Is this the right WDTV for me? Options

[mazza2590]

Before i start doing research into how the hacks and everything works for the different revisions of the WDTV, i figured ill ask if it's worth it.

I saw the WDTV Live Media Hub:
http://www.wdc.com/en/products/products.aspx?id=570

And it looks awesome. It seems to be all the other versions mixed into one + a 1TB internal harddrive. I know this version cant be hacked, but is it worth the trade off?

Can the 1TB drive be removed/upgraded? Can it still accept external drives? (2 USB ports?)

[WDUser]

There are screws that keep the hard drive in place. In addition to these, the SATA connector itself is apparently placed in such a way that taking out the hard disk is not straightforward. WD has said that the internal hard disk is not user serviceable.

Of course the player can still access content over the network or on external drives, otherwise what's the point of the USB ports, right?

[mazza2590]

I assume they designed the sata ports in a way that they cannot be disconnected without any major hardware modifications?
I heard that it cant copy data off an external though, right? So ill need to fill that 1TB up over the network? Any way around that? At what point was that a logical decision made by WD?

Also, thanks for moving my post. sorry!

[WDUser]

I assume they designed the sata ports in a way that they cannot be disconnected without any major hardware modifications?

I guess so from what I've read so far. Don't have one so can't confirm. If you attempt it some day and are successful, be sure to post a nice tutorial here with pics! (IMG:style_emoticons/default/smile.gif)

I heard that it cant copy data off an external though, right? So ill need to fill that 1TB up over the network? Any way around that?

That's news to me. Maybe a Live Hub owner can confirm. The page for it on the WD site does say this though:

Transfer files easily

Copy, move or delete files stored on a USB drive, a network drive, your camcorder, or a camera attached to the media center using the on-screen menus.

At what point was that a logical decision made by WD?

Who the heck knows? (IMG:style_emoticons/default/blink.gif) They've made and will no doubt continue to make many, many boneheaded decisions, and logic/common-sense seems to have nothing to do with it.

P.S. Re. copying data off an external drive to the internal one, I found this review, which states:

But since you're paying $100 extra for the 1 TB drive (vs. its Live and Live Plus siblings), you probably will want take advantage of it and there are several ways to do it.

First, you can mount the internal drive as a network share and just drag-and-drop your files into it. A handier way, though, is to set up network synchronization. In this mode, you tell Hub to mount one of your existing network shares and keep it in sync with a directory on the internal hard drive. This method is best to use with a wireless network connection because once the files are on the Hub's drive, they will play without any of the problems usually encountered when trying to play HD wireless streams.

The third way to use the internal drive is to set up USB sync. This works like network sync, but from an attached drive. This might work best if you're moving a lot of data and also works around a network issue that I encountered. For whatever reason, the network synchronization feature did not see all the shares I have on my network. So I could not copy their content over to the Hub.

[mazza2590]

Cool. So it seems like it would be a good buy, however i havent even looked at the price yet. (i'm in Canada if it matters)

also, i made that comment about not being able to transfer from USB becuase i saw a review that said so:
http://www.anandtech.com/show/3990/western...ve-hub-review/8

Cons
3. Content can be transferred to the internal hard disk from a computer using the network only

[hurricane51]

Not only is copying from an external drive to the internal drive possible, it is easy and straightforward. You just select the device you want to copy from, then press the OPTIONS button. One of the options is Copy (it can also Move files). Select COPY then simply tell the device which file is the target.

While I keep my files on an external drive (with a backup!), it's sometimes better/easier to transfer a file to the internal drive, especially if the external device is a thumb drive. HD files play smoother on the internal drive than the thumb drive, probably due to the internal drive's higher transfer rate.

[mazza2590]

I assume you have one?

Why do reviews and the instruction manual (in WDuser's sig) say you cant copy from USB?

Is there any reason to not get this version of the WDTV if i were to buy one? ie - should i even consider the other models?

How is it for compatibility? Ever find a file it cant play?

[WDUser]

Why do reviews and the instruction manual (in WDuser's sig) say you cant copy from USB?

Maybe a FW update added this later?

How is it for compatibility? Ever find a file it cant play?

As with the previous models, I'm pretty sure you're bound to come across files that seemingly should play but mysteriously won't. As long as WD doesn't provide detailed codec compatibility specs, one can never be sure in advance for all files whether they will play.

[mazza2590]

Cool.

http://www.bestbuy.ca/en-CA/product/wester...3a074231b56en02

I got like $180 in bb giftcards so this is a definite buy.

Too bad it doesnt have an internal wifi card... oh well

[cstu]

I use a USB drive to sync the files and then organize/delete them using my computer.

Even though it's really not much more than a Live with a 1 TB hard drive, I do like the form factor and would buy it again. It's looks much nicer and does what I need it to do. I'll probably buy another one when they come out with a 2TB version.

[mazza2590]

What do you mean to sync the files? You cant move a file from your computer to an External Harddrive, then from there copy it from the harddrive to the WDTV?

[cstu]

I haven't used a hard drive so I don't know if it does the same thing, but after I've copied the file to the USB stick and put it in the Hub it asks if I want to sync the files to the drive. This copies the contents of the USB stick to the hard drive.

I've also sent files via wireless but at 1MB/s and dropped signals I lost interest and did it the old fashioned way. More work but with a 64GB Corsair GT it copies at 15MB/s and I just walk away for awhile until it's done.

[mazza2590]

Cool. I hoped it would me more user interactive but i guess not.

Now when you say wireless, do you mean you purchased the seperate wireless adaptor? How much did that cost?

[hurricane51]

What do you mean to sync the files? You cant move a file from your computer to an External Harddrive, then from there copy it from the harddrive to the WDTV?

I've had a Live Hub for about 3 weeks, so I can assure you that you CAN do both. Sync will want to do all of the files on the external drive by default, so be careful. Since I use external drives almost exclusively, I only use the internal drive as a temp location. And both of my main external hard drives are more than 1TB in size.

That's what I liked about the previous generations -- you bought a media player without having to pay for the internal hard drive, so you could get a larger one when needed. With Blu Ray movie conversions running roughly 10x the size of AVI files (or more), a 2 TB drive fills up fairly quicky. Thankfully WD didn't sacrifice USB ports for the internal drive.

You can go to the WD site and download the manual to see what it can do before making a decision.

Oh, and one of the major reasons to get the Live Hub is response to the remote control. I have never used a piece of remote controlled equipment that was as slow to respond as the WDTV and WDTV Live. Thankfully, it's much better in the Live Hub. At the least, you get an immediate response showing that you actually DID press a button.

[mazza2590]

Awesome. Sounds good man. Thanks for the insight. I plan on picking one up around christmas time (IMG:style_emoticons/default/smile.gif)

[GaPony]

I assume they designed the sata ports in a way that they cannot be disconnected without any major hardware modifications?
I heard that it cant copy data off an external though, right? So ill need to fill that 1TB up over the network? Any way around that? At what point was that a logical decision made by WD?

You'd actually have to ba pretty much a bonehead not to use a network for managing your files. Its a network device and certainly not worth the cost if you don't have a network. Since we all use a computer to either download, rip, or copy our media, why is it such a good idea to do all the initial work on a PC, copy it to an external HDD or thumbdrive, then walk over and copy it onth the device's internal HDD? You could map the drive and rip a movie directly to the hub... one step, done.

Like I said, if you don't have a network, don't buy this device. Just get a cheaper WD TV Live and an inexpensive external HDD.

[mazza2590]

I wanted something portable that i can use between my house, my girlfriends house or my friends house without the need of bringing an external hdd. This combines both a harddrive and a media playing device, so i can plugit in directly to a tv without the need of any other devices.

In addition to that, i do have my house networked and i do share files between computers, so this would also be a nice addition.

[pmcd]

Could you give some idea as to the type of noise the fan generates? High pitch or silent... Can info about media files be added for files stored on network drives?

Thanks ... philip

[mazza2590]

So i bought it yesterday!

Its a sexy piece of machinery

Small as hell. Silent, and little to no heat.

I was able to plug in my external and copy files to the WDTV no problem. And to speed up the copy process, i plugged in my external to my PC and plugged the wdtv to my router and under the windows Network Places i was able to see the wdtv and drag and drop files between the 2

As to adding info, im sure it's possible. I was able to view the files on my wdtv through network places as if it were another harddrive. So adding properties shouldnt be hard

[WDUser]

As to adding info, im sure it's possible. I was able to view the files on my wdtv through network places as if it were another harddrive. So adding properties shouldnt be hard

He's talking about metadata for movies, which uses an open database site like I mentioned here. AFAIK, the player stores the metadata on a hidden partition on its internal HDD like I mentioned here, but I'm not entirely sure if it can store metadata for files stored elsewhere on the network. I mean, it probably should be able to do this and store metadata for any media it can access, irrespective of where that media is stored, but knowing WD, who knows how it really functions without testing to confirm? Maybe mazza250 can help us out here.