*Official* WD TV Live Streaming Media Player Thread - Page 65

OK I googled and got this info which says (In the WDTV settings, set the Audio output to be 'Digital' rather than 'Stereo' and all raw audio will be output via the Optical cable for your AVR to decode) in my case it would be the wireless decoder supporting Dolby Digital, Prologic IIx decoders.

WDFan1970, would appreciate if you could explain the aspect ratio thing you mentioned.

Regards,
Jeet.

The WD Live has a setting for the aspect ratio of your display (4:3 or 16:9). All streamed content is displayed in it's original aspect ratio. For some file types you can use the WD controls to zoom the picture. Other than that you will have to use the format controls on your TV if you want to, say, expand a 4:3 source to fill a 16:9 screen.

You set the UNIT to be attached to either a Widescreen or "Standard" (4:3) TV, which, like a DVD player, will tell the WDTV whether to letterbox or full-screen 16:9 videos.

That's the only setting available.

You cannot change the aspect ratio of the videos you're playing.

$150 a drop is about right. Be sure it's CAT-6. Better to run 2 cables to main rooms (home theater, office, etc.). Install NAS at gigabit switch location.

 

Inside: If no attic, use plumbing and HVAC ducts to snake around house and floors.

 

Outside: Last resort but works. Run it outside (under eaves) like old way for cable and telephone.

Thanks for the help!!

Any idea whats the RPM for the 1TB HDD??

Regards,
Jeet.

Sorry? This unit doesn't have an HDD.

I see the WD Live WDBHG70000NBK-HESN on sale at Amazon for $89 w/free shipping.
The Dune is over $300... yikes.

The WD price is certainly nice, but.... only 40% gave 5-stars, and a blistering 108 out of 505 only gave it 1~2 stars.
This is a 20% I-Am-Seriously-Unhappy ratio.

A couple of questions:

• Is this the current Gen-3 hardware?
• Is the AVS audience here experiencing this kind of fallout from WD Live

My intended use is playing .ISO from NAS to current Samsung 46".
Also curious if WD Live upscales as well as my $39 Sony DVD player..

Like any media player, it depends on what content you want to use it for. If you are one of those who gets bent out of shape because a sub-$100 player won't do BD menus, or won't bitstream DTS-HD, or won't play every kind of script-kiddie encoding you can download off the net like a $330 Dune will, then the $90 WD Live players are not for you.

I have been using WD Live players since the early days of the Live+. I play only 3 types of media; nothing downloaded from the net; I use both Live+ and Live-SMP players; they play my media flawlessly, streaming from a couple NAS units and a media-PC.

DVD.iso -- Full disk rips of commercial disks; main title or episode rips; DVD.iso that I author using Video ReDo or DVD Shrink. The menu structures play flawlessly as if the disk were in a player. Content playback is also flawless with good FF & RW response and chapter skip. 1080p up-conversion is actually pretty good and on par with the scaler in my 50" plasma -- definitely better than the DVD upscaling of my BD-75 BD player. Of course, not as good as my Oppo, but what is.

HDTV.m2ts -- OTA HDTV captures from both my TiVo and HD Homerun. I edit the commercials with VRD and save as HDTV.m2ts files to network storage. Flawless WD Live playback.

BD.m2ts -- I rip all BD titles to native BD.m2ts files in their full bitrate. Flawless WD Live playback of them all including my highest bitrate titles (Season of the Witch, 41.5Mbps; Super-8, 42.7Mbps).

I'm sure there are file types which give the WD Live problems. I would not be surprised if it has trouble with MKV -- seems like just about every player has a problem with at least some MKV files depending on what software and options were used to create them -- often unknown when downloaded from the net. I never bother with MKV.

If you are playing mainstream content over a wired network, I believe the $100 WD Live series players will work well. If you want extra capabilities, compatibility with anything you can download off the net and are unwilling to compromise on features, you will need to spend a lot more money for one of the higher end players.

Final Opinion: I believe Windows-7 has destroyed the simplicity of file sharing (with non Win-7 devices) that we had come to enjoy under Win-XP. I think Win-7 shares are responsible for an incredible number of streaming problems that get unjustly blamed on the media players.

Seriously. GOOD JOB actually doing homework!! Most people don't take the time.

Any long-term WD user will read those lower rankings and see that the majority are dislikes of specific functions (Don't like the UI, doesn't have a RF remote, etc) which are fair opinions, but a TON of the negatives are from people who have absolutely NO CLUE what they're talking about, or for issues (real) that have been fixed.

Examples:
1) I have read on the user forums that these devices use networking components that are quite sensitive to heat.
Horsecrap.

2) netflix never seems to work on this device and is constantly making me re-enter my credentials (known issue on the forums).
Fixed a LONG time ago.

3) The WD TV only reads VOBs & can't handle the IFO files (chapter, menu, etc.) that go with them!
Clueless user. DVD IFO support is probably the BEST-supported and least-troublesome aspect of this box.


But for someone like yourself that doesn't have first-hand knowledge, you'll have to sort the wheat from the chaff, and ask questions on forums where people are knowledgeable such as here or at the WD Community.

So, my suggestion is to sift through the reviews, jot down the things that concern you, then ask a bunch of questions on people's experiences with those issues.

Guys I am about to buy this thing for my new Mitsu 73" DLP that I ordered. I a;so posted in the "hub thread"

Anyway, my issue is that I want to be able to connect a large 2tb+ external hard drive to this. Now these drives usually have an on/of switch. Will the WDTV Live automatically turn off the Hard drive when it's turned off? It would stink to have to physically turn the hard drive switch off and on whenever I am ready to watch TV...

Also, which is the latest version? LIVE, or LIVE PLUS? I thought the Live Plus is after LIVE, but it seems I may be wrong?

My WD TV Live (latest version) automatically turns my USB drive on and off. It's a Vantec Nexstar 3 SATA enclosure, and I've tested with WD 250 GB and Samsung 500 GB drives, all purchased several years ago. I just leave the power switch in the "on" position and the WD TV Live does the rest. I would hope things haven't gotten worse with more recent equipment.

While my SATA enclosure works well with the WDTV, my Vantec PATA enclosure of similar vintage did not automatically power on/off when I tried it. So much for putting an old PATA drive to good use.

Thanks.

So is LIVE the most recent? Or LIVE PLUS?

The WDTV Live Streaming.

WDTV Live HD -- 2009.
WDTV Live Plus -- Summer 2010.
WDTV Live Hub -- Fall 2010
WDTV Live Streaming Media Player -- 2011.

The model on the WD site for NTSC Northern America is WDBHG70000NBK-HESN.
Amazon has this up for sale at $89 with free shipping (US).

Kelson, many thanks for the tips.
I am amused by the "script kiddie" note... since I'm a heavy scripter as an admin in the VMware/Windows datacenter world.

The very last thing I want to do is hack my media player.

Server 2008/R2 is the datacenter equivalent of Win7, with all its attendant issues.
And Win8 / Server 2012 will be worse.

I've seen much commentary about MKV compatibility, yet it remains a very popular container.
I'm not yet educated to the point where I understand this.

I saw an earlier post where you favored Clown_BD, so I will have to check that out.
One should always learn from those who have already Been There, Done That.

Because it works when muxed properly, even on the WDTVs.

I'm sorry for the confusion! I was referring to WD TV Live Hub.

Regards,
Jeet.

Just ordered this, I'm excited.

So which 2tb hard drive should I get that will work well with this unit?
Also, I can daisy chain them as I expand, correct?

I guessing it's still "main movie only" ... right?

 

Would you mind explaining your BD workflow (software and procedures)?

Yes, main title with HD audio and english subtitles.
For my workflow, see here and here

Hey guys, i just got this device, and so far so good. It plays my MKV files fine so far and does everything i want it to do, so far. A very little bit slow, but nothing to cry over. I have 1 problem and a few questions.

Right now i am having one issue. I have connected my 500gb harddrive to it full of movies, and it finds all the movies. Only problem i am having is that some of the movies show the pics and info regarding the movie that the WD live downloaded on its own, and some dont. THe only difference i see between the ones that were downloaded and the ones that weren't is that the file(s) are named for example "Titanic.avi" instead of just "Titanic" So on the screen it actually shows "Titanic.avi"as the movie name instead of just "Titanic". To me it makes sense that i didnt download the info because there is no movie called "Titanic.avi". So i went and connected my harddrive to my computer and the file name is "Titanic" and not "Titanic.avi". I renamed the file anyways on the computer than reconnected it, and it still happens. This is happneing for about half of the movies. They play fine, its just the clipart or whatever and movie info doesnt download, which i would like it. Can anyone help with this?? I would really appreciate it.

Now i just have 2 questions. Is there any issue connecting a 3TB harddrive to it? Probably a dumb question, but thought i would ask as that is what i am planning on getting.

Lastly, i was originally thinking of getting an HTPC but then found this for alot cheaper. With the HTPC, you have to have a motherboard, 4gb of ram, a good video card or good built in video etc to make it work good. How does such a small device that doesnt have (at least i dont think) a proper processor, video card etc play the files fine (so far)?

Any help is apprecaited.

Thanks.

I can't answer your question directly because I haven't played with 3TB drives yet -- but would say yes. The WD Live understands GUID partition tables which are the type of partition you have to use with Windows 7 for drives over 2TB with a single volume. I had a 2 drive USB external enclosure with a pair of 2TB drives in it formatted as a 4TB GUID volume. It worked just fine plugged into my WD Live.
It has a Sigma Designs SoC chipset designed for the single task of media playback. That's all this was designed for. A HTPC is a full PC that can do everything else and costs accordingly.

Thanks for your reply. What you said makes sense then. Heck, aas long as it plays the video files properly and does DD and DTS, i am a happy camper. For $100, cant really go wrong. Now if i can only get all the clipart or whatever to show up for my movies.

Any help on that?

Hi had my WDTV Live showing up on the iMac when I was running Lion.

It has since disappeared after installing Mountain Lion. The WDTV Live is on the same network and can connect the internet.
It is connected wirelessly using a netgear WNCE-2001 wireless adaptor.

Nothing in the configuration has changed except for the upgrade to 10.8.

Anyone else have this issue?

Most people. Apple keeps @&!^!-ing with the SMB stack because "Apple knows better" than you.

LOL, They always do!

Can anyone help with this?

Did you try asking in the WD TV forum? It's been a long time since I had the WD TV Live hub, essentially the same but with a hard drive, but I think the naming convention was movie (year). Don't hold me to it though as the memory isn't as sharp as it used to be. Maybe Titanic isn't specific enough, Titanic (1997) narrows it down the more recent movie and not the dozen iterations made before it.

Did you redo manually with Get Content Info? Or you can use HubFlow and just edit the metadata

Sorry, i dont understand what you are saying. All i did was put themovies on th harddrive and connect it. Some movies had their names end in .avi, so i went on my computer and renamed them. And it still happened.