Storage developer Western Digital has been in the standalone media player game for a little while, but is now making its media storage and streaming solutions more compelling to folks who can’t get enough digital media: the new WD TV Live Plus HD media player will not only push high-definition content to a big-screen TV, it can also tap into Netflix via the Internet, letting Netflix subscribers watching a broad library of television episodes and movies via the Internet.
“While Netflix can be found on an increasing number of products such as Internet TVs, Blu-ray Players, video game consoles, and other stand-alone devices, the WD TV Live Plus media player is unique as it allows digital media buffs to access and play all of their own personal HD media stored anywhere on their network or USB drives,” said WD’s marketing VP for branded products Dale Pistilli, in a statement.
Netflix isn’t the only online media service the WD TV Live Plus HD can access: it can also tap into services like YouTube, Flickr, Pandora, and MediaFly.
The WD TV Live Plus HD features HDMI 1.3, Composite A/V, and component outputs, along with Ethernet and Wi-Fi connectivity and USB 2.0 ports for hooking up in external mass storage; folks who want to lash in the home theater system cam use the S/PDIF digital audio output. . The WD TV Live Plus HD supports full HD 1080p resolution video playback and navigation (with included dedicated remote), and can access media stored on other Windows 7 computer on a network, making it easy to pull video, photos, and music from other PCs in the house. The interface supports photo slideshows, music playback, and movie viewing, all with onscreen navigation and playback controls. The device supports a myriad of file formats (including AVI, Xvid, H.h264, MPEG1/2/4, WMV9, MP3, WMA
The WD TV Live Plus HD is available now for a suggested price of $149.99. Netflix streaming requires a separate Netflix subscription.
