Western Digital My Book Live (2TB)
Manufacturer: Western Digital Corp. Part number: WDBACG0020HCH
- More product information:
- Editors' review
- User reviews
- Specifications
- Product series
- Manufacturer info
- Bottom Line:
- The Western Digital MyBook Live is a fast, plug-and-play, simple-to-use home NAS server that unfortunately lacks features and has a subpar remote-access solution.
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CNET editors' review
Western Digital My Book Live (2TB) price range: $159.00 - $195.00
- Reviewed by: Dong Ngo
- Reviewed on: 10/17/2010
The good: The Western Digital My Book Live NAS server is easy to use, fast, and affordable. It also comes with mobile applications to share photos on the go.
The bad: The WD My Book Live's hard drive can't be serviced by users, and there's no USB port to add more storage. The device lacks common features found in many NAS servers, and its MioNet remote access solution is nearly useless.
The bottom line: The Western Digital MyBook Live is a fast, plug-and-play, simple-to-use home NAS server that unfortunately lacks features and has a subpar remote-access solution.
The WD My Book Live NAS server isn't able to do what its predecessor, the My Book World Edition, did a year ago. The World Edition made a huge splash in the pond of NAS servers' throughput performance, proving itself to be by far the fastest single-volume NAS of the time. This only means that NAS servers have come a long way since, as the new My Book Live, though not the fastest, is still very fast in our test.
The new server, while lacking many features found in other NAS servers, also remains one of the simplest and easiest-to-use NAS servers for the home environment. At the street price of just around $150 for 1TB or $200 for the 2TB version, home and novice users just can't go wrong with it.
Setup and ease of use
Similar to the My Book World Edition, the My Book Live is as easy to set up as plugging it into the power socket and the router. After that the NAS will appear in Windows' network browser or in Mac OX 10's Finder. The server also supports Time Machine, which is a feature not present in the My Book World Edition.
For those who are really unfamiliar with networking, the My Book Live comes with a CD that helps discover the NAS server in the network, set it up, and map the network drives. After that you also have the option to install WD SmartWare software for ongoing server management.
Advanced users can skip this software and use the NAS server's Web interface, also called Dashboard, to further customize the server. The Web interface allows access to many more server settings, such as user accounts, remote access, media streaming, and so on. The My Book Live's Web interface is significantly more robust and self-explanatory than that of the My Book World Edition. Most users will be able to figure things out just by looking at the way items are organized and explained. However, the interface is still sluggish at times, with the transition between different parts taking up to a few seconds to complete.
The My Book Live's default share folder, called "public," contains three subfolders for sharing particular types of content: Shared Music, Shared Videos, and Shared Pictures. When you put appropriate content in each of these folders, the content will be automatically made available to other network devices. When logging in to the Web interface, you can turn on or off the media-streaming features for any of the shared folders. They can select the type of content to be streamed, be it video, music, photos, or all three. The My Book Live is compatible with iTunes and DLNA- or UPnP-enabled devices.
Features
Unlike the My Book Edition, the My Book Live doesn't have any USB ports, or any other peripheral ports, for that matter. This means you can't add more storage to the server via an external hard drive. This also means you shouldn't use the server as the only storage place of important data, as there's no way to back up its content to another drive.
The My Book Live has no support for printers, PC-less downloading, IP cameras, or many other features found in other NAS servers. It does, however, offer easy-to-set-up remote access via MioNet. Unfortunately, when it comes to usability, this couldn't be any worse of a choice.
Basically, once you register the NAS server with an account at MioNet via its Web interface, you can log in to the NAS server from anywhere over the Internet to get data off of it, using a Web browser. However, this doesn't allow for downloading or uploading files; all you can do is open files directly from the remote location. This obviously only works when you want to open small files, such as Word documents or photos. With large files, you will be dealing with a frozen Web page most of the time.
You can improve this by downloading and installing MioNet software on the remote computer. However, this is a rather involved and potentially frustrating process. First of all, the software, called MioNet Now, has some system-setting conflicts with popular antivirus software, especially if you run 64-bit Windows. To install it successfully and avoid blue-screen crashes you might need to change your antivirus/firewall settings software, which is not an easy task for most users. Secondly, MioNet Now installs a lot of services on your computer that start by themselves each time the computer boots, potentially slowing it down. Nonetheless, when successfully installed, MioNet Now indeed enables you to access the shared folders of the NAS server just like the way you do it from within a local network.
In all, the remote solution seems to be better suited for business users. For home users, it's arguably one of the worst solutions we've seen and should be skipped entirely if you want to access the NAS from a remote computer. If you are an iPhone user, however, it's a different story.
The MioNet service also works with a free iPhone app, called WD Photos, that you can download from the App Store. The app is simple and once you're signed in it allows you to access the photos stored on the My Book Live NAS server, much like the way you access photos stored on the iPhone itself. We tried this out and found it a fun feature to have for those who want to quickly show photos to friends, without having to use up the storage space of their iPhone (or iPod Touch).
Performance
If the remote-access feature let us down, the My Book Life's performance more than made up for it. The NAS server was very fast in our tests, consistently being the third and second fastest in our write and read test.
In the write test, the server scored 340.3Mbps, taking the third place, just trailing the Asus TS Mini and HP MediaSmart Server LX195, which scored 476.1Mbps and 341.8Mbps, respectively.
In the read test, the My Book Live did slightly better, with 529.9Mbps, taking second place to the Asus TS Mini, which scored 690.3Mbps.
(Longer bars indicate better performance)
 |
Read | |
Write |
During our testing, the My Book Live performed without any hiccups. It also performed quietly and remained cool throughout.
Service and support
Similar to the My Book World Edition, the MyBook Live also has a three-year warranty from Western Digital, which is long compared with the one-year warranty of most NAS servers. Toll-free phone support is available Monday through Thursday from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. PT, Fridays from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m., and Saturdays from 7 a.m. to 4 p.m. Western Digital's site offers e-mail and tech support, FAQs, a searchable knowledge base, and downloads. Unfortunately, unlike other vendors, Western Digital only allows registered users to access its download section.
User reviews
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Great value and performance, Lots of storage
by jhacker on May 9, 2011
Pros: Lots of storage, discoverable by other computers and devices, smartphone app lets you view photos from anywhere, 3 year warranty
Cons: Buggy out-of-the-box software, Mionet software takes patience to set up
Summary: I was searching for a network hard drive to replace my Windows Home Server. It just wasn't doing the job anymore. I chose this Western Digital based upon comments ...
Summary: I was searching for a network hard drive to replace my Windows Home Server. It just wasn't doing the job anymore. I chose this Western Digital based upon comments I had seen on other websites stating that the performance and speed of this model was better than most others. On my 100mbps network, I see about 8 mb/s of transfer speed. It took about 6 hours to transfer 140GB worth of video. If I ever upgrade to 1gigabit ethernet, I'll be anxious to see the results. The included software has some functionality, but is buggy. If I had to do it over, I wouldn't have wasted my time with the contents of the included disc. When I tried to access the user interface to change settings, it kept locking up on me. I tried it on IE and Google Chrome. Instead of taking a chance of it locking up again, I searched the web for the upgraded software, and downloaded it that way. That solved the problem, for the most part. Mionet is a different story. Mionet is the software WD uses to share your hard drive contents across the internet. I had to do a lot of research to figure out why it wouldn't work. It turned out that you have to register the hard drive in order to see the Mionet software link. Even after registering, it took quite a while for the link to appear. Then, when setting up Mionet, it wouldn't see the directories I had set for remote sharing in the WD software. I had to deselect the shares, then select them again. Mionet has a file sharing feature, but the person I shared with couldn't get it to work. They're not very tech savvy though. I do know that you have to use Java though. What's nice is that I can see all the pictures I have shared on my Android phone through WD's app. You get a free trial to additional features of the Mionet software, but if I understand, your access to your shares remains free. I'm not clear about how long the trial lasts. The other computers on the network, along with our XBOX 360 are able to see the drive. I haven't tried the Twonky add-in yet.
After owning this drive for about 3 months, I'm impressed with WD's constant attention to product development. They have released upgraded firmware at least twice in three months. The latest is a major update which eliminates the clunky Mionet remote interface. It is replaced by something called WD2GO, which is infinitely better. They have developed mobile apps (Android, iOS) which allow you to access your files from your mobile device. It's like having a cloud drive that you can easily add files to without having to pay a subscription fee for. Plus, they have refreshed the web interface to access them, as well. The newest update also allows you to backup your drive to prepare for the unlikely event of a failure.
I've had a bad experience with WD external drives, but I decided to give them another chance. After only a few days, I'm rather impressed with this drive after working out some bugs. I'm hoping for the day when I can shut off my power hog of a file server for good, and simply use my Western Digital network hard drive.
Updated on Aug 1, 2011
Updated on Feb 18, 2012Fast forward about 8 months, and I have had to replace this drive under warranty already. Now I have to replace it again, due to the fact that I cannot access the web interface for the drive. Both problems have been caused by firmware update issues. I am not happy that I have had to do this TWICE, but at least I haven't lost any files as a result.4 out of 4 users found this user opinion helpful.
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so far i love it
by eneego on October 8, 2011
Pros: 2.0 firmware update, improved user interface, array of offerings, your own personal cloud
Cons: none so far
Summary: thus far the WD My Book Live seems to work as advertised. it was immediately discovered by all the devices in my network - including both a mac and a ...
Summary: thus far the WD My Book Live seems to work as advertised. it was immediately discovered by all the devices in my network - including both a mac and a pc.
i wanted to report that after i got the my book live all setup and configured, we setup mobile access on our iphones and ipad. it was all a snap. the my book live web interface --> remote access/mobile access area provided a code, we searched the app store for the wd 2go and wd photos apps and within minutes all 3 devices were set up.
i have been able to successfully set up 2 accounts/shares - other than the public share - that are password protected. i have configured the device and set the device password. setting up the WD2GO account (way better than the lame mionet) was a snap, although to access it via safari on the mac, i needed to add a special java applet for it to work. and i cannot seem to do the WD2GO access via IE8 on the pc.
in theory i should be able to access the music added to the my book live; it appears as an itunes share but does *not* allow me to access it (will update this article soon).
Updated on Oct 9, 2011
the ease of remote access to our docs is simple and relatively fast. and the interface on the wd photos app is clean, crisp and intuitive.
my one knock is still the peculiarities of accessing our items via web browsers. it worked ok, with some extra work, on the mac, but i still cannot get access on the pc.
another challege has been the enormous amount time to transfer years of files to the my book live, but i guess that's a limitation of the wireless transfer rate (there is no usb to attach it directly to my mac).
overall, my wife is quite happy with having such easy access to all our photos (does anything else matter)!
Updated on Oct 9, 2011forgot to mention that the itunes access also worked as advertised. although accessing my book live items on appletv has not yet been solved by me; it appears you can only connect to one device on the appletv and i have not solved it yet, but since i can get to my computer, not sure if i'll need to access my music/vids thru appletv.1 out of 1 users found this user opinion helpful.
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Loved it until the first firmware upgrade ruined the UI
by wbrennecke on March 16, 2012
Pros: Good storage space, easy network integration
Cons: Firmware upgrade (October 2011) obliterated the UI, affecting many users. The followup release to fix it (not until March 2012) requires you to log into the UI. See a problem here?
Summary: Don't take my word for it. Go to their forum at http://community.wdc.com and search on "firmware". You'll see all the customer service horror stories and ...
Summary: Don't take my word for it. Go to their forum at http://community.wdc.com and search on "firmware". You'll see all the customer service horror stories and more. Western Digital - the last name in Customer Service.
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Not fully compatible w/ Mac software.
by sbf6563 on December 11, 2011
Pros: None when compared to similar products function and versatility.
Cons: No USB connection. Loss of function as backup to iPhoto data retrieval. Complicated and costly w/ software provided.
Summary: There are better choices. Don't waste money on this one.
Summary: There are better choices. Don't waste money on this one.
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Great when it works. Crash with no prior warning.
by peiyingong on December 11, 2011
Pros: Excellent back up and storage with minimal effort to set it up.
Cons: Worked for 2 months perfectly and crash without any warning sign. Lost access to all data and no way to retrieve them back. Do not store any critical information on it.
Summary: Think twice if you intend to buy
Summary: Think twice if you intend to buy
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Won't stay on the network
by Drmomentum on September 9, 2011
Pros: Lots of space
Cons: You can't use the space if it won't stay on the network
Summary: My drive does not stay available on my local network for more than 12 hours at a time. This makes it useless for automatic backups. Worse, there is no online ...
Summary: My drive does not stay available on my local network for more than 12 hours at a time. This makes it useless for automatic backups. Worse, there is no online support that addresses any sort of troubleshooting for this problem, nor any help forthcoming from Western Digital. My network is quite stable for all my other devices, but this one keeps disappearing. I shouldn't have to cycle power on my backup storage every day. This drive is nearly useless to me for the intended use.
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Appear to work as described in the review.
by muhunth47 on April 26, 2011
Pros: Managed to see it in both Mac and PC environments via an airport extreme router
Cons: The CD came with it kept on rebooting my PC that run on XP. Tired to call their help desk at 8:00 p.m. they are gone already.
Summary: So far appear to be seamless transition. Lack of ability to get hold of tech support is a concern. I hope not make the mistake of having a back to ...
Summary: So far appear to be seamless transition. Lack of ability to get hold of tech support is a concern. I hope not make the mistake of having a back to important files like lorikoliver. Will update in 2 -3 months.
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Great Drive easy to install and setup
by villalbalarry on February 17, 2011
Pros: User freindly interface, easy to access. I like that you really dont have to configure anything, it is pretty much plug and play.
Cons: Yes the Mionet remote service is completly useless, i gave up messing with that..Also the Twonky manager software is also really touchy.
Summary: Bascially if you are looking for a nas that is easy to install with no hardly no setup then mybook live is the way to go. Im happy with it. ...
Summary: Bascially if you are looking for a nas that is easy to install with no hardly no setup then mybook live is the way to go. Im happy with it. Just be careful when installing any new firmware i've had some issues after installing the latest firmware. Good luck!
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Great product for a NAS "neophite"
by backtomac on December 23, 2010
Pros: Finally, a reasonably priced, good performing NAS server for the average (i.e non professional consumer), looking to create their own cloud at home. It's easy to setup, performs very well, it's quiets and is a small form factor.
Cons: No Changeable hard drive. No firewire option, dual ethernet ports would be nice for expandability.
Summary: Great product, well worth the price. I understand a 3TB is coming out in January 2011.
Summary: Great product, well worth the price. I understand a 3TB is coming out in January 2011.
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Cheap & fast NAS if you don't need remote access
by cn24 on October 18, 2010
Pros: Cheap and fast, very quick and easy to set up.
Cons: Remote access via MioNet is useless, as the reviewer says. The lack of a download manager isn't a dealbreaker, but the remote access issues are a pity.
Summary: I bought this because it was cheap, fast, and the 3yr warranty is from a very reliable company. It solves my needs for a no-maintenance network backup drive. The DLNA ...
Summary: I bought this because it was cheap, fast, and the 3yr warranty is from a very reliable company. It solves my needs for a no-maintenance network backup drive. The DLNA works very well, even if I don't think I will use it much. I was hoping that the remote access feature would work well, but it seems I will have to keep using DropBox until the next iteration of this product. I have previously purchased another model from another manufacturer but the My Book Live is much simpler to set up - in minutes rather than hours. Its also faster than competitors' models that are twice the price.
Specifications
- Manufacturer: Western Digital Corp.
- Part number: WDBACG0020HCH
- Description: WD's My Book Live personal cloud storage provides shared storage on your home network that can be accessed wirelessly within and outside the home. Share files with Mac computers and PCs, stream media to your entertainment center, and access your files remotely with the WD 2go app and website.
General
- Device Type NAS server
- Host Connectivity Gigabit Ethernet
- Total Storage Capacity 2 TB
- Width 2 in
- Depth 5.5 in
- Height 6.6 in
- Weight 2.4 lbs
Storage Controller
- Controller Interface Type RJ-45
Hard Drive
- Type Standard
- Capacity 1 x 2 TB
- Features Plug-n-Play,
Automatic backups,
PC and Mac compatible,
Remote access technology Hard Drive (2nd)
- Type None
Optical Storage
- Type None
Optical Storage (2nd)
- Type None
Storage Removable
- Type None
Video
- Video Output None
Networking
- Type Network adapter
- Data Link Protocol Ethernet ,
Gigabit Ethernet ,
Fast Ethernet - Features iTunes server,
UPnP Media Server - Compliant Standards DLNA CERTIFIED
Expansion / Connectivity
- Expansion Slot(s) None
- Interfaces 1 x Ethernet 10Base-T/100Base-TX/1000Base-T - RJ-45
Miscellaneous
- Cables Included Network cable
- Microsoft Certifications Compatible with Windows 7
- Compliant Standards RoHS
Environmental Standards
- EPA Energy Star Compliant Yes
Power
- Power Device Power adapter - External
- Voltage Required AC 120/230 V ( 50/60 Hz )
Software / System Requirements
- Software Included Smartware
- OS Required Apple MacOS X 10.6,
Microsoft Windows Vista / XP / 7,
Apple MacOS X 10.5 Manufacturer Warranty
- Service & Support 3 years warranty
- Service & Support Details Limited warranty - 3 years
Environmental Parameters
- Min Operating Temperature 41 °F
- Max Operating Temperature 95 °F
Product series
-
Western Digital My Book Live (2TB)
Manufacturer: Western Digital Corp.
Specs: WD My Book Live WDBACG0020HCH - NAS server,
2 TB,
Mac,
PC,
RJ-45,
Standard,
Ethernet,
Gigabit Ethernet,
Fast Ethernet -
Western Digital My Book Live (1TB)
Manufacturer: Western Digital Corp.
Specs: WD My Book Live WDBACG0010HCH - NAS server,
1 TB,
Mac,
PC,
RJ-45,
Standard,
Ethernet,
Gigabit Ethernet,
Fast Ethernet
Manufacturer info
- Manufacturer profile
- Browse Western Digital Corp. products on Shopper.com
-
- Manufacturer:Western Digital Corp.
- Address:
20511 Lake Forest Drive, Lake Forest, CA 92630-7741
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