Western Digital WDTV Live Hub Review
by Ganesh T S on October 26, 2010 7:38 AM EST- Posted in
- Home Theater
- Media Streamer
- Gadgets
The WDTV Live Hub case had no screws on the outside, similar to the earlier WDTV units. However, once the notch at the rear end of the top panel was spotted, it was a simple job to pry it open and expose the internals. The fan inside the unit renders unnecesaary the heat sink found in the previous generation products.
The 1 TB internal hard disk is the WD Scorpio Blue. Unfortunately, the unit doesn't seem to be easily user serviceable.
The other main components on the board are as follows:
- Sigma Designs SMP 8654AD : Video decoder
- Realtek RTL8110SC(L) : Gigabit Ethernet controller
- 4 x 64 MB NANYA DRAM modules
- Samsung K9F2G080UB 2 GB NAND Flash
The Live Hub board is based upon the Vantage 8654 development platform provided by Sigma Designs. As a way of customization, the Realtek GbE controller is probably connected to the SMP 8654 using the PCI connector. The SATA port made available in the SMP 8654 is connected to the 1 TB hard disk. From the hardware viewpoint, other than the GbE controller, there is nothing much exciting or different from the reference design. Unfortunately, the GbE controller doesn't appear to deliver its full potential, and it doesn't look like WD is planning to fix it either. However, it does lend a nice marketing pitch, as this happens to be the first dedicated media streamer in the market with a GbE port.
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dandar - Wednesday, October 27, 2010 - link
It's loud already, but I have it in a basement closet along with router, gigabit switch, cable modem, print server. two printers and a copier so I don't care. I didn't get it for the looks, I got 1TB NAS for $99 shipped from Amazon. Can't beat that.Saltbread - Tuesday, October 26, 2010 - link
Could we have video of you actually navigating the menus and pulling up the test suite as you use the product as well please. Also some video walkthrough of Netflix, Youtube and Pandora please. Otherwise great article; I didn't even have this on my roundup for consideration until now.ganeshts - Wednesday, October 27, 2010 - link
Will try to get that in for you over the weekend.bahamakyle - Tuesday, October 26, 2010 - link
The feature table says that the unit does not have stereo (audio output I am assuming). But the rear of the unit has stereo RCA outputs (you also refer to them in the article).Thanks for the review :D
ganeshts - Tuesday, October 26, 2010 - link
Ah! The perils of working late into the night with a looming deadline :)Thanks for pointing out the issue. It is fixed now.
bahamakyle - Friday, October 29, 2010 - link
no worries :)AmdInside - Tuesday, October 26, 2010 - link
Can you guys post a review of the Sony SMP-N100 Network Media Player with Wi-Fi? This is the deice I am most interested in and would like to know how it fairs to the WD Live products.Thanks.ganeshts - Tuesday, October 26, 2010 - link
We had requested Sony for a review unit. They were initially interested in us carrying a review, but later stopped responding.Anyways, from what I see, if you are looking for online content, the Sony one is better than any of the WD Live products. On the other hand, if local media compatibility is important, the WDTV family is miles ahead.
AmdInside - Tuesday, October 26, 2010 - link
Thank you very much for the reply. Appreciate. Anandtech rocks.PAPutzback - Tuesday, October 26, 2010 - link
What else is there to read? Why would they choose a company that is quickly disappearing from the face of the earth.