Wdtv live plus audio issues - please help

WD Legacy Products WD TV Live & Live Plus
1

Hello:

I recently upgraded from the WDTV Media Player to the WDTV LIVE PLUS.  I really loved my old media player and never had any real issues.  The WDTV LIVE PLUS has been another story.

Ever since I have started using it, I have had audio cut outs.  I play a lot of high def videos (usually mkv files connected through an external hard drive ) in 1080p.  The cut outs last a few seconds and then the audio comes back.  Just like in my old player, I have it connected to my television via an HDMI cable.  At first I thought it might be the HDMI cable and I have since switched cables two times (for a total of 3 cables) and the problem persists.

I am currently using a Rocketfish RF-G4101 HDMI cable.  Here are the specs:

http://www.bestbuy.com/site/Rocketfish%26%23153%3B±+Advanced+Series+8%27+In-Wall+HDMI+Cable/9743809.p?id=1218165773489&skuId=9743809

The settings on my WDTV LIVE PLUS are on: HDMI and Stereo for audio.  

My TV is a Panasonic Viera TH-50PZ700U and everything worked fine before this player.  Since the TV has 2 HDMI ports, I have tried both of them and still the problem continues to happen.  Here are the specs for the television:

http://www2.panasonic.com/consumer-electronics/support/Televisions/VIERA-Plasma-HDTVs/Technical-Specification/model.TH-50PZ700U.T#ts

I upgraded for two reasons  (a) it was a gift and (b) the ability to play DTS audio which the old player did not have.

I also installed the current firmware upgrade - Release 1.04.10

The problem is so bad that it makes for an unpleasant viewing experience.

What can I do about this problem?  Is there a specific HDMI cable that anyone can recommend or is something else at play here?  I have noticed that some other users have had this problem as well.

Thanks for your help.  Any assistance and guidance you can provide would be greatly appreciated.

2

If you look in the firmware section, you will see that there has been a lot of problems with 1.04.10. About the only thing you can try is to press the reset button and then restore to factory defaults. If that doesn’t fix the problem, you can downgrade to version 1.03.49. If you do downgrade, be sure to do the resets again before using 1.03.49.

3

Thanks…will try this!

4

Hey Scandy…thanks for the advice.

I tried to resent the device and restore to factory defaults and the MACHINE still says I am running the 1.04.10 firmware>  Suggestions on how to do this properly?

Any help would be greatly appreciated.  Thanks!

5

After you have done the reset, see if you are still having your original problem. If you are still experiencing the same problems, then you can try downgrading the firmware to version 1.03.49. Resetting does not change the firmware version.

To downgrade the firmware look here:

Firmware Downgrade

6

Rollback firmware and instructions here.> http://wdc.custhelp.com/cgi-bin/wdc.cfg/php/enduser/std_adp.php?p_faqid=5800&p

7

richUK, I guess you typed your answer faster than my edit.

8

Thanks Scandy & richUK.  Unfortunately, that didn’t fix the issue.

I reset the machine and i rolledback to the previous firmware 1.03.49_B and I still get audio cut outs.  It doesn’t happen immediately and it’s very quick when it happens.  It usually last a couple of seconds and then the audio is fine.

Any suggestions?

9

Can we assume that you reset again after the firmware downgrade plus unplugged from power for some minutes.

10

Yes, I did.  I will do it again just to make sure. I am definitely running the previous firmware at this point.  I even have tried switching HDMI ports since the TV has 2…still no luck.

I’m not really sure what to do at this point.  Any suggestions?

Thanks so much for all your help.