I have a brand new WDTV live plus. Attached it to my TV with HDMI cable, set audio to “digital” - no sound. I get sound using the same cable attaching my laptop to the TV. I am a total novice with this kind of device, so have no idea what to do. Can anyone help me?
The only way I’ve been able to get sound is to attach both the included cables and all connectors to the TV - I don’t know if this is a correct way to set it up - from the manual I can’t understand what the difference is between the 2 included cables - are you supposed to use one or the other, or both together? Can someone please walk me through connecting this thing?
If you set the output to “Digital” it means your output device (in this case, your TV) needs to decode the sound, which normally they won’t do., Set it to “stereo” (only use “digital” if you are routing the sound to a receiver that can decode things like DTS and AC3 audio).
Thanks for the reply - that makes sense, though the WD user manual said to use digital! Not a very good manual. I don’t get sound on “stereo” either with the HDMI cable. I do get sound if I use the other non-HDMI cables. So should I not bother with HD and just use the other setup?
You should get sound using “stereo” with the HDMI cable – does your television get sound with other HDMI sources? It may have to be set to receive sound that way (every set is different).
If you get sound with other HDMI sources plugged into the same spot, then it *might* be a handshaking issue – in that case set your HDMI output from the Live to whatever you TV supports (say, 1080p) instead of “auto” (the default).
Yes, i get sound from the same HDMI cable when plugged into my laptop (which has a smaller max resolution than the TV), so maybe changing the Auto resolution setting will work. Will try that when I get a chance. Thanks!
No luck -I tried changing the resolution from auto but that didn’t work, and tried various combinations of settings, as well as a new HDMI cable. I also contacted WD tech support and they think it is a defective HDMI port on the device. So, I’m returning it and will see if a new one will work!
If that’s the case, your best bet is to cross your fingers and hope that WDTV finally gets the firmware squared away. There’s quite a few HDMI issues in the 1.03 trains of firmware…
great - so chances are I will be getting a new unit that still does not work, and have gone through the hassle of sending this one back to Amazon and re-ordering. Any ideas on something other than WD TV that does similar things but actually works with a Vizio TV? Or do i just settle for hooking it up with the other cables?
I am having related problems, and I am 99% sure it is a firmware issue with the WDTV.
Connecting audio by composite cords works perfectly, all files play with proper sound.
If I connect only to the Panasonic TV via HDMI, I only get sound on certain files. Files of type .avi or .wmv seen to almost always have sound, .mp4 files mostly have sound, and .ts and mpeg2 program stream files mostly do not have sound.
I have the advantage of having an entirely different streaming setup in another room, a PS3 connected to my Samsung LCD 51". That setup plays all of the problem files perfectly. When I hook the WDTV up to the same Samsung, exactly the same audio problems occur.
So it’s not the TV, and it’s not the network, it’s the WDTV box. It is very inconsistent about how it sends things to the HDMI. I hope a firmware update is forthcoming and fixes this.
So, I’ve given up on WDTV live - I just sent the 2nd unit back today. I got a new unit because the tech support person said the 1st one must be defective. The second unit also had no sound when I plugged it in with the HDMI cable. I called phone tech support and while he had me on hold trying to figure something out, I kept trying different things. I was able to get sound on Mediafly, and then the sound started working on Netflix and Youtube! Then, the next time I turned it on - no sound. Again went to Mediafly - no sound. Kept trying different content on Mediafly until I got sound. THEN I started watching something on Netflix and partway through got an error message - no connection to Netflix. Tried ethernet cable instead of wifi - still no connection. Finished watching through my laptop connected with HDMI to the TV - no problems!
There’s the saga. I returned it for refund.
Thanks everyone for your help, and good luck with your WDTVs! It woudl be a great product if you could count on it to work. Oh well.
Indeed… Almost two months now since release and the HDMI bugs haven’t been fixed… I understand your frustration, even though I don’t personally have the issue.
Like Tony, I don’t have any issues with my Plus but would be infuriated if I were in your situation.
If you’re looking for alternatives, the one I’d check out first is the Boxee Box. The only problem I can see with that product is that it hasn’t been released yet. ;)
But it’s running some very powerful software and should be well worth the wait (due November).
Yes, I’ve read about Boxee and it sounds really good - but not available yet and I’m wary of buying something when it just comes out. It’s odd that some people have trouble with the WDTv and for others it works great! Reviews on Amazon are all over the place. Anyway, my husband stopped at Best Buy today and bought a Sony blu-ray player that is also supposed to stream Netflix etc. We’ll see if that works… Luckily all these things are returnable. And it’s summer so who wants to sit inside and watch movies anyway?
That’s a good attitude – summer is a time folks should be getting outside and enjoying life (and we have only a few more months of terrific weather, into early fall, for that).
Eventually the Netflix issues will be resolved, you can count on it.
