Western Digital HD Media Player gets a longer-term review

The promise of Western Digital HD Media Player certainly intrigued on first blush, but an updated and longer-term review at GearBits after a firmware update didn't fare as well. The firmware update certainly boosted the capabilities of the little box, but like so many devices we've seen, the UI hurts the overall usability. It's certainly not easy to accommodate the myriad of media functions into a consistent and enjoyable UI that stays responsive under use. Add in the sneakernet limitations, and you've got a box that certainly can fill a niche, but we'd recommend you make sure it's a good fit for your use pattern before jumping in.

[(Unverified) Posted Jan 8th 2009 12:35PM]

ive had this for abotu 2 weeks now. I got this because i was sick of re-encoding my anime so that my ps3 could stream it. Let me tell you, this thing RCOKS!. With the exception of vorbis audio codec, this thing has played every video format i have put into it without a single problem.

Sure, it doesnt do thumbnails at all whcih is dissappointing, but i have all my anime seperated into different folders which it sees, so that makes it easier to scroll threw.

The only flaw i see is that theres no ethernet hookup which would have made it easier to do firmware updates and also stream from computer instead of getting another external hd. But i have a nice 500gb drive conncted to it and it reads and plays off it without any issues.

One thing i noticed people bitch about is that problem if you shut off a movie you have to ff or skip chapters to get back to your spot. I dont know what they mean by that. I turn this device off in middle of movies when i have to go out and it ask me if i want to resume it when i go back to it which it does no problem.

So if anyone does anime and wants a easy way to watch it on the tv, this is deff the device for you. Oh man, sony ps3 has got compitition now. Booya

[(Unverified) Posted Jan 8th 2009 12:46PM]

I am glad this came out, because it made me discover the Popcorn Hour A-110, and for only another $100, it was well worth the upgrade.

[scyber Posted Jan 8th 2009 1:12PM]

Yep, I'm rocking the PCH (a-100 though) too. Love that little thing. Plays pretty much everything I through at it. Put one of the jukebox skins on it (I use YAMJ) and it is a perfect video jukebox.

[(Unverified) Posted Jan 8th 2009 2:18PM]

Same here. Love my PCH-A100. The PCH devices make any other media player / extender look like a joke. I'm also using YAMJ with the RobinsjExcal skin. It's pretty awesome. I haven't found a file yet that the A100 won't play.

[(Unverified) Posted Jan 8th 2009 1:19PM]

this device is great.

[Roberini Posted Jan 8th 2009 2:28PM]

I bought it the weekend it came out and been very pleased with it. It handles a variety of codecs that the PS3 and/or 360 don't. The feature to change the language comes in handy as well.

I'd agree that the only thing missing from it is a network port. Once it has that, it'd be perfect.
And the price is great. Maybe $75 would be sweeter. I can already see a new version coming out with a network port and Netflix support. It'd cripple Roku's in a heartbeat.

[(Unverified) Posted Mar 16th 2009 12:23PM]

Won't decode Dolby TrueHD 5.1
Problem with freezing after about 8 minutes of video playback.