I would like to expand my network storage and am considering 2 WD products for the same price tag of $179CDN:
WD Live 2TB Ethernet
WD World 3TB USB
Some pros and cons are obvious, but I’d like to hear different opinions and rely on experiences with users having purchased either one.
Which one is better?
I have one serious hangup on the WD Live unit since it doesn’t have USB ports allowing extra expansion directly on the hub but then I favour the WD World since it has an extra TB of storage but I have to connect it to a computer and have it on to connect to my WDTV LIVE.
I know I can purchase a NAS adapter for ~$70CDN but these apper to only allow 1 drive plug in and if it’s one that offers dual plugs, the second unit can only be a printer.
They’re not really comparable products. USB external drives are cheaper than ethernet drives, but require you to connect them to another device.
If you have a router with usb ports, or a server which is never turned off, then the USB version makes sense as it’s cheaper.
If you don’t want other devices turned on, go with the ethernet one. I’m using one as a 24/7 server, managing automated backups, torrent downloads, and serving files to whatever computers are turned on locally or given access over the internet. A usb drive couldn’t do any of that by itself.
I’m using a usb drive (elements) as a backup, since it’s plugged in once a week or so, backup run, then put back into a draw. It’s data storage only, so the additional abilities of the ethernet device would be wasted on it.
I agree that a usb port on the Live would be nice.
