Can browse mediaserver and shares but no playback

Greetings,

I just moved in to a new house and thought wd tv would be a great adition to watch video content in bed (since it’s so small). To connect the wd tv to the network I use a devolo dlan 200 AVplus.

On my desktop I have mediaservers (Tversity & PS3 media server) running and network shares which I can browse through user the wd tv. So it connects to the network and it loads the folders quick.

The problem I’m having is whichever videofile I choose (mkv, avi, mp4, wmv)  to play, the screen turns black and the blue circle starts spinning, It keeps doing this and the file does not play.

Does anyone know what this could be? I don’t have any HDD’s connected to the WD tv, just a network connection.

I hope somebody can help me otherwise it was a quite useless purchase.

Thanx in advance!

Menace

Welcome to the forums.

First, I’d leave aside media servers (IMHO they are more trouble than they are worth).  In addition, they may be causing some of these issues (they will often not play certain file types).

Second, it would really be ideal if you could at least test those files directly – hopefully you have a USB flashdrive you could copy a file to and attach to the Live USB port (if not, they are dirt cheap, costing around $10 for a 4GB model).  You need to eliminate the files as a problem.

If the files don’t play then you know what the problem is.  If they play fine locally then it’s most likely something with your PC (but cross that bridge when you come to it).

I found an other thread on this forum of somebody who had the same problem but playing from a hard drive.

And the solution for that was to reset factory settings. I did so and it worked! so my problem is fixed

If you read any of the posts on this forum you will see that this the standard first step to overcoming any problems. If you are happy please press the solved button.

The reset factory settings works for me, but only temporarily – after maybe half an hour, the unit freezes again. 

I’ve tried resetting via paperclip on the unit itself…we’ll see how that goes.

McCracky wrote:

The reset factory settings works for me, but only temporarily – after maybe half an hour, the unit freezes again. 

 

I’ve tried resetting via paperclip on the unit itself…we’ll see how that goes.

Try

resetting via the side button.

resetting to factory defaults via internal menu.

unplugging the unit from power for some minutes (not seconds).

Do all 3 one after the other before using the unit.

It may or may not work but its worth a try.

I thought I would post an update here…please take it for whatever it’s worth from a newbie:

My issue appears to be resolved (fingers crossed). Unfortunately, none of the resetting/unplugging ideas worked for me. The unit would play normally for about 10-20 minutes, and after that point would freeze/crash. (The file would continue to play, so it’s hard to know exactly when the incident occurred, but if I paused or stopped the unit would be unresponsive.)

I believe the cause of the problem for me was overheating. The weather here in NM was a little chilly the day I received the WDTV, so I didn’t have any issues for a day or two, but in retrospect the problems started up as soon as the weather got warmer. Well, today I started up my swamp cooler for the first time this season, cooling down the house, and guess what – the unit magically started working again, perfectly.

I did suspect a heat issue before, and tried everything from standing the unit vertically to putting it up on tiny blocks directly in front of a strong floor fan, but I think the room temperature was still too high until I turned on my cooler.

Assuming it was the heat – which I imagine it was, because I did not do anything else but reboot the unit since the previous crash – I still believe (hope!) I have a defective unit, since the room I have it in was warm but not uncomfortably hot. Anyway, seems like this possibility is worth checking out for anyone having similar issues with their WDTV.

If it’s the heat I suspect you do have a defective unit.

While heat can always be an issue with electronics, room heat should *never* be a problem unless you’re just a desert rat.  The operating temp of the Live runs up to 95 degrees room temperature, and if you’re keeping your house warmer than that I’m not sure what the point of having a house is (might as well just be outside :>).

Obviously you don’t want to block the vents or have it near any source of heat (like a disc drive, or sitting on top of a receiver) but it doesn’t sound like that’s the case here.  If it’s still under warranty I’d get a new one.