Is it worth upgrading from WDTV Gen 1? Options

[purple]

Hi,

I have had a WD TV Gen 1 for a couple of years now and it has been amazing. I quite like the look of the new WD TV Live SMP model and wanted to know if it would be worth upgrading if I'm not interested in any of the network features (Streaming, Internet Access, YouTube etc). I also don't really need DTS support as it goes through my AV receiver.

I only ever play videos from the hard drive and have no need for the network features. I basically want to know if the performance (cpu and memory) have been improved to allow smoother playblack of movies.

I have recently purchased a 3D TV and have been watching some Half SBS movies on my Gen 1 WD TV player. The 3D movies have been playing fairly well but they do stutter every now and again, and wanted to know if the playback would be improved on the WD TV Live? I also currently encounter an odd stutter when playing normal 2D 1080p movies.

I am having to convert some mkv movies lately too for my current WD TV player for them to play. I have to use mkvmerge to uncompress audio and video for it to play, this only takes a few minutes to do but is still a bit of a hassle. Does the WD TV Live support more compressed audio/video formats meaning I will not need to convert files any more?

Thanks in advance for any help?

[imback]

like you i have had the gen 1 for a number of years, i recently upgraded to the wdtv smp and have not looked back, i am not particularly technical but the whole thing runs smoothly, has a nice gui, can do lots of little things the g1 cant ie play iso files and a few other things you will discover, i would recommend the smp, no probs

[Rev Drew]

if past history is an indicator, the live and live plus are better than the Gen1.
I don't own one of the new Live SMP's so I can't really comment either way but more than likely.

my Gen1 wont play the 34GB release of avatar, even on a directly attached USB hard drive.
my live and live plus's will stream it over the network, wired or wireless, without any issues.

[Arcthelad]

If you want a bigger remote and a better interface then its worth it. If those things don't really matter to you and your Gen1 plays your videos fine then no.

[cup0spam]

I upgraded from a gen 1. Fantastic upgrade. All the internet services (especially netflix) are a bonus. I sold my gen 1 on craigslist for $55.

[thomfam]

I have been through from the gen 1 WD as well. I just love my new WD TV Live SMP for all the reasons listed above. However I just love the ability to be able to adjust any out of sync (OOS) movie files via the "Option" key. OOS files are no longer a concern!

[purple]

I have been through from the gen 1 WD as well. I just love my new WD TV Live SMP for all the reasons listed above. However I just love the ability to be able to adjust any out of sync (OOS) movie files via the "Option" key. OOS files are no longer a concern!

Thanks for the input everyone. I think the OOS option has just sold it for me (IMG:style_emoticons/default/wink.gif)

[outburst]

I've had almost every model except the hub. I went to the Live because of the networking and now I have the SMP because of the wireless connectivity. With the G1 I can still remember the hassle of having to disconnect the drives, put files on it, reconnect it, let it boot up... don't miss it at all!

[das75]

I have been through from the gen 1 WD as well. I just love my new WD TV Live SMP for all the reasons listed above. However I just love the ability to be able to adjust any out of sync (OOS) movie files via the "Option" key. OOS files are no longer a concern!

so I'm reading this right, if the audio is out of synch with the video it can be adjusted on the 3rd generation? If so how?

[outburst]

so I'm reading this right, if the audio is out of synch with the video it can be adjusted on the 3rd generation? If so how?

There is an option to move the audio forward or backward in comparison to the video by small increments.