I just noticed the price of WDTV live @ officework goes back to $98.
There are few posts showed that this seems to be the regular price of WDTV live @ officework. However, I'd like to update it 'cause the lastest was on few months before.
One short comment of this device: Great device at an awesome price!
I bought on last week from OW, cost me $109, that was shelf price.
maybe i should have asked for "a better price"
Or go buy a certain book by PT barnham:p
i think u just missed it by 1 day, clive peters had it at that time for $98 while OW still on their shelf price, i was going to get OW to beat it by 5% and they already updated their price to $98 soon after. They certainly not stupid :)
I thought about taking it back for a refund, then buying at the new price but really just not worth the effort. I will make it up somewhere else down the track.
What was the price just before?
Gerat device - would be even better if they fixed their firmware updates!!!
Last year just before Christmas some Ozbargainers posted receipts showing price of $72 from officeworks. Many tried using the receipts for price match with varying degrees of success. Hope we can get prices that low again. See post below:
http://www.ozbargain.com.au/node/36341
With they'd drop the price on the Live Hub say by half would be good :D
I purchased one from OW for $98 just last sunday.
I got my BIL to buy one of these and will help him set it up this week end.
I did a bit of read up about the custom firmware but I must admit I am a bit lost.
Anyone keen to tell me directly which one to use? We are after downloading directly from the box if possible?
Also I know it supports a range of wireless cards. What would be the cheapest for store pickup in Brissy?
I don't mind readin so if you want to send me to a wiki or something I am happy to do this.
Last but not least, is it easy to upgrade? Is it from the web interface and is there a recovery function if it goes belly up?
K.
Does this device require any encoding from PC? I.E. Can the computer just send the file without any encoding?
Yep, the WDTV does it for you. A lot better than other devices I've found. I've played the same file through my Sony TV's media functions and WDTV, and the difference is actually amazing.
This baby upscales for you, so suddenly everything looks 100x better :P
Not sure on the technical details at play here, but I'm sure others will agree with me :)
Not always. Depends on the codec and the encode.
I'll chime in with a few tips.
Here's a good guide to install WDLXTV (most popular custom f/w afaik): http://wiki.wdlxtv.com/Quickstart
Here's the wireless USB device I bought for mine (around $30 and works a charm):
http://www.dlink.com.au/products/?pid=722
Regarding upgrading - I just flashed to the WDLXTV via USB which follows the same process as the official firmware. Pretty easy, just make sure you're getting the right version for your device (nothing will go wrong, it just won't detect the files for installation).
Haven't used the web interface so can't really comment there. You can certainly roll back if you have the need, but the upgrade is a pretty safe procedure. Unless it gets interrupted while flashing, you're not going to have any issues.
Love this device by the way :D
One of my best purchases by far. Paid $124 about 6 months ago and it was worth every penny.
Thanks mate, really helpful.
Don't want to sound dumb bu this is the live version in the firmware selection isn't? I am talking about the one that officworks sells.
I don't think I came across a plus version at the shops so I am not sure if they are similar or not.
K.
Thanks for that. I had created the WDTV preview 'wallpapers' via a third party program which only seems to work on custom firmwares. So I might take a look at this and see if that works how I want it too.
I've got a dedicated Windows Media Center player, but would like the WDTV Live as a backup for the bedroom.
A wireless dongle will work, but you're far better off buying yourself an Asus RT-N12 wireless router, loading Tomato firmware on it, and run it in wireless to ethernet bridge mode. Then you can have ethernet connections from the router to the WDTV Live and your BluRay, Smart TV, set top box etc. I've just done this myself.
interesting will look into it, bugger i just bought the netgear usb dongle.
bastards…i only just bought one and asked the dude if a sale was going to happen in the next week. Good deal for a good device.
Take it back and say it wouldn't work on your Mac. ;)
Will this work with a wifi-n dongle and can it play 1080p mkv's (wirelessly)? ta!
My brother's works fine with his wifi-n dongle, however since we only have a wifi-G router, he is unable to stream 1080p mkvs (or even 720p mkvs). It lags way too much to be considered even remotely watchable.
Hopefully someone with an N router can give you a better answer.
I'd like to find out too. Am in same predicament and wondering what to upgrade my G router to a N
See my comment above about running a modified Asus router instead of a dongle.
http://www.wdc.com/wdproducts/updates/?family=wdfwdtv_live
^ Here's the address for the latest firmware update
Awesome product btw but I'm sure everyone knows it :)
In case anyone wants a USB N Wifi stick for one of these, I nearly bought one at JB for about $80 then thought I'd poke around online - this one works a treat even though its not in the official supported list: http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/Netgear-Wireless-N-USB-Adapter-WN…
(and no I am not the person selling them - I think my best offer of around $13.50 was accepted from memory)
How does this netgear usb go with streaming large, high def mkv's?
The troubles I've had with mine, and the firmware updates and it's dropping of network connections failure to detect network shares … I doubt I would ever buy one again.
But for the price I guess it was worth it.
Had a WD Live and took it back.
The Seagate GoFlex media server is worth the extra dollars IMHO. Seems to handle more codecs and more reliable on any network.
Just tell OW you bought it to work with a Mac and they'll nod and take ANYTHING back!
No need to make anything up.
RETURNS POLICY
We will offer a refund/ exchange on most products purchased at Officeworks. If you are not completely satisfied with your product, return it to us for a full refund / and or exchange.
etc.
Yeah, I know. But a good story does prevent 5 minutes of silly questions though.
Looking for a wireless dongle for this?
Try http://www.dealextreme.com/p/802-11n-150mbps-wifi-wlan-wirel…
A reviewer on the link above (scroll down the link to reviews)says it works with his WD TV Live.
Ordered one yesterday for $9-75 delivered.
Thanks thomfam, good to know….
See my comment above about running a modified Asus router instead of a dongle.
awesome spotting! let us know how it goes when you get it in 2 months :) jk im getting one too. thanks mate :)
Thumbs up here for the Wdtv- Great little media player.
over 12 months old, runs just fine at home on the network, and has pretty much played everything thrown at it.
Pro Tip:
Get Officeworks for pricematch Big W's WD TV (not live version) from the website.
The guy at my store sold me a WDTV live for $68 - 5% price garentee.
Huzzah!
nice TIP. LOL, dumb staff…
Not all the staff are that stupid!
Also…it says out of stock on the BigW website right now…OW wont price match that.
I bet you they will ;)
Well mine has been going extremely well so far. No problems at all. perfect playback of everything I can throw at it, and plays 1080p mkv's flawlessly, including over wireless.
No the $98 price been like that for few weeks, they updated their price to $98 when Clive Peters had it for $98.
Still not a very good price cos my friend got it last year for around $90, it hasnt got any cheaper since!!