[EvanVanVan]

Thought about posting this in the WDTV Live thread, but I really would like some opinions on other media players from people who might not check the WDTV thread... My first gen wdtv live is starting to go on the fritz, random reboots, telling me mkvs aren't a supported file type (until I unplug it and reboot it), other small problems.


Do I want to buy the newest version of the WDTV Live or is there something better? Compared to when I first bought the WDTV my setup has changed, I just purchased a Synology NAS and have started streaming MKVs instead of playing them off a local hdd. Other then streaming MKVs from the NAS, I don't care about any other streaming features. I just want a media player that plays as many video/audio formats as possible (a strong quality of the WDTV). I've never used the Youtube, facebook, Netflix apps on the WDTV, so I don't care how well a media player does any of that stuff.


The reason I'm wondering about a different media player is because the WDTV seemed to have a few quirks with the NAS (although it may still be better than alternatives). Covers (that were stored in a cache locally) loaded much slower and couldn't keep up with scrolling sometimes with the WDTV network share option. And recently when my WDTV really started to go crazy, I haven't been able to use the network share option at all forcing me to have no covers with the media server mode.


So is a new WDTV my best option still or is there something better?


TL;DR: What's the best media player for streaming MKVs from a NAS?

 

[GusGus748s]



Quote:
Originally Posted by EvanVanVan  /t/1468752/do-i-want-to-buy-another-wdtv-live-or-is-there-something-better#post_23216015


Thought about posting this in the WDTV Live thread, but I really would like some opinions on other media players from people who might not check the WDTV thread... My first gen wdtv live is starting to go on the fritz, random reboots, telling me mkvs aren't a supported file type (until I unplug it and reboot it), other small problems.


Do I want to buy the newest version of the WDTV Live or is there something better? Compared to when I first bought the WDTV my setup has changed, I just purchased a Synology NAS and have started streaming MKVs instead of playing them off a local hdd. Other then streaming MKVs from the NAS, I don't care about any other streaming features. I just want a media player that plays as many video/audio formats as possible (a strong quality of the WDTV). I've never used the Youtube, facebook, Netflix apps on the WDTV, so I don't care how well a media player does any of that stuff.


The reason I'm wondering about a different media player is because the WDTV seemed to have a few quirks with the NAS (although it may still be better than alternatives). Covers (that were stored in a cache locally) loaded much slower and couldn't keep up with scrolling sometimes with the WDTV network share option. And recently when my WDTV really started to go crazy, I haven't been able to use the network share option at all forcing me to have no covers with the media server mode.


So is a new WDTV my best option still or is there something better?


TL;DR: What's the best media player for streaming MKVs from a NAS?

Dune and Mede8er are the top two media player in my opinion. Thereafter, it would be PCH.

 

[morbidz]

I have the same requirements for video, meaning just mkvs no youtube or other external sources. My 2 wdtv live 1gen with wdlxtv have never giving me problems with streaming from synology and freenas before that. Cover art is perfect with moviesheets.

I'm actually considering buying another first generation wdtv live just to have as a backup.

 

[crussader]



Quote:
Originally Posted by GusGus748s  /t/1468752/do-i-want-to-buy-another-wdtv-live-or-is-there-something-better#post_23216871


Dune and Mede8er are the top two media player in my opinion.

Is Mede8er only for European customers?

 

[djc11369]

No, you can buy them from mediaconceptusa.com in the US.

 

[EvanVanVan]

Thanks for the replies, I'll take a look at Dune and Mede8er...

Quote:
Originally Posted by morbidz  /t/1468752/do-i-want-to-buy-another-wdtv-live-or-is-there-something-better#post_23219604


I have the same requirements for video, meaning just mkvs no youtube or other external sources. My 2 wdtv live 1gen with wdlxtv have never giving me problems with streaming from synology and freenas before that. Cover art is perfect with moviesheets.

I'm actually considering buying another first generation wdtv live just to have as a backup.

I had wdlxtv installed for the longest time, but then I started having problems with it too. Reverted to the original firmware a year or two ago. I can't remember what exactly was wrong, but I think it had something to do with the WDTV not being able to connect to the network (with an ethernet cable plugged in), it may have included random reboots also. But you're right, maybe going back to wdlxtv might actually help in this case (even just having to reflash the firmware). I'll give that a shot tomorrow, thanks.

 

[ljiminez]

> So is a new WDTV my best option still or is there something better?


I think OpenElec is your huckleberry.


Nez

 

[FutureMcFly]

How does Boxee or Roku stack up against other options. I'm also looking into the WD TV Live Hub, so like the OP, I'm curious.

 

[spongebob]



Quote:
Originally Posted by EvanVanVan  /t/1468752/do-i-want-to-buy-another-wdtv-live-or-is-there-something-better#post_23223844


Thanks for the replies, I'll take a look at Dune and Mede8er...

I had wdlxtv installed for the longest time, but then I started having problems with it too. Reverted to the original firmware a year or two ago. I can't remember what exactly was wrong, but I think it had something to do with the WDTV not being able to connect to the network (with an ethernet cable plugged in), it may have included random reboots also. But you're right, maybe going back to wdlxtv might actually help in this case (even just having to reflash the firmware). I'll give that a shot tomorrow, thanks.

How do you revert back?


bob

 

[Matt L]

I too tried WDLXTV and hated it. It had the old bug if I played content it did not like after that no content would play. I quickly reverted and now all my content play regardless of what the header is.


It's simply to revert. Just download the latest WD firmware and place it on a USB stick. Edit the version number listing and change it to a much higher number and reboot the WD, it will find the new firmware and install it.

 

[spongebob]



Quote:
Originally Posted by Matt L  /t/1468752/do-i-want-to-buy-another-wdtv-live-or-is-there-something-better#post_23250962


I too tried WDLXTV and hated it. It had the old bug if I played content it did not like after that no content would play. I quickly reverted and now all my content play regardless of what the header is.


It's simply to revert. Just download the latest WD firmware and place it on a USB stick. Edit the version number listing and change it to a much higher number and reboot the WD, it will find the new firmware and install it.

How does finding the new firmware revert to one that is gone?


bob

 

[Matt L]

You download the firmware fro the WD site to you computer. Place it on a USB drive, alter the version number and the WD unit does the rest. It's all spelled out in the WDLXTV WIKI,

 

[spongebob]



Quote:
Originally Posted by Matt L  /t/1468752/do-i-want-to-buy-another-wdtv-live-or-is-there-something-better#post_23251566


You download the firmware fro the WD site to you computer. Place it on a USB drive, alter the version number and the WD unit does the rest. It's all spelled out in the WDLXTV WIKI,

Where is this wiki? I've been out of the loop

bob

 

[dmarqueset]



Quote:
Originally Posted by EvanVanVan  /t/1468752/do-i-want-to-buy-another-wdtv-live-or-is-there-something-better#post_23216015


Thought about posting this in the WDTV Live thread, but I really would like some opinions on other media players from people who might not check the WDTV thread... My first gen wdtv live is starting to go on the fritz, random reboots, telling me mkvs aren't a supported file type (until I unplug it and reboot it), other small problems.


Do I want to buy the newest version of the WDTV Live or is there something better? Compared to when I first bought the WDTV my setup has changed, I just purchased a Synology NAS and have started streaming MKVs instead of playing them off a local hdd. Other then streaming MKVs from the NAS, I don't care about any other streaming features. I just want a media player that plays as many video/audio formats as possible (a strong quality of the WDTV). I've never used the Youtube, facebook, Netflix apps on the WDTV, so I don't care how well a media player does any of that stuff.


The reason I'm wondering about a different media player is because the WDTV seemed to have a few quirks with the NAS (although it may still be better than alternatives). Covers (that were stored in a cache locally) loaded much slower and couldn't keep up with scrolling sometimes with the WDTV network share option. And recently when my WDTV really started to go crazy, I haven't been able to use the network share option at all forcing me to have no covers with the media server mode.


So is a new WDTV my best option still or is there something better?


TL;DR: What's the best media player for streaming MKVs from a NAS?

Is building a HTPC out of the question? Your options really open up with one of those. If you want a packaged solution then I agree with GusGus748s about the Dune.

Quote:
Originally Posted by FutureMcFly  /t/1468752/do-i-want-to-buy-another-wdtv-live-or-is-there-something-better#post_23246228


How does Boxee or Roku stack up against other options. I'm also looking into the WD TV Live Hub, so like the OP, I'm curious.

The Roku is good for streaming things like Crackle, Amazon, Netflix, etc. If you are trying to stream your own content, then you will need to use something like PLEX in conjunction with the Roku. I have a first generation Roku but don't think much has changed in that area with latest version. I don't have a Boxee so I can't comment on that.

 

[Matt L]



Quote:
Originally Posted by spongebob  /t/1468752/do-i-want-to-buy-another-wdtv-live-or-is-there-something-better#post_23251646


Where is this wiki? I've been out of the loop

bob

go here: http://support.wdc.com/product/download.asp?level1=10&lang=en


choose the correct WD unit and download the files. When you unzip them there will be three files. Open the one called wdtvlive.ver with notepad and change the line


VERSION='1.06.43_V'LOCATION='wdtvlive.bin'PKG_LOCATION='wdtvlive.pkg'ROOTFS2=''


to


VERSION='1.66.43_V'LOCATION='wdtvlive.bin'PKG_LOCATION='wdtvlive.pkg'ROOTFS2=''



or some other high number. Plug it into the WD TV unit on the side and it should be found and notify you that an update is available.

 

[Dillsnik]



Quote:
Originally Posted by dmarqueset  /t/1468752/do-i-want-to-buy-another-wdtv-live-or-is-there-something-better#post_23251785


Is building a HTPC out of the question? Your options really open up with one of those. If you want a packaged solution then I agree with GusGus748s about the Dune.

The Roku is good for streaming things like Crackle, Amazon, Netflix, etc. If you are trying to stream your own content, then you will need to use something like PLEX in conjunction with the Roku. I have a first generation Roku but don't think much has changed in that area with latest version. I don't have a Boxee so I can't comment on that.

I tried PLEX with a Roku with still no joy because the ROku isn't capable of transcoding the files, and my Synology DS212j doesn't have that ability either.

 

[TempleFugate]


I have the WDTV Live, haven't check which gen (bought about 2 years ago). I turned my neighbor on to them as she was using laptops to play torrent content on her HDTV's.

She's had buggy issues of late and so have I (frequent reboots needed remote won't work etc). I think I may try the WDLXTV, seems like it might make my berry huckle. I may also repurpose one of my old Win 7 PC's to OpenElec. I loved my old HP XP Media Center PC. Back in the old analog days it did everything great. Recorded all my tv shows, and I could play a song almost as fast as you could name that tune. I would love to have something to play my torrents and record HD content in a smaller shell (MKV 264 etc). And to be able to store and search movies, TV shows, Music and maybe pics with live record options would be sweeter than bear meat! One problem I forsee is that I bought all my old Win 7 PC's really cheap. They are all slim line units from Acer and HP. I would want to upgrade the graphics cards to HDMI units and with the slim lines that might be more of a pain that it's worth. I buy and sell PC's @ really low prices, but I would hate to keep the new Gateway Win 8 or HP Win 7 full sized new units I have just to make a media player (I'd rather have the money, like I said I'm cheap). To be honest the WDTV Live gave me so much pleasure out of the box with it's ability to play torrent DL's from all my PC's till I had seriously thought about getting another. I was actually selling them for awhile on eBay (when I want something I buy in bulk @ discount and sell the rest to offset my cost). 

 

Temple

 

[StinDaWg]

They are all slim line units from Acer and HP. I would want to upgrade the graphics cards to HDMI units and with the slim lines that might be more of a pain that it's worth.

A $10 low profile 5450 will fit in any pc and be able to play any file you throw at it. I used to have this card with my HP Slimline before I upgraded to a new pc.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814131338

 

[RVD26]

I have the WDTV Live, haven't check which gen (bought about 2 years ago). I turned my neighbor on to them as she was using laptops to play torrent content on her HDTV's.
She's had buggy issues of late and so have I (frequent reboots needed remote won't work etc). I think I may try the WDLXTV, seems like it might make my berry huckle. I may also repurpose one of my old Win 7 PC's to OpenElec. I loved my old HP XP Media Center PC. Back in the old analog days it did everything great. Recorded all my tv shows, and I could play a song almost as fast as you could name that tune. I would love to have something to play my torrents and record HD content in a smaller shell (MKV 264 etc). And to be able to store and search movies, TV shows, Music and maybe pics with live record options would be sweeter than bear meat! One problem I forsee is that I bought all my old Win 7 PC's really cheap. They are all slim line units from Acer and HP. I would want to upgrade the graphics cards to HDMI units and with the slim lines that might be more of a pain that it's worth. I buy and sell PC's @ really low prices, but I would hate to keep the new Gateway Win 8 or HP Win 7 full sized new units I have just to make a media player (I'd rather have the money, like I said I'm cheap). To be honest the WDTV Live gave me so much pleasure out of the box with it's ability to play torrent DL's from all my PC's till I had seriously thought about getting another. I was actually selling them for awhile on eBay (when I want something I buy in bulk @ discount and sell the rest to offset my cost).

Temple

My WD TV Live Plus has been buggy as of late as well.
I have had WDLXTV installed on it from the very beginning and I still have the issues.
Any potential fix for this would be appreciated.

 

[techflaws]

The new WDTV won't do you no good cause it's the same hardware. WDTVs seem to be susceptible to network issues, i.e. master browser and Upnp issues can throw them off. If these issues are under control, there's no problems with watching content from NASs.