WD Live TV Hub owner...looking for alternative

post #1 of 8

12/30/11 at 1:09pm

Thread Starter

55 Posts. Joined 11/2006
Select All Posts By This User

So I have a WD live tv hub and overall I like the unit, I like the internal Hard drive, GUI and file support.

I am unhappy that WD will never enable DTS-MA pass through(due to licensing) and Western digital seems to be more focused on adding apps and breaking basic operating task like playing M2TS files (last firmware). The current Firmware is outputing PCM 7.0 via the HDMI with MP3's, Pandora etc.. which is causing havoc with receivers.

I am looking for something to replace my WDLH. Its gotta have a good GUI and output the DTS-MA/Dolby tru-HD.

My plan, when the price of Hard drives go back down, to get a NAS. So a hard drive in the streamer is not a must but I have grown to like a place to store the movies without firing up my PC.

Its so hard to find a central place for a "shoot out" of media streamers and there are so many companies doing them. Going on their forums is no help either. i feel like I can't get a feel for firmware support.

I was looking at the New popcorn hours A-300/c-300's but there are so many mixed reviews on the 200 series.

I've heard good things about Dunes and Nixeus fusion HD.

So using the WD Live TV Hub as a Benchmark, whats the next step?

Reply

post #2 of 8

1/3/12 at 8:59am

Thread Starter

55 Posts. Joined 11/2006
Select All Posts By This User

No one has anything to add?

Reply

post #3 of 8

1/3/12 at 9:07am

5,332 Posts. Joined 12/2000
Location: Metro Atlanta
Select All Posts By This User

Quote:

Its gotta have a good GUI and output the DTS-MA/Dolby tru-HD.

Your best bets are PopBox v8 (if internal HDD isn't needed), Popcorn Hour A-300, or Dune. I prefer PopBox v8/PCH A-300 over Dune, but you'll find plenty here who feel the opposite.

Re: mixed reviews on PCH, I think most are about expecting one thing and getting something else. For ease of use, Boxee Box would be better, but hd audio is still broken on it. For me, I use PopBox v8 (also used PCH A-300 briefly), with my movies and TV shows streamed from a home server, and the beautiful Eversion+YAMJ front-end to browse & play content. Take a little time to set-up, but the results are great.

Reply

post #4 of 8

1/3/12 at 10:41am

1,515 Posts. Joined 6/2006
Location: Hemet California
Select All Posts By This User

I moved from an OG WDTV Live to a HTPC to a two-box solution that I like a lot. I use a Roku 2 XS for internet streaming and Netgear's NeoTV 550 as my network media player. The NeoTV 550 plays most popular formats including MKV and Blu-Ray ISO and supports DTS-HD MA and Dolby TrueHD pass-through. It also plays 24bit/192khz 5.1 channel FLACs and supports gapless music playback. But it does not do any Netflix like streaming - thus the Roku. It does not have an internal hard drive so you'll need either an external hard drive or a NAS/server of some sort. Review

Both can be found for less than $100ea, both support 1080P, and both work fine with my Harmony remote. The combination of the Roku 2 XS and a NeoTV 550 is as close as I've found to an ultimate experience. Good enough that I have the pair in both my family room and in my master bedroom. Of course CES is just about here and who knows what will be announced.

Reply

post #5 of 8

1/3/12 at 12:17pm

Thread Starter

55 Posts. Joined 11/2006
Select All Posts By This User

I've also looked at the Lenovo Q180 and running XBMC on it, but from what i have read, its very involved in setting up.

Reply

post #6 of 8

6/6/12 at 4:18pm

Thread Starter

55 Posts. Joined 11/2006
Select All Posts By This User

So, I ended up buying a Dune Smart D1. My first impression of the Dune was disappointment. The GUI was horrendous, Reminded me of windows 3.1. I even tried to return it but was shot down. I had planned on using a movie jukebox like Yadis. So I dug deep into a forums and discovered the user skins and icons which made it bearable.

I now love the dune for its ability to play just about every thing out there and how it handles blu-ray iso's with branching files. Not to mention DTS-Ma passthrough.

Reply

post #7 of 8

6/7/12 at 12:48am