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

[anshu22]

Hi,
I am planning to buy the WD TV Live from the US and get it to India. I have a few of questions.
1) Will the standard adapter work in India. I mean is it in the 110-240v Range.
2) How is the service of the same in India.
3) What kind of HDMI Cable do I need to buy for the same. Can i buy that in India or should i get that too from the US?

Thanks.....
Prasanth

1. you need a universal power adaptor for all US devices. you can get them from any local store
2. no idea about the service. havent required it as yet
3. buy any cheap HDMI cable you can get your hands on. expensive HDMI cables are a gimmick. HDMI transmits digital data. there is no loss of signal like analog cables have

 

[hemantwaghe]

1. you need a universal power adaptor for all US devices. you can get them from any local store
2. no idea about the service. havent required it as yet
3. buy any cheap HDMI cable you can get your hands on. expensive HDMI cables are a gimmick. HDMI transmits digital data. there is no loss of signal like analog cables have

Point 1 ) Have you checked of talking out of expereince? Got WD TV Gen 1Year back,,,It is with universal AC adapter..I needed only pin converter

Point 3) Have you done testing yourself?

 

[sam9s]

Hi,
I am planning to buy the WD TV Live from the US and get it to India. I have a few of questions.
1) Will the standard adapter work in India. I mean is it in the 110-240v Range.
2) How is the service of the same in India.
3) What kind of HDMI Cable do I need to buy for the same. Can i buy that in India or should i get that too from the US?

Thanks.....
Prasanth

I am a bit like ... by the other response to your query........ anyway...

1. You dont need an adapter if the voltage range is 110-240V, it would work without any issue. (Yes sometime the plug point does not fit..... in that scenario you can get a compatible plug, thats all)

2. No need for service for this device, yes you would not get the garuntee if you buy from US, but even I bought it from US and its working flawlessly for the past 1 year.

3. A good HDMI is not a gimmick...... even digital signal are pron to losses, infact a lost digital signal can not be revived unlike analog. Anyway always opt for a decent HDMI cable if not... top of the line.......
If you can get the cable from abroad its good as its much cheaper there, else India also has quality HDMI cable available.

 

[mr_grump5]

@ wdtv gen2 users, can the subtitle color and position be changed and is there a way to include movie sheets?

 

[sam9s]

^^ WD Gen 1 does not have this. POHD has this feature. You can change the color, position and the size as well for the subs.....

Not sure about WD TV Gen 2...

 

[sam9s]

I have been following the WD media player in this forum and would like a clarification. I have a Pioneer 610 DVD player with USB input. Can I use a USB stick and upscale it to 1080i? Or would a WD media player give a better output?
P.N.Reddy

WD player does not upscale any playback, AVR has these kind of options, so if you are giving the video input from WD to AVR, it would upscale and send the output to your display

 

[Karanboochra]

Hii guys!
I wanna ask some questions before buying the WDTV Gen 2.
Please help me with them..

1.) I have some 720p rips of movies with DTS 5.1 CH...Can the WDTV Gen 2 downmix it to 2CH Stereo by itself ( ie , without the use of receivers as i don't have one )

2.) Some 720p rips i have , have AC3 5.1 or 6 Channels..Will the WDTV Gen 2 play them ? I don't want 5.1 sound , i just want NORMAL STEREO sound as i don't have 5.1 speakers..

These are the questions I need a bit help on..And if the DTS 5.1 CH won't play on the WDTV Gen 2 , can i convert it to AC3 and play the files without any problems?

Also..Can the WDTV play Movies which have - Format profile : [email protected]

Thanks!

 

[sam9s]

1. WD TV has composit out as well, which is stereo, so yes this means WD TV can output 5.1 sound to stereo.

2. Yes as explained above

3. Yes you can convert if needed

4. Need to check on this, but mostly it will play

 

[Karanboochra]

1. WD TV has composit out as well, which is stereo, so yes this means WD TV can output 5.1 sound to stereo.

If i use the composite out, ill get only SD quality only right?
Or you've written about composite for an example?

 

[sam9s]

Ok did the research, it seems that none of the current gen media playes can play [email protected] profie ( though it is a differennt thing that you rarely find a MKV file encoded in High 5.1 ) I had to almost go through my MKV lib to find one..... and I could'nt.

High end players like TiVx or LimHD can play High 5.1 profile.

Anyway if you do encounter a file that is encoaded in High 5.1 profile, you can use tsMuxer to change the level ........ link below...

smartLabs tsMuxeR: Transport Stream muxer - Doom9's Forum

 

[sam9s]

If i use the composite out, ill get only SD quality only right?
Or you've written about composite for an example?

If the player has provided composite out this means it can provide stereo out for the files that have native 5.1 audio. Even if you do not use composite.

 

[Karanboochra]

Tried tsMuxer GUI...Audio is going out of sync..
Checked audio settings..no delay, nothing..but audio out of sync!

EDIT : Problem Solved

 

[kneo]

IIRC - WD gen 2 cannot play files encoded with DTS sound. That feature is available only with WDTV Live.

 

[cmsajith]

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.

 

[Karanboochra]

IIRC - WD gen 2 cannot play files encoded with DTS sound. That feature is available only with WDTV Live.

If that is the case, why is everyone saying it can play DTS sound?
Moreover, WDTV Live and WDTV V2 are quite similar hardware wise ( minus the Networking ) ..

 

[mr_grump5]

IIRC - WD gen 2 cannot play files encoded with DTS sound. That feature is available only with WDTV Live.

Nope, I have a WDTV gen-2 and it can play DTS and it also down-streams DTS-MA to DTS

 

[Karanboochra]

And if the DTS 5.1 Channel , will the WDTV downmix it to stereo and play it?

 

[kneo]

I checked the WD website and it does say that WDTV (gen 2) is capable of DTS.

 

[sam9s]

IIRC - WD gen 2 cannot play files encoded with DTS sound. That feature is available only with WDTV Live.

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....

 

[Karanboochra]

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....

Yaa..I was having second thoughts about getting the WDTV Gen 2...

Now that i am sure that it can play DTS sound, i am ordering one today

Thanks for all the the help Sam