Forum Archive Home -> Media Center PC / MediaCenters -> New WD TV Live (WDTV v2)
New WD TV Live (WDTV v2) | ||||||
| stiltman posted 2009 Oct 13 14:26 | ||||||
| Thought I'd start a new topic on this player.
I'm picking one up tonight. The main feature I like in the new one is component output. Here's the BestBuy link Here's a link to the AVS Forum topic Here's a like to WDTV Forum topic Here's a link to the B-Rad website. This is where to go for the modded OS I'll post my first impressions after I get one :) Edit: add links | ||||||
| Loader09 posted 2009 Oct 13 15:52 | ||||||
| this looks like its going to be really good. I just found out about their players and read about them a week ago, sigh i wish i had moneyy lolzz | ||||||
| jagabo posted 2009 Oct 13 19:00 | ||||||
Looking forward to your report. It sounds like navigation is much faster with the new version. | ||||||
| bmo posted 2009 Oct 13 19:31 | ||||||
| Looking forward to your impressions as well. I have the first version, and while it's a great player by itself, it was missing a few key features that the new version has (ethernet, component out, dts decoding). If you could test the dts decoding capabilities that would be awesome. :wink: | ||||||
| ChiMarticus2 posted 2009 Oct 13 23:29 | ||||||
| Bummer! BB has it currently Back-ordered On-Line, 1-2 week wait estimated, but may be available at some store locations, but unfortunately again, not in my immediate area. :o | ||||||
| stiltman posted 2009 Oct 14 01:40 | ||||||
| I bought it at BB. They had 2 on the shelf. The price at the register was $139.99. I told them the website listed it at $119.99, they checked and honored the website price.
I unboxed it. First impressions, the cables leave MUCH to be desired. Very skinny I have it hooked up to my older HDTV via component. It automatically found the component output and set it at 480i. First impression of the menu, well it's different than the first model. Guess they had to change it up because of the added features. Kinda strange getting used too. Not bad, but you end up using the back button and navigation left arrow to get back to the top menu. The menu system seems about the same to me speed wize. I don't see how people are saying it MUCH faster. I went to change the video settings and it strangely had composite listed, even though I was viewing it via component. I changed it to component and then to 1080i/60 which is the max for my TV. This changed the picture quality too WAY better than it was before. All the text was VERY clear. I shut down the system, and inserted my 2 WD 500GB portable HDDs Turned on the system. It took about 1 minute for it to scan both drives. I went into settings and changed video to list view They did add a new view to the video section. It's called preview. It will show the list view on the left side and on the right side it plays the video and also lists the file type/size/genre I went to video and then all video. It had all my videos listed for both drives. I picked one of my highest bitrate Xvid AVIs, it was like 5200kbs. It played perfect. The picture quality was much better than the original model connected via composite and the same as connected via HDMI -->DVI. Hit FF and then Play, there is still the 3-4 second lag before the sound comes on. No chapter support via next button. If you FF then hit next while FF, it will skip 10mins. I don't know if the original did that or not. Next up, MKVs. Played them perfectly. Zoom went 1.1x, 1.2x, 2x, 4x, 8x I would say the upscaler in this player is much better than my TV and also much better than my Samsung HTIB. However you can tell it's upscaling. The picture quality also seems a bit darker. Not sure yet. I was concentrating on darker videos to see if there was much pixilation. I compared 2 videos, both from the same exact source. 1 encoded Xvid at 94% constant quality and the other encoded H.264 at 65% constant quality. The H.264 looked better. I looked at both of them zoomed in at 4x. The H.264 really won out big time. All my encodes have the original AC3 audio, and when you play a video it will tell you for 2-3 secs what audio stream is playing. What most people want to hear about :) Sorry, I do not have a network connection yet. I did try a USB wireless dongle, but I knew it wouldn't work. It's a FA1200G and it takes a special driver. It actually locked up the player while trying to power down. I pulled it out and the system then shut down. I knew WDTV's were picky about the wireless adapters. I didn't try hooking it up via my HTIB HDMI input. The original wouldn't work that way and I doubt this one will because it went from 1.2 to 1.3 compliance I will have to download some HD test clips to see the real picture quality hooked up via component. In any event, I'm keeping it, as it has component output and it looks better than the original I had hooked up via composite. It will also allow me to hook up wireless without using one of those modded OSs. Funny how they call it firmware when it's just Linux :) I'll also most likely hook up the toslink output to my HTIB for full surround sound. From reading, it doesn't support USB hubs :evil: It turns off power to the USB portable drives when you turn the unit off. I like that! Not just stopping the spining, but all power. | ||||||
| jagabo posted 2009 Oct 14 06:39 | ||||||
| Thanks for the report. This post has links to some challenging high def files:
http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?p=17329247#post17329247 Regarding navigation speed, did you have it in thumbnail mode? I seem to recall that's what was really slow with the original WDTV. | ||||||
| stiltman posted 2009 Oct 14 10:37 | ||||||
Yeah, I've been through the AVS thread No thumbnails, so I never use that view. That was until I heard that naming a small jpg the same as the movie would show you a thumbnail(broken in network viewing). Plus someone at AVS posted a link to a movie poster site that they use. Guess I have to figure out what the thumbnail size has to be in order to work. Here's what I plan on doing Folder for each rating system (G, PG, PG13, R/Unrated) folder.jpg of the rating Then in each folder have all the movies with their associated jpg thumbnail | ||||||
| jagabo posted 2009 Oct 14 11:32 | ||||||
| I don't like thumbnails and prefer to see as much text information as possible. Like Windows Explorer in Details mode. | ||||||
| stiltman posted 2009 Oct 14 11:59 | ||||||
| If you are wondering which wireless adapters work, here's the link
http://products.wdc.com/library/other/WDTVLive_Wireless_Adapter_C ... y_List.pdf It was a pain, as google search kept going to the same page and the same link kept going to their KB article for USB drives :lol: Finally on the third try, it went to this pdf
I'm not going to get one unless they fix the broken USB hub support, or untill the modded version comes out for USB hubs and DVD-Roms | ||||||
| stiltman posted 2009 Oct 14 13:02 | ||||||
| Well, it looks like the ppl at AVS are complaining about upscaled SD picture quality compared to the original WDTV. I'll do some more testing and also hook it up via HDMI-->DVI to see if that makes a difference. I knew there was a difference between the 2, but for me it's not a deal breaker. It still looks better hooked up via component as apposed to composite. That's the whole reason I wanted it. | ||||||
| T-Fish posted 2009 Oct 14 15:19 | ||||||
| was the remote control bug addressed ?
i got a samsung le40b530 which is the main reason i didn't get a wdtv. couldn't see anything related to that problem.. | ||||||
| stiltman posted 2009 Oct 14 16:03 | ||||||
| What remote bug?
At least for me, I had no problems with the WDTV and now the WD Live TV | ||||||
| ChiMarticus2 posted 2009 Oct 14 17:19 | ||||||
Thanks stiltman for all your info. Please continue on with any further experiences. I expect to get one whenever becomes available again at local BestBuy or on-line. Wow, Christmas comes early for me, as WD Live TV, Official Win7 Release and a HTPC i7 is immediate. :D | ||||||
| Squash posted 2009 Oct 14 21:24 | ||||||
It looks like it's been taken care of. A few months ago I described my fix for the Samsung remote/WDTV problem in this post: http://forum.videohelp.com/topic358929-480.html#1979631 When I got the WDTV2 last night, that's one of the things I checked, so I'd know whether to transfer my mylar films from the WDTV1 to the WDTV2. Fortunately, with the WDTV2, I've had no problems with the remote malfunctioning in any of the Samsung's energy-saver modes. Of course, YMMV based on the IR reflectivity of your room, or unknown factors, but on my TV (a Samsung LNA40A650), it's no longer an issue. I'm sure there'll be other reports on this as time goes by, but it looks OK so far. | ||||||
| The old guy posted 2009 Oct 14 21:26 | ||||||
| I have V1 so I picked up V2 so as to compare.
Detected HDMI connection, detected and connected to wired network on first power up! Powers up faster than V1 in my opinion even with 2 500G passports connected to it. Played several .TS, MPG, Xvid AVI's, Windows WMV, and .MKV over the network. Every once in awhile video would stop and I'd see an error of lost the network connection. Power off and then on and same video played just fine. That only happened twice. Dunno what that is all about. Using ClownBD, I usually convert DTS to AC3. Converted XMEN and kept DTS in there and video and DTS audio played just fine on V2. I'm not using the passthru to a receiver. The only gotcha I have found so far is I have a Thermaltake BlacX docking station. V2 did not detect the drive in the dock using USB connection to computer. Changed BlacX to the ESATA and it detected the drive and played the .TS files on that drive with no glitches. And I feel V2 the remote and the menus respond faster. Overall I'm very pleased with V2. | ||||||
| misterbill posted 2009 Oct 15 02:54 | ||||||
Come-on Stiltman, you can't leave these people hanging on the PQ issue. Tell them what the ppl at AVS know. | ||||||
| Rudyard posted 2009 Oct 15 03:16 | ||||||
| Hey Stiltman, can you use chapters on MKV files? | ||||||
| jagabo posted 2009 Oct 15 06:12 | ||||||
Here are a few posts I saw: http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?p=17348246#post17348246 http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?p=17348650#post17348650 http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?p=17349122#post17349122 Note that these three posts were from the same person and in the last one he says picture quality was fine, it was a setup issue. I'm still reading through the thread... <edit> later in the avsforum thread the same guy was complaining again. A few others too. </edit> I picked one up last night. I don't have the first version to compare to but running a few quick torture tests with it connected to my Samsung LNT 4665 via HDMI at 1080p60 RGB (pixel for pixel mapping) it looks pretty good. Scaling is about the same as my Nvidia 8600 GT and Philips DVP-5990 at the same settings on the same TV. I'll report more about the device later. | ||||||
| stiltman posted 2009 Oct 15 10:57 | ||||||
Nope., well I should qualify that. You can't hit the skip button and go to the next chapter. You can hit FF, then skip and that will move 10mins ahead You can hit option and then select chapters (far right) and then select chapters that way. However, it's stops the movie. PQ issue, I don't have it. I think it's a setup issue with everyone and myself included. I adjusted my Contrast, Brightness, Color, and Sharpness on my TV and it looks REAL great now. I had to boost everything except sharpness just a little bit. I decreased sharpness just a hair. I did a few tests, and found no difference between WDTV1 and 2 on HDMI-->DVI. They were exactly the same in PQ. I did another test comparing my Samsung HTIB via HDMI-->DVI compared to my WDTV2 via component. Same exact movie ~5200kbs Xvid .avi Both units were set to upscale to 1080i/60 Both units were set to upscale to 720p/60 Both units were set to 480i The WDTV2 blew away my HTIB by a WIDE margin. The quality was just SO MUCH better, I couldn't believe it. It's too bad my TV can't negotiate HDCP like it's claimed to do. Cuase now I want to get a new surround sound system. However, my Toshiba HD-DVD doesn't work via HDMI-->DVI so I doubt any modern surrounds will too. I don't think there are any upscaling DVD/component/Surround systems out there anymore... Not going to replace the TV yet | ||||||
| jagabo posted 2009 Oct 15 19:27 | ||||||
| I'll start at the beginning:
1) Output I connected the WDTV2 to my Samsung LNT 4665 via HDMI and set it up to output 1920x1080p60 RGB. The TV is set to "just scan", Samsung's pixel-for-pixel mode with no overscan. I used a 1920x1080 Belle Nuit test chart to verify that each pixel of a source image and video is displayed pixel for pixel all the way from the file to the HDTV. An uncompressed BMP of the Belle Nuit chart viewed in slideshow mode filled the screen perfectly and there was perfect pixel-for-pixel mapping. The individual lines in the "1" area, both vertical and horizontal, were fully resolved, both black/white and red/blue. This is harder to test with video because most compressed format use 4:2:0 chroma subsampling. This causes the thin colored lines to be blurred together. The black and white lines aren't effected by this. I couldn't find any non sub sampled video formats the WDTV2 supports so I just converted the image file to a 1920x1080 square pixel Xvid AVI (4:2:0 subsampling). The WDTV2 showed perfect pixel-for-pixel mapping of the black/white lines. The colored lines were blurred, as expected. Conclusion: I can get perfect pixel-for-pixel mapping all the way from a 1920x1080 image or video to the screen of the HDTV. Scaling of any other frame size will be done solely by the WDTV2. The HDTV will not resize the image again so what I see on the screen is strictly a product of the WDTV2's scaling. Since the WDTV is set up to output 1920x1080 progressive there will be no deinterlacing within the HDTV. I have my HTPC set up the same way so I can directly compare the WDTV's playback with the computer's. I'm using a Nvidia 8600 GT with Windows XP Pro SP3. Most tests from the computer were run with MPCHC. 2) (up)Scaling Looking at 720x480 4:3 DAR MPEG files with sharp, high contrast edges, it appears the WDTV2 is using a Bicubic upscaling filter. Similar to VirtualDub's precise bicubic resizing filter and AviSynth's BicubicResize(). This causes a little overshoot and undershoot at sharp edges. It enhances noise and DCT ringing artifacts. Upscaling is very similar to the computer with MPCHC set to use the "EVR Custom Pre" with Bicubic A=0.75. I usually use EVR's Precise Bilinear which isn't as sharp but avoids those over sharpening artifacts. 3) Deinterlacing I ran several interlaced MPEG test files through the WDTV2. It does not suffer from the common "chroma upsampling error" that many players (hardware and software) display. It shows no blending between the the two fields' chroma channels. It appears to use something slightly better than a simple Bob. When playing some standard definition animated material most high contrast horizontal edges bounce and flicker. Very similar to VLC's Bob deinterlacer. I don't have a WDTV1 to compare to. KMPlayer's ffmpeg deinterlacer works better. I'll post some more tomorrow about playback containers and codecs... | ||||||
| T-Fish posted 2009 Oct 15 21:55 | ||||||
that sounds good so far, thank you :) | ||||||
| MJA posted 2009 Oct 16 10:23 | ||||||
| does anyone own the ASUS O!Play and WDTV2?
btw I think the WD was selling for less than $70 few days at newegg.com using a %10 off coupon | ||||||
| jagabo posted 2009 Oct 16 10:36 | ||||||
Probably the older WDTV. Or the Mini version. | ||||||
| MJA posted 2009 Oct 16 10:40 | ||||||
you are right.it's the mini. | ||||||
| stiltman posted 2009 Oct 16 10:45 | ||||||
| The mini will do Realmedia encoded files, but doesn't do HD | ||||||
| stiltman posted 2009 Oct 16 10:51 | ||||||
Great technical review. | ||||||
| stiltman posted 2009 Oct 16 12:32 | ||||||
| Here's a great write up by B-Rad (the WDTV alternate OS modder)
http://b-rad.cc/974/wdtv-live-unboxing-undressing Now I'm looking forward to his WDTV2 modded OS to support DVD drives and USB hubs | ||||||
| yoda313 posted 2009 Oct 16 12:51 | ||||||
| So is the only major difference between the wdtv2 and the original model the ethernet port?
I don't really need that and I barely use my wdtv as it is. Now if I didn't have a ps3, xbox360, and my vista pc hooked up to my hdtv with cable internet I'd be more interested. So this also has network sharing ability as well as interent access? Does it support a keyboard or is it just remote control only with its own point and click browser? It is an interesting change to the unit but I am not in the market for it. But thanks stiltman for giving the update. | ||||||
| jagabo posted 2009 Oct 16 13:02 | ||||||
| It can access files on Windows (or other SMB) shares. Windows computers can see the files on its attached USB drive. It has native support for YouTube right now. It has a lot more RAM and internal flash memory so lots of future updates are possible. I'm hoping for Hulu.com and NetFlix support someday. In the mean time (or maybe forever) I'll check out PlayOn.
No keyboard support. Same remote. Same GUI but faster (so I hear -- I haven't used the original). Like the original it runs Linux and is open source. It has a lot more RAM and flash memory so there's lots of room for growth. | ||||||
| redwudz posted 2009 Oct 16 13:04 | ||||||
| I just ordered one from Provantage. $116US plus shipping, etc. The LAN setup sounds interesting. If I could avoid booting my HTPC everytime I want to watch a video on my projector, that would be a big bonus. :) | ||||||
| yoda313 posted 2009 Oct 16 13:04 | ||||||
| Thanks for the clarification jagabo.
Still doesn't seem to be a deal breaker for me since I have my other hardware that does the same stuff. Now if I used this in another room I could see the value of the ethernet ability.
Are your harddrives internal or external? If your videos are on external drives than you can leave your pc off. If they are internal harddrives than you have to have your pc on to be accessed by the wdtv2. | ||||||
| redwudz posted 2009 Oct 16 13:10 | ||||||
| My videos are on several servers that I need to turn on first, then I can access them over a LAN connection. | ||||||
| CBC posted 2009 Oct 16 14:46 | ||||||
Noticed your mention of the BlacX docker, and your mention of "changing to the Esata" from USB. I have the USB only version using a WD 1TB Green drive & it sees it instantly. Since the WDTV Live only has USB input, was wondering how you can use ESATA with it? So far I love the WD TV Live except for playing music tracks using Shuffle Mode. No matter what I do, it will stop playing after a while (mp3s & FLACs) :( | ||||||
| yoda313 posted 2009 Oct 16 14:46 | ||||||
| Ok then as long as they are not just on your internal pc tower you can leave it off. | ||||||
| MJA posted 2009 Oct 16 15:28 | ||||||
Newegg has the Western Digital WD TV Live Media Player (Generation 2 of the WD TV) for $109.99 after Coupon Code: EMCHDD10C (Exp 10/16). $1.99 Shipping. | ||||||
| redwudz posted 2009 Oct 16 15:36 | ||||||
| That figures. :lol: I must have missed that deal in the NewEgg ads. :( | ||||||
| The old guy posted 2009 Oct 16 16:36 | ||||||
Its connected to my computer..... and I'm using the network connection.... | ||||||
| CBC posted 2009 Oct 16 16:49 | ||||||
Ah, well that sure explains that! lol..thanks | ||||||
| jagabo posted 2009 Oct 16 18:37 | ||||||
Oh, the new h.264 decoding chip supports more reference frames. As mentioned earlier, the 16 reference frame test clip played fine from a flash drive. It does choke over my network connection though. I don't think it's a throughput problem. It can probably be fixed with a little more read-ahead buffering. Oh, one other thing I though of: the WDTV2 should be able access files over 4 GB over the network (I haven't tested it yet). Both versions are limited to FAT32 format at the USB port -- so there's a 4 GB file size limit there.
Since you already have the other stuff you probably don't have a need for the new version. By the way, it can run with a wireless N network, you just need to add a USB network adapter. It might be useful in a another room where you don't have a wired connection. | ||||||
| stiltman posted 2009 Oct 16 22:25 | ||||||
| The WDTV1 and 2 work just fine with NTFS and files over 4GB on USB drives
I never used anything else, I even did a firmware upgrade via a NTFS 500GB drive.....not knowing it wasn't suppose to work :lol: | ||||||
| jagabo posted 2009 Oct 16 23:25 | ||||||
Glad to hear that. I thought it didn't support NTFS so I didn't even try! LOL | ||||||
| stiltman posted 2009 Oct 17 02:17 | ||||||
So this got me wandering, and I posted this http://forum.videohelp.com/topic374420.html#2015134 More TV related, so I posted it in the TV forum, plus I didn't want to hijack my own thread :lol: | ||||||
| yoda313 posted 2009 Oct 17 10:01 | ||||||
It's nice they are incorporating N standards. I saw that the Xbox 360 is supposed to start supporting or releasing its own N adapter. I hadn't thought of it but maybe I could look into using the adapter in another room. Since I do have all the high tech stuff in the one room I could "expand" to another room. Hmmm....... | ||||||
| stiltman posted 2009 Oct 20 17:04 | ||||||
| The WD Live TV has been hacked :)
http://wdtvforum.com/main/index.php?topic=2439.0 | ||||||
| jagabo posted 2009 Oct 20 18:02 | ||||||
I wouldn't really call that hacked because the device is open source. Anyone can download the firmware and start playing with it. B-rad's mod has mostly to do with enabling access to linux shares in addition to the native SMB (Windows) shares. What we need is more read ahead buffering over the network to smooth out some high bitrate 1080p playback. | ||||||
| stiltman posted 2009 Oct 20 18:23 | ||||||
| I would call it a hack, since WD still hasn't released ALL the info it should of. B-Rad is also enabling USB hub support along with networking issues.
Not to mention DVD support (no menu support or CSS decryption) | ||||||
| vhelp posted 2009 Oct 20 21:42 | ||||||
| regarding navigation for video searching/launching
I realize that someone said the firmware was open source or something, but how hard is it (lanuguage, or interface os, etc) to work out a new nav system..i mean, does it have to be designed in linux (meaning you have be a linux guru or something) or could you use something else. I dont' know if it is actually an xml or html interface, but if it were, someone could easily modify it with an improved version. well, what about paying some attention to the user interface design..navigating inside a ton of videos is a chore (and scarey at times) and it would be in everyones (i'm sure) best interest to modify (upgrade) the firmware with a better nav system..or do people just like scrolling through tons of vidoe listings, i don't know. but i'm not interested in another one since its basically the same sluggish nonsense. At least my iMON is a faster lister :) other than that, i'm stuck deciding on what I want to do with these things :roll: I saw one at my local bestbuy and easily passed it up, though it was selling for $139, figured! -vhelp 5237 | ||||||
| newnews posted 2009 Oct 20 22:05 | ||||||
| Oh my god, I just bought first version 4 weeks ago! The news of new WDTV is not good for me....
From WD website, I saw a WDTV MINI which supports RMVB. I do not know why this feature do not apply to WDTV2. Otherwise it will be the most perfect one!! | ||||||
| misterbill posted 2009 Oct 21 01:23 | ||||||
| I like the search option. Enter a couple of letters that are in the title of the video I want and press submit.
Been playing with it since Oct. 11th and the new navigation/features seem really nice. Although I still use the Thumbnail view rather than the Preview mode. Best Buy priced matched mine. At the time $119 at BB on-line. | ||||||
| jagabo posted 2009 Oct 21 06:08 | ||||||
| I use list view. | ||||||
| TBoneit posted 2009 Oct 21 09:40 | ||||||
Thanks for that information. I ordered on the 17th Saturday evening with the code and it worked, and the tracking number shows it arriving today. Up until today the Bestbuy website had no availability locally, Today it shows one store semi local. NewEgg invoice shows that $119.99 - discount $10 = $109.99Tax: $7.84Shipping and Handling: $1.99 Total Amount: $119.82 So I ended up paying 17cents less after tax & shipping because of the discount code. Thank You! | ||||||
| redwudz posted 2009 Oct 21 14:26 | ||||||
| I've played with it a little and I'm pretty impressed so far. It quickly found one of my video servers that was on and I was able to watch a MKV HD over the LAN with no problems. I have it plugged into my VGA/HDMI monitor for trying it out. It also seemed to be able to sort out a USB drive with a few thousand photos on it with no problem. Once you get the hang of the menu setup, easy enough to navigate.
I might try it with one of my USB 'N' adapters and see how that works. I have a wired LAN where I'm using it, but would like to try wireless for a different location. I'm thinking this could replace a lot of HTPCs for a really low price. It has most of the needed functions of a HTPC. You could share one of your PC optical drives on the LAN for DVD playback. I tried this and it works fine. :) I also tried watching a few YouTube videos. But I eventually blocked it from the internet with my router as I'm not sure how secure it is compared to a PC. Another application that comes to mind is to feed it directly to a video projector with a short HDMI cable and use a wireless link to the LAN. That would avoid running a long HDMI cable and a LAN cable. (I have a 50' HDMI cable.) Question: Does it output through the toslink at the same time as it does the audio through the HDMI? I don't have a easy way to test this at present. | ||||||
| jman98 posted 2009 Oct 21 14:58 | ||||||
I don't have the new one, but the first generation model definitely does this. That's exactly how I have it connected (no HDMI input on my receiver, only toslink). So I would expect the current model to also do that, but again, I don't have it. Just that the odds are in your favor here. | ||||||
| MJA posted 2009 Oct 21 16:02 | ||||||
| woow .player is selling like hot cake.you have to wait from 1 to 2 months if you buy it from amazon ,or u pay pay top dallars to get it right away from other sellers ($173) | ||||||
| redwudz posted 2009 Oct 21 17:13 | ||||||
| Thanks, jman98, I'll try to test it out later this week. I have both Toslink and coaxial on my surround sound amp, so not a big problem. There are also Toslink>coaxial adapters out there. They both use the same data format, so not a hard conversion. :) | ||||||
| misterbill posted 2009 Oct 21 17:19 | ||||||
| Newegg is still allowing you to Add to Cart.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822136472&a ... a3148d292b WD has them also, at List. | ||||||
| TBoneit posted 2009 Oct 22 13:23 | ||||||
| FWIW I like it mor ethan the old one which is a good player itself.
In my playing around with my new toy last night it seemed appreciably faster than the old one. I plugged in one of my externals and moved files to the WD live player using the file management. Nice!, I didn't even have to fire up the computer to move them from the temp holding external to the use external for the WD Live. I don't really plan to use it networked. However I wonder if it will work with the WD 1TB that has Ethernet and DLNA. I'm guessing a crossover cable since no hub. I'm wondering if it will just see it and use it as a third drive or if the networking only works through the computer. It's a fair premium for the ethernet equipped drive vs the USB only version. Oh yeah, the video looked the same to me fwiw. Cheers | ||||||
| TBoneit posted 2009 Oct 23 13:16 | ||||||
| An addendum to the previous:
The WD Live will FFwd at the highest speed on my HD Captures from a Hauppauge HD-PVR, whereas the old WDTV the video would just freeze and you couldn't see where you were FFwd'ing to. I'll most likely plug it into the router Sunday and see what happens with the WD Discover software. | ||||||
| misterbill posted 2009 Oct 25 12:31 | ||||||
| Just a couple of things I noticed.
The thumbnail colors on Live are harsher/more saturated. With both WD TV and WD TV Live hooked up to network pc and playing the same movie at the same time, the pictures look the same. I paused both at the same scene, took a picture of each. Flipping between pics on a pc photo viewer I can't see any change. All of my iso movies play flawlessly on WD TV, however some of them will blank the screen for 2-3 seconds and then resume playing the video, in sync, on the WD TV Live. On the computer, I run MakeMKV and load the problem iso from the USB drive still on WD TV Live. I tell it to output the MKV to a different partition on the USB drive. The resulting MKV plays with none of the problems of the iso. Nice to see we can read/write through the Live. With the USB drives on the WD TV Live I have watched Star Wars I on the tv, Independance Day on the computer and Goldeneye on a wireless laptop all at the same time with no problems. All in all, a very nice, powerfull media player. | ||||||
| stiltman posted 2009 Oct 30 09:44 | ||||||
| B-Rad has updated his homebrew to flashable now.
Still no confirmation for hub support though. | ||||||
| T-Fish posted 2009 Oct 30 13:06 | ||||||
the cheapest i've found around here is $165 :( (and newegg doesn't ship overseas) bah! | ||||||
| MJA posted 2009 Oct 30 14:22 | ||||||
| right now amazon is selling it for $119 with free shipping,but u have to wait close to a month to get it
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B002KKFP9Y/ref=ox_ya_oh_product | ||||||
| stiltman posted 2009 Oct 30 14:50 | ||||||
WOW, 1-2 months wait! I didn't think it was that popular | ||||||
| MJA posted 2009 Oct 30 15:18 | ||||||
| I got the wireless adapter(airlink101) ,and I'm still waitig for the player | ||||||
| redwudz posted 2009 Oct 30 15:41 | ||||||
| I tried a cheap Edimax USB 'N' adapter and it works fine, though it's not on their list. It sets up easier with the WD box than it did with my laptop. :lol: But I have it hooked to the wired LAN now. I had a problem with it dropping the wired LAN connection after 5 minutes. Just a problem with the settings. Works fine now.
I also ordered a Optical>Coaxial adapter from MonoPrice to convert the audio format so I can use my 5 input coaxial audio switcher instead of changing the surround amp inputs all the time. About $12US. It does output optical audio at the same time as HDMI. :) | ||||||
| T-Fish posted 2009 Oct 30 17:22 | ||||||
that only ships to the U.S. for free. last time i bought something from amazon, i paid $3.50 for the dvd and $15 for the shipping :? | ||||||
| MJA posted 2009 Oct 30 17:27 | ||||||
| what about amazon uk ? | ||||||
| jman98 posted 2009 Oct 30 17:48 | ||||||
Normally that would be a great suggestion, but if I remember correctly Amazon.uk has a policy of shipping electronics only to the UK and Ireland. They won't even ship electronics to continental Europe. They will, however, ship DVDs and books anywhere. | ||||||
| MJA posted 2009 Oct 30 19:08 | ||||||
| what kind of union is this ? :lol: | ||||||
| stiltman posted 2009 Nov 04 17:00 | ||||||
Looks like the latest vesion can use USB Hubs, but only under folder view. Bummer, I just usually use all video to access videos | ||||||
| yonidass posted 2009 Nov 08 08:27 | ||||||
| Does anyone know if the new player supports multiple audio tracks in MP4 containers? I know that it does with MKVs, but the first generation doesn't support that in MP4s, at least not yet.
Thanks | ||||||
| jagabo posted 2009 Nov 08 09:30 | ||||||
Yes, it does. At least some. I have an MP4 file with Xvid video and two MP3 tracks. I can switch between them. MP4 support is not as good as MKV support though. Some h.264 videos aren't smooth (like playing 12 fps instead of 24 fps) in MP4 but play fine after remuxing to MKV. | ||||||
| yonidass posted 2009 Nov 09 13:51 | ||||||
| Thanks for the info jagabo. Good to know in case I upgrade, though it would be nice if they could include this support in the first generation player. | ||||||
| Delta2 posted 2009 Nov 09 15:13 | ||||||
| Hi,
WDTV Live doesn't have any fan inside, right ? | ||||||
| jagabo posted 2009 Nov 09 16:13 | ||||||
| No fan. Idle power consumption (including wall wart): 4 watts. Playing 1080p60 from a 8 GB thumb drive: 8 watts. | ||||||
| Wink Dinkerson posted 2009 Nov 09 18:52 | ||||||
| I was glad to see that Amazon, finally states Nov 18 availability, and no longer the 1-2 months wait. I ordered mine last night, and shows a Nov 12 ship date. I had the 1st gen WD TV, but returned, when it didn't support VOB files. I have a WD 1TB drive loaded and ready to use, as well as, gigabit wired home for streaming.
Now I am looking for a quality HDMI switch, since my 3 (or 4) year old Sony XBR only has 2 HDMI connections, but that is for another thread. | ||||||
| redwudz posted 2009 Nov 09 19:14 | ||||||
| I just updated to a 5 input HDMI switch from Monoprice and it works great. The LED operations may confuse you at first, but it does a good job of switching the inputs. http://www.monoprice.com/products/product.asp?c_id=101&cp_id= ... p;format=2
They also have other models with less inputs. I added some HDMI cables (6' purple for $1.92US :) ) and a optical>coaxial adapter for the WD Live to work with my coaxial audio switcher. I already had a HDMI splitter on the output of the HDMI switch so I can view with my projector or my LCD monitor. My projector is on the end of a 45 foot HDMI run and it all works with no problems. The WD Live has been working great. So much easier to use than the Philips 5990 for external drives. :D | ||||||
| Wink Dinkerson posted 2009 Nov 10 00:14 | ||||||
| Thank you for the response, that is the switch that I have been looking at. I discovered monoprice, while looking for ethernet cables, and I have been pleased with their products, price, and shipping. Glad to read another positive about their 5x1 switch, I read on their site that it can be synchronized with the Harmony remotes, which I have the 880. I will be purchasing in the morning. | ||||||
| MJA posted 2009 Nov 10 10:50 | ||||||
| stiltman,
is there a way to access facebook? btw. I bought mine from bestbuy for $119 + $20 off $100 using paypal .final price after tax is $109. | ||||||
| stiltman posted 2009 Nov 10 14:05 | ||||||
Not that I know of with the OEM firmware I haven't heard anyone ask about Facebook as a video site. | ||||||
| stiltman posted 2009 Nov 10 16:41 | ||||||
http://twitter.com/WDTVLive
http://wdtvforum.com/main/index.php?topic=2645.msg21367#msg21367
| ||||||
| misterbill posted 2009 Nov 17 07:18 | ||||||
| Update for the WDTV LIVE.
http://www.wdc.com/wdproducts/updates/?family=wdfwdtv_live | ||||||
| MJA posted 2009 Nov 17 09:02 | ||||||
| I checked for updates ,but nothing came up on the player.
btw.If I try to force the player to play .MOV .The WDTV2 will stop playing any format until I unplug it from the back.even clips from youtube will not play. | ||||||
| jagabo posted 2009 Nov 17 09:27 | ||||||
I tried that too. No luck. But if you go to the web site, download the file, and follow the instructions you'll get the update. | ||||||
| redwudz posted 2009 Nov 17 13:36 | ||||||
| I had to DL and install from a USB drive also. | ||||||
| edong posted 2009 Nov 17 14:10 | ||||||
| What are the pros and cons of buying either this WDTV Live or PC with HDMI port? I'll be more interested in the quality arguments. Thanks. | ||||||
| redwudz posted 2009 Nov 17 14:49 | ||||||
| A PC should be able to play just about any format, with the right programs installed. You can also install a HDTV tuner to access video from cable or a satellite. But the cost is $500 - $1000 or more.
The WDTV can play quite a few formats. It also has some internet access and can also access video over a LAN from other computers on your system, including a wireless LAN. It does have HDMI and digital audio output. It also can use USB drives for extended video storage. If your primary intent is to play video, it's one option to a full HTPC computer. I think it's a great addition to a system for simple video access. If you have a surround sound amp and a viewing system, LCD, Plasma, or projector, it's a good alternative to a PC. It doesn't replace a PC, but the cost is about $120US. :) EDIT: To address quality issues. Not many. A PC gives you more playback adjustments, depending on the player. But I see no real quality differences playing back a HD MKV video and audio from the WDTV compared to my HTPC. I send the HDMI out to a projector with a 12' screen and the audio goes to my audio surround sound amplifier. | ||||||
| misterbill posted 2009 Nov 18 13:27 | ||||||
This is the new Firmware for the player. It looks like it takes care of a bunch of minor glitches. It also closes the hole for being able to play 1080p over component cables. If that is of concern, you might not want to update. I have played MOV files from my camera with no problems. | ||||||
| MJA posted 2009 Nov 18 15:20 | ||||||
can you play.MOV from a flash/hd? | ||||||
| Wink Dinkerson posted 2009 Nov 18 15:24 | ||||||
| I received my WD Live, last night :D I downloaded the latest WD firmware to the USB, as per instructions, and at setup, the WD Live immediately found, and loaded the firmware. Pleased at the ease of set-up, with networking via ethernet, WD Live was found and configured automatically. My wife is glad that she no longer needs to locate DVDs, and can easily find our movies via the WD Live.
When the Queen is Happy, the Kingdom is Happy! Thank You redwudz for the advice on the HDMI splitter. I ordered splitter and cables (hdmi, toslink, usb), but no expedited shipping, due to monoprice moving warehouse :( Keeping the thread alive. | ||||||
| redwudz posted 2009 Nov 19 01:53 | ||||||
| The HDMI splitter works very well for me. I output to my projector and LCD VGA/HDMI monitor at the same time. I have to switch the LCD monitor over to HDMI, but it permits me to view my two DVD changers or the WDTV on my monitor without having another switch. If your HDMI/VGA monitor gets stuck on HDMI input, just use the HDMI switch to select a different HDMI input and the monitor will go back to VGA. (That took a while to figure out. :lol: )
The optical>coaxial converter just works, no problems at all. Nice if your surround amp only has coaxial or that's all you want to use. Same quality as optical. Now if I can just program my Harmony remote to replace all seven remotes. :lol: I have no complaints about the WDTV box. Works very well with my system. :D The LAN setup was very easy and worked right away with all my shared drives. I also found I could share any of my DVD ROM drives over the LAN, so they are available to the WDTV also. | ||||||
| Delta2 posted 2009 Nov 19 02:27 | ||||||
| Does anybody know where I can buy a mini-jack to RCA Composite Cable bigger than the original ? | ||||||
| misterbill posted 2009 Nov 19 03:50 | ||||||
If you mean longer, Google rca extension cables and add them to your original cable. | ||||||
| jagabo posted 2009 Nov 19 06:51 | ||||||
| The mini pin plug to RCA yellow/red/white cables are quite common because they are used by many camcorders. You can find them just about anywhere that sells A/V cables. For example:
http://www.amazon.com/HIGH-QUALITY-CAMCORDER-AT19032-2-Atlona-Tec ... 0017M5VRC/ |
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