Hello everyone. This is my 1st post on this board.
I have had my WD TV Live Plus for about a week and I am generally happy with it, but it has one very annoying problem. I have an older plasma TV that has a DVI connector (no hdmi). When the WD is set to hdmi (auto) it sets the output to 480i which my TV will not sync to (the DVI input on my TV only will sync to 480p or 1080i). No problem; I set the WD to output 1080i. This works fine for a day or 2, then the next time I turn on the WD box, the video on my TV is out of sync. When I go into the settings menu on the WD, it has reset itself to hdmi (auto).
This is extremely annoying because then I have to connect the composite output of the WD box to a different input on my TV so that I can set the WD output back to 1080i. For a day or 2 all is OK…then, the next time that I turn the WD on it is back to hdmi (auto) and I have to reset it to 1080i again. (I turn off the WD when I am not watching TV).
Is this a known problem with the live plus? Does anyone have a workaround or any ideas on how to prevent this?
Same exact prob for me: each time I restart it I have to reset it back to 1080i. Did the non-Plus do the same thing…? I don’t recall.
“Leaving it on all the time” is not an option; just like the non-Plus, it goes all goofy sometimes, not properly responding to fast forwards and rewinds , and occasionally - also like the non-Plus - you gotta run a PC-connected chkdsk on the external USB drive…
My workaround is to leave the DVI *and* the composite outputs connected to two different inputs on my TV. When I have to restart the Live I flip to the composite input, reset the video settings, then flip over to the DVI input.
Could the two of you please post your exact model of TVs that you’re having this issue with? It might be helpful (WD can only test with what they have, but sometimes they can track down a certain set to try and fix issues).
I have a Panasonic TH-42PA20 plasma TV. As I said above, it has a DVI input (no hdmi). This is an older TV (2003) so the chances of WD finding one of these to test is probably slim. Perhaps they can test a different TV with a DVI input.
I think that the reason there are not more posts about this problem is that the hdmi (auto) setting probably works correctly for most people, especially with newer TVs. Since auto negotiation does not work on my TV I have to manually set the WD output to 1080i.When the WD box resets itself to hdmi (auto), my TV won’t sync to it. However, someone whose TV supports auto negotiation will never see this problem.
For now, I have been using the same method as GregAmy. I leave the DVI and the composite outputs connected to two different inputs on my TV. When the problem occurs, I change to the composite input, reset the video setting to 1080i, then change back to the DVI input. (Annoying but workable).
I am going to try the new Beta firmware. Even though this is not listed as one of the fixes maybe I will get lucky.
Yeah, it’s going to be unlikely that DVI input is going to be much supported, as it’s probably a fraction of folks who actually connect that way. One possibility might be to use an intermediate device like an AVR with HDMI inputs. That way the Live would auto negotiate with it and keep its settings, and then it would hook to your TV. The added benefit of surround sound would be worth any extra cost, I can assure you.
However, I don’t see this as a TV compatibility issue, rather as an issue that the Plus does not “remember” the prior settings when you reboot/restart it. When I go in there and set it to 1080i/auto, I’d expect it to stay there when I power-cycle it (same as all the other settings). What’s actually happening is that this video setting is lost on a power-cycle.
I just tried the new Beta firmware and the problem is still there. This time, when I turned the WD box off and on again, the WD box reset itself to 720p (60Hz). The DVI input on my TV only syncs to 480p or 1080i. I have no idea why the WD would set itself to 720p!
I agree with GregAmy. This does seem like a real problem. When you manually set the WD to output a certain frequency, this should remain fixed regardless of whether or not the auto negotiation is working. That is why you use the manual setting (because auto negotiation does not work)!
Yeah, but the problem is that even with a setting other than “auto” it needs the TV to report that it can accept it (it’s part of the HDMI spec). No report – no can do.
I’d still be interested if one or both of you would try an AVR in the system just to see if that solves things – as I said, it really enhances your playback and even cheap ones (less than $150) can sound outstanding in a smaller room (in our 20x15 bedroom our Yamaha makes it a theater room :>)
I’d still be interested if one or both of you would try an AVR in the system just to see if that solves things …
I’ll consider it, but as this point if this a feature of the design (versus a “bug”) then it’s really nothing more than a minor inconvenience for me. I’m more old school (you’d never guess that with a 7-yr-old CRT, would you? ) and I’m not that deep into high-end home theater. The Pioneer AVR I have is for audio (no video inputs at all) does only Dolby 5.1 and the vast majority of my TV viewing is ripped DVDs and NetFlix streaming, mostly using the TV speakers…so it’s kinda hard to justify the expense. Now, when NetFlix starts doing more (any?) HD streaming that decision may be easier…
I’m more curious at this point if this is truly a design limitation or a bug that can be “fixed”.
mkelley, I understand what you are saying…but I have to politely disagree.
I think that the main reason for anyone wanting to set the output frequency manually, is because auto negotiation does not work with their TV. If auto negotiation worked correctly, the output frequency would already be set to its optimum setting. There would be no need to set it manually (you could still set it manually to a different frequency if you wanted to).
When someone sets the output frequency manually, the software should not check the TV to report that it can accept it. The check to see if the TV supports it can not possibly work, if auto negotiation does not work .
In my case the WD box set itself to 720p which the DVI input of my TV does not support…so even if it was checking with my TV there would be no reason to set it to 720p! Also, when I manually set it to 1080i, it does set the output to 1080i (why would it let me set it to 1080i if ‘no report – no can do’).
The problem is that the WD does not remember the video output frequency setting after a power off/on cycling.
Hey, that’s okay – I’m not an engineering sort of guy so I don’t even know if my theory is correct.
The one thing I AM sure of, though, is that WD probably won’t see DVI as a very viable thing to worry about – I’d guess less than 1% of folks actually have that as their input (indeed, there are some Media Players that ONLY support HDMI and not even composite/component like the Live). I suspect the odds of this getting fixed are approaching zero.
To put the technical details in order, there are quite a few devices with DVI interfaces that also support HDCP / EDID handshaking. Just calling it “DVI” isn’t enough anymore… Most new PC monitors call their interfaces “DVI+HDCP” or somesuch…
I agree with you that the box defaulting back to AUTO on reset is not a good behavior!
The WD has a failsafe… When you select a resolution, the WDTV will exchange EDID data with the display. If the response says the mode isn’t supported, the WDTV will say so on-screen. If NO response comes back (EDID not present) then the WD will switch to that mode, then put on-screen “Are you sure you want to change?” If you DO NOT respond (possibly because your screen has gone dark due to incompatible mode) the WDTV will revert back to AUTO after like 10 seconds.
Interesting… I guess my TV does not support EDID data because when I manually switch to 1080i, the WD displays the “Are you sure you want to keep this resolution?” question on screen. When I answer OK, it does change to 1080i. Up to this point the software is acting correctly. However, once I have manually entered 1080i and answered “Yes, keep that resolution,” the software should remember that setting when the unit is powered off/on.
Sometimes when powering on, the WD box does remain set to 1080i (60Hz), sometimes it resets itself to hdmi (auto), but it also sometimes resets to a different resolution (like 720p). The WD box does remember my other settings correctly.
Because it resets to different video resolutions, and because it remembers my other settings OK, makes this look like a software bug to me.
I have Panasonic TV Model No. CT-34WX53 that the DIGITAL IN terminal can only be used with 1080i, 480p or 480i picture signals. I also am experiencing exactly the same problem with the WD TV Live Plus box (Firmware Ver. 1.03.29-B). When I manually switch to 1080i, the WD box displays the “Are you sure you want to keep this resolution?” I click OK, it changes to 1080i. And I agree that the software should remember that setting when the unit is powered off.
When powering on, the WD box sometimes remain set to 1080i (60Hz), but seems the longer it is power off that it will reset itself to hdmi (auto). Like wise The WD box does remembers all the other settings correctly.
When powering on, the WD box sometimes remain set to 1080i (60Hz), but seems the longer it is power off that it will reset itself to hdmi (auto). Like wise The WD box does remembers all the other settings correctly.
I agree with you. After resetting the WD box to 1080i, if I power it off and on within a few hours it usually stays set at 1080i, however it does seem that the longer it is off, the more likely it is to reset itself to some other resolution.
Here is another weird phenomenon: When I had the original software (1.03.29_B) the box would usually reset itself to hdmi (auto). With the new beta firmware (1.03.39_B) the box usually resets itself to 720p. In either case my TV will not sync until I manually reset the ouput resolution. This is looking more and more like another software bug!
