WD TV Live: 3 good alternatives
The media player WDTV Live has long been an inexpensive all-rounder for a variety of file formats. But there are also interesting alternatives that do more in some respects.
Ready-made alternative to WD TV Live: HIMEDIA Q5quad
If, as with WDTV Live, you don't want to lend a hand yourself, but are simply looking for a media player that you can plug in and get started with, the Q5quad is a good choice.
- Android runs on the device for € 160 with preinstalled Kodi. So you have a lot of leeway when customizing with Android apps and Kodi plugins.
- The Q5quad can handle all necessary file formats and also 4K material (@ 30 frames per second) as well as multi-channel sound of the highest quality. 3D output is also not a problem.
- WLAN is already integrated, but you should use the LAN interface for streaming.
- The build quality also leaves nothing to be desired. The housing is made of aluminum and well made.
Competition for WDTV: Raspberry Pi with OpenElec
A major competitor for the aging WDTV Live is the small craft calculator Raspberry Pi.
- There is now the third generation of the mini computer. The bare board costs around 40 €, for the case, power supply and SD card there is an additional 30 €.
- You can use the operating system for the Raspberry Pi OpenElec (formerly XBMC). In terms of configuration, styling and adaptability, there are no limits for you.
- If you still had to laboriously create your own movie sheets with film information for WDTV, this information is automatically downloaded from the Internet at OpenElec.
- OpenElec can handle all known file formats. The power reserves only become scarce with high-resolution multi-channel sound such as DTS-HD Master Audio.
The luxury variant: Intel NUC
The small computers of the NUC series accommodate a lot of computing power at a low price.
- Older versions of the NUCs are already available for around € 140. Stronger versions with i3, i5 or i7 processors are available for higher prices.
- Here, too, you can install the free software OpenElec or Windows 10 and then use the small PC as a media player.
- If the computing power of the Raspberry Pi is not sufficient, this variant should cope well. This is where the output of high-resolution sound for cinema films works.
- However, there is a small drawback: No model has HDMI CEC ex works. With an adapter you can retrofit this functionality at any time.
