WD TV LIVE HUB questions

[ropo009]

Hi!

I put this mesaage in wrong thread, so I try it again in right one.
Got one answer, but I’d like to hear another opinios.

I tested used WD TV LIVE HUB without internal disk. I would like to have some
explanations and informations before purchasing it:

• is it possible to install another internal HDD (not WD) and possibly larger size (> 1GB)
• is it possible to increase the startup speed from cold start (as far as I found -
  if media library is turned off it can be faster)
• can I replace the fan (very noisy) or when I turn it off - can player be overheated?
• is the latest firmware 3.12.13 (alternative firmware is good or bad idea?)
• what is about network speed - on some forums I found that in gigabit network is not exactly gigabit…

I can’t test all options because I don’t have HDD yet.

John

[JoeySmyth]

this is what i replied … (in case anyone was wondering)

- is it possible to install another internal HDD (not WD) and possibly larger size (> 1GB)

people on this forum have been successful … search the forum

but, i would suspect the MAX would be 2TB … and running the latest (last firmware release)

of course, you’ll need a HDD that will physically fit as well …

- is it possible to increase the startup speed from cold start (as far as I found - if media library is turned off it can be faster)

I havent seen any noticeable difference with “boot times” with the media library on or off.

there is nothing you can do to “tweak” boot times … apart from just putting the device in “Standby” mode instead of completely powering down.

(pretty sure higher RPM drives and SSD drives will make no difference in boot-up speed)

- can I replace the fan (very noisy) or when I turn it off - can player be overheated?

yes, by all means replace the fan … but don’t remove or disable it … “of course” it will get overheated eventually

- is the latest firmware 3.12.13 (alternative firmware is good or bad idea?)

try it .   if you don’t like it … rollback to a previous firmware  (i’ve tried all firmwares, but am happy to stick with 2.07.17)

[ropo009]

Hi!

I have successfully connected toshiba 500Gb drive.

But lan copy is slow, around 10-12MBs. I have read, that internal cpu speed is not enough to handle giga speed lan. Is that true?

[JoeySmyth]

found this post … sucessful 2TB installed

http://community.wd.com/t5/WD-TV-Live-Hub-Discussions/2TB-in-WD-Live-TV-Hub/td-p/804131

[animal99]

Actually, I tested one of those “Diskless” HUBS sold on ebay, and they booted up significantly faster than a HUB with an INTERNAL HD or even an attached external HD.

Part of what seems to slow down the boot time is checking these INFERNAL(!)  Hard drives! Most of that time WAITING is spent waiting on the drives to spin up to speed, and checking to make certain they are accessible, verifying the contents, updating the media library, etc.

i once substituted a SSD (electronic replacement for a Hard Drive) and this HUB booted in like 3 seconds to the menu. (Firmware 3.12.13) - Significantly Faster than my OTHER WDTVLiveHUB with Internal HD + 2x EXT USB Hard Drives (2x 1 Tb WD drives, BLACK).

I did this SSD install to see if it would work. IT DID! 

My wife didn’t like waiting on the boot up time, either. And the 64 GB drives were cheap, or cheaper than the price of the standard WD 2.5" 1 TB drive.

In case anyone is wonder, I used the 128 GB Corsair(?) SSD. They can run as SATA 600, even though the Hub specificies SATA 300 drives. If anyone wants to try it, I’d recomment the 256 GB size.

Just wanted to add some info to the conversation

[JoeySmyth]

animal99 wrote:

i once substituted a SSD (electronic replacement for a Hard Drive) and this HUB booted in like 3 seconds to the menu.

Sounds like you “booted it” from Standby and not from a complete Powered Off state (which is holding the Power Button on the remote for 5 Seconds to completely shut the device down)

My Live Hub (with the factory 1TB Scorpio HDD) takes 60 Seconds* to boot from a completely powered off state and about 2-3 Seconds from a standby state.

All standby state does is switch off the video/audio output … the rest of the device is still in a powered state (ie. hdd, network etc is still On)

* enough time to grab a drink or some popcorn

[ropo009]

Hub is working ok. Boot time 70 sec (cold) and 3-4 sec (warm). I checed other disks and all worked without problems.

Media library is switched off - I don’t see reasons to use it. Is there some benefits to use it?

The only thing which I don’t like is network speed. 7-8 MBps is very slow, so when in need to copy more files I took hdd out of hub, connect it to pc an then return to hub. Some additional work, but saves some time…

[JoeySmyth]

ropo009 wrote: Media library is switched off - I don’t see reasons to use it. Is there some benefits to use it?

a few …

1. “Search” button on the remote can be used to search via Title, Director , Actor etc

I’ve used search quite a few times … eg. plugged in a 3TB drive with over a 1000 movies … instead of scrolling through to find the movie i want to watch … press “Search” … type a few letters “Starts With …”  then “Submit” … and 2 seconds later i’ve found the movie i want to watch

2. In all the other views that don’t contain “Movie Info”  (only gallery view does)  … press “Option” then “View Info”

3. Watched Status … displays an icon when something has been “Watched” handy for TV Shows i guess

4. Press “Option” on a Movie and you can watch a streaming Youtube Trailer for the Movie (handy when guests visit … “What’s the movie about” … “watch the trailer” )

5. On the main home menu press “down” … and it shows Recently Watched, Recently Added, Favorites (you can Favorite a folder and it will appear here)  etc

basically, you can’t do any of those things with the Media Library “OFF”

ropo009 wrote:

The only thing which I don’t like is network speed. 7-8 MBps is very slow, so when in need to copy more files I took hdd out of hub, connect it to pc an then return to hub. Some additional work, but saves some time…

 

I have a 1TB USB attached to my PC … all downloads go in there

When i need to copy anything to the 1TB Internal HDD on the Live Hub … remove the USB drive from the PC and plug into the Live Hub’s USB and copy the files using the Live Hub controls… Faster than transferring via Network, But not as fast as removing the Internal HDD everytime and connecting to PC (which sounds like a pain, to be honest)