Just happened upon this from Engadget:
C’mon now. This device has been around since the Live came out… Seagate got their stuff together… What’s the holdup WD?
Couldn’t care less (and I am a member of Netflix – the streaming stuff they offer is ■■■■, and half the time it doesn’t work even on a dedicated Netflix server).
I really really really hope WD never adds this capability (just asking for trouble).
I’ve been using Netflix with a DLink DSM520 through Playon. It would be nice to have the Live box to offer this as a direct channel just like it does with yuotube. MKelley, I know Nexflix isn’t for everyone b ut it would be great if WD would offer more direct videos besides Youtube and it seems Netflix if is high on the popularity list with consumers. Other suggestions ? Hulu? Crackle?
mkelley wrote:
Couldn’t care less (and I am a member of Netflix – the streaming stuff they offer is ■■■■, and half the time it doesn’t work even on a dedicated Netflix server).
I really really really hope WD never adds this capability (just asking for trouble).
I would have to disagree with you. Netflix streaming is fantastic for catching up with TV shows (most in HD with no commercials and available almost immediately after broadcast). I also use it for watching hard to find movies (or movies I don’t want risking getting shipped a physical disc on), kids shows/movies for my son and documentaries all the time.
In terms of the problems you’re having…what devices are you playing through? What kind of connection do you have? I personally use it on a 10mbps cable modem through a PS3, a Wii, a Blu-ray player with Netflix built-in, PlayOn off a server and through multiple laptops with absolutely zero trouble.
To me having Netflix compatibility is the cost of entry for many TVs, STB, BD Players, media players, etc today. For something that’s supposed to be universal like the WDTV Live to not have it will definitely cost sales dollars. Especially when the competing product with similar capabilities AND Netflix compatibility can be had for $20 less.
No, you guys don’t get it.
The WD has a TON of issues it needs to get resolved. It does NOT need any more complexity right now (as a matter of fact, my advice to the tech guys is to simplify and cut back on things they are trying to make the Live do).
There are better ways to get Netflix content if that’s what you want (and pretty poor content it is at that – why in heavens name would you want a 1080p device like the Live to deliver what is 99% low res television shows and pan and scan movies. Yipes – might as well complain about YouTube).
With Blockbuster and Hollywood video scaling back they’ve actually closed all stores local to us, leaving no rental option other than RedBox.
We’re now seriously thinking of signing up for Netflix, short term just for the ability to rent a broader range of films.
My current DSL connection (1.5Mbps when ATT isn’t randomly disconnecting me) is probably not sufficient for adequate Netflix streaming but we’re planning on moving to an area with FiOS / 15Mbps fiber internet, which would be perfect for streaming. At that point, I’d love to be able to access it via a channel on the Live rather than messing about with a media server like PlayOn.
However, despite this being a very hot topic in the Ideas forum, we’ve yet to see WD implement DVD menus (and we know they’re not working on BD menu support anymore). I’m assuming Netflix support is not going to happen.
Somewhere down the line I’ll inevitably be getting a BD player and chances are it will have Netflix support anyway.
Or I guess I could use my Wii right now.
All anybody can really say is that it is in the ideas section and if you want to vote for it than go there.
http://community.wdc.com/t5/WD-TV-Live-Ideas/NETFLIX-streaming-support/idi-p/143
WD say that they are looking in to it. However its best not to hold your breath waiting.
If you really want Netflix (which of course only benefits users in the States) then I would go for a unit which actually advertises that it has this facility which of course WDTV never has and there is no reason why it ever should.
Mkelly, I’ve been using the WD TV LIVE for a while now, what problems are you referring to?
Grant it, Netflix, hulu and any other flash enabled streaming would add to the complexity, but how much more? If memory serves Youtube is Flash based. Or does it pull the videos directly from the web database and doesn’t bother with the web page (kind of like the new JooJoo tablet).
I haven’t used PlayOn yet, from reading this board it sounds like it’s the best solution to the issue of playing Netflix and Hulu on this unit, but wouldn’t the res on that still be ■■■■? does this unit do upconversion and attempt to clean up the signal? I’ve used my PS3 to stream and this unit to stream (both connected to the same 1080p TV), I can’t say i see much of a difference and I know the PS3 does an upconversion.
Just my 2 cents
granted netflix is on my list of things i don’t care for, i can see why some would want it.
i think they have other priority stuff to work on before they try and offer netflix, and it might be a licensing thing, not sure.
I really don’t think it’s a question of ‘us’ “getting it”.
It’s a question, really, of whether or not WD “gets it”. I posted the link and started the thread because, yet another major player in the storage business can retrofit their HD player, why not us? Does Seagate have more expertise? Are they invested more with their own devices vs. WD with it’s own?
The issue is the future. Even if just for the US market, if new devices and old devices by competitors offer a certain feature which WD is not-- how will that affect WD’s media player business…? And if they ever intend to release another device, it’s probably going to need Netflix access to survive as well. So this device would be the test bed.
In other posts, I have said I wanted this device to work correctly and have the bugs fixed. I have not had nearly any of the problems other owners have had with their Lives. But that does not mean I do not want those bugs not fixed just because they don’t affect me… Frankly, I could care less all the Blu-Ray fuss people make around here, or even DVD menu support. But I don’t say that those people who want those fixes don’t ‘get it’. Because, ultimately any improvements made via bug fixes or new features mean that Western Digital is still engaged with support of the product and it’s owners. I really see no reason why WDC can not fix bugs and implement new features at the same time…
This device from it’s lovely start to the near demise with the firmware fiasco is starting to feel dead in the water. It’s a sad day when the least capable of the next gen game platforms can deliver something the Live can’t… And I own a Wii as well.
I completely agree. Netflix support should be a standard feature. If anyone is paying $100+ for a set-top box device, it should have Netflix capabilities built-in.
Whether or not one person may or may not use it, doesn’t really matter. The fact remains that it’s a widely used and widely common feature that is a major selling point, and it really makes me regret purchasing a Western Digital product.
I could have purchased a Seagate FreeAgent Theater+ HD Media Player (which is even cheaper than WD’s TV Live) and it has Netflix and all the other features that I wanted.
It seems sad that Western Digital can’t even keep up with the competition, and although I’ve always liked Western Digital products, it just seems that Western Digital really should have included things like an HDMI 1.4a port, as well as an integrated Web Browser, and wireless bluetooth (so that you could use a wireless keyboard).
I don’t want 4 or 5 set-top boxes, I just want a nice Western Digital Set-top box that can surf the internet, play Netflix, and it should have HDMI 1.4a, 10GbE port, USB 3.0 port, optical port, and Component outputs. It should include Netflix, YouTube, MediaFly, vTuner, Picasa, Flickr, Video Feeds (RSS), Text feeds (RSS), a nice weather widget (Weather Channel?), and a nice Finance Widget just like the Seagate FreeAgent Theater+ HD does!
- Accesses and plays content from your computer to a tv and directly from your digital camera, flash drive or external drives via two included USB ports
- Connects to your PC or Mac computer, network and the Internet via Ethernet or wirelessly with the optional Wi–Fi Adapter
- Lets you watch streaming media directly from the Internet, your computer and your USB devices
- Delivers all the content that’s included with your DVDs, including menus, commentator tracks and subtitles
- Makes navigating and managing your digital media files easy with the included remote control and intuitive on–screen menus
- Creates exciting slideshows with your own music track for sharing with friends and family
Mark_Malewski wrote:
I completely agree. Netflix support should be a standard feature. If anyone is paying $100+ for a set-top box device, it should have Netflix capabilities built-in.
Whether or not one person may or may not use it, doesn’t really matter. The fact remains that it’s a widely used and widely common feature that is a major selling point, and it really makes me regret purchasing a Western Digital product.
I could have purchased a Seagate FreeAgent Theater+ HD Media Player (which is even cheaper than WD’s TV Live) and it has Netflix and all the other features that I wanted.
It seems sad that Western Digital can’t even keep up with the competition, and although I’ve always liked Western Digital products, it just seems that Western Digital really should have included things like an HDMI 1.4a port, as well as an integrated Web Browser, and wireless bluetooth (so that you could use a wireless keyboard).
I don’t want 4 or 5 set-top boxes, I just want a nice Western Digital Set-top box that can surf the internet, play Netflix, and it should have HDMI 1.4a, 10GbE port, USB 3.0 port, optical port, and Component outputs. It should include Netflix, YouTube, MediaFly, vTuner, Picasa, Flickr, Video Feeds (RSS), Text feeds (RSS), a nice weather widget (Weather Channel?), and a nice Finance Widget just like the Seagate FreeAgent Theater+ HD does!
- Accesses and plays content from your computer to a tv and directly from your digital camera, flash drive or external drives via two included USB ports
- Connects to your PC or Mac computer, network and the Internet via Ethernet or wirelessly with the optional Wi–Fi Adapter
- Lets you watch streaming media directly from the Internet, your computer and your USB devices
- Delivers all the content that’s included with your DVDs, including menus, commentator tracks and subtitles
- Makes navigating and managing your digital media files easy with the included remote control and intuitive on–screen menus
- Creates exciting slideshows with your own music track for sharing with friends and family
A couple of points:
You purchased the WDTV Live knowing that it did not support Netflix and there was no promise that WD would support it. Why would you do that? Is it because that at the time it was the best you could get and now there is something better. That’s just life - something better always comes along. The same thing will happen with the Seagate and all the other so called better units. The ‘grass will always be greener’ so prepare to be constantly disappointed.
WD are currently looking at adding Netflix but there is no time scale.
I note that the optional WI-Fi adaptor is a proprietary item which costs $50.
I have to be on RichUK side - why do you ask for Netflix support when you paid for a box without that feature?
It’s like asking for Windows 7 support for a laptop that came with XP! There may be or there is not! DOT!
Ok, there may be an ideea for WD to built a new box with support for Netflix. But this isn’t helping current WD Live users!
You better focus to push WD to improve simple stuffs that can be improved for current box (like DVD menus)!
If you want Netflix, you shuld look for a box that already support Netflix! End of storry!
It was WD who asked what features the users would like to see added to the Live and Netflix is one of the popular features requested. They placed the idea in review and there it has been sitting. If they do not intend to implement this then they should let us know.
A competing product due to come out soon will include Netflix and a wireless adaptor at the same price point.
Some things people need to understand about adding services like netflix.
Netflix uses silverlight not flash for playing back content.
The WDTV Live player runs a linux based OS. Under linux silverlight support is way behind that of the windows versions. The last version released was version 2 in december 2009. Netflix currently requires version 3. The other issue is DRM. The mpaa has made it a requirement for services like netflix to have a pp or protected path for the content they sell. This is a problem because linux isn’t well known for its support of DRM. So in order to make netflix work on linux they have to make sure the DRM will remain intact. Microsoft has been cooperating here , they recently allowed the linux porting of silverlight DRM to be done through Novell as a mediator to make sure it wasn’t compromised. I think the live will get netflix support it is just going to take time to get the porting of the code to linux completed.
Other players that have netflix support are not running a linux OS , many are windows CE or windows embedded. A lot of the blu-ray players that support netflix run it through a java ported version of silverlight. The Live cannot do this as it doesn’t have the dedicated java processor that blu-ray players have. Inside those there is an actual part of the cpu that does nothing but java in hardware.
Thanks for that info ptricks!
That does provide some insight into what would be needed. But, that still does not answer Raster99’s question of what the status actually is…
If it truly is as difficult as you say to implement this, the answer should be pretty clear-cut and evident immediately; and the ideas thread should be updated. Otherwise for WD to say in the thread, “We’ll, tell you when we have the good news”, is reckless and false.
This is confusing. Apple has stated that it will not include Java on the iPad yet is has recently gave approval for a Netflix app to be run on it. The iPad does not use Windows or Java yet Netflix will be supported by a third party app. And how is it implemented on the Wii and PS3?
Raster99 wrote:
This is confusing. Apple has stated that it will not include Java on the iPad yet is has recently gave approval for a Netflix app to be run on it. The iPad does not use Windows or Java yet Netflix will be supported by a third party app. And how is it implemented on the Wii and PS3?
It appears that Wii and PS3 use BD-Live which incorporates BD-J (Blu-ray Disc Java). At the moment you need to run a disc supplied by Netflix to access their service.
http://www.brighthub.com/electronics/home-theater/articles/34540.aspx
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BD-J
The Apple IPAD may use Silverlight video streaming. There is an articale here about streaming to iphones.
However they do it I bet it is proprietary to Apple.
Hopefully I can add a little ease to the Seagate vs WD live debate. First off I myself are having a few issues I am not totally happy with on the WD player I will ask here as I am going to ask in a new thread. when I use netwrok shares I have 2 dedicated 1Tb hardrives my movies are on almost 1 out of 2 movies starts to chop and never seems to get beter I have to power down and start over so having said that chapter skips would be a great help I have compared both units I liked seagates ability to read of all drives when plugged into its USB on unit rather than showing separate drives however the video was not near as good As the WD Live and it was noticeable to the point that it was the deciding factor. I too would love to have netflix and was told it is in the works. However I would like the current issues fixed first cause down the road I am going to start doing blu ray and if I am having issues with DVds I am sure to have issues with that
What about the audio for certain file types on the seagate… Have you ever have audio/video sync difference of up to 8 seconds? If I can’t have my audio and video in sync, it doesn’t matter how good the video quality is.
