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 was put through v1.0.2 of the AnandTech Media Streamer Test Suite. This version has 50 different test streams and a maximum possible score of 358. The WDTV Live Hub came out with a score of 239 (66.76%). This is a slight improvement over WDTV Live Plus (which score 58.14%). The improvements are enumerated below:
- WMA / WMAPro audio decode supported
- DTS core bitstreamed for DTS-HD tracks in MKVs
- Bitstreaming of TrueHD tracks in MKV containers
The streams in which the LiveHub lost out are enumerated below:
- DTS-HD bitstreaming from M2TS / MKVs
- Vorbis decode
- Real Media decode
- Hebrew and Vietnamese subtitle display
- Support for (forced) PGS subtitles in MKV containers
- Playback of some 1080p30 H264 streams (These are L4.1 H264 streams which play properly on almost all other Sigma / Realtek streamers we have tested. The issues happen only in the WDTV lineup)
- Playback of 1080p60 Panasonic camcorder H264 streams
- Support for stylized subtitles (ASS/SSA) with special effects
- MPEG-4 videos with 3 warp points and GMC
- Support for playback of Blu-Ray ISO / folder structure
In essence, whatever used to work on the Live Plus worked very well on the Live Hub. Some improvements were seen, but not as many as we would have liked.
Moving onto the picture quality, I put the WDTV Live Hub through the HQV 2.0 benchmark and the Live Hub scored 56 on 210. It is clear that the Live Hub is no great shakes when it comes to video post processing. Do note that some of the tests simply make no sense for media streamers because the knobs to activate and test out the features just don't exist (as manufacturers don't want to befuddle the average user with some arcane menu options). In any case, the score tallies closely with what Cameron got for the WDTV Live Plus.
At this juncture, I realized that the capabilities of the unit with respect to video decoding were almost the same as that of the WDTV Live Plus (particularly with respect to artifacts exhibited when certain test streams were played back). It looked likely that the Live Hub was powered by a Sigma Designs SoC. However, I was not aware of any mass-production ready Sigma chip with GbE capabilities or proper HDMI 1.4a support....
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fingaz - Tuesday, November 30, 2010 - link
Would love to know both of these things too. Also would be eternally grateful for a screenshot or two of a sample movie sheet!virtual_one - Saturday, November 6, 2010 - link
Hello!Does WD Live Hub really have remote control over HTTP or DLNA? I can not find any possibility to drive this media-center via those interfaces..
Thank you
ganeshts - Tuesday, November 9, 2010 - link
Yes, there is a remote control over HTTP. You can find details in the product user guide available on the WD website.Kitno - Tuesday, November 9, 2010 - link
Hi,In the LiveHub test the7th stream that did not succesfully played was the Panasonic 1080/60p stream.
Since you test for this, does that mean that there are players out there that play these streams?
tx
Kitno
ganeshts - Tuesday, November 9, 2010 - link
It plays back fine on most HTPCs. We will have to dig up our other streamer reviews to see if someone else was able to play it back properly. In any case, I think it is more of firmware issue with WD and the chip itself should be capable of playing it back without problems.Kitno - Wednesday, November 10, 2010 - link
I have the PCH A200 and it can't deal with the 1080/60p stream.I saw the Nixeus Fusion HD and in the specs it says 1080/60p.
But it seems only available in the US.
On a HTPC is is indeed no problem.
I am not sure it is just a firmware issue. 1080/60p is double the information.
tx
K
Markomaani - Tuesday, November 30, 2010 - link
Hi!I was thinking of buying this but now it doesn't sound that good anymore :/
If I don't get this what would be better choice in this price category?
I don't need to hard drive so it can be one without a hard drive.
The wifi would be plus but not all has that either.
Make
obxman69 - Sunday, December 5, 2010 - link
does this unit have any parental controls to keep kids off of Facebook for example?thanks
michsxx - Thursday, December 9, 2010 - link
HiI'm new and I want to just say Hello.
My nick is: http://www.25mbits.com">michsxx
I hope to write many of posts in this forum...
If it's wrong thread to say Hello, please move to correct one.
zickk - Thursday, January 13, 2011 - link
Hello, is there a way of opening the remote control?i have some buttons that are not working.