At this point I am probably going to return this because it just does not do what I thought it was going to do for me. I read reviews of the device before I bought it and most said it was a very good device. Set it up last nite using the built in wireless and I got a very weak signal from my router that is only about 15 feet away in another room. My laptop receives a strong signal from this same spot from my router. With the weak signal I can’t even stream DVD ISO files to the WD TV without it stuttering and freezing. It wouldn’t even bring up Netflix last nite. So I couldn’t test that. And tonight I decide to update the firmware to the latest version (1.07.xx) and now Netflix is gone…nowhere to be found on the device. It added some services, like MLB.tv which is one of the reasons I bought the device, but losing Netflix…really? And it has been nearly a full month since this release and there is still no fix to bring back Netflix? There is absolutely no excuse in this. Outrageous. But it doesn’t really matter if I only get a very weak signal from the built in wireless from a router 15 feet away. Maybe I just got a bad unit. I might try to do an exchange with Newegg. But so far I am very disappointed with this device.
Edit: I read up a bit more on the device and the latest firmware and it seems it now checks your location and kicks out Netflix if it is not officially offered in your country. I live in North Carolina USA…why would it remove Netflix when I live in North Carolina? I am going to try a factory reset and see if Netflix comes back. But is this weak wireless signal a common problem with this device?
norcal here too. my netflix shows and works fine. on fw 1.07.15.
if the reset doesnt work try to roll back the fw.
it that doesnt change anything exchage it, there seems to be some defective units out there.
The factory reset did bring back Netflix, and Pandora too…which was removed after the update too. But the wireless signal is so weak that Netflix looks terrible. And forget about streaming DVD ISO’s over my network wirelessly with the weak signal…ain’t happening. Thinking about returning this and getting the Sony BDP-S590 blu-ray player that I had originally planned to get instead of this WD TV Live Streaming. I believe it can do most everything I wanted this device to do plus play blu-rays of course. The Sony is $135 on Amazon and I have $60 in Amazon credit to use which would make the player pretty cheap.
well if you’re looking for something that plays blurays & online video services you should probably get the Sony player you want. it does have dlna and would play ‘most’ movie files off a pc but not all since its not a dedicated media player as the SMP is.
for the weak signal check your wireless strength and also how many other networks are in your area it can make a difference. also you can get a ethernet wifi adapter and that works better than the built in wifi in some cases (but thats more money in the end)
… dang sure it won’t play DVD ISOs, either… :)
If any of my other wireless devices receives a signal just fine from this same location then that leads me to believe the problem is with the WD TV’s built-in wireless.
You are correct…the Sony will not play DVD ISO files. I may try an exchange with newegg and see if another unit performs better with the built-in wireless. Another option is to set up yet another repeater and hook up to that and hope for a stronger signal. But I alreadyhave 3 repeaters set up in 3 different rooms in which various devices are hooked up to for internet connections over my wireless, so adding yet another one may decrease my throughput even further. But this is probably my best option other than returning the unit and trying another one.
Edit: I set up yet another Encore router as a repeater (making it 4 now in my house) in the room with the WD TV Live and hooked it up to one of the ethernet ports on the router and now receive a very strong signal to my WD TV Live device. And everything works very good now. So I guess I will be keeping it. Was hoping to use the built-in wireless in the WD TV but apparently it does not do a very good job as far as signal strength and was useless like this.
