Recertified Western Digital TV Live HD Media Player for $62.98 Shipped

Strange there are no AUDIO specs?

Physical Specifications
Capacity N/A
Interface Ethernet, HDMI, Composite A/V, Component video, USB 2.0

What about DD5.1? Coaxial? Optical? Dolby EX? THX?

Makes ya wonder about a company that tells 1/2 the story about their products..

And the price isn't even much off MSRP for a new one?

:ack:
 
After using a DivX DVD player (no HD, occasional video stutter & Only DivX AVI) for years, this WD TV Live was a GREAT upgrade because it plays almost Every format (like MKV, H264, MP4, etc, but NOT FLV, RM, RMVB, RAM) in Full 1080p HD. And you never have to burn a DVD or copy to a HDD or USB Flash Drive, because it can connect to your networked PC and play shared files from there -- I've saved Soooo much time Not copying files and carrying them back and forth.
My brother had to exchange his WD TV Live because it did not work with their approved list of USB wireless 802.11n adapters. But they promptly replaced it and he's been Very happy with it since. I just connected mine to my wireless router and moved it & the router to the living room -- thus saving the cost of the adapter.
I paid $120 + tax for mine about 6 months ago from Best Buy. And am considering buying another one to use in my bedroom. So this seems like a good deal -- although I've had bad experiences with "Refurbished" devices in the past. So much so that I avoided buying any unit/model (even new) of anything that has ever been refurbished. But my good experiences with this unit may change my mind.
The price at the WD store for a New unit is $109.99 -- making this a $50 savings. But the lowest price that I've seen for a new unit, very temporarily on sale at Amazon a couple of months ago, was $80.
The WD TV Live does playback DD5.1 via optical audio cable. And maybe also thru HDMI, but I haven't tested that personally. It does not (yet?) playback 5.1 audio when encoded with AAC in the MP4 format, but does with AC-3 encoded 5.1 -- hopefully a firmware update will fix this one day. I have no idea if this will play Dolby EX (but doesn't matter to me). And I think THX is just a LucasFilm quality certification standard -- which I don't think this has.
I believe that most units had reliability issues with the network connection until a firmware update in April (?) fixed it. Before that, I just "pushed" files from my laptop, wirelessly, to a USB HDD physically connected to the WD TV Live.

Hope this helps -- anymore questions ?

PS - I do not, and have never, worked for Western Digital.
 
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Neat little device, but if you want Netflix you need the Plus version.

Check the amazon listing, it has all the stats laid out better than the manufacture's website:
WiFi ready- Supports wireless network connection with optional USB wireless adapter.

File formats supported
Video:
AVI (Xvid, AVC, MPEG1/2/4), MPG/MPEG, VOB, MKV (h.264, x.264, AVC, MPEG1/2/4, VC-1), TS/TP/M2T (MPEG1/2/4, AVC, VC-1), MP4/MOV (MPEG4, h.264), M2TS, WMV9

Photo:
JPEG, GIF, TIFF, BMP, PNG

Audio:
MP3, WAV/PCM/LPCM, WMA, AAC, FLAC, MKA, AIF/AIFF, OGG, Dolby Digital, DTS

Playlist:
PLS, M3U, WPL

Subtitle:
SRT, ASS, SSA, SUB, SMI

HDMI 1.3, composite video and component video output - The HDMI port lets you connect to the highest quality HD TV or home theater. Additional composite (RCA), and component outputs ensure compatibility with virtually all television sets.

SPDIF digital output - The optical audio output sends digital signals to your AV receiver for the best surround sound experience.

Compatibility - HDMI, Full HD (1080p), AAC, MP3, JPEG, USB 2.0, H.264, SimplayHD™, Energy Star®, Dolby Digital, DTS, DLNA, Bonjour, AVCHD, Windows Vista®
Click to expand...
 
I really like this compared to what's out there, especially for the price. But to be fair, I'm adding this to my post above.

Cons: No slo-mo, fast-rewind not smooth at all, it takes time (30 - 60 sec) for it to connect to your networked PC after turning on -- but almost instantly plays any video after pressing play.
 
A better deal ?

FYI: Western Digital WD TV HD Media Player, Model WDBABF0000NBK, (HDMI 1.3 / DTS support / Factory Recertified) @ Meritline.com

$59 [shipped] or only $49 with Coupon Code :MLC170390090318NL1 (limit 300 uses)

I think the only difference between this and the "Live" is internet access to websites like YouTube. I tried it once or twice, but it's just easier to do this on my computer.

PS - I've bought many things from Meritline -- was even refunded for one order that malfunctioned, without having to return the items -- they seem pretty good.
 
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