The WD TV Live Media Player, a.k.a WDTV2, is up for pre-order in a few Dutch webshops! The price is fair I think, +/- 115 euro!

You can find the link to the webshops here: http://tweakers.net/pricewatch/245049/western-digital-wd-tv-live-media-player.html

Release date: 10? September 2009

http://tweakers.net/ext/i/1250855319.jpeg

The WD TV™ Live HD Media Player from Western Digital has everything you need to play your HD media collection and the fun stuff you find on the web in brilliant HD 1080p on your big screen HDTV. Because it supports a wide variety of file types, you can instantly enjoy all your home digital media, regardless of the file format. Plus you get direct access to a huge selection of video, photos, and music from popular internet sites like YouTube, Flickr, Live 365, and Pandora (U.S. only) right from the beautifully easy WDTV navigation screen. The WD TV Live HD media player is exceptionally easy to use so anyone in the family can do it and, because it’s networked, you can easily access media from any PC in the home.

Can you give a link?
Do they have a date?

Awesome. Pandora! I wonder if you could point it to Shoutcast as well? I am seriously considering this upgrade, I love my current WDTV, and I just installed a Netgear homeplug (4 port) at the entertainment center.

BTW, looks like its about 135 bux preorder over at MacMall

http://www.macmall.com/ttsvr/p/Western-Digital-Wireless-Networking/product~dpno~7876722~pdp.fghcgcb#pdpOverview

it seems to use the exact same UI/processor as the original.

so it's wd tv 1.5 not wdtv 2 :)

it seems to use the exact same UI/processor as the original.

so it's wd tv 1.5 not wdtv 2 :)
Hey they got the two most wanted things, network and dts. But if it still has the same issues with HD + subs thats pretty weak. And I've never had an issue with mine but obviously some people do.

Neither one of those links take you to anything WDTV 2 related. I don't think this is what you think it is. Even the picture the OP embedded is of the WDTV 1.

it seems to use the exact same UI/processor as the original.



Hmm, how can you tell...???

anyway, the hypothesis around here is that the processor on the current WDTV is weak and that another processor would be better/faster...that's wishful thinking...other/newer processors add support for control of additional hardware and some more embedded functions...but not much more power per se: they're about the same power for general applications the Sigma in WDTV is...the really big breakthrough would be if mkv extracting were hardware-embedded in the chip which requires licensing and support from Corecodec since they own the container now...what WDTV2 actually needs is more memory and perhaps a tad smarter programming...in the end, what do you care what's inside if it gets the job done...

We are the ones that helped create the Matroska container from the beginning... and sure we (CoreCodec) owns the trademarks, and copyrights, but there is NO cost for licensing and Matroska and it will always be free to use in any product.

We just want to see AVI die ;-)

Are you for real? :D

anyway, no one mentioned cost...but there shoud be SOME approval or support from YOU :D right???

We are the ones that helped create the Matroska container from the beginning... and sure we (CoreCodec) owns the trademarks, and copyrights, but there is NO cost for licensing and Matroska and it will always be free to use in any product.

We just want to see AVI die ;-)

I love you.

$0 cost = Free = implement at no cost in any software of hardware product.... Sure we have 'Sponsors' no diff then Mozilla, XMPP, etc. but those have not been announced yet.

Did I say we want AVI to die yet? ;-)

they got my money for WDTV they certainly aren't getting it for this. I think theres a fair few people who felt that the WDTV was undersupported and abandoned far too quickly.

Did I say we want AVI to die yet? ;-)

I thought it was dead already :D

avi doesn't mean much these days..... it's just an extension.

nobody use real uncompressed avi since 1990.

We are the ones that helped create the Matroska container from the beginning... and sure we (CoreCodec) owns the trademarks, and copyrights, but there is NO cost for licensing and Matroska and it will always be free to use in any product.

We just want to see AVI die ;-)

Hey thanks for your great product man!!!!!

Still no support for rm and rmvb, disappointed.

avi doesn't mean much these days..... it's just an extension.

nobody use real uncompressed avi since 1990.

That's actually not quite true: it's widely used as an export format for doing special effects on video footage in external applications so as not to lose quality through multiple compression...

AVI is not "just an extension", it's a container format, just as mkv is, but with far less flexibility and features...

$100 or below, i'll check

BTW, looks like its about 135 bux preorder over at MacMall

http://www.macmall.com/ttsvr/p/Western-Digital-Wireless-Networking/product~dpno~7876722~pdp.fghcgcb#pdpOverview

nothing @ link

nothing @ link

Yeah, I guess they must have pulled it or something. It no longer shows up on their search engine either.

much as i loved my original WDTV, i could never see myself upgrading boxes and slapping down $130 if we're getting roughly the same machine processor power-wise but with small and unnecessary things like audio boosts and networking capabilities that i won't use anyways.

i really wish scottwd or guywd would swoop in and ease our worries by being more candid with what this machine has to offer beyond bells and whistles; they used to be more transparent and forthcoming with the WDTV fanbase and that was something that i highly respected with WD... though i can imagine that with all the bile and vitriol that the users here spew out, it's not surprising that they've not really shown themselves.

They probably feel burned by trying to be transparent and then facing people who cannot be pleased. Afrsa may never be happy with WD given his/her past experiences with their product and what he believed he should have been given as a customer. In the end, they are a business and while they want most people to be happy, they know they cannot make everyone happy.

I wish people who cannot be made happy just post their dissatisfaction and then move on with their lives. This incessant harping is killing these forums.

i'm sure some of you guys feel like you have a legit beef with WD for regarding the WDTV, but personally I love mine. I haven't had any major issues with mine. I've got a crap-ton of films with a number of codecs & formats that the device has handled well. For a first-generation type product I've been pretty impressed. All that said--the WDTV Live might not be as good a box as others on the market. I'll wait till it's out to figure out which one to buy.

Here's the current link to the WDTV Live at MacMall:
LINK (http://is.gd/2usdo/kqztpt)

i'm sure some of you guys feel like you have a legit beef with WD for regarding the WDTV, but personally I love mine. I haven't had any major issues with mine. I've got a crap-ton of films with a number of codecs & formats that the device has handled well. For a first-generation type product I've been pretty impressed. All that said--the WDTV Live might not be as good a box as others on the market. I'll wait till it's out to figure out which one to buy.

Here's the current link to the WDTV Live at MacMall:
LINK (http://is.gd/2usdo/kqztpt)

no details, no specs!:eek:

no details, no specs!:eek:

OMG, OMG, OMG!!!!!! :p

Clearly it was taken off the Macmall site. It was there earlier but has now vanished.

Greg

posts deleted/ a member banned from this thread

Hmmm I wonder who it was.

I'm sure we'll see the wdtv2 very soon, and get some better details.

I don't know...If it's not on WD site, it doesn't exist...yet...logical, no? :D

no it is not. read this one and find restock date :) komplett.ie/k/ki.aspx?sku=493316

http://www.komplett.ie/k/ki.aspx?sku=493316

it is, WD annouced the projected release and price to shops...komplett put it up on their webpage knowing the part number and MSRP in advance...but the release date with actual units may be months away...until it appears on WD site, I doubt we will see actual units...

Would love to see the specs under the hood.

Would love to see the specs under the hood.

Its purely my opinion but I'm gonna go on a limb and say its the WDTV1 just with added ethernet and dts support. Hopefully they prove me wrong and we see the new king of the market.

Not that the wdtv isnt probably already in terms of sales, but I'd like to see it trump the other in capabilities.

Its purely my opinion but I'm gonna go on a limb and say its the WDTV1 just with added ethernet and dts support. Hopefully they prove me wrong and we see the new king of the market.

Not that the wdtv isnt probably already in terms of sales, but I'd like to see it trump the other in capabilities.

+component out

what really makes the difference is the price. If it's 99-120$ US like the current model, it will sell as much as that, maybe even better...

The sweet spot price point has to be $150 or less. Above that, most consumers will balk. There's not a huge mainstream market for these things yet. WD is probably very sensitive to this because although they're competiting to a degree with NMTs, in reality they're creating a new market. WD is the only producer of these types of devices that has a massive retail footprint--especially in brick & mortar stores. They need to get a price-point on the product that is attractive so stores like Best Buy will carry it. If these devices ever catch on with mainstream consumers, I'm sure WD will create a segmented market with higher-end (and higher-priced) models.

All that said, I hope WD delivers on capability with the Live. It must at least match the NMT functionality of a Egreat M34a and do so at a comparable price-point. WD could have a home-run if the box supported Netflix streaming, but I doubt it will. For mass consumer appeal, it really must have a robust online capability (YouTube, etc.). It looks like they're supporting that, but it's unknown how elegant or extensive those features will be. I believe most consumers would be much more interested in internet video/browing capability than streaming from a NAS device.

This thing?

http://www.engadget.com/2009/08/16/wd-tv-2-spruces-up-western-digitals-already-attractive-media-pl/

http://gizmodo.com/5338415/leaked-western-digital-tv+2-media-player-reveals-modest-upgrades-codec-support

just spotted this

http://www.sohodiffusion.com/prod/13145/WESTERN-DIGITAL-WDTV-LIVE-HD-MEDIA-PLAYER.html

Searching the model # on Google brought up a lot of results in the $135-150 range. I just bought the original WD TV last week, so it looks like it's going back to Best Buy while I wait on the new model. $30 or so isn't that much more for the expanded functionality (particularly DTS), and I'm guessing from here on out the bulk of firmware upgrades will go to the new model, so menu support for .ISO files (the main feature I really want) will probably happen there first.

it really depends if they upgraded the cpu and ram.

Does this have DTS downmix ?

Does this have DTS downmix ?

if it doesn't, it would be the last and worst mistake WD ever made :rolleyes:

This is not the WDTV2.

This is not the WDTV2.

This IS the wd tv 2! They renamed it to WD TV Live Media Player.

if it has a different official name than "wdtv2," then why not make the wdtv mini the "wdtv2" and the wdtv live the "wdtv3"? from a naming classification standpoint, it is far more sound to do so, unless you count the mini as "wdtv 0.5" or something.

if it has a different official name than "wdtv2," then why not make the wdtv mini the "wdtv2" and the wdtv live the "wdtv3"? from a naming classification standpoint, it is far more sound to do so, unless you count the mini as "wdtv 0.5" or something.

I don't understand you logic...WDTV Mini is an inferior product, even to WDTV 1, a different model line and purpose, actualy like a side-companion, not a successor...besides, incremental numbers don't ring well with customers (1,2,3...), it takes away personality from the product...

don't worry, i was just egging him along. :p

Has there been an announced release date for the WDTV 2 yet or official specs?

no official release date, nor any finalized hardware specs. there's a loose list of what types of codecs and resolutions will be supported, but it was almost identical to the WDTV in almost all respects and hasn't been independently verified for accuracy.

as far as my memory goes, the original WDTV saw a mid-september announcement and a november release. there at least exists a possibility that the same game plan will happen with the WDTV2, though that's just speculation, especially when put into context with the recent release of the WDTV mini a few weeks ago.

especially when put into context with the recent release of the WDTV mini a few weeks ago.

Indeed. And also bearing in mind the release of the Netgear Digital Entertainer Live a few days ago, which looks like a very significant piece of kit with some external similarities to WD products. It seems the way to do launches these days is to just drop the product by press release and see if it floats.

I hope there going to release this soon. Just bought my Samsung LN46B650 and was just about ready to order the TV-1 till i heard about the new TV-2. Wonder if it's any where close to being finished or if it's over a year away from being released. I really don't wanna buy the current model if the TV-2 is going to have the newer features like the over network streaming thru LAN cable.

I hope there going to release this soon. Just bought my Samsung LN46B650 and was just about ready to order the TV-1 till i heard about the new TV-2. Wonder if it's any where close to being finished or if it's over a year away from being released. I really don't wanna buy the current model if the TV-2 is going to have the newer features like the over network streaming thru LAN cable.

I'm wandering why should you need a WDTV Live when your TV has everything a WDTV Live would provide you with: internet browser access, LAN server access, Divx, mkv etc etc playback support, NTFS support...you name it...well, the European model at least, that is...

Better support for codec's for one. I tried a .mkv thru my usb flash drive and got video but no audio cause the codec wasn't supported. The features that's on the samsung are nice but it's just entry level. Western Digital Media Player offers alot more.

it does seem like a nice set up though, having 2 options to explore and see if one can cover the others weak points in terms of video playback. i wish that i could say that coupling my WDTV with my PS3 gave me that option, but alas the PS3 is a complete letdown... out of general curiosity Bean, does your samsung playback 1080 h264 mkv content with high reframes, beyond the WDTV's arbitrary 5 reframe limit?

Better support for codec's for one. I tried a .mkv thru my usb flash drive and got video but no audio cause the codec wasn't supported. The features that's on the samsung are nice but it's just entry level. Western Digital Media Player offers alot more.

you don't get audio because it's DTS, the same happens on WDTV1...if you have an AVrec, just connect the optical audio cable to from the Sammy to the AVrec...

sure, agreed that WDTV can do more...it's just what your needs are...nothing is guaranteed with WDTV Live as well...things may work and then again they might not...

I really think these units are coming online too late to be significant (for long at least).

I bought the WDTV1 and loved the capabilities (still do)...until I upgraded my A/V gear to a new Samsung TV, and added a PS3. Now all of a sudden, I have two streaming sources instead of none...all in one fell swoop, making my WDTV irrelevant except as a secondary streaming unit for the kitchen or bedroom.

Had the WD units come out a few years ago, it would have had much more of an impact imo, and probably would have been the de facto standard for The Convergence (R). It's almost like they are too late...now so many devices offer streaming and/or transcoding built in...blu ray players, TV's, and of course game consoles.

I will be interested to see if these external hardware units will be around in a year or so. Now even receivers (granted, only the higher end ones for now, but I imagine it won't take long to get to the Best Buy level receivers) offer up WDTV capabilities.

Being a total idiot when it comes to networking, will I be able to attach an access point to WDTV Live and access my network? I do have a wireless router.

My lady is gonna freak if I start running ethernet cables all over the house.

.

I really think these units are coming online too late to be significant (for long at least).

I bought the WDTV1 and loved the capabilities (still do)...until I upgraded my A/V gear to a new Samsung TV, and added a PS3.
I doubt that. I'm no player so I'd never buy a PS3 for playback purposes, especially if I have to convert certain formats to be able to watch them.

I really think these units are coming online too late to be significant (for long at least).

I bought the WDTV1 and loved the capabilities (still do)...until I upgraded my A/V gear to a new Samsung TV, and added a PS3. Now all of a sudden, I have two streaming sources instead of none...all in one fell swoop, making my WDTV irrelevant except as a secondary streaming unit for the kitchen or bedroom.

Had the WD units come out a few years ago, it would have had much more of an impact imo, and probably would have been the de facto standard for The Convergence (R). It's almost like they are too late...now so many devices offer streaming and/or transcoding built in...blu ray players, TV's, and of course game consoles.

I will be interested to see if these external hardware units will be around in a year or so. Now even receivers (granted, only the higher end ones for now, but I imagine it won't take long to get to the Best Buy level receivers) offer up WDTV capabilities.

I'd also disagree with that. Unless TVs start appearing with completely universal format support (now and for the future) you are always best off with an external player.

It's one thing to buy new or replace a $99 external unit, it's another to replace a $1000+ TV.

Besides, all the current consoles, Blu-Ray players, TVs ..etc provide poor inbuilt Media Players.

Being a total idiot when it comes to networking, will I be able to attach an access point to WDTV Live and access my network? I do have a wireless router.

My lady is gonna freak if I start running ethernet cables all over the house.

.

If you are going to watch 1080P and even 720P, wireless isn't a good option (I don't know if the WDTV 2 is going to support wireless networks, or if it's going to need a custom firmware like WDTV 1 did). If running network cables isn't an option, you may want to look into something like this http://www.netgear.com/Products/PowerlineNetworking/PowerlineEthernetAdapters/XAVB101.aspx.

iboum hit the nail on the head. All these other comments about TVs and receivers already being able to do what the WDTV2 claims it will, are preposterous.
Samsung TVs require proprietary software on your server in order to stream all codecs (they will not work with tversity to get support [or vice-versa]). In one way or another, all these integrated media serving devices are gimped.

To the comment about the PS3 being problematic due to the low number of supported codecs: The entire premise of the WDTV2 (over the 1st model) is browsing local media via the ethernet port. If you are already looking at a media server to contain your data, running PS3 Media Server negates ANY codec problems on the PS3.
This is my current solution, watching any and all codecs on the PS3 from my server running PS3MS, and hulu and netflix via PlayOn.
Still, I AM greatly interested in the WDTV2 due to the much smaller environmental impact (as opposed to running the hot PS3 just to watch old TV shows for example), and PANDORA!!!!.

I'm about to give up on WD. I own the 1st gen WDTV, and am getting disgusted by their failure to release firmware updates. They initially engaged with users regarding firmware development, but the appearance is that they exploited that community to help refine features for the Live. That's a crappy thing to do, and their failure to fix poorly implemented features (such as no DVD menus) with firmware updates is inexcusable. At least the NMTs get fairly regular firmware updates.

same

They are not obliged to do DVD menus, you knew that when you bought it...

They initially engaged with users regarding firmware development...By users you mean AVS?
Only masochists can hope to get something positive out of their presence on AVS!
They deserve a monument for sticking around for as long as they did...

There has never been a consumer electronic product in existence that after
being discussed on AVS hasn't been eventually trashed by some users!

You want to find a reason not to buy a certain product?
Introduce it to AVS users and wait for a week of discussions.
You'll disgusted you even thought about buying it...:)

Diogen.

Guys, what device should I be looking for if I need:


1. component output (older TV with no HDMI)

2. can play mkv without needed to run it thru mkv2vob like the PS3 does

3. looking for something in the $99.99 range, or even $89.99

4. doesn't have any of the audio issues or other issues that the WDTV1 had (although to be honest, I don't really know all that much about the issues that the WDTV1 had)

5. Network capabilties would be nice, but I actually would primarily be hooking up a portable 2.0 usb HDD to it. (haven't ran any network cable into my master bedroom, and not looking forward to going up in my crawl space again. Let me tell you... it was a freaking nightmare the last time I did it.)


I've been wanting something very similar to the WDTV1, but I just need it to also have component out. I'm not really up on all the various media playing devices. I've been using my PS3 for this function, along with PS3 Media Server program.

the WDTV2 should essentially cover all of your bases, though the concept of "audio issues" is an abstract one at best. it has a set of audio codecs that it has the rights to distribute/the processor can put out/the hardware is capable of outputting, and as long as you follow those guidelines and are conscious of how you are encoding your video content, you'll be fine.

the one issue still is price; the WDTV1 was introduced with a $130 msrp, and the WDTV2 is expected to have that if not a slightly higher premium, but within a few months brick and mortar shops like Best Buy will even out the prices a bit more towards the $100 mark.

Does anybody know if WDC is going to make this new player capable of playing internet streaming video like Netflix or Amazon?

the WDTV2 should essentially cover all of your bases, though the concept of "audio issues" is an abstract one at best. it has a set of audio codecs that it has the rights to distribute/the processor can put out/the hardware is capable of outputting, and as long as you follow those guidelines and are conscious of how you are encoding your video content, you'll be fine.

the one issue still is price; the WDTV1 was introduced with a $130 msrp, and the WDTV2 is expected to have that if not a slightly higher premium, but within a few months brick and mortar shops like Best Buy will even out the prices a bit more towards the $100 mark.

I agree! $100 is a comfortable price once you own a PS3 or full fledged BLURAY player.

By users you mean AVS?
Only masochists can hope to get something positive out of their presence on AVS!
They deserve a monument for sticking around for as long as they did...

There has never been a consumer electronic product in existence that after
being discussed on AVS hasn't been eventually trashed by some users!

You want to find a reason not to buy a certain product?
Introduce it to AVS users and wait for a week of discussions.
You'll disgusted you even thought about buying it...:)

Diogen.

This.

the WDTV2 should essentially cover all of your bases, though the concept of "audio issues" is an abstract one at best. it has a set of audio codecs that it has the rights to distribute/the processor can put out/the hardware is capable of outputting, and as long as you follow those guidelines and are conscious of how you are encoding your video content, you'll be fine.

the one issue still is price; the WDTV1 was introduced with a $130 msrp, and the WDTV2 is expected to have that if not a slightly higher premium, but within a few months brick and mortar shops like Best Buy will even out the prices a bit more towards the $100 mark.

And This.

Acc to Retailer Komplett.ie the player will launch on October the 10.


http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?p=62244709

I don't know what you expected out of the WDTV1 but I've been completely happy with it. For $100 I got myself a player that can handle 720p or 1080p material unlike my old XBOX. Also, with custom firmware I got a nice little torrent box that uses minimal power and can be on 24/7. DVD menus would be nice but it was never advertised with this feature.

Do you guys think this will have hdmi 1.3 so it can bitstream hd audio?

Hey guys, the wdtv 1 is currently available for £70 which seems like a bargain. I'm really not bothered about dts downmix or network support. Do you think I should still hang on for the wdtv2 or just go for it? I mainly watch 720p/1080p mkv's and some anime.

I started digital video with an Apple TV (can you say, 'Brick', or 'Doorstop', or 'Crapple'?). Yes, the video options STUNK. Then I got the WDTV1. I have yet to find a digital format it can't handle. Sure, the interface ain't like Apple's, but it's sooo much easier to load stuff onto it and it's soooo much friendlier to use in general. However . . .

I still use the Apple TV for photos. Simply put, the screensaver on the Apple TV has not been replicated by anyone. Not even close. This captivating screensaver takes all you photos and in random order and in random sizing 'floats' them up the screen, with your music playing the background. It is the single best way to showcase a photo album bar none.

WHY O WHY can't someone (HINT WD!!) please come up with something similar? This 'jam a photo on the screen and then jam the next one up' is not the best way any more.

For WDTV3, if they do something with this, I'm upgrading. Period.

Amazon has it on pre-order now

Anyone knows the reframes support for this unit??
Oct 10 is a saturday..

I'm about to give up on WD. I own the 1st gen WDTV, and am getting disgusted by their failure to release firmware updates. They initially engaged with users regarding firmware development, but the appearance is that they exploited that community to help refine features for the Live. That's a crappy thing to do, and their failure to fix poorly implemented features (such as no DVD menus) with firmware updates is inexcusable. At least the NMTs get fairly regular firmware updates.

Man, do you ever stop bitching???? Jeez...

$120.00 is a pretty good pricepoint for this unit.
I don't think it will be able to do streaming from Netflix, Amazon, etc

Another cool feature is that they will be able to "push" new firmware updates to the box via the Web, versus having to go & d/l it & stick it onto a thumbdrive.

You will probably need an N draft protocol router /dongle for streaming content fast enough from your PC via the network to it, although of course ethernet cable will work too.
Now if they'd only address adding replay gain & gapless playback for audio files.....:o

Man, do you ever stop bitching???? Jeez...

And you like digging up nearly-two-week-old posts?

Do we know yet if this device is going to support UnPn so that we can use playon?

I hope people that work for WD are reading this thread.

I will not purchase the new WD Live until it has been confirmed by users that the WD has a proper, stutter-free 24p working. It is unacceptable for this new version to still not do a proper 24p, like most all Blu Ray players can now easily do. I think maybe we should boycott WD until they issue a FW release that fixes 24p in the 1G WDTV as well.

I would also encourage the WD development team to include the ability to automatically output the native framerate/resolution of the file on the fly, bypassing the deinterlacing/scaling of the device, so we can use better deinterlacing/scaling from an external processor, or the one built-in to our displays.

If this is too challenging, the least they could do is place an option in the menu that could be switched on or off according to our preference, so when we start to play a video file, a menu pops up asking us if we want to output 1080p24/1080i/720p/480i/480p, etc. Then we would be spared having to make about half a dozen or more clicks of the remote to get into the menu settings and manually change the resolution each time.

Here's a novel concept. Maybe WD could actually program the player to store our preferred settings in a little folder on the HDD, just like it stores everything else, and then it would only have to ask us when there is a new file. That way everytime I play something that is interlaced, the WD automatically outputs it in its native interlaced format, so the external VP or the TV/monitor can do the interlacing and then the upscaling.

Or here is another novel concept. Perhaps WD could offer an option in the menu where you can specify ahead of time what you want the WD to do when it encounters files of a various framerate/resolution. Like you could tell it that when the WD encounters any 480i file to send it out as 480i, so my external video processor can deinterlace it and upscale it, rather than the WD.

If you encounter a 720p file, you could choose to send it out natively, or perhaps you want the WD to upscale it to 1080p before output.

Whatever is the best way to implement this, since WD did not offer a sophisticated zoom (with finer increments) at least they could automatically output a 480i/480p signal so people with Samsung TV's for example could use the zoom on their TV without having to go deep into the settings to manually force a 480 output.

My Samsung plasma, which I have since gotten rid of, could not zoom when fed a 720/1080 input. The zoom would only work for SD content when sent 480i/p.

So, since the zoom on the WD was so mickey mouse and not very useful, I wanted to use the built-in zoom of my TV to crop some of the bars. I had to manually go into the menu and change the settings to 480 to activate the zoom on my Samsung. Then when I was done watching that file, if I wanted to watch an HD file, I would have to manually go back into the video settings and change it back to 720p output or auto.

Major pain.

WD better implement at least some of these features or do a proper 24p or they are not getting another cent out of me.

I'm not upgrading just for DTS downmix and ethernet capability. I can convert files to AC3 for free, and even the old WD TV can do streaming via ethernet with custom FW.

Anyone knows the reframes support for this unit??
Oct 10 is a saturday..

I believe the retail date in EU is Oct 16th, a Friday (according to Komplett.ie anyways). That's probably more like it.

Oh. One more thing. Here's another novel concept for the whiz-bang software programmers at WD. Instead of just having the menu default to videos, like it did in later firmwares, after many complained that the first firmware defaulted to photos, how about actually giving the users a choice in the matter? Imagine that?

How about a simple option in the menu where you can select whether or not the the device on startup defaults to video, photos, audio, settings, folders, or whatever!

Imagine how happy we would all be if WD gave us a choice instead of deciding for us how things should be.

It's nice that it defaults to videos rather than photos, since the photo options on the WD TV are not very useful, and so I rarely even use them. Photo slideshows work much too slow.

But imagine if WD actually gave us the choice of having the player on start-up default to something else? Who woulda thunk it?

After I turn the unit on, and it defaults to videos, I still have to click the right arrow button a few times to get over to folders. I almost never use the recent or all files functions. How nice it would be if one actually had the possibility of going straight to your list of folders in your videos.

You know, I've never bothered to use the thumbnail features in the 1.02.03 firmware because I don't want to find thumbnails to use for every single episode of Planet Earth, or Rick Steves, or Art Wolfe, or what have you. I just want thumbnails for my folders view, so I can have one icon for Planet Earth, one for Rick Steves, one for my 50+ PBS Nature shows etc. You are forced to have thumbnails inside the folders when you choose thumbnail mode, and so I must resort to list mode, because that's the only way I can quickly find what I need when I actually get inside the folder.

When I click on any of these thumbnails, I simply want to display a list inside, since I may have 50 episodes, and I haven't bothered to come up with a thumbnail for all of them. So then I get those generic WD thumbnails, which all look identical and don't display much info, so then you have to wait until the info scrolls by, and it is just very difficult to navigate in a reasonable amount of time.

So, how hard would it be for WD to place another option in the menu, where the user can CHOOSE if he wants thumbnails for folder view, but list mode inside the folders. Or vice-versa, perhaps they want list mode for folders, and thumbnail mode inside the folders.

That shouldnt be too hard to implement, now should it?

"Imagine how happy we would all be if WD gave us a choice instead of deciding for us how things should be."

Interesting comment. Can you point out other similar media players that can do this? I'd like to look into them.

I haven't really looked very deeply at most other media players, because none of them seem to be able to offer what I require.

I have zero interest in the PCH or the new Seagate device, or devices such as these, because they lost my potential business the minute they made the device physically too large, in order to support built-in storage.

The beauty and simplicity of the WD is that it is very small, so it is highly portable. It will easily fit in a briefcase or a purse. it can be easily moved to another room, or to a friend's house, or on vacation, a business trip, or even your car, etc.

The Popcorn Hour is too big to ever take with you anywhere. The Xtreamer has a noisy fan, and they made it bigger to support internal storage. Stupid! stupid! stupid! If Xtreamer was smart they would offer a slimmer model without the option for internal storage and I might buy one.

Adding the extra space for an internal 2.5 hdd in that tiny box will only add increased heat, which will cause problems down the road!

256 GB flash drives are already available, and soon one would imagine 1 TB thumb drives will be offered for sale. In the not-so-distant future we will not even need bulky hard drives to carry around our content.

So it is stupid to only offer devices that are bulky and add heat by putting hard drives or optical drives inside them.

Even though the WD is made of plastic it is durable enough and somewhat classy looking. It is very small, and perfectly quiet. I even like the tiny remote, even though it's a bit toyish. It is small enough that it adds to the portability factor. If I want a fancy remote to use with the WD TV I can just use a Harmony.

Western Digital was also very smart to place one of the USB ports on the side, instead of cramming them right next to each other in the back, where no one can see anything. Also if you have a fat USB wireless adapter or fat flash drive, having the two USB ports too close together could be too tight of a squeeze and cause problems. Yeah, yeah, I know you can get a USB extension cable, but that's one more added hassle. Also, by having one USB port on the side, it's much easier to keep track of which cable you are unplugging, and what device that cable is hooked up to. With the devices that have two USB ports crammed right next to each other on the back, it could be confusing as to which cable you are unplugging if you ever want to disconnect just one of the USB devices.

So I give WD 5 stars for the actual form factor and chassis design of the unit. I couldn't be more satisifed. Small, perfectly silent and fanless, and classy looking. Well maybe an SD card slot right on the device would be kind of nice, but perhaps they just couldn't squeeze all that in. I am very pleased that they are offering component out on the new device. This was an oversight on the 1G player.

It's the user interface and functionality that needs some serious work. There are other media players that have this added functionality, but they all seem to be either too big, too ugly, too noisy (fans), and too expensive.

The WD TV has the most potential because it is one of the smallest, the cheapest, quietest, and the classiest looking devices out there, and from a Fortune 500 company as well.

The main problem is that WD has not hired enough software programmers to exploit to the fullest extent the true possibilities of their device. I am not criticizing the competence of their programmers. I'm confident that it is simply a problem of being understaffed. They need to hire a few more programmers to really fix all the bugs.

They have lost out on 3 or 4 sales from me alone because they won't fix some basic bugs and implemement some useful features. If they would have implemented some of the features/fixes that people have been begging for for the last 9 months, I would have bought at least 4 or 5 of these things instead of just one.

Of course the ultimate would be to make the unit open-source as much as possible so the community could do most of the work for them. That would be ideal. But most companies don't seem to want to go that route, and probably for some good reason unbeknownst to me.

Geeeeez! Female?

I wish i knew the release date for this thing. Amazon has no date on there.

Do you guys think this will come this year at least?

I wish i knew the release date for this thing. Amazon has no date on there.

Do you guys think this will come this year at least?


Yes, they will want to hit the market for Xmas gift season.

Do you guys think this will have hdmi 1.3 so it can bitstream hd audio?

I have read somewhere that is supposed to, otherwise it will not downmix DTS.

WD better implement at least some of these features or do a proper 24p or they are not getting another cent out of me.


I'm sure THAT will stop them dead in their tracks.

If not, you might try holding your breath until you turn blue.

I'm sure THAT will stop them dead in their tracks.

If not, you might try holding your breath until you turn blue.

heh...thanks for the morning lolz ;)

Can i use this machine to have my hard drive act as a networked hard drive? :) Meaning to be able to access the HD plugged into the WDTV from any pc wirelessly.

I wonder why the hell WD do not show it on their website?

I wonder why the hell WD do not show it on their website?

That might indicate that release of the product may not be anytime soon. If WD was going to release this thing soon they should be releasing information, there should be a web page with specifics to build buzz… maybe I am wrong but something does not seem right.

Gapless audio?
Upgraded chip (i.e. more ReFrames)?
SMB? NFS? UPNP?

Gapless audio?
Upgraded chip (i.e. more ReFrames)?
SMB? NFS? UPNP?

WD do not release info about the chip. We'll probably know when someone opens his and we take a look inside...

Lack of DVD Menu support in this thing really kills it for me.

And because its a registered device, and MPAA doesn't allow it, there is no chance of it coming in the future either :(

I'll have to stick with Popcorn Hour.

DVD Menu support would be nice but for all this box does and cost I can live without it.

DVD Menu support would be nice but for all this box does and cost I can live without it.Agreed. Anyone who buys this should know what features it will and won't have, so griping about missing features seems a bit pointless.

My approach for viewing special features without a menu structure on the 1G is to create a folder under the movie title called "Extras," next to the VIDEO_TS folder. Then I copy all the vobs for the special features into the "Extras" folder. Sometimes I even rename them with the title of the feature (e.g., "Making of," Interview with..."). All the content on the disc is then easily accessible without needing the disc menu.

Takes ten seconds to add the folder and copy the files, and in many cases it's easier to access them that way than trying to navigate through a series of animated menus! ;)

Takes ten seconds to add the folder and copy the files, and in many cases it's easier to access them that way than trying to navigate through a series of animated menus! ;)

Come on, it's so much easier to whine about it:rolleyes::D

Animated menus, especially those that cannot be skipped to the selection buttons, are the Devil's work...

http://www.amazon.ca/Western-Digital-WDTV-Media-Player/dp/B002KKFP9Y/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=electronics&qid=1254348954&sr=8-1

It's listed as Oct.13 for release in Canada.

Do we know yet if this device is going to support UnPn so that we can use playon?

anyone????

anyone????

I am not sure anyone knows yet. Seems WD has been pretty tight lipped about the full specs for this device. It is not even showing up on their website yet. I see that Amazon.ca claims they will ship the unit in Canada on Oct. 13. I have heard rumor that it will ship here in the U.S. on the 10th, but who knows for sure.

I hope that it does support something that will allow the streaming of premium sites like Netflx or Amazon.

I am not sure anyone knows yet. Seems WD has been pretty tight lipped about the full specs for this device. It is not even showing up on their website yet. I see that Amazon.ca claims they will ship the unit in Canada on Oct. 13. I have heard rumor that it will ship here in the U.S. on the 10th, but who knows for sure.

I hope that it does support something that will allow the streaming of premium sites like Netflx or Amazon.

I thought WD r based in US! but no hoopla yet, no hands on reviews of pre release product:confused:

The WD-TV SD Mini Media player by Western Digital was released without any hoopla. One day poof!! The links and pages appeared on the WD site. No early reviews by other sites and the WD team did not come on here to talk to us AVSers. In fact they have been gone for a while now! I miss those guys. Maybe all the complaints about their products drove them away?


http://www.amazon.com/The-Future-Of-Electronics/lm/R34CA6966D8IGS/ref=cm_lm_byauthor_full

ScottWD still has a public face, in the form of a twitter account that he updates every so often with WD news. rightfully though, they have more than enough reason to leave us all behind, after the vitriol that numerous forum members spewed upon them.

Which wasn't toally uncalled for given the amount of bugs still present and serious questions not answered till today.

it was never the duty of Scott or Guy to be awash in a sea of venom, and anything less than complete civility from the forum-going apes that skulk here was more than an ample and rightful means for them to exit. every rude thing (and there were many which went beyond tactlessness) was absolutely uncalled for, bugs or not.

there's really no grounds for trying to justify any of it. a straightforward question is one thing, but constant barking about updates and bemoaning their "laziness" (as though they had ample time to address every issue while juggling numerous looming product releases) seemed to have become the only show in town in the WDTV threads.

I think they postponed the release in order to avoid falling behind the rest of the media player pack (not counting NMTs, these are a bit different in their aim)..now that all major competitors revealed their cards and capabilities (Asus, Xtreamer...) , probably additional fuctionality was being implemented from what was initially planned....the expectatios of the market change each and every day...

it was never the duty of Scott or Guy to be awash in a sea of venom, and anything less than complete civility from the forum-going apes that skulk here was more than an ample and rightful means for them to exit. every rude thing (and there were many which went beyond tactlessness) was absolutely uncalled for, bugs or not.

there's really no grounds for trying to justify any of it. a straightforward question is one thing, but constant barking about updates and bemoaning their "laziness" (as though they had ample time to address every issue while juggling numerous looming product releases) seemed to have become the only show in town in the WDTV threads.

ScottWD still has a public face, in the form of a twitter account that he updates every so often with WD news. rightfully though, they have more than enough reason to leave us all behind, after the vitriol that numerous forum members spewed upon them.



They brought it on themselves, with their pompous announcements like "We have big plans for this player" and their inability to fix major bugs

Josh,

Do you happen to have Scott or Guy's fax number? I need it so I can fax them a magic wand so they can "fix" every bug overnight, and add any arbitrary new feature in a flash. We need to keep the rabble happy, ya know.

They brought it on themselves, with their pompous announcements like "We have big plans for this player" and their inability to fix major bugs

Actually....no they didn't. There are quite a few people on this board who seemed to confuse "bugs" with "feature creep", wanting the player to do things it was never capable (or advertised as being able to do), so they called them bugs.
As far as there "big plans for this player", I think that 1.5+ million sold worldwide is a pretty big "plan" for this niche market device. And the new WDTV Live appears to add even more options to an already excellent media player.
As for bugs, they fixed quite a few of those too.
Oh & publicly cussing out people that you want to help you is kinda like poking a stick in a dog's eye who is chained to your ankle. It's doubtful he'll lick you hand...

No,sir. I'm not talking about features, just plain old BUGS (like picture-audio-subtitle sync).

The first WD sold well because of price and company name. Oh, and tricky marketing (about half or more of the 1,5 million buyers, including myself, learned a few hours after they bought it what DTS downmix is). But that's not a bug (a $10 dvd player does that though), it's just a feature, right?

Keep the dog kind of comments to yourself...

Keep the dog kind of comments to yourself...

As to your "pompous" pronouncement of WD then I'll ask you to do the same.

So WD made a kickass little device that pissed people off because it didn't support every piece of pirated media they had, boohoo.

Scott was cool enough to come on here and take recommendations and give feedback and got **** on in return... Can't blame him for ditching. Oh and DTS Downmixing isn't available on any $10 (or hell, $20) dvd player I've seen. But in the case of the WDTV, it was well known early on that it didn't support DTS Downmix, 30 seconds of research, not good enough? Move along.

FWIW, I actually had very few synching issues with the thing.

So WD made a kickass little device that pissed people off because it didn't support every piece of pirated media they had, boohoo

True dat!!!

I have ripped my entire DVD collection (all 250) for viewing on my WD TV. I have not had a single video file that had sync inssues if I had done it right. Admittedly there were a few that did, but I figured out that I had the settings wrong while ripping. I have a nice, convenient little "delete" button. I made swift use of it and started over. Problem solved.

As for subtitle sync issues, I have had several, but there is a function in Subtitle Edit by which you can synce subtitle to audio. Again, I made swift use of it.

Moral of the story: "Blame the rip and the ripper, not the player!"

I have never seen a DVD player that does DTS downmix either...if it does it does so illegally...people must be mistaking this for something else...

@ Derelict_Drvr What software are you using to rip your DVD collection? I have run into trouble with a few of my movies using AutoGK. (Audiosync issues!!) I have over 100 DVD's which I transfered the majority of to play on the WD-TV.

http://www.amazon.ca/Western-Digital-WDTV-Media-Player/dp/B002KKFP9Y/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=electronics&qid=1254348954&sr=8-1

It's listed as Oct.13 for release in Canada.

It's almost twice the price of the Asus O!Play which has very similar capabilities.

pmcd

So WD made a kickass little device that pissed people off because it didn't support every piece of pirated media they had, boohoo.

Scott was cool enough to come on here and take recommendations and give feedback and got **** on in return... Can't blame him for ditching. Oh and DTS Downmixing isn't available on any $10 (or hell, $20) dvd player I've seen. But in the case of the WDTV, it was well known early on that it didn't support DTS Downmix, 30 seconds of research, not good enough? Move along.

FWIW, I actually had very few synching issues with the thing.

Agreed. The WDTV is a really excellent unit for the price. Unfortunately, some people want everything for nothing.

pmcd

"Pirated" media sells hard drives, they make their money selling drives, not media players at cost. This player is out to make you buy more of their hard drives...

Anyway, I sold mine many months ago. For a few bucks more, I got a player that doesn't give me a headache and I stopped being a beta-tester.

DTS downmix
Flawless 1080p via LAN
Flawless 23,976fps (24p) with framerate sync (full use of my TV)
True-HD and DTS-MA to my receiver (full use of my receiver-speakers)
Ability to connect a sata drive which is much faster than USB, even when browsing the files in the drive
etc

ain't it great when everything just works :rolleyes:

Firmware is 50% of a media player... if you don't put in the effort to get that right, don't bother...

@ Derelict_Drvr What software are you using to rip your DVD collection? I have run into trouble with a few of my movies using AutoGK. (Audiosync issues!!) I have over 100 DVD's which I transfered the majority of to play on the WD-TV.

I use and inexpensive little program called FairUse ($28.00 US). Works like a charm. I have been told that if you want a freeware program, then use Handbrake and rip the movie to an avi, then mux into an mkv with another freeware program callew MKVmerge (MKVtoolnix). FairUse rips to .avi then I have to mux as stated earlier.

FairUse has a freeware version that will rip to Xvid and such, but if you want h.264, you will need to buy it.

@sinker-

That sounds great. But what did you pay for it? How many $hundreds?

"Pirated" media sells hard drives, they make their money selling drives, not media players at cost. This player is out to make you buy more of their hard drives...

Anyway, I sold mine many months ago. For a few bucks more, I got a player that doesn't give me a headache and I stopped being a beta-tester.

DTS downmix
Flawless 1080p via LAN
Flawless 23,976fps (24p) with framerate sync (full use of my TV)
True-HD and DTS-MA to my receiver (full use of my receiver-speakers)
Ability to connect a sata drive which is much faster than USB, even when browsing the files in the drive
etc

ain't it great when everything just works :rolleyes:

Firmware is 50% of a media player... if you don't put in the effort to get that right, don't bother...

is it newer version or older version you are talking abt?:confused:

@sinker-

That sounds great. But what did you pay for it? How many $hundreds?

150$US (PCH-A110 is overpriced here, so I got Egreat M34A from local reseller)

is it newer version or older version you are talking abt?:confused:

The older WD version... The new version is probably the same as the old one, with the addition of DTS downmix/component/ethernet...

Btw, I saw your posts looking for a cheap media player with true-hd/dts-hd audio. Only NMT media players do that right now. Get one, like I did...

This is no longer on Amazon's US site. What happened?

Regardless of all the negative stuff on here i think the wdtv box has been one of the best ever gadget i have ever had......


I can't wait for the the wdtv live to be released i will be getting one immediately.


Seriously guys the stuff that comes out on here is just unbelievable....

If you truely don't like the wdtv the choice is simple don't use it and get something else that can do the job 'better'. It is very easy to slag a product after a while, because it didn't give you any new features, but if the product works...and works well, thats good enough for me.


I still cannot fault the picture quality, and that is one thing i never seen anyone try to fault it for as well...that probably why some of you guys keep going on about the box as if you didn't like the picture and sound quality you wouldn't care about it and would have moved on......

Does anyone have a release date?

is it true that WDTV live will be released this month ? , do anyone know exactly when ?

is it true that WDTV live will be released this month ? , do anyone know exactly when ?

Rumor had it that it would be released on Oct. 10 here in the US, Oct. 13 in Canada, but we will see.

This is no longer on Amazon's US site. What happened?

Dunno, i can't find it on amazon too.

I received this from Amazon as to why the WD TV Live is no longer on their site. I contacted them asking if there is a problem.


Hello,

Looking into your order, I see that Western Digital WD TV Live Network is back-ordered. I'm sorry about this delay--we certainly didn't expect that this would happen.

Please allow me to explain that sometimes unexpected fluctuations in supply can add time to our original availability estimate. We have learned that Western Digital WD TV Live Network is now back-ordered, and our supplier has not been able to let us know exactly when they expect to have more in stock.

I can assure you that we are working hard to obtain this item for you and we will ship it as soon as we are able to obtain it. This means that we will ship the item as soon as we receive it from our suppliers even if the estimated ship date has still not arrived.

I guess I will just hang in there and wait for the shipment.

If it was back ordered then Amazon would still let you order it. They pulled the item from their web site. To me, this suggests that the release date has been pushed back by Western Digital and Amazon feels that this new release date is to far out to take pre-orders. I think we can forget about seeing this item in Oct.

If it was back ordered then Amazon would still let you order it. They pulled the item from their web site. To me, this suggests that the release date has been pushed back by Western Digital and Amazon feels that this new release date is to far out to take pre-orders. I think we can forget about seeing this item in Oct.

My guess is this is correct. The above from Amazon is verbose for we were told the item will not be available when expected and we do not have any idea when it will be available.

I strongly suspect WD looked at the market and decided they had to redesign the product to compete with newer players hitting the market or face failure.

Another possibility is that WD is still trying to get rid of the older model WDTV and so they want to keep the new model a secret (from regular folks who don't read these forums) until the launch date.

Or.......

it could be "none of the above" & as simple as parts needed for their production runs got pushed out by extended lead times due to many component manufacturers having heavily "ramped down" their production during this recession. Where I work we're seeing IC lead times jump from 8 weeks out to 20 weeks due to this & OEM's allocating stocks due to unexpected strong demand as more manufacturers begin to build again.

Just sayin'.........:cool:

My guess is this is correct. The above from Amazon is verbose for we were told the item will not be available when expected and we do not have any idea when it will be available.

I strongly suspect WD looked at the market and decided they had to redesign the product to compete with newer players hitting the market or face failure.

I don't know if I suspect that, or if there were other factors such as errata in the manufacturing process that would create issues if the current production stock were shipped. It's really a tossup as to which may be the case, or some other esoteric problem.

However, I strongly hope that they're redesigning the product to keep it competitive. If this is the case, though, expect early-adopters to be penalized due to the lack of QA testing that can go into such a late redesign. You just simply can't make big changes closer than six months within a release date, especially when the manufacturing is completely done in China.

This does not explain why
http://www.amazon.ca/Western-Digital-WDTV-Media-Player/dp/B002KKFP9Y
this is still available on Amazon.ca . . .

Or it might be as simple as the supplier for Amazon was told his shipment you be delayed, so they contacted Amazon, and so on.

My guess is that Amazon rodered x number of units. They had sold that same number of units on pre-order. They dropped the site so as not to sell more units than they have coming. If they over sold then had 20% of those sales as overnight, then they are screwed.

Just sayin'.....

Or it might be as simple as the supplier for Amazon was told his shipment you be delayed, so they contacted Amazon, and so on.

My guess is that Amazon rodered x number of units. They had sold that same number of units on pre-order. They dropped the site so as not to sell more units than they have coming. If they over sold then had 20% of those sales as overnight, then they are screwed.

Just sayin'.....

One of the rules of advertising (which is what a pre-order consists of) is that you NEVER cancel your advertising because it generates too many sales.

I guaran-fracking-tee you that's not why Amazon pulled the pre-order page. They don't do that with any other products; they just delay your estimated ship date. Plus, their real-time inventory analysis algorithms just don't work like that - as in, they don't allow product to be oversold, or, in this case, a pre-order delivery date to be oversold. They're smart enough that it just doesn't work that way, pretty much ever.

no dvd full menu and no sub for other language?

One of the rules of advertising (which is what a pre-order consists of) is that you NEVER cancel your advertising because it generates too many sales.

I guaran-fracking-tee you that's not why Amazon pulled the pre-order page. They don't do that with any other products; they just delay your estimated ship date. Plus, their real-time inventory analysis algorithms just don't work like that - as in, they don't allow product to be oversold, or, in this case, a pre-order delivery date to be oversold. They're smart enough that it just doesn't work that way, pretty much ever.

I would agree 100%

I plan to order a "live" once it goes back up on Amazon. The WD-TV cant FF or RW .M4V files and I recall a few users suggested WD add this feature to the unit. I was trying out an M4V last night and I like the file size (360-400MB typical) but couldnt skip ahead or go back during the film.

I am really not happy with the lack of info from WD regarding the WD HD Live. I have a Popcornhour A110, but want to buy something for 2 other TVs in my house that have network support and the WD Live would be perfect. The problem is the Cinematube, Seagate Theather +, and the Asus o!play are already out and you can find plenty of reviews and info. Even before these devices were out, the were sending devices to be reviewed by tech sites. It seems WD can not be bothered to let us know a official release date, or even put out a official press statement. Not a very good sign of customer service, and with plenty of competition out there, and a poor economy, they need to go that extra mile to get our business.

I have decided I can not wait any longer, and am going to order the Asus o play. For $100 shipped, that pretty cheap and who knows when the WD Live will be out and what "official" features it will have.

Yea, lack of info on new model sucks, they probably just want to clear out the old stock though before releasing more info.

I'm in the same boat, dunno if i'm going to wait, i may just pull trigger on asus. Removal of u.s. amazon pre-order is not a good sign.

Is the Asus O!Play better than the WD in general. I read that the WD isn't great for music because songs never appear in proper order & the interface sucks. I have 150gb of music & using the device for my library is key.

does the WD live bitstreams DTS-MA/True-HD over HDMI?

I wouldn't count on the wdtv live on bitstreaming hd audio. It probably will have hdmi 1.3, but seems like all the media players are unable to do this for whatever reasons. Well except for the nmt players.

Is the Asus O!Play better than the WD in general. I read that the WD isn't great for music because songs never appear in proper order & the interface sucks. I have 150gb of music & using the device for my library is key.

Thats the issue, the WD Live does not exist at this moment. Nothing has been released from Western Digital confirming it or listing technical specs. It is rumored to come out next week, but no one can list a actual source to back up that statement. As of right now, you can buy the Asus, Seagate, or Cinema tube. From all the reviews I have read, the Asus seems to be the best choice, BUT it does seem to have allot of bugs and what allot of people say is a cumbersome UI. That worries me as I need something my wife can handle. I am going to pull the trigger myself on the Asus and if I do not like it, I will ship it back.

Is the Asus O!Play better than the WD in general. I read that the WD isn't great for music because songs never appear in proper order & the interface sucks. I have 150gb of music & using the device for my library is key.

I have an Asus and I am going to either sell it or give it away.

In the Asus, the UI is cumbersome. Too many clicks to get to the video or audio, even more when you try and access the network. No thumbnail support. Also, when playing the same video file with the asus versus the WDTV, the video is better looking with the WDTV. Asus has a problem with color saturation. Asus does have the option to adjust the brightness and contrast, but was unable to remedy the video issues using this method.

While the Asus does have some features the WDTV HD does not, it is not worth the loss of video quality.

Well please keep us posted. If it doesn't play music well - easy to browse and play albums, gapless playback - it's a deal breaker.
I read one review where the reviewer complained because he set the device for 1080 resolution but hooked it up to a lower resolution TV and it crashed. While perhaps annoying, that hardly seems like a reason to not buy one.

I have an Asus and I am going to either sell it or give it away.

In the Asus, the UI is cumbersome. Too many clicks to get to the video or audio, even more when you try and access the network. No thumbnail support. Also, when playing the same video file with the asus versus the WDTV, the video is better looking with the WDTV. Asus has a problem with color saturation. Asus does have the option to adjust the brightness and contrast, but was unable to remedy the video issues using this method.

While the Asus does have some features the WDTV HD does not, it is not worth the loss of video quality.

I appreciate your post as I am looking at getting the Asus myself. Can you tell me what features the Asus has over the WD?

Two biggest, from what I have read because I don't use them, is the Asus has full DVD menu support in ISO's, and it downmixes DTS and Dolby True Digital. It is also network enabled, but so will the WD TV Live.

I wouldn't count on the wdtv live on bitstreaming hd audio. It probably will have hdmi 1.3, but seems like all the media players are unable to do this for whatever reasons. Well except for the nmt players.

Does not appear to be correct. Many media players (but certainly not all) that have HDMI 1.3 do bitstream the HD audio via HDMI allowing a recent vintage AVR with HDMI inputs to decode the HD audio. What most media players do not do is internally decode the HD audio (nor output via analog connections nor as LPCM over HDMI). The new WDTV2 is widely reported to be a be able to bitstream the HD audio via HDMI.

I have an Asus and I am going to either sell it or give it away.

In the Asus, the UI is cumbersome. Too many clicks to get to the video or audio, even more when you try and access the network. No thumbnail support. Also, when playing the same video file with the asus versus the WDTV, the video is better looking with the WDTV. Asus has a problem with color saturation. Asus does have the option to adjust the brightness and contrast, but was unable to remedy the video issues using this method.

While the Asus does have some features the WDTV HD does not, it is not worth the loss of video quality.

I don't understand why the UI always has to suck on these things.
When you say cumbersome - let's say I have all my music files stored:

Music/[artist name]/[album name]/ files

All the individual music tracks have their track numbers in the file names and the id3 tags are properly named. So whether you browse by folder or browse by album tags on my PC the music is properly ordered. Would this be the case on the Asus? Would I be able to play an album & then cue up another album in the same playlist?

I don't understand why the UI always has to suck on these things.
When you say cumbersome - let's say I have all my music files stored:

Music/[artist name]/[album name]/ files

All the individual music tracks have their track numbers in the file names and the id3 tags are properly named. So whether you browse by folder or browse by album tags on my PC the music is properly ordered. Would this be the case on the Asus? Would I be able to play an album & then cue up another album in the same playlist?

I don't know about music, I don't do music on mine. What I do know is that the Asus opening screen is not bad, but it goes down from there. After that it is like trying to read a screen in old DOS 3.1. Font is small in a small window. There is no thumbnail support for cover or movie art.

Whereas the WDTV defaults to movies when you turn it on, the Asus defaults to photos. So no gain there. Asus is a bit easier to get to the media you want, but it goes downhill from there.

To me, the WD TV HD is cleaner and more simple. The UI on the Asus is not very user friendly.

For me, I wasted my money on the Asus. I am going to wait on the new WD TV Live.

I just watched a video review of the Asus:

http://www.tweaktown.com/reviews/2911/asus_o_play_hdp_r1_1080p_hd_media_player_video_review/index.html

It looks pretty good. The UI, while hardly dazzling, doesn't look too problematic.

In any case, I'll probably order it from Amazon, since they give you a 30 day return policy.

I forgot to ask - I assume it works with NTFS, not just FAT32, since iso files are over 4gb.

Does not appear to be correct. Many media players (but certainly not all) that have HDMI 1.3 do bitstream the HD audio via HDMI allowing a recent vintage AVR with HDMI inputs to decode the HD audio. What most media players do not do is internally decode the HD audio (nor output via analog connections nor as LPCM over HDMI). The new WDTV2 is widely reported to be a be able to bitstream the HD audio via HDMI.

I believe you are incorrect.

Then tell me, which players are the many that you speak of that can bitstream hd audio besides the nmt players which i have mentioned? Where is this widely reported info on wdtv2?

Besides the nmt players, i think xtreamer is the only other one. ACRyan has in its specs, but cannot.

Is the Asus O!Play better than the WD in general. I read that the WD isn't great for music because songs never appear in proper order & the interface sucks. I have 150gb of music & using the device for my library is key.

The latest firmware update for the WDTV, released last week, corrects this.
All music is now displayed and plays in the original and correct album order.

I have applied this update and it works fine, it also provides video playlists now too and also enhances a couple of other features.

I like my WDTV, it does everything I want it to.

I hear the Asus OPlay has problems of its own.

Regards,

Lt. Dang

Lt. D

re: the albums displaying in correct order , does this work in thumbnail mode also?

Lt. D

re: the albums displaying in correct order , does this work in thumbnail mode also?
Yes, for thumbnail mode the tracks still display in the original album order, with thumbnails displayed left to right across the screen.

Regards,

Lt. Dang

I can convert files to AC3 for free, and even the old WD TV can do streaming via ethernet with custom FW.

Hi, i stumbled upon this website trying to find out more info about the new wdtv player. looks like 10/10 release date from what i can tell, lots of usefull info here and i just had a couple questions. The main reason i wanted to upgrade is for the DTS downmixing feature and the ethernet is appealing as well. no real complaints about the player, but question for documaker or anyone else.

when i convert my MKV from DTS to AC3 i have sync issues, not much but noticable to my better half and it bugs the sh*t out of her, what is the best obviously free program and quickest for converting audio to AC3 that you have used?

also
and even the old WD TV can do streaming via ethernet with custom FW

what is custom FW? (firmware)? if so can you please enlighten me? thanks in advance, i hope to be a regular!

very cool. Hopefully this will be ported over to the WDTV2 also.

I believe you are incorrect.

Then tell me, which players are the many that you speak of that can bitstream hd audio besides the nmt players which i have mentioned? Where is this widely reported info on wdtv2?

Besides the nmt players, i think xtreamer is the only other one. ACRyan has in its specs, but cannot.

I was going by the specs. and online owner's manuals for a few other players, such as the Mvix Ultio and Olevia ZP-500, which list support for the HD audio formats. It may be that future firmware updates will add support to some of the players which have claimed support but which currently have issues with the HD audio. It may also be that HD audio is only supported when used within m2ts files (as used with Blu-ray).

In any case I will be surprised it the WDTV2 is not capable of bitstreaming Dolby TrueHD and DTS HD-MA via HDMI when used within m2ts files.

Hopefully your right and wdtv2 will support hd audio. I was going by the specs at first as well until kept reading users reporting otherwise.

Any word when the WDTV2 will be available?

Any word when the WDTV2 will be available?

Some reports claim it will be released within the next week but I wouldn't place a lot of confidence in those reports. However, it may very well be released by the end of this month. It's not yet on the Western Digital web site nor has there been an official release date published so it's really a gussing game at this point.

This does not explain why
http://www.amazon.ca/Western-Digital-WDTV-Media-Player/dp/B002KKFP9Y
this is still available on Amazon.ca . . .

Annnnddd . . . now that appears to have been pulled as well.

Wow, i guess wdtv2 will be out for me. I don't want to wait over a month.

Still listed on UK amazon. http://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/ASIN/B002LZUHMI/ref=ox_ya_os_product

1 to 3 months wait. Hmmm...

Just saw 3 of these on the shelf at Best Buy.

Just saw 3 of these on the shelf at Best Buy.

Pics or it didn't happen. And I think you probably saw the mini, or the original.

Pics or it didn't happen. And I think you probably saw the mini, or the original.

can u post a pic in best buy

Hello all....I'm new here.
...and I couldn't resist registering in order to post this.

I just bought the WD Live from J&R Music World through Buy.com. It is definitely available, but I'll bet that stock is limited:

http://www.buy.com/retail/product.asp?sku=211557987

http://www.jr.com/western-digital/pe/WD_BAAN0000NBK/

Happy buying everyone!

Edit: I think these sites are pulling the ads because their inventory is being bought up.

Pictures of a WD TV Live I picked up from Best Buy.

where do you live?

OK.... I'm startin' to get pi$$ed here. I'm going to go out to Best Buy tomorrow and check it out. If they have them, I am going to give Amazon a piece of my mind (what little there is left, anyway).

Did not see the WD but my Best Buy has the new Seagate HD theater unit for $139 on the shelf.

Hello all....I'm new here.
...and I couldn't resist registering in order to post this.

I just bought the WD Live from J&R Music World through Buy.com. It is definitely available, but I'll bet that stock is limited:

http://www.buy.com/retail/product.asp?sku=211557987

http://www.jr.com/western-digital/pe/WD_BAAN0000NBK/

Happy buying everyone!

Edit: I think these sites are pulling the ads because their inventory is being bought up.

Strange , neither ad copy makes any mention of the networking feature:confused:

Strange , neither ad copy makes any mention of the networking feature:confused:

But the pics of the box clearly show it says "network blah blah blah."

I think you should apologize for calling out "pics or it didn't happen." Ya know, just to not end up looking like a DB.

But the pics of the box clearly show it says "network blah blah blah."

I think you should apologize for calling out "pics or it didn't happen." Ya know, just to not end up looking like a DB.

I see no need to apologize for anything. Someone comes in here, first post, announces something. I asked for proof , he provided, end of discussion. :)
And I was talking about the website selling the item. Unless someone actually knew the product code, there's no way you could tell from the site that it's the new one with networking abilities.

where do you live?

judging by the time stamp on his photos (hopefully he set the proper time on his camera) and his post time, if he is an american he likely lives in the central time zone region. it's a pretty large swath of states, but it at least narrows it down.

i would be very interested in further unboxing images, kevin2. it'd also be great if you could run stress tests to see what that bad boy can do!

Strange , neither ad copy makes any mention of the networking feature:confused:

on jr website is old version

Did not see the WD but my Best Buy has the new Seagate HD theater unit for $139 on the shelf.

usually which section is that? I was there today but did not check.

usually which section is that? I was there today but did not check.

can you guys post best buys stock/item number for reference?

can you guys post best buys stock/item number for reference?

And some actual specifications. What did they add other than a network connection?

This sure seems like an odd way to launch a new product. Some places had it listed, then pulled it down, while others suddenly have it for sale, but only have the old product specs.
straaange.:confused:

WD TV Live spec sheet.

Thanks for the pics and specsheet. Good to see, it's already out. I wonder what chipset there using. Hope to see some reviews soon.

The store was in Sioux Falls, SD and from the receipt looks like the SKU # is 9539591.
There was only one left after I got one, so not sure how much inventory they have. Also saw the Seagate FreeAgent Theatre on the shelf beside them for the same money($139.99). They were on the shelf beside the hard drives.
Noticed they also had a couple of the Netgear Stora on the shelf too.

We'll be interested in you impressions once you get it up & running.
Thanks!

Anyone else pre-order this at Amazon? I have not been notified that it has shipped, and I pre-ordered on October 1st.

I plan to use this with an Epson projector. Will I be able to run the hdmi to the projector and run a digital audio cable through my audio receiver at the same time? Will the audio and video be in sync?

Any advice anyone could provide in this setup would be appreciated. I am planning on viewing ISO files of dvd movies ripped using dvd shrink.

What in the world happened at Amazon.com!? Recall the whole hoopla or no hoopla discussion we had on AVS??? Well all of a sudden the product just comes out and NOTHING to inform us about it. Where are our preorders from Amazon and couldn't WD at least give us a little heads up on their website or something? This was a messy way of bringing out a new product. I dont know if I feel slighted or not, but this was the wrong way to go about a release.

According to the pic the text on the box indicates it now has component connections as well as HDMI and composite.

And some actual specifications. What did they add other than a network connection?

And some actual specifications. What did they add other than a network connection?

see post #190

see post #190

I see that. Looks like still no DVD ISO menu support.

If they were to add Netflix it would kill the Roku, wonder why they did not?

Provantage also shows it in stock at the moment. A little cheaper than J&R/Buy.com, after shipping is added in...

http://www.provantage.com/western-digital-wdbaan0000nbk-nesn~7WND904R.htm

Just placed my order there for $127.53 shipped.

Anyone else pre-order this at Amazon? I have not been notified that it has shipped, and I pre-ordered on October 1st.

yup, no news, just order from jr.com direct!

anyone has got em in hand, could you do a mini review? cant wait to see it

anyone has got em in hand, could you do a mini review? cant wait to see it

did some one check their local frys

I just got one at the local BB. 139.99.
It is 2 or 3x as fast as the first model. Thumbnails build almost instantly.
More to come.

I purchased WD TV Live this morning at 10:01 EST at Best Buy in Boca Raton. $ 139.99 Plus Tax. I will not be home until about 9:00 pm or so...... Can't wait....

Local file management, copy, move, delete. I haven't gotten to the network functions yet. It is really impressive so far though.

Just glancing at the spec sheet (thanks alot for that, btw!), I'm kinda shocked that there's really not a whole lot new and additional, even with the clamoring from the community.

I wonder why that is? Is this relative lack of new and additional functionality why the product launch was such an abortion?

I purchased WD TV Live this morning at 10:01 EST at Best Buy in Boca Raton. $ 139.99 Plus Tax. I will not be home until about 9:00 pm or so...... Can't wait....

so best buy is asking $140 for it?

No DVD ISO (menu and chapter) support...
No sale.

so best buy is asking $140 for it?

$ 139.99 + tax so Yes, $ 140.00 or so.

No DVD ISO (menu and chapter) support...
No sale.

Probably still Sigma (8635) chipset ?

Streaming 1080p DD from my laptop to it now, perfect picture. I am going to try a dvd file and see if maybe that is in there but not advertised.

Just picked one up at my local Best Buy (W Simsbury, CT). $140. I'm a long time classic XBox w/XBMC user and just got an Acer AspireRevo a couple of days ago which I've been working with to get XBMC Live running on it (I started a thread up here about my experiences with that).

You all won't be happy to hear that I will be unavailable till later this evening, though, so I won't be able to report back on my initial experiences with it until then.

Thought it was supposed to retail for $120.00?

Streaming .iso dvd right now. I did not get the menu or any of the fbi warnings before it started to play, also I am not able to switch chapters in the WD menu, but the video is playing perfectly. I will try it on a different dvd when I get a chance.

Forgot to mention...they had at least one more (maybe more). They had them mixed up with the regular WDTV units (of which they had several). So there was a $99 price tag in front, which I knew wasn't going to be right. I pointed it out to them when they did a price check but, in typical Best Buy fashion, they didn't seem to care. I don't know if it's just my local Best Buy or a national issue, but they're constantly putting items behind tags which don't match up with the right model.

Thanks Ken, for the timely updates!! We're eagerly awaiting your next report.

Just glancing at the spec sheet (thanks alot for that, btw!), I'm kinda shocked that there's really not a whole lot new and additional, even with the clamoring from the community.

I wonder why that is? Is this relative lack of new and additional functionality why the product launch was such an abortion?"Relative" is the key word there. What's lacking for you may not be missed by others. For me, adding networking is huge. Also this:

It is 2 or 3x as fast as the first model. Thumbnails build almost instantly.And this:

Local file management, copy, move, delete.I personally don't care about ISO menu support, lossless audio, or any of the other bells and whistles I wouldn't expect in a cheap box like this. If you have other needs, then this box may not be for you.

I just got one at the local BB. 139.99.
It is 2 or 3x as fast as the first model. Thumbnails build almost instantly.
More to come.

So perhaps not a Sigma 8635.

ken984, I and many others would be eternally grateful if you would open the thing up and tell us what is written on the chip?

Are the menus the same? and can you confirm the DTS works on Tv's now?

Well, went to my local Best Buy and wouldn't you know; NO WD TV Live!!!!

Typical small city BS. They said it probably won't be in until late next week.

Menu system is almost identical, with all the new stuff in there its deeper. DTS is on the box now, logo imprinted on the top of the unit, and it says DTS 2.0+digital out. I do not have a DTS file here to test with though.
I will have to think about opening it up.

Streaming .iso dvd right now. I did not get the menu or any of the fbi warnings before it started to play, also I am not able to switch chapters in the WD menu, but the video is playing perfectly. I will try it on a different dvd when I get a chance.

The old box does that. From an ISO it will play the main feature, but nothing else. I want access to the menu .

The old box does that. From an ISO it will play the main feature, but nothing else. I want access to the menu .

Why?

I've been following this thread for a while since I really wanted a WD TV with network capabilities. When I saw that people already got there hands on the WD TV 2, I had to find one for myself.

I went to the Best Buy on I-35 next to Crossroads Mall in the south OKC area and they had 4 on the shelf. They were in the hard drive area. They had no price tag, and I couldn't find any of the original WD TV's. Rang up as $139.99.

Haven't messed with it yet, but I have a feeling many Best Buys have these things on the shelves right now. Odd that its not on there site or WD's website.

Why?

Uh.....maybe to play the DVD extras???

Uh.....maybe to play the DVD extras???Who says you need the menu to play the extras? It's a lot easier to copy the vobs to a new folder and play them directly from there, as I pointed out earlier in this thread...

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?p=17274792#post17274792

For me the increase in speed along with the networking is well worth it. I would like the dvd menu .iso support but its not a deal breaker.

How about auto power shutoff on ext. usb hdd?

For me the increase in speed along with the networking is well worth it. I would like the dvd menu .iso support but its not a deal breaker.

Who says you need the menu to play the extras?
I'm not going to get into an argument about this with you. I'm aware of your method and I'm aware of your thread. The DVDs I own are backed up to hard drives as ISO images because that is a quick, convenient method which allows me to easily replace a damaged disc without moving files around to their proper location. I want a media player that will access those files. Seagate and Sage and many others will do so, and I'm disappointed that the WD won't, despite many people requesting that capability.

Video_TS folder and chapter support?

DVD menus aside, can somebody put this through more standard tests to see what the limits are of the hardware? this seems to be the most common bunch of video files to use...

http://files.getdropbox.com/u/132004/Planet_Earth_From%20Pole_to_Pole_1080p_sample_16ref.mkv
http://files.getdropbox.com/u/132004/basketball%2060fps%201080p%2010000kbps.mkv

try direct connection through USB first, then streaming.

and there's a host of files in this thread:

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=1181902

I'm not going to get into an argument about this with you. I'm aware of your method and I'm aware of your thread. The DVDs I own are backed up to hard drives as ISO images because that is a quick, convenient method which allows me to easily replace a damaged disc without moving files around to their proper location. I want a media player that will access those files. Seagate and Sage and many others will do so, and I'm disappointed that the WD won't, despite many people requesting that capability.No arguments here either. Hope you enjoy whichever box meets your needs. :)

I read the Asus O!Play will do what you want. UI sux, but oh well, we all have a cross to bare.

Hmmm. So why is Best Buy the only one selling this?

Best Buy employees are ignoring the retail floor date. This happens all the time and not just at Best Buy. A store receives a shipment and the manger says put it out on the floor.

The SRP is $140.00 and Best Buys sells new stuff at SRP.

Western Digital had to recall this item and Best Buy buy did not get the word. This happened with the Sony A3000 series of RPTVs 2 years ago. Sony had already shipped from the warehouse and then found out the the bulb inside were exploding when the sets were turned on. Sony issued a recall to the distubutors and there was a 2 month delay in the retail release.

Hmmm. So why is Best Buy the only one selling this?

Best Buy, Fry's, J&R Music World, etc.

If someone else doesn't do that before tonight I will try those and see how they work. I have been testing this at work so its been tough. I need to get a few work related things done in the meantime.

DVD menus aside, can somebody put this through more standard tests to see what the limits are of the hardware? this seems to be the most common bunch of video files to use...

http://files.getdropbox.com/u/132004/Planet_Earth_From%20Pole_to_Pole_1080p_sample_16ref.mkv
http://files.getdropbox.com/u/132004/basketball%2060fps%201080p%2010000kbps.mkv

try direct connection through USB first, then streaming.

and there's a host of files in this thread:

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=1181902

I read the Asus O!Play will do what you want. UI sux, but oh well, we all have a cross to bare.

ASUS O!Play has ISO menu support and network capability so if that's your primary need, it will do fine.

Provantage also shows it in stock at the moment. A little cheaper than J&R/Buy.com, after shipping is added in...

Just placed my order there for $127.53 shipped.

Just an F.Y.I.,
if you order from Buy.com you can apply for the Visa card & get $30 off. I know not everyone likes to do that with the (ahem) credit crunch....

Also, it apparently arrived rather quickly..according to UPS its at my doorstep already. :D

ASUS O!Play has ISO menu support and network capability so if that's your primary need, it will do fine.

But it really is an UGLY little sucker in the UI department!! :eek:

Regards,

Lt. Dang

I just called 2 of the bestbuys in my area, and they couldn't find anything. They wanted a SKU, but Not having one - They looked and didn't see anything. I called the Folsom, CA and the Citrus Heights, CA stores. - Incase anyone is in the Northern California area. and wanted to know.


They might have better luck on Sunday when they empty the trucks being delivered on Saturday.

Gzerot

I really want to buy this, but how can we be sure that JR.com has the correct new model(no pic of the new model or right spec)? I'd hate to have to ship it back to them if it turns out to be the wrong model. It's a real hassle. WTF is Western Digital doing? No press release, nothing!

Model No. on the box
WDBAAN0000NBK-00

I'd really love if someone could confirm something in regards to networked setup:

When accessing files off a network share (over ethernet) does the WDTV Live have the same UI as when accessing from USB connected drives? Meaning: do you still get thumbnail support, etc.?

The ASUS O!Play's UI was terrible compared to the WDTV (first gen) so I returned it in anticipation for the WDTV Live.

I just hope I get the same UI when using it over a network... I really hate browsing folders/sub-folders/filenames... The thumbnail display gave it that much-needed WAF.

P.S. $140USD?! I get the feeling WD is going to HAMMER us Canucks...

that's the MSRP. the original WDTV had a $129 MSRP at launch...

Nobel Prize to whom who will look inside and tell us what chipset is

LOL @4public. If someone does that they need a dual award of the Nobel Prize for engineering.

Peace Prize.... What a joke!!!!!!

lol Nobel Prize for a good looking chip. No action needed :D:D

Nobel Prize to whom who will look inside and tell us what chipset is

Nobel Prize to whom who will look inside and tell us what chipset isI'm not in a position to test out the A/V qualities of this device right now (my server which serves all of my movies is busy ripping a Blu-ray right now), so I figured I'd take a closer look at how hard it would be to crack open the thing. There are no screws visible. The WDTV Live has one USB port on the back (labeled "2") and on one the side (labeled "1"). There are grilles/fins on the sides. To the right of the "1" USB port, on the very bottom open grille, there appear to be some "tabs" which I was thinking could be pushed in on in order to begin popping open the dark gray outer portion from the lighter gray larger/main center portion. With my little pocket knife's flathead screwdriver (or is it a cuticle thingy?), I tried pushing in on the tabs. No luck. Then I tried pulling at the tips of the tabs, which seemed to give a bit more, but still didn't do much good.

I've never been much good at taking things apart in such a way that I can successfully put them back together, but if anyone has any ideas, I might be willing to give it a go.

EDIT:
Here are the tabs on the side I was talking about:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/9266224@N02/3996205047/

..... I've never been much good at taking things apart in such a way that I can successfully put them back together, but if anyone has any ideas, I might be willing to give it a go.

My god man it's for Science! Show us its insides!

I suggest a couple of containers for screws, and take photos of the entire process to know what goes where... i imagine it's just going to be a main-board with all the connectors attached to it shouldn't be much fiddling to get it apart and back together... but then again I'm just an armchair engineer here...

Godspeed Srauly...

OK, I did it. Please pray for me that I can put this thing back together. I tried a new approach: I pried open a crack between the light gray and dark gray plastic, stuck my screwdriver in there, and pried it open slowly, moving along the entire length.

Once, I freed the outer gray plastic from the inner lighter gray plastic, there were four screws visible. I removed those, and the metal casing lifted right off.

Here's a photo of the inside board:
http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2526/3996227655_329867ee46_b.jpg

Note: These photos were taken with my iPhone 3GS. I have the 3rd party app Camera Zoom which allows me to do some digital zooming. I tried taking a macro shot of the Realtek chip, but the writing was too small to make out with the photo, so I'll just tell you what it says:

RTL8201EL
97V99S3
G932 TAIWAN

Hopefully I got that right. The text is *REALLY* small, and I'm getting old.