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

illusion said:
Hmmm . Low level format on a HDD , no sir I rather give it back.


Now the best part . I did a complete check on the NTFS partition and no errors were found. I am beginning to believe that this is a Freak Case that happned here. Are there any good diskc hecking tools for NTFS partitions. I used to use Norton Disk Doctor for Fat 32. Is there any similar software for NTFS ?


@ MBR - Any word on that WD TV update ?
Click to expand...

Did a complete and thorough check with Norton Disk Doctor. My Maxtor has BAD SECTORS !! Currently there is only 192 kb BAD SECTORS but still, this is a brand news drive. Now I plan to go for a WD TV in the fututre. Amazon.com are full of WD My Book Essential 1 TB failures in the long run. Venkatji told me to stay away from Seagate 1 TB HDD Externals. This is the reason why in the first place I had gone for a Maxtor 1 TB. The other options was Lacie which I am not too eager to try. Do I just get my maxtor replaced ?
 
Obviously get the Maxtor replaced. It's brand new and use the warranty. Coming to Seagate, they are the best IMHO. I know it's going to be debated but yet I will still stick my neck out and say they are the best. I myself did not get their 1 TB HDD because it had some issues (which probably is fixed by now) and instead got a 500 GB HDD from them. I've been using Seagate for years and they give 5 years warranty and they have even replaced HDDs for me which were burnt (yeah I sort of short circuited them, but that's another story). I also have an old WD HDD that's 80 GB and running great for years now and which I use for running my OS. I've not used Maxtor so cannot say about it, but IMHO if you go with Seagate I'm sure you'll do well. Their 1 TB HDD had some issues initially, but quite sure its fixed by now and as a company they are at the forefront of innovation, give great customer service and even give unmatched 5 years warranty which I've personally experienced quite a few times. Lacie is good but expensive. I've friends who use their external HDD and swear by them even if they are comparatively expensive.

illusion said:
Did a complete and thorough check with Norton Disk Doctor. My Maxtor has BAD SECTORS !! Currently there is only 192 kb BAD SECTORS but still, this is a brand news drive. Now I plan to go for a WD TV in the fututre. Amazon.com are full of WD My Book Essential 1 TB failures in the long run. Venkatji told me to stay away from Seagate 1 TB HDD Externals. This is the reason why in the first place I had gone for a Maxtor 1 TB. The other options was Lacie which I am not too eager to try. Do I just get my maxtor replaced ?
Click to expand...
 
illusion said:
Hmmm . Low level format on a HDD , no sir I rather give it back.


Now the best part . I did a complete check on the NTFS partition and no errors were found. I am beginning to believe that this is a Freak Case that happned here. Are there any good diskc hecking tools for NTFS partitions. I used to use Norton Disk Doctor for Fat 32. Is there any similar software for NTFS ?


@ MBR - Any word on that WD TV update ?
Click to expand...

I think ,HD is ok,problem may be casing.
 
moserw said:
Obviously get the Maxtor replaced. It's brand new and use the warranty. Coming to Seagate, they are the best IMHO. I know it's going to be debated but yet I will still stick my neck out and say they are the best. I myself did not get their 1 TB HDD because it had some issues (which probably is fixed by now) and instead got a 500 GB HDD from them. I've been using Seagate for years and they give 5 years warranty and they have even replaced HDDs for me which were burnt (yeah I sort of short circuited them, but that's another story). I also have an old WD HDD that's 80 GB and running great for years now and which I use for running my OS. I've not used Maxtor so cannot say about it, but IMHO if you go with Seagate I'm sure you'll do well. Their 1 TB HDD had some issues initially, but quite sure its fixed by now and as a company they are at the forefront of innovation, give great customer service and even give unmatched 5 years warranty which I've personally experienced quite a few times. Lacie is good but expensive. I've friends who use their external HDD and swear by them even if they are comparatively expensive.
Click to expand...

Thats the problem. The 1 TB HDD of Seagate are failing in the long run. The same problem is with WD 1 TB. The net is full of horror stories. The issue may have been fixed but is it possible to know the model number which had the issues ? If I press my dealer to give me a Seagate instead, before purchase I would like to check the model number which he is giving out to me. I scanned many reviews both in Amazon USA and UK and there was only one case of maxtor failing, hence I decided to go for Maxtor. However please do let me know the Seagate Model number if possible asap as I need to get the replacement /exchange taken care of today itself.
Currently I have copied all my data back to my desktop & laptop. I have also left my dekstop on with the maxtor connected to secure erase all data using a Hard Disk Scrubber Tool .
 
My thinking is why not get a 500 GB HDD for now and then another 500 GB or a 1 TB later on? It's the same thing for an external HDD and no limitations to the number of HDDs you can have like an internal HDD.

Check the links for model number/serial info.

Seagate customers swamped by Barracuda drive failures The Register

Official st31000340as 1TB barracuda epic fail thread. - Internal (ATA and Serial ATA) drives - Seagate Community Forums

Check the post by Zenbird for model number/serial.

Official Seagate 1TB drive failure announcement : Apple Final Cut Pro

illusion said:
Thats the problem. The 1 TB HDD of Seagate are failing in the long run. The same problem is with WD 1 TB. The net is full of horror stories. The issue may have been fixed but is it possible to know the model number which had the issues ? If I press my dealer to give me a Seagate instead, before purchase I would like to check the model number which he is giving out to me. I scanned many reviews both in Amazon USA and UK and there was only one case of maxtor failing, hence I decided to go for Maxtor. However please do let me know the Seagate Model number if possible asap as I need to get the replacement /exchange taken care of today itself.
Currently I have copied all my data back to my desktop & laptop. I have also left my dekstop on with the maxtor connected to secure erase all data using a Hard Disk Scrubber Tool .
Click to expand...
 
Looking at the failure history it is better to stick to western digital .
Seagate is in a bad shape after this
 
spirovious said:
WD are far better than Seagate,They are cool & silent too.
Next can be Maxtor.
Click to expand...


Agreed WD are generally better. Thats why I was alarmed by the high reports on Disk failiure. Previous WD HDD models were highly successful but somehow the 1 TB version has not been able to live upto its reputation. Anyways I am claiming warranty and going for a Maxtor replacement. I have also decided to partition the drive first, do a thorugh scan via norton and then copy my data into the new HDD.


Edit : Does Norton Disk doctor put unnecessary stress on the HDD by any chance ?
 
WD TV new official update (1.02 beta) is out...

WD TV Product Update

Prerelease 1.02 (includes all previously released updates)

- Enhanced cover art, album art, and thumbnail support for media files and folders
- Additional subtitle languages and decoding support
- Improved media playback and navigation
- More audio formats for MKV container
- Fixed bugs reported by the WD TV user community
 
Last edited:
illusion said:
Edit : Does Norton Disk doctor put unnecessary stress on the HDD by any chance ?
Click to expand...

I have used NDD for years and never faced any issues. Hard disk failure is more due to read.write operations and some manufacturing defects than the use of a software. Unless software skips the resident directory structure and writes at the base level, they cannot harm a drive.

Cheers
 
If WD can support ext DVD-Rom,then very handy.
DVDp with USB are not interested in releasing new firmware which can work as good as WD.Even oppo too I suppose.
 
Hi Venkat, Ram and the other Gurus,

Can you please confirm the following:

1. Does the WDTV pass through DTS to a receiver? (The manual on WD site has NO mention of DTS. Only Dolby!)

2. If you select Digital audio, will it send six-channel audio through hdmi bitstream to a receiver? (as opposed to PCM stereo?)

3. TechTree review hints at some issues with playback speed..(apparently says the speed slows down or picks up on its own). Anybody notice this in practice?

4. Does it show embedded subtitles in mkv's?

5. Is there a way to prevent WDTV from upscaling (to leave the job to the TV)?

TIA
 
Does anyone know where is wd tv available in Delhi? Any shop that might stock it at nehru place? npithub web site has no searches matching it.
I am willing to play around with mods and firmware, and share my findings with everyone.
 
udaji said:
Hi Venkat, Ram and the other Gurus,

Can you please confirm the following:

1. Does the WDTV pass through DTS to a receiver? (The manual on WD site has NO mention of DTS. Only Dolby!)

2. If you select Digital audio, will it send six-channel audio through hdmi bitstream to a receiver? (as opposed to PCM stereo?)

3. TechTree review hints at some issues with playback speed..(apparently says the speed slows down or picks up on its own). Anybody notice this in practice?

4. Does it show embedded subtitles in mkv's?

5. Is there a way to prevent WDTV from upscaling (to leave the job to the TV)?

TIA
Click to expand...

ans-
1.Yes
2.WD donot decode HD format,Dts so it sends as Raw via HDMI on when selected digital.
3.Play back speed issue depends on ext device read spead,not WD.
4.Dont know
5.Yes it has option to select SD/720p/1080p
 
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