Western Digital slips out a powerful upgrade to its WD TV media centre

Prices unavailable Recommended alternatives Editor's Choice Popcorn Hour A-300 Built-In Blu-ray Player HDI Dune HD Max Functions on a Shoestring Popbox V8

The Western Digital WD TV media centre is one of our favourite products.  Ever since we tested it in December 2008, it's been incredibly popular with a lot of you--so you may be interested to learn that we've just found out about a new upgrade that the manufacturer slipped out quietly.

Here's how it happened: we asked Western Digital if we could test its WD TV and WD TV Live media centres again so we could put them through our new test procedure and include them in our Product Face-Off.  When we unpacked the WD TV we received, we were surprised to see the DTS logo on the packaging and the device itself.

That's odd, because one of the major weaknesses of this product was its lack of support for the DTS audio format.  We had another surprise in store though: when we went to check for firmware updates, we discovered that Western Digital's site offered the choice between 'Gen 1' and 'Gen 2' of the WD TV.  Intriguingly, the two versions aren't using the same firmware: we're at 1.03.01 for the first generation and 1.01.77 for the second.



A new, faster decoding chip

We took the case apart to see if anything had changed on the inside.  We made a great discovery inside the bowels of the machine: the decoding chip has been upgraded from Sigma Design's SMP8635 to the SMP8655--the same one as is found in the WD TV Live.  The chip is of the same generation as those found in the PopcornHour C-200 and the HDI Dune BD Prime 3.0.

So, to cut a long story short, Western Digital has quietly upgraded the WD TV.  Apart from a new, faster chip, it now also supports the DTS audio format.  We think the interface remains unchanged, but we haven't had time to look very far.

Telling them apart

The question that remains is how to tell the two versions apart.  It can be tricky if you're buying online, as a lot of stores don't seem to distinguish between the two generations.  It's easier in a physical store: you can look for the DTS logo on the box, which is the sign you've got the second generation.  To make doubly certain, you can look for the Product Number  (P/N): if it starts with 'WDBAB', you've got the second generation; if on the other hand it begins 'WDAV' or 'WD00', it's the original.


We'll set to work testing this new version so we can add its product page to our other media centre tests, but the raw results should be available in the Face-Off a little earlier.  Finally, as far as we can tell, the price has not changed.

> Product Survey: Multimedia Hard Drives and Media Centres
> Product Face-Offs: Media Centres


> Buyer's Guides: Our Pick of The Best Products