WD TVlive SMP overheating

WD Legacy Products WD TV Live Streaming
1

Just got my WDtv Live SMP and it reboots itself about every 20 minutes, it is very hot to the touch. Is this a common issue with this unit or is mine just defective? I own the WD Tv live and never had a issue with it. Appreciate user feedback so I can decide to exchange it or return it and get another model altogether.

I had to purchase the SMP so I can use my MLB.tv premium account as WD would not add the feature for the older WDtv Live.

1 Like
2

I have had similar rebooting issues which I am attributing to overheating. It is very hard to prove though. I use MLB.TV and can watch 2-3 innings, then it reboots, then I get back in and it may go 1 inning or 4 -5 then reboot again. I enjoy watching MLB.TV but the box is a bit frustrating.

3

I’m thinking of taking the box apart and installing an aluminum heatsink on the processor, also adding some legs to the base to raise it up for better airflow. The reboots every other inning are definitely frustrating.

4

soondae wrote:

I’m thinking of taking the box apart and installing an aluminum heatsink on the processor, also adding some legs to the base to raise it up for better airflow. The reboots every other inning are definitely frustrating.

My SMP has never rebooted or overheated, I would definitely return it for another unit. Certainly wouldn’t void my warranty by modifying the unit !

Cheers

5

Thanks, good to hear. I was concerned it was an ongoing issue with this model.

6

The easiest way to find out if it is overheating is to play a fan on it and see it still reboots. Mine is hot but has never rebooted in the manner you describe.

7

I returned the unit that was continually rebooting and the unit I have as replacement will occasionally reboot while watching MLB.TV. It appears to me that the MLB application is really CPU intensive and causes the SMP to reboot at times. I never have the issue with Netflix, Hulu or stream from my NAS.

I also have an Apple TV2 and it never has issues with MLB.TV, maybe the SMP application is buggy?

8

My Warranty is up and I’ve got tons of experience with electronics so this was my solution:

I got tired of the frustration of the unit being sluggish after about an hour of use and being hot to the touch so I did this yesterday. My warranty is up anyway so Runs nice and cool and responds quickly now I used a SilenX IXP-11-14 40mm Case Fan about an hour of my day and a little patience

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1 Like
9

Looks like a good solution to your issue - especially since it no longer has a warranty.  Fortunatly my unit gets warm but nowhere near the point of being *hot*.

What did you tap into for power?

10

I got power at the underside of the board where the jack is soldered. I’ll open it up and take another pic tonight. the fan doesn’t draw enough power to be an issue

0.02amp draw

http://www.silenx.com/quiet.fans.asp?sku=ixp-11-14

11

Can you provide any steps or tips for opening the case without damaging the plastic?  Thank you.