Question about Menu Font...looks fuzzy and somewhat unreadable Options

[terryj]

my setup connections:
WD TV HD Live Plus, connected into my Maganvox DVD Recorder via Composite (RCA) cables,
then the Maganvox DVD Recorder is hooked into the Samsung DLP 46" TV via Composite (RCA) cables.

Everything plays fine, but my issue is with the Menus on my WD TV..they fonts seem fuzzy,
and seems to be somewhat unreadable...when I get to the actually connected USB hd,
the movie and tv files when selected enlarge, and thus are a bit more readable,
but outside of that, the fonts remain fuzzy on the tv.

Could this be fixed by going to another way of connectivity?
Directly into the TV I could go either HDMI or Composite,
but then would lose the ability to record from the WD TV box,
as the DVD Recorder only has composite connections.

[WDUser]

Can you try a direct HDMI connection temporarily to check if it fixes the issue?

[terryj]

Ok, so I got my HDMI cable from Amazon, and here is what I found:
Going into my Samsung 46" DLP TV, via HDMI, the Menus are crystal clear, and
the picture is even more gorgeous when I play my content this way. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/biggrin.gif)

However, since there is no HDMI connections into my DVD Recorder, I
cannot record content this way to my DVD Recorder. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/mad.gif)

Looking back through my setup, my TV will output via Composite to the DVD Recorder, but
the only singla it outputs to the recorder is Cable, it will not output HDMI to the DVD Recorder.

So then going back to the dvd recorder, I can only accept composite INPUT, but I can output COMPONENT VIDEO.

So I'm ordering a component video cable to see if that makes a difference. Will post back after the cable
gets here on Tuesday.

[Rev Drew]

I don't understand why you want to pass it through a recorder..

netflix? not worth it when you can get better quality from newsgroups.
a good usenet provider is likely about the same as a monthly netflix account and you can actually get new and decent stuff from it..

I don't think any amount of cables will make much of a difference in your case but if they're cheap enough I suppose it's worth a try..

[terryj]

I don't understand why you want to pass it through a recorder..

The reason why is a simple one. I watch all my tv shows as .avis on my WD TV Live+.
Occasionally, I want to make / or need to make a copy of
a tv show for a friend. The playlist feature in the WDTV Live +
is awesome ( set a folder with all shows in alpha-numerical order within it, and then press play
with the folder highlighted. Plays through the entire folder from start to finish in order),
and this way, I can get stuff recorded off to disc fairly easy
( much easier than say, dragging the content off the 2TB USB drive hooked to the WD TV Live +
back onto a computer, & then using Toast to make a DVD)

I don't think any amount of cables will make much of a difference in your case but if they're cheap enough I suppose it's worth a try..

MY ONLY CONCERN, at this point REV, is to make the WD TV LIVE + menu fonts a bit more readable.
Playback of content isn't the issue, I'm aware of the 720p limitation I'll get through Composite and Component on my TV
( my Samsung DLP only gives me 1080i through hdmi connection). Playback of Content isn't the issue.
Just making the screen fonts, in the WD TV Live +, less fuzzy is.

IF I don't get any better font resolution when I get the composite cable, so be it.

[terryj]

Ok, so got the Component cable today, and hooked up the DVD Recorder via component to the tv.
WDTV Live Plus is hooked to the DVD Recorder via Composite cable.

Menus are a bit sharper on the TV, and by turning on the DNI engine on my TV, they also sharpened
up quite a bit more. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/laugh.gif)

So I'll stay with this setup: WDTV Live Plus connected via Composite to my Magnavox DVD Recorder
Magnavox DVD Recorder hooked to the Samsung 46" DLP via Component Cables. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/biggrin.gif) (IMG:style_emoticons/default/biggrin.gif) (IMG:style_emoticons/default/biggrin.gif)

[Rev Drew]

so long as you're happy with it, then it's fine.

enjoy!

[salamander]

Hi - I got 3 of these in last few weeks, the newest one has same issue ie all onscreen menu text has a variagrated white blocky background that makes reading the text practically impossible, tried reset, tried firmware update, tried component, composite , hdmi, a second tv. Same on all.

So opened a case with wd but i suspect its a hardware fault.

Movies play fine btw. Only had it out of box an hour but I have tried everything I can think of.

Regards,

Steve, Ireland