Forum Archive Home -> Latest Video News -> Western Digital WDTV new version
Western Digital WDTV new version | ||||
| jagabo posted 2009 Aug 17 10:17 | ||||
| Some details on the rumored updated Western Digital TV HD Media Player:
http://www.reghardware.co.uk/2009/08/17/wd_tv_2/ http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=1167923 Ethernet port! DTS and component out too. Update 13-OCT-2009: It's official: http://www.wdc.com/en/products/Products.asp?DriveID=735 It does have Ethernet, DTS, and component output. | ||||
| jman98 posted 2009 Aug 17 11:15 | ||||
| Thanks for this. I suppose it might be worth mentioning to those who don't own the current one that the current player does support DTS right now in pass through mode to a receiver which can decode it. So having a DTS encoder built into the player isn't that big of a deal for me, but I guess if someone is a cheapskate with only an HDTV and no receiver then it might be a big deal to that person.
There is a hacked firmware available for the current player that supports wireless streaming, but I've never tried it. Playing off USB thumb drives works fine for my needs. Official support might be nice I guess, but it's not like you are powerless with the current player. One thing that stands out to me is that the AVS forum has a LOT of seriously pissed off people bitching incessantly about how much the current player sucks. Screw them. I hate AVS. I really do. Anyway, most of the people here find that the current player works fine for their needs. Do note that the next gen player does NOT appear to any support for HD audio formats currently used on Blu Ray, so if someone is expecting that, they will be disappointed. | ||||
| jagabo posted 2009 Aug 17 12:33 | ||||
| Most of the complaints at AVS Forums seem to do with advanced audio from Blu-ray rips. 5.1 AC3, AAC, and DTS is good enough for me. I'll probably break down and get one. I've been waiting for native ethernet support. | ||||
| TBoneit posted 2009 Aug 17 13:39 | ||||
| I read tha whole message thread and I wonder what player they are using.
I use mine all the time and I never noticed that it was useless junk like that set of posts would imply. I like mine and am thinking of getting a second one for another room. My only gripe is some mp4 only play the audio through my sound system and not through the HDMI cable. Most play fine with audio through the TV. Those would play OK on the other TV I'm thinking of getting one for. Cheers | ||||
| stiltman posted 2009 Aug 20 11:19 | ||||
| I just picked one up last night.
just composite and HDMI Haven't tried any othe the modded firmwares So I guess this is the old one | ||||
| jman98 posted 2009 Aug 20 12:37 | ||||
| @stiltman - Correct. The new one in jagabo's links hasn't even been announced officially. It's a sneak peak of a model that might go on sale sometime in the near future. There are 2 firmware hacks available. One allows you to play from USB attached DVD drives if you put a USB stick in the other USB slot (they can't make the USB DVD drive work without using the other slot as well). The other one allows wireless streaming. If you're interested but can't find them, send me a PM about it and I'll look them up for you. I've used neither though.
@TBoneit - Yeah, I don't get it either. I guess some of those AVS losers act like they are being asked to give up a testicle because (gasp!) HD audio formats aren't supported. You know, I find it amusing that none of those people blinks about the video being re-encoded down to a much significantly lower bit rate, but you dare to give them AC3 or DTS instead of high def audio (even though probably 99% of them couldn't tell the difference) and they act like some crime against humanity has happened. | ||||
| robertazimmerman posted 2009 Aug 20 16:16 | ||||
| Would you folks still criticize the AVS people if they said that they preferred the sound of CDs to MP3s? It is the same analogy as DTS-MA & Dolby TrueHD to Dolby Digital 5.1 & DTS. | ||||
| Supreme2k posted 2009 Aug 20 18:27 | ||||
Maybe, if that was the only thing that they were bitching about (and the analogies aren't quite the same). They seem to have an irrational hatred of it, bordering on Mac vs. PC. | ||||
| KTH posted 2009 Aug 20 18:52 | ||||
| So where does the WD TV mini fit into all this?
http://www.wdc.com/en/products/Products.asp?DriveID=681 | ||||
| jagabo posted 2009 Aug 20 19:28 | ||||
I hadn't seen that before. It appears to be a standard def version of the WDTV. | ||||
| lowellriggsiam posted 2009 Aug 20 20:02 | ||||
| The people in AVS were generally complainig that it didn't play things it never claimed to support. | ||||
| jagabo posted 2009 Oct 13 08:32 | ||||
| It's official (list price US$149, Google search show US$120 on the street):
http://www.wdc.com/en/products/Products.asp?DriveID=735 http://www.wdc.com/en/products/index.asp?cat=30 http://www.reghardware.co.uk/2009/10/13/review_media_player_wd_tv_live/
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| rumplestiltskin posted 2009 Oct 13 08:46 | ||||
| Stay away from the "mini" version. You save $20 but give up a number of formats and features you will regret later. You'll have to examine the WD web pages for the two products (now three, with the new Ethernet-equipped model) as they do not have an all-inclusive comparison matrix.
I've owned the non-mini model and can report it works quite well, especially if you have an older, composite SDTV and still want to have it play everything your AppleTV will (and then some). | ||||
| SingSing posted 2009 Oct 13 11:38 | ||||
| Sigh...., does not play flash video. :oops: | ||||
| jagabo posted 2009 Oct 13 11:49 | ||||
Thank god. | ||||
| jstewart posted 2009 Oct 13 12:49 | ||||
| The first one is one of the greatest electronics I have owned. Bought a 400gb Passport drive with it and take it over to friends houses/parties. Eventually, it will be built right into a TV. But for 100$ it is one of the best investments I have ever made. I use it for seasons, movies, ects. | ||||
| edDV posted 2009 Oct 13 13:39 | ||||
Me too. I almost have the whole house wired with Cat6 (gigabit) but to reach the living room, I need to get down under the house. Maybe next spring. Meanwhile I'm monitoring user feedback. | ||||
| stiltman posted 2009 Oct 13 14:19 | ||||
| I'm going to pick one up tonight. It has the main thing I wanted and that was component output. My HDTV only has DVI, and my HTIB is using it. So instead of buying a HDMI switch and hoping every will work with my generation 2 TV, I'll just use my last set of component inputs. Then I'll router the digital audio to my HTIB surround sound system.
BTW, my HTIB has a HDMI input, but it's also real old (same age as the TV) so nothing seems to work with it (comcast, HD-DVD player, WDTV) | ||||
| jagabo posted 2009 Oct 13 14:26 | ||||
| It looks like it uses some special adapter cable for YPbPr. | ||||
| MOVIEGEEK posted 2009 Oct 13 14:49 | ||||
| Now if the TV Live streamed Netflix it would be perfect. | ||||
| stiltman posted 2009 Oct 13 15:33 | ||||
yeah, just a mini jack BTW, I started a topic here http://forum.videohelp.com/topic374280.html | ||||
| edDV posted 2009 Oct 13 15:52 | ||||
I'm also looking at tr Roku box for other locations. http://www.roku.com/technology | ||||
| misterbill posted 2009 Oct 14 03:04 | ||||
WDTV Live supports uPNP and is able to see a Playon media server. From there, one can watch online Netflix movies and Hulu content. | ||||
| jagabo posted 2009 Oct 14 06:58 | ||||
Could you elaborate on this a bit? Can you navigate and select Netflix movies from the WDTV interface or do you have to navigate on the computer, select a movie, then simply watch via the WDTV? | ||||
| rumplestiltskin posted 2009 Oct 14 10:04 | ||||
| Just checked the WD website. They now have a main page for the three devices and, indeed, it is a comparison matrix. | ||||
| budwzr posted 2009 Oct 25 09:57 | ||||
| Is that Leisure Suit Larry? Hahaha, what a hoot. | ||||
| MJA posted 2009 Oct 25 09:58 | ||||
| I wonder if you can access redtube.com :devil: :lol: :lol: | ||||
| lowellriggsiam posted 2009 Oct 25 11:25 | ||||
| I had the original WD HD media player and was quite pleased with it. The local Best Buy didn't have the new version, but they did have the Seagate's New FreeAgent Theater+™ HD Media Player. I bought it and it works even better. It even plays DVDISOs menu and all. It loads quicker and the picutre seems smoother. It has an yet to be released wifi antenna. These new devices sure have been exciting. | ||||
| MJA posted 2009 Oct 25 12:09 | ||||
| I think the FreeAgent Theater+ is not wifi friendly like the WDTV2 | ||||
| MJA posted 2009 Oct 25 12:12 | ||||
but what else can you watch beside Netflix on the Roku? | ||||
| jagabo posted 2009 Oct 25 12:24 | ||||
It looks like Amazon Video and Major League Baseball right now. | ||||
| lowellriggsiam posted 2009 Oct 25 12:25 | ||||
This may be true, but still better than the WDTV1. I don't have mine even hooked to the internet yet as I am still awaiting segate to release the wifi adapter to market, but soon I will. | ||||
| MJA posted 2009 Oct 25 12:36 | ||||
that's mean seagate is going to charge top dollar($49 ,and up) for their adapter | ||||
| spat posted 2009 Nov 09 17:43 | ||||
Actually it is DNLA certified so you can stream just about anything to it if you find or build the right tools to do so. I highly recommend "Playon" regardless of other tools you might try. I have tried others but Playon has been the easiest one so far. Currently I have about 25 sites I can stream from. There are more available but not of interest to me. And plenty of people are working on adding more. Go to Playonplugins.com to see what is available. Currently three formats are being used to get content: plugins, podcasts, and scripts. Though technically they are all scripts of some sort I think. I love this little box, I watch online content almost exslusively now. And the audio is fine, though settings a little tricky. I suspect that may be where many are having issues on the audio. It wont flip back and forth between digital and analog on it's own so you have to do it manually. I suspect a firmware upgrade could fix that. I just leave it on analog and it sounds great to me. | ||||
| SatStorm posted 2009 Nov 12 07:54 | ||||
| AFAIK, those Western Digital WDTVs are nothing more than nmt based solutions. Symbas and the nmt community write the software and the applications. So, whatever appears on popcorn hour / egrate / etc, appears soon or later on WDTVs.
And all of them have problem with the ssa subtitles. so the anime fans can't really use them for watching them. There are some ideas to convert those machines for internet tv. I follow the nmt community forum and there is some success in that direction. But overall, I believe that the best solution we have today is a laptop running GeexBox. Cost around the same and gives more. | ||||
| rumplestiltskin posted 2009 Nov 12 08:41 | ||||
| re: subtitles on the WD TV Media Player (the original)
In my experience, dropping an AVI and the ".srt" subtitle file (otherwise named the same) into the HD attached to the WDTV let the device display the subtitles without a problem. I would have liked the ability to enlarge the subtitles with a preference setting but that was a minor complaint. I do not know if they added this preference to the new network-enabled player. I'll bet if enough people ask for it, they'll add it to the next firmware update. | ||||
| jagabo posted 2009 Nov 12 13:13 | ||||
| The WDTV Live has several choices of subtitle size when displaying SRT subs. They range from 24 to 40 (point? pixels?). I don't know how this corresponds the the original WDTV's sub size. | ||||
| rumplestiltskin posted 2009 Nov 12 15:13 | ||||
| Ask and ye shall receive... :D |
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