*Official* WD TV Live Streaming Media Player Thread - Page 72

 

Be sure the Windows PC with the shares is:

1. Not in HomeGroup

2. In same WorkGroup with WD SMP

3. Check your permissions on shares 

 

On SMP, do the option to Reset Network passwords.

 

Are you using WiFi or wire ... try a wire.

Thanks for the reply.

Unfortunately, I have tried pretty much all of this already.

Everything in the Hub is working fine, and the wireless connection is going strong.

I had a WDTV Live player in the system for quite a while, so all the shares are operating, and I didn't change any of it.

When I first set up the Hub everything was fine, but now when open Network Shares, then Windows Shares, I get the rotating yellow circle of doom, and no computers
show up at all. Very frustrated now.....on the verge of returning it.

Ya, it can be fun (not) troubleshooting networks ... especially on these devices not running a full OS (TVs, etc.).

 

Try rebooting the router and setting a static IP address on SMP.

 

By using a wire, you are removing a layer of complexity. Plus, yes ... it might be bad or heavily confused.

Edited by Tesla1856 - 11/6/12 at 12:16pm

I was facing this problem quite frequently with the SMP. Ever since I set a static IP on every device in my network (a PC, a laptop, a netbook and the SMP) the problem disappeared. I hope it works for you too.

Did you try restarting the computers? I had one of mine disappear. I unplugged the WDTV Live, restarted the computer, plugged the WDTV Live back in. Poof, computer was visible again.

Interesting. I thought I was the only one.

 

For some reason (a while back) my TVs, BD Players, etc. ... all stopped consistently grabbing a dynamic IP from DHCP pool. I just went ahead and set them all static and it always works now when called upon (don't use network features that often on those).

 

For me, real computers and tablets connecting by WiFi have no problems with Dynamic.

 

So, when I was at my brother's house the other day (installed new router) and the SMP refused to connect with Dynamic IP ... it was no big deal to remember to try static and it worked fine.

I tried setting a static IP for the WDTV Live Hub, but nothing else. No luck.

I went back and forth with the WD support people a couple times, and I think tonight I'm going to try rolling back the firmware, and seeing if that does anything.

I am still on the fence about whether to keep it or not. I almost bought the Sony but I liked the HD option, so that's why I'm still trying....that and I hate it when technology
gets the better of me

Exactly. It's a challenge. Who doesn't like a good puzzle.

 

As I've been thinking out your problem, I remembered something from long ago. One time (well, one of many over the years in different PCs) I had a ethernet NIC in a PC go bad ... it only communicated in one direction.

Wow now I really feel like a dummy.

I tried downgrading the firmware according to the directions provided to me on the WD site, and that won't even work. I can get the USB drive to be recognized, I say "cancel" when it asks to sync, then I wait....and wait....and wait for the "New Firmware" box to show up so I can click on it.

Oh well, getting too late to do any more about it tonight.

Hi

Some people here said this player wont play level 4.1 with 12 ref frames because standards for level 4.1 1920x1080 was 4 ref frames, but i just finished watching a level 4.1 12 ref frames 1280x544 mkv file without any problems, smooth...

so why say it can`t??

WD TV Live gets over-the-air tuner and DVR support

Here’s another sign that live, over-the-air broadcast TV is heating up: The WD TV Live line of devices just got support for over-the-air tuners, enabling users to watch free HD TV and even record shows with a basic DVR feature. Check out our first look.

The WD TV Live player and the WD TV Live Hub can now be used to watch and record live broadcast television, thanks to added support for Hauppauge over-the-air tuners. Here’s a quick first look at the new feature (video):

http://gigaom.com/video/cord-cutters-wd-tv-live-ota-dvr/

Not bad for starters. This is what Boxee should've done with their new Boxee TV... record to local storage, not the friggin' cloud . What doesn't look so good with WD's solution is sluggish performance and no EPG at all. There are rumors that WD will announce a new streamer at CES in January, so I'm hoping we see a box with live TV and DVR integrated, with EPG, a must.

Unless the WD implements a TiVo-like skip forward and skip back I would not find the DVR functionality particularly useful.

Uh, because 12 reframes is allowed for resolution that small.

The max for 1920x1080 is 4, as you said. The max increases as resolution decreases.

im going to make several tests, with 14 ref frames and 1280x544 or 12 ref frames and 1280x720

and i have a level 5.1 file that played fine as far as i can tell, at least for the first 5 minutes but i need to watch it all to be sure

Also because a firmware bug would not allow more than 4 reframes. Can't remember when they fixed this.

what??

U mean it wont play files with more than 4 ref frames giving an error or black screen??

Because i tested a level 5.1 file 1280x536 with 8 ref frames and it played fine for 5 minutes at least, im going to test the full sequence and tell u later, but at least it opens the file and dont give any error...

12 ref frames + 1280x544 played very well, no stops, no jerky playback and i must tell, awesome picture quality

ofc im playing the files through usb external HDD 3.5 1TB 7200 rpm , and connected to the front usb port...

btw, im with the last firmware available...

xoninhas12: You're missing the whole point because you don't understand what standards mean.

The ONLY upper limit for ReFrames is what is defined in the AVC standard. The only "absolute" maximum is 16; meaning there's no such thing as compliant AVC stream that has more than 16 reframes.

But it has to be fairly low resolution video to have 16 reframes in the 4.1 profile.

ReFrames can INCREASE as the resolution DECREASES.

The formula (for L4.x) is (very simplified):

32,768

---

(H X W) / 256

So for 1920x1080:

1920x1080/256 = 8100

32768/8100 = 4

... thus 4 Reframes MAX. Yes, it is possible to create a stream that has MORE than that, but doing so would make the video NON-AVC COMPLIANT -- It is BY DEFINITION a flawed encode. Illegal. Invalid. Non-Standard. There is *NO* good reason to *EVER* encode a video in any manner that makes it non-standard.

For your 1280x544 file:

1280x544/256 = 2720

32768 / 2720 = 12

... thus 12 ReFrames MAX.

Your video has 12, thus it is completely standard (at least, as far as ReFrames are concerned) and had BETTER be playable on the WDTV as it is still AVC compliant.

A player that claims to be compatible with the 4.1 profile need only support 4 reframes at 1920x1080. Some players will still be able to decode MORE (because they have enough GPU memory to store more frames in the decode buffer) but they are NOT REQUIRED to do so, and are certainly NEVER guaranteed to ALWAYS do so.

A 4.1-compatible player that fails to play back 1920x1080 @ 5 Reframes is NOT BROKEN or BUGGY.

Also, MANY players will often play non-supported profiles (like 5.1). But such capabilities are never guaranteed and may not play *ALL* videos similarly encoded, and it may only be able to play them because some OTHER aspect of the encoding renders them playable (such as UNDER-Reframing, etc.)

Hello, all. I've decided to embark on a mission to digitize all my DVDs (400+) and a handful of Blu-Rays. I've been reading up on a number of
different media players, narrowing them down to ones that have the features I want. It seems that no matter the brand or the price range, all have
bugs or shortcomings of some sort.

I've had a WD TV Live SMP for a few months, and overall am very happy with it's capabilities. The one thing I'm not happy with, and the reason for
my post, is the (relatively) slow response when paging through my media library (I'm using the WDs "My Library" feature with cover art and movie info). My library currently is
only about 60 movies, and I attribute the slowness at least partly to accessing the library across a wireless connection from my NAS. I've had no
problems playing DVD ISOs, MKVs ripped from BDs, or BD .ISOs, however.

I plan to use a 3GB external drive attached to the WD SMP for all movies going forward. Anyone who has a large library on an external drive, how do
you find the resonsiveness of the WD when paging through your library? Is it satisfyingly quick, or do you find it too slow?

Also, do you think the WD SMP will ever support full menus on a BD .ISO rip, maybe by a firmware update?

Thanks for any input.
Jack

No, most (likely all actually) streamers will only support BD lite menus due to Cinavia copy protection and BD licensing mandates.

Is Popcorn Hour referring to BD Lite menus where it says "Simple BD navigation" ? That's in the Specifications section; in Features, they say "interactive menu support" for BD ISO. (Popcorn Hour A-300)

What are "BD Lite" menus anyway? How are they different from the full menu you get on a typical Blu-Ray player? And might WD add support for them?

Thanks,
Jack

Yes, and what it means is simply a pop-up menu that lets you select the playlist (if ISO) and audio/subtitles/chapters (ISO, MKV). You won't get the original, interactive, fancy menus on the disc. Re: WD TV, I don't know if/when they might implement BD lite.

Thanks, Brajesh!

Jack

I was thinking about getting my father inlaw this as he can then access vudu and have the optical audio out put too. But does this have a hard drive ti download movies from vudu?
This might be a vudu question but if I download a movie onto a hard drive from vudu can I disconnect from the Internet and move it to another room and watch the movie?

^^ I don't know anything about vudu and how it works (download or streaming) but the Live-SMP doesn't have a HDD built-in although you can connect one via one of its two USP ports.

The only WD device that you can download VUDU movies to is the Live Hub, it has a built-in 1TB hard drive.........You cannot download them to an external hard drive at this time...Hopefully that will change when Ultraviolet's CFF file format is deployed(Common File Format).....

Heya guys, its been a while since I posted. Has anyone checked this new beauty from WD out yet? Havent seen any threads at AVS concerning it, but it seems like a hell of a nice little piece of equipment. The First url is for the router/streaming box with 7 gigabit ethernet ports and 2 usb ports, one being a usb 3 from the backside view...... The Second URL is the same device with only 5 gigabit ports, BUT with a place to put your own, or buy the package including an internal HDD.... and the fast track software seems interesting........

http://store.westerndigital.com/store/wdus/en_US/pd/ThemeID.21986300/productID.252111500/parid.56796900/catid.59263400/categoryID.59263800

http://store.westerndigital.com/store/wdus/en_US/pd/ThemeID.21986300/productID.252316700/parid.56796900/catid.59263400/categoryID.59263900

If it works as specified, it would be sweet. Was just wondering if anyone had checked these out yet....

Bill

I lost the remote for my Live, and will order a replacement. Do all the buttons on the larger newer remote work with the Live, or would it just be wasted money to buy the more expensive one?

I doubt ALL the buttons will work -- because the older WD's don't understand the new buttons (Colors, numbers, etc) but the "equivalent" buttons still work just fine.

Pinky58: Head over to the WD Community and read up on those routers. Looks like they are as buggy as you-know-what.

I very nearly got a WD Tv Live SMP today, the one with no HDD inside. However the darned salesman kept pedalling the ACRYAN Playon!HD Mini 2. I did not have enough time to try it out properly.

Have any fellow forumers here tried the ACRyan set and felt it was better? The advantages I was told is that it can support BD-ISO and also DTS-HD Master Audio. I'm not sure if the DTS HD MA is widely used and whether it will make a difference with my Yamaha soundbar.

I would avoid the ACRyan if the GUI is slow/not user friendly though. Ease of use is quite important in delivering a nice experience.

Thanks for your views