Western Digital Adds Facebook and USB Wireless Keyboard Support To WD TV Live Boxes

New features? Yes, please! One of our favorite things is receiving a firmware update that adds new features to a product that we already own, and that's what is happening to Western Digital's WD TV Live and Live Plus units. These media streamers have just picked up some much-needed functionality, with Facebook being a highlight addition. After an update is installed, users can browse walls and stream Facebook images, all while updating their own status.


Furthermore, users will now be able to to instantly rent or purchase the newest movie releases the same day they become available on DVD and Blu-ray Disc through the Blockbuster On Demand service. Deezer, Flingo and AccuWeather are also new additions, and hardare wise, the boxes will now be able to accept keyboard inputs from USB wireless keyboards. Of course, the update is free, so go and get it!


WD Adds Variety of New Features to Its WD TV(R) Live(TM) Plus and WD TV Live Media Players

LAKE FOREST, Calif., Nov. 23, 2010 /PRNewswire via COMTEX/ --

Western Digital(R) (NYSE: WDC), the world's leader in external storage solutions, today announced the addition of several entertainment and social sites to the popular WD TV(R) media player family. WD TV Live(TM) (photo) and WD TV Live Plus media player (photo) customers will now be able to connect with their friends and family through Facebook(R) - including uploading photos and videos, sharing their status, viewing their wall and getting the latest updates from their News Feed - among other entertainment choices, all from their HDTV. Meanwhile, WD TV Live Plus media player customers in the U.S. can now instantly rent or purchase the newest movie releases the same day they become available on DVD and Blu-ray Disc(TM) through the Blockbuster(R) On Demand service.

In addition, new features for the WD TV Live and WD TV Live Plus media players include:

    * Deezer(TM): a personalized on-demand music service for listening to 7 million tracks anytime, anywhere and one of the most popular Internet and mobile music offerings in Europe;
    * Flingo(R): free Internet television from leading studios, TV networks, and video websites;
    * AccuWeather.com(R): a worldwide weather forecasting service; and,
    * USB wireless keyboard support: use any popular wireless keyboard with USB dongle to easily update Facebook status and conduct YouTube(R) searches.

"The WD TV family of media players lets our customers enjoy all of their personal media plus the best of the Internet on the biggest screen in the house," said Brian Miller, director of business development for WD. "We listen to our user community and integrate their feedback to continuously improve the experience with our products. That includes working with our content partners to curate the best set of Internet services to meet customers' needs."

For more information on the WD TV Live and WD TV Live Plus media players, please visit the WD TV media player family website.

Price and Availability

The WD TV Live media player is available worldwide, and the WD TV Live Plus media player is available in the U.S. and Canada (1). Products can be purchased at select U.S. and Canadian retailers and online at wdstore.com. MSRP for the WD TV Live and WD TV Live Plus media players is $129.99 USD.