Monthly Main Meeting Highlights
October Main Meeting 2011
Tonight Western Digitals Media Managers
paid us a visit to demonstrate their innovative Multimedia Web TV technology.
Renato Catalan
and
Serge Poleyancik
set up the WD TV LIVE and a WD Essentials 1 TB hard drive to demonstrate how the WD can turn your Television into a web streaming Multimedia player.
Serge and Renato used the WD TV Live device connected by cable to a portable hard drive to demonstrate how WD delivers high definition media steaming to your television.
The WD TV LIVE is connected by an HDMI cable to the television and has a wireless connection. The wireless connection enables it to be connected to your network and the web from any where in the house. Your photos and movie collection can be streamed directly to the television.
The interface is web-based and allows the user to browse both the home network and the web for any multimedia content.
Accessing a video from YouTube or from a home network was simple.
This is a multimedia device, so it is not just video. Renato and Serge also tuned into a classic hits radio station on the “Live 365” web site.
They then showed the search function of WD TV Live by searching for and tuning into ABC Radio.
Next they showed the meeting how to view your photo collection or any shared files on the network.
That’s Renato’s new house.
Aside from the controller, which comes with the device, Serge showed the group how you can download a phone app which turns your phone into a WD TV Live controller.
Here is a link to the WD TV Live details.
Western Digital also has WD Elements Play.
This device is like a hard drive on steroids. It takes an ordinary 1 or 2 TB hard drive and adds the functionality of the TV Live. Unlike the TV LIVE console, Elements has a VCR connection for earlier model televisions.
Link to the details of the WD Elements Play.
The cost for the WD TV is $179 retail however I have seen it at JB HiFi for $149 and Officeworks for $99, but those may be earlier models.
The Elements Play retails at $209.99 for the 1 TB and $249.99 for the 2 TB
Support pages included installation guides, downloads, and knowledge bases
WD
TV LIVE support page.
WD
Elements Play support page.
Before the demonstration started Alex showed us the new iPhone 4S
Alex concentrated on the new voice features which have been developed from
Dragon Dictate software.
Using the voice feature he had the phone do some calculations.
Create an appointment and edit the data.
We then had some fun as Alex asked the phone if it could “Beam me up, Scotty”. To which the phone replied “Sorry Captain your TriCorder is in airplane mode” and asked if it should use WiFi or 3g?
When Alex persisted in asking if it could “Open the pod bay doors”, the famous line from “2001 a Space Odyssey” the phone threaten to report him for cyber abuse and then said in a perfect Douglas Rain voice “I - can’t - do - that” and then asked “There! Are you satisfied?”
The Raffle
Renato and Serge brought along a 1 TB WD Elements Play for tonight’s raffle.
along with a memory stick.
The winners were
Robert Israel
and Malcolm Robertson
The door prize when to
John Lucke
