I already have a Live Hub and I’m thinking of buying another. I want a media player that I can put in the kitchen or bedroom that will play media from my NAS and play the BBC radio streams. Now that the Live Streaming has been released I’m wondering if this would be a better bet than another Hub. I don’t store any media on the Hubs internal drive. It seems like the Streaming is a Hub without the internal HD but plus built-in WiFi. Are there any other differences from the Hub? What is the difference in price between the Live TV, Streaming and Hub? Can the Media Library access network shares now?
You are exactly right. The differences are
WD HUB
1 TB drive
no wireless
WD Live Streaming
No internal drive
built in wireless
The WD Live Streaming does have a newer processor and 512 mb ram builtin. In your environment, if the Live Hub can play and stream it, then the Live Streaming can as well (on a wired connection, wireless of course depends on the environment,etc…).
As of the newest firmware for the Live Hub (3.00.28 11/17/2011) the Media Library will work for the network shares. However, there seems to be some confusion on what is the best or proper procedure of operation surrounding updates and the features regarding updates. Additionally, there are some reports of playback issues of certain files. The new firmware has no features that I really need/want, so I leave it as it is.
As practice, I take several steps before I do an update. Among other steps, I do a full power down and download the firmware locally, before updating. Since you do not store anything locally, your risk is different. You may want to verify that you have a backout plan (downgrade to the previous firmware). Verify that you have a good , validated backup of your NAS. or create a new temporary share with a few test files, to see if it does what you want it to do.
Price wise, in the US, the price difference is approximately $100. The Live HUB is available at $189 - 200 from reputable places. The Live Streaming is available at $89.99 to $100. No sales tax, free shipping.
