WD Reveals New Home DLNA Network Drive

Thursday Western Digital revealed its new My Book Live home network drive, an external storage solution for consumers who want to establish a central location for accessing and streaming media on their home network.

According to Western Digital, the My Book Live contains a built-in server for streaming media to any PC, Mac, and DLNA-certified multimedia devices such as the Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, Blu-ray disc players, and WD's TV Live Plus HD media player. Apple iPad/iPhone/iPod Touch consumers can also swipe through stored photos using the included WD Photos app.

"Users can also securely access and share all the content and files stored on the My Book Live from any Internet-connected PC or Mac using WD's free remote access service," the company said.

Outside the built-in DLNA server, the external network drive uses a Gigabit Ethernet connection allowing up to 100 MB/s transfer speeds. It also provides WD SmartWare software for automatically backing up a Windows-based machine, and compatibility with Apple Time Machine.

"Our consumer research tells us that consumers need a simple way to set up a one-stop shop for their digital media," said Dale Pistilli, vice president of marketing for WD's branded products group. "WD's My Book Live home network drive makes it easy for anyone to enjoy the benefits of network storage and delivers blazing read speeds to boot."

The external drive is now available at select US retailers and online via WD's virtual store. Consumers will have two capacity choices--1 TB for $169.99 USD and 2 TB for 229.99 USD. Both drives are compatible with Windows XP, Windows Vista, Windows 7, Mac OS X Leopard and Snow Leopard, as well as DLNA/UPnP enabled devices.

  • lashabane
    Our consumer research tells us that consumers need a simple way to set up a one-stop shop for their digital media
    I'm sure their research didn't include readers of TH. We can easily stream data to anything we desire. I don't need a product like this when I have everything set up on one network.
    Reply
  • g00fysmiley
    lashabaneI'm sure their research didn't include readers of TH. We can easily stream data to anything we desire. I don't need a product like this when I have everything set up on one network.
    no it didn't include the tech savy.. but it is an intresting product for mainstrem, provided its easy enough to setup maybe they are hoping to sell to normal consumers who don't know how to set up a home network
    Reply
  • coloradoleo76
    I'm tech savvy and I can't build something that's as small that has the same capabilities for the same price, so I'm interested. It fills a need that I have for media serving that doesn't take up a lot of space. I'd be happier if they built it as a bare box that I could load a drive into, though.
    Reply
  • misry
    A media server should be able to play any shared files from any machine on the network, not just it cute little built-in drive.
    Reply
  • gsacks
    For the price, its a pretty good deal. 1gig HD is about $70 - $80, so for $100 more you get a little network server build in. It is limited, but it is still a good price for what you are getting if you don't already have a server set up.
    Reply
  • Sure would be nice to know what flavor of HD is in it.
    Reply
  • coloradoleo76
    @MISRy, It's not a player, just a server.. if it was a player, I'd agree with you.
    Reply
  • warmon6
    gsacksFor the price, its a pretty good deal. 1gig HD is about $70 - $80, so for $100 more you get a little network server build in. It is limited, but it is still a good price for what you are getting if you don't already have a server set up.
    Did you mean 1 tera? as 1 gig HD haven't been out in many many years and a 1 Gig flash drive is only $5 to $10. if that. ;)
    Reply
  • jsc
    SplitsecondSure would be nice to know what flavor of HD is in it.Probably a Green. With a Green, they can get away with the same 12 volt 1.5 amp wallwart that powers the MyBook drives and the Media Player.
    Reply
  • dEAne
    Too small for my needs.
    Reply