With the new version of this connection has also came support the latest standards for uncompressed sound positioning, and you can use the same cable for the picture and sound, Dolby TrueHD or DTS-HD Master Audio. Hardware is dramatically improved, which resulted in far better response to commands, as well as greater possibilities for the device, and the serious potential to add new features in the future. Regardless of the powerful hardware, the fan is still absent so there is no noise during work, and consumption is still below the very fair 10 W.

Winning combination should not be changed. The list of supported media formats is not significantly changed, which means that this device plays most media that exists on the PC without any problem. MKV, as the main source of HD content in most regions, is well supported, all with chapters, various streaming audio and subtitles (it's even possible to adjust their delays, ie. progress in relation to the picture, which is very useful option). Speaking of the subtitles and non-US characters, the support is better than most devices in our market. As for the supported media types, the only significant difference is reflected in support for DTS WAV files (DTS Audio CD), by which will all fans of positional sound enjoy their favorite music, with all the simulated environment of the orchestra. This is the first device that we have tested that automatically rescales the sound and translates DTS 5.1 sound into stereo if the specific configuration is not able to play 5.1 surround. It is very important that this work automatically, without any user intervention in menus. As with the predecessor, the protected files such as iTunes or Amazon Unbox, may not be reproduced.

User interface is very similar to predecessor: it's simple and clear, with minimalistic but appealing design. One of the most important improvement is reflected in the additional features for handling files, which you can now copy, delete and transfer, either with a USB device or using network drives. Faster hardware brought faster response to commands in the menu, and regardless of their number everything happens quickly and smoothly. You have the Media Library, a list of files and folders, or combination of lists and thumbnails of the current file. One of the few improvements in this area can be seen in the selection of a particular artist - they will now be divided into albums instead of a simple list with a pile of songs. Unfortunately, the display of devices connected to the USB port has not changed, so you will still have USB1 and USB2 instead of device names.

Probably the biggest improvement, and why this new device is called Live, comes in the form of wired network connector. In case you just want a wireless connection, WD site published a lengthy list of USB WiFi network cards supporting this device, and a good part of models from the list support 802.11n protocol. Also, YouTube support is there, the files are loaded with maximum quality and everything works perfectly, although slightly laggier than expected. If you prefer listening to Internet radio stations, you have support for Live365 with one month free trial for premium account and unlimited access for free users. Depending on location, you will be offered another Internet services like Flicker or Pandora. In addition to Internet connection, network connection can be used to access network drives on other computers, NAS devices, for receiving the content stream, transmission of the same, and sharing connected USB devices on the network. The only problem we had in the network environment related to access to shared folder on Windows 7 computer. For now, Windows 7 is not supported by WD's, but it will probably be resolved in the near future by a firmware update. The existence of a network connection enabled the automated system update, which unfortunately made headaches for some users: the system software upgrades via the Internet bricked this device. Fortunately, there were lots of them and all the devices were replaced at the expense of WD, but it raises the caution - do not rush with the updating.