media Player (winter 2009)

WD TV HD Media Player (winter 2009)

Compact adapter allows for playback of USB-based multimedia files on TV; reads a lot of file formats; both HDMI and composite video connections; able to connect up to two mass USB storage devices at one time via side- and rear-mounted USB ports; up to...

Couldn't play back audio on some files; no networking capabilities; eSATA, FireWire, or flash media reader options would've been nice as well.

While it isn't infallible, the Western Digital WD TV HD Media Player plays back a wide array of audio, video, and image files on your TV without the need for a computer.

Feb, 2009

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Expert review by (cnet.com)

WD TV HD Media Player winter 2009

The WD TV Media Player comes with a remote and connects to your TV via HDMI or standard composite AV cables (only composite AV cables are included, however). We tested the unit with both a thumbdrive and a couple of external hard drives; all worked...

Couldn't play back audio on some files; no networking capabilities; eSATA, FireWire, or flash media reader options would've been nice as well.

While it isn't infallible, the Western Digital WD TV HD Media Player plays back a wide array of audio, video, and image files on your TV without the need for a computer.

Feb, 2009

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Expert review by : Joe Brown (wired.com)

Review: Western Digital WD TV

A certain class of people have long wanted to easily download and play files on their massive flat-panel TVs. This powerful special interest group is...

Displays video content in up to 1080p. Optical audio-out lets you jack into the hi-fi with optimal sound quality. Makes it easy to force guests to watch your unedited vacation footage by slurping movies off the family videocam. Menus easy to navigate —...

No RAW files. Comes only with composite cables. Tendency to choke on .wmv files. Thumbs down to the engineer who decided the WDTV didn’t have to talk with your computer or card reader. Seriously, how hard would it have been to throw an ethernet jack on...

Nov, 2008

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Expert review by : Michael Brown (maximumpc.com)

Western Digital WD TV Live Review

For a company whose primary business is manufacturing hard drives, Western Digital sure knows a lot about digital media and how to stream it over a network. Each succeeding generation of the company's WD TV Live product has led the market in terms of...

Doesn't support Vudu

Jan, 2012

Partner Source

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Expert review by : Adrienne Maxwell (hometheaterreview.com)

Western Digital WD TV Live Streaming Media Player

Western Digital has been moving steadily into the home theater realm. Their status is now firmly planted with the WD TV Live streaming device, which aims to compete directly with Apple and Roku.

The WD TV Live offers a great assortment of Web services, including Netflix, Hulu Plus, Vudu, Pandora, Spotify, CinemaNow, Facebook, and more ; Wired and wireless network connections are available ; The box supports a 1080p resolution. In addition to...

The IR remote lacks a full keyboard for easier text input ; Western Digital does not offer an apps store to expand and customize the list of Web services ; The service does not currently include Amazon Instant Video

The WD TV Live sells for about $100, pitting it directly against the Apple TV and top-of-the-line Roku 2 XS. The WD TV Live has more functionality than either of those boxes, in its combination of Web services and outstanding file support. Its features...

Aug, 2012

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Expert review by : Barb Gonzalez (hometheatermag.com)

Western Digital WD TV Live Streaming Media Player

The WD TV Live streaming media player has much in common with its predecessor, the WD TV Live Hub. When the WD TV Live Hub came out, I thought it was the best network media player and streamer on the market. It has a clean menu system; can play movies,...

Jul, 2012

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Expert review by : thinkdigit.com (thinkdigit.com)

WD TV Live Review

Barring the issues with buffering of videos, the WD TV Live is an extremely feature-rich HD media player capable of doing Wi-Fi as well. But at Rs. 7990, we felt it a bit overpriced.

Wi-Fi support, Compact size, Variety of video formats supported

Remote requires hard press and not suitable while using Facebook, YouTube buffering issue

Feb, 2012

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Expert review by : big bruin (bigbruin)

Western Digital WD TV Live Media Player

Overall, the WD TV Live media player packs a lot of features in to a little box. Couple this with a great price, and you have a very attractive device. It is remarkably easy to setup, has tons of connectivity options, has great file support, easy...

» Intuitive, fast interface., » Connectivity options allow it to be used almost anywhere., » Sound and video quality are very good., » Built in wireless., » Plays most file formats., » Manual is quite extensive in covering features.

» Potential 1080P playback issue., » Line of site remote., » Since manual is actually useful it would be nice to have a searchable version on the device., » No support for Amazon., » Would like USB buffer support., » Parental controls only work for...

Feb, 2012

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