Last October, Western Digital launched the WD TV Live HD media player, and saw strong sales.
Today, WD has introduced that latest version of the box, the WD TV Live Plus, which adds built-in support for Netflix and MediaFly. If you are a Netflix subscriber with a $8.99 or higher monthly package, they can stream over 12,000 “Watch Instantly” movie and TV titles.
MediaFly offers podcasts from CNN, NBC, MTV and ESPN.
Just like with past versions of the box, the Live Plus will allow for playback of mostly all formats of video and music and pictures. Also built-in is support for Internet radio such as Live365 and Pandora. You can connect the player to the Internet via Wi-Fi or ethernet, and even stream content from your computer via DLNA.
HD playback is available up to 1080p.
Twice lists the compatible file formats, and you would be hard pressed to find a file you cannot play via the Live Plus:
Compatible file formats include: 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 and WMV9 video format; and JPEG, GIF, TIF/TIFF, BMP and PNG image formats.
For audio: MP3, WAV/PCM/LPCM, WMA, AAC, FLAC, MKA, AIF/AIFF, OGG, Dolby Digital and DTS music formats.
The unit allows users to create playlists such as PLS, M3U and WPL and subtitle format such as SRT, ASS, SSA, SUB and SMI.
The player is available for pre-order with a $150 MSRP.
Result for: internet radio
Verizon has announced that FiOS TV users can now stream YouTube and Internet Radio directly from their displays, using their remote controls or smartphone.
Subscribers can access the music and video sharing site via Media Manager, which is now available to all FiOS TV owners, instead of just DVR customers.
“Adding YouTube and Internet Radio to FiOS TV further expands our customers’ digital home-entertainment world by giving them access to an unprecedented amount of online content on the biggest screen in their home – their TV,” adds Shawn Strickland, vice president of consumer strategy for Verizon. “When customers connect their homes to our all-fiber network, their TV and Internet worlds seamlessly come together to create experiences cable can’t deliver. We are working with some of the most popular companies on the Web to create a high-quality, engaging Internet-to-TV experience that will only grow richer with time.”
Users can even use their Motorola Droid phone as a remote control if they download a free “Mobile Remote” app from the Android Market.
To be able to watch YouTube, you will need an HD set-top box or a FiOS TV DVR. From there, it is a simple firmware upgrade.
Result for: internet radio
A New York appeals court has ruled in favor of Yahoo this weekend, claiming its Launchcast Internet radio service is not required to pay royalties to copyright holders for songs it plays. The losing party was Sony BMG Music.
The claim by Yahoo was that Launchcast did not give users enough controls to be considered “an interactive service,” which would require the royalty fees to be paid.
The judges added that Yahoo would only have to pay licensing fees to SoundExchange, the nonprofit organization that collects royalties for musicians.
“It’s an immediate loss for the recording industry,” notes Rey Sanchez, chairman of the department of music, media and industry at the University of Miami and a voting member of the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences, via Reuters.
“If the service had been deemed interactive, Yahoo would have to negotiate fees with every record label to use their songs. Instead, it only has to pay licensing fees.”
Sony declined comment while Yahoo said nothing more than that they were pleased with the “fair” ruling.
