Does anyone know where I can find any info about the custom firmwares? Do any of them add hulu, etc? Do any of them fix the simple thumbnail issue? I really just want to be able to actually have thumbnails for my **bleep** movie collection without having doubles (.jpg and .mkv). Ugh.
Avoid the custom firmware (B-Rad! It does NOT add or fix any issues with the WD, it is a custom firmware with features added for a very specific market and advanced users for interface with a PC… But the WDLive is the same, SAME formats support, SAME bugs, SAME look, SAME features, SAME functionality.
99.9% of users of WDLive will never use the functionality of the B-Rad!
I don’t know why WD is not shutting down his website or sending him a C&D, people should know that they void their warranty with this firmware and this guy should be served.
I have ZERO respect for B-Rad and his firmware is a big joke the features he adds are a joke, that people can live without - this is a media player for crying out loud, if he really waents to release a custom firmware he should visit this forum and read what people are asking, fix bugs, add features, etc. like I dunno, a goto function, among others.
8ball2001 wrote:
Avoid the custom firmware (B-Rad! It does NOT add or fix any issues with the WD, it is a custom firmware with features added for a very specific market and advanced users for interface with a PC… But the WDLive is the same, SAME formats support, SAME bugs, SAME look, SAME features, SAME functionality.
99.9% of users of WDLive will never use the functionality of the B-Rad!
I don’t know why WD is not shutting down his website or sending him a C&D, people should know that they void their warranty with this firmware and this guy should be served.
I have ZERO respect for B-Rad and his firmware is a big joke the features he adds are a joke, that people can live without - this is a media player for crying out loud, if he really waents to release a custom firmware he should visit this forum and read what people are asking, fix bugs, add features, etc. like I dunno, a goto function, among others.
I also don’t use his firmware but you appear to be saying that he should be shut-down because he does not implement the things you want!! Why the big Zero respect for a person who gives his time for just a possible donation. With the lack of interest WD has in this unit people like B-RAD could be our only hope in the future unless you want to get into the firmware profession.
8ball2001 wrote:
99.9% of users of WDLive will never use the functionality of the B-Rad!
I don’t know why WD is not shutting down his website or sending him a C&D, people should know that they void their warranty with this firmware and this guy should be served.
I have ZERO respect for B-Rad and his firmware is a big joke the features he adds are a joke, that people can live without - this is a media player for crying out loud, if he really waents to release a custom firmware he should visit this forum and read what people are asking, fix bugs, add features, etc. like I dunno, a goto function, among others.
You are so misinformed I don’t know where to start.
Some of the things the custom firmware allows people to do:
Shoutcast
Share files using any network protocol you want, samba, nfs, cifs without connection problems
Torrent client
NZB client
Read rar files
Web server that allows access to box functions over the lan for controlling playback, mp3 list, etc
Use any remote control you currently own to control the box
Jump to any location in the currently playing file, want to go to 1 hour, 20 minutes, 18 seconds in a movie ?
transfer files to and from the box with ftp
As to why they do not shut him down it is because they can’t by law. WD did not write 95% of the software the WDTV Live uses, it already existed in the form of debian linux. Linux has the GPL which basically states that if you use the code you have to release your code and any changes to it to the public. WD have done that here:
http://support.wdc.com/download/gpl/
The only way someone would harm their box with custom firmware is if they bricked it during the flash, oh and recovery is built in to the custom firmware just in case. We can even run the box with a hard drive attached as the file system, no longer writing to the flash so it is even safer than updating the box often through the official firmware because we can flash it ONE time and never have to again even when something is updated.
As to why doesn’t he fix video issues and playback , he can’t and neither can anyone else but WD. We do not have access to the video code due to DRM, but if WD wants to release the code I bet within a week most of the issues could be solved by the community.
OP , here is the link to the firmware download:
Let me explain how this works.
Download the file below:
http://b-rad.geg0r.de/wdlxtv-live/1.01.11_B-RAD.CC_WDLXTV_LIVE-0.3.4.5.zip
Extract it to a USB drive, the drive needs to be formatted as FAT32 and one that does not use any encryption, just a plain flash drive.
Insert in the port on the side (not back) of the WDTV Live and plug in the box. On boot it will say, new firmware found do you want to update, click ok and wait till it finishes.
When finished you will see the wdtv boot screen but the background will have changed. Everything will work just like before. You can remove the usb drive now.
Now enter the ip of the WDTVLive in a web browser , you should see the new homepage of your box!
Click on the mt-daapd link and for password use admin & admin
That will take you to the admin page for mt-daapd
You also have telnet and ftp access now.
Visit the forums here for how to customize things further :
hello IM about to buy the WD live, and I’m wondering if I will be able to use it to download torrents directly from the WD, seems like the custom firmware has this function, any suggestion? it is working? I have never use a media player to download torrents, what I want is not to use my laptop anymore for this, it just heats up a lot and I have to keep it running all the time. also im wondering if the WD has a fan? it Is noisy? thank you again.
No, the WD does not support torrents. It does not have a fan, and makes no noise.
WOW. Such hatred for a developer that has given so much to this community. Who &(_)(*ed in your post tosties?
I have only had a plus for about 3 weeks. I did the custom b-rad firmware, mostly to add moviesheets. I am in awe at the additional functionality b-rad has in the firmware. There are protocols and functions I will never use. torrent is one of them, but its there for those that do. I donated because I REALLY like what he has done with the UI and want to see it continue to improve.
I also hope WD keeps fixing media player bugs, b-rad will incorporate them as they are made available. But for now, my live is 95%+ of everything I had hoped a $100 box could be.
Beat on WD if you wish for the bugs in the player, you paid for it. But quit your bitchin about a developer that has done so much for this device. Or just crawl back under the rock from which you came if you have nothing to contribute.
This is an OLD thread; pretty sure he hasn’t posted anywhere else on the forum since June so I’m guessing he won’t read that. ;)
But B-Rad is to be commended for his work on the WDLXTV firmwares, I’m planning on trying them once WD drops support for the Live and Plus. Don’t need any of the extra functionality at this point.
Thank you for the feed back. I really use bitorrent a lot, if any of you have some experience using it on the WD I would appreciate your input. I read quite some post about instructions how to install the custom software, witch Im quite happy someone is doing it and will donate for him surely. But the bittorrent would be a big time future for me.
Thank you again
Salvador
For WD TV Live Hub and Custom Firmware say goodbye.
Warning! We recommend using firmware released by Western Digital only. Using third party or user-modified firmware may cause malfunction and will void your product warranty. Once you install third party or user-modified firmware, even if the product is rolled back to the original firmware from WD, access to certain features will be disabled.
sasha70 wrote:
For WD TV Live Hub and Custom Firmware say goodbye.
Warning! We recommend using firmware released by Western Digital only. Using third party or user-modified firmware may cause malfunction and will void your product warranty. Once you install third party or user-modified firmware, even if the product is rolled back to the original firmware from WD, access to certain features will be disabled.
Nothing toward Sasha, but I seriously doubt that if b.Rad releases anything for the Hub, that any features will be disabled. His firmware is probably years ahead of whatever the Jr. High Computer Club kid WD has working on their firmware will put out anytime before 2014 …
Who said certain features will be disabled if you rollback from custom firmware to original firmware?
And I bet the default original firmware does not support custom moviesheets like this: http://www.lstar337.adsl24.co.uk/moviesheets/Split-Sheet_Movie%20(Sub)%20(FullFan)%20(Cover%20Trickle).jpg ;P
CyberMew wrote:
Who said certain features will be disabled if you rollback from custom firmware to original firmware?
And I bet the default original firmware does not support custom moviesheets like this: http://www.lstar337.adsl24.co.uk/moviesheets/Split-Sheet_Movie%20(Sub)%20(FullFan)%20(Cover%20Trickle).jpg ;P
Western Digital said it.
http://support.wdc.com/product/download.asp?groupid=1010&sid=134&lang=en
See the warning.
richUK that link deals with the WD TV Live Hub, I don’t see a similar warning on the WD TV Live or WD TV Live Plus pages:
WD TV Live:
http://support.wdc.com/product/download.asp?groupid=1003&sid=120&lang=en
WD TV Live Plus:
http://support.wdc.com/product/download.asp?groupid=1006&sid=129&lang=en
I’m guessing the WD TV Live Hub software is far more complex and adds extra security features to prevent users from using custom firmware. The file size difference between the original sources and the WD TV Live Hub source is huge, 378 MB and 243 MB compared to 1.45 GB
alexf187 wrote:
richUK that link deals with the WD TV Live Hub, I don’t see a similar warning on the WD TV Live or WD TV Live Plus pages:
WD TV Live:
http://support.wdc.com/product/download.asp?groupid=1003&sid=120&lang=en
WD TV Live Plus:
http://support.wdc.com/product/download.asp?groupid=1006&sid=129&lang=en
I’m guessing the WD TV Live Hub software is far more complex and adds extra security features to prevent users from using custom firmware. The file size difference between the original sources and the WD TV Live Hub source is huge, 378 MB and 243 MB compared to 1.45 GB
I was only replying to the poster who wanted to know where the info came from. The OP did mention the hub only when he originally posted the warning.
alexf187 wrote:
I’m guessing the WD TV Live Hub software is far more complex and adds extra security features to prevent users from using custom firmware. The file size difference between the original sources and the WD TV Live Hub source is huge, 378 MB and 243 MB compared to 1.45 GB
This brings up an interesting question: can WD legally disable ‘stock’ features if someone uses a custom firmware, then rolls back to a standard one?
I mention this because Sony is currently facing a number of class-action lawsuits over removing advertised features from the PS3 as part of a firmware update. People basically paid for the ability to be able to install Linux on the PS3, but were subsequently faced with having to choose between keeping that ability or losing online play (amongst other things) if they took a particular firmware upgrade.
While that’s a slightly different set of circumstances, there are some basic similarities in that people purchasing the Hub would expect it to retain full functionality if running stock firmware after experimenting with a third-party one. If WD intentionally disables certain features after a rollback, there may be some liability on their behalf as this could be seen as a punitive action against homebrew experimenters.
That’s just supposition on my behalf - but there are some unanswered questions in all of this, and does make for food for thought.
Yes, but anyone can sue anyone else over anything… just because a suit is launched (and even if the suit is won) doesn’t mean that the defendant was in the wrong, and doesn’t mean the same thing can automatically be applied to other cases.
If there are some security settings that are factory set, to prevent unauthorized use of DRM content, it makes logical sense (and might even be a legal requirement of obtaining the DRM licencing) for any rollback to not try to alter the original security settings. Any change could thus become “un-undoable”.
I don’t see anything in the GPL licencing that says WD can’t forbid changes to their own propriatary code… but they do have to allow changes to any code they’ve obtained through the GPL. And if their propriatary code is set to disable certain DRM features if it detects “tampering” to assist in DRM security, that doesn’t prevent someone from changing the GPL code anyways and living with the disabling, so the GPL doesn’t appear to be being violated.
RoofingGuy wrote:
Yes, but anyone can sue anyone else over anything… just because a suit is launched (and even if the suit is won) doesn’t mean that the defendant was in the wrong, and doesn’t mean the same thing can automatically be applied to other cases.
- *> Sure, and agreed on the above. But IMHO the basic point regarding the legality behind removal of purchased functionality still stands - but I will concede that it is still a grey area. To the best of my knowledge, the class action suits have not yet been heard so no precedent exists one way or the other. Further to that, while a ruling may not be directly applicable to another case, the findings of that ruling can be brought in as a close parallel in a subsequent case. Not a lawyer, so I forget the exact legal term for that situation.
RoofingGuy wrote:
If there are some security settings that are factory set, to prevent unauthorized use of DRM content, it makes logical sense (and might even be a legal requirement of obtaining the DRM licencing) for any rollback to not try to alter the original security settings. Any change could thus become “un-undoable”.
Agreed. And it’s not clear right now as to what exactly would or would not be disabled as part of a rollback, but I can see where that would potentially be an area of conflict.
RoofingGuy wrote:
I don’t see anything in the GPL licencing that says WD can’t forbid changes to their own propriatary code… but they do have to allow changes to any code they’ve obtained through the GPL. And if their propriatary code is set to disable certain DRM features if it detects “tampering” to assist in DRM security, that doesn’t prevent someone from changing the GPL code anyways and living with the disabling, so the GPL doesn’t appear to be being violated.
Right (and also agreed), but I was looking at this less from the standpoint of the GPL and more from a general legal one. Frankly, I can’t see where there would be a GPL violation on their behalf, and they certainly are under no obligation to allow use of third-party firmware on their devices. Whether or not the restriction of use statements in the comments of the GPL’d source for the Hub would stand up to a legal challenge is another question (and I feel that they would hold up in court), but there may be precedent to the contrary.
According to b-rad you may lose access to netflix / blockbuster etc.
If the original firmware includes any products in which WD must license then WD may not have a provision to include that product on a firmware restore.
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