I would also like to point out that WDTV isn’t quite a mainstream product in the usual sense. The truth is no one i know other than “tech nerds” would have any clue what WDTV was/is if it wasn’t for me. They don’t know if and why they need it and what the heck it does. Generally if someone around me buys one, it’s because I told them to. It’s because I’M telling them it’s a cool little product. A couple years ago that was really easy to do and I got lots of people to buy one, but over the last year or so I’ve gone out of my way to tell people to buy something else. The point I’m making is that unlike most mainstream products, WDTV customers have a certain level of expectation in terms of functionality and updates. It may not be what WD is used to, but if they want to compete (at least for now) they’re going to have to come to this realization. Thanks again for listening and dealing with our ranting Bill and please convey these thoughts to management over there.
WHEN or WHY
Guys, I know it is hard to wait, but Bill has already told us that as far as he knows, there will be ‘at least’ one more firmware release for the Live/Live plus. There is nothing more that he can tell us right now without putting himself in the position of promising us a release date that he is unsure of. I am sure that Bill wants WD to release the firmware just as much as we all do, but we have to realize that WD, like most companies, will give priority to their current products. The Live/Live Plus are older products and it is hard to convince the marketing department that it is worth supporting a discontinued product.
I do think that WD will release new firmware for us, but there is really not too much that we can do except to wait. Hopefully, someone at WD will realize the bad affect that something like this has on future sales and will get this firmware released.
Of course, WD have put this pressure on themselves (and Bill) through a succession of ‘broken’ patches. If any one of the previous patches worked more or less bug free, then people would be far more patient in waiting for the final patch because they would perceive that they had a ‘working’ unit. As it is, with the amount of issues with these patches, they are far less patient.
However, I would like to point out a couple of things. First off, let’s be realistic, this last patch is unlikely to be the panacea for all problems. There will be disappointed users after the patch. Secondly, there is a relationship (I hope!) between the time taken for this patch to arrive and its effectiveness in minimising these disappointments. After a 6 month wait we would hope for something reasonably good (ie without bugs and leaving the unit with functionality befitting its cost).
For my part, apart from the juddering that seems to accompany the last patch, I am satisfied with it’s video performance. But I would like gapless audio (if possible) and 24/96 audio playback. I expect to be disappointed in any one of these areas.
I might as well break the bad news to you now, unfortunately, gapless audio will never happen. We know how big a deal gapless audio is to many people, and maybe in the future it will be different; but when it comes to audio playback, the device works as planned.
Moreover, though I’m sure that we will be fixing as many things as we can, you are right in thinking that this firmware update won’t be a fix all for everything. And, until they release the release notes, I won’t know what all has been done in this firmware update either.
Bill_S,
Just out of curiousity: Are you just a technical audio/video freak or are you working for WD?
Is something done within WD with your feedback/advice?
Rgds Paul-;
There are few things I would like to point out if this can be fixed (or already fixed)…
-
I am using HDMI 1.3. When try to set to HDMI 1080 60Mhz and then select RGB High… for the session it remains ok. But after I have put the device to standby (by the red button in remote), and then switch on, the RGB high is lost. Is there a fix already ? If yes, then let me know. If no, then could you include in the latest firmwarre fix.
-
Sometimes, when I am start a movie (mostly happens with AVIs and MKVs) the audio is distorted. Video is ok. Then again go to standby mode (red button in remote) and play teh move (doesnot matter whether restart from beginning or play from last position) audio and video is perfect. I am using audio pass through HDMI.
Let me know if there is a fix already. If not, please fix in teh latest firmware build.
Thanks
dipb10 wrote:> 1. I am using HDMI 1.3. When try to set to HDMI 1080 60Mhz and then select RGB High… for the session it remains ok. But after I have put the device to standby (by the red button in remote), and then switch on, the RGB high is lost. Is there a fix already ? If yes, then let me know. If no, then could you include in the latest firmwarre fix.
The problem of not remembering the video settings has been going on for a long time. I have been posting about this issue for over a year, and there have been many other threads regarding this problem. When you use the HDMI connection, the WD box and your TV ‘talk’ to each other to determine the resolution, frequency, and color space (auto-negotiation). This auto negotiation does not work with some TVs so you have to go into the WD setup and manually set up the resolution, frequency, and color space.
As you found out, the problem is that the WD box does not remember these settings. When you turn the WD box off and on again, the video settings that you made manually are not remembered. In my case, When I turn the WD box off and on, it frequently comes up set at the wrong frequency, and the color space gets set to YCbCr instead of RGB Low (causing a pink screen).
I have posted about this problem many times and Bill_S posted that he would let the software guys know about the issue, however, there has been no word on whether or not this issue will be fixed.
polleke wrote:
Bill_S,
Just out of curiousity: Are you just a technical audio/video freak or are you working for WD?
Is something done within WD with your feedback/advice?
Rgds Paul-;
Community Manager
Thanks Scandy for explaining … hopefully the software team is loking into this issue.
This business about gapless audio irritates me. The request for gapless audio was in Ideas in early 2010. Why could WD not be honest then and say this isn’t possible. It would have saved me and other users the trouble of pushing for it and WD the trouble of answering our requests. Is this also true of 24/96 audio playback?
polleke wrote:
Bill_S,
Just out of curiousity: Are you just a technical audio/video freak or are you working for WD?
Is something done within WD with your feedback/advice?
Rgds Paul-;
Just in case you didn’t get what RichUK showed you, I do work for WD. No, I’m not a audio or videophile. I rarely make suggestions. But if I do, I’m treated no different than you. The suggestion gets considered within the scope of what is being done, and what can be done.
dipb10 wrote:
There are few things I would like to point out if this can be fixed (or already fixed)…
- I am using HDMI 1.3. When try to set to HDMI 1080 60Mhz and then select RGB High… for the session it remains ok. But after I have put the device to standby (by the red button in remote), and then switch on, the RGB high is lost. Is there a fix already ? If yes, then let me know. If no, then could you include in the latest firmwarre fix.
- Sometimes, when I am start a movie (mostly happens with AVIs and MKVs) the audio is distorted. Video is ok. Then again go to standby mode (red button in remote) and play teh move (doesnot matter whether restart from beginning or play from last position) audio and video is perfect. I am using audio pass through HDMI.
Let me know if there is a fix already. If not, please fix in teh latest firmware build.
Thanks
I have no idea.
Hi Bill, yes I got the hint of RichUK.
But the answers you give sometimes on the forum, makes me think you are a 3rd-party company working for WD. A roadmap of a product (i.e. on updates) should be known from top til bottom in an organisation. Also the problems you come across on this forum concerning products, is valuable feedback for the further development. WD R&D or TechSup should take this information seriously. The mediaplayer should be used to play media since this is its primary function. Problems reported in this forum concerning basic functionality should be treated as severity 1 faults. It is shocking that you state: “I’m treated no different than you”. Do not get me wrong, I value your feedback, it is better than no answer, but it is a strange way how WD is running their customer support…
dipb10 wrote:
- I am using HDMI 1.3. When try to set to HDMI 1080 60Mhz and then select RGB High… for the session it remains ok. But after I have put the device to standby (by the red button in remote), and then switch on, the RGB high is lost. Is there a fix already ? If yes, then let me know. If no, then could you include in the latest firmwarre fix.
I am interested to understand what value you see in forcing your TV to accept RGB High when the content you are playing is most likely not encoded that way. Obviously your TV does not like it and that is why it gets reset during the HDMI negotiation when the WD TV is powered back on. All digital TVs have a preferred profile and if that is what it tells the WD TV Live and then, as I would expect, it chooses that one.
polleke wrote:
Hi Bill, yes I got the hint of RichUK.
But the answers you give sometimes on the forum, makes me think you are a 3rd-party company working for WD. A roadmap of a product (i.e. on updates) should be known from top til bottom in an organisation. Also the problems you come across on this forum concerning products, is valuable feedback for the further development. WD R&D or TechSup should take this information seriously. The mediaplayer should be used to play media since this is its primary function. Problems reported in this forum concerning basic functionality should be treated as severity 1 faults. It is shocking that you state: “I’m treated no different than you”. Do not get me wrong, I value your feedback, it is better than no answer, but it is a strange way how WD is running their customer support…
You’ve completely missed my point, and are twisting what I said. You made no reference to problems. You only refer to feedback/advice. An issue/bug is an issue/bug regardless of my feedback. When I escalate an issue reported on the community, it is taken very seriously. And to my knowledge, all reported issues are given equal consideration, unless they prove to be otherwise.
I am not an engineer. So, whatever advice I might have concerning any product means nothing in the face of what the engineers know. The fact is, I only really give advice when it refers to the community, not to the products. The reason for this is simple. If you had a medical condition, would you want advice from a community manager, or a doctor? Or, would a doctor come to a community manager looking for advice on how to treat a patient? I doubt it. But if he did, I wouldn’t want him as my doctor.
Bill_S,
Look, I think everyone on this forum appreciates your input as it seems to be the only source of news on the WD Live.
Probably most people on this thread are primarily interested to know when the next firmware will be released, and what it might contain. We look to you as the only person with potential to provide these answers, but your recent posts are obtuse and seem to dodge around this issue. It has been 8 months since the last firmware, which was so broken most people can’t use it. Now it has been 4 months since we started getting tantalising snippets from you about the arrival of a fix, yet nothing materialises. People are naturally hoping for a solution but patience is running thin. I hope you can report that issue to the engineers and provide us with feedback.
time to get you’re heads out of the clouds guys it’s over. there struggling to keep the new live streamer
up and running you really think the old box is getting a update… not a chance JUST A Opinion & i’d Be
glad to eat my words but me thinks NOT .
How can we trust you ?
le6emeelement wrote:
How can we trust you ?
trust them about what?
