Why Roku over WD TV Live?

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From what I see all it has over the WD TV Live is the streaming tv.

I will never use the streaming TV though as I prefer everything on demand.

Might be getting one of these in the next few days so need to decide.
 
I had 3 WDTV Lives and the Live Hub.
Only have one live left which lives in my bar. Rest replaced with 4 Roku devices.

Depends on your needs.

My needs are Plex, Netflix and Hulu+. The Roku has a far superior interface and the family find them simpler to navigate vs the WDTV.

If you mostly watch content off a connected external drive then I suppose the WDTV is the best. That said, I would rather setup Plex on a machine and connect the drive there. The experience would just be so much better.

Did enjoy the WDTV devices when I had them. They do the job well. Just consider them to be a bit dated now.
 
I have a Roku HD which I use to stream Netflix, Hulu Plus, Vevo, Pandora, MTV, CNN, BBC, Sky, eNCA, Smithsonian channel etc. It works very well but there is a lot of content that is unavailable due to no browser or flash support etc. Roku have just released three new models (2700X, 2710X, 2720X). You might be able to get a good discount from Amazon on an older model on a Black Friday special.

I would also carefully look at several of the latest android machines as they appear to offer a lot more power for a similar price.
http://mybroadband.co.za/vb/showthread.php/544143-DroidTV-MX-or-Roku
You might still be able to arrange a R100 MyBB discount from kernel on this machine ...
http://www.dbg.co.za/product_info.php?products_id=941&osCsid=pmr45f0d0dirjuqopkcj513tq6

Roku 3 $15 off
http://www.amazon.com/Roku-3-Stream...4?ie=UTF8&qid=1382413288&sr=8-4&keywords=roku
 
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Thanks guys. Ordered myself a WD TV Live this morning with same day delivery.

If my needs change in the future I will relook this question.

Must say the fact the WD TV Live is locally available also influenced my decision.
 
Thanks guys. Ordered myself a WD TV Live this morning with same day delivery.

If my needs change in the future I will relook this question.

Must say the fact the WD TV Live is locally available also influenced my decision.

And the WD TV Live is really awesome :)
A bit buggy here and there, like if your content is stored on the network and said pc is shut down, then it bitches, but otherwise it runs flawless.
 
WDTV Live is my main media player, biggest issue is that it's not the most athletic device - tends to take its time, especially when opening apps (youtube)
 
I haven't been able to get the WD TV Live to work with Netflix, feel like chucking it in the bin.

I have a Roku 3 that works fine. I may just order another of those to replace the WD TV Live.
 
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I haven't been able to get the WD TV Live to work with Netflix, feel like chucking it in the bin.

Took me as long as it took to type my password in. You're doing something wrong.
 
You're doing something wrong.

Yes, but that doesn't help, just don't get a Netflix App, no matter what I try.

Think that I have one of the firmware versions that don't allow non-USA Netflix usage.

Other Apps work, for example the radio streaming.

The unit comes from the USA, and I am using Unotelly.
 
Any ideas on how to get this WD TV Live to show Netflix on the Apps menu ?

Nothing that I have tried seems to work.
 
Any ideas on how to get this WD TV Live to show Netflix on the Apps menu ?

Nothing that I have tried seems to work.

What region is your WD TV Live set to? Some say it needs to be US or UK. Is your Unotelly on your Router?

I didn't have to change any regions it was just there?
 
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I have a UK Netflix subscription, but mostly log into the US site. But this is mostly irrelevant at this stage, I don't even get a Netflix icon.

I have Unotelly set up on the router, which works fine with my PCs and tablets, as well as the Roku 3.

This WD TV Live comes from the USA.
 
I have a UK Netflix subscription, but mostly log into the US site. But this is mostly irrelevant at this stage, I don't even get a Netflix icon.

I have Unotelly set up on the router, which works fine with my PCs and tablets, as well as the Roku 3.

This WD TV Live comes from the USA.

I think you need to reset the device. on initial set up use UNODNS and set your WD to USA and update the firmware
 
Hmmm, seems that I have the "WD TV LIVE HD", and this model does not support Netflix.

Seems that you need the "WD TV LIVE PLUS HD"

I have ordered another Roku 3, Amazon has discounted the price.

WD won't see me again, the Roku 3 is just so much better.
 
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I have a Roku HD which I use to stream Netflix, Hulu Plus, Vevo, Pandora, MTV, CNN, BBC, Sky, eNCA, Smithsonian channel etc. It works very well but there is a lot of content that is unavailable due to no browser or flash support etc. Roku have just released three new models (2700X, 2710X, 2720X). You might be able to get a good discount from Amazon on an older model on a Black Friday special.

I would also carefully look at several of the latest android machines as they appear to offer a lot more power for a similar price.
http://mybroadband.co.za/vb/showthread.php/544143-DroidTV-MX-or-Roku
You might still be able to arrange a R100 MyBB discount from kernel on this machine ...
http://www.dbg.co.za/product_info.php?products_id=941&osCsid=pmr45f0d0dirjuqopkcj513tq6

Roku 3 $15 off
http://www.amazon.com/Roku-3-Stream...4?ie=UTF8&qid=1382413288&sr=8-4&keywords=roku

Where did you get the eNCA app ?
 
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I went for the Roku over the WDTV. I only waited 8 days for my Roku to arrive from Amazon in the States.
I did a lot of research and watched a lot of reviews and videos, and it really came down to the Roku having what looked like much more support from the developers, updates, private channels, and price.
The main thing that did it for me though was the interface. So easy, so fast, and also the global search. Where you can search from the main menu, and it goes and searches between all the different channels. Then if it is available on one of the channels you're subscribed to, launch it from there. The ease of use just trumped everything the WD could offer.
 
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