WDTV Live Plus has forgotten how to use network shares!

Community Archives WD TV Live Networking
1

Well, something like that.

I have about 5-6 computers on my network connected with a mix of wired and wireless.  My WDTV until today could see anything with a share as both a Network Share and Media Server…of course it wouldn’t work with Media Server, but Network Shares could be accessed and media played without any problem.

I turned the unit on today and went to play things and it can only see ONE computer as an empty Media Server, and can’t see a single network shares.  Not a single thing has change don the device or on the network.  I tried giving it a static IP, clearing the saved share passwords, rebooting the device a few times, pulling the network core and replugging it, etc.  It works fine with anything else such as Netflix.

/edit: The plot thickens and then resolves itself…I went to Pictures to see if it would work on a whim and it did.  I went back to Videos and I can see all the shares.  I don’t even…

2

Not that surprising. If you turn on your WDTV it will probably force a Master Browser election. With 5-6 computers it will probably take some time for one of the computers to re-establish itself as the Master Browser.

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I’m not sure that the WDTVs will force a browser re-election.   I don’t think they’re set to be a “Winner,” in which case they shouldn’t force an election.

However, if for some reason there WAS a relection underway for some other reason, then the symptoms described are certainly plausible… 

4

True the WDTV will never win. But I have observed when my Master Browser goes AWOL (it is a NAS that can get a bit flaky at times) the whole network becomes unstable. Even Win computers can take up to 2 minutes to be able to figure out who is the Master Browser in this situation and I only have 3 Win computers.