3.3.2019

HDD arrived yesterday and was connected to the correct socket on the new Sony TV (USB 3.0 HDD RECORD. TV said HDD not recognised!!After some research our solution was to use a Windows PC to reformat the WD HDD. It was factory formatted by WD using a FAT 32 file system, a system which does work for many TVs. However, despite what the Sony AF9 literature implied, the 1TB drive formatted under FAT32 was not being recognised. As we had access to a windows PC rather than returning the HDD to Amazon our solution was:1. Use the PC to reformat the whole 1TB HDD to an NTFS file system using the windows default formatting settings.2. MOST IMPORTANT - Before reconnecting the HDD to the TV,turn on the TV to DISABLE the YOUVIEW application. This is found in [HOME -> SETTINGS -> CHANNEL SETUP -> YOUVIEW SETUP]. Turn off the TV.3. Connect the reformatted HDD drive to the correct USB 3.0 "HDD recording" socket on the TV. Turn the TV on and wait around 1 minute for the HDD to fully start up and stabilise. Success......our 1TB HDD drive was recognised and the appropriate simple TV setup menu was displayed!. But read on Sony AF9 owners ...…..4. Whenever you want to use the HDD drive to record programmes, the YOUVIEW application must be DISABLED. It seems forward programme recording has to be set up using the underlying Freeview Programme Guide. The Sony YOUVIEW app is about easy access to the main catch up services such as iplayer and the ITV hub.As other SONY AF9 owners have found, if enabled, the YOUVIEW application disables a number of the TV functions and facilities, most notably the ability to store Satellite Channels! It also causes issues when the TV finds new terrestrial channels and prompts you to confirm the region settings! It seems you have to disable YOUVIEW to do it!Good luck.....!We have a number of WDD drives connected to our home network which have worked well. Now we have got the My Passport TV-AV drive to work with the TV, that WD quality will continue.Note to anyone with a Sony AF9 TV which runs the YOUVIEW application. In our experience th1. Do not connect the HDD drive to the Sony TV before DISABLING the YOUVIEW application. Then Turn off the TV.2. Check that you have connected the WD HDD with their supplied lead to the correct port on the TV.3. Turn on the TV and see if the HDD is recognised. My WD HDD drive wasn't but if yours is, just follow the on screen instructions. I received the usual error messages you might expect, and none were helpful.4. Manuals and Web support for both the TV and WD HDD were at best unhelpful! WD Europe Support Toll Free number in the literature was unobtainable!5. Connected the WD HDD drive to our Windows 10 PC and checked the formatting of the HDD. It was set up by WD using the FAT 32 system. Sony literature said this was one of the 4 recognised file systems for their AF90 TV.4. Use the wReformat I

17.11.2017

Ideal piece of kit if you own an HDD recorder such as those by Panasonic - it only arrived this morning and was easy to attach to my recorder with the supplied lead. By the way "don't panic Mr Mainwaring" about the scrunched up appearance of the HDMI socket on the unit - I was jumping up and down thinking it was damaged - BUT when I attached the lead, the HDMI connection had a matching "bend" in it - I presume this is the manufacturer's attempt to make the connection unique enough to ensure you don't use a generic HDMI lead and if the provided lead goes kaput, you doubtless can only get a replacement from a WD supplier!Very short sighted if they stop producing them - so you'll need to look after it and hope for the best- this is one reason for 4 stars instead of 5 - the other is the dearth of instructions for use - a single sided sheet with basic instructions to connect to a tv - it refers you online for what was described as a "manual" but was only 2 sides of A4 - for that I had to solve onscreen puzzles before the site would let me download a 2 page skimpy instruction leaflet - all this online manuals only routine is lazy, lazy, lazy. I wish the old days of a proper printed instruction book being in every item purchased were still with us - it is far less likely that customers will "bog up" the works if they have something decent to refer to. Given what they charge for these items, it's surely not prohibitively expensive and goes down well with purchasers. Luckily for me, the Panasonic HDD recorder instructions and onscreen directives when registering the item to enable use (see next paragraph for more info) were easy enough to followThis machine though USB connected, is not USB powered and needs a power supply (plug with adaptor provided). I wanted to be able to use it to "park" programmes which I haven't found time to watch yet but aren't ones I want to keep beyond just viewing. Panasonic recorder owners will doubtless be familiar with the fact that you have to register any external hard drives on the recorder in order for the two to "talk" to each other. The onscreen registration process warns that you should only use it for items that you are not worried about losing - presumably if you fail to "log off" the external drive properly each time it is in use. Transferring programmes/films is easy and only takes a few minutes per item. The menus etc on the external drive are copied from the HDD recorder so all functions the same. I have no idea how this works with a compatible tv to record directly to the external drive as this was not the reason for my purchase. All in all, it seems promising for the use I intend, but with the 2 caveats mentioned in this narrative

25.3.2019

ORIGINAL AMAZON VINE REVIEW : OCTOBER 2014:Initially acquired to back up & store, separately, my growing image collection, it is so handy to be able to pop this in a pocket, if required, to slip off to an exhibition.I have now used it to back up the main files on my ageing laptop.Simple & efficient.ooOoo♦ WESTERN DIGITAL (WD)♦ MY PASSPORT ® Ultra (TM)♦ COLOUR : MATT BLACK♦ 1 TB (931 GB)'The drive that keeps your memories and files protected, private and synchronised.'My main purpose for this device is simply to use as an easy portable, secure storage drive for my rapidly expanding image collection, so I have not applied the pre-loaded backup software, at this stage.It is a neat little outfit,

27.8.2014

One of the HDDs recommended for my Panasonic Viera TX-L42DT65B. The HDD is purely a storage device, quite small, and all the recording controls are through the TV. Hence only need one remote control – the TV one. Only need one aerial connection – to the TV. The HDD is not as sophisticated as a PVR - which has several extra features - but it is cheaper.Prior to buying, had 2 main queries - emailed Panasonic and WD but answers were unhelpful (being polite). Have answered the queries conclusively following purchase. Would sub-titles be recorded (my wife is deaf and subtitles are essential)? – yes where available on original programme. Could you record 2 DVB channels simultaneously?

1.7.2013

The WD My Book AV-TV hard drive offers a storage solution for people who record lots of TV programmes. No longer will you need to erase previously recorded programmes in order to make room for new ones. I think that I'm right in saying that the standard TV boxes offered by the likes of Sky, Virgin and BT usually are approximately 500GB in size so, by combining the storage of your providers box with this WD hard drive (I received the 2TB drive, not the 1TB as per this listing), you will now have up to 5 times the amount of storage that you had previously.In the box you get:* WD 2TB hard drive,* 2 metre USB cable (USB 3 plug on one end and USB 2 plug on the other),* Power cable which came with

24.6.2013

While you could purchase a bog-standard TV hard drive recorder, most are still the size of a small briefcase and you can easily spend £100 for a pathetic 350GB. You won't want to carry it around either. Meet the younger, more attractive, sister: The WD My Book. It works with a string of High Def TV's with one click record.The beauty of this product is that it's optimised for the stress and strains associated with heavy duty TV recording and playback. You know, all that non-stop disk reading/writing/buffering etc. They call it 'WD GreenPower Technology'. Essentially it's a standard external HDD (nothing new there) but with beefed up stress management, lower power consumption (there is a standby mode)

27.6.2013

It's important, as I've found out, not to just assume that because your TV remote has a record button on it, it will mean your TV has built-in recording facility. It turns out that may have been optimistic on my part... If you haven't checked that your TV does actually have in-built recording facility, then you're left with a hard disc only. The 'TV' part of the label could be seen as a tiny bit misleading, as it suggests this box may be a player or a recorder in its own right, which it's not- you will be dependent on your TV or other streaming box to do the hard work.However all is of course not lost because despite the name, this device is not solely good for TV. This is a high speed,

24.6.2013

This is a great storage option for your recordable TV; another staple product from a brand with a track record in sound design and excellent reliability.In appearance, the item is substantial and stable, weighing in at over 800 grams. It is about the size of an old Victorian bible, and the option to position it horizontally or vertically is very useful. All in all it has a very small footprint on your TV table, and is secure and grounded.Setup is really simple, but did depend on the co-operation of my TV (a Toshiba). The instructions seemed to indicate a startup menu, which I didn't get. Saying that, after connecting, formatting, and naming,

23.6.2013

This is a great product which has allowed me to start using the record function on my LG TV. Amazon were kind enough to send me the 2TB version which allows for over 200 hours of HD or 500+ hours of SD recording according to my TV (the specifications suggest 240 & 700 hours). I presume the 1TB will be approximately half of that.Installation was a breeze - in fact it was so quick I can't say I can recall exactly how I did it - but it did involve being prompted to format the drive - but I guess that is going to vary according to the TV. Similarly the actual experience of using it heavily depends on the User Interface which is also TV specific. So I will just say it just seems to work,

28.4.2015

This HDD is very easy to set up, looks smart in high gloss black finishand hides behind the TV with a very discrete ice-white indicator on the front. Setup is simple and once plugged in to mains and USB socket on TV, simply follow on-screen instructions (Sony Smart TV in this case). Registration is dedicated to the TV it is set up with so understand if you move it to another TV, likely to have to re-format and lose any files still on disk.BUT: first unit ordered arrived very quickly (via Amazon Prime), on unpacking it was clear this had been used as it was scuffed, cables were missing ties (loose in box), stick-on feet already applied and various other obvious signs of "second hand".

19.2.2016

When I bought my smart tv recently I was under the impression that I could record onto a USB stick but after speaking with the manufacturers it became clear that I couldn't. They recommended 2 devices, of which this was one, and I knew of WD devices before so went with this and have been pleased with the results.Quick and easy to install (it does require mains power). Simple to use via your tv remote. You can watch something else while recording, or start watching the program you are still recording. Can't record more than one program at a time though, but I was already aware of that so no surprises there. You can record directly from what you are viewing,

20.8.2013

This is one of the two hard drives recommended for use with the latest Panasonic Smart Viera TVs, the other being the Buffalo drive available at B00BQTJ276 This drive gives you the ability to record two channels of TV at a time when used with the Panasonic's USB 3.0 port.In terms of performance the drive doesn't disappoint and it works perfectly with the Panasonic TV. It's almost totally silent so wont interfere with your viewing. There are only two negative points worth a mention. The first is the power button which must be pressed to turn the drive on. If you have a power cut I doubt it will restart automatically which will could prevent new recordings from being stored and requires access to the drive.

9.1.2014

I have a Sony HD ready TV with which I used a Sony DVD Recorder.However the recorder went bang as they do so I bought a Panasonic Freeview HDD recorder to replace it. I used to DVD the programmes I wished to keep and now have hundreds of DVDs taking up a lot of space.I work funny hours and record a lot of TV and the best of it I want to keep. I noticed in the Panasonic manual that a USB HDD is available and either WD or Buffalo makes are compatible. I opted for the WD 2 TB model. The WD model is sold by an Amazon partner and arrived 3 days later,although I had not asked for special delivery. I found installation easy and the USB HDD is very quiet switches off when I put my recorder on standby

28.3.2017

WD 500GB Passport AV-TV Using with Panasonic 900 series top end 4K TV. For pause live TV and rewind etc great works well. For recording can record 2 programmes at once (cannot watch a third channel but this is a limitation of the TV not this unit).Cannot record a program and pause live TV at the same time but again, a limitaion of the TV not this unit.Overall, very happy with this device primarily bought for pausing live TV as I have alternate recording facilities.I should add no noticable diffences from the origanal picture to the recorded one and the same when TV has been paused.I would recommend this product but check your TV capability before purchase especiaslly if you need it for recording and pausing live TV at the same time.

22.10.2014

This is a great 1TB hard drive that seems to primarily differ from standard 1TB drives as it includes a clever mounting system for HDTVs.This hard drive is billed as providing recording functions for many hdtvs but please remember that this function is one which the tv is capable of to begin with. The hard rive merely provides the storage for the tv.The mounting bracket kind of worked but unfortunately the screw wasn't long enough for my tv so unfortunately I had to find an alternative screw.Everything did however work as recommended.All in all I think this is a handy product if you want the mount,

Western Digital My Book AV-TV - Reviews

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