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Vykk.Draygo
Jan 17, 2004

I say salesmen and women of the world unite!

Weird Uncle Dave posted:

I did, didn't help.

Weird. Were you using wired or wireless network? Standard or high def content?

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Weird Uncle Dave
Sep 2, 2003

I could do this all day.

Wired, and all standard-def. The "locks up after five minutes" problem was regardless of what I was viewing, as long as it came from my desktop; had the same problem with a number of AVI, MKV, WMV files. Don't think I tested it with any music where the individual song was longer than five minutes, and as I said the network was just fine; I could watch 10-minute YouTube clips.

The unit already has been returned, and I'm not too worried about it - maybe there really is something unique about my home network. Can't imagine what, though. My post was really more of a cautionary tale about their support than anything.

Jook
Jul 16, 2002


My Xbox 360 finally RRoD'd and so I ran out and bought one of these (I've been contemplating an HTPC or something like this for many many months).

Very impressed with how well this runs and plays everything I throw at it. Definitely worth the $119 (sidenote on that, Best Buy has it for $149 in store but it's $119 on their website so you have to have the cashier pricematch themselves)

I did have one problem which was audio sync issues with a 1080p mkv. I'm running an HDMI to my TV and optical to my receiver. I finally got things working properly by changing the audio from Digital to Analog in the WD TV settings. My audio setup isn't that amazing so I guess I'll deal.. it's better than staring at people's lips and getting upset the entire time.

DigitalD
Nov 6, 2004
just wanna make sex

I just got my wd tv live yesterday and tried to set it up running the component cables and the optical audio to my receiver (Onkyo TXSR 601). I was not able to get any picture when running the component to the receiver. I know the inputs work because I just had an xbox 360 connected to them before I sold that. I tried changing the video out on the WDTV to component and a few of the different resolution settings (Should work with 1080i, the xbox did) but never got anything to go through the receiver. I did hook the WDTV directly to the component inputs on the TV and was able to get picture that way.

Any ideas?

heyou
Dec 30, 2004
Mr. Green....Gesundheit.

I'm thinking about picking one of these up and getting rid of my half-assed media center PC. I scraped together cast-off pc components from my friends and threw them together in a case I had laying around and dumped all my music and photos onto it as my "file sever". I only use it as storage and also use to stream Netflix and Hulu to my tv.

If i get a WD TV Live and an external hard drive and connect it to my network, can I replaced this PC? I would want to be able to access any files on the external drive from any of the computers on the network, and be able to stream movies off the internet directly to the tv without having a 3rd desktop PC somewhere.

QPZIL
Jun 1, 2003

THE SLOVAK SHOCK


heyou posted:

I'm thinking about picking one of these up and getting rid of my half-assed media center PC. I scraped together cast-off pc components from my friends and threw them together in a case I had laying around and dumped all my music and photos onto it as my "file sever". I only use it as storage and also use to stream Netflix and Hulu to my tv.

If i get a WD TV Live and an external hard drive and connect it to my network, can I replaced this PC? I would want to be able to access any files on the external drive from any of the computers on the network, and be able to stream movies off the internet directly to the tv without having a 3rd desktop PC somewhere.

If you want to stream from Hulu/Netflix, you're out of luck with the WDTV. The Live version only supports Youtube/Pandora/Live365/Flickr, but they may add more websites down the road. It does all the other things you want though!

mediaphage
Mar 22, 2007


I finally put up a review of one of these if anyone on the cusp is interested. Seriously just buy one, they're pretty much awesome. I'd replace my HTPC with it if I didn't want to record stuff.

Kristneder
Jul 21, 2006


Why choose this instead of a popcorn hour?

Is it noisy?

Wouldn't there be some sort of difference in picture quality, when comparing it to my laptop (9650m GT)?

Vykk.Draygo
Jan 17, 2004

I say salesmen and women of the world unite!

Kristneder posted:

Why choose this instead of a popcorn hour?

Is it noisy?

Wouldn't there be some sort of difference in picture quality, when comparing it to my laptop (9650m GT)?

Its much cheaper than PH and it makes no noise at all.

Kristneder
Jul 21, 2006


Vykk.Draygo posted:

Its much cheaper than PH and it makes no noise at all.

Awesome! What can you tell me about the picture quality on this thing?

butterypancakes
Aug 19, 2006

mmm pancakes


Kristneder posted:

Awesome! What can you tell me about the picture quality on this thing?

The same as anything else

Kristneder
Jul 21, 2006


butterypancakes posted:

The same as anything else

So there is really no reason not to buy it? ;O

mediaphage
Mar 22, 2007


Kristneder posted:

So there is really no reason not to buy it? ;O

Pretty much. Well, okay - if you're buying it for video, there's really no reason not to get one. The audio and photos and stuff are okay, but not amazing. Flickr and Pandora are neat, and the YouTube stuff (esp the new HD stuff) is fun. But the real draw is video. It plays almost anything, it outputs over HDMI, component or composite, and the quality is as good as the source file can be. The remote is small and easy to use, and doesn't have too many buttons. I also like the fact that the menus are all done in HD, too.

Tap
Apr 12, 2003

Note to self: Do not shove foreign objects in mouth.

I'm a little bummed right now. I updated to the latest firmware and after restarting the unit froze. I pulled the plug and turned it back on and now I get an error "Insert a USB drive with firmware to recover your WDTV".

I tried that and didn't get anywhere. It seems like there's no way to recover once you get this error. That deeply saddens me.

I guess it's back to Best Buy to get my 3rd unit.

EDIT: DO NOT UPGRADE TO THE .12 FIRMWARE. THIS ISSUE IS OCCURRING FOR A LOT OF PEOPLE AND IT WILL PROBABLY HAPPEN TO YOU.

Tap fucked around with this message at Dec 4, 2009 around 04:55

Hughmoris
Apr 21, 2007
Let's go to the abyss!

Tap posted:

I'm a little bummed right now. I updated to the latest firmware and after restarting the unit froze. I pulled the plug and turned it back on and now I get an error "Insert a USB drive with firmware to recover your WDTV".

I tried that and didn't get anywhere. It seems like there's no way to recover once you get this error. That deeply saddens me.

I guess it's back to Best Buy to get my 3rd unit.

EDIT: DO NOT UPGRADE TO THE .12 FIRMWARE. THIS ISSUE IS OCCURRING FOR A LOT OF PEOPLE AND IT WILL PROBABLY HAPPEN TO YOU.

Son of a bitch, I read this a little too late. Was coming in here to warn everyone. If someone finds a way to fix this, please post it. I really don't feel like dealing with BB over this.

TylerK
Jan 15, 2001



I just got mine yesterday and it installed .12 right off the bat. No issues at all so far. If it makes any difference, I don't have any USB drives hooked up to it and I'm only using it for network shares.

Hughmoris
Apr 21, 2007
Let's go to the abyss!

TylerK posted:

I just got mine yesterday and it installed .12 right off the bat. No issues at all so far. If it makes any difference, I don't have any USB drives hooked up to it and I'm only using it for network shares.

I did mine the exact same way, bricked it. Word that I'm hearing is that WD support is saying go swap the box out whereever you purchased it. I'm 31 days out of my purchase date, so no returning it to Best Buy. This is royally hosed. I really don't want to have to resort to shady poo poo to swap out this box at a retailer.

got dat wmd
Apr 28, 2009



I don't know how WD is handling the firmware fiasco, but they removed the new update from their website.

Also, with the new custom firmware, some folks on the wdtv forums have managed to get a working Debian linux system working on the WDTV Live, complete with torrent programs and web interface if anyone's interested. Not gonna link it but it's easy to find on wdtvforums.com

Greenfield
Jan 27, 2005


I am seriously thinking about getting one of these. Does anyone use a logitech harmony remote with it? Does it work?

Polluxx Troy
Mar 12, 2005

...authorities here are on alert...

Greenfield posted:

I am seriously thinking about getting one of these. Does anyone use a logitech harmony remote with it? Does it work?

Just got one and it works fine with my Harmony 880.

got dat wmd
Apr 28, 2009



Just don't do what I did whilst setting up my Harmony One and manually set it up within the software. I could barely get it to work until I did the "make activities for my new devices" thing.

Lot 49
Dec 7, 2007

I'll do anything
For my sweet sixteen


If I connect an mp3 player or camera to the WD TV via USB will it recognise it as a drive that I can access files from? They don't have to be accessed from a regular hard drive like a my passport or anything do they?

lichen
May 13, 2004


The .12 update bricked my unit as well, and according to the following thread, just about everyone else as well. I still don't have the slightest clue of what the fix for this is going to be, I just hope that there's some way that we don't have to RMA it.

I don't know why they would choose to do a "critical" update like that on a Friday anyhow. The most hilarious part of all of this is that the only thing in the release notes for that particular update is something to the effect of "critical updates to make the firmware updating system more stable and reliable."

http://community.wdc.com/t5/forums/...ad-id/37/page/1

TylerK
Jan 15, 2001



avsforum did a poll: http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=1203076

34 bricked and 33 not bricked. I'm guessing a lot of people with still-functioning units aren't racing to the internet to yell about a firmware update that changed seemingly nothing. Mine's still working, but this whole fiasco will certainly make me wait a few days before installing any new firmware that pops up.

On that note, has anyone had any experience with putting custom firmware on this thing? I'd really like to customize the GUI backgrounds/colors, but I know next to nothing about Linux.

usurper
Oct 19, 2003

Sup

For 1/2 the price, I think I'd still take the PH (or build XBMC on a Acer Revo). Western Digital has no business being in this business and this firmware thing shows it.

BabyJesus
Nov 13, 2002


Can anyone comment on the network connection?

I want to pick this up, I've got a DD-WRT WRT54G v3.3 router inside my home theatre console, connected bridge mode to my main router upstairs. I can plug the WDTV Live in with an ethernet cable, but it will be a wifi link to my PC/Network storage upstairs.

Will this be detrimental to my ability to play SD/HD content from my PC upstairs?

Wreckus
Dec 15, 2007

From birth, man carries the weight of gravity on his shoulders. He is bolted to earth. But man has only to sink beneath the surface and he is free.

BabyJesus posted:

Can anyone comment on the network connection?

I want to pick this up, I've got a DD-WRT WRT54G v3.3 router inside my home theatre console, connected bridge mode to my main router upstairs. I can plug the WDTV Live in with an ethernet cable, but it will be a wifi link to my PC/Network storage upstairs.

Will this be detrimental to my ability to play SD/HD content from my PC upstairs?

You can play HD content over Wireless (assuming you're using G/N and not seeing packet loss). A 1080p movie in h.264 uses about 8-12Mb/s for video and 1.5-2Mb/s for audio.

coolskillrex remix
Jan 1, 2007

gorsh

usurper posted:

For 1/2 the price, I think I'd still take the PH (or build XBMC on a Acer Revo). Western Digital has no business being in this business and this firmware thing shows it.

western digital is the largest harddrive manufacturer in the world if im not mistaken (and if not theyre certainly #1 in most peoples books), they can certainly handle mass RMAs. it may be a pain but for $150 cheaper than a popcorn hour (considering id have to pay tax which brings it to around $250, and the wd tv live is constantly going on sale for near $100) i think ill deal with it.

BabyJesus
Nov 13, 2002


Wreckus posted:

You can play HD content over Wireless (assuming you're using G/N and not seeing packet loss). A 1080p movie in h.264 uses about 8-12Mb/s for video and 1.5-2Mb/s for audio.

Thanks, sorry I am a bit of a newb. It's using a Wifi-G link. Is there a way to test the throughput of the network between the desktop upstairs and my laptop/netbook downstairs? Is the transfer speed shown in the Windows 7 dialog accurate enough?

Hillridge
Aug 3, 2004

WWheeeeeee!

I've been kicking around the idea of canceling my dish network subscription, but the fact that my 360 won't play mkv files has been holding me back. I think I'll get one of these to try out, and if it goes smooth, goodbye overpriced dish network!

Edit:

Why not just buy it online from bestbuy with in store pickup? $119 no hassle. It's also the same price on Amazon.

Hillridge fucked around with this message at Dec 8, 2009 around 20:40

Wreckus
Dec 15, 2007

From birth, man carries the weight of gravity on his shoulders. He is bolted to earth. But man has only to sink beneath the surface and he is free.

BabyJesus posted:

Thanks, sorry I am a bit of a newb. It's using a Wifi-G link. Is there a way to test the throughput of the network between the desktop upstairs and my laptop/netbook downstairs? Is the transfer speed shown in the Windows 7 dialog accurate enough?

Wireless G should be fine (It is ~54Mb). The dialog should be pretty close to accurate, you can also check in the Resource monitor (Task Manager -> Performance Tab -> Resource Monitor) to show network utilization in terms of actual bits per second.

kri kri
Jul 18, 2007



HD Nation reviwed the WD TV today

http://revision3.com/hdnation/wdlive#rev3Player

Qaz Kwaz
Jul 24, 2003
What's your email? I've got some shitty posts that you NEED to read.

Picked one of these up tonight. It is PERFECT for what I wanted: a simple way to watch HD content. It handles shares well, hooks up with a NAS, attached USB, and also YouTube. At first it didn't play poo poo, but I did a hard reset (unplugged it), and after that everything has worked like a dream. There's nothing this HASN'T played. Best of all, everything is instantaneous--no transcoding. That's what I hated about using the PS3. You couldn't fast forward, poo poo was constantly breaking. This is smooth. Best of all--$120! Well worth the money.

Regnevelc
Jan 12, 2003

I'M A GROWN ASS MAN!

I'm debating selling my ASROCK Ion 330 and picking up one of these. XBMC is constantly locking up on me and requiring me to reset the unit it if the video is paused for more than an hour.

mediaphage
Mar 22, 2007


Regnevelc posted:

I'm debating selling my ASROCK Ion 330 and picking up one of these. XBMC is constantly locking up on me and requiring me to reset the unit it if the video is paused for more than an hour.

Have you tried Boxee?

Regnevelc
Jan 12, 2003

I'M A GROWN ASS MAN!

mediaphage posted:

Have you tried Boxee?

No, but isn't that basically the ASRock? I can probably fix the issue, but my linux understanding is nil.

Hillridge
Aug 3, 2004

WWheeeeeee!

What exactly do I have to do to get pictures to show up for my folders/files in a network share? (i.e. the cover of a DVD for a DVDrip, etc.). I tried naming the image folder.jpg, but it didn't work. Cover art seems to work in music mode though.

mediaphage
Mar 22, 2007


Regnevelc posted:

No, but isn't that basically the ASRock? I can probably fix the issue, but my linux understanding is nil.

No, I meant Boxee instead of XBMC. It's a port of XBMC but at this point has an entirely different dev team working on things. I'm not saying it'll work better for you, but it's worth a try if nothing else.

TylerK
Jan 15, 2001



Hillridge posted:

What exactly do I have to do to get pictures to show up for my folders/files in a network share? (i.e. the cover of a DVD for a DVDrip, etc.). I tried naming the image folder.jpg, but it didn't work. Cover art seems to work in music mode though.
The folder.jpg thing only works for attached USB drives, not network shares. It bums me out as well.

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mediaphage
Mar 22, 2007


Hillridge posted:

What exactly do I have to do to get pictures to show up for my folders/files in a network share? (i.e. the cover of a DVD for a DVDrip, etc.). I tried naming the image folder.jpg, but it didn't work. Cover art seems to work in music mode though.

I don't think you can at this point. It didn't work for me, and I believe I saw someone somewhere comment on that issue and asked for it in a future firmware release.

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