Will a WDTV update be released in 2016?

Since the old ones are hard to find, sure hope this is meaning a new model will be coming out soon.
I love my WDTV media player and want to buy another one or two.

I’m not very happy with my wdtv, half of the apps have stopped working, and the new features just not added. It was purchased a year ago and new firmware have come out. :frowning:

All I use mine for is to watch movies. So I do not care about any new features, etc. Just works.

Basically, apps on a WDTV are an afterthought. Mine is best used for streaming movies and music to entertainment system/TV. If someone wants apps and lots of them, recommend Roku. Second choice would be Fire TV. I have them all and each device has its strengths.

Totally agree.

Exactly ! I use my WDTV strictly for playing downloaded video files.
That is why I downgraded to version 1.15 because it’s a stable version.
If I wanted a media player for apps I would’ve bought an android unit.

You mention version 1.15. The WDTV media player’s latest firmware is 1.02.17. Are you referring to a different model? Thanks!

Yes, the 2012 WDTV Live Streaming.
This this one is exactly the same as the newer 2014 WDTV media player BUT it has Netfix

Thanks - thought I was seriously missing something. :slight_smile:

What other choices are there for a hardware or software solution for playing downloaded media files to an HDTV? I’ve got a WD Live right now and it works well enough but I’m gifting my current box to a family member, so rather than buying another piece of hw that hasn’t been updated in years, I’m looking at other possible solutions.

Assume that I don’t care about apps and only want to reliably and easily play video files from a Windows share. Does a Roku box have wide support of various video formats like the WD Live? Any other hardware-based devices to consider?

Maybe I should consider a Rasperry Pi or similar running some sort of media software as an alternative?

Thanks for any advice.

Roku’s are mainly “App Based” streamers with limited local file support

I’m super happy with my Raspberry Pi 2 [XBMC/Kodi] (cheap, does what i want) :grinning:

I will be honest … i didn’t stream much media in the past (always used usb hdd’s)

but, with a WD MyCloud and the RPi2 i have found it super easy and reliable :grinning:

But, again … “media files” … all of mine are supported and within spec

i mainly use MKV 70%, MP4 25% and AVI 5% … i did purchase the WMV/VC-1 license (but not the MPEG-2 one … don’t watch SD Dvd/Vob stuff)

If ya wanna go “Android TV Box” … stay away from China :wink:
From reading, Nexus Player, Amazon Fire TV, Nvidia Shield TV are the way to go for Android Media Players.

So sum up, depends on your $ Budget and what file formats you commonly use [if you want H.265/X.265 HEVC, 4K … then don’t buy a RPi2]

TONS of info out there … here’s a start
http://kodi.wiki/view/Devices

then “Google” for more info

I’ve ditched my WD TV and now use Kodi on Fire TV to play videos on my NAS. It’s the best ever, and can automatically grab subtitles, too. And it resumes where I leave off, days later. It’s a windows share, just like WD TV. The picture and playback is terrific for my 1080p mkv files. And the new Fire TV does hevc, too.

No need to root Fire TV, just install FireStarter. The update comes with Kodi and then you can just browse to your NAS as a windows share. For the record I do have Guest access enabled.

Great info. Picked up a Fire TV, installed Kodi, and so far, so good. Was able to replace both the WDTV and ROKU 3.

As a bonus, it plays gapless FLAC audio. Audio and video files are SMB mounted from a Netgear router with a WD USB drive.

Ordered a FLIRC FL-09028 USB dongle so it can be controlled by my Harmony remote, but haven’t tried it yet.

– EDIT –

Flirc USB dongle arrived and works perfectly.

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Does the Kodi app support avi files. I am looking for a possible replacement to my WD TV, if the product is going to be discontinued. WD TV seems to be the only media streaming device the supports avi files.

Can’t answer about AVI files, but it seems to play most any popular format, so ,my guess is that it does.

I have all the above gadgets, (WDTV, Roku, Fire Stick(v1) and Chromecast(v2). They all have their plus and minuses. Only recently installed Kodi on Fire Stick, so getting used to it still.

I prefer Roku for streaming internet sources like Netflix, Amazon Prime, and other sources many devices cannot; e.g. Livestream, etc. Also, the Roku is just plain easy to use if it can play a given format. It is limited in its formats.

The older WDTV Live Plus I have is my best device for streaming video to TV and even music (playlists, too), I play video from mostly DVD ISO files, MKV and mp4/m4v files (mostly on tablets); some of which came from a blu-ray source.

Although Kodi on Fire Stick seems to play DVD ISO and MKV from regular DVDs, it really chokes on any type of Blu-ray derived MKV or mp4. These BD files are a lot more complex, and basically my older Fire Stick’s processor just doesn’t have enough “guts” like the WDTV hardware does. Maybe newer Fire TV stick or box does, but I would not know since I don’t have these…

Someone above said Kodi acts like WDTV Network shares, it does, but it also acts like Media server, too. To mimic Media server, select source from uPnP (server) choices, and to mimic Network shares select sources from (SMB).

Bottom line: I would welcome a truly new WDTV model appear before mine breaks down like all gadgets can do.

Thank you. I think I’ll try the Fire Stick with Kodi as a backup to my WD TV devices. I really hope a new WD TV model comes out soon since the older versions are out of stock all over the place.

Yes

http://kodi.wiki/view/Features_and_supported_formats#Format_support

Thank you.

Just remember though … while Kodi may support a format/codec the actual hardware you run it on may not.

example:

Amazon Fire TV Stick which has more processing power aka “guts” than a WDTV, but will have choppy playback of VC-1 Codec (used a lot in Bluray / BD rips)

The reason for this is because the Fire TV Stick (Dual Core ARM Cortex A9 up to 1 GHz : Ram = 1GB) has NO Hardware decoding for VC-1 … and thus playback is handled by Software decoding for playback.

The WDTV (Single Core Sigma Designs SMP8670AD 700 MHz : Ram = 512MB) has no problems playing VC-1 because it Hardware decoding supported (Software decoding is not supported on a WDTV and the processor would be too slow to handle it as well)

Lastly the Raspberry Pi 2 (900MHz Quad-Core ARM Cortex-A7 CPU : Ram = 1GB) by default Software decodes VC-1 (which can result in choppy playback) … but for a reasonable $2.50 a user can purchase a VC-1 license which enables Hardware decoding for perfect playback.

Joey,

So, are you confirming that the way things stand, a WDTV can usually play MKV and mp4 rips of BD disks for reasons you expressed, and a Fire Stick can’t for its particular reasons?

If so, have you found a way to play these sorts of files with Kodi on a Fire Stick, or do you just rely on your WDTV (or other device) to play these files? Thanks, Mike

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