WD Releases My Passport Wireless Pro and New My Cloud Pro NAS

Western Digital is probably most known for their internal hard disk drives, but they also make external drives and NAS devices for consumers and enterprises alike and today they’re releasing two new Pro devices aimed at the creative community: The My Passport Wireless Pro Wi-Fi mobile storage and the My Cloud Pro Series network attached storage (NAS). The new WD Pro Series enables a seamless transfer of content between devices regardless of whether users are on a remote shoot, in the studio, or editing at home and they also come with a few features you might not expect from such devices.

A new version of My Cloud mobile app will also be launched at the same time and it’s now also compatible with Adobe’s Creative Cloud. The devices are also fully compatible with Plex Media Server which is one of the most popular pieces of software in this area.

“Portability, reliability, capacity, speed and interoperability are crucial for creative professionals, whose very livelihoods rely on the strength of the technology they use to store their life’s work,” said Sven Rathjen, vice president of marketing for content solutions at WD. “We created the WD Pro Series as a comprehensive, feature-rich storage solution designed to fit seamlessly into their workflow, regardless of where the work actually happens, so storage, transfer, back-up, editing and even streaming options are readily available.”

The WD My Passport Wireless Pro comes with so many features that it effectively allows you to leave your laptop behind when you go on a photo shoot. The built-in direct Wi-Fi connection allows you to backup files and free your memory cards in your camera without physically connecting the two. That is if your camera has built-in Wi-Fi. The integrated hotspot can handle file transfers and workload from up to eight devices simultaneously.

With the Plex Media Server compatibility, it is also capable of playing up to four video streams of content while on-the-go. That’s pretty sweet.

There’s no need to worry if your camera or other devices don’t have Wi-Fi available as the WD My Passport Wireless Pro also comes with tethered connections. There’s a normal USB type-B port to connect the drive to a computer or similar device as well as a Type-A port where you can connect your phone or camera. Last but not least, the WD My Passport Wireless Pro also features a card reader with a one-touch backup button for direct import of your memory card content.

The Type-A port brings an amazing extra function to the table. Instead of using the built-in battery that features up to 10-hours battery time can also be used to charge your mobile devices and bring them back to life again after a long day. It is available with up to 3TB capacity

The manufacturer’s suggested retail price (MSRP) on this wireless hard drive starts at £189.99 and goes up to £209.99 depending on capacity and it comes with a 2-year limited warranty.

Mobile storage is great on the go, but you need something bigger and better when you get back home to the office or studio and that is where the new WD MyCloud Pro NAS come into play. Available in either 2-bay or 4-bay, the MyCloud Pro NAS can offer up to 32TB capacity and they’re offered without drives or with WD drives pre-installed. The two new NAS devices are called the PR2100 and PR4100 that make them easily recognizable from the previous pro models that came with the EX naming, you might remember the EX4100 that we reviewed last year.

The only real difference between the two new NAS devices is whether you can install two or four hard disk drives, but the 4-bay model also comes with a handy little built-in display on the front. With this, you can get a quick view on the device’s status and setup without having to connect to a web interface and log in there first.

A new improvement in the PR series is the one-touch backup button, a feature that we already know from other NAS manufacturers. This makes it extremely easy to import content from card readers, cameras, and other external storage devices such as hard disk drives as all you have to do is press a physical button next to the front USB port.

As this news is written prior to the actual release in order to have it ready at the same time, I don’t have all the full details on these new NAS’. I tried getting my hands on the specification sheets, but failed. But we do know a few things such as that the used CPU comes with powerful transcoding capabilities. My best-estimated guess would be that it is powered by a Celeron N3050 or a Celeron N3150 CPU while hoping for the last. It’s quite a bit of difference between the two in the world of NAS’. The transcoding capabilities mean the My Cloud Pro Series NAS can ingest, edit, store and stream content to and from popular formats, including 4K video.

The whole thing is powered by the My Cloud OS 3 software that is complimented by a robust, integrated application suite, which includes compatibility with Plex Media Server for storing and optimizing media libraries and compatibility with Adobe’s Creative Cloud for editing and finalizing them. With WD’s My Cloud app and MyCloud.com remote access, you also get very easy access to your storage no matter where you’re located and what kind of device you got in your pocket or in front of you.

The My Cloud Pro Series NAS devices are available at Amazon.com, B&H, and the WD Store for an MSRP beginning at £379.99 and goes up to £1,899.99 depending on configuration and capacity. The My Cloud Pro Series offers a 2-year limited warranty for diskless models and 3-year limited warranty for Populated models.

Hopefully, I’ll be able to get hold of a review sample or two of these in order to bring you more details and show what the devices actual are capable of.