Western Digital WD TV HD Media Player - a HTPC replacement??

[anm]

I think everyone is correct here, given their own requirements/ situations.
Ripping music in flac - I am assuming my laptop would suffice with its dual core CPU and 2GB RAM. Ripping music, for me at least, should take 5-10% of the time compared to time spent on listening.
Ripping video - I am not into it yet, but can try ripping my current DVD collection for backup. Again - I think the laptop should suffice. Once ripped, I will attach hdd to laptop and move stuff to hdd.

Downloading music/ video - I never do. But I am sure a torrent client can be easily setup on wdtv, if someone is keen, along with a usb network. Laptop should suffice here too.

WD TV can not replace a PC entirely, and I think no one is saying that. but it can certainly replace a PC in the living room for listening to music - IF it has a decent quality. Which I request mad bull ram to test with Venkat.

I already have an external hdd (250gb), and I am assuming it should suffice for 300 CD worth of music easily.
Screen - connect wdtv to TV, select the playlist, or folder you want to play, turn off the TV.

I am not yet into blu-ray, and hope I will get into it when I have capable receiver, and player. As said by Venkat, I will jump into blu-ray when players are 5-7k in India, and media is Rs500, and seventymm starts renting out blu-rays.

regards

 

[illusion]

I think everyone is correct here, given their own requirements/ situations.
Ripping music in flac - I am assuming my laptop would suffice with its dual core CPU and 2GB RAM. Ripping music, for me at least, should take 5-10% of the time compared to time spent on listening.
Ripping video - I am not into it yet, but can try ripping my current DVD collection for backup. Again - I think the laptop should suffice. Once ripped, I will attach hdd to laptop and move stuff to hdd.

Downloading music/ video - I never do. But I am sure a torrent client can be easily setup on wdtv, if someone is keen, along with a usb network. Laptop should suffice here too.

WD TV can not replace a PC entirely, and I think no one is saying that. but it can certainly replace a PC in the living room for listening to music - IF it has a decent quality. Which I request mad bull ram to test with Venkat.

I already have an external hdd (250gb), and I am assuming it should suffice for 300 CD worth of music easily.
Screen - connect wdtv to TV, select the playlist, or folder you want to play, turn off the TV.

I am not yet into blu-ray, and hope I will get into it when I have capable receiver, and player. As said by Venkat, I will jump into blu-ray when players are 5-7k in India, and media is Rs500, and seventymm starts renting out blu-rays.

regards

Very nicely put !

But just one thing if you have an avr then whether you go for a wd tv or an oppo it does not really matter as the sound quality will not change. So the only deciding factor was video and given the screen shots its pretty impressive !

 

[reju]

I vote for WD TV or NMT for their SIMPLICITY of use as compared to a HTPC.

Very less booting time, NO software/ codecs installation or settings from time to time, or hangups etc. FULL remote control function and easily blends into your home theater setup, and always stays connected.

Its a boon for our family members who are less computer savvy (or having less patience) and would like to have some entertainment when we are not around.

These media players are best suited for people ALREADY having a PC at home. Otherwise you will have to depend on some else for setting it up and maintenance.

FYI I have moved on from HTPC to NMT, and I don't plan to go back

 

[moserw]

Even I'm in agreement with this. I too am getting a WDTV to play all my MKV and HD rips. In fact I'm not planning on getting an external HDD either. I've an 8GB USB and plan to get another 16GB USB and that should suffice.

@reju - You could move to an NMT because you have a PC at home to either rip or .... (I will leave it unsaid). Ditto for me. The previous discussion however was to go for WDTV to play music and movies and for those who don't have a PC i.e. a WDTV would be a cheaper option than a PC (which it certainly is not) to play music and movies. However, my query is without a PC how are you even going to get movies and music to play on WDTV. Even friends will say no to borrowing stuff time and again after a while (well at least most people do).

Otherwise I too agree with you that WDTV and/or an NMT is way better than a HTPC (as long as I have a PC to get the content). Getting an NMT and/or WDTV without or in lieu of a PC just does not make sense is the point I'm making.

 

[anm]

I agree, but a little comparison should not hurt. I am also interested in the quality of analog out as well as digital out to AVR.

regards

Very nicely put !

But just one thing if you have an avr then whether you go for a wd tv or an oppo it does not really matter as the sound quality will not change. So the only deciding factor was video and given the screen shots its pretty impressive !

 

[reju]

Even I'm in agreement with this. I too am getting a WDTV to play all my MKV and HD rips. In fact I'm not planning on getting an external HDD either. I've an 8GB USB and plan to get another 16GB USB and that should suffice.

@reju - You could move to an NMT because you have a PC at home to either rip or .... (I will leave it unsaid). Ditto for me. The previous discussion however was to go for WDTV to play music and movies and for those who don't have a PC i.e. a WDTV would be a cheaper option than a PC (which it certainly is not) to play music and movies. However, my query is without a PC how are you even going to get movies and music to play on WDTV. Even friends will say no to borrowing stuff time and again after a while (well at least most people do).

Otherwise I too agree with you that WDTV and/or an NMT is way better than a HTPC (as long as I have a PC to get the content). Getting an NMT and/or WDTV without or in lieu of a PC just does not make sense is the point I'm making.

Very true. You will always need a PC for WD TV.
And if you are getting your 1st PC, then might as well go for a PC with HT capabilities, for a marginally higher cost, and play the music/ video from PC itself. If budget permitting, you can always go for a media player later on...

 

[moserw]

I'm actually stuck between the WDTV and Popcorn Hour. Fortunately I've some time to decide as my SIL, MIL and sister all are going to be coming only after October. Probably by then WDTV should do HD Audio too making things more in its favor. Unless of course I can source WDTV locally here in Hyderabad by then...

 

[illusion]

I'm actually stuck between the WDTV and Popcorn Hour. Fortunately I've some time to decide as my SIL, MIL and sister all are going to be coming only after October. Probably by then WDTV should do HD Audio too making things more in its favor. Unless of course I can source WDTV locally here in Hyderabad by then...

For rich buggers like you , popcorn hour !!

 

[smedhavi]

SQ via the PC on Asus soundcard with the right speakers is absolutely divine. This to my ears is the best sounding music I've heard in a long time. It will beat any CDP hands down unless you're going to be talking about the big boys costing 5000 U.S. Dollars onwards.

Moserw bhai, I understand that you are REALLY happy with your PC hyeah:

----------------

I am considering a WD TVHD for the bedroom, but there are a still a few things stopping me:

Video

• The Blu-ray player is currently doing a good job at upscaling the DVDs. I will miss out on that. On a 46inch 1080p TV it does show.

Music

• I need to switch on the TV for listening to music
• I do not have a receiver in the bedroom. The signal goes into an analog integrated amp. WD HDTV does not have a great DAC, so I would need to buy an external DAC

A Logitech Squeezebox could take care of my music needs in the bedroom, but then I still need another devise for video. That's too many devices. So much for simplicity

Suggestions welcome...

Regards,
Sharad

 

[reju]

I'm actually stuck between the WDTV and Popcorn Hour. Fortunately I've some time to decide as my SIL, MIL and sister all are going to be coming only after October. Probably by then WDTV should do HD Audio too making things more in its favor. Unless of course I can source WDTV locally here in Hyderabad by then...

If your AVR is not capable of handling True HD audio through HDMI OR you are not planning to upgrade soon, forget about this feature. Anyway, I don't expect long product life from these media players, at the most say 2 years. They will either go bad OR by then newer technology/ players would have made them obsolete.

Go for WD TV. 7K is very good price & you will not feel bad to upgrade later. This technology is still developing and very fast too. Putting in 12K+ can be a waste.

I would also suggest not to wait till Oct. I guess your in-laws are coming from US. So you will save at the most Rs. 1500 after waiting 5 long months.
(Prices here after 5 months can be around 6.5k). Start enjoying today itself!

Of course these are only my personal view points. You may totally disagree with me

 

[moserw]

If your AVR is not capable of handling True HD audio through HDMI OR you are not planning to upgrade soon, forget about this feature. Anyway, I don't expect long product life from these media players, at the most say 2 years. They will either go bad OR by then newer technology/ players would have made them obsolete.

Go for WD TV. 7K is very good price & you will not feel bad to upgrade later. This technology is still developing and very fast too. Putting in 12K+ can be a waste.

I would also suggest not to wait till Oct. I guess your in-laws are coming from US. So you will save at the most Rs. 1500 after waiting 5 long months.
(Prices here after 5 months can be around 6.5k). Start enjoying today itself!

Of course these are only my personal view points. You may totally disagree with me

I would love to get my hands on it right now. But it's not available locally and don't want to buy on Ebay.

 

[moserw]

Moserw bhai, I understand that you are REALLY happy with your PC hyeah:

For music yeah. It will any day beat any CDP up to a certain price point and then some more. For HTPC, I don't even use it. Just rip DVDs in Divx and Blu-Ray DVDs in HD Rips (in the future). In fact I don't have h/w that will play any HD rips like MKV. That's why I'm seriously considering WDTV.

 

[reju]

I would love to get my hands on it right now. But it's not available locally and don't want to buy on Ebay.

OIC. If you have anyone in Mumbai etc, they could buy and courier by Blue Dart - approx Rs. 250.
BTW even I could arrange for you. But I am not sure how we can get to doing that?

 

[anm]

I thought someone said it passes through hd-audio to receiver?
Not that I have an HD capable receiver, but many ppl here may have, and I may have one too - some day!

I'm actually stuck between the WDTV and Popcorn Hour. Fortunately I've some time to decide as my SIL, MIL and sister all are going to be coming only after October. Probably by then WDTV should do HD Audio too making things more in its favor. Unless of course I can source WDTV locally here in Hyderabad by then...

 

[anm]

squeezebox would need you to run a squeezecenter server in case you want to listen to your music. It may work serverless if you listen only to radio, or you upload all your music to their site.

 

[illusion]

For music yeah. It will any day beat any CDP up to a certain price point and then some more. For HTPC, I don't even use it. Just rip DVDs in Divx and Blu-Ray DVDs in HD Rips (in the future). In fact I don't have h/w that will play any HD rips like MKV. That's why I'm seriously considering WDTV.

Hmm u must be having a quadcore cause I have heard HD rips take a helluva of a time !

 

[magma]

dear venkat sir
though your writeup is good, i still dont understand how you answered my question1

your answer starts with praising the specs of the Asus soundcard
then you argue for PC based systems vs a cdp
next you talk about WDTV's cabpabilities(alone withoutan external DAC) vs the reproduction of the asus soundcard DAC
and lastly you again argue for a pc based system with soundcard over a DVDP DAC combo.
i asked for none of the above

my question is simple
im not comparing a dvdp + DAC combo or a just a plain WDTV player connected to an amp versus a PC based system with an asus card

im comparing a WDTV + beresford combo (of course using a digital out from the wdtv) with the PC based system with asus soundcard

Both above option dont use CDP,or dvdp
they both transfer didgital music from a HDD to either the DAC of the asus soundcard or the DAC of the beresford

since both of them use the same signal path as explained above that is why im having trouble accepting that the HTPC with the asus soundcard should sound superiror to the WDTV+Beresford

my question again
Question1
only for pure 2.0 audio purposes
how much would the SQ differ between the PC based system with the Asus STX soundcard VERSUS WDTV+hard disk + an exteranl bersford DAC ?

and ppl please remeber im not comparing the flexibility of a HTPC with the WDTV+beresford combo nor am i asking anyone to justify what is value for money

im simply asking for comapring its SQ in playing pure 2.0 flac songs only!

hoping for a reply soon

P.S all answers above have assumed only WDTV versus the HTPC
now this i know is no comparison - the wdtv alone hasnt got the DAC capabilities of an asus soundcad

im asking for WDTV PLUS bersford versus HTPC
(where the WDTV would just pass through the digital audio signal the the external DAC would actually do the work thats probably done by the ASUS Xonar)

 

[moserw]

@magma - Are you asking in theory? Factoring in the cost of the WDTV at 8K, Beresford at 8K, external HDD at 5K and you are crossing 20K. Add a little more to the 20K and you'll get a PC along with an Asus soundcard.

Coming to the SQ part of it, it would come down to the DAC as and how it compares to the Asus soundcard. Very few would however beat the Asus that much I'm sure of.

dear venkat sir
though your writeup is good, i still dont understand how you answered my question1

your answer starts with praising the specs of the Asus soundcard
then you argue for PC based systems vs a cdp
next you talk about WDTV's cabpabilities(alone withoutan external DAC) vs the reproduction of the asus soundcard DAC
and lastly you again argue for a pc based system with soundcard over a DVDP DAC combo.
i asked for none of the above

my question is simple
im not comparing a dvdp + DAC combo or a just a plain WDTV player connected to an amp versus a PC based system with an asus card

im comparing a WDTV + beresford combo (of course using a digital out from the wdtv) with the PC based system with asus soundcard

Both above option dont use CDP,or dvdp
they both transfer didgital music from a HDD to either the DAC of the asus soundcard or the DAC of the beresford

since both of them use the same signal path as explained above that is why im having trouble accepting that the HTPC with the asus soundcard should sound superiror to the WDTV+Beresford

my question again
Question1
only for pure 2.0 audio purposes
how much would the SQ differ between the PC based system with the Asus STX soundcard VERSUS WDTV+hard disk + an exteranl bersford DAC ?

and ppl please remeber im not comparing the flexibility of a HTPC with the WDTV+beresford combo nor am i asking anyone to justify what is value for money

im simply asking for comapring its SQ in playing pure 2.0 flac songs only!

hoping for a reply soon

P.S all answers above have assumed only WDTV versus the HTPC
now this i know is no comparison - the wdtv alone hasnt got the DAC capabilities of an asus soundcad

im asking for WDTV PLUS bersford versus HTPC
(where the WDTV would just pass through the digital audio signal the the external DAC would actually do the work thats probably done by the ASUS Xonar)

 

[magma]

@magma - Are you asking in theory? Factoring in the cost of the WDTV at 8K, Beresford at 8K, external HDD at 5K and you are crossing 20K. Add a little more to the 20K and you'll get a PC along with an Asus soundcard.

Coming to the SQ part of it, it would come down to the DAC as and how it compares to the Asus soundcard. Very few would however beat the Asus that much I'm sure of.

now that answers my question

now for the shocker!
no moserwim not asking just for theory im actaully considering this option!
i know the price is equal to that of an HTPC!

im pretty sure the beresford wont BEAT the Asus but im betting this combo will be better off than any budget CDP
am i i wrong in asuming that?

NOw as to why im being foolish to spend so much rather than an HTPC
well..thats a debated story whose justification is subjective

and if i do decide to go the HTPC way im calling you up moser to list out the components i need and what exactly that would cost me!

 

[venkatcr]

only for pure 2.0 audio purposes
how much would the SQ differ between the PC based system with the Asus STX soundcard VERSUS WDTV+hard disk + an exteranl bersford DAC ?

and ppl please remeber im not comparing the flexibility of a HTPC with the WDTV+beresford combo nor am i asking anyone to justify what is value for money im simply asking for comapring its SQ in playing pure 2.0 flac songs only! hoping for a reply soon

OK. Moser has given some answers. Let us see logically.

1. You have PC with a good sound card that stores and plays the music.
2. You transfer the music/song to WDTV, add an external DAC, and then play it.

What is difference between the two? The DAC of the sound card and the DAC of the external DAC such as Beresford. If you look at a sound card such as the Asus right now, I think it's specifications beat the Beresford hollow. But I am giving Asus only as an example. There are better and more robust cards available that will be even better than the Asus. But at the price point, Asus sounds very attractive.

Will the PC sound better or will the WDTV+DAC sound better? Specifications wise, the PC has an advantage. But in reality, only an audition can confirm. But frankly the difference will be marginal. If a WDTV + External DAC is less expensive and more convenient, then it certainly make sense. Unless you put on your audiophile ears, the differences will be very small and subtle. All this is assuming that the WDTV has clean processing for two channel music. Remember a sound card is optimised for two channel music, while the WDTV is optimised for delivery of video and multichannel audio. This is very similar to the comparison we have been having between dedicated CDPs and DVD Players.

Maybe MadbullRam can tell us how it sounds for music.

Though this may sound clich, but the sound card being closer to the source, will be able to process the data better that a external DAC.

BTW, Magma, I mentioned Asus sound card only as an example. I am not trying to push the card. There are a number of sound cards available in various price brackets that could be as good or better than the Asus in features and sound reproduction.

Cheers