WD TV Live Youtube Petition

No firmware is perfect. Nothing will satisfy everyone. However, I think Youtube Leanback is the furthest step backwards we could take with the Media apps. Assuming WD will release one more FW…

WD community, please respond to this thread if you support either replacing Youtube Leanback with the original YT app or if you support WD simply including both the LB and standard YT apps. Either solution is acceptable.

I know I can roll back, btw. But that’s not my intent.

This type of suggestions work better on the ideas board

I dont think there is an ideas board for the Live or Live plus anymore.

I see many complaints about the Leanback app in various threads.  Let’s pull those together into a single thread.  I really want both options on my Device.  Youtube standard and Leanback.  If not possible to do both then give us back the original YoutTube app.

The most important part of YouTube app to me (and many others)  is having a link to our subscriptions, so that needs to be part of any YouTube app on the WDs.

Add my voice to this chorus:  Please bring back the WD Classic YouTube user interface, unchanged and in its entirety.

WD, I can understand that you want a standard (to industry) appfront for popular features like Youtube, Facebook, etc.  Nobody wants to risk their product looking dated when they roll-their-own UI, especially when everyone eventually becomes familiar with a standard UI.  The issue here is that you had a perfectly good working YouTube app that featured a look and functionality that Leanback still needs to evolve towards.  Rather than foist a whole new paradigm on your (still) loyal customers, the right way to do this would have been to include a radio button in the setup menu that allows selection of WD Classic or Leanback.   How much more coding effort would that have entailed?  You’ve already got developed and proven source code for your classic Youtube UI, and clearly you expended further effort to port Leanback onto the platform.  Even I, a purely hardware guy, would probably be able to add a radio button in a setup menu.  It couldn’t be that hard, could it?

what should they do

  • include both youtube apps, they already do this with the SMP & HUB

although, I supose they could be running out of room

haven’t check firmware size compared to block size for official firmwares in quite some time

what will they do

  • ???

In my previous posting I think that I echoed the opinions (or rants) of numerous WD TV owners - that YT Leanback should never have REPLACED the original YT app. 

Youtube is not just about browsing through trending and viral videos - there are 1000’s of real channels and portals, including education or training videos, news and events, etc. We use several WD Live devices as audiovisual tools. I’ve installed dozens of the devices for clients not only for home entertainment, but digital signage, for presentations, conference rooms, classrooms and more.

The problem is made worse because we no longer can roll back the firmware to a previous version via USB device, even by editing the wdtvlive.ver file to display a newer version number. - it appears that version 1.06.43 only searches for web-based updates from WD’s ftp server.

I believe that the WD Live team are taking these complaints seriously, let’s hope we eventually get our YT back!

@MrN

I’ve reverted the WDTVLive I bought used recently from 1.06.43V to 1.06.15V, and finally to 1.05.04V, all via USB stick.  The links to rollbacks are available in numerous threads in this forum so I don’t need to repeat one here as I’d probably post the wrong link.

Your example is important in the lobby to get the YT classic functionality back as it sounds the change WD made in 1.06.43x holds commercial consequences for you.  I too hope they are reading this and take our concerns seriously.

Can I rollback the firmware of my generation 1 WDTV Live? I’d rather have the old YouTube app.

MrNoodle wrote:

 

 

The problem is made worse because we no longer can roll back the firmware to a previous version via USB device, even by editing the wdtvlive.ver file to display a newer version number. - it appears that version 1.06.43 only searches for web-based updates from WD’s ftp server.

 

 

Really, is that from experience or are you just doing it incorrectly?

Rollback-designated  versions DO NOT need the version number “tweak”, as this has already been done in a WD “rollback version”.  If the firmware you download has the word “Rollback” in the file name, just run it as is to rollback the firmware.

Bring back YT classic

Has anyone tried rolling 1.06.43 back to the “approved” 1.06.15, then rolling that back to something earlier like 1.05.04?  If so, did it work?

fhall1 wrote:

Has anyone tried rolling 1.06.43 back to the “approved” 1.06.15, then rolling that back to something earlier like 1.05.04?  If so, did it work?

I have not personally tried that, but I have read a few threads here on this board where others have tried that method of rolling back and have succeeded.

I have had YouTube Lean Back forced on me not only on the WD TV Live Plus but also on my “smart” TV and 2 different “smart” BluRay player and probably a few other places. I HATE the navigation on this thing. I want to choose a specific video from all my favorites or a specific video from one of my lists. For the life of me, I cannot figure out the navigation to do this. I can see my lists, but the minute I choose one it starts playing the first video without giving me a choice. I could always use the classic version with no problem.

Bill and WD I think its evident that the community prefers the classic Youtube app. Please inform us as to WD’s position. So we can decide to stay with this player or move on.

Can you please answer us within the next 2 hours, I don’t want to have to roll back the firmware just because of this.

I hardly think that anybody is going answer you in two hours. This is a weekend.

“This is a weekend.”

Welp, the weekend’s over.

…Oh look, a whole week has passed.

Lol.