I upgraded the fw to 1.0.3.49_V and am having problems with logging into network shares. My WDTV Live is connected via ethernet cable to a Linksys E3000 Router, which has a portable USB 2TB hard drive connected to it.
With the the WDTV having been off for several minutes or just unplugged and ‘Auto login to network shares’ = Off, I can login and access/view the files under Video->Network Shares->Portable drive. But once I go out of the portable drive folders and back out to either the Video or Home level menus, I get a ‘This network share can not be accessed’ message when going back into the portable drive. The only way to access the network shares again is to either wait several minutes before trying to login again, or to unplug the WDTV.
With ‘Auto login to network shares’ = On, I always get ‘This network share can not be accessed’ no matter what.
I did not have this problem at all with the previous firmware - 1.0.2.21 I think it was. I am able to workaround this by setting up the drive as a Media Server instead, so it’s not that big of a deal for me. But looking at the other posts it looks like this firmware broke some features that were working fine previously.
I’ve updated the software works ok but my problem is that whatever video I watch works great but then if i swith to another video i get the blue circle like it’s searching and never plays the video. I unplug and re-plug and I get to play only 1 video again, if i want to stop that video and switch to another i have to power on/off again, so as you can see it’s a pain.
Found an archived version of 1.02.21. reflashed my WDTV live back to the older version. Presto!! DTS works, network connects correctly. Everything is perfect again. It is unacceptable and very unfortunate that WD would release a firmware like they did when the very basic functions did not work properly.
Upgraded from 1.02.21 to this new version, after feeling excited for about half an hour now I have to downgrade to 1.02.21 again.
The problem is manual Color Space setting (Video Output/HDMI/Color Space) does not persist, I need to set it to “RGB high” to make it work with my TV, however everytime I turn off the device this setting will be reset to “Auto” with this new firmware, which gives me the pinkish display through HDMI when I turn it back on again. Yes I admit there is likely a HDMI negotitation issue on the TV side, but that’s why we need manual HDMI settings, isn’t it?
This firmware upgrade is a major step back. I upgraded, did a reset, everything looked like it worked. Until I went actually watch a movie. I had sound but no video playback. Yet when I stopped the playback I could see a glimpse of the video image before going back to the file selection menu. I had to roll back to 1.02.21 (that is the last one right?) and now everything works like it should again. Not good. Not good at all.
I have just upgraded from firmware version 1.02.21 to 1.03.49_V (connected to a Samsung LN52B750). Here is a list of issues I have discovered thus far:
Manually setting the output to 1080p/24hz with any color space setting (RGB High, Low, or YCbCr) causes distinctive banding on the menu background. The banding issue disappears when switching to 1080p/60Hz. Banding would indicate the output is dropping to a lower color space in the menu but I am not sure if this affects video output as well.
There are no longer separate choices for 23.976 and 24 Hz output modes, only 24Hz. So far I haven’t noticed any frame stuttering but I usually find it hard to spot between these 2 settings anyway. Most movie files I encounter are encoded at 23.976 so I’m not sure why this option was removed.
Navigating through the menu is painfully slow when the output is set to 1080p/24Hz. Switching to 1080p/60Hz improves the menu speed to an acceptable level. Oddly enough the menu speed also improves dramatically as soon as I navigate into a file share.
On what seems like random .mkv files I am getting “A fatal system error is detected. The device will restart…” warning messages. This same file will then play fine after the unit has restarted. I had no issues with these same files using V1.02.21.
I am still testing video output with regard to issue #1 as this could be a real show stopper for me. If anyone is interested I can post an update as I know more.
I installed the new firmware, via the “new firmware available” icon on the OSM.
Then I was just flipping around the menus to see what was new.
I noticed that my video settings were now set to HDMI, 480 and I forget what freq, so I changed it to HDMI, AUTO, AUTO.
My screen immediately went garbled, and now I cannot restore the settings back to one that will allow me to use this device.
I’m afraid that I’m going to have to return this under warranty, at WD’s expense, back to Western Digital (I’m beyond 30 days return at Best Buy). I’m hoping someone knows how to navigate the menu “blind” so that I can restore to settings that work.
I’ve tried a hard reset, both by pressing the reset button and releasing (which reboots to the same garbled screen) and by holding it for 15 seconds, which doesn’t do anything. It appears that resetting to factory defaults is only available in the on screen menu, which obviously does me no good.
The frustrating thing is that this is how I watch TV, so I’m going to be without TV until I can resolve this. Or until I find a better product and pitch this one in the trash??
Oh great! Made the cardinal mistake of updating b4 checking out the forum first (it was breakfast time!) Now, whilst it can see my Network shares, WDTV Live says ‘no media in folder’ . I have checked everything else of course, rebooted everyhting, checked access thru same router as WDTV is plugged into with a laptop and all is OK with my network. I can access YouTube with the WDTV so IP connections are fine.
I only use Network shares to play media, so this update has effectivley bricked my WDTV Live. One Network share is WIn7Pro x32, the other is XP SP3x32. No other issues whatsoever with these PCs.
WTF Mr WD…? See I’m not the only one with this problem. As other users have asked: how the hell do I turn off the 'New Firmware reminder? No point rolling back since sooner or later one member of the family will update, and I’ll be bricked again. Let me know if u want me to troubleshoot.
Okay, I switched from HDMI to composite, and at least I am now able to use this device.
However, I tried to change the settings back, and plugged the HDMI cable in, and it goes right back to garbled screen.
So it appears that it wasn’t due to changing the settings, it is due to something in the firmware upgrade.
Also, a minute and a half into watching a video, it already started showing video freeze glitches. It also takes TWO attempts to connect to a share before it finds it. It ALWAYS says unable to connect to share the first time, and I have to hit OK and then try again. This is definitely not an improvement, it makes my device frustrating and barely usable.
I like the addition of mediafly, but how do I revert back to the previous firmware. I’ve been using WD TV Live for almost a year, and was happy until now.
If I can no longer use HDMI, how do I get my money back???
Couple of problems to report with the new firmware:
Certain DVDs now no longer play the movie – they display the menu, but when you click on the option to play the movie, it simply returns to the menu in an endless loop. Can anyone try ‘Prince of Persia’ or ‘Race to Witch Mountain’ to confirm?. These movies used to play fine when the WDTV Live launched the movie without the menu.
After playing a Blu-ray movie, certain movies with just Dolby Digital stereo audio don’t have sound. Have to perform a cold boot to make them play again with sound
While doing some tests, I had a problem with 12 bits setting, and the cause was from the HDMI cable (that was not v1.3 compliant). This cable worked fine with 8 bits setting, but not with 12 bits (problem: white dots, occasional flashing blank screen).
I switched the HDMI cable with a Vivanco v1.3c and everything worked great. The cable quality (/specification) is very important for the 12 bits setting. Of course, the TV also has to support 12bits color.
My system: WDTV Live v1.03.49 (HDMI v1.3) → Denon AVR-1911 (HDMI v1.4) → Samsung LE40B551 (HDMI v1.3, with latest firmware).
Settings: HDMI (auto), 12 bit deep color, widescreen, Digital.
HDMI control if OFF on both the TV and AVR.
The next video I watched just stopped about 6 minutes in.
This firmware is BUGGY as hell.
please make the previous firmware the next upgrade, because I don’t want to go out and buy a usb stick just to get a working device. Or will Western Digital mail me one if I call your 800 #??
Hi guys, I have updated my wd tv to latest firmware and now I am getting the following messages while trying to access existing network shares via the wireless network “The network share cannot be accessed” Has anybody come across this? Vish
VishCrazy wrote:
Hi guys, I have updated my wd tv to latest firmware and now I am getting the following messages while trying to access existing network shares via the wireless network “The network share cannot be accessed” Has anybody come across this? Vish
Yes, but just trying it a second time works for me.
Have you tried multiple times and had the same error?
Oh god no, why is the resize video option gone?! I usually watch 21:9 videos with a 1.2x magnification which I find much more comfortable.
I will rolldown to the previous firmware. Implementing new options is a fine solution WD, but taking the good and working old ones out is a disaster.
What on earth were you thinking when writing this firmware? I guess more than half a year I have been waiting for a firmware update to fix the 4:3 aspect ratio fixes and the problems with mkvmerge. Now we get that… I am very disappointed.
