Use WDTV LIVE as a Music Jukebox

WDTV Live's USB input allows playback of media files from an external hard drives. I am not sure whether the USB input has an onboard DAC chip or not, but I use it to read my WAVs from my baffolo external drive and bypass them completely to my Yamaha 665 via HDMI for decoding.(correction-WDTV does not support bypass---files are still decoded by its internal decoder) 


I have tried both sound output modes under the WDTV LIVE, i.e. Stereo (music decoded by WDTV LIVE itself) and Digital (music bypassed and decoded by receiver), I found that the sound quality is about the same. (correction - not correct)


You can do the same stuff by using a CD Player with a USB port, e.g. Marantz SA8003. According to http://www.enjoythemusic.com/magazine/equipment/0109/marantz_sa8003.htm, its USB input is powered by an NEC uPD63901 microcontroller, and it enables the SA8003 to play MP3, WAV, WMA and AAC files directly off a USB hard drive, pen drive, or iPod but the uPD63901 does its own D/A conversion, so files read from the USB input completely bypass Marantz' excellent CS4398-based digital section (and cannot be output via the Marantz digital outputs). Then this does not make sense to me, so I stick to a cheap WDTV LIVE solution for a Music Jukebox.

WD TV LIVE - new firmware 1.04.10 update again in 2 weeks' time

What's in this update? 

Release 1.04.10 (11/22/10)

• Supports Facebook application.
• Supports Deezer application.
• Supports Flingo application.
• Supports AccuWeather application.
• Supports USB keyboards.

 http://www.wdc.com/wdproducts/updates/?family=wdfwdtv_live

WD TV® Live™ HD Media Player firmware Version 1.03.49_V

Latest official firmware update for WDTV LIVE is now available on  http://www.wdc.com/wdproducts/updates/?family=wdfwdtv_live.

Release 1.03.49 (11/16/10)

• Added DVD navigation support.
• Added Mediafly application.
• Resolved MP4 poor frame-rate and audio out of sync issue.
• Resolved HDMI auto resolution selection issue.
• Resolved playback issues related to mkvmerge.
• Other bug fixes and product updates (see release notes).

Sleek, attractive External HD that can be positioned vertically or horizontally

I have been looking for a reasonable priced external hard disk for my media library, now I have found one - Buffalo's DriveStation Axis USB 2.0 Hard Drive HD-LBU2. DriveStation Axis features a sleek, attractive chassis that can be positioned vertically or horizontally, adapting to the location it is used in for efficient use of space. 

According to the manufacturer, DriveStation Axis comes equipped with Buffalo Tools, a feature-rich suite of tools designed to enhance computer performance and the day-to-day digital life of Windows® PC consumers. Users can boost file transfer performance by up to 180% using TurboPC, conserve energy and battery consumption by utilizing ECO Manager and perform PC backup with the easy to use Backup Utility. DriveStation Axis is the perfect solution for expanding storage or backing up your computer.

The capacity ranges from 1TB, 1.5TB to 2.0TB.

Western Digital TV Live Hub

Western Digital has just added a new media player in their production line. The selling point here is it comes with a 1-tb built-in hard disk. A full review can be found from STORAGE REVIEW.COM at http://www.storagereview.com/western_digital_tv_live_hub_review_wdbabz0010bbk