Western Digital - WD TV Live Media Player (WDTV2)

[jadehawk007]

Hi, has anyone try network WD TV Live to Windows 7 workstation for media steaming?
I have tried Seagate FreeAgent Theater + with Windows 7 and always get logon failure. Same problem goes with the Asus O!Play HDP-R1.

[daryoon]

Originally Posted by jadehawk007

Hi, has anyone try network WD TV Live to Windows 7 workstation for media steaming?
I have tried Seagate FreeAgent Theater + with Windows 7 and always get logon failure. Same problem goes with the Asus O!Play HDP-R1.

I can run movie files shared by my Windows7 just fine. Didn't do anything special to get WDTV Live to see the Win7 shares. So I am not certain why people are having issue with this setup.

[cross2010]

I have my HTPC next to my TV. Any way I can hook the WDTV Live directly to my HTPC to get content? It will be a pain to stream via my router which is wayyy upstairs and the home theatre is in the basement. Appreciate any help.

[csgamer]

Originally Posted by akakillroy

Typically only "portable" USB powered drives will work, that is those drive that can already run powered only by the UCB port. 3.5" External USB drives are not powered by the UBS and thus will not work "powered" by the USB port anyhow.

So do you think that the listed specs is wrong then? I was gonna get this if usb powered, but don't want to if specs are wrong.

[saiga6360]

If it is a big drive and comes with a power brick or adapter, it is not USB powered.

Look for pocket, or mini drives.

[csgamer]

Originally Posted by saiga6360

If it is a big drive and comes with a power brick or adapter, it is not USB powered.

Look for pocket, or mini drives.

This is the specs for the new 3.5" WD elements external drive.

Key Features

WD quality inside and out - Designed with the same commitment to quality that made WD external drives the number one drives in the world.

Plug-and-play simplicity - Just plug it into a USB port and you?re up and running instantly.

USB powered - These drives require no power adapter; they are powered directly through the USB cable.*

Compact design - Weighing in at only a few ounces, these small drives fit easily into a pocket or purse.

Preformatted for PCs - Designed for use with Windows-based computers. Can be easily reformatted for use with Macs.

* An optional cable is available for the few computers that limit power from the USB port.


Package Contents

* USB 2.0 portable hard drive
* USB cable
* Quick Install Guide


No mention of AC adapter in box.

[DarinHTPC]

When playing DVD rips that consist of multiple VOB files the screen goes blank for a second and an audio format message appears when the next VOB file loads. I was really hoping the WDTV Live would play the VIDEO_TS.IFO file. That’s how I have my HTPC configured. I execute the VIDEO_TS.IFO and Power DVD plays the movie seamlessly. I’ve also run into some other idiosyncrasies. When I play a DVD rip from local storage (usb drive) I go to the folder and press play on the folder which plays all of the VOB files. But … from a network share when I do the same thing, the WDTV Live only launches my thumbnail image which are all named folder.jpg. The unit has also has dropped off the network several times and I wasn’t able to connect to any shares. I would have to go back to network settings press check connection and then it jumps back on. The unit has also shut it self down a few times when attempting to play media from network shares and has done so when configuring wireless connection setting. This could be my wireless router or the Linksys WUSB600N Wireless-N USB 2.0 Adapter or both.

[seymouru]

Originally Posted by crimpshrine

I was honestly hoping I had a bad unit. I will probably try and exchange this tonight just to make sure. I really like it so far, and if it's hackable I will really love it.

From the wdtvlive blog linked above:

Scott: It’s interesting to hear how people are using the WD TV HD player. Now that the new product is out it will be exciting to see new ideas for WD TV Live. I’ve seen the WD TV product used in many different ways… from digital signage, to art gallery displays, to installation in cars and RV’s. The modding community has also had fun with it. I expect we will feature some of these ideas on our new WDTVLive.com site in the future!

[GuyWD]

Originally Posted by csgamer

This is the specs for the new 3.5" WD elements external drive.

Key Features

WD quality inside and out - Designed with the same commitment to quality that made WD external drives the number one drives in the world.

Plug-and-play simplicity - Just plug it into a USB port and you?re up and running instantly.

USB powered - These drives require no power adapter; they are powered directly through the USB cable.*

Compact design - Weighing in at only a few ounces, these small drives fit easily into a pocket or purse.

Preformatted for PCs - Designed for use with Windows-based computers. Can be easily reformatted for use with Macs.

* An optional cable is available for the few computers that limit power from the USB port.


Package Contents

* USB 2.0 portable hard drive
* USB cable
* Quick Install Guide


No mention of AC adapter in box.

I'm sorry, but this is a mistake. That drive does require an AC adapter, as do all other 3.5" external drives. It should be corrected soon.

[csgamer]

Thanks for the response, I appreciate it.

[diamonddnice]

Originally Posted by falconman515

I have 100gb of music and when i point to the folder it takes about 10-15 seconds of thinking before the list will pop up!

wow, 10 - 15 seconds is quite a long time. Does it do that when you change select an album too? Man that stinks. So i guess this isn't going to be too good for browsing music huh and i may have to wait for something else?

[Goba]

GuyWD... can you answer this please?

Originally Posted by Goba

Hi Scottwd!

Thx for you feedback here but I think is nice for you to answer a few questions that people posted here too... not only just comercial stuff.

Will the WD TV 1 be supported in a near future? Will we have DVD menus in wd tv 1 and live? When the devs are going to fix the 1080p 24Hz for 23,976fps movies? Is the subtitle options going to be improved ( sync on the fly, colours, tags, etc)?
Thank you!

[sprtfan]

I have a dma2100 extender that I use to watch Live TV that is controled by my HTPC. Will I be able to watch Live TV with this or any of the new extenders coming out? I have a TV located where I do not have a hook up for a cable box but have a wired internet connection there. Thanks

[GuyWD]

Originally Posted by Goba

GuyWD... can you answer this please?

I'm sorry, but I cannot comment on future releases or updates.

[Sarcoptic]

GuyWD what about fixing bitstreaming of DTSMA?

[Goba]

Originally Posted by GuyWD

I'm sorry, but I cannot comment on future releases or updates.

OK... thank you!

[diamonddnice]

Originally Posted by cerps

Can falconman515 or anyone else clarify for me if you can play normal mp3's on this or do you need to do some sort of conversion? I thought I read somewhere that it comes with software to convert audio files so they play on it.

i think the spec say it plays mp3s. i can't see how it wouldn't w/o conversion. seems really basic. i asked the orginal question cause i'd like to, in addition to video, use it as an audio jukebox. It just seems that that would be a very slow and laggy audio jukebox which would be very frustrating. My 360 does that already. You pick a genre then you can go use the bathroom before the menus come up.

[Brajesh]

GuyWD what about fixing bitstreaming of DTSMA?

If this is planned, I'm buying the WDTV Live today.

[tkpbrowns]

Does the WDTV Live support attaching a USB hub so we can have more USB ports?

[Chadillac]

Originally Posted by tkpbrowns

Does the WDTV Live support attaching a USB hub so we can have more USB ports?

I tried with both of my 7-port usb hubs and could not get them to work directly with the Live player. So, now I have all of my external drives hooked up to my computer through a 7-port usb hub. I shared them, and can access everything with the Live player via the network.

[leoleu]

Originally Posted by Goba

Where did you heard that? can you post a link to a respectful source? Otherwise that is just vaporsoftware!

I have the information from product manager from our local WD company. I have a good experience with his information in past and I still trust him

[wagabond]

Originally Posted by johnagr

WD: So, there seems to be a good buzz about the WD TV Live HD Media Player. Why do you think that is?

Scott: What’s cool about the WD TV Live HD media player is that we took what was good about the WD TV product and built on it. However, what we heard from the community is that we couldn’t simply put an Ethernet port on it and call it a day… it had to be much more. The new product needed more horsepower, a snappier UI, support for DTS & HD audio, more reframes, HDMI 1.3, bitstreaming, a way to enable online services like YouTube, Flickr, and Pandora, DLNA/UPnP compatibility and the list goes on.

I think that HD audio will be going supported

source: http://wdtvlive.com/blog/

Looks promising. But current player spec does not list HD Audio .

[falconman515]

Originally Posted by cerps

Can falconman515 or anyone else clarify for me if you can play normal mp3's on this or do you need to do some sort of conversion? I thought I read somewhere that it comes with software to convert audio files so they play on it.

No conversion needed ... it will play your whole library of mp3's no problem!!!

[dmeader]

Originally Posted by GuyWD

I'm sorry, but I cannot comment on future releases or updates.

Well, I'm afraid that non-answer was the last straw.

I'm not willing to drop more money on a product with the risk that it might SOMEDAY meet my needs, nor wait around for updates on an existing product that may or may not come. I'm also not going to be a beta tester anymore since none of my feedback upstream is met by anything other than "I cannot comment" coming back down.

So long WD. My existing player goes to the kids room, and I've just ordered another product that has the functionality I want.

[falconman515]

Originally Posted by diamonddnice

wow, 10 - 15 seconds is quite a long time. Does it do that when you change select an album too? Man that stinks. So i guess this isn't going to be too good for browsing music huh and i may have to wait for something else?

Its about 15 seconds when you first load up your mp3 library ... the player needs time to load your complete mp3 library to view and that will always take a few seconds on any player... but once you have loaded your library navigating within your library is very fast from folder to folder and song to song!

You gotta realize its fast but if you are sporting a few gigs of music the box needs a few seconds to gather all that info so It can navigate for your quickly!

Plays mp3 libraries perfect!

[Goba]

I believe that WD should publish a firmware roadmap like Xtreamer did!

That way people could know what to expect from this player and have a base of knowledge to make the decision to buy or not this device...

Its not that hard... you sure have plans in WD labs... could be something like that:

DVD menus: yes or no?
BR menus: yes or no?
More subtitle support: yes or no?
.
.
.
Etc...

[Nathan_Explosion]

Originally Posted by GuyWD

I'm sorry, but I cannot comment on future releases or updates.

Not the smartest answer. Many people are waiting on DVD-menu support. As soon as they know it's coming they will buy the WDTVLive. I ain't buying it if that support doesnt come.

[msmlynarc]

I just got my WDTV live today that was shipped from best buy. I have been very impressed with alot of the upgrades to the player, however ive noticed that the upscaling on the wdtv2 is not as good as the original. Maybe I am just nitpicking but i was wondering if anyone else noticed this because it is slightly annoying. The player is hooked up to a 42in 1080p LCD via HDMI. For some reason SD simpsons episodes look worse, less vibrant and there is a lack of "visual gloss" which looking back at, the original wdtv had. 720p and 1080p MKV files also look much granier, and again less vibrant and glossy. My brother and a friend even commented on this without even knowing playback was through the new wdtv live. It doesnt have anything to do with my tv brightness/contrast settings either because i havent changed anything from wdtv1 to wdtv2. Just curious if anyone else noticed anything similar.

[tkpbrowns]

Originally Posted by Chadillac

I tried with both of my 7-port usb hubs and could not get them to work directly with the Live player. So, now I have all of my external drives hooked up to my computer through a 7-port usb hub. I shared them, and can access everything with the Live player via the network.

The only problem for me is all of my videos are my bluray movies rippped to MKV with MAKEMKV and are 20-30GB each. My router is on the other side of the house and streaming over wireless is unwatchable (at least with my PS3 and WDTV HD 1). I have even tried powerline adapters and it still had lots of hesitation. I have two 2TB external drives and three 1TB external drives. I would to be able to hook up more than 2 at once although not a deal breaker. I have considered one of the new Netgear multimedia over coax but I haven't been able to justify another $200 to do so.

[wagabond]

Originally Posted by Nathan_Explosion

Not the smartest answer. Many people are waiting on DVD-menu support. As soon as they know it's coming they will buy the WDTVLive. I ain't buying it if that support doesnt come.

I don't understand why people are hostile to the WD guys who happen to be in these forums and work within the limited mandate they might have been given.

If WD does not want to reveal the cards right now , you just wait and watch.