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WDTV Mini
New player from Western Digital, notable only for it's very cheap price. Although it is called WDTV 'mini', it is actually a very different player to it's WDTV father. And, despite being released a year later, it is technically inferior. Lacks any 1080i/p support and, most astonishingly of all, is not equipped with an HDMI output. Quite why Western Digital have decided to release a player that lacks the most popular interace around and cannot play most HD files, is beyond us. On the plus side, you could fit it into your pocket. It is really tiny.
With the price of much more capable machines being only slightly higher, it is very hard to see any merit in the WDTV Mini unless extreme portability is your thing.
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Links
• Official WDTV Mini Website • WDTV Forums /WDTV Mini • MPCClub Forum Thread |
Reviews
• Customer Reviews  
• Customer Reviews  
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Places To Buy
• Amazon $59.99
• Amazon €45.90
• Amazon  £45.57
• Google Shopping  
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Product Discussion There are 7 comments
June 10, 2010 - 14:53
There is a firmware update for this model at long last available here: It's been out for quite some time now, but I don't see it mentioned anywhere on this page. May 07, 2010 - 14:28
The WDTV mini uses the old Amlogic 8613, this chipset cannot decode 720p HD RMVB and MKV. April 15, 2010 - 16:07
This uses an Amlogic chipset confirmed on another forum but not possible to see chip number due to metal plate covering chip. Another OEM same design as WDTV Mini December 26, 2009 - 09:28
Merry Christmas to you too. The point is that this player is only marginally more expensive than others that have vastly superior capabilities. For example, the Hisense with faster Realtek 1073 chipset giving 1080p, DTS, HDMI,and Ethernet is only £61. The WDTV Mini would be adequate for most SD files, but a user would increasingly come across files that this device would not play as more video is becoming available in HD. As 'future entertainment technology' in a section of this site dedicated to 'HD Media Players' we stand by our commentary. December 29, 2009 - 17:51
"...a user would increasingly come across files that this device would not play as more video is becoming available in HD" Indeed -- and what do you think is going to happen to your 1080 world when 200 GB or greater optical media are released? The same thing that happened to SD media once Blu-ray caught-on -- nothing moves faster in electronics than computer-driven change. I wonder how many people in any one country care about DTS (in any variant), and speaking solely to the videophile early-adopter is hardly reporting. What is never discussed in the endless guff about resolution is non-35 mm media; what point 1080 x 1920 res for something filmed on videotape? Not everyone watches just films -- a large part of the home video market is TV runs, and many of these were -- and are -- filmed on tape, and can never look any better, whatever "future entertainment technology" is whistled up... December 25, 2009 - 22:28
"...Lacks any 1080i/p support and, most astonishingly of all, is not equipped with an HDMI output. Quite why Western Digital have decided to release a player that lacks the most popular interace around and cannot play most HD files, is beyond us". If this "beyond you", then one wonders what you're doing reviewing anything. No 1080 and no HDMI = SD. Do you think perhaps they might be targeting this at people who simply have standard-definition DVD files? No, I don't suppose you do, as this is all beyond you. God you HD/HDMI/DTS-Master XYZ people are funny. It's like listening to the DVD-Audio crowd saying how CD is dead and everything should be designed for them! You are 1% of the video-watching population, and this product is not aimed at you. What is not to get? If this little puppy (or its replacement) had auto PAL-NTSC switching and could do on-the-fly conversion I would buy it in a heartbeat, as it is a $70 video server without all the BS. March 27, 2010 - 01:48
Yeah its def for the SD crowd like me.. however even I wouldnt buy it as the lack of an HDMI output renders it useless for anybody even thinking of getting an HD telly, which is all those people still watching SD screens. Complete lack of usability in a HD world puts me off. I do own a Gen1 WD so I can vouch for how good it is, especially with all the firmwares and other enhancements. I will spring for wdtv live at some point. simply for the added networking .... Leave a Comment
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Detailed Specification
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US$80
