So... I think my WDTV is dying. What next?

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trig42

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#92809 6-Nov-2011 16:13

Not sure if this is the correct forum (Mods: please move if it isn't).

As title says, my trusty little WD HDTV Live is misbehaving (have to turn it on and off a couple of times to get it to recognise the USB HDD). It is and has been a good performer for 2 years, plays everything I need it to and well. The HDD issue has decreased it's WAF quite a bit, so with xmas coming up it will be a good thing for her to buy me (or me to buy me and wrap up saying it's from her...)

What do I replace it with?

I need it to:
*  Play HD (most of my content is 720p, I do have some 1080 but not much and on my current TV I cannot see any difference so 720p is fine) - Output over HDMI.
* Output digital audio over either coax or optical (I use the optical on the WDTVLive now and the coax from the MySky into my audio system (Bose Lifestyle).)
* Work with my harmony remote
* Be Wife Friendly
* Connect to network or plug in a USB drive. (WDTV is connected via cable to LAN/Internet)

Would be nice if it had good looking menus, could get metadata for movies.

I could get another WDTV live, or similar, or I could get an AppleTV and Jailbreak and put XBMC on (I like the look of XBMC).

Does anyone have any suggestions?

Has anyone got a jailbroken ATV? I understand that the new ones (with iOS5 (4.4)) currently have to be tethered and that is not ideal, but if they can do an untethered jailbreak is it Harmony (and therefore Wife) friendly?

Is there any other way I can get XBMC running?(I don't want a computer sitting under the TV - The WD or ATV is a good sized unit)

Thanks.
R

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meow
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#541711 6-Nov-2011 16:19

The AppleTV is possibly the best value for money, when it's jailbroken + is running XMBC, only downside is it has 1 usb port so you will have to use a hub to extend this for more drives.

The WD Live is a very nice device, if you have used one, enjoyed it then buying another one won't hurt, why change from something you like? Plus, there are tonnes of mods for the WD Live out there.

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trig42

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#541714 6-Nov-2011 16:28

Mods for WDTV Live? Must look into this. I just find the UI a little boring. Picky I know, but sometimes a change is as good as a rest.

I like the idea of XBMCs scraping for data off the net.

Talkiet

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#541723 6-Nov-2011 16:51

michaelmurfy: The AppleTV is possibly the best value for money, when it's jailbroken + is running XMBC, only downside is it has 1 usb port so you will have to use a hub to extend this for more drives.

The WD Live is a very nice device, if you have used one, enjoyed it then buying another one won't hurt, why change from something you like? Plus, there are tonnes of mods for the WD Live out there.

The ATV2 can't use USB disks, the USB port doesn't operate as a host...

http://wiki.xbmc.org/index.php?title=XBMC_for_iOS_specific_FAQ#USB_hard_drives_and_devices

AS mentioned in the link, you need all your media to be available over a network.

That said, I have an ATV2 running XBMC and it's great. I previously had a WDTV and I like the ATV2/XBMC combo a lot more.

Cheers - N

Please note all comments are from my own brain and don't necessarily represent the position or opinions of my employer, previous employers, colleagues, friends or pets.

Handle9

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#541730 6-Nov-2011 17:28

Talkiet:
michaelmurfy: The AppleTV is possibly the best value for money, when it's jailbroken + is running XMBC, only downside is it has 1 usb port so you will have to use a hub to extend this for more drives.

The WD Live is a very nice device, if you have used one, enjoyed it then buying another one won't hurt, why change from something you like? Plus, there are tonnes of mods for the WD Live out there.

The ATV2 can't use USB disks, the USB port doesn't operate as a host...

http://wiki.xbmc.org/index.php?title=XBMC_for_iOS_specific_FAQ#USB_hard_drives_and_devices

AS mentioned in the link, you need all your media to be available over a network.

That said, I have an ATV2 running XBMC and it's great. I previously had a WDTV and I like the ATV2/XBMC combo a lot more.

Cheers - N

+1 with the ATV2/XBMC combo.It's a great piece of kit and nice software. As per the previous post it is network only but it works really well and plays everything.

I've been a big fan for of XBMC since the original Xbox but I really can't recommend it highly enough. The plugins and various skins as well as the general eye candy of the GUI has a very high WAF and is very user friendly.

mattwnz

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#541737 6-Nov-2011 18:16

trig42: Not sure if this is the correct forum (Mods: please move if it isn't).

As title says, my trusty little WD HDTV Live is misbehaving (have to turn it on and off a couple of times to get it to recognise the USB HDD). It is and has been a good performer for 2 years, plays everything I need it to and well. The HDD issue has decreased it's WAF quite a bit, so with xmas coming up it will be a?good thing for her?to buy me (or me to buy me and wrap up saying it's from her...)

What do I replace it with?

I need it to:
*??Play HD (most of my content is 720p, I do have some 1080?but not much and on my current TV I cannot see any difference so 720p is fine) - Output over HDMI.
*? Output digital audio over?either coax or optical (I use the optical on the?WDTVLive now and the coax from?the MySky into my?audio system (Bose Lifestyle).)
*? Work with my harmony remote
*? Be Wife Friendly
*? Connect?to network or plug in a USB drive. (WDTV is connected via cable to LAN/Internet)

Would be nice if it had good looking menus, could get metadata for movies.

I could get another WDTV live, or similar, or I could get an AppleTV and Jailbreak and put XBMC on (I like the look of XBMC).

Does anyone have any suggestions?

Has anyone got a jailbroken ATV? I understand that the new ones (with iOS5 (4.4)) currently have to be tethered and that is not ideal, but if they can do an untethered jailbreak is it?Harmony?(and therefore Wife) friendly??????

Is there any other way I can get XBMC running?(I don't want a computer?sitting under the TV - The WD or ATV?is a good sized unit)?

Thanks.
R ???
?????
??

Two years isn't that long, you could take it back to the retailer, as it could be covered by the CGA. My brother has just purchased a new TV in the UK, and it is the retailers policy to give 5 years warranty on all new TVs for free, so these things should last a reasonable period of time.

JimmyH

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#541760 6-Nov-2011 19:37

The Apple TV doesn't allow local drive connections - which the OP said they want, and having this fail is the reason for wanting to replace.

Before replacing I would:
1. Try the USB drive on the other USB connector (the WD Live has two), in case it's a faulty connector.
2. Try another cable on the drive, in case it's a faulty cable.
3. Try another drive, in case it's a faulty drive (I had an external HD behave this way about 6 months ago)

If these fail, then I would contemplate an upgrade. Since you like the Live, and it does what you want & the wife is OK driving it, my first suggestion is simply get another one. I have seen them on sale as low as $129 (Leemings?) recently, which is pretty hard to beat. If you are OK spending a bit more, the Live Hub is pretty darn good - I have both.

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trig42

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#541767 6-Nov-2011 20:11

I don't need USB connectivity. It is connected to a network. The drive I have it connected to is fine, works on laptop just great, just the WDTV doesn't pick it up without a reboot or two. (Happened after the last firmware update)

Talkiet what iOS is your ATV running?

Talkiet

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#541768 6-Nov-2011 20:14

trig42: I don't need USB connectivity. It is connected to a network. The drive I have it connected to is fine, works on laptop just great, just the WDTV doesn't pick it up without a reboot or two. (Happened after the last firmware update)

Talkiet what iOS is your ATV running?

It's not running the newest... Pretty sure it's from this... AppleTV2,1_4.3_8F305_Restore.zip

Cheers - N

Please note all comments are from my own brain and don't necessarily represent the position or opinions of my employer, previous employers, colleagues, friends or pets.

trig42

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#541786 6-Nov-2011 21:01

Ah, yep. The newest is 4.4 I think, which there is only a tethered Jailbreak for at the moment. I would like an ATV but don't want to do a tethered boot every time I have to turn it on.

Dunnersfella

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#541789 6-Nov-2011 21:08

I'm running a nightly build on my ATV2 - streaming from a HDD plugged into a Airprort Extreme router.
It is VERY straight forward to use once set up, and the GUI is excellent.
Not having to turn on a computer to access 1TB of movies is brilliant, as is the scraping of the IMDB metadata etc. Playback is just fine, black levels aren't what I call great... but being able to also utilise the ATV2's native features are great too - especially if you have an iPad / iPhone etc.

Handle9

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#541793 6-Nov-2011 21:16

Looks like you can downgrade to 4.3 if you want to jailbreak untethered. I'm running 4.3 and it works great.

http://forum.firecore.com/topic/5656

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trig42

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#541966 7-Nov-2011 11:50

Thanks for that. I had read that you can downgrade so long as you have the SHSH blobs or Apple is still signing the IPSW. I suspect that by the time I get an ATV2 Apple will no longer be signing 4.3, but hopefully by then the gurus at Seas0npass will have worked out an untethered jailbreak for 4.4.

How often does an ATV need rebooting? I could just tell the Harmony to leave it switched on when leaving the activity.

Talkiet

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#541968 7-Nov-2011 11:54

trig42: Thanks for that. I had read that you can downgrade so long as you have the SHSH blobs or Apple is still signing the IPSW. I suspect that by the time I get an ATV2 Apple will no longer be signing 4.3, but hopefully by then the gurus at Seas0npass will have worked out an untethered jailbreak for 4.4.

How often does an ATV need rebooting? I could just tell the Harmony to leave it switched on when leaving the activity.

Mine goes weeks without rebooting, in fact probably months

However, if you have a smartphone (iOS or Android) then you really should get one of the XBMC remotes for them. Wow... Huge functionality. I have a Logitech Harmony One for everything else, but use a smartphone remote for XBMC all the time.

Cheers - N

Please note all comments are from my own brain and don't necessarily represent the position or opinions of my employer, previous employers, colleagues, friends or pets.

wellygary

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#541971 7-Nov-2011 11:59

My appleTV running XBMC has not been rebooted for a good couple of weeks now,

+1 on this as a solution to your WDTV's possible death, also with XBMC it has a very high WAF factor,

My better half has used it on a daily basis as she works here way though the entire box set of MASH whilst feeding our 2 month old.

trig42

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#541976 7-Nov-2011 12:06

wellygary: My appleTV running XBMC has not been rebooted for a good couple of weeks now,

+1 on this as a solution to your WDTV's possible death, also with XBMC it has a very high WAF factor,

My better half has used it on a daily basis as she works here way though the entire box set of MASH whilst feeding our 2 month old.

LOL. Nice. ATV looks like it is winning the race at the moment. Even the wife says the WDTV needs replacing, and it is nearly impossible for me to get approval from the minteress of finance for new toys.

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