Lake Forest, Calif. –
said Tuesday that is has added the Netflix 3.0 software and access
to CinemaNow to the growing list of content providers on supported by its WD TV
Live Plus and Live Hub set-top streaming media players.
The subscription-free CinemaNow app (operated by Best Buy) joins
Blockbuster on Demand, Netflix and YouTube as streaming video services available
to owners of the WD devices.
Select new release titles will be available through CinemaNow day
and date with the release of the DVD, and episodes of many popular TV shows
will be available the day after they air.
Western Digital said the CinemaNow service offers access to more
than 10,000 movies and TV shows for rent or purchase directly through the TV
screen.
The new Netflix 3.0 software, meanwhile, enables members to
search for movies directly on their HDTV, so a PC is no longer necessary to
find movies to watch instantly, or add to the instant Queue.
The new functionality also provides support for enhanced audio in
movies streaming with Dolby Digital Plus, and delivers Netflix recommendations
to the TV screen.
Western Digital said the WD TV devices also now support Netflix
in Canada.
Other services available on the WD TV devices include: Facebook,
Pandora, TuneIn Radio and Accuweather. Users can also stream music and video
files from networked PCs and attached storage devices, such as hard drives and
USB thumb drives.
The updates for the WD TV Live Hub media center and WD TV Live
Plus media player can be found at:
http://www.wdc.com/wdtvliveupdates/
All WD TV owners will receive an automatic notification.
The WD TV Live Hub media center, with 1TB of built-in hard disk
storage space is available now for $200 suggested retail. The WD TV Live Plus,
which omits the built-in hard drive, has a $130 suggested retail.
