I have a WD TV Live for over a month - love it except the DVD menu/chapter support.
A few days ago, I purchased a WD TV Live Plus (for 2nd TV set). The DVD menu/chapter works well for DVD ISO files. However, I noticed the following issues:
I connect a My Book 320 GB Essential Edition external hard drive to the WD TV Live Plus. After I power off the TV Live Plus (using the remote control), the hard drive does not power off on its own (I wait for one hour). Even I push the green ring to power it off, it turns on automatically again. When I disconnect the USB cable from the TV Live Plus, the hard disk turns off in a few seconds. Even while the TV Live Plus is power off, if I reconnect the hard drive USB cable to the Live Plus, the hard drive will turn on. I don’t have the problem with my WD TV Live (the non-Plus version)
I play a few files and stop them in the middle. After I power off WD TV Live Plus and power it on again (via remote control), it does not “remember” those played files and always starts the files from the very beginning. I don’t have the problem with my WD TV Live (the non-Plus version).
Occasionally, my WD TV Live Plus does not play MKV files - asking me to check the manual for supported file formats. I found a workaround - play an ISO file and then go back to play MKV files, things are fine. But this is a very strange problem. I never experienced it with my WD TV Live (the non-Plus version).
I tried to “reset” the WD TV Live Plus, power cycle. problem 1 & 2 still exist. And problem 3 still happens occasionally. I don’t know it’s the firmware issue or I am having a “bad unit”.
Any suggestion and help would be greatly appreciated.
I believe that the live plus powers off to less than 1 watt in standby and it appears that this means that it forgets the resume video info. I would have assumed that this would also mean that attached drives would have been powered off but obviously not.
My WD TV Live (the non-Plus version) does not have those problems. I am wondering if other people have the same/similar problems or I am having a bad unit.
As Rich mentioned, the Live+ has lower standby power; it does not provide power to RAM when shut down. It will forget the RESUME position after power-off. It doesn’t matter what the media is (Local HD, flash, NAS, shares, whatever.)
That’s also why it takes a LONG TIME to boot compared to the original Lives.
So, it might be a few feature of the Plus to not have “resume” function after power off, but the Live (non-Plus) has it. If the Live (non-Plus)'s new firmware enhances DVD menu/chapter function and keeps the “resume” function after power off, I am willing to get another Live instead of the Plus. To me, if both have DVD menu/chapter function, the “resume” function is more important than Netflix as I don’t have time to sit down for straight 2 hours for one movie.
Can someone confirm if the new firmware of Live (non-Plus) keeps the “resume” funciton after power off?
I have a cheap DVB-T receiver from China, which also serves as a media player for AVI/MKV/M2TS videos, and it remembers where all the movies have stopped even if you unplug it. It probably saves the info on the hard drive where the movie is located. So this is certainly fixable.
I would like to thank you all for your help and valuable explanation.
I think it’s bug - I found a workaround: Eject the USB hard disk before power of the unit. And then I can just push the green ring to power of the USB hard disk. Hope WD will fix it later.
The vidoe “resume” function disappears in the Plus version. I think WD need to fix it via a future firmware. This is a step back comparing to the non-Plus Live version.
The occasional problem with MKV file happened again today. After I power cycled the unit, it worked fine. I think I will have to live with it.
I hope WD will listen to our input and make the Plus better. Overall, I think both Live and Plus are good.
So, it might be a few feature of the Plus to not have “resume” function after power off, but the Live (non-Plus) has it. If the Live (non-Plus)'s new firmware enhances DVD menu/chapter function and keeps the “resume” function after power off, I am willing to get another Live instead of the Plus. To me, if both have DVD menu/chapter function, the “resume” function is more important than Netflix as I don’t have time to sit down for straight 2 hours for one movie.
Can someone confirm if the new firmware of Live (non-Plus) keeps the “resume” funciton after power off?
Be careful it may be that all WDTV live units will sooner or later have the lower standby power. WD may issue an update to cure the resume problem, I believe they know about it.
As Rich mentioned, the Live+ has lower standby power; it does not provide power to RAM when shut down. It will forget the RESUME position after power-off. It doesn’t matter what the media is (Local HD, flash, NAS, shares, whatever.)
That’s also why it takes a LONG TIME to boot compared to the original Lives.
I just got a Live+ and thought I noticed that it took longer to boot than the non+. I thought it was my imagination. Is this a real issue?
As Rich mentioned, the Live+ has lower standby power; it does not provide power to RAM when shut down. It will forget the RESUME position after power-off. It doesn’t matter what the media is (Local HD, flash, NAS, shares, whatever.)
That’s also why it takes a LONG TIME to boot compared to the original Lives.
I just got a Live+ and thought I noticed that it took longer to boot than the non+. I thought it was my imagination. Is this a real issue?
Like Tony says, the Live+ now goes into a deeper slumber when you put it into Standby. When it comes out / turns on, it has to reload a bunch of modules (even more now, e.g. Netflix, MediaFly, DVD Menus), just like starting up for the first time.
I think this will also be affecting the original Live units once they get around to updating the official firmware. The lower power standby is mandatory.
Not sure what, if anything, can be done to speed it up. It really does take bloody ages to boot up.
They are aware of the issue with Resume being broken now, hopefully that will be fixed in the next update.
Actually, the reason it takes longer is because the Live Plus is completely powering off. The Live doesn’t completely power off, and it was causing power to continue to any external drives connected. This was causing issues with external drives not being able to go into sleep mode, or to power off. So, now, the Live Plus boots up when you turn it on, and it does take longer to come up than the Live does.
Actually, the reason it takes longer is because the Live Plus is completely powering off. The Live doesn’t completely power off, and it was causing power to continue to any external drives connected. This was causing issues with external drives not being able to go into sleep mode, or to power off. So, now, the Live Plus boots up when you turn it on, and it does take longer to come up than the Live does.
Is this a new “feature” that will be unique to the Live Plus? Is this the final fix to the hard drive problem? The additional startup delay is unacceptable. I guess I can just leave my Live+ on all the time.
Actually, the reason it takes longer is because the Live Plus is completely powering off. The Live doesn’t completely power off, and it was causing power to continue to any external drives connected. This was causing issues with external drives not being able to go into sleep mode, or to power off. So, now, the Live Plus boots up when you turn it on, and it does take longer to come up than the Live does.
Is this a new “feature” that will be unique to the Live Plus? Is this the final fix to the hard drive problem? The additional startup delay is unacceptable. I guess I can just leave my Live+ on all the time.
All WDTVs (Live Plus, Live, and Gen 2) manufactured now completely shut off like this. It’s an EuP compliance requirement. There is no workaround - it simply takes longer to boot up than it does to wake up from standby. The firmware with DVD nav takes about ten seconds longer to boot up than firmware without it because there are many new modules that have to be loaded.
I have both Live and Live+. When I connect My Book 320GB hard disk to the Live, after I turn off Live, the hard disk goes to sleep mode in a few seconds. On the other hand, when I connect the same hard disk to the Live+, after I turn off Live+, the hard disk never goes to sleep.
It seems that there is more power to the USB ports in Live+ than Live in Standby mode.
PS: “Turn off” means: Using the remote control to power of the unit while the power line is still plugged.
