*Official* WD TV Live Streaming Media Player Thread - Page 29

In general, HDMI version numbers for sources are irrelevant and meaningless, and after a few days, manufactures can't say anyway.

The ethernet interface is 10/100.

Why do so many of the online review sites that have done reviews on the SMP list it as having GbE capability? I have read at least 3 that mention this. Do they just go by what is on the box? This seems confusing and deceptive, whether it affects streaming or not.

My SMP is arriving today, yay! I hope.. Haha

My avi's have audio if I play them through a media server or directly through the usb port from an external HDD. However, I am not able to get audio on any of my avi files through windows network shares (samba). I am connecting via wifi, but that will change as soon as my monoprice cables arrive. My drill is charging as I type. Do you think wiring the network will fix the avi audio issue? Other file types play normally, such as wmv, mpg, and even mkv. I am using the newest firmware, and I am getting the same result on both of my SMP's.

I have an Onkyo HTS3300 and I'm using the receiver to decode. The device is connected to it with an HDMI cable. I can't set up a wired connection since the modem is across the house in another room.

hello all,

i transfered all my VCDs to a hard drive using a video converter from VCD to AVI. when i tried to play a film from the hard drive i get audio only no video. MPEG pops on the screen not avi. what did i do wrong? i got video on the computer but not on the tv.

As a test, play from (high-performance) USB device connected to SMP.

From my understanding, player #1 can access the movies from a USB attached hard drive from player #2. I have two players that are connected to the network (one wired and one wireless). Both players have unique device names (WDTVLive and WDTVLiveG).

I can control both units using the WD TV Remote app on the Iphone. Thus the devices are seen on the network. WDTVLive has a USB hard drive. On WDTVLiveG, I can't access the contents from WDTVLive. For the source, I selected Network Share and then Samba. But it does not find anything.

On WDTVLive, the network share server is set to On. I can access its content from a desktop PC using the WDLink tool. But I can't access it from WDTVLiveG. Am I doing something wrong or this is a bug in the latest firmware release?

Try using Linux Shares and see if that doesn't recognize your other player by IP address.

I don't use this functionality, but while you are waiting for someone who does to post, maybe this will help ...

On WDTVLive, you have network share server is set to On, which is correct.

On the WDTVLiveG, I think you would look for the other one by searching for a "Media Server" (not a shared folder).

If it finds it, but no files are listed ... try building a small Media Library on WDTVLive as a test (so it has something to serve-up).

They see each other through windows network shares but not through media servers. Hope that helps.

You didn't do anything wrong. The same happens to me when I attempt to play avi. It must be a firmware issue. I bet those same avi's will play with audio through a media server or directly from a drive connected to the usb port. It's a windows network shares (samba) issue. I wish they would correct it.

Doubtful cause AVIs work for me just fine from USB and over SMB.

Are you wired? I find it hard to believe both my SMP's are broken.

I agree with Techflaws. AVIs work fine for me and I'm sure many others. The SMP would otherwise be pretty useless for LAN file playback.

AVI is just a container. Look inside with MediaInfo and examine codecs and how it was encoded.

I have dozens of avi's, and not one of them plays the audio. The audio cuts out after about two seconds at the most. Through media server or USB, they play perfectly. The codecs to play the files are in place. It's something to do with samba and/or wifi.

So, if they work from local USB storage, that means the SMP (codecs, etc.) are good. Also means the amp is ok and it can decode the digital audio (or just play the PCM audio). That really just leaves the network.

Hook up a wire (even if just temp.). Whether it works or not, you will be closer to solving the problem.

I will be wired hopefully by tomorrow afternoon. I don't think there is anything wrong with my network. Every other type of file, even 1080P .MKV, will play over wifi. As I said before, I can stream .avi's from my laptop or my router using a media server (DLNA), and they play perfectly. It's only when I attempt to play .avi's through windows network shares (SAMBA) that the audio doesn't work. I want someone who isn't wired, who is totally wireless, like me (for now), to respond. Does .avi audio work for you OVER WIFI USING WINDOWS NETWORK SHARES (SAMBA)? I still think it's firmware. The firmware update screwed something up. .avi audio over wifi was working before the update.

There is a poster here who is almost certainly on the WD payroll. Go to the WD community forum, and you will quickly realize who he is. All he does in every thread over there and over here is blame unwanted behaviors from the device on user or network errors. It couldn't possibly be a firmware issue or some other problem with the unit because he's never had one single issue. Yeah right.

I guess, you're refering to me with that slander of yours, not that I'd care. Really.

Also, beta testers do NOT get paid. They get the hardware for free, yes, but the time I invest testing the (few) units, is worth more and I'd be better off paying for a unit instead. The reason I'm doing this, is that I want to have a device that fits my needs and so far the LIVE is pretty close albeit still far from perfect.

That being said, as it turns out so far most people bitching about network issues simply have crappy (downloaded) files or misconfigured their network in some way. And yes, I really think a lot of those don't know the first thing about networking, especially when it comes to the different ways Win7 is doing it (homegroup vs workgroup etc). Of course it's always easy to blame something else, like the LIVE.

The only problem with this is that there are too many people that do not have these issues. Do you really wanna suggest all of these are lying (or on WD's payroll)? Feel free to make a fool out of yourself. I mean, you spent all this time bitching here but never once it occured to you to give info about your AVIs with Mediainfo, despite being asked.

So let me spell that out for you: my AVIs (xvid/mp3 and xvid/AC3) work fine for me from USB and over wired Samba shares but not media servers (they don't work for me at all). They even work over WIFI, but since my router is two floors below, the connection is too slow so that the file (video and audio) stutters. Still, I get audio from AVI between the stutters so I'm still guessing the problem lies with your AVIs.

Guys, got a question. So far most of the file formats I've played have played flawlessly. But I've noticed audio glitches (no audio) when I play a downloaded DVD5 files (VOB) by accessing it from 'Files' and hitting 'Play' from the topmost folder. If I burn it on a DVD disc and play it from my Philips DVD player, it plays just fine. So it seems to me that WD SMP is unable to handle the audio for some reason. I am on the latest firmware. Has anyone experienced the same issue? Any solution/suggestion?

I recently bought a WD TV live 2011 and I encountered a problem when using it with an Harmony remote.

As you (should) know, the WD TV Live has 3 power states: on, off and standby. When the device goes from Off to On, it takes several minutes to boot, find the network, and find the network shares, whereas when the device goes from Standby to On it's almost instant. In addition there are 3 ways to put the device in Off mode: press the "power toggle" button for 5 seconds, use the "device restart" option in the system menu and (obviously) unplug the device.

So, what's the point ?

The WD TV Live Streaming (2011) doesn't exist yet in the Harmony database. You have to choose between the WD TV Live (previous gen) or the WD VT Live Hub. Initially I choose the WD TV Live Hub because the remote is similar.
However, each time I sent a "power off" signal with the Harmony remote, the device was put in "Off" mode instead of "standby" mode. Therefore, each time I restarted the WD TV, it took minutes to boot up, find the network and the network shares.

Problem was solved by using the WD TV Live setup in the Harmony database and adding the others buttons with the "Learn IR" function.

No one besides you is reporting that .avi audio works over network shares (samba) via wifi. You are the only one. I received a response email from WD stating they are aware of the problem that you deny even exists, that you blame on user ignorance. No one forces you to come here. Your assertion that "people bitching about network issues simply have crappy (downloaded) files or misconfigured their network" is incredibly condescending. We come here for solutions, not to be told we're stupid by someone who admittedly gets kickbacks from Western Digital.

QUOTE=techflaws;21406320]I guess, you're refering to me with that slander of yours, not that I'd care. Really.

Also, beta testers do NOT get paid. They get the hardware for free, yes, but the time I invest testing the (few) units, is worth more and I'd be better off paying for a unit instead. The reason I'm doing this, is that I want to have a device that fits my needs and so far the LIVE is pretty close albeit still far from perfect.

That being said, as it turns out so far most people bitching about network issues simply have crappy (downloaded) files or misconfigured their network in some way. And yes, I really think a lot of those don't know the first thing about networking, especially when it comes to the different ways Win7 is doing it (homegroup vs workgroup etc). Of course it's always easy to blame something else, like the LIVE.

The only problem with this is that there are too many people that do not have these issues. Do you really wanna suggest all of these are lying (or on WD's payroll)? Feel free to make a fool out of yourself. I mean, you spent all this time bitching here but never once it occured to you to give info about your AVIs with Mediainfo, despite being asked.

So let me spell that out for you: my AVIs (xvid/mp3 and xvid/AC3) work fine for me from USB and over wired Samba shares but not media servers (they don't work for me at all). They even work over WIFI, but since my router is two floors below, the connection is too slow so that the file (video and audio) stutters. Still, I get audio from AVI between the stutters so I'm still guessing the problem lies with your AVIs.[/quote]

The Hub and the SMP both use identical IR databases, and both have the Standby/Off/On states.

My guess is that Logitech has mucked up the database for the Hub; a few other harmony users on the WD forum have mentioned the exact same thing.

For the record, avi audio works for me via network shares over MoCA network too.

Thank you everyone for the suggestions. Yesterday the 2nd unit (WDTVLiveG) was able to access the contents from the 1st unit (WDTVLive) via Network Share->Samba. I don't know why it did not work on the previous day. Strange!

Hopefully the problems are isolated to wifi connections using windows network shares (samba). The good thing is, I have until January 24th to take these boxes back to BestBuy if wiring my network doesn't correct the issues. If one were willing to spend a little extra cash for a device that works really well, what would you recommend?

I haven 't heard one person say that avi audio works OVER WIFI VIA NETWORK SHARES (SAMBA)after the newest firmware update except a representative of WD with a vested interest in promoting the product.

quick question. i have a wdtv streaming unit hooked up via hdmi to my sharp lc-46d85u. i also have a bluray and cable box hooked up to the same tv via hdmi. the wdtv live works great (streaming via dlna is much better than network share) anyways, every few minutes and at times seemingly at random, the tv screen will go black as if it is changing the refresh rate / signal. any idea if it is something with the wdtv live or am i forgetting some option in the sharp tv? any help would be appreciated, thanks.

Is your problem specific to AVI file? Do you get audio from other file formats?

I've had my WD TV Live SMP for a few days. The only thing I'm disappointed in is its incredibly unintuitive interface and unclear and seemingly incomplete documentation.

I have a share on my Windows media server called "MEDIA\\Videos" that contains a folder called "HD Movies". At first, I added the share itself to the Media Library. I would prefer the "HD Movies" folder be there instead, so I do not have to navigate through the folder structure. I simply cannot figure out how to do this.

Furthermore, I seem to have screwed something else up in the process of attempting to remove it. I now get "The last content source has been removed. Please select a new content source" when I go to "Videos" under Media Library.

Now when I attempt to add "HD Movies" to the Media Library, I get "The folder is already added folder in the media library. Please choose a different folder."

How on earth do I remove a folder from the Media Library?

This thing is incredibly frustrating to setup.

Edit: Nevermind, I found it. It's under Setup, System, Media Library, Media Library Manager for Network Share... which is not mentioned in the documentation anywhere.