The list of home media players grows by the day, and Western Digital has added a new model to its repertoire. This media player utilizes Wi-Fi to play "virtually any" media file stored on a USB or NAS drive. In addition, it can access popular streaming apps like YouTube, Hulu Plus, VUDU, and the like. With so many competitors out there, it will be interesting to see how the new WD TV fares.
WD®, a Western Digital (NASDAQ: WDC) company and a world leader in connected storage solutions, today unveiled the new WD TV - Personal Edition, an easy to use Wi-Fi™ enabled media player that plays virtually any media file stored on USB and network storage devices or any computer on the home network.
"Consumers have increasingly large libraries of disparate personal content types on a variety of storage devices, from portable USB to network attached storage and personal computers," explains Jim Welsh, executive vice president, WD Content Solutions Business and worldwide sales. "WD's ecosystem of apps and media players ensures that viewing that content is seamless on all screens, from mobile devices to the HDTV. WD TV personalizes the entertainment experience, providing the easiest way for consumers to playback all of their personal videos, photos and music."
WD TV - Personal Edition allows users to enjoy a wide range of personal media such as photos, video and music on their home entertainment systems by supporting many file formats, including MKV, MP4, AVI, WMV, MOV and more. Files can be streamed from any connected USB drive like the My Passport® Ultra™ and My Book® product families, personal cloud and network attached storage drives like WD's My Cloud product family, digital camcorder or cameras, and any networked PC or Mac® computer in the home.
The new WD TV media player features WD's newest intuitive user interface that allows users to take control of their entertainment by customizing the home page with their favorite apps, setting shortcuts to favorite content folders for quick access, and setting auto-run for preferred apps to begin at startup. Additionally, WD TV now supports Miracast™, so that users can project their Miracast enabled mobile device onto their TV in up to Full HD 1080p. WD TV also allows customers to easily stream hit movies, view the latest viral videos, catch up on TV shows and stay connected to social networks through apps such as YouTube®, Hulu Plus™, VUDU®, SlingPlayer®, Spotify®, Pandora® and Facebook, among many others1.
The WD® TV Remote™ app improves the navigation experience for WD TV users by turning their iPhone®, iPod touch®, iPad®, or Android™ compatible mobile device into an advanced feature remote control for their media player. The WD TV Remote app's advanced features allow users to more easily navigate the wide variety of digital media WD TV users enjoy on their television.
Price and Availability
WD TV is currently available at select U.S. retailers and online at the wdstore.com. MSRP is $99.99 USD. The WD TV Remote mobile app is currently available for download for free from the App Store™ and Google Play™.
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