It is probably a combination of newest update and using SMB. I dont even know what myihome is.

12/31/2009 5:01:40 PM

According to thier forums, you need to use NFS or SMB as your sharing tech to make the IFO browsing work.

12/31/2009 6:25:01 PM

Yep. And back when I got my PCH, I don't think they had worked out all the kinks for SMB sharing, so at the time, installing the myiHome stuff was what they recommended and that's what I've stuck with.

My biggest problem with both the PCH and now the WDTV is the media controls during playback just suck ass. On XBMC, if you wanted to jump back 5 seconds, you hit the left arrow and BAM, there you are. Same with jumping forwards. Everything was just instantaneous. The up and down arrows were used to jump forwards or backwards for longer (user selectable) amounts of time. Of course you could still use the FF and REW buttons if you so choose, but it really is just a superior way of maneuvering your way though a media file.

With the PCH, it's not as nice, or intuitive. But it does have some things that are useful. The numbers on the pad allow you to jump to a percentage of the way through the file (3 jumps to 30%, 5 jumps to the exact middle, etc). Also the left and right buttons allow you to jump forward and backwards through the file in 30 second increments. It's not perfect, and it's not nearly as good as XBMC, but it's still miles better than only having FF and REW.

...Which brings me to the WDTV. Best I can tell the only way to manipulate the file is through usng FF and REW. There's some sort of search button on the remote that supposedly allows you to jump to particular points in the file but so far I haven't been able to get that to work at all with either MKV or Divx files mounted locally or streamed. I know most people would probably consider it a minor thing, but I'm watching a season of the Sopranos on my PCH and to skip over the ~90 second theme song at the start of every episode, all I have to do is hit the right arrow 3 times and it jumps forward 90 seconds. On the WDTV, I have to fast forward. That's not that big a big deal, but when I wanted to switch rooms and I was ~45 minutes into an episode on my PCH it took me the better part of 3 minutes of fast forwarding to get back to that spot on the WDTV. I guess I'm probably in the minority of people that would let something like that bother me (or even notice for that matter), but I don't see why the designers of these devices can't step up and provide us with a decent way to quickly jump around in a movie file. XBMC had it figured out perfectly 7 years ago.

/rant

12/31/2009 7:02:23 PM

i think i'm pretty sold on the WD TV Live after doing some more reading/video watching

hmm..now to find some $$

12/31/2009 7:24:53 PM

i dont understand why someone would buy one of these...

what exactly does it do that your home computer CANT..?

for a little more money, you could go get a mac mini that IS a computer...and can easily do the crap this thing does

12/31/2009 9:57:15 PM

except i dont want another computer. and don't want to spend more money.

[Edited on December 31, 2009 at 10:04 PM. Reason : and don't need that. i want something that does exactly what this does..nothing more]

12/31/2009 10:02:31 PM

^^Of course you don't understand, because you're an idiot.

It's not that these things do things that real computers CANT (sic) It's that they do the one thing really well, and that one thing happens to be the main reason that most people would bother to buy a HTPC in the first place.

And how is $300-$400 "a little more money"? Even the new PCH is still less than half the price of a mac mini. You can get an A-series for 1/3rd, and since we're now talking about the WDTVs, those are about 1/5th the price.

It's all about being able to buy one little box (which makes the mac mini look HUGE btw), run one HDMI cable to your tv or receiver, and one network cable and you're done. No configuring media servers, no installing special software, no fuss at all. These things just play your media on your tv, simple as that. I would think that "simple" would be a concept that you should be able to understand well.

12/31/2009 10:09:09 PM

the popcorn hour cant be smaller than a mini...
i know the wd is...but from those pics, it sure looks like the popcorn hour is quite a bit bigger..


and yes...im an idiot because i dont agree with everyone..perfect tww logic

12/31/2009 10:13:08 PM

I'm not saying you're an idiot for disagreeing with anyone. I'm saying you're an idiot because you say idiotic things every time you post.

And you obviously can't read or follow a conversation very well because there are actually multiple PCHs that shockingly enough are different sizes. Also the conversation has now drifted into talking about the WDTV Live. Both the A series PCH and the WDTV are smaller than a mac mini.

Here: I even took a picture of all three for comparison.



Now kindly STFU.

12/31/2009 10:24:09 PM

wow...you sure fuckin told me!

12/31/2009 10:52:39 PM

so after doing some research on both the popcorn hour and wd tv, is there any reason I should get one of them if I already have an Xbox 360 being fed by tversity from my home media server? i'm asking for serious.

12/31/2009 11:20:43 PM

will it play .mkv files?

12/31/2009 11:26:37 PM

from what I understand tversity just transcodes video on demand into a format playable by the 360

12/31/2009 11:47:59 PM

gotcha. i dunno then if there's any real advantage. i've been playing files directly from the 360 and it was super picky.. guess this is an alternative.

12/31/2009 11:49:23 PM

I tried the 360+Tversity method for a while. I didn't much care for it. Maybe they've changed things since I tried it out, but at the time, it didn't do full 1080p or actual 5.1 audio, both of which the PCH and the WDTV will do.

I'd suggest trying out the Tversity thing and if it suits you then be happy. For me, I just couldn't make it work the way I wanted it.

12/31/2009 11:56:15 PM

Ok. I'm currently using the tversity to stream to the 360. And it works well enough for what I want it to do. I just did LNG know if pch or wdtv offered something else besides different formats (not important to me).

1/1/2010 12:23:14 AM

Yeah, sounds like you wouldn't benefit from something like this.

1/1/2010 12:24:31 AM

http://www.engadget.com/2010/01/04/popbox-is-popcorn-hour-evolved-with-1080p-streaming-and-netflix/

1/4/2010 4:40:03 AM

Oh snap, that looks like the hotness.

1/4/2010 9:44:31 AM

yep and the price is even hotter

i'm getting one as soon as it drops

1/4/2010 10:48:17 AM

Can't figure out who would buy this, but...

http://www.engadget.com/2010/01/12/popcorn-hour-casually-announces-the-a-200-nmt-for-its-most-dedic/

1/12/2010 7:34:22 PM

got a WDTV live from bobbydigital today

pretty damn cool. it won't stream mkv files over the network for some reason which was the first thing i tried.. so i was pretty pissed at first works fine from a usb drive though so whatever..that's all i really want it to do anyways

after figuring that out everything else seems to be working fine. you can def tell it doesn't have much processing power. when watching 1080p video any menus are especially slow or when you first plug in a usb drive with a lot of stuff on it it's painfully slow to do anything for a while.

great video quality though and def can't beat it for the price

[Edited on January 19, 2010 at 7:55 PM. Reason : asdf]

1/19/2010 7:54:49 PM

looks like the behavior is inconsistent, at least based on posts in this thread:

http://wdtvhd.com/index.php?showtopic=7099

1/19/2010 9:36:41 PM

PM'd you about what mine ended up doing..

i THINK it's more related to me setting the connection to my computer as a "media server" instead of just a normal network share. i couldnt get my normal username/pw to work when i tried to do it with network shares and didnt feel like spending much time on it so i tried the media server route.. it won't play MKV's via the media server but i assume/think that's more of a limitation of whatever streaming service is built into win7 and not a flaw of the wdtv live.

i'll play with it more later and confirm

1/19/2010 9:42:54 PM

How well does the WDTV Live handle large media libraries? Does it re-load the thumbnails each time, or smoothly scroll through cached images?

1/19/2010 9:45:27 PM

not sure yet. but i can say that it did not handle it that well when i first turned it on. scrolling more than a page or two at a time made it freeze for a few seconds.. it very well may be a one time thing though as i noticed it made a wd.tv folder on that drive--i wonder if it might have been putting info like that in there?

most things i've read have advised to change it over to list view instead of a thumbnail preview of files, esp for large libraries

1/19/2010 9:49:20 PM

let me know how it performs after it builds it's cache file

1/19/2010 9:52:57 PM

I've never had any issues getting mine to stream MKV files from a share or locally. And yes,

Quote :

"change it over to list view instead of a thumbnail preview of files"

is practically required.

1/20/2010 9:17:49 AM

as i said already

i'm almost certain it's bc i set it up to stream from my computer as a media server instead of a regular 'ol network share. i had some login problems trying to do the network share route and didn't feel like messing with it last night

1/20/2010 9:21:53 AM

In List View, is there navigation buttons for Page Up / Page Down to quickly scroll through contents?

Trying to see how well this thing will handle 1000+ movies, each in their own folder with cover art

1/20/2010 11:43:32 AM

No. File navigation with the WDTV is complete shit. Especially in folders with a lot of files. The best you get is if you hold down the down button, after it manually scrolls through 2 pages of items, it then starts scrolling through one page at a time. But even then it scrolls through pages too quickly to read the contents, so trying to find something in the middle is practically a crap shoot. This is compounded by the fact that there is no way to get it to only display a particular type of file, so you end up having to scroll through mp3s and jpgs as well as whatever video files you have in there. Might not be a problem for most people, but I end up browsing my default newsgroup download folder quite a bit, and always end up hating life for a little while afterwards.

[Edited on January 20, 2010 at 11:54 AM. Reason : Assuming you're talking about WDTV. The PCH has pageup/down plus can sort by file type.]

1/20/2010 11:52:32 AM

bump request

9/25/2010 12:19:23 PM

Is there a go to device in this space or is the WD still the one to get? Is there any device (or software) out there that upscales dvd to 1080p or is the best bet there still a dedicated player? I'm a bit conflicted in do I just forget about my old collection and only rent new stuff going forward or should I get something that can scale the DVDs up. Perhaps once upon a time when netflix was new I may or may not have aquired many many DVDs that I'd like to still be able to use until Blu Ray becomes even more mainstream.

I guess this would be easier if I was an IRC head getting a lot of my content from there but I'm not and don't plan to be so I think I need something to fill the gap for a few years.

9/26/2010 10:49:26 AM

man, talk about a post that is all over the map.

9/26/2010 11:07:28 AM

Why?

9/26/2010 11:34:52 AM

You tell me why, you're the one that wrote it.

9/26/2010 2:25:22 PM

I want a device that plays media over the network. Whats the current go to thing?


Caution : Previous statement all over the map.


Everything else I wrote other than that could be discounted in your reply.

9/26/2010 2:32:18 PM

If you're just looking to stream local media, and you absolutely MUST have something right now, the WDTV Live is the obvious choice. Or the WDTV Live Plus if you want Netflix streaming.

However, I personally think this is the worst time to be buying a device like this. The Popbox was just released, and while it got fairly consistently shitty reviews so far, most everything that people have been complaining about can, and most likely will be fixed with firmware updates. I'd be very surprised if the Popbox wasn't a LOT better than a WDTV in a month or two. The Boxee Box is also set to be released in November, and it should be loads better than a WDTV as well. Roku just updated their entire line of media streamers and dropped the price to $69-$99, but for right now they don't do native local streaming or 1080p, however both of those should be fixed by firmware updates in the very near future. Also of note, the Google TV is set to be released at some point in the not too distant future, but there's not a lot that's really known about it right now (mainly pricing and features). I'm also keeping my eye on the new Apple TV which is shipping right now. It doesn't do much of anything right now except for streaming from an iTunes share, but I'm hoping that jailbreakers will be able to take care of that.

tl;dr version: If you have to buy something now, a WDTV is gonna be acceptable, but in 2 months or less your options are going to be far greater at practically the same price point. I'd wait if you could.

9/26/2010 4:12:26 PM

Fantastic sir. Thanks for the info. Actually, seeing ars's post about the new Roku triggered this bump.

9/26/2010 9:04:31 PM

i like the Seagate Theater+ too, good interface and supports tons of formats, it's a lot like the WD Live Plus but less expensive, same features, and nice UI

Boxee Box - way overpriced for what you get, should have been released 9 months ago
Roku Box - with new firmware this might be worth looking at
Popbox - wouldn't touch it til version 3 if they ever get there, first batch was terrible.
PCH - overpriced now with flooded market, WD & Seagate options are better.

but if you have a WD Live Plus or Seagate Theatre+, both support PlayOn to get even better internet tv support and STILL less expensive than Boxee Box.

heck for $199 you might as well build an HTPC for $299 w/ blu-ray player & boxee software that does more.

[Edited on September 26, 2010 at 9:44 PM. Reason : .]

9/26/2010 9:43:27 PM

and takes up more space and uses a fuckload more power?

no thanks.

9/26/2010 9:46:28 PM

i'm talking about having blu-ray support it's smaller than a blu-ray standalone player & wdtv live combined. i have a miniITX HTPC, it's pretty small

if you don't want blu-ray support than duh, it's a no brainer, but i'm talking about best bang for your buck, boxee box ain't it.

[Edited on September 26, 2010 at 9:54 PM. Reason : .]

9/26/2010 9:53:16 PM

I've been waiting for the boxee box for close to a year, a year ago I would have jumped on the preorder instantly, now I'm just annoyed by all the choices.

I hate dragging an HDMI cable across my living room floor whenever I want to watch top gear :-(

9/27/2010 3:08:16 PM

PS3 + Gigabit Nic + Cat5e + PS3 Media Server + 15 mins config = Best FREE 1080p media streaming solution!

Not to mention it plays all the formats including all the ones everyones bitching about up there! :-)

9/27/2010 9:37:08 PM

Quote :

"PS3 + Gigabit Nic + Cat5e + PS3 Media Server + 15 mins config = Best FREE 1080p media streaming solution!"

You must have a different sense of free than I.

9/27/2010 9:54:51 PM

sorry I thought most people either had a XBOX360 or PS3 these days...

9/28/2010 4:41:55 PM

actually it's only about 24%

http://arstechnica.com/gadgets/ultimate-htpc/

[Edited on September 28, 2010 at 5:03 PM. Reason : .]

9/28/2010 5:02:29 PM

Well, according to this, a lot of people have at least 1 console:

http://arstechnica.com/gadgets/news/2010/07/top-10-2-home-theater-devices-staff-and-openforum-edition.ars

9/28/2010 5:17:18 PM

All the people who keep suggesting HTPCs or convoluted PS3 + this + that + conversion software on a PC + 15 minutes of configuring are totally missing the point of simple devices like these.

Probably 90% of the general population isn't capable of figuring out how to set up a network share from their computer, much less figure out how to install and configure a media server and get that working. The beauty of a WDTV or PCH or any of these other devices is in their simplicity. You plug it into the wall, run a cable to your tv, and that's it. insert a USB stick, or manage to figure out that right-click-share thing on windows, and you're off and running. It's even easier if all you care about is streaming from an online service like netflix, amazon, or iTunes.

The target audience for these devices are your parents. Or normal people that who think it's worth the $99 to not have to deal with the hassle of trying to spend the hours (sure, it might be 15 minutes if you REALLY know what you're doing) it would take to get a game console to do something it wasn't really designed for. Or people that want to be able to watch tv in the bedroom without buying or moving their bulky console in there.

9/28/2010 5:25:26 PM

^but we are discussing this on TWW, not with our parents. it's quite clear what the target audience is for these devices, it's discussing how we can best use them. there's clearly no one good answer yet, and everyone's opinion and needs are different.

^^yea, and i'd love to see how many people that own a Wii use the Netflix streaming disc and/or PlayOn, I bet it's 2% because it's limited to 480p, and Xbox doesn't do Blu-ray, so that leaves the PS3

also see the disclaimer:

Quote :

"As far as caveats, it's important to note that readers could vote for as many items as they have in their own system, so if someone had, say, all three consoles, then they voted for all three"

[Edited on September 28, 2010 at 5:56 PM. Reason : .]

9/28/2010 5:45:22 PM