I had this issue since day 1. My Live Plus does not have issues with .mp4 files, so it wasn’t the files themselves. I just decided to take matters in my own hands and convert them via Handbrake to .mkv and all is well. Sure, I spent time on it that is unecessary, but you’ll feel better when it’s done and don’t have to rely on WD fixing it.
Yeah, I know that converting to MKV will fix the issue and I know it doesn’t take long to convert a file to MKV but it’s something we really shouldn’t have to do. I fear that we will never find a solution without a firmware update from WD. I just hope they are reading this forum as well as many others on this same topic. I’m really considering taking the unit back to JBHifi. Really didn’t want to do that considering I’m a pretty loyal WD user.
You really should not be double posting with the same problem. This is confusing.
Sorry, new to posting on forums. Figured if I posted in 2 separate sections, more people could find the post and we could get a little closer to fixing this issue together. I’ve read several posts on several different forums sofar on this same issue and no one can figure this out unfortunately.
mp4 mkv doesn’t matter if your audio is 5.1 AAC
aac only works in stereo
from my understanding AAC 5.1 audio is not supported by WDTV
only 2 channel AAC works
only success i’ve had is converting to AC3 audio
SanitysEdge wrote:
mp4 mkv doesn’t matter if your audio is 5.1 AAC
aac only works in stereo
from my understanding AAC 5.1 audio is not supported by WDTV
only 2 channel AAC works
only success i’ve had is converting to AC3 audio
Can you provide a recipe to convert to AC3 audio? What tool, what settings? I’m no encoding expert.
Borgie, I’ve used MKVtoolnix to convert to .mkv with no success. Your problem sounds exactly like the one I’m having. I only have a few of these mp4’s and I am avoiding them until this is fixed.
Bmoody, that’s strange how the converted file from MKVMerge failed for u. Are u sure u hadn’t tried playing an MP4 file first before testing the converted MKV file? If u had played an MP4 file first and then tried to test the converted MKV file then that would be why the file did not play. Try restarting the player and then testing the MKV file first…that is if u hadn’t already tried this.
To let u know, I’ve been dealing with WD about this issue and even sent them the file data for a couple of MP4 files and from dealing with them, it appears to be the firmware. I’ve since returned my 2 WDTV SMP media players to JB Hi-Fi and purchased 2 Netgear NeoTV550 media players. I wish I found these units sooner, they are fantastic! Plays everything I throw at them, super quick playback, fast forwarding, rewinding etc, fast navigation and nice ui. I actually think I prefer the Netgear over my Live Hub. Minus the fact that my Live Hub can use custom firmware whereas the Netgear cannot.
I might check out the Netgear player, thanks for the heads up. The WD is now playing converted files, but I have to use Handbrake and change the audio to AC3 (found this advice somewhere on this forum). The mkvtoolinx conversions were failing even after a powerdown. I think it was actually the AAC audio, although if in an original MKV, the AAC works fine.
Too many subtleties. I will check out the netgear.
Yeah, I honestly think u should check out the Netgear. I purchased mine for $173 which wasn’t to much more over the WDTV SMP. If your in Australia, go to JB Hi-Fi and show them their website listing for the Netgear and they will override the price for u. It’s normally priced around the $250 so it’s a bargain.
The way I see it is that all media players should play all types of video files without the need for conversion. Do u really want to have to convert files after u download them every time? Obviously not. I’m sure WD will do something about this issue eventually but I wasn’t prepared to stick around and wait. I have 3TB of movies so as u can imagine…that’s alot of converting that I’d have to do.
Good luck 
Checked into the Netgear. It is about 80% higher price than the WD and requires ethernet. I’m not prepared to do without the WiFi capability just yet. Guess I’ll stick with the WD, I’m sure they will solve the issue eventually.
Yeah the no wifi is a bit of a downer but wireless USB dongles can be picked up for quite cheap.
In regards to the price, I paid $148 for my WDTV SMP initially and picked up the Netgear NTV550 for $173 which is only a $25 difference. Both brand new in box from the same retail store.
About WD, they are aware of the bug so I’m sure it shouldn’t be too long before a firmware fix is available. Don’t think they would want to risk a riot outfront of HQ
I also had a problem with a 5.1 AAC audio MP4 and used XMedia Recode (freeware) to convert it into an AC3 5.1 MP4. The converted file works great, while the original file locks up the SMP and requires a restart. There is not a lot of documentation for the software, but it works great.
http://www.softpedia.com/get/Multimedia/Video/Encoders-Converter-DIVX-Related/XMedia-Recode.shtml
SanitysEdge, you are right. In addition, most of media files from Apple iTunes use the AAC.
