New Beta Release - WDTV Live Firmware Version 1.06.38_V (11/13/12)

Community Archives WD TV Live Firmware
41

I haven’t done extensive testing or anything, but I’ve tried it out with the few things that I use most. For the most part everything appeared fine. Flash went ok, videos and youtube play fine. (Not sure how i feel about the new youtube interface, but it works)

Tried connecting with my iPhone apps - WD Remote worked perfect,but the ZappoTV app crashed the WDTV HD Live when trying to push a video. It hung for a min and then rebooted on its own. After reboot, I was able to push audio fine, and most of the youtube videos inside the app, but my own videos did not push for whatever reason. (Can’t seem to find the hidden browser, but I’ll keep digging the forums)

I was previously having problems with my device always saying “Currently In Use”  (firmware 1.06.15) and not allowing me to connect, but I’m not having that issue anymore. I still cannot connect to my network shares on my Win7 machine, but it found my folders on my router’s USB drive. Makes me think my Win7 connection issues are related to Win7 settings.

Also related to my Win7 machine, I could not push / play to the WDTV HD LIve (I could do that before Ver 1.06.15 even in Win7). It at least started up and tried connecting to media server (which it didn’t do when it was always “Currently in use”), but it would load and stop. Pressing play would try again, but nothing was displayed on my TV. This still could be related to my own Win7 issues that I’m trying to resolve, but I’m not sure.

Hope these are at least helpful to testing…

42

Is there some change in the way the WD TV Live acts as a music player? Is the new firmware better suited for playing (classical) music?

See suggestions in both (rather old) topics below:

http://community.wdc.com/t5/WD-TV-Live-Live-Plus-Ideas/Make-it-a-better-music-player/idi-p/69292

and

http://community.wdc.com/t5/WD-TV-Live-Live-Plus-Ideas/Make-music-library-more-flexible-more-suitable-for-e-g-classical/idi-p/14264

Seems to me like simple things to add/change, but perhaps there are not enough people who use it as a (classical) music player? Most of the comments I read here are about playing movies, while I believe that the WD TV Live could be easily changed into the best music player there is…

Stef

43

I’m gonna write only the bugs I still see in this beta firmware:

Please note I’ve already reset the device before testing.

  • Facebook app still not working, I can’t see photos or play videos from my profile or other profiles, I can’t even see my own picture profile, when I try to play something WDTV Live shows this message: “Unable to play the selected file. Please see the user manual for a list of supported formats”.

  • Can’t see icons of stations in Live365.

  • When I turn off the device, the network connection is still on, the led in the modem keeps on, it’s like I never turn it off, I really hate that!!!. I use cable connection. It’s like the device is not in full stand-by mode.

  • I’m using my device on an old CRT TV, so when there is no input signal the tv displays a blue screen, but the device keeps sending a black screen to the tv after turning off, that means it’s not powered off completely or is not in full stand-by mode.

  • I don’t have a lcd tv but I’m sure auto framerate is not working in my device as other people.

44

Problems connecting a NTFS HD: the creation date or last modified access properties of the files I played is changed!

After attaching my WD 1TB External USB 3.0 NTFS Drive I noticed that some files had they properties changed randomly.

I’ve checked from win7 showing the files properties.

A file had changed its creation date, set to ‎"saturday ‎1 ‎january ‎2000", and the date is set to " 01:01:41" (I don’t remember if the time is correct or not).

Another file had changed its last access date, set to “saturday 1 ‎january ‎2000” (which is clearly wrong) and the time was set to “‏‎01:03:50”.

Some other files had both these properties changed!

Please fix this! Thanks.

45

Large delay before video files randomly appearing and getting worse again.

For the first  few days using this new firmware on occasion I would get a small 10 second or so delay before starting any file. Yesterday I found a couple files start taking longer to load ~20 - 30 seconds but this was random.

This morning, a file that my daughter watches all the time in and has played 3 times since testing this firmware took a long time to load. I even restarted the attept 3 times, loaded another video, then stopped that and tried again.
 After hitting play I was able to go to the kitchen and brew a coffee and toast a bagel with cream cheese before the file started playing (so a few minutes is what I’m getting at.)

Needless to say this level of patience is not capable from a 2 year old.

There is still some underlying bug hidden there that randomly shows up.

46

mike27oct wrote:

PJPro wrote:

Unfortunately, the random file playback is not random.  I have around 7000 tracks but when looking at all music and setting the random option, the playback cycles through 5 albums, from a total of around 600. 

 

Please put me out of my misery and ensure this issue is addressed in the next rollout of the firmware.  It used to work…why doesn’t it work now?:cry:

This has been how it worked all along, and why I do NOT use WD’s “lame” shuffle feature except for maybe one album.  I prefer to create truly random shuffled playlists (from my 10,000+ tracks) with iTunes DJ that I can play via the WD player.  Works great.  Only “problem” is that iTunes DJ’s max size of playlist is 100 tracks.  But, it really is not a problem, I just make a few playlists at a time and play one until done, then start another.  If I forgot where I left off, I start another playlist.  When I run out of playlists I make more.  It takes a minute or so to make and save 5.

Not true.  Two firmware releases back and the shuffle worked fine.  I did revert to that earlier version to regain the shuffle but got fed up with the firmware alerts. 

47

Well, I won’t dissagree with you if you say it worked “back when”.  I have stayed with firmware 1.05.04_B for over a year.  Back when I got my player, it seemed I had joined the Firmware-A-Month club, as new releases came quickly at first, so I never had a lot of experience with any other versions for very long.

Anyway, I have my entire iTunes folder dupped onto the WD drive, and I do not want to randomly select any one – I want to  randomly select from a certain set of music I have chosen by making an iTunes “smart” playlist, and from that smart list I generate the playlists for the WD player.  Works exactly the way I want it to.

48

Hi all,

I want to ask whether the list of wireless devices supported by the new firmware has been updated.

If so does anyone have the updated list. Thanks.

49

I still encounter problems with large mkv files, e.g. with this specifications:

*** General Parameters ***

  • Container: Matroska

  • Size: 17,072 GB

  • Duration: 1h 31mn

  • Bitrate: 25.0 Mbps

*** Video Track Parameters ***

  • Format: Windows Media Video 9 (VC1) Advanced Profile

  • Bitrate: Max.: Undefined / Average: 21.5 Mbps / Min.: Undefined

  • Frame rate (fps): Max.: Undefined / Average: 23.976 / Min.: Undefined

  • Encoding profile: AP@L3

  • Image size: 1920*1080 - Pixel Aspect Ratio: Undefined

  • Display Aspect Ratio: 16:9

  • Interlacing: Progressive

*** First Audio Track Parameters ***

  • Format: DTS Coherent Acoustics

  • Bitrate: 1 510 Kbps

  • Resolution: 16 bits

  • Rate: 48.0 KHz

  • Channel(s): 5:1 - 6 channels

  • Position: Front: L C R, Side: L R, LFE

*** Miscellaneous ***

  • Subtitle(s): No Subtitle

Basically the playback looks fine, but on particular positions the playback hangs/stutters and seems to drop some one or more pictures respectively. It’s hard to describe, the playback isn’t smooth. The “hang positions” are fix, no random stuttering or something like that.

With Firmware 1.04.17, same settings (HDMI 1080p/24), same file, the playback is perfect. No problems.

Playback is from HDD connected via USB. Filesystem is HFS+ (Mac).

BTW: Same problems with WD TV LIVE gen 3, even with latest FW 1.12.14

Regards

50

ppapadim wrote:

Hi all,

I want to ask whether the list of wireless devices supported by the new firmware has been updated.

If so does anyone have the updated list. Thanks.

 

I recently purchased a wireless adapter for my Live Plus and n-router.  The product is not on the approved list (because it is a newer item) but it works great just the same.  See this link:  http://community.wdc.com/t5/WD-TV-Live-Firmware-Networking/Add-another-wireless-USB-adapter-to-the-approved-list/m-p/491700/highlight/true#M16254 

51

PJPro wrote:

Not true.  Two firmware releases back and the shuffle worked fine.  I did revert to that earlier version to regain the shuffle but got fed up with the firmware alerts. 

Go into your WD network settings and set the gateway to 127.0.0.1 and it won’t be able to go out on the net, so it won’t keep reporting new firmware found…but it won’t be able to find Netflix or whatever either.  Alternatively, if able to, have your router block the WD from going to support.wd.com - then it’ll be able to get to the internet, just not WD support to look for firmware.

52

Thank you for your reply. I haven’t upgraded yet to the beta version that is why I asked if there is a new list of supported devices. I will give it a try and see if the wireless I have is now recognised. The wireless I have is a TP-LINK TL-WN821N.

I will post the results.

53

mike27oct wrote:

ppapadim wrote:

Hi all,

I want to ask whether the list of wireless devices supported by the new firmware has been updated.

If so does anyone have the updated list. Thanks.

 

I recently purchased a wireless adapter for my Live Plus and n-router.  The product is not on the approved list (because it is a newer item) but it works great just the same.  See this link:  http://community.wdc.com/t5/WD-TV-Live-Firmware-Networking/Add-another-wireless-USB-adapter-to-the-approved-list/m-p/491700/highlight/true#M16254 

Thank you for your reply. I haven’t upgraded yet to the beta version that is why I asked if there is a new list of supported devices. I will give it a try and see if the wireless I have is now recognised. The wireless I have is a TP-LINK TL-WN821N.

I will post the results.

54

Jester76 wrote:

I still encounter problems with large mkv files, e.g. with this specifications:

 

*** General Parameters ***

  • Container: Matroska
  • Size: 17,072 GB
  • Duration: 1h 31mn
  • Bitrate: 25.0 Mbps

 

*** Video Track Parameters ***

  • Format: Windows Media Video 9 (VC1) Advanced Profile
  • Bitrate: Max.: Undefined / Average: 21.5 Mbps / Min.: Undefined
  • Frame rate (fps): Max.: Undefined / Average: 23.976 / Min.: Undefined
  • Encoding profile: AP@L3
  • Image size: 1920*1080 - Pixel Aspect Ratio: Undefined
  • Display Aspect Ratio: 16:9
  • Interlacing: Progressive

 

*** First Audio Track Parameters ***

  • Format: DTS Coherent Acoustics
  • Bitrate: 1 510 Kbps
  • Resolution: 16 bits
  • Rate: 48.0 KHz
  • Channel(s): 5:1 - 6 channels
  • Position: Front: L C R, Side: L R, LFE

 

*** Miscellaneous ***

  • Subtitle(s): No Subtitle

 

Basically the playback looks fine, but on particular positions the playback hangs/stutters and seems to drop some one or more pictures respectively. It’s hard to describe, the playback isn’t smooth. The “hang positions” are fix, no random stuttering or something like that.

 

 

With Firmware 1.04.17, same settings (HDMI 1080p/24), same file, the playback is perfect. No problems.

 

Playback is from HDD connected via USB. Filesystem is HFS+ (Mac).

 

BTW: Same problems with WD TV LIVE gen 3, even with latest FW 1.12.14

 

Regards

Another try with this file and BETA FW:

I remuxed the file from mkv to mkv again (mkvtoolnix) >>> same result, still stuttering.

I remuxed the file from mkv to m2ts (mkvtoolnix) >>> no problem, playback is fine, no stuttering

Regards

55

I’m not familiar with the output you describe above – it’s not in a format we typically see here.

I’m a bit confused why so many of the parameters are “Undefined.”

Don’t know what “DTS Coherent Acoustics” means.

If you could, please repost with the TEXT Output of Mediainfo for that file.

http://mediainfo.sourceforge.net

56

Is it possible to build in a “time search” function like in the WD Elements play? Also for Youtube videos? Because as many youtube videos are very long so the 10 second skip funktion is often useless. Thank you!

57
  • Still can’t access my OSX Samba/NFS network shares;
  • WD TV Remote (iOS) doesn’t work well. Most of the times it doesn’t detect the media player;
  • Can’t read subtitles from Serviio ( http://www.serviio.org/)) - the only way I’ve found to surpass the network shares problem;
58

TonyPh12345 wrote:

I’m not familiar with the output you describe above – it’s not in a format we typically see here.

 

I’m a bit confused why so many of the parameters are “Undefined.”

 

Don’t know what “DTS Coherent Acoustics” means.

 

If you could, please repost with the TEXT Output of Mediainfo for that file.

http://mediainfo.sourceforge.net

Hi,

I used a freeware tool, not the best one as it seems. Sorry for that, but mediainfo is installed already. :slight_smile:

So here’s the output for the mkv file:

General
Unique ID : 68238929131106507350825987141797490981 (0x335656F67DA75346E89A2B9A43793125)
Complete name : /Volumes/HDD01/Blu-ray (1080p 24Hz)/Sunshine Cleaning/Sunshine_Cleaning.mkv
Format : Matroska
Format version : Version 2
File size : 15.9 GiB
Duration : 1h 31mn
Overall bit rate : 25.0 Mbps
Movie name : Sunshine Cleaning
Encoded date : UTC 2012-04-02 18:49:35
Writing application : MakeMKV v1.7.2 darwin(x86-release)
Writing library : libmakemkv v1.7.2 (1.2.0/1.1.0) darwin(x86-release)

Video
ID : 1
Format : VC-1
Format profile : Advanced@L3
Codec ID : V_MS/VFW/FOURCC / WVC1
Codec ID/Hint : Microsoft
Duration : 1h 31mn
Bit rate : 21.5 Mbps
Width : 1 920 pixels
Height : 1 080 pixels
Display aspect ratio : 16:9
Frame rate mode : Constant
Frame rate : 23.976 fps
Chroma subsampling : 4:2:0
Bit depth : 8 bits
Scan type : Progressive
Compression mode : Lossy
Bits/(Pixel*Frame) : 0.432
Stream size : 13.7 GiB (86%)
Language : English
Default : Yes
Forced : No

Audio #1

ID : 2
Format : DTS
Format/Info : Digital Theater Systems
Codec ID : A_DTS
Duration : 1h 31mn
Bit rate mode : Constant
Bit rate : 1 510 Kbps
Channel(s) : 6 channels
Channel positions : Front: L C R, Side: L R, LFE
Sampling rate : 48.0 KHz
Bit depth : 16 bits
Compression mode : Lossy
Stream size : 986 MiB (6%)
Title : 3/2+1
Language : German
Default : Yes
Forced : No

Audio #2
ID : 3
Format : DTS
Format/Info : Digital Theater Systems
Codec ID : A_DTS
Duration : 1h 31mn
Bit rate mode : Constant
Bit rate : 1 510 Kbps
Channel(s) : 6 channels
Channel positions : Front: L C R, Side: L R, LFE
Sampling rate : 48.0 KHz
Bit depth : 16 bits
Compression mode : Lossy
Stream size : 986 MiB (6%)
Title : 3/2+1
Language : English
Default : No
Forced : No

Menu
00:00:00.000 : en:Chapter 00
00:03:53.524 : en:Chapter 01
00:09:23.187 : en:Chapter 02
00:15:04.486 : en:Chapter 03
00:21:25.325 : en:Chapter 04
00:27:23.933 : en:Chapter 05
00:34:15.803 : en:Chapter 06
00:40:18.332 : en:Chapter 07
00:47:16.667 : en:Chapter 08
00:52:35.986 : en:Chapter 09
00:57:51.759 : en:Chapter 10
01:03:19.754 : en:Chapter 11
01:07:04.979 : en:Chapter 12
01:13:13.972 : en:Chapter 13
01:19:29.389 : en:Chapter 14
01:24:33.151 : en:Chapter 15

And for the remuxed m2ts file (if needed):

General
ID : 1 (0x1)
Complete name : /Volumes/HDD01/Blu-ray (1080p 24Hz)/Sunshine Cleaning/Sunshine_Cleaning.m2ts
Format : BDAV
Format/Info : Blu-ray Video
File size : 16.9 GiB
Duration : 1h 31mn
Overall bit rate mode : Variable
Overall bit rate : 26.5 Mbps
Maximum Overall bit rate : 35.5 Mbps

Video
ID : 4113 (0x1011)
Menu ID : 1 (0x1)
Format : VC-1
Format profile : Advanced@L3
Codec ID : 234
Duration : 1h 31mn
Bit rate : 22.4 Mbps
Width : 1 920 pixels
Height : 1 080 pixels
Display aspect ratio : 16:9
Frame rate : 23.976 fps
Chroma subsampling : 4:2:0
Bit depth : 8 bits
Scan type : Progressive
Compression mode : Lossy
Bits/(Pixel*Frame) : 0.450
Stream size : 14.3 GiB (85%)
Language : English

Audio #1
ID : 4352 (0x1100)
Menu ID : 1 (0x1)
Format : DTS
Format/Info : Digital Theater Systems
Codec ID : 130
Duration : 1h 31mn
Bit rate mode : Constant
Bit rate : 1 510 Kbps
Channel(s) : 6 channels
Channel positions : Front: L C R, Side: L R, LFE
Sampling rate : 48.0 KHz
Bit depth : 16 bits
Compression mode : Lossy
Stream size : 986 MiB (6%)
Language : German

Audio #2
ID : 4353 (0x1101)
Menu ID : 1 (0x1)
Format : DTS
Format/Info : Digital Theater Systems
Codec ID : 130
Duration : 1h 31mn
Bit rate mode : Constant
Bit rate : 1 510 Kbps
Channel(s) : 6 channels
Channel positions : Front: L C R, Side: L R, LFE
Sampling rate : 48.0 KHz
Bit depth : 16 bits
Compression mode : Lossy
Stream size : 986 MiB (6%)
Language : English

I hope this output is more helpfully… :slight_smile:

BTW: Playback of m2ts with WD TV Live gen3 (FW 1.12.14) is fine, too. But same problem with mkv (as mentioned above).

Regards

59

Hi,

Thanks for the public beta.

I had no issues playing my videos, although the biggest MKV I have right now is only 9GB. Unfortunately my problems with the previous firmwares still exist:

  1. The biggest heartache: still no gapless audio.

  2. The new youtube app is very hard to use: cannot select a certain item in a certain playlist. Jumping to the next in a long playlist is not an option.

  3. Shared drives on my Win7 still cannot be accesed

  4. The iPlayer gives an error after starting anything (is Hungary forbidden/forsaken?)

  5. No MLB.TV app

Which firmware do I have to go back to, to get the old youtube app and use it again on WDTV?

60

Yes iplayer does not work outside the UK and certainly not in Hungary.