Hey All,

Recently picked up a WDTV from my local Best Buy for $89.99 and it plays a host of files including DVD ISO and MKV. Anyone tried it out? I am not sure if I should keep it or return it. I have a PS3 but it doesnt play MKV and neither can it play DVD ISO .. this thing is a like a little HTPC with a REALLY small form factor.

http://www.wdc.com/en/products/Products.asp?DriveID=572



Key Features
Optimized for My Passport and My Book storage, 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 MediaConverterâ„¢ 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

WD has just released an updated version to their WDTV - called WD-TV Live (this one has network support while the old one didn't), AVforums thread here;

http://www.avforums.com/forums/streamer ... -eesn.html

I've not got the WDTV but they are loads of support and custom/hacked firmwares out there I've read about that let you do all sort of stuff.

There seems to be a loads of these units on the market now in competition to the Popcorn Hour - cheap as chips too. I took a chance on one called xtreamer (http://www.xtreamer.net/) - some problems with it but getting fixed in firmware updates. They all seems to based around the same few chip sets and do basically the same things. I don't have xbox or playstation so use this media player for all media playback now.

Ali

Hey Bhai .. yeah I heard of the WDTV Live but not being a fan of network media players I bought this unit since it has been on the market for some time now and is tried and tested but a ton of people. Also as you mentioned lots of hacked firmware out there and from what I have seen on websites it amazing what you can do with it.

Personally bought it as a way to watch MKV files sometimes and with my sons TV recently I wont have to get a DVD player for him which, for a decent one with DIVX compatibility would cost the same (Sony etc). I can now backup his movies and run them off a stick.

Personally didnt want this initially since I own a PS3 but with the PS3 being in the repair for the 3rd time now and like I mentioned my son TV I thought might as well invest in this. Portable for trips and moving around the home for anyone to use.

I have the original 60gb PS3 with PS1/2 compatibility, with the 3rd repair now they might be swapping it for a new PS3 with no BWC and if they do I will get the PS3 Slim.

I bought one, the first gen one, and my conclusion: it sucks.

cons:
1) The lack of the DTS decoder--a small form factor(almost portable) device like this should be equipped with the decoder. Yes the new gen has it.
2) DVD Video_TS folders...no DVD menu support. It plays the .vobs in order...MOST times.
3) No chapter support for DVD Folders...ie, when you play the .vob it doesn't let you skip to the next chapter you have to fast forward
4) DVD ISO support is also weak-----I haven't yet been able to play a single .iso albeit, I haven't tried that many.
5) It has chapter support for mkv containers, but not through the Skip >| button. You have to go through the retarded "Options" button and takes many clicks to achieve this--in short, the ergonomics suck
6) The support for it is actually non-existent. Google it for yourselves..especially official WD support. Yes, there have been firmware updates, but only minor updates that don't really change functionality. Their last non-beta firmware fixed proper display of Korean and Greek subtitles.


pros:
1) Small device. Could be easily moved around.
2) Great for playing DVD Rips you might have laying around.
3) ....eh...it's got it's uses for a device that is $100

Eh, overall this device is not for me, and the cons mentioned above are worth serious consideration if you are looking to purchase this thing. You may want to look at the BriteView CinemaTube which is in the same price range. I don't know how well the mkv chapter support is, but it plays BOTH DVD Folders and ISO with the original menus, as well as built in DTS decoder, and network support.

I personally am just going to shell out a few more bucks for an HTPC build. Might get the CinemaTube for the bedrooms...not sure.

Thanks Yuvan Bhai .. I must agree with you for the most part. It is a good device though for general use but as a full fledge media player it has its set backs. I had heard so much about it that I decided to try it out. I will be playing with it for the next couple of days to see how go and if its worth it I might keep it otherwise return it.

Personally use a lot of AVI files, rarely MKV. My Sony DVD plays AVI but some dont work which work fine on here as well as my PS3.

yeah, this device has a lot of fan following, but not enough information is available on it's limitations. I checked reviews but none of them were in depth.

I hear the Intel Atom 330 can play blu-ray and 1080p with the proper chipset. I've seen barebone systems (you add RAM, hard drive, and OS) for about $150-200. They are small, add a TV tuner and you have a fully functional media center device. They are power efficient too.

this one comes with ram/hdd/dvd for $350
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6856158007

I'd like to know about 1080p x264 playback on the atom! googled without luck...anyone know??

There's a thread on ASRock ION 330 here;

http://www.avforums.com/forums/home-cin ... 330-a.html

There's also an Acer Aspire Revo another ION based mini PC thread here;

http://www.avforums.com/forums/home-cin ... hread.html

From what I read in the past both can play x264 1080p content - linux and XMBC seems to be the software of choice. Nvidia provide accelerated drivers for Linux that handle the HD video decoding. The limitation at the time what that there was no hardware accelerated flash video on the ION. Nvidia is also meant to release ION 2 chipset before end of the year.

There's a ION chipset dedicate fan site here for more news and info;

http://www.ionbased.com/

Ali

Is there a media player, which I can hook up my NTFS formatted drive too, that can allow me to play my ripped DVD files, like a normal dvd - with menus and everything...

I use the xtreamer for this; have dumps of DVD ISOs or vob files on the network it plays the menus and everything else like normal DVD player. I think most of these media units will do this although the first gen WDTV has problems playing DVD menus.

Ali

Thanks ali. Would you mind telling me if possible to convert VIDEO-TS files to ISO image?

I use this freeware program for cd/dvd burning but also useful to creating DVD Iso from video_ts folders - it will automatically detect they are DVD files and create the right folder structure in the ISO;

http://www.imgburn.com/

Select the "create image file from files/folder" option;



Ali

great! will try. Does WD handles menus? AR prob etc?

ali, legend, one more question for you guys. btw is there any way to rip bluray to image? or if u have mts files ripped as bmdv structure to convert to bluray iso files?

please advise.

Right now WDTV doesnt handle menus at all Hopefully in a future update or Custom firmware it might.


Personally dont have a BDRom so have never tried ripping BDs at all, sorry Bhai. Ali Bhai?

I don't have a BDRom either but from what I've read you can use that imgburn program to create BD ISO in the same way you create the DVD ISO - select filesystem to UDF 2.50.

I've just been testing firmware 2.0 on the xtreamer and they have limited BD ISO support now - limited as in you can browse to the mts files within a BD ISO and play them - there is no support for BD menus or any of the other Bluray features. The new Popcorn Hour C200 plays BD ISO with menu support - FAQ here;

http://www.networkedmediatank.com/showt ... ?tid=23797

Ali