Western Digital WD TV HD Media Player - a HTPC replacement??

Audiolab - Home Audio for the Connoisseur
cmsajith said:
Consolidating some of the prev questions:

- All WD can play in stereo, you can select it in the settings.

- Moviesheets can be used in WD and WD Live, but need to install the custom firmware from 3rd party like B-RAD. There are separate firmwares for WD and WDLive. I have done it in my WD live and its able to use the moviesheets. I think it supports the subtitle size and color (i havent tried it), but it is there in the change log of the firmware.

- Upscaling will be a common feature in all the players and if not, your TV will always do that based on its native panel resolution. Anyways WD and WD Live will upscale to 720p and 1080p, you can select it in the settings.
Click to expand...

Is the third party firmware available for WDTV gen2? are these updated regularly?
 
sam9s said:
That is not possible, also Keno, a request you shoudl not put a statement with such conviction when you are not abolutely sure and have not properly researched. It can leave a very potential buyer confused........

Just a thought....:)
Click to expand...

Sincere apologies. I too was under the impression that Gen 2 does not play DTS. I've posted a correction as soon as I managed to double check on the WD site.

Sorry if this caused some doubts to the OP.
 
Gen 1 also does not pass HD audio, only DTS and DD. BTW are you sure Live passes DTA MA and DD True HD???
 
thing is i have loads and loads and loads of DVDs (like many other members here) hence wouldnt it be a bit odd for someone like me to by wdtv? after all copying everything to something "portable" would be a substantial investment. cant we just have a simple h264 capable BD player?
 
What is WD TV Gen 2?? I bought WD TV a few days back -

Is this generation 1 or 2?

wdtv02.jpg


Code: 
It's specs are as follows - 

Western Digital WDTV HD Media Player
Store your HD content on a USB drive. Plug the drive in and play HD movies, digital music and family photos on your TV. Its as easy as 1-2-3.

Overview
Combined with a My Passport portable drive (sold separately), this player is the most convenient way to play HD movies or user-generated videos, listen to high-quality digital music and show high-resolution slideshows of your family photos on your TV. Also works with popular USB drives, and digital cameras, camcorders, and portable media players that can be recognized as mass storage devices.

 
Designed for My Passport, works with many other USB storage devices - Play content from most popular USB drives,and digital cameras, camcorders, and portable media players that can be recognized as mass storage devices.

 
Full HD video playback and navigation - up to 1080p - Experience the spectacular picture quality of HD video and crystal clear sound clarity of digital audio. Use the included remote control to navigate through your entertainment choices using our crisp, animated HD menus.

 
Collect without limits - There's no limit to the size of your media collection; just add more USB drives for more space.

 
Advanced navigation

    * Thumbnail and list views  Browse your content by filename or by thumbnails of photos, album covers and movie cover art.
    * Media Library  This unique feature lets you view all your media by media type in one menu regardless of its location in folders or drives. You can view your content by categories such as genre, album, artist and date.
    * Search  Search by genre, title, artist, filename and partial filename. 

Photo viewing

    * Create custom slide shows with a variety of transitions and background music
    * Zoom and pan
    * Search by filename, partial filename, most recently viewed and date 

Movie viewing

    * Fast forward, rewind, pause, zoom, and pan
    * View subtitles
    * Search by filename, partial filename, most recently viewed and date 

Music playback

    * Fast forward, rewind, pause, shuffle, repeat
    * Search by filename, partial filename, most recently viewed and date 

Access two USB drives simultaneously - Two USB ports on the player let you connect two USB storage devices and access them simultaneously. Our Media Library feature aggregates the content on both drives into one list sorted by media type.

 
HDMI and composite video connections - The High-Definition Multimedia Interface (HDMI) port lets you connect to the highest quality HDTV or home theater. Additional composite (RCA) outputs ensure compatibility with virtually all television sets.

 
Includes free media conversion software - ArcSoft MediaConverter 2.5 -- a fast, easy-to-use application that converts photo, video, and music files into formats optimized for use on the WD TV HD Media Player.

 
Ultra-compact design - Fits easily into your entertainment center.

 
Ideal For
Hassle-free playback of HD movies, home videos, digital music, and photos on your TV.

System Requirements

    * My Passport portable hard drive or other USB storage device with supported video or audio content stored on it.
    * Standard or high definition television with HDMI or composite video connections 


Package Contents

    * HD Media Player
    *
    * Compact remote with batteries
    * Media converter software (Windows only)
    * Composite AV cable
    * AC adapter
    * Quick Install Guide 

File Formats Supported 	
Music - MP3, WMA, OGG, WAV/PCM/LPCM, AAC, FLAC, Dolby Digital, AIF/AIFF, MKA
 
Photo - JPEG, GIF, TIF/TIFF, BMP, PNG
Video -MPEG1/2/4, WMV9, AVI (MPEG4, Xvid, AVC), H.264, MKV, MOV (MPEG4, H.264)
Playlist - PLS, M3U, WPL
Subtitle -SRT (UTF-8)
 
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CONGRATTS Pratts
greenstars.gif
, Finally!! a decission, I am happy for you. Enjoy your product .......

About Gen 2.....I think the models for 2010 (with better firmware etc)would ge Gen 2. (I might be wrong though)
 
Pratters - CONGRATS on your purchase !!!! :clapping:

Check the model number :
Gen 2 = WDBABF0000NBK
Gen 1 = WDAVN00

Physical differences :
The WD logo is in a greyish shade in Gen 2...in Gen 1 its Piano black.
HDMI, DTS and Dolby Logos are on the bottom right corner of the top surface for Gen 2.

GUI differences :
Gen 2 GUI is double the speed of Gen 1 due to an upgraded ram.

Audio Differences :
Gen 1 has not DTS / Dolby decoding feature....it only passes it thru the optical out jack. Gen 2 decodes DTS 2.0.
 
infinity said:
Audio Differences :
Gen 1 has not DTS / Dolby decoding feature....it only passes it thru the optical out jack. Gen 2 decodes DTS 2.0.
Click to expand...

I think the Gen 2 only decodes DTS up to two channels, for multichannel it still passes through HDMI as Gen 1 (not just optical)
 
I am also planning to buy a WD Tv Live. Was goin through WD website and found they have launched "WD Tv Live Plus" also. Just wondering how different it is from "WD Tv Live" in terms of performance apart from those mentioned in website.

Can anybody guide if WD Tv Live available in Bangalore? Which store price etc.
 
infinity said:
HDMI, DTS and Dolby Logos are on the bottom right corner of the top surface for Gen 2.
Click to expand...

Gen 2 then. :)

Also checked on google. Def Gen 2.

The device is so small! Way smaller than I imagined it to be. It is so cool. I can't wait to try it out when I go home from factory in a while.
 
Played around with the WD for around 2 hours. It is AWESOME!!!!!!!!!!! Thanks sam for recommending it to me. Money's worth and more. We browsed through family videos, copying from one usb port to the other works like a charm, subtitle delay-increase option is too good. Only thing - it can't forward to a particular point in the movie, only forwards at 16 x.

How to get the latest firmware? Give me an easy step by step guide please. My model is different to what is written on the wdtv site for gen 2 model.
 
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Pratters said:
Played around with the WD for around 2 hours. It is AWESOME!!!!!!!!!!! Thanks sam for recommending it to me. Money's worth and more. We browsed through family videos, copying from one usb port to the other works like a charm, subtitle delay-increase option is too good. Only thing - it can't forward to a particular point in the movie, only forwards at 16 x.

How to get the latest firmware? Give me an easy ste p by step guide please.
Click to expand...

Thats nice, where u got it from, how much did it cost?
 
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