Saw this in the officeworks catalogue and price is reflected online. These are only under 100 bucks every few months. So nows a good time to get one as a xmas gift. Got this unit myself and find it works well with unotelly for watching netflix and bbc iplayer.
Warning for those who want to use this with iview. There's some issues at the moment worth content upgrades. Check the forums before purchasing. More info http://www2b.abc.net.au/tmb/Client/Message.aspx?b=98&m=35797…
Good price though for a solid media player.
This is the older 2013 version isn't it? The 2014 version now has Miracast feature.
I do not think there is any hardware difference. I can confirm the older models do miracast and have the grid view after the last firmware update.
However be warned that many users have issue with the latest update and had to roll back (I had to do this on 3 units)
Interesting… thanks. Well I would get one only if it had working Miracast so probably better to wait until the new model becomes more available.
I would think that factory installed (and tested) firmware may not have the same issue as an over-the-air upgrade to an existing unit.
Worst case scenario, you can try it at home and return it if you have issues getting Miracast (or anything else) to work. You won't have a problem getting a full refund at Officeworks.
I can confirm that my two units, which have servied me well, have had problems with freezing during Netflix playback (that's all I've been using them for lately) after the recent upgrade. Have not investigated rolling back the firmware as I have been using other devices for Netflix playback.
From what I read the other day, new model in redish colour box does not have Netflix. The older model with Netflix ability is in blue coloured box.
As for ABC iView not working, that is due to change at ABC, and WD are 'apparently' releasing firmware fix in Dec. My LG TV has also stopped playing iView content.
Avoid upgrading to 2.02.32, I had several issues with it as have others. Rollback to previous firmware required to get stability back.
Indeed. Hulu freezes about every 20 minutes. How do you roll back?
I just picked on up, Blue Box, but it is WD TV, not WD TV Live, so the red and blue box thing is not correct.
MODEL: WDBPUF0000NBK-AESN
I think you got it around the wrong way.
Old with Netflix = Red Box
New no Netflix = Blue Box
Avoid upgrading to 2.02.32, I had several issues with it as have others. Rollback to previous firmware required to get stability back.
I got both the WD TV (Blue Box) and then a WD TV Live (Red Box). I liked the new layout of the WD TV so decided to do the update on the Live anyway to test them side by side.
As I want to keep the Live version to have Netflix, I used that tonight. It froze 20mins into House of Cards MKV; I had to pull the power plug. It played the rest of it fine, then was extremely un responsive and delayed when trying to delete it. A nightmare.
Rolled back using these details - http://forums.whirlpool.net.au/forum-replies.cfm?t=2303211#r…
It was worth a try and it's not hard to do the rollback and some people are fine on 2.02.32, just not me or you and many others.
Thanks OP.
I Read some review from productreview.com.au and apparently wasn't that good over WiFi connection. So , no deal for me.
It's not 5ghz so that can affect it, but after a while I decided to buy a 5ghz router just for the player. Since then works flawlessly :)
So: tp-link modem/router >(wireless) > tp-link router >(ethernet) >WDtv
1080p streaming across the house, no issues :)
I have 3 units around the house and would definitely put it down to the router. I started having a few issues a while back now and decided to bite the bullet and get something decent… and since getting a D-Link DSL2890 they have worked 'near' flawlessly!
It only supports wireless-N (and no 5Ghz, as mentioned), but I have used it to stream 1080p videos located on my laptop. Both the WDTV and the laptop were connected wirelessly.
I do have a decent wireless router though.
9 times out of 10 that'll be down to the user's el cheapo, $50 dollar Belkin router or worse yet, the bundled routers ISPs send to people.
OW at Syd Clarence street had both the Netflix and Non NetFlix versions for the same price
What's the difference between the two? I'm thinking about picking one up and want to use netflix on it
There are two WDTV versions. WDTV and WDTV Live. Hardware wise, they look identical with the difference being just a sticker. The newer player is called just WDTV, it does Miracast (video sharing to TV from phone/PC) additionally but does not do Netflix. If you want Netflix you must go for the WDTV Live(older version). The ad I am pretty sure for WDTV as opposed to WDTV Live. I think whoever is running Netflix on their WDTV have luckily bought the older WDTV Live unknowingly.
Please check out the chart on this page;
http://www.smallnetbuilder.com/multimedia-voip/multimedia-vo…
Thanks for that
The pic on the ad clearly says WDTV Live on the front of the unit. The catalogue number (WDBGXT0NBK) corresponds with the live player also
Just a clarification that the WDTV Live version that has Netflix also supports Miracast after the recent upgtade, so you should not have to chose one feature over the other.
@elektron: Yes but risk of instability after the upgrade as you mention above. May take a punt in any case.
I'm sure it's been covered in previous deals but you need a VPN and a US Netflix subscription yes?
@myfeetarehappy: Correct. However, rather than the vpn it's probably better to look at a smart DNS service such as unblock.us or unotelly. I like unotelly because of the ease of use switching between UK (iplayer) and US (Netflix)
Dont forget, 5Ghz has greater transfer speed but less range and doesnt penetrate walls as well as 2.4Ghz.
bought one of these from JB a little while ago.
great unit, but decoding of certain large mpegs over wifi
is choppy. mkvs at the same size decode flawlessly.
Can this play plex with subtitles srt files?
definitely can
You can use Plex via the Media Server interface, but it is not ideal, if for no other reason than you don’t have a delete option. I personally use the Network Share Media Library option, and forgo Plex being involved, and I am a lifetime Plex Pass member.SRT subtitles work via all options.
cheers, i'll give it a try with my Netgear NAS 102 with latest PMS installed.
I suggest you ignore PMS, it may be great for the likes of Roku that has a Plex app, but it just a pain in the ass with WD TV, their Media Library via Network Share option works far cleaner. It will require a couple more minutes to set up initially, but after that it's great. The only thing Plex has over it is that it will index new content immediately if you set it to where as Media Share will only scan once an hour at most or you have to manually do it if you just added something. No big deal, and far less of a pain the using Plex is. I delete after watching 99% of my stuff, so that alone kills PMS for me.
I bought the first WDTV, the first week it came out in Oz. It is still going strong after all these years - I'd like a more recent version, but I just can't justify dropping a hundred bucks for the wireless and some better menus!
Likewise, I bought the 1st gen quite early on while in the UK and travelled with it. I upgraded to a HD not long after I came home and gave the older one to the in-laws. Since then I've upgraded ours to the Live Streaming and also had to upgrade the in-laws as (from memory) they had issues playing all media types (like mp4s), and no longer has support for firmware upgrades!
The one thing I do like about this model is the wireless. I have a NAS drive sitting in our office feeding content to the 3 devices around the house. And, as we moved into a new house back in Jan, I didn't have to immediately go through installing cable. (and I still haven't!)
Same here. Bought & installed almost 10 for family & friends. First & only gadget I've used that never fails, and does everything I could need.
Wireless? Ergh… not interested.
Temperamental and frustrating is my experience. I'm sure there's better, more reliable models out there.
Have to agree, I don't know whether it's my unit or what, but it's a pain in the arse, like most things WD.
Lockups, constant resets, choppy streaming, just to name a few issues.
I have resorted to watching most of my shows via the TV's built in streamer.
I'm about ready to destroy mine, Office Space-style. Had all the issues you listed until it just gave up about a week ago. A reset fixed it for a few hours and then it went back to refusing to play anything. We have other media streaming devices in the house that are working fine, so it's definitely the WDTV. My brother also has one that's doing the exact same thing.
I just ordered a Roku, fingers crossed that will work for longer.
I have an old WD TV Live Hub, although I wish it were quicker, and has the odd stop and think moment (never during payback) it has been better than other media players including a new far faster Roku 3 that I have tried.
No idea what you guys are doing but my ancient, 2nd-gen WD TV Live is a flawless media player in my opinion.
Haven't come across a file format or codec it couldn't play. Simple interface and reliable hardware. I can count on one hand the amount of freezes, crashes or UI oddities I've seen.
Somebody I know wants one of this, going by (Oac966), comment about potentially some OWs having both versions for the same price, which one is the one to get?
They will mainly use it as a plug and play off USB (MKV, avis etc).
You guys really need to learn how to click the +. I have one myself and love it.
The idea of +ing the deal is based on whether you feel this is a deal or not… It's not based on what you think of the unit itself!
In saying this I wouldn't neg the deal as it's not a bad price, but on the same token these things have been going for $99 on numerous occasions over the past couple of years.
Give us $50 cash back again and you'll definitely get my + vote!
It's a deal for anyone looking to buy one of these at the moment, as this seems to be the best price at this point of time.
Yes it is… But we don't need someone telling us that we have to vote it a + based on their opinion of the product. If it was selling for $199 it would still be a good product, but it certainly wouldn't be + vote worthy would it?
have one, great for the lounge room when watching mkv files on the USB. remote is nice. don't really use the wireless feature much, mainly the USB feature for me.
Same here. Works great to play most file types off usb. I never bothered with the streaming feature
contrary i hate the usb feature - only use it to stream content from my NAS server.
Thats a bit harsh, why hate the USB feature?, if you don't like it/use it, ignore it… but hate!?
Or do you hate it because it doesn't work.
Likewise… on the streaming, but I've had friends/family bring around movies on USB that I've been able to literaly plug'n'play!
It's worth a mention that the remote is highly customizable with shortcuts.
Yep, although I generally use the wdtv remote app for Android on my phone and tablet. Works much more smoothly.
Flawless device, that plays virtually every file type. Only issue is when navigating through files to play off USB, it is laggy and slow.
Welcome to 2011.
The problem with all these solutions is that the codecs and hardware specs move on and the player doesn't. The way to go is a home media PC like a NUC and a software solution. Still won't help you with new incompatible hardware but at least everything should play. Unfortunately it's around 4-5 times the price. This player at least does SMB from what I've read. Much better than other cast and DLNA type tech that tries to build metadata around large libraries and slows them to a crawl.
I keep looking at NUCs or Mac Minis, and even hooked up my laptop running Plex Home Theatre to test. For me given that they are not initially designed to be used with a remote is a pain. Same goes for Android media players (new Nexus Player the exception). These types of players are designed to be used with a remote and are easier to use, more wife friendly as such.
And yes, they cost a ton more, far superior to any cast or DLNA type player.
There are remotes for windows available and they are workable if a little clunky. What I suggest you do is look at XBMC and using an android device over wifi as your remote. This works quite well, doesn't suffer IR range issues and doesn't require line of site.
using an android device over wifi as your remote
Nope, not going to happen. I have a remote apps for several devices including the WD TV, however they are a pain. A traditional remote (I use Harmony Universal) you pick it up you point and click without having to look at physical button location, the device responds. Apps, you pick up remote (phone, tablet etc…) unlock it, start app, wait for connection to go through then look at app, scroll through different screens then send request. The pain in constantly having unlock a device and ensure its apps wifi connection is currently active to the device is a turn off. The only way I found around that was to leave the device screen always on, in which case the battery starts draining faster than I would like. Not to mention, not wife friendly.
I have looked at XMBC videos (downloaded yet not installed so I really need to try) and it seems they work best with apps, a mouse or one of those remotes that actually works like a mouse. Again, not wife friendly. Plex Home Theatre is designed to work with a remote, so it has real physical location points it goes to rather than mousing anywhere on the screen like you can with Plex Media Server. It is a far better option for controlling with a remote. A PC (NUC or Mac Mini) can be set up to launch this straight away so it is the primary interface and quite friendly. However if you then want to go to Netflix or YouTube etc… I can’t see a way that it is remote/couch use friendly as any of these standard media players are.
Whereas I would rather eat glass than deal with Logitech's Harmony system. Internet connection and PC to set up a remote control. No way!
The IR remotes that work "like a mouse" with windows also have traditional play, pause etc. Set up your media player to launch on startup and you'd be okay but I'll grant you that's clunky.
What I really want is a bluetooth remote or WIFI remote with physical buttons but I'm not aware of one. XMBC remote app is the best I've seen. Typically I find the lack of physical buttons isn't that big a deal with an illuminated screen. Most of the time I start a movie and then hit play and pause but I do very little else once the movie is going.
@syousef: "Whereas I would rather eat glass than deal with Logitech's Harmony system. Internet connection and PC to set up a remote control. No way!"
I bought a Harmony 650 on the weekend, and it took less than half an hour to program 6 devices on it, and also the actions (watch TV,watch movie), not difficult at all (done via a mac, im sure it'd be just as simple via windows). I still need to keep my PS3 remote (bluetooth, don't really want to buy the adapter), but i've shelved all the others away now.
Glad it worked for you. Others not so lucky. See some of the negative reviews here:
http://reviews.logitech.com/7061/6621/logitech-harmony-650-r…
And here:
http://www.amazon.com/Logitech-Harmony-650-Remote-Control/pr…
@syousef: Yes, well it's only week 1, so i hope it doesn't break on me. I read some of that prior to buying, I think some people didn't like it when it could only control 4 or 5 devices, it now does six.
I may be unethical and return it at 11 months saying 'it's broke!'.
Glad it worked for you. Others not so lucky.
You mean like every single product ever.
An average of 4/5 stars from Amazon’s 2,416 votes say you should have a good product. Their interface has been a little clunky in the past, and when it became web only, that was a real pain. Now back to web or dedicated program and it is super simple.
When the 650 were last on a good sale I purchased another as spare for the future because I know at some time it will get broken. I have had 3 versions now, 525 (slow button response after 3/4 years), One (I broke it) and 650. I think the 650 is great and the one I have liked most.
Oh come on, you are going to throw out average stars as a measure of how good a product is?!?!? Are you new at this? 325 out of 2,416 1 star reviews. Roughly 1 in every 7 or 8 people who bought it hated it!
I wouldn't. I think you'd find at 11 months it would be a lengthy return process, with the unit going to the manufacturer so you'll be without it for a while. Then potentially a charge because no fault found. Also if you like them you should realise Logitech isn't doing so well and this kind of thing can be what tips them over the edge. It's not ethical for them to release the remote if there's known problems either though. Not a big fan of 2 wrongs making a right type arguments though.
Oh come on, you are going to throw out average stars as a measure of how good a product is?!?!?
No, you are. You’re the one who chose the link as an example of negative views when the truth of that link is that 79.8% of people had a positive experience.
You said this was an example of a glass that was mostly empty instead of the truth that it is mostly full.
@snuke:
79.8% positive. Hey tell me would you buy a car if the brakes worked 79.8% of the time?
You might want to consider what that glass is mostly full of. 1 in 5 had a negative experience. That's not horse racing odds, but it's not a gamble I want to take with $99 on a media player right now.
I can't stand people telling me to think positive or be positive. It means ignore problems. Ignoring problems does not result in anything positive.
I think you guys have gone a bit left with this one. The fact is quite a few people like the remote and some don't! Personally, they're not something a lot of people could pick up and program properly, easily. But I agree with the whole touch screen thing about apps on phones. I've got them and don't use them. I also had an 1100i for a week see here but took it back as it was a pain having to look up and down constantly to control it!
Anyway, I'd like to bring it back to be about this unit, and in particular your comment "The problem with all these solutions is that the codecs and hardware specs move on and the player doesn't." Isn't this what firmware upgrades are for?
To set up a media PC at 4-5 times the price (as stated), will it do 4-5 times the job, or last 4-5 times as long?
Let's be honest, these are designed to do exactly what they do straight out of the box… And that's to play media! I've set them up in my house and my in-laws because they are dead set easy to use!
Sure some hate them, as people will, but plenty of people obviously like them enough that they're still being made!
It depends on the job you're trying to do. If it's just a media player and you only ever play media that happens to conform to the specs of your player, the player is enough. The minute you have to transcode things, don't talk to me about dead set easy to use. They're easy to use once set up for media they support which may or may not be the media you want to watch.
Also as a bonus the PC can be used as a light weight gaming machine. It's not going to replace your gaming PC or your console, but for a lot of older games it'll do plenty fine.
If the manufacturers weren't so dead set on getting us to buy weird proprietary remotes there would be a standard, and it would use wireless (bluetooth or wifi) not IR, plus use physical buttons. Unfortunately the manufacturers continue to hope there will be enough suckers who'll buy an original remote for $200 when theirs brakes, even for TVs that cost less than that.
Personally I find the lack of physical buttons a minor annoyance, not a huge pain. But that's just me. Others are obviously more bothered by it.
79.8% positive. Hey tell me would you buy a car if the brakes worked 79.8% of the time?
Who said anything about "working" 79.8% of the time. It is 79.8% that have given a positive feedback; these are two completely different concepts. Trying to link a safety related device to a remote control is pretty far fetched too.
but it's not a gamble I want to take with $99 on a media player right now.
This was in reference to the Harmony remote, not the media player. You seem to be confusing yourself.
I can't stand people telling me to think positive or be positive.
I don't see anyone doing that
It means ignore problems.
No it doesn't, not in any grammatical interpretation.
You had a bad experience with a Harmony and wouldn't recommend based on your experience, fine, but say that rather than skewing the information you're providing to be the opposite of what it shows.
Mate I've never bought a harmony. I won't take that gamble. A remote control you have to hook up to the Internet to get working doesn't interest me. But in any case as a general rule if I see 1 out of every 5 people complain so bitterly about a product that they'd give it 1 star, I will not purchase the product. I'd call that common sense.
Well you say that but containers and codecs like MP3, AVI, DivX, AC3, DTS and MKV are all 1990s-era technology that's still in widespread use today.
What's changed primarily are the compression algorithms and the better utilisation of CPU/GPU hardware to make on-the-fly decoding seamless.
If you're a hardcore videophile/audiophile-type who likes absolutely everything lossless, using obscure formats no one's ever heard of and uses his own custom-spec bitrates/containers and whatnot, then you wouldn't even be considering a $99 dollar media player.
1080/720 resolution .MKVs (2,500 - 8,000Kbp/s bitrates) with DTS-HD streams are going to be an acceptable viewing format for 90% of folks for at least another decade, if not longer than that (given the incredibly slow uptake of full HD resolution TV broadcasts and Blu-Ray), and the WD TV Live players can handle those effortlessly, as well as everything below that standard.
A $99 dollar investment for a good 5 years or so of use is a perfectly sensible choice.
NUC, Raspberry Pi, Plex and dedicated HTPC boxes are way too fiddly for the majority of consumers to contemplate.
Well even a couple of years ago it wasn't a given that a player would support MKV and even today you need to be careful when buying. Also it's good you should mention DTS and AC3 - both formats have been pulled from most android players due to licensing issues.
And what about FLV? Are you going to tell me that's an obscure format? In any case you don't always control the formats things come in and transcoding is a pain and increases your storage requirements.
http://community.wd.com/t5/WD-TV-Live-Streaming-Firmware/Can…
Raspberry PI is underpowered and shouldn't be considered. I would go with a NUC or other low power small format box and install XBMC. Once set up not fiddly at all. You can even use your Android phone over wifi as a remote.
At least with a PC you have the option of moving to a whole different player if things don't work smoothly.
And what about FLV? Are you going to tell me that's an obscure format?
Flash Video is also positively ancient (1996) and if you're watching FLVs on a 1920x1080, 40-60" display, you're not using your media player for its intended purpose.
Sorry but if it's MY media player I'll be the one who determine's it's intended purpose. I don't care how old the codec is (or whether it's been revised). I only care that the video I choose to watch works when I hit play. Plenty of people save flv clips and there's a lot of flv content floating about (and no it's not all illegal). Even Khan Academy and university open learning have used it.
Many older Youtube videos are still encoded as flv as well…are you saying that occasional Youtube watchers are misusing their 40-60" screens?
@syousef: Don't get defensive, I'm not calling you a computer-illiterate or anything, I'm merely saying that the FLV format was designed explicitly for web streaming applications and as such doesn't lend itself to fidelity, which you want when watching video on large display panels.
No one's saying you can't watch 480P YouTube clips on a 50" LCD but at the same time, unless your eyesight is going, few can argue that it looks butt-ugly.
FLV only supports MP3 or AAC audio streams and generally uses H.263 compression, which is just not as geared towards preserving and enhancing every ounce of visual fidelity unlike AVC/H.264.
Again, my original point was that because the container format .MKV and it's go-to choice of compression format, H.264/AVC, is so ubiquitous in today's digital media (Blu-Rays, Pay TV broadcasters, Internet Pirates, etc) and likely to be a de-facto standard in audio-visual formats for years to come, that this humble little black box that cost $99 dollars and can handle any kind of MKV/AVC streams you throw at it, is a perfect choice for people who just want something that works out of the box.
You don't need to drop hundreds on a HTPC just to watch your favourite films or TV shows in glorious "HD quality".
I don't always get to choose what format my content comes in. Sometimes butt ugly flv is all you need or is the best available. Being unable to play it without converting it is a pain in the neck. Converting it won't improve the quality. There's more out there than MKV/AVC. If that's all you need, that's fine but realise there are others out there who do need support for other formats. That was my point in the first place which you argued against.
Only a subset that are encoded using H264:
http://community.wd.com/t5/WD-TV-Live-Hub-Discussions/FLV-fi…
Great deal. Even better when it had a $50 cashback - got it for $49 (https://www.ozbargain.com.au/node/86172) although this might be an updated version.
I'm still running on the old boxee box but looking for something better.
I got one at the start of the year, for a bit cheaper, and its not very enjoyable to be honest.
I was always hesitant, but thought, everybody raves about it, might as well get one, even though it aint that cheap for the experience, IMO.
Well, it fiddly to set up, especially with the remote.
It's so slow to navigate through the menus, library etc.
I don't use the usb, only the network, and even with Ethernet it's buggy. Sometimes it lags, sometimes the video just freezes and the box has to be manually restarted by unplugging power.
I had several videos on the first day that it would not play, some mp4's, flv etc.. so it's not the super format player its made out to be.
Worst is when I've watched so many videos and it show a watched icon next to file ( though no icon difference between partially or fully watched), then the box freezes as usual, restart the box, and all the "watched" icons have disappeared….. really frustrating.
I did use a cheap htpc setup before getting it, and I'm used to mpc on the pc, but was still open to it being a good reliable device. I personally wouldn't recommend it unless they update the hardware and firmware to make it truly reliable, fast, and plays anything, like most people state.
I had several videos on the first day that it would not play, some mp4's, flv etc.. so it's not the super format player its made out to be.
With issues like that, did you not consider that you possibly had a faulty unit and seek a replacement?
update the hardware and firmware
So a completely new model.
He's right about FLV. Don't give him a hard time.
http://community.wd.com/t5/WD-TV-Live-Streaming-Firmware/Can…
Wasn't giving a hard time, it was a genuine question.
If I buy a device and it doesn't do as intended, and it is locally available then I would return it to the place of purchase to get another unit.
In that case I apologise. It's easy to misread on a board like this.
A lot of players simply don't support the format. Of course on a PC it's no challenge to find a half dozen players that do. But dedicated players are very limited in that most if not all will miss one format or another that you might occasionally want to play and then you're stuck transcoding on a PC or running a transcoding media server.
Well I had it a while before discovering bugs over time, thought maybe its just a setup problem, or will be fixed in future firmwares.
I don't really think its a faulty unit, its just the way the player is.
I had many mp4 and mpeg video that don't play ( FTA dvb recordings are messed up! fine on pc).
To top it off my recordings on the phone lag like hell, and randomly sometimes play sometimes don't.
I searched, and it had something to do with the wd having a max bitrate or something for 1080p video recorded with mobile phone, which the recording apparently exceeds.
Anyway, after reading so much that it plays everything you throw at it ( literally hundreds of posts stating this ), I believed it unfortunately.
I at least expected it to play all mp4, mpeg and video recorded on my phone!
That, together with the other problems ( slow interface, disappearing watched icons, freezes etc )
it's not something I could recommend to anyone used to a htpc ( even a cheap one) or playing on their pc with mpc. Even simple little things like being able to configure the forward/rewind buttons make a htpc so much more enjoyable and flexible.
Do you have the older WD TV Live with Netflix (Red Box) or the newer WD TV (no “Live”) without Netflix (Blue Box)?
If a WD TV Live, what fiormware version is it?
I purchased both of these this last week to compare to my older and slower Hub model.
I upgraded the Live version to the latest firmware 2.02.32, and it caused constant issue as discussed elsewhere on this page. I rolled it back to the previous firmware and all issues stopped. As usual (like my current Hub) it didn’t miss a beat playing everything. Ultimately neither of these unit were so massively quicker that they were worth spending $99 so I returned them both yesterday.
Most of my containers are MKV, with the odd MP4. I did have one TS ( MPEG2 free to air direct recording) that I tested, a large HD recording and it played it fine. My one MP4 that I played was a 1.19GB with a bitrate of 2397 bps and that was fine too.
Are you playing back your phone recordings streaming directly from the phone, or are the copied from the phone and played back form a separate source?
I think I am going to buy a Nexus Player this weekend, probably should have gotten the Amazon Fire when that had $30 off yesterday.
The WDTV Live Streaming MP, it has netflix in the apps and a code for it in settings..
I have latest FW installed, which is the only fw that has dts.
I stream all the files from a shared hdd over ethernet ( asus Gbit router ).
I rolled back to the previous version - 2.01.86 as 2.02.32 had bugs similar to what you;re complaining about and had no issues with DTS audio coming through correctly via HDMI from MKVs.
v 2.01.86 actually introduced support for DTS-HD MA, it was already supporting DTS 5.1 pass-through prior to that.
Why do you say that 2.02.32 is the only one to support DTS?
Saw this on Getflix site:
Be aware that some WD TV Live devices purchased outside of the US don't support apps that are available in the US. If you are unsure, purchase your WD TV Live from Amazon.com or some other online retailer in the US.
How can we tell if the ones at Officeworks can do Netflix?
Thanks but the question relates to different versions of the WDTV Live… not the difference between the WDTV Live and new WDTV.
Sorry, my bad, that was the wrong link, it was answered earlier, although wrongly. I have corrected it here - https://www.ozbargain.com.au/node/171361#comment-2399070
FWIW, I bought one of these last week as a replacement for my aging (and ailing) Astone AP-300 and I'm very happy with it. In particular, I'm very impressed with the DLNA streaming of even high bitrate movies, which is flawless IMHO…something that none of my other (non-HTPC) devices has been able to achieve to date. As noted, the codec support is second to none, everything I've thrown at it plays…and more importantly, plays without aberrations!
I'd been trialling a few other potential replacements like the Kaiser Baas & Philips units, but they were problematic at best…they would either struggle with crazy behaviours for some iterations of certain codecs, or in some cases freeze up in menus or playback, and in one case the KB Media Hub just died altogether!
In short, highly recommended!!! :)
How good is the remote control pause, rewind, FF etc when streaming DLNA? Is this using the "Play to" feature from a PC or is the file selected from the WDTV Live?
How good is the remote control pause, rewind, FF etc when streaming DLNA?
Excellent question, as this was one of the major bugbears with the other units I tried. Simple answer, it's very good…TBH, on most files there was negligible difference between streaming media & local content (USB) with regards to playback function.
I'm mostly using Plex media server on the PC to stream content to the various devices on the network; but I've also tested the WDTV with some plain vanilla network shares with similar results.
It does work very well with DLNA, although using the Media Library via Network Share is the best way to use the system.
I watch Netflix and have not needed to get a VSPN Just change your region or country to us.
Been using it for 6 months.
Thanks for the heads up.