New Release - Firmware Version 1.06.16_B for WD TV Live Plus (8/2/11)

[JEDI_33]

Since the new firmware my WDTV is not as responsive as it used to be. When I watch a mkv and I press pause or play there is a delay of at least 2 seconds now while it used to be instantaneous. Same thing if I press the option button, there is a delay before it appears and if I change the audio stream or subtitles there is a delay of at least 2 seconds before the new setting is applied.

It is not a deal breaker and I won't downgrade but it is obvious the device is not responsive now. I'll admit it is quite annoying though. I guess it might be a bug, I don't think the software requires more processing power now that the current hardware can give but only WD engineers know.

Could you please take a look at the response time of the device?

[firestarter]

Wow. I was so excited about new firmware.

But after reading this thread, i'm gonna hold back installing this firmware.

My unit is working as good as i need it to be.

WD, fix this ASAP!

[nifortez]

Installed the latest firmware (version 1.06.16_B) Great! now my device cannot read my external drive.

[jersey552]

I have an external case with 4 X 1.5TB drives in a raid 5 to equal 4.5TB drive. It worked just fine with ALL the older firmware versions. My son got the new firmware found  window and upgraded to 1.06.16_B and after that no more external USB drive. Followed directions at this URL to downgrade firmware back to 1.05.04_B.  http://wdc.custhelp.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/5800

All is fine now

[firestarter]

I find it very strange and irresponsible of WD to break the device's core function ie to play files from an external usb device or network device.

[xfumbler]

Thank you!  Firmware installed without problems and, as per the release notes:

"Resolved poor menu performance due to background task running."

Yessss.  Menu performance is back to where it should be.  

[Dewey]

Several frame rate issues have popped up with this release, as well.

When selecting 1080p60, the Plus throws up an error that my tv doesn't support the resolution. I'm using a projector, and it absolutely does. If I force the resolution it, of course, works fine. So this isn't game breaking, but it is a sign of potential underlying problems.

What is game breaking is the frame rate issue. If I manually set the unit to 24p, I get intermittent stuttering on my videos. I have only noticed it on some Blu-Ray MKV rips, but, of course, this renders the unit unusable. If I let the Plus autodetect the resolution and choose framerate matching, it will not switch the framerate at all. It tries to, but will just go back to whatever the menu is set at when actually playing the file.

As I use the unit in my home theater, proper 24p performance is a necessity. I would love to use this firmware on my other unit, which sits in the bedroom, thanks to the long awaited addition of Hulu Plus, but I have not tried it there, yet. The other menu fixes also are a positive, so I hope a fix for these game-breaking bugs can be rolled out quickly, so that I can take advantage of them.

These are just the issues I've noticed thus far, and will be rolling back to 1.05 in the meantime. Please fix them, Western Digital, and quickly. Thanks.

[mjmellin]

Yeah I lost my TVersity access as well. It just states there is no media in the folder.

[Scandy]

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laptopquestions wrote:

Loaded 1.06.16_B, but had to roll back to 1.05.04_B since my Linksys/Cisco WUSB600N v2 wireless USB device would no longer work properly, even after a hardware reset .

Curious if anyone else has seem similar issues with their wireless dongles.

BTW, this is the first time that I have had to roll back my firmware.

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I think you may have given up too soon.

I also have the Linksys/Cisco WUSB600N v2 wireless USB adapter. After I upgraded to 1.06.16 my wireless adapter did not connect. I had to go into the setup and re-enter my wireless key. I selected for it to connect Automatically. It did connect, but when I turned my Live Plus off and on, it went back to not connecting again. I started the wireless setup again and re-entered my wireless key, then I went to Wireless Favorites and noticed that even though there was only one entry here (the wireless connection that I just made) nothing was selected as the default. I highlighted the wireless connection that I just made, and selected it as the default. A dot appeared next to the wireless connection in the Wireless Favorites list. After that, the WUSB600N v2 worked fine.

For me, the key to getting my wireless adapter working again was to set the WUSB600N v2 as the Default adapter. Hopefully, that will work for you too.

[xythian]

I too had to rollback from the 1.06 update to 1.05.

Problems with 1.06

* Pandora streaming was unusable. Songs would stop unfinished and move ahead in queue. Or, songs would stop at end and takes minutes to load next song.

* Netflix menu took much longer to load initially (on the order of 60-120sec instead of almost instant). When trying to load content, Netflix would work up to ~25% complete and then fail most of the time.

* Games content is insufferable. I don't really want it taking up firmware space, but I tried it anyways. It took ages to load (3-5 minutes) the game menu and then another 5min+ to load a game (Bejeweled knockoff) before I gave up and exited out.

* Lack of Amazon VoD. This isn't specific to 1.06, but we all know the WDTV needs Amazon VoD to remain competitive. And to be more awesome in the future.

Rolled back to 1.05 and the issues went away instantly. I've streamed hundreds of hours of content through Pandora and Netflix on the WDTV without issue until 1.06.

Even though I didn't keep 1.06, there were some (stated) benefits that I noticed.

* Menus were snappier.

* Alignment issue with audio track fixed.