Comparison

I just got a 3TB MyBook Live drive.  Can someone explain how this compares to the TV Live player?  Are they complimentary?  Do they basically do the same thing?  If I have the drive is there any reason to have the TV Live player?

Apples and oranges

MYBook live is the server while TV Live  is the player that attaches to your tv. TV Live can pull your content FROM the MYBOOK live over your network. YOu don’t have to have Mybook to do this but this is how it can be used.

I don’t have the new version, but I have several of the older Live units and a Live Hub. They all work in an inter-connected way. Heres how I have mine set up so this should give you an idea of how you could use this new one:

Upstairs:

Spare bedroom: 1 My Book Live (2TB), 2 My Book World (2 TB), 1 computer file server (8TB)

Main Bedroom: 1 computer, 1 WD TV Live Plus (mid-size TV)

Downstairs:

Living Room:

1 WD TV Live Hub (1 TB) attached to a bigscreen TV

Kitchen/Dining Room: 1 WD TV Live connected to a small TV


I store all my movies, and music on the file server computer, and the My Book World/Live drives.

I store my Photos on the internal drive of the WD TV Live Hub.

I can watch/listen/view any of the videos/music/photos from any of the 3 TVs or the Comptuer in my bedroom. In addition my Digital Photo frames throughout the house can also see the photos stored on the hub (they could see them on a My Book Live too) and rotates between them. If I had a DLNA compatible music system that could see all my music too.

Also if I ever ran out of room, each of the WD TV’s have USB ports you can use to store even more stuff. - They work really well together!

The new version appears to use the same interface as the Hub, so i’ll likely be replacing the Lives and the Plus with this new one soon.

Thanks, fletchb.  I should have mentioned that I also have a blu ray player that streams.  So if I didn’t have that blu ray, the TV Live would be handy.  But since I have the blu ray, TV Live would not be necessary.  Correct?

djspenser wrote:

Thanks, fletchb.  I should have mentioned that I also have a blu ray player that streams.  So if I didn’t have that blu ray, the TV Live would be handy.  But since I have the blu ray, TV Live would not be necessary.  Correct?

Usually a blu-ray can only stream from services such as Netflix, Hulu, etc. - if they can see SAMBA/DLNA devices on your network they most often have a very limited ammount of codecs they can play. The WD TV’s on the other hand can play (almost) any file you can think of besides real-player stuff. I’ve thrown all sorts of files at them and have only come up with a handful of stuff (usually custom codecs from certain brands of digital cameras) that it can’t play. Nothing on the market comes even close to what these things can play imho.

Thanks, Ardvark.  Makes sense now.  My wife is gonna kill me…more tech toys.

Ardvark,

Do you know if the new units support HDMI 1.4?  Can they stream 3D?

I know the hub and the new live “streaming” does HDMI 1.4, but 3D support is limited from what i’ve read on here…apparently the HDMI 1.4 specification only has minimum requirments for 3D or some such nonsense. Knowing corporations these days they will prolly release a “WD TV 3D” next year :robotwink:.

http://wdc.custhelp.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/3848/

Hmmmmm…sounds like I might want to wait a little.  Safe from the wife for a while.

The implication that HDMI 1.4 means 3D support is persistent.  :)

3D is supported in HDMI 1.3 as well.

My 3DTV and AVR and BD Player are all “HDMI 1.3,” and they are all, of course, 3D.  

That’s one of the reasons why the HDMI Licensing Group is prohibiting the inclusion of HDMI version numbers by themselves in product specs beginning next year.

http://www.hdmi.org/manufacturer/trademark_logo_pub.aspx

Effective as of January 1, 2012, all non-cable products cannot make any reference to HDMI version numbers.  Until that time Adopters can use HDMI version numbers only when the feature or features associated with that HDMI version number is clearly specified. For instance, a manufacturer can describe a product as featuring “HDMI® v.1.4 with Audio Return Channel and HDMI Ethernet Channel,” but may not describe a product as being “HDMI® v.1.4 compliant.”

So if the spec is not an issue, does one need to be concerned about the speed rating of the HDMI cable for 3D?

Yes…  

3D requires HDMI High Speed.  But dang near everything made falls under that these days, including Amazon’s dirt cheap “Basics” cables…  which is all I use.  :)

Interesting.  Bestbuy is pushing $99 cables rated at 10.2 Gbs (I believe that’s the rating).  I don’t trust those people anyway, and I’ll be hanged if I’m going to pay $99 for a 3’ cable.  I’ve seen cables rated the same speed at Video Only for about $20.  Should one look for that sort of speed when choosing a cable?

djspenser wrote:

Bestbuy is pushing $99 cables rated at 10.2 Gbs (I believe that’s the rating).  I don’t trust those people anyway, and I’ll be hanged if I’m going to pay $99 for a 3’ cable.  I’ve seen cables rated the same speed at Video Only for about $20.  Should one look for that sort of speed when choosing a cable?

 

I’m right there with ya, brudda.   

***ALL*** HDMI cables support at least 10.2 Gbit / sec bitrate!  :smileyvery-happy:   That’s the MINIMUM!

These cables:

http://www.amazon.com/AmazonBasics-High-Speed-Meters-Supports-Channel/dp/B001T9NUJE/ref=sr_1_3?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1317941184&sr=1-3

are all I use right now (except for the ones that Verizon installed when they installed my service).   I think I have seven of these at last count… and haven’t had a SINGLE ISSUE.

I thank you profusely for that information.  My wife thanks you!  Information is a great equalizer.  Sad thing is that Bestbuy is apparently having financial problems and could go belly up.  As bad as they are, they’re almost the only game in town anymore.  I like Crutchfield, but they’re a bit pricey.  Here in the San Francisco bay area we’ve lost Circuit City, The Good Guys, and a number of equipment oriented small chains.  I’ve been buying components for 40 years.  Want some fun…walk into a Bestbuy and ask one of the kids there (usually with tattoos on their fingers and neck) what a signal to noise ratio is and watch their eyes glaze over!

djspenser wrote:

Interesting.  Bestbuy is pushing $99 cables rated at 10.2 Gbs (I believe that’s the rating).  I don’t trust those people anyway, and I’ll be hanged if I’m going to pay $99 for a 3’ cable.  I’ve seen cables rated the same speed at Video Only for about $20.  Should one look for that sort of speed when choosing a cable?

 

Please, please do not get sucked into buying one of those cables. They make 95% profit on stuff like that!

A good place to buy cables is monoprice.com. You get excellent quality at a sensible price.

Cables

Local stores are way out of line with pricing on HDMI cables.  Use Cyberguys.com, NewEgg.com, Overstock.com.  I’ve gotten 6 foot cables for $3, all meet HDMI speed and compatibilty requirements.

Yea my poor Aunts recently got “Monstered” by BB. And my reletives on the other side of the family do the same thing too. $70 for the cable - on sale no doubt and about $750 for a 32in LCD.  This time even my sister commented how they always ask for advice then do the opposite and get ripped off. They did exchange the Tv for a more reasonable deal and are happy with with so it ended pretty well. Thinking of starting a hdmi cable service for my relatives: Herman Munster Turbo-speed HDMI cables for only $19.95. I will still make a heffy profit at that price and they will sleep well at night knowing they got the best! :slight_smile:

I have never understood Monster Cable.  I still use good old 16 gauge speaker wire and it works just fine.  Seems to me that if there truly is a difference in the sound quality I think it’s going to be so subtle that most people won’t hear it anyway.  Or maybe your ability to hear it is directly proportional to how badly you got stung with the price of the cable.  I remember when Dolby noise reduction first appeared on cassette decks in the early '70s.  50 to 55 db signal to noise ratio.  We were in heaven.  Now with CDs you get 90+ db.  That’s a difference you can hear.

djspenser wrote:

I have never understood Monster Cable.

Read this: http://eands.caltech.edu/articles/LXXI-1/marketing.html