WD TV Live as DLNA DMR

Hi,

I would like to use my WD TV Live as DLNA DMR. This way I can use push content products (such as TwonkyBeam and the “Play To” function in Windows 7 to send content to my WD TV Live.

At the moment, this is not working correctly. There is a hack (select a photo to display to put the WD TV Live in some sort of video layer mode and then push content), but I would like to do this properly.

Can you let me know when DLNA DMR will be implemented?

Thanks

JEEVO

Yes, it seems to be a bit of an oversight that the HDTV Live cannot operate as a DLNA media server for localy connected USB media.  All of the functionality appears to be there within the box, the only thing that is missing is publication onto the network as a DNLA interface.

This would solve my current issue accessing an external DNLA media server to stream MP3s for more than 30 minutes at a time, since I could run from locally attached media instead, without loosing the ability to connect to the same media content from other DLNA players elsewhere on my network.

Hi Yemble,

You are referring to DLNA SERVER, and I am talking about DLNA RENDERER. Different thing.

Someone else, maybe from WD, who can help out?

Thanks

JEEVO

Perhaps we need both DLNA features :wink:

Definitely. With regards to the Renderer part, folks from Microsoft were demonstrating this at the Windows 7 launch event last year, with a WD TV Live box. Have a look at this windows 7 demo using WDTV, at 29:15, it seems to be working perfectly fine for them:
http://www.microsoft.com/presspass/presskits/windows7/

So it is interesting to see how it worked during the Microsoft demo, but not any longer with the current firmware. Is WD monitoring this forum? Any reaction from them would be appreciated. :slight_smile:

I have been working with the Live quite a bit using custom firmware so I know its internals very well. The root of the problem is a program called DMAOSD. It is responsible for everything you see in regards to menus, starting playback , etc.  It doesn’t like to hand off control to anything  except for things it initiates.  Using custom firmware people have been able to get by this and also have made the Live a server for media as well as playing things like apple trailers.

So it is possible for WD to fix this, if the hobby community can do it surely someone with paid employees can do it.

For now if you want to continue using the retail firmware you will just have to put the box in a video display mode using a photo.

I am not happy at all with the DLNA support in the Live since a lot of the commands that are suppose to work do not work. Things like volume are part of the spec but when sent to the Live , the Live just responds with OK like it performed the action when in fact it did nothing. How they got it certified I do not know.

I’ve recently tried to use the WD TV Live as DLNA DMR and it seems to still be broken.   I would assume this would have been fixed after 6+ months of being posted here but I guess not.  The device is discoverable as a DMR but when asked to play media it seems to returns error messages and invalid states. 

I noticed the Windows 7 Play To command works now but I’d like to use a DLNA Controller from another platform.

Does anyone know if WDC is planning on fixing this?

Steve

stfisch3 wrote:

I’ve recently tried to use the WD TV Live as DLNA DMR and it seems to still be broken.   I would assume this would have been fixed after 6+ months of being posted here but I guess not.  The device is discoverable as a DMR but when asked to play media it seems to returns error messages and invalid states. 

 

I noticed the Windows 7 Play To command works now but I’d like to use a DLNA Controller from another platform.

 

Does anyone know if WDC is planning on fixing this?

Steve

Why do you assume that there will be a ‘fix’. Its certificated under DNLA as a Digital Media Player (DMP) and not as a Digital Media Renderer (DMR)

If that is the case then it shouldn’t “broadcast” to other devices on the network that its is a DMR, and THAT should be fixed.

I’m no DLNA expert, but I thought the only difference between a DMP and DMR was that a DMR can be operated using a separate CONTROLLER. 

I believe that DOES work, at least in part; people have demonstrated using VLC as the SERVER and the WDTV as a RENDERER via an iPhone CONTROLLER (VLC Remote).

By the way, it doesn’t have to be CERTIFIED to advertise as a DMR, does it?  

Just purchased min WD TV Live Plus. I use JRiver MediaCenter and absolutely hope WD plans to address this. The DMR use to work and something has changed in this latest version of the device.

I use to own a WD TV Live about 6 months ago and took it back because there was no Netflix support and it did not work well with Playon for FF/RW. I did lots of testing before I returned it . I know it worked with Plug Player on the iPhone using JRMC as the Server and the WD TV Live as the Render…very nice. I almost bought 3 of them to replace my XBOXs.

So I know it can do it or use to do it and maybe there has been a HW change from the WD TV Live to the Plus version.

WD hope you are listing…the trend for this is iPhone and Android as a Media Controler for DNLA DMP and DMRs so you all could tap into a market here.

I will keep this Plus version. That is the only feature I am missing and hope it does get fixed but is not enough to make me return it since it does work as a Player with JRMC very nicely.

According to DLNA, the PLUS is NOT certified.

TonyPh12345 wrote:

I’m no DLNA expert, but I thought the only difference between a DMP and DMR was that a DMR can be operated using a separate CONTROLLER. 

 

I believe that DOES work, at least in part; people have demonstrated using VLC as the SERVER and the WDTV as a RENDERER via an iPhone CONTROLLER (VLC Remote).

 

By the way, it doesn’t have to be CERTIFIED to advertise as a DMR, does it?  

Do you know what version of the firmware was being used to demonstrate it?  I’d  gladly revert back to test it out.  What you described is basically exactly what I want to do.   It works fine with XBMC as the DMR but I’d love to use WD TV Live instead.

stlfisch: It was a while back that I saw the demo online.   I was looking for a way to link VLC to my iPhone to play videos TO the iPhone, not the WDTV, but that’s how I came across it.

Just google the string “vlc remote wdtv” and you’ll come across interesting posts…

stfisch3 wrote:

I’ve recently tried to use the WD TV Live as DLNA DMR and it seems to still be broken.   I would assume this would have been fixed after 6+ months of being posted here but I guess not.  The device is discoverable as a DMR but when asked to play media it seems to returns error messages and invalid states. 

 

I noticed the Windows 7 Play To command works now but I’d like to use a DLNA Controller from another platform.

 

Does anyone know if WDC is planning on fixing this?

Steve

It seems to work with Firmware Release 1.01.24 (2/9/10) , but I guess at some later release it stopped working.   I’ve downgraded to this version of the firmware and I’m able to do what I want.  Hopefully this feature will be available in the latest firmware at some point in the near future.  

Steve

Hi, does Firmware Release 1.01.24 have Netflix capabilities? If it does I may try this also, I really miss DMR. Might be a question found on this forum but where do you get the older firware?

Robo983 wrote:

Hi, does Firmware Release 1.01.24 have Netflix capabilities? If it does I may try this also, I really miss DMR. Might be a question found on this forum but where do you get the older firware?

The WDTV LIve does not have Netflix, that is only on the WDTV LIve Plus.

1.01.24 firmware here. You have to sign in to see the download link

http://wdtvhd.com/index.php?showtopic=12175

This firmware is for the WDTV LIve only, so if you have a Live Plus then you cannot use it.

For those that find this I did discover the WD Live Plus works as a DMR with PlugPlayer on the iPhone/iTouch. I had to set the ignor stop messages in settings or it stopped sometimes at the end of a song and didn’t automatically advance. Seems to work fine now using J River Media Center 15.123 for audio which is all I ever used it for.

Update:

PlugPlayer ended up being its same old buggy self. It played about 8 songs with the ignore stop messages on then I had to hit next track and play. Did the same thing with it off.

It does work with perfectly with J River Media Center 15.132 and the Web Remote via Safari. JRMC can play to multiple zones. If one of those zones is a DMR it references the first profile in the settings. The XBOX360 Profile was the first one in my list. I deleted that so all I had was Generic DNLA and it instantly started working no tweeking required. I haven’t tried Video via the iPhone but it worked from the WDTVLive so I figure it will work but I do not really ever use the zones via the iPhone for that. I just like to be able to start my music without having to turn on the TV.

Firmware 1.03.49

OK, love the new Mediafly application…

BUT… 

I just bought this having just purchased a Desire HD. It comes with this DLNA approved Connected Media app. Well Having played around with XBMC and seeing that it streamed really quite well I thought I would pick up a WD TV Live for it’s DLNA capabilities. 

I was very happy after turning it on and straight away seeing the WD TV as a device that I could stream to… There are a few MAJOUR issues though. Firstly, unlike XBMC it seems to take 45 seconds or so to start streaming and then, a bigger issue, after streaming for about 10 seconds everything slows down considerably. The phone shows that it has “lost control of the device”.

It’s not the network because XBMC streams fine. I have since also tried Twonky and TVMOBiLi. Both have the exact same issue.

Any suggestions? Anyone? Please? I’m really hoping someone is going to point me to an obscure setting, but I fear not.