Disappointing product

WD Legacy Products WD TV Live & Live Plus
1

I bought WDTV Live about two months ago and after I was not able to get the sound right from my movies I started going through all the forums and spending much time learning about  different video and audio formats (I spent all this time on this because I was FORCED, not because I wanted to). First there was that issue with movies in mkv format with header compression. OK, I learned how to convert the movies so that they would work with WDTV Live and fortunately it was fast conversion (and WD claims it is fixed in one of the latest firmwares but I would not know because I CONVERTED all my mkv movies already). And after that there was (and still is) an issue with movies in MP4 format. Again, after going through the forums and tiresome testings I discovered that the problem was with MP4 files that have multichannel AAC sound in them ( http://community.wdc.com/t5/WD-TV-Live-Ideas/Live-decoding-AAC-5-1-gt-PCM-5-1/idc-p/26209#M2343 ). Yes, I know now that WD stated that WDTV Live only supports stereo AAC but it is so well hidden and in small print that I have to think it was on purpose. And also, why am I as a customer obligated to know that MP4 is a container and that you can put any kind of video or audio inside it? WD stated that WDTV Live supports MP4 files (fully) and that is what I was checking when buying the product. I do not care what is inside it, if it is stated that it supports it then it should support all possible files that can be inside it. That is why I think that WD was falsly advertising this product and if I was not living in a banana republic I would definitely consider a lawsuit. Unfortunately, I cannot do that, or return the product, or get my money back but I can write a warning for all potential customers of WD. I want to mention that I contacted WD support but it is like talking to a brick wall, all they can suggest is to reset my unit and to update the firmware (when new available). Of course, it does nothing. Not to mention that they sometimes take more than two weeks to respond to email.

And today I have discovered that there is the same issue with wma format – it will play only stereo.

I can just say that I think WDTV Live is a falsly advertised piece of cr*p and I will never again buy anything from WD.

So, to cut the long story short, all you people who plan to buy WDTV Live and want to play MP4 files with multichannel AAC and WMV with multichannel WMA sound (about 99%  in my experience) on your home cinema do not buy it because it will not work !!!

2

Yeah, fine, go sue WD.  Go sue EVERY MEDIA PLAYER maker.   Sue me while you’re at it.

It’s your own fault for not doing research, KNOWING FULL WELL that you wouldn’t be able to return or replace the product.  

3

Tl;dr.

4

TonyPh12345 wrote:

Yeah, fine, go sue WD.  Go sue EVERY MEDIA PLAYER maker.   Sue me while you’re at it.

 

It’s your own fault for not doing research, KNOWING FULL WELL that you wouldn’t be able to return or replace the product.  

No, I’ll just go with mede8er like I should have done in the beginning. I threw the money on WD but I think I got of cheap since I’ll save money by not buying their products again.

Well, I’ve done the research, my only mistake was assuming information on WD official pages were true and complete.

When you look at the page http://www.wdtvlive.com/products/wdtv_live#/specs can you tell there are any limitations to the AAC or WMA?

5

Techflaws wrote:

Tl;dr.

Yes, you sound like a perfect WD tech support employee. If you don’t already work for them I suggest you apply right away.

6

Jura123 wrote:

[…] And after that there was (and still is) an issue with movies in MP4 format. Again, after going through the forums and tiresome testings I discovered that the problem was with MP4 files that have multichannel AAC sound in them ( http://community.wdc.com/t5/WD-TV-Live-Ideas/Live-decoding-AAC-5-1-gt-PCM-5-1/idc-p/26209#M2343 ). Yes, I know now that WD stated that WDTV Live only supports stereo AAC but it is so well hidden and in small print that I have to think it was on purpose.

 

MP4 with 5.1 AAC is problematic in that no AVR will decode it for you.  It is usually downmixed to stereo.  So you really are not losing anything.  Stereo AAC is excellent and better than MP3.  But 5.1 AAC is to be avoided unless you are using a $350 Gefen gadget, for example, that can receive the 6 discrete channels of AAC.

So YES WD units will give you the 5.1 AAC.  It is up to you to decode it correctly OR downmix to stereo.

 

And also, why am I as a customer obligated to know that MP4 is a container and that you can put any kind of video or audio inside it? WD stated that WDTV Live supports MP4 files (fully) and that is what I was checking when buying the product.

 

Yes, they support the container spec the same way they support MKV and AVI container specs.  You certainly know that AVI is a container also?  Now, they support a list of CODECS that is listed on their web site.  I do not know what is the deal here?

 

I do not care what is inside it, if it is stated that it supports it then it should support all possible files that can be inside it.

 

Really?  Which media player can do that?  The whole entire spectrum of codecs?  C’mon!  Be realistic!  The codecs supported are listed on the web site!

 

And today I have discovered that there is the same issue with wma format – it will play only stereo.

I can just say that I think WDTV Live is a falsly advertised piece of cr*p and I will never again buy anything from WD.

So, to cut the long story short, all you people who plan to buy WDTV Live and want to play MP4 files with multichannel AAC and WMV with multichannel WMA sound (about 99%  in my experience) on your home cinema do not buy it because it will not work !!!

Same as in 5.1 AAC.  Which AVR supports decoding 5.1 WMA and 5.1 AAC?  I’l go and buy it!  Let me see, I have Sherwood RD-8504 in one room and I got as a gift the Sherwood Newcastle R-774.  Some of the top notch AVRs.  No support for WMA 5.1 and AAC 5.1.  I am sure there are gadgets that can decode these.  Go and get them!

And where do you get the 99% number?  I have yet to see one WMA 5.1 audio track.

I think you have the wrong expectations of what a media player can do.  DVD audio ALWAYS have either AC3 or DTS.  Is that not good enough for you?  EVERY modern AVR decodes these 5.1 formats.  Stick to standards that will work, and educate yourself on how to transcode if need arises.  Programs like HandBrake and MKVMerge and MKVExtract are your friends in this business.

I do not know what is your setup.  Can you state it so that the discussion can me more meaningful?

I am not trying to say that the WD units are the joly grail of media players, but as watching movies go I have gotten my money worth out of them down to the last penny IF you know how to place your expectations correctly.

7

Why are you giving this guy such a hard time? I totally get where he is coming from… you buy a product and it says it does something but then it don’t…  that is misleading. 

I have the gen2 of the WD HD TV and it says it plays mp4… yeah but if you pause it or rewind your buggered as it looses audio sync. 

Also some of my mkv files have gaps in sound which is quite annoying when you are trying to listen what people are saying and it cuts off.

I know for a fact that the files are fine as firstly i make them and secondly they play fine on my computer. So i have gone from making mp4 files to mkv  to get past the audio sync and now i got gaps in sound… brilliant.

WD really need to take more note of the problems that people have and address them in regular firmware updates. If they done this, they would have the best media players on the market without question.

I am in the middle of deciding which media player to buy next, i want something that is more reliable with the formats i throw at it… none of this loosing audio sync, gaps in sound, stuttering playback. I am really liking the look of the new sony SMP-N100.  

I would consider the WD HD TV Live but i don’t know if these mp4 and mkv issues have been resolved. I am willing to give them another chance however based on their customer support i doubt they have addressed these issues.

Everyone is entitled to their opinion and we shouldn’t slate someone because they may have something different to say. 

You are correct in saying the WD units are not the holy grail… there is loads of room for improvement.

8

julius02 wrote:

 

I know for a fact that the files are fine as firstly i make them and secondly they play fine on my computer.

 

???

9

julius02 wrote:

I know for a fact that the files are fine as firstly i make them and secondly they play fine on my computer.

VLC advertises itself that it can play bad/damaged/broken files… the fact that the files will play for you on your PC has absolutely nothing to do whether they’re codecs that the WDTV does support, or whether they’re they’re proper encodes.

That’s kind of why WD provides a list of what the devices support, and what limitations each ones have… it doesn’t just say “will play every file that VLC will play”.

10

“will play every file that VLC will play”.

I never said i was using vlc media player… i am using windows media player? Don’t know where you got this from?

The fact of the matter is that the WD units are pretty naff… they cant say they are going to play all these formats when like you say there are different codecs; hardware inside cannot play every possible codec. That is misleading.

They should say what they can play. The sony says what it will play??

11

richuk  what do you mean by ???

12

I meant that you were certain that your mp4 files were ‘OK’ because you ‘made’ them and they play on your computer. However you completely disregard that you probably used freeware to make these files which may not conform to the actual file spec and also that software on a computer is capable of playing pretty well most files even if they don’t conform to that spec. The WDTV is hardware / firmware based and not as flexible as your computer. I can play any media files on my computer but I don’t expect all those files to play on my WDTV unit. If you read any reviews you will see that it plays more than most other media players but its not a miracle worker. I do realise that the wdtv has many faults but its not fair to compare what you cam play on your computer with what you can play on the WDTV.

13

julius02 wrote:

I am in the middle of deciding which media player to buy next, i want something that is more reliable with the formats i throw at it… none of this loosing audio sync, gaps in sound, stuttering playback. I am really liking the look of the new sony SMP-N100.  

 

Well the sony SMP-N100 does not appear to be a very comparable device to the WD Live range. Its container/code support seems very limited. Many of the container/codec formats are only supported when played from a USB disk. The rest are supported via DLNA. But no SMB apparently.

See here-

http://www.sonystyle.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/ProductDisplay?storeId=10151&catalogId=10551&langId=-1&productId=8198552921666261253#specifications

14

i’m not bothered by the smb network sharing… i would much rather have a stable device to plug into and play my files. I would only buy the WD live if i knew they solved problems with mp4 playback. My m8 has a new sony bravia led tv… he can put mp4 files on a usb stick and plug it directly into that and it plays absolutely perfect, no audio sync issues whatsoever. 

15

Jura123 wrote:
Yes, you sound like a perfect WD tech support employee. If you don’t already work for them I suggest you apply right away.

Quit the whining already. If your too [deleted] to use paragraphs to make your drivel readable don’t blame anyone else.

16

Sorry, guys, but I think we need to freeze this thread before this turns into a riot.  I think everyone has made their point.