http://www.wdtvc.com/2009/08/18/wd-tv-mini-out-now/

Features of the WD TV Mini Media Player include:

* Play video, music and photos on your TV in up to 1080i HD resolution;
* Supports widest variety of file formats including RealMedia Variable Bitrate (RMVB);
* Rich HD 1080i advanced navigation and user interface;
* DVD-like navigation with chapter support, trick modes and subtitles;
* Expandable: buy more storage, delete fewer movies;
* Photo slideshow with unique transitions and music on your HD TV;
* Thumbnail support including photo thumbnails and music album art;
* Ability to preview your video during navigation (480 and 720 mode only);
* Video, music and photo auto-play for users digital signage solution;
* Subtitle support including multi-language subtitle support for video playback;
* Picture Transfer Protocol to view or backup content from your digital image device;
* Compatible with USB Camcorders and USB mass storage devices;
* Component and composite video output;
* Digital optical audio output via SPDIF;
* Ultra-compact design making it perfectly portable for travel; and,
* 1-year limited warranty

You lose the HDMI but still get hd through component.

Available now! What do you think?

Official Page (http://www.wdc.com/en/products/Products.asp?DriveID=681)

It should cost $30-40 else what's the point...I carried the original WDTV in my bag (was travelling light (buses, trains, boats) and never felt it was there...so for $100 you get a more capable player that you can still drag around almost as if it was air...

the only thing I'm not sure about is whether the camcorder and digital camera support is indeed an additional feature on WDTV Mini compared to the original WDTV, since I never tried to connect a camera to it :D

wow smaller than a cd. this is a great player for putting in your car with a passport hard disk, WD please make a 12 volt power adapter for use in cars for this baby. and make sure it can still power the usb hard disk. maybe sell one with a 7" touch screen too.

I think this will probably take place of the current WD TV and the WD TV 2 will probably be around $150 or higher. The current gen will be discontinued.

To me this is totally pointless, I mean the original was plenty small. I guess its good to see they are working on things over there.

I'd rather see advancments in capabilities then just trying to make it tiny.

so... we're expected to pay the price of the current WDTV, for less hardware capabilities? since when did Western Digital hire steve jobs to create their marketing outline? yeesh.

msrp of mini is $99. msrp of original wdtv is $129 but it typically sells for < $100.

i am more interested in this mini than in the version with the added Ethernet and other hardware i will never use. it should be about $75 at amazon. great for senior citizens that just need a low budget player for pictures/videos/etc. much better value then a digital picture frame IMO.

here is the wd link...

http://www.wdc.com/en/products/products.asp?driveid=681

EDIT:

amazon link...

http://www.amazon.com/Western-Digital-Media-Player-WDBAAL0000NBK-NESN/dp/B002KG0JMG

msrp of mini is $99. msrp of original wdtv is $129 but it typically sells for < $100.

i am more interested in this mini than in the version with the added Ethernet and other hardware i will never use. it should be about $75 at amazon. great for senior citizens that just need a low budget player for pictures/videos/etc. much better value then a digital picture frame IMO.



It's pretty nice actually. Obviously Western Digital wants you to buy hard drives, which is their main business. This is yet another reason to buy them. It's a similar tactic to Apple with Apple TV, which they use to get you into more iTunes renting/purchasing. From this perspective not having networking makes sense. Western Digital will never be a big multimedia company, but they make great storage devices.

The price is right. The only real criticism I have is the lack of hdmi. Why they went with component is odd. That would seem to make it even less portable.

Clearly Western Digital is taking a conservative approach to this area. They are quite right. The whole media player business is highly unstable. It's a bit like the MP3 player situation before the iPod began to dominate.

Once the codec situation clears up there won't be a need for the Popcorn Hours of the world. Sony, MS, Apple, Nintendo. Maybe Western Digital. Of course it's just a feeling I have.

The bottom line is that this looks like an excellent addition to the Western Digital product line. If they have a WDTV2 they can add ethernet and hdmi for the extra $29. Just can't figure out why they didn't go with hdmi. Maybe cost or even a way of bypassing drm?

philip

does it support MKV files? it is not stated in the specs, however it does seems like it can do it, i am unsure who can we ask?

this baby does support mkv files , just in a lower resolution

http://www.recordere.dk/forum/uploads/daskino/2009-08-19_113817_wdtv_mini_video_formats.jpg

Once again not a word about the chip neither the memory in the player... everything under the hood!

But by the look of the UI, it seems it has a Realtek chip...

And 90$ for this year 2000 player?

Lack of HDMI is kind of ridiculous. Is this for people who are too lazy to get a modern television?

Since I'm still running a 2004 Plasma with no HDMI, this looks like it could be work better than my current WDTV. I'm running composite connections through my AV receiver and they are prone to noise and artifacting. With a good component connection I would imagine my PQ improving dramatically.

re: the WDTV2, I'm not interested at all in ethernet. I love my sneakernet as I only add movies to my WDTV about once a week - if that. Plus, the drives on the WDTV are a back-up of what's on my media pc so streaming capability is just going to add hassle. Wait till this forum is full of wireless troubleshooting posts, dropouts, stutters etc..

I would be interested in knowing what's under the hood of the mini though so I didn't feel like I was taking a step back hardware-wise.

by the way..I'm not "too lazy to get a modern television". My 2004 ED Panny Plasma blows the doors off most of the 1080p LCD sets I've seen. Why would I not keep it until it dies?

So they need to call this thing the WDTV SD. The news on it says it supports 720p/1080i through component but none of those resolutions are anything more then standard def.

Who cares about an mkv that is 720x576.

I've been supporting the original wdtv since I got it, but if they put a bunch of time in this, and the wdtv2 comes out with nothing better but ethernet and dts thats pretty damn weak.

Lack of HDMI is kind of ridiculous. Is this for people who are too lazy to get a modern television?

Of course, because the reason I haven't dropped 3 grand on a comparable modern upgrade to my component 50" RPTV is soley because I'm am simply too lazy to get off my fat ass to reach my wallet stuffed with expendable cash . . .

You'd think in today's economy you wouldn't see these kinds of ridiculous generalizations.

My tv works and looks great, perhaps "lazy" is your term for early adopter?

Back to the issue - 1080i is the limit my TV does so, but not thrilled at the 720 upper limit on MKV, etc. Just re-read above post and realized chart is all SD anyway. Well, screw this then.

I guess the guy in the first link at wdtvc got all excited about the technical abilities of component and didn't bother to read that nothing HD is supported (he claims 720p and 1080i).

So they need to call this thing the WDTV SD. The news on it says it supports 720p/1080i through component but none of those resolutions are anything more then standard def.

Who cares about an mkv that is 720x576.

I've been supporting the original wdtv since I got it, but if they put a bunch of time in this, and the wdtv2 comes out with nothing better but ethernet and dts thats pretty damn weak.

i couldn't care less about wdtv2.

i think this mini is nice for people i know who don't care about hd (not me).

what i am hoping is ... wd will keep the current wdtv around as a middle level and add more features.

so far so good...

this mini is no replacement for the current wdtv.

Of course, because the reason I haven't dropped 3 grand on a comparable modern upgrade to my component 50" RPTV is soley because I'm am simply too lazy to get off my fat ass to reach my wallet stuffed with expendable cash . . .

You'd think in today's economy you wouldn't see these kinds of ridiculous generalizations.

My tv works and looks great, perhaps "lazy" is your term for early adopter?

Back to the issue - 1080i is the limit my TV does so, but not thrilled at the 720 upper limit on MKV, etc. Just re-read above post and realized chart is all SD anyway. Well, screw this then.

I guess the guy in the first link at wdtvc got all excited about the technical abilities of component and didn't bother to read that nothing HD is supported (he claims 720p and 1080i).

If you look here at their press release it states that it does 1080i HD.

http://www.wdc.com/en/company/releases/PressRelease.asp?release=1fc82dd8-5566-480a-8c6e-7f82d17f9b24

great gift for friends that are stil in DVD land, give them a wd tv mini and get them hooked

If you look here at their press release it states that it does 1080i HD.

http://www.wdc.com/en/company/releases/PressRelease.asp?release=1fc82dd8-5566-480a-8c6e-7f82d17f9b24

Yes, I'm sure we are all just thrilled with the prospect of 1080i "advanced navigation" and "user interface".

Please reconcile the advertisement of 1080i with the video chart above, which is the only thing we all care about with respect to HD. I don't see any 1080i there, do you?

Maybe I'm confused here but the first bullet point is:

"Play video, music and photos on your TV in up to 1080i HD resolution;"

Why does it say that and the chart say differently?

I guess the guy in the first link at wdtvc got all excited about the technical abilities of component and didn't bother to read that nothing HD is supported (he claims 720p and 1080i).

Yah I think this is the case, he just listed the max component can do. Without checking if the box could put it out.

I believe the operative word here is "upconversion". It will display your "DVD" quality videos in 1080i. It will not play HD files, but will reprocess your standard stuff to look better on your HD display. Just an upconverting DVD player that's had its drive removed and replaced with a USB port.

What a waste of time, resources, and money. Adding component and removing HDMI...fail, Adding RMVB and removing 1080p mkv...fail. This player is pointless, they could have saved their time and just added RMVB to the WD HDTV, there's just no point in having another player that does less, maybe if the thing was half the size of a Passport or something, but it isn't any more portable than the last one.

Maybe I'm confused here but the first bullet point is:

"Play video, music and photos on your TV in up to 1080i HD resolution;"

Why does it say that and the chart say differently?

Short answer? He was lazy and didn't know what the hell he was really talking about. Check out post #81 at link below for what I think is a truer description of their respective focus.

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=1167923&page=2

I believe the operative word here is "upconversion". It will display your "DVD" quality videos in 1080i. It will not play HD files, but will reprocess your standard stuff to look better on your HD display. Just an upconverting DVD player that's had its drive removed and replaced with a USB port.

CFR for the box doing this.

What a waste of time, resources, and money. Adding component and removing HDMI...fail, Adding RMVB and removing 1080p mkv...fail. This player is pointless, they could have saved their time and just added RMVB to the WD HDTV, there's just no point in having another player that does less, maybe if the thing was half the size of a Passport or something, but it isn't any more portable than the last one.

This device is the opposite of progress and somewhat insulting at the same time. Let's hope the WDTV2 is much better...

The mini plays rmvb files, the old WDtV not. I do not understand this limitation...

The mini plays rmvb files, the old WDtV not. I do not understand this limitation...

I think this player has a Realtek chip... and all Realtek players plays rmvb...

Don't wait for more improvements on WD TV... their silence is 3 months long already...

anyone knows if the mini has a 12 volts dc input voltage just like the wdtv hd unit? i will be using it as an in-car media interface hence i won't care less about hd. the mini is easier to hide than the wdtv hd.

anyone knows if the mini has a 12 volts dc input voltage just like the wdtv hd unit?

I'd be surprised if it didn't...

anybody know if you can buy an 5v to 12volt car adpter to the wdtv mini and the wdtv? i would not like to buy those huge 220v to 12v adapters , just a direct car adapter from socket to wdtv like you can get for ipods

does the wdtv have a 12v volt input on it? how did you connect yours i have one but have not checked the possibilites

does the wdtv have a 12v volt input on it? how did you connect yours i have one but have not checked the possibilites

yes it requires 12v input. check this thread, http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=1150021