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I havn't touched the latest iteration of the wdtv but had a second generation wdtv live and it was horrible. The device was slow to navigate through menu's, freezed up and became non responsive quite often. Also had problems similar to yours with not being able to rewind media etc, but as stated this is a media player limitation. The wdtv live had "apps" you could install but you could basically forget about trying these, the device was too slow.. on several occasions the rage got so great the remote was thrown at the floor (sturdy remote i must say). Western digital have a habit of abandoning these devices fairly quick and from my quick search the popular homebrew alternative firmware wdlxtv hasnt been updated since 2011, so id hardly say theres an active homebrew community.
It might be the best of a bad bunch but i couldn't recommend anyone get a wdtv after my personal experiences. They may have fixed the issues with the latest version, id sure hope so. Try one through DSE, and if it doesn't work as expected take it back within 7 days.
garvani: I havn't touched the latest iteration of the wdtv but had a second generation wdtv live and it was horrible. The device was slow to navigate through menu's, freezed up and became non responsive quite often. Also had problems similar to yours with not being able to rewind media etc, but as stated this is a media player limitation. The wdtv live had "apps" you could install but you could basically forget about trying these, the device was too slow.. on several occasions the rage got so great the remote was thrown at the floor (sturdy remote i must say). Western digital have a habit of abandoning these devices fairly quick and from my quick search the popular homebrew alternative firmware wdlxtv hasnt been updated since 2011, so id hardly say theres an active homebrew community.
It might be the best of a bad bunch but i couldn't recommend anyone get a wdtv after my personal experiences. They may have fixed the issues with the latest version, id sure hope so. Try one through DSE, and if it doesn't work as expected take it back within 7 days.
This is a really useful discussion. I'm also interested in a streaming box for my TV. Intially inmtersted in on demand content from TV 1, 2 , 3, 4. I have Samsung smart hub Bluray player which supports TVNZ on demand but not TV3/4 equivalent. It's slow and unreliable. To get TV3/4 I would have to upgrade (completely hopeless) Not keen to go down then path of a smart player again and I hear similar disappoint with smart tv's.
What I would really lkie is a little box that can stream media locally or over the internet and also importantly has a proper browser. Ie I can browse the internet properly, not use via apps. Those apps are always restrictive and often crap out over time. I'd like to be able to watch any video on the web just like I can on my computer.
Any advice appreciated.
I'm currently using my windows 8.1 tablet. This works well, but it's a bit clunky as I have to go over to the tv to do anything. I'd rather have a permanent solution
Having read a heap of review for various devices - WDTV, Phillips HMP5000 and the Kaiser Bass Smart media player they all seem to be CRAP !
Won't do this, won't do that, lose the network, horrible interface ... the list of criticisms go on and on.
Not a single one has has good solid reviews... so what is one to do? No-one will sell you one with right to return so it's impossible to evaluate if you've made a good buy or an expensive mistake.
Even reading the msgs here someone will say such and such is OK and someone else says it's not!
My final conclusion - buy nothing and stick with buggy DLNA!
ADKM: Having read a heap of review for various devices - WDTV, Phillips HMP5000 and the Kaiser Bass Smart media player they all seem to be CRAP !
Won't do this, won't do that, lose the network, horrible interface ... the list of criticisms go on and on.
Not a single one has has good solid reviews... so what is one to do? No-one will sell you one with right to return so it's impossible to evaluate if you've made a good buy or an expensive mistake.
Even reading the msgs here someone will say such and such is OK and someone else says it's not!
My final conclusion - buy nothing and stick with buggy DLNA!
as was already pointed out in post #6 - every media player is going to have some kind of drawback.
However, in this thread a number of users have recommended WDTV Live - and it has generally been the most recommended in a large number of similar threads here on Geekzone over the past couple of years. It will almost certainly give you a better experience than the player built into your TV.
I don't own one but I have used one and found it to be really good.
Personally, I use raspbmc and love it. However, raspberrypi/raspbmc isn't something you can buy of the shelf and plug in. It needs to be purchased in parts and put together and then have software loaded and configured. If you are comfortable doing that kind of thing then that would be another option that will give you a much better experience than you have now.
a number of users have recommended WDTV Live - and it has generally been the most recommended in a large number of similar threads here on Geekzone over the past couple of years. It will almost certainly give you a better experience than the player built into your TV.
I don't own one but I have used one and found it to be really good.
Personally, I use raspbmc and love it. However, raspberrypi/raspbmc isn't something you can buy of the shelf and plug in. It needs to be purchased in parts and put together and then have software loaded and configured. If you are comfortable doing that kind of thing then that would be another option that will give you a much better experience than you have now.
I came sooo close to getting a WDTV but apart from some comments here, bad reviews and the potential hassles of returning it put me off. I already have something that doesn't work very well !
raspbmc is a whole new concept and I've just had a look at their website. I couldn't find an overview or specs or what it does/doesn't do, or even a picture of it There was an opening line "The build filesystem is an i386 filesystem that can be chrooted into." That indicates instructions may take a bit of deciphering. I'm certainly not put off building something from a kit and setting it up - but there'd have to be decent instructions or somewhere for feedback (they do show a Forum). Most positive thing is how you highly recommend it !
Can you add any more info? I'm sure it'll be of interest to not only me.
I had the previous generation WDTV, and it was great. I still have it for if we go away (took it on a cruise ship last year and plugged it into the inroom TV).
The UI is pretty basic, and it does not do IMDB scraping or anything (I always used to just put a movie/TV image file as folder.jpg in the directory with the movie so at least I'd get a thumbnail). I never had it hang up or not play a file I threw at it, and it got a thrashing. I always played off an external drive connected to it via USB, and I had that drive shared on my network so I could copy files to/from it from a PC on the network.
I now have a Samsung smart TV, and I use Plex. I find it much better in terms of UI - just have to have a Plex server running somewhere on the LAN.
Have you completely discounted the idea of a computer-based solution? I read you're running one beside the TV at the moment, and while that one may not meet your needs as currently set up, perhaps some tweaking or even a different device may do the job.
Some have posted of running Plex; there's also XBMC as an option (This is the Gotham that you asked about earlier - Gotham's the code name for the most recent (still beta) version of XBMC; current version is Frodo). While it's been mentioned you can run XBMC on a Raspbery Pi, you can also run it (or Plex, which is similar) on nearly any Linux, OSX or Windows machine, and this may be more straight-forward. Personally, we run XBMC on Mac Minis, which are relatively easy to get working with XBMC (especially remote-wise, given they come with a basic remote and have a built-in IR receiver; they also work easily in with Harmony remotes for full control). If you want to use Windows a NUC would also do the job, while also being small, quiet and efficient.
While I am not sure what interface and programme information the WD Live offers, I would seriously suggest you check out what XBMC (or Plex) offers - an excellent interface that's really tweakable including different skins, if that's what you're in to; but most importantly it effortlessly downloads key metadata associated with media files, which makes using it a total pleasure. It would take a hell of a lot to move me away from XBMC, whatever platform I had to run it on.
Personally, I use raspbmc and love it. However, raspberrypi/raspbmc isn't something you can buy of the shelf and plug in. It needs to be purchased in parts and put together and then have software loaded and configured. If you are comfortable doing that kind of thing then that would be another option that will give you a much better experience than you have now.
This is the closest I have found to a package. Preloaded with XBMC Gotham, all the parts you need including keyboard and power. I presume you just have to put it together and plug it in. At $152 I think this is a great option and for me is at the top of the list to try. I have no idea who pishop is and if they are ok to deal with. I would appreciate feedback on the package and using pishop.
Personally, I use raspbmc and love it. However, raspberrypi/raspbmc isn't something you can buy of the shelf and plug in. It needs to be purchased in parts and put together and then have software loaded and configured. If you are comfortable doing that kind of thing then that would be another option that will give you a much better experience than you have now.
This is the closest I have found to a package. Preloaded with XBMC Gotham, all the parts you need including keyboard and power. I presume you just have to put it together and plug it in. At $152 I think this is a great option and for me is at the top of the list to try. I have no idea who pishop is and if they are ok to deal with. I would appreciate feedback on the package and using pishop.
My preference would be the mac mini or other mini desktop but the finance committee would veto that at this stage.
looks ok - although you'd probably want to add a wifi dongle. The wireless keyboard is a bit of overkill. I bought a $10 remote with usb ir controller. Personally prefer Raspbmc over openelec. The last few updates it seems to have pulled ahead a bit performance wise.
raspbmc is a whole new concept and I've just had a look at their website. I couldn't find an overview or specs or what it does/doesn't do, or even a picture of it There was an opening line "The build filesystem is an i386 filesystem that can be chrooted into." That indicates instructions may take a bit of deciphering. I'm certainly not put off building something from a kit and setting it up - but there'd have to be decent instructions or somewhere for feedback (they do show a Forum). Most positive thing is how you highly recommend it !
Can you add any more info? I'm sure it'll be of interest to not only me.
this video is a liitle bit old now and some of the info incorrect but you can get an idea of what rasppi/raspbmc is
Jonathon, the PC is old, slow and clunky and you can't read the screen without getting right up to it! Then it's a bit close for comfort at 55". Not as nice as a desktop mouse & keyboard. But handy for something that won't stream over DLNA - which can work very nicely when something plays OK... and then if it will pause/fast wind etc. Most files used do, but lately more and more things aren't.
Have looked at the rasberry pi You tube clip, farcus. I'm puzzled... they don't mention streaming via a local PC over LAN but just the internet. I don't use the net for looking at movies etc and have no idea what's there to see... (apart from On Demand). So it's just the DLNA PC-TV side of things. Rasppi will that - and better than current setup? I have about 20 'problem' files to test out. Do I still need Twonky? Can you adjust lip sync if it's out? Is there a limit to the number of files/folders you can browse? Can they files be ordered by date, alphabetical etc?
What's the picture like? Any problem with Hi Def (or is that a silly question) ? I once had a gadget that made parts of the screen go green for a few seconds every now and then...
Thanks for that link ToPUnNZ. I'll ring them tomorrow and have a chat. If it's an absolute fizzer for any reason but they'll take it back, I'll give it a go. I already have a wireless keyboard and wired LAN so might not need the whole package - if they let you break it down. The router has Wireless but it's not used.
Prior to this thread I'd never heard of XBMC or Gotham. It's the OS for the device, and also in "Plex"? Is is an alternative/competitor to "Android" ? Are rasppi and raspbmc the same thing?
Have looked at the rasberry pi You tube clip, farcus. I'm puzzled... they don't mention streaming via a local PC over LAN but just the internet. I don't use the net for looking at movies etc and have no idea what's there to see... (apart from On Demand). So it's just the DLNA PC-TV side of things. Rasppi will that - and better than current setup? I have about 20 'problem' files to test out. Do I still need Twonky? Can you adjust lip sync if it's out? Is there a limit to the number of files/folders you can browse? Can they files be ordered by date, alphabetical etc?
raspbmc can be used to stream content from the internet or from your local computer / nas drive / usb drive via DLNA (UPnP) or a network share.
I stream 720p and 1080 content wirelessly from my nas without problem
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