That is similar to my setup:
ROKU and WDTV and 3TB NAS so I can watch on my TV.
Add in the PLEX software to ROKU, and I can view media on the desktop and laptop hard drives.
PLEX:
http://www.plexapp.com/
Sure, I understand..the WD TV Live Media Player can also stream directly from a desktop or another server as well. But, I’ve no need to do so, because I’ve got everything on my external hard drive.
Of course, if anyone makes backups of their own Blu Rays or DVDs; they might run into the possibility that their dvd or blu ray player won’t play the audio; because of the “Cinavia” problem.
This is a copyright protection scheme that really does work (no one has hacked or broken it yet, it’s doubtful that they ever will.) When a disc is played on a blu ray or dvd player, within 20 minutes, the audio will mute, with a pop up on screen saying this disc is a copy, and cannot be played.
As of February 2012, all dvd and blu ray players sold after that date have been required to have this “preventive” Cinavia software in them. This means that no backups can be played on these machines.
So, one of the additional benefits of these media players is that no “Cinavia” software is required, as they are NOT required to be licensed to play audio..so..there really is no need to have a blu ray or dvd players anymore~! These players are just the thing to avoid this “Cinavia” problem..they will play anything that can be ripped to most digital formats...:>)