Should I buy the WD HD TV first Gen?

[fede01_8]

Hi, my name is Federico and i’m from Argentina. I thinking of buying a WD HD TV first Gen, is the only one i can afford (these things are VERY expensive down here ) But i read that there are some problems with it, mainly out of sync audio and no DTS (the second Gen is not available here in Argentina). I have a LCD TV HD-Ready, so i won’t be watching 1080p movies, only 720p. and i don’t have a reciever. Almost all the movies i download have DTS. Do i have to convert them all? Can you tell me how can i do it so i can listen the audio on my TV speaker? I want to know how long does it take my computer to convert a 4.5GB file.

Would you recommend me to buy it?

Thanks and sorry for my english

[nastiero]

Although more expensive, the WD HD Live is a better choice. It is ready for a usb wireless adapter and third party firmware. The HD TV would serve the purpose if you just want to watch movies. Both plays many files without the need to convert. However, if you are daring and would like to enhance your experience with either unit go over to

forum.wdlxtv.com. There you will find peoples (i.e. b-rad.cc) whom will guide you to the enhanced third party firmware in addition to answering your questions.

[fede01_8]

i thought abou buying a WD Live but i won’t be using the live feature so i would be a waste of money

[RoofingGuy]

Yes, a Gen1 will not mix DTS down to stereo – it would only be available as passthrough to a receiver.

It depends on the specs of your PC, but when I’ve run Popcorn MKV Audio Converter to convert a DTS audio track to AC3 it’s taken about 10 minutes per 720 movie and about 20 minutes per 1080 movie.  The audio conversion itself takes about the same time, because it only depends on the length of the movie, but then muxing the new audio back into the movie file takes longer for a larger file.

I’ve never run into the sync issues that others complain about – all my 720 and 1080 .mkv files play just fine (and pretty much every other video file I’ve thrown at it).

And B-Rad has third-party firmware for the Gen1 as well.

[Angry_Button]

A gen1 will do fine for your needs so long as you can find a solution to your sound issues.

Having recently gone over to ripping Blu-Ray rather than DVD I soon started coming across

HD Audio only discs which the WDTV 1 or 2 won’t play full stop. Couldn’t believe how hard it

was to find a simple click and convert solution. I downloaded all those annoying clown and

other ■■■■ with useless 3rd party GUI front ends. in the end I bought a software suite online

for £13 that converts just about anything to anything.

Now when I rip Blu-Ray I extract the m2ts file(s) extract the videostream and the primary Digital

Track. If HD audio I convert that to regular digital at the same time by using TSMUXER.

Then I convert the Audio to AC3 6 channel 384 bitrate. Finally mux the video and 2 sound files

back into a new m2ts file. Job done I now have the film with both Digital & AC3 sound tracks.

Same can apply for DVD, open up the Vob with TSMUXER convert & keep what you need and

mux it back into an m2ts. WDTV G1 will play it fine.

Tools needed:

Some type of ripping software to get wither VOB (DVD) or m2ts (BluRay)- I use Pavtube Blu-Ray Ripper

TSMUXER - Free of the net (Hugely useful piece of software)

Audio Converter to change DTS etc to AC3  - I use Total Audio MP3 Converter

Even though fed up with WD in general I could never go back from using a media player as all my ugly

DVD & Blu-Rays can be stowed in the loft and 100’s of movies on demand…luv it

[CharlieSummers]

No. Check around via mail order; there are other manufacturer’s devices much less expensive than the WD line (even a refurb Gen1, which has been EOL’d and so the bugs will never be fixed), so even including any customs fees you’ll pay you can do a whole lot better than any WD non-supported device.

If you’re just starting out, buying a device you know to have major problems would be a terrible mistake.

[Angry_Button]

Whilst there may well be other Players out there now I have to say (and it pains me to do so believe me) with the final firmware installed, correctly converted media and the correct eject / connect procedures the Gen-1 is pretty solid and dependable. Gen-2 still has it’s bugs though namely:

• On selecting a movie it can start playing the last one played then go back to list.
• Time line graphic stops working regardless how far through the file you are.
• Occaisional weird behavior on the menus and hit or miss fast forwarding.(often bombs out back to menu or beginning)

Firmware 79 is a total nightmare but the above (after downgrading to latest official .77 firmware) is merely “annoying”

.79 has the following problems:

• failure to remember optimal TV resolution or pick it on Auto.
• failure to remember last viewed point on previously watched media

A lot of glitches can be cleared up by deleting the WD file on the HDD each time you disconnect to add / remove files.

Never use the WDTV itself to copy / remove files etc…I deleted a thumbnail and it totally arsed up the drive structure which I was lucky enough to repair via a laptop and windows system tools.