When What I Really Need Is Just A Player (And Not Storage).. WD TV HD Player

When I first read about the WD TV HD Player about 2 months back in lowyat.net, I was completely psyched. At last, someone was considerate enough to think about the masses. For most of us, we already have our own external hard disk packed with photos, music and videos downloaded from the net. To buy a standalone media player that requires us to buy an additional external hard disk would definitely make the hole in the pocket bigger.

The 2 main criterias that makes me drooling over this stuff are:

1. It has HDMI and Optical outputs, which means I can connect the HDMI directly to my LCD TV and the Optical to my Home Theatre.
2. It has 2 USB ports, which means I can just connect anything with USB (with mass storage driver) to the player. No internal memory required.

After I read about this player in T3 last week, I decided to search at LYN forum and I found out that many people have already purchased this unit. Local pricing is around RM400 which I think is quite acceptable. I remember looking for a hard disk player with HDMI output a few months back and if i was not mistaken it was around RM600 without the hard disk. But, maybe the price has gone down now because obselete is such and understatement in the gadget world. A gadget you buy today may cost 20-30% less in a months time making you feel like pulling all the hair on your head for being an early adopter. Sigh.. I really am speaking from experience hehe..

Eventhough there is an HDMI output from this media player, I don't think I will be enjoying any HD content streaming to my LCD TV because I don't have any. All my TV Series and movies are not of HD format. Some are so bad that it gets pixelated whenever I played from the DVD on my home theatre but who cares. As long as I can just sit back and relax on the couch using the supplied remote control (and do not have to sort the DVD disk ever again), I am a happy man.

I don't think I will be requiring this player anytime soon. The Jakarta trip and the new house have really taken it's toll on me I think haha. But, when the time comes (and hopefully the price goes away down), I will surely get this player or any other hard disk player from other manufacturer. Hey, it's a cruel world in the gadget world out there..