WDTV Live...

[purbeast0]

i've recently had the need to get something that will play basically any media file on my tv, in HD or SD.

basically I want to be able to do the following:
- stream videos from my pc to the tv (wireless and/or wired, not 100% sure if i can wire it yet)
- be able to basically play every media format out there, HD or SD, without having to re-encode.
- be able to play from a usb device
- be able to play 5.1 or possibly higher sound

can the WDTV Live do this? are there any other devices that you would recommend that can do this?

it just seems that if WDTV can do all that and it's only $90 on amazon, that it is a no brainer to get, and that it seems very cheap even.

i'd also like to hear about the GUI of the WDTV Live because i've read a little bit about it being clunky, but i'd like to here personal opinions of people who are on these forums as well.

 

[stargazr]

I bought one, chose it over Roku because I wanted to be able to play movies from my PC in addition to Netflix streaming. I had no problem with setting it up on my network, and watch .avi, .mkv, and vob( DVD rips) files no problem. You should be able to download info from WD's website for a complete list of file compatibility.

Not sure about your question about audio, I need to get a sound system (still just have dreadful flatscreen TV sound).

Yes it has a USB port. I had to use it for the latest firmware update. The automatic update failed.

As for the GUI, there are some good videos on youtube that will give you an idea, and also I think Amazon. I like it but some people don't. My only issue is that it is generally slow to 'warm up', and respond to the remote. I started of using wireless but after one time I lost connection (not sure if it was the wireless itself), I crawled up in the attic and ran a line just for peace of mind.

 

[tydas]

I have the WD TV and the only file it will not play are my home videos that are AVI's from a Panasonic camcorder....one thing to note that although the WD uses wireless N, its not on the 5ghz band...i have had some issues sending HD movies over wireless although i'm not 100% sure of the cause.

I've been using this custom theme http://community.wdc.com/t5/WD-TV-*...ight-for-SMP-Beta-UPDATED-7-17-12/td-p/407350 and it looks and works great, although its a bit of work to get the movie info to come in correctly.

For audio, the only audio it cannot handle is DTS-MA, it does do Dolby True HD surprisingly...

It has all the basic services like NetFlix, Pandora but its definitely limited compared to the Roku...

Roku does have a channel called the 'Plex' which basically allows you to play any file through the Roku..it requires you set up a 'plex server' on your pc and it trans-codes on the fly so you need a relatively modern PC...I like the 'Plex' option and have tried it but I did have issues playing movies while the WD did not have those issues...

 

[RaiderJ]

Really a bummer the 5GHz channel isn't supported, 2.4GHz N sometimes isn't enough for 1080p streaming. Otherwise, the WDTV boxes are really cool.

 

[rbk123]

I have 2 of the WD TV Live Plus's and I have them hardwired for HD bandwidth reasons. My experience:
- I play VOB's, MP4's, MKV's and M2TS's with it
- handles MKV's somewhat better than MP4's (can be a bit quirky with MP4's)
- will pass all audio formats except DTS HD MA (licensing reason from DTS due to the WD not having an optical platter)
- I use it with both file sharing and with a media server app (both Mezzmo and Serviio)
- Windows file sharing can't keep up with HD streaming so I use the Media server for M2TS's and high quality MP4's/MKV's
- Media servers don't support the menu's on a DVD (ripped to the server), so for VOB rips I watch those via Windows file sharing
- I use it when I go visit the folks - I bring it and several USB drives with the movies I want to watch. USB works fine.

I had Netflix and it works fine but I stopped paying for it as the Netflix streaming quality just does not cut it for me.

 

[sperho]

I chose it for pretty much the same reasons that you did, however, I didn't care if it played every file I could throw at it. I just wanted to be able to play my home movies without transcoding, which are captured Sony Digital 8 files and Panasonic mkv files, which it does, but I do get audio sync problems more than I would like. The UI is OK, I guess.

 

[birthdaymonkey]

I have a WDTV Live and a WDTV Live streaming, and I like them well enough. I also recently purchased a Micca EP600. All of these media players have drawbacks, however. The WDTV Live Streaming would be close to perfect for me if it weren't for an issue it seems to have with mkv playback at 24Hz. Some files play fine, but others stutter periodically and erratically (even though they play fine at 60Hz with 3:2 pulldown). The Micca plays these files with perfect smoothness, but it doesn't deal well with mkv files that have AAC audio tracks, and it lacks the refinement of the WDTV Live Streaming. Both players handle DD5.1 and DTS fine. My old WDTV Live has been a real workhorse for me. I've been staying with an older firmware with it, and it seems to have no issues with files that the Streaming handles poorly. For $100, these players would all be pretty good for your purposes, but I can't recommend them without any reservations.

 

[purbeast0]

sorry guys, i totally forgot i created this thread lol.

so the stuttering that you can get on some of the HD files, is that only when streaming wirelessly? or is that streaming wired, or even from the USB?

also, i'm not too familiar with most audio that comes with blurays, but is this DTS HD MA audio the most common one with blu-rays? Like I'm just wondering if I will be able to watch bluray rips with the good audio as well from this thing.

it's only $80 over on amazon so it's tempting right now...

 

[birthdaymonkey]

The stuttering I've experienced with mkv files is over a wired network. I don't think it's network related, as I've had higher bitrate files play fine, but I should test and see if it does this when played from a USB drive as well.

 

[tydas]

ut is this DTS HD MA audio the most common one with blu-rays?

In all honesty, i've read that you probably would not notice a difference between regular DTS and DTS-MA..but to each his own...

 

[rbk123]

Deleted due to erroneous info.

 

[purbeast0]

DTS HD MA nor TrueHD are supported in MKV or MP4's, so it's fairly moot. You will get a DTS 5.1 and DD 5.1 track off the Bluray if you convert to an MKV or MP4 which are very good. You'll need to use the M2TS container if you want to keep the DTS HD MA or TrueHD track.

thanks that is pretty much what I'm wondering. i don't plan on having anything more than 5.1 or 5.2 regardless.

 

[tydas]

just an FYI in case you do not know about this...

http://community.wdc.com/t5/WD-TV-Live-Hub-Themes/BLACK-MAMBA-V1-9-with-ThumbGen-Bundles/td-p/377799

this seems pretty cool, i have used other themes but the moviesheet set up was kinda painful..this seems to fix that..going to try it this weekend...

 

[assassin24]

DTS HD MA nor TrueHD are supported in MKV or MP4's, so it's fairly moot. You will get a DTS 5.1 and DD 5.1 track off the Bluray if you convert to an MKV or MP4 which are very good. You'll need to use the M2TS container if you want to keep the DTS HD MA or TrueHD track.

I don't think this is correct.

 

[Severian]

nor do I. while the spec for MP4 specifies stereo only sound, it can be jerry-rigged to output multichannel sound if the splitter supports it. I also have many MKV files that include and play back DTS-MA and Dolby TrueHD via my HTPC.

 

[rbk123]

MP4 can provide an AC3 stream (which is multi-channel sound), it does not have codec support for TrueHD or HD MA, as far as I've been able to research.
MKV - I see mixed info on TrueHD/HD MA but have had no luck getting either into an MKV container via Handbrake. If anyone has had success doing that - could you PM me the info on how to accomplish it? I've tried all the different audio pass-thru settings with no luck.

 

[assassin24]

MP4 can provide an AC3 stream (which is multi-channel sound), it does not have codec support for TrueHD or HD MA, as far as I've been able to research.
MKV - I see mixed info on TrueHD/HD MA but have had no luck getting either into an MKV container via Handbrake. If anyone has had success doing that - could you PM me the info on how to accomplish it? I've tried all the different audio pass-thru settings with no luck.

There are test and sample HD Audio MKV files that you can download for free that are available via google.

 

[Severian]

I just peel out the elemental video stream and the DTS-MA or Dolby TrueHD stream from the m2ts on the BluRay disc, and simply remux them using MKVMerge. I use LAV as my splitter of choice, it's the only one that will reliably handle bitstreaming the two hidef audio codecs to my Onkyo AVR.

Just need to keep an eye on what the source fps is so you can specify it for MKV merge when it prompts you; I use MediaInfo for source interrogation.

 

[rbk123]

You prefer LAV over tsMuxer?

 

[rbk123]

There are test and sample HD Audio MKV files that you can download for free that are available via google.

That would be good to test audio with but I was referring to Bluray rips I do. I've been using DVDFAB to rip and then Handbrake to generate the MKV. I just haven't been able to retain the DTS HD MA track in the MKV with Handbrake.

 

[assassin24]

That would be good to test audio with but I was referring to Bluray rips I do. I've been using DVDFAB to rip and then Handbrake to generate the MKV. I just haven't been able to retain the DTS HD MA track in the MKV with Handbrake.

Now that you can 100% do. I do it all the time.

 

[ViviTheMage]

sorry guys, i totally forgot i created this thread lol.

so the stuttering that you can get on some of the HD files, is that only when streaming wirelessly? or is that streaming wired, or even from the USB?

also, i'm not too familiar with most audio that comes with blurays, but is this DTS HD MA audio the most common one with blu-rays? Like I'm just wondering if I will be able to watch bluray rips with the good audio as well from this thing.

it's only $80 over on amazon so it's tempting right now...

I have had stuttering playing from my server, I ended up turning FLOW CONTROL ON, on my NIC and that fixed it.

I was also going from GB switch to 10/100 switch, but it happened if it was GB -> GB, so I wasn't sure how this fixed it, but it did.

I use my WDTV the same way, I throw everything at it, no issues.

 

[Severian]

You prefer LAV over tsMuxer?

LAV is my splitter of choice; tsMuxer is what I use to demux m2ts files into elemental streams. The splitter is only relevant for playback on a HTPC, if you plan on using a streamer like WDTV Live it's a moot point.

Having said that, I found Haali's and Gabest splitter to be difficult to impossible to use with the HD audio codecs. LAV handles the bitstreaming side perfectly for me.

 

[birthdaymonkey]

I have had stuttering playing from my server, I ended up turning FLOW CONTROL ON, on my NIC and that fixed it.

I was also going from GB switch to 10/100 switch, but it happened if it was GB -> GB, so I wasn't sure how this fixed it, but it did.

I use my WDTV the same way, I throw everything at it, no issues.

I'll have to give that a shot. Other than that issue I have with it, the Live SMP is almost perfect.

 

[purbeast0]

ok bumping this for another question that i have and am not very hopeful based on my google-fu...

can someone confirm that the wdtv live does NOT support 3d? from my findings it looks like it doesn't AND they don't plan to ever make it do that.

do any of these set-top boxes support 3d? or is that going to have to be a custom htpc to get 3d?