richUK- Interesting- I called WDTV today and spoke with someone who basically said: The HDMI connectivity issue is NOT WD responsibility and to call TV manufacturer. I explained to him, other sources work fine through the TV, only the live plus doesn’t. He went on to say: No updates/firmware are planned from WD to address this issue and the current FW I have installed is the latest.
Frankly: He was worthless and very matter of fact. In the mean time, I went and bought a Patriot Media Player and so far so good- no issues. I must admit, I do miss the WDTV GUI.
Welcome to the world of Phone Tech Support. WD DOES know of the issue; they’ve explained it in detail here.
With the Live Plus and the PRE-release version of the code, Sigma released a new SDK that was required for the DVD Navigation feature. The SDK has a bug in the HDMI stack that affects some LG, Some Samsung, and other branded displays.
They are already working on the fix…
In SOME cases, it IS the fault of the display. Several users have said they upgraded the firmware on their displays and fixed issues.
Ok, I will stay tuned on this topic for a while OR I guess another option is to just pick up the WDTV Live as until the mysterious turning off/on on its own- it worked great. I have 30 days w/ BB return policy. I just hope WD is actually listening and acting on this stuff.
Still connected through component- STILL waiting for a response from WD- It has been 4 days now and not a word. The auto email response to my email says: 24 hours (yeah, right). Point is: it would be nice if someone at WD would at least recognize my email and do something about this issue.
I have Vizio TV too and I have the same problem, Called Vizio to see if they have new Firmware but no luck, I have to do some step I have to do before then I Can have sound when I play the movie from Netflix.
I recommend everyone who has the issue to email WD and tell them about it! I get the feeling they won’t do anything until forced to do so. IMO, the more people the better and maybe just maybe WD will fix this problem. If not, mine is going back to the store with a recommendation to everyone never to buy WD products!
Well, after waiting I finally get a response from WD… Here it is:
[deleted for privacy - posting email content is in violation of Useage Guidelines]
I am speechless: WD just does NOT get it! Codecs , are you kidding me? Update your player- well DUH? Good Grief, does anyone at WD read these forums and if so doing anything about this issue. I give up- I was holdiing out hope as I really do like the ease of use and GUI of the WD product, but mine is going back to BB- Thankfully, I paid a few extra dollars and bought it local.
Well, after waiting I finally get a response from WD… Here it is:
[deleted for privacy - posting email content is in violation of Useage Guidelines]
I am speechless: WD just does NOT get it! Codecs , are you kidding me? Update your player- well DUH? Good Grief, does anyone at WD read these forums and if so doing anything about this issue. I give up- I was holdiing out hope as I really do like the ease of use and GUI of the WD product, but mine is going back to BB- Thankfully, I paid a few extra dollars and bought it local.
If you have read any of the forum you will see that Customer support mainly gives out stock answers. What exactly did you expect from them?
oh, I dont know- maybe something to the affect: We are aware this is a problem and are working on a solution. Just basic customer service. I wait over 2 weeks with NO response and get this… I am sorry, but they need to do better. Its their problem with their product- FIX IT!
Just got a WD TV Live Plus recently, and found that it does not work with my LG HDTV. Basically, no audio via HDMI cable. However, such problem does not show with my Samsung HDTV,
I finally determined that this is WDTV issue, not my HDTV. This is clearly a software driver bug. Apparently, it requires to run a certain media file format first in order to load / initialize the audio driver appropriately.
Here is the workaround:
When the unit has audio issue, go to Mediafly.
To let this workaround to work consistently, please search for “Jim Cramer’s Mad Money” under Business/Finance menu, and play the media content. “Boo-yah”, the audio over HDMI will now be activated. The audio will now work on other applications: Pandora, Netflix, …
Please note that you have to repeat the above steps whenever the device is repowered.
I bought the Plus for Netflix and replaced a working WDTV Live. Hooked it up to my Vizio and got no sound via HDMI on Netfix until I started a video or music from attached storage or a network share. Now that has stopped working. I have no sound at all via HDMI or Optical on any media. This is extremely frustrating.
I This is I been doing for the past 2 Months now. I am not sure why WD just ignore all of us here, Send them Numerous messages but not even one response from them I am about to report them to Better Business Bureau.
If you spent a few minutes searching this forum, you’d know that they ARE listening and are working on a fix, that thus far has eluded them.
Root Cause: Both the Live+ and the Live with BETA Firmware required a new SDK from Sigma. That new SDK introduced this HDMI handshaking issue. They’ve been issuing Betas on the Live for the last three months and are tracking the user base that it fixes, and those that it didn’t.
The WDTV Live BETA and Live+ are based on the same code, and will experience very similar bugs.
Thanks to the suggestion of an earlier post I went out to Wal-mart and got a Vizio HDMI cable. Specifically it is model number XCH306. Now there is a great picture and great sound through the TV and soundbar. I set video to Auto and sound to digital. I believe it is an HDMI 1.4 cable, 240hz. I am not sure this cable was even out when I bought the WD. I don’t remember seeing it.
I tested it first with Netflix and it didn’t work. Then I went over to Internet Media and it worked. I’m not sure what that was all about. Then back to Netflix and it worked.
Thanks for letting us know – I did suggest the OP try it with another cable, because they all are not created equally, and it’s good to know it worked for you.
