A Device to play movies on TV

[Banjo Sandwich]

Do you have a network at home banjo?
WDTV Live hub would get my vote. I have the Live (non hub) and its really good.
Another alternative would be a DLNA device like BD player (LG BX50) which will play files over your network, but then the WDTV will do that.
You seem to be hung up on the usb2 transfers. You laptop must be pretty cruddy if you think that will be your slowdown. I transfer data across my usb external and pc at approx. 30MBps.

Not staying at home at the moment, i do have 10-18mb/s broadband but i don't want to rely on this...

If i was to use the network would it have an impact others connected to the internet?

WDTV Live... would this just access the videos from my laptop then play them on the tv via ethernet or wireless...

 

[Banjo Sandwich]

Hi,

WDTV Live would access all your files via wireless or Ethernet and I have no issues with it having an impact on my broadband connection.

My son uses Xbox live while I am paying blue ray movies on the WDTV and also my daughter is on her laptop and my wife is on her iPhone and I am also downloading movies all the same time.

I have my WDTV live box connected to my router via Ethernet downstairs and my PC upstairs in connected to my router via TP-Link 200Mbps Mini Powerline Ethernet Adapters, so this gives me one solid connection from my system upstairs to my WDTV live box downstairs.

I have a 1TB hard drive already connected to my system upstairs with all my movies on it, so I don't see the point in connecting the hard drive to the WDTV box, when I can just stream it straight from my PC to the WDTV box.

So I would be swapping the "upstairs pc" for my laptop?

So Laptop>>>wireless connection via router>>> WD LIVE>>> TV

Plus it has a remote control, and iplayer, etc....

My final question would be can the WD Live access some football streams similar to sopcast?

 

[Banjo Sandwich]

perhaps i have been a bit naive about the local streaming, can you definitely confirm it won't have an impact on other internet connection for others in the house?

i.e. say my laptop is up stairs that stores the movies on its HDD and i have the WD live connected downstairs and it streaming via the router, would it take some of the bandwidth for other in the house using the internet?

If someone could explain the above it would be appreciated

Now i am thinking i would like to obtain a device that allows me to stream movies from my laptop but also has the capability of having an external HD connected to play movies, for example if i was to visit friends or family etc...

 

[Banjo Sandwich]

Hi,

Here is a list of the services offered by the WD LIVE TV box.

http://g-ecx.images-amazon.com/imag...ontent/westerndigital/WDTVLive_ServicesEU.jpg

Some people on the WD forums have been asking for sopcast to be added to the list of services, so we will just have to wait and see.

I would store all your movies on an external hard drive attached to your PC system upstairs and stream them from there downstairs to your WD LIVE box.

Is there anything from WD about the sopcast functionality?

This would be a major bonus and would cement my choice!

 

[Banjo Sandwich]

http://reviews.cnet.co.uk/video-streamers/best-media-streamers-49299176/

This review site appears to have most of the previous suggestions...

I presume all of them can have an external HD connected to it for local storage playback.

So the real clinchers is a mixture of additional content:-

- Iplayer and other online player playbacks
- Extra inputs i.e. SD card, etc
- GUI (big importance in my opinion)
- Remote controlled
- Cost

Anyone offer any further insight

The reason i keep returning to WD Live is the bbc iplayer and the previously mentioned sopcast introduction

decisions decisions, anyone else like myself and hate spending money on something when you think there might of been a better option...

One other thing, i take the WD Live can connect via wireless to my router to allow streaming or do i have the have the LAN ethernet connection?

Cheers gents!!!