i think they are working on the next firmware maybe they are taking long because they are constantly testing it and making sure this one will be perfect or somthing
this is a response i received a few days ago it might encourage some of u
Dear gabriel,
Thank you for contacting Western Digital Customer Service and Support. My name is Pablo R.
I apologize for the inconvenience, yes, we are aware of the MP4 video/audio out of sync, we are working to fix this in the next firmware update, but unfortunately, we do not known when this update will be released.
I hope that we have met your expectations today and that you are satisfied with our service. If you have any further questions, please reply to this email and we will be happy to assist you further.
I received this exact response from Pablo R. 3 months ago (different bug).
It was in relation to the bug with the ‘Play To’ video feature as demonstrated at the Windows 7 launch event (10/22).
I too have tried to remain patient and post positivley, however I am disappointed in the support WD has provided for this device. IMO, WD released this device way too early, current firmware is ‘alpha’ grade at best. I assume they were under pressure to get the Christmas $'s. (which they got mine)
Consequently, I went out and purchased the Acer Aspire Revo 3610-9012U (2GRam, Win7, 802.11n). Although they are $200 more, they solve all the problems the WDTV Live has.
Yesterday, I decided to pair my WDTV Live with an external HD and not rely on network (which is what I bought it for).
I can understand why most users are happy with the device, it play the videos, and music fine without issue from an attached device.
This truely has the potential to be a very nice device, and I think most us had that expectation when we purchased it. WD just needs to execute on the improvements.
Patience is not the problem but WD’s lack of commitment to their product and inability to deliver the quality expected
I wouldn’t be surprised if WD just dumped the line, and are not anouncing it until they dump their stock on the unsuspecting public. It probably cost them a pretty penny to replace all the units they bricked with the firmware up date. More similar units are popping up increasing competition. Doesn’t seem WD is exactly getting a great reputation by comments made here on their own forum. Why would they even bother pumping more cash into a unit that seems quickely to be becoming a big loser. Besides from the Ideas section not even one idea is “PENDING” you would think that if they were actually working on something at least one improvement would be included. There is no tech support on the forum, which would be the cheapest way to suppy support to their users, Moderators are seen less and all they do is keep you from cursing.
Guess all we can do is hope B-RAD puts out a fix for WD doesn’t seem to likely that WD is willing to do it!
I just bought this product yesterday and updated it and have it connected to my Drobo box with no issues. I also have and Apple TV running XBMC, NITO and Saphire and thus far this outperforms that hack minus all the eye candy that XMBC offers. I am still running the ATV for my iTunes library and rentals / purchases and XBMC’s NaviX portal and other Internet pluggins for movies and TV.
I was pretty impressed with the HD quality from YouTube but that is about as far as I got. Planning on playing with it some more tonight.
I guess I will keep on reading and see what issues I may face down the road…
I bought the WD TV live some days ago. It’s doing a good job until now. Subtiles (.sub format) is working on the movies I watched the last days. All my movies are on a LINUX server connected via Ethernet LAN. No big problems by now for me. For 99 Euro I didn’t expect much more.
Ok, navigation could be optimized and USB keyboard support would be nice.
I decided to buy the WD TV live because the software is open source and I hope when in far future WD stopps the support and no new firmware is provided, the community still continues to optimize the software.
Yes, parts are open source (under the GPL license), other parts are proprietary if I understand correctly. I’ve never used it or looked at it (was thinking about doing that today) but other people have which is what the unofficial firmware is based on.
Yes, I understand the purpose of this forum and it’s moderators. In my experience, in many such forums, it’s not unusual to see responses from tech support of the company hosting the forum. I haven’t seen any here and that, to me, says a something about Western Digital’s commitment to this product.
Well, looking at the GPL source code does not help. It’s a full collection of all the GPL code they used. Even the parts they did not use. Nowhere is any WD code that I could find. It’s like having all the parts to build a model but no glue or instructions. B-Rad must have de-compiled the firmware and studied it. What B-Rad is doing is not of any interest to me. Like downloading torrents with the WDTV for example. If he added some of the stuff from the ideas section I would be happy to throw him a donation.
This page shows that B-RAD actually took the unit apart and plugged directly in the PCB to get his info. (Note the black lead plugged into the socket on the left hand side in the last picture)
I also have and Apple TV running XBMC, NITO and Saphire and thus far this outperforms that hack minus all the eye candy that XMBC offers.
Does that mean you prefer that WDTVL doesn’t have XMBC’s eye candy? I don’t want two devices so am interested in any WDTVL and aTV comparisons that help finalize my choice between the two:
Don’t know how XBMC runs on ATV but, XBMC is way more user friendly, I have had it running on and original X-box and the only thing it really lacks is the HD output. Plus Forums are actually helpful with lots of real useful input, way more input from the developers. I actually foolisly thought the WDTV would be it’s replacement but was sadly disapointed especially on the music end of it I find the WDTV to be a complete waste. But since it looks like XBMC will soon be running 1080p on ATV it may be the more logical replacement, unless another little unit comes around.
Does anyone know how compatable boxee is with XBMC, does it still contain all the fuctionality of XBMC or do they cut stuff out, I was thinking the new boxee unit coming out may be another candidate? I don’t have much use for online content as my internet connection is too slow. Just want something to play movies (1080p) and music from home network.
