Western Digital TV-2 (HD Media Player - Version 2)

Chris Barcellos · August 18th, 2009, 03:16 PM

I've loaded straight DVD content on to my Small Western Digital Passbook, using DVDShrink for a trip, so I didn't have to carry a bunch of DVDs. Silmilarly, I have used this player off a thumb drived to demontrate my 5D material, at meetings. This included playing back other 5D users films with their permission, and downloaded from Vimeo or other downloadable sites.

Ray Bell · August 18th, 2009, 06:13 PM

I've also loaded Blu-rays to it and they seem to play well ...

Tom Roper · August 18th, 2009, 09:16 PM

It's not serious to think of WD TV as any kind of replacement for Blu-ray. But for the mainstream, I think optical including Blu-ray, is going to flatline. It's just too easy to get HD content from cable, satellite etc. The Blu-ray quality is better, preserving its niche interest among the home theater enthusiasts.

Media players and network streamers like the WD, Popcorn, LinkPlayer to name a few, are no obstacle at all to a generation growing up with Ipods. And they are good for music and pictures as well. But I'm not too convinced that generation's commitment to HD in general. Portability and freedom is what they want, and cheap. So video is not for them. Satellite and cable is mainstream, Blu-ray for the enthusiasts. I don't believe the Blu-ray player is going to make it into the mainstream like DVD, and if they kill DVD off, they would be shooting themselves in the foot.

Perrone Ford · August 18th, 2009, 09:46 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Tom Roper

and if they kill DVD off, they would be shooting themselves in the foot.

Because everyone is going to run to... what? Or are people just not going to buy movies? Or rent them from Blockbuster? People will buy what's available. And they will rent what is available. As the market shifts from DVD to BluRay, players will be come cheaper, media will become cheaper, etc. The internet is not getting any faster to support major movie downloads. ISP's are already beginning to limit rates as well as total Gb per month in a lot of areas which will play havoc with people trying to download movies a few nights a week.

What is the average movie experience these days for a family of 4? About $75-$100. Do that two or three times and you've BOUGHT a BluRay player.

Fall is fast approaching. Kids are going to be back in school, weather starts getting colder, and people start looking for indoor entertainment. You have 3 more major movie release dates this year (Labor Day, Thanksgiving, and Christmas). The push to BluRay is about to hit fever pitch. If the economy softens up any this fall it's going to be a nice Christmas. Playstation is already poised with a new model and new pricing. Every one of those is a BluRay player.

Vito DeFilippo · August 18th, 2009, 11:20 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Perrone Ford

Because everyone is going to run to... what?

Perrone, you've obviously thought this out at length, and I think you have a lot of great points. But, I was struck last week at something my ten year old was doing. He was watching something on youtube. I asked him what was up. He told me that he liked it better than tv, cause he could just type in the name of the show, and get any episode he wanted right away.

Now this was crappy youtube quality, blown up to full screen. Probably illegal uploaded episodes. Looked awful. But he didn't care.

He wouldn't recognize hi def if it kicked him in the butt. He's never heard of Bluray, and I can't remember the last time he even wanted to watch a DVD. Somehow, I can't see him asking me to buy a Bluray player anytime soon...

We seem to be in this strange transition that's going in two directions. Hi def on $3000 wide screen tvs, and low quality crap delivered on two inch screens.

Perrone Ford · August 19th, 2009, 12:31 AM

Vito, do you remember the arguments back when CDs were introduced? Purists who had $4000 turntables said the new CDs sounded AWFUL. They were shrill and harsh. They cost more. I remember paying a LOT of money for Telarc DDD and Mobile Fidelity gold plated discs. CD players eventually eclipsed turntables, cassettes, etc. Players got better and cheaper.

In 2003, I was traveling a lot with my college soccer team. I wanted a portable DVD player. I went to Best Buy and was greeted by a few portable players, The reasonably priced ones were $300 or so. I went to SoundAdvice and looked at the Plasmas. I remember seeing a Pioneer Elite model, maybe 46 or so inches. It was $8k or $10k. I remember thinking, who in their right mind would pay that much for a TV, and pretty much dismissing the entire HiDef thing.

We now live in a generation where many of todays kids have not seen a vinyl record, or listened to a cassette. They don't get the whole HiDef thing because for them it's just "big TV versus little TV". When I was 10 I had a portable AM radio and was pretty dang happy to get it! When I finally got a radio in my teens that had AM/FM and TV station tuning, I thought I was in heaven! I had a Coleco portable game system (football) that you moved 4 buttons around to move the little blinking bleeps on the screen around. and my neighbors Atari system was the hot thing.

I say all this to say that by the time your 10 year old is old enough to drive, Youtube will be a distant memory most likely, and he'll be looking for the same things we all did. Something to impress the girls and his buddies. It's the nature of things. BluRay will happen, and in 8-10 years something will come along and replace it. Maybe solid state. Maybe IPv6 with GigE connections to the house. Who knows.

If you told me 10 years ago that I'd be able to watch movies on my cell phone, I would have laughed at you. Not because I didn't believe we would get there, but only because I would have said, "who would want to?" I still don't watch movies on my cell, but some do. And I don't own a standalone BluRay player or an HDTV. But that isn't stopping the march of technology... or time. :)

Simon Denny · August 19th, 2009, 12:44 AM

I dont think people care to much on formats so long as they are having fun watching their program.

SD,HD,Youtube, Vimeo etc.. does it really matter?
I love HD shot well and it looks great, but give me a rough and ready doco shot in SD and I'm just as happy, to me content is king.
I'm still trying to make my HD to SD DVD's look as good as some SD DVD's that I have here from the late 90's and early 2000's.

Vito DeFilippo · August 19th, 2009, 06:57 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Perrone Ford

I say all this to say that by the time your 10 year old is old enough to drive, Youtube will be a distant memory most likely, and he'll be looking for the same things we all did. BluRay will happen, and in 8-10 years something will come along and replace it.

Hey again. I may have given the impression that I disagree with you. I don't. I think Bluray will happen because the industry will force it on us as the only mainstream way to get new content. But I found it interesting that the 'customer of the future' couldn't care less about its advantages.

Tom Roper · August 19th, 2009, 07:22 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Perrone Ford

Because everyone is going to run to... what? Or are people just not going to buy movies? Or rent them from Blockbuster? People will buy what's available. And they will rent what is available. As the market shifts from DVD to BluRay, players will be come cheaper, media will become cheaper, etc. The internet is not getting any faster to support major movie downloads. ISP's are already beginning to limit rates as well as total Gb per month in a lot of areas which will play havoc with people trying to download movies a few nights a week.

Blu-ray doesn't have just internet and DVD to contend with. It competes for 'time' with all of the alternatives, sports programming, news, documentaries, health, nature (and gaming). Where are these found? On the channel dial, cable and satellite. I've got a fairly noisy household, with several plasmas, blu-ray players, HD DVD players too. I like Blu-ray, but you put the DirecTV remote control in the hands of my wife or one of the kids, Blu-ray wages a losing battle against animal planet, or dancing with the stars. I'd guess there's close to a hundred HD channels, I don't know exactly. Is the HD quality as good as Blu-ray? Certainly not! But they think it's good enough, and they can time shift the viewing. Content is king.

I see the price drop on the PS3 doing next to nothing for Blu-ray. It's hardly even mentioned as a factor for Blu-ray. For gaming it's been getting drop kicked by Sony's own PS2.

Killing off DVD isn't going to propel Blu-ray, and DVD isn't going to die soon anyway, I'll bet the house on it.

I'll agree with you on one thing, the market is shifting. But it's not being filled by Blu-ray, that's obvious.

Almost ALL the video stores are gone. Blockbuster, aren't they in chapter 11 as well? Renting, is another dying paradigm.

Taky Cheung · August 19th, 2009, 07:41 PM

I bought a Syvania BluRay player from amazon fr $150. It works very well.

BD burner prices also down to $150. Check out the LG burner from newegg.com

HD Blank media now down to about $5 a piece. total affordable.

I distribute weddings final product on both DVD and BluRay. Don't have to worry about tech support.

Michael Wisniewski · August 19th, 2009, 09:25 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Perrone Ford

... BluRay will happen, and in 8-10 years something will come along and replace it.

I agree with you in general, but I think Blu-Ray will have a much shorter and much less popular run. Personally, I'd give it 1-3 years before something else comes along.

Michael Wisniewski · August 19th, 2009, 09:50 PM

Back on topic ...

Personally I think the WDMP2 is the greatest thing since sliced bread. I agree the device is still too geeky to make a dent in the consumer movie/video market. But it does fill a much neglected niche. It's a godsend to be able to easily share HD video and photos easily from a USB device. And it's nearly perfect for all types of business needs.

The addition of the Ethernet port, opens up a lot of possibilities. I'm excited to see how well the WDMP2 works over a wireless network. It would be an interesting way to push video/media to several monitors scattered around a conference hall, hotel, or reception hall.

The next cool step would be to make the basic features of the WDMP2 standard on all TV and computer monitors. And then after that, add a DRM chip, so that it can be made to work with a content delivery system like iTunes.

Perrone Ford · August 19th, 2009, 11:13 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Michael Wisniewski

I agree with you in general, but I think Blu-Ray will have a much shorter and much less popular run. Personally, I'd give it 1-3 years before something else comes along.

It's already been 3 years. I meant a run of 8-10 years total. BluRay started shipping June '06.

Andy Wilkinson · August 20th, 2009, 02:15 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Michael Wisniewski

Back on topic ...

Personally I think the WDMP2 is the greatest thing since sliced bread. I agree the device is still too geeky to make a dent in the consumer movie/video market. But it does fill a much neglected niche. It's a godsend to be able to easily share HD video and photos easily from a USB device. And it's nearly perfect for all types of business needs.

The addition of the Ethernet port, opens up a lot of possibilities. I'm excited to see how well the WDMP2 works over a wireless network. It would be an interesting way to push video/media to several monitors scattered around a conference hall, hotel, or reception hall.

The next cool step would be to make the basic features of the WDMP2 standard on all TV and computer monitors. And then after that, add a DRM chip, so that it can be made to work with a content delivery system like iTunes.

Exactly! For us corporate (etc.) videographers this device offers a lot of possibilities for our customer base. Content is king for sure....but choice (in HD delivery) is also good!

Ervin Farkas · September 3rd, 2009, 11:31 AM

Not sure if we have them already here in the States, but in Europe you can already buy TV sets with built-in digital video players. Not as fancy as the WD is, not as many formats supported, but they are coming. Connect your USB drive and enjoy!

It's just a matter of time and the now "geeky" thing will become everyday reality. DVRs are geeky things too, far more complex than the WD player... and still, more and more people abandon live TV and choose to record the stuff they want and only the stuff they want, skip commercials, and watch when they have the time.

So yes, Hollywood is dictating Bluray, and they may only deliver content on discs, but no one can stop the advancement of technology. Be it 5 years, maybe they can drag it out 10 years at the most, but discs are condemned to death. All discs, including hard drives. The day you can have ALL the digital content available out there, on a square inch chip is maybe as close as 10-15 years from now.

Solid state delivery was already available when HD-DVD and Bluray was developed; Hollywood went for the disc because they can better enforce copyright with read-only media. Till 2020 they thave the time to figure out how to do it on solid state chips...

August 18th, 2009, 03:16 PM	#31
Chris Barcellos Inner Circle Join Date: Nov 2005 Location: Elk Grove CA Posts: 6,838	I've loaded straight DVD content on to my Small Western Digital Passbook, using DVDShrink for a trip, so I didn't have to carry a bunch of DVDs. Silmilarly, I have used this player off a thumb drived to demontrate my 5D material, at meetings. This included playing back other 5D users films with their permission, and downloaded from Vimeo or other downloadable sites. __________________ Chris J. Barcellos

August 19th, 2009, 12:31 AM	#36
Perrone Ford Inner Circle Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: Tallahassee, FL Posts: 4,100	Vito, do you remember the arguments back when CDs were introduced? Purists who had $4000 turntables said the new CDs sounded AWFUL. They were shrill and harsh. They cost more. I remember paying a LOT of money for Telarc DDD and Mobile Fidelity gold plated discs. CD players eventually eclipsed turntables, cassettes, etc. Players got better and cheaper. In 2003, I was traveling a lot with my college soccer team. I wanted a portable DVD player. I went to Best Buy and was greeted by a few portable players, The reasonably priced ones were $300 or so. I went to SoundAdvice and looked at the Plasmas. I remember seeing a Pioneer Elite model, maybe 46 or so inches. It was $8k or $10k. I remember thinking, who in their right mind would pay that much for a TV, and pretty much dismissing the entire HiDef thing. We now live in a generation where many of todays kids have not seen a vinyl record, or listened to a cassette. They don't get the whole HiDef thing because for them it's just "big TV versus little TV". When I was 10 I had a portable AM radio and was pretty dang happy to get it! When I finally got a radio in my teens that had AM/FM and TV station tuning, I thought I was in heaven! I had a Coleco portable game system (football) that you moved 4 buttons around to move the little blinking bleeps on the screen around. and my neighbors Atari system was the hot thing. I say all this to say that by the time your 10 year old is old enough to drive, Youtube will be a distant memory most likely, and he'll be looking for the same things we all did. Something to impress the girls and his buddies. It's the nature of things. BluRay will happen, and in 8-10 years something will come along and replace it. Maybe solid state. Maybe IPv6 with GigE connections to the house. Who knows. If you told me 10 years ago that I'd be able to watch movies on my cell phone, I would have laughed at you. Not because I didn't believe we would get there, but only because I would have said, "who would want to?" I still don't watch movies on my cell, but some do. And I don't own a standalone BluRay player or an HDTV. But that isn't stopping the march of technology... or time. :) __________________ DVX100, PMW-EX1, Canon 550D, FigRig, Dell Octocore, Avid MC4/5, MB Looks, RedCineX, Matrox MX02 mini, GTech RAID, Edirol R-4, Senn. G2 Evo, Countryman, Moles and Lowels.

August 19th, 2009, 09:50 PM	#42
Michael Wisniewski Wrangler Join Date: Jul 2002 Location: Makati, Metro Manila Posts: 2,706 Images: 32	Back on topic ... Personally I think the WDMP2 is the greatest thing since sliced bread. I agree the device is still too geeky to make a dent in the consumer movie/video market. But it does fill a much neglected niche. It's a godsend to be able to easily share HD video and photos easily from a USB device. And it's nearly perfect for all types of business needs. The addition of the Ethernet port, opens up a lot of possibilities. I'm excited to see how well the WDMP2 works over a wireless network. It would be an interesting way to push video/media to several monitors scattered around a conference hall, hotel, or reception hall. The next cool step would be to make the basic features of the WDMP2 standard on all TV and computer monitors. And then after that, add a DRM chip, so that it can be made to work with a content delivery system like iTunes. __________________ "Ultimately, the most extraordinary thing, in a frame, is a human being." - Martin Scorsese

September 3rd, 2009, 11:31 AM	#45
Ervin Farkas Inner Circle Join Date: Aug 2005 Location: Atlanta/USA Posts: 2,515	Not sure if we have them already here in the States, but in Europe you can already buy TV sets with built-in digital video players. Not as fancy as the WD is, not as many formats supported, but they are coming. Connect your USB drive and enjoy! It's just a matter of time and the now "geeky" thing will become everyday reality. DVRs are geeky things too, far more complex than the WD player... and still, more and more people abandon live TV and choose to record the stuff they want and only the stuff they want, skip commercials, and watch when they have the time. So yes, Hollywood is dictating Bluray, and they may only deliver content on discs, but no one can stop the advancement of technology. Be it 5 years, maybe they can drag it out 10 years at the most, but discs are condemned to death. All discs, including hard drives. The day you can have ALL the digital content available out there, on a square inch chip is maybe as close as 10-15 years from now. Solid state delivery was already available when HD-DVD and Bluray was developed; Hollywood went for the disc because they can better enforce copyright with read-only media. Till 2020 they thave the time to figure out how to do it on solid state chips... __________________ Ervin Farkas www.AtlantaLegalVideo.com

August 18th, 2009, 06:13 PM	#32
Ray Bell Regular Crew Join Date: Nov 2004 Posts: 1,414	I've also loaded Blu-rays to it and they seem to play well ...

August 18th, 2009, 09:16 PM	#33
Tom Roper Trustee Join Date: Jun 2004 Location: Denver, Colorado Posts: 1,891	It's not serious to think of WD TV as any kind of replacement for Blu-ray. But for the mainstream, I think optical including Blu-ray, is going to flatline. It's just too easy to get HD content from cable, satellite etc. The Blu-ray quality is better, preserving its niche interest among the home theater enthusiasts. Media players and network streamers like the WD, Popcorn, LinkPlayer to name a few, are no obstacle at all to a generation growing up with Ipods. And they are good for music and pictures as well. But I'm not too convinced that generation's commitment to HD in general. Portability and freedom is what they want, and cheap. So video is not for them. Satellite and cable is mainstream, Blu-ray for the enthusiasts. I don't believe the Blu-ray player is going to make it into the mainstream like DVD, and if they kill DVD off, they would be shooting themselves in the foot.

August 19th, 2009, 12:44 AM	#37
Simon Denny Trustee Join Date: Jul 2007 Location: Australia Posts: 1,409	I dont think people care to much on formats so long as they are having fun watching their program. SD,HD,Youtube, Vimeo etc.. does it really matter? I love HD shot well and it looks great, but give me a rough and ready doco shot in SD and I'm just as happy, to me content is king. I'm still trying to make my HD to SD DVD's look as good as some SD DVD's that I have here from the late 90's and early 2000's.

August 19th, 2009, 07:41 PM	#40
Taky Cheung Inner Circle Join Date: May 2007 Location: Los Angeles, USA Posts: 2,114	I bought a Syvania BluRay player from amazon fr $150. It works very well. BD burner prices also down to $150. Check out the LG burner from newegg.com HD Blank media now down to about $5 a piece. total affordable. I distribute weddings final product on both DVD and BluRay. Don't have to worry about tech support.