I'm Returning my WD TV Live Thanks To All The Bugs in Recent Firmware!!!

[marsradio]

What a shame!!!  This box has much more potential than the Roku and Boxee put together IMHO.  However, it has more bugs in it than a tree stump in the forest!  Thanks to the recent firmware update, my WD TV Live now:

1) Changes screen resolution on its on.  i.e. it need to be set to 1080p60Hz, and it's constantly switching to either 1080i or 720p - totally unacceptable!  

2) At least once per day it loses "contact" with my external USB drive connected to it, so all media on this drive is unuseable until I "remount" the drive.

3) At least every other day, some times once a day, it freezes to the point that unplugging is required (It won't even turn off with the off switch on the remote)

Essentially, the only thing that this box can consistently be reliable at doing right now is being a paperweight.  It's sad, because I really liked this box better than my Roku 1 which I've had for a year.  But, now I'm going to have to go back to the Roku because, despite it's limitations on playing home media file types, at least the Roku is rock-solid reliable.

I'm very disapointed by this, and I wish WD was more resposive to all of the reported problems out there.  Sadly this mirrors WD's response to problems I had with a WD Worldbook external drive I bought about 4 years ago.  That one went back too.

[Redwire]

Hi, I have spent several days with my WD Live TV and the firmware is a disaster! A totally unuseable product!

I'm gonna give it a one more shot before I return it.

[Ripcord83]

try exchanging your box for a new one, it couldnt hurt right?

I've had mine since day one and purchased a second a few weeks later.
neither have ever had problems playing from a hdd (front or back port) or streaming 1080p from my NAS drive through WIFI.

Also they've played every video I've thrown at them except one which I found was a .mov file.
One of my tv's is 720p and the other is 1080p and both SMP's lock to the correct aspect res.

I understand your frustation and would do the same if I had these issues, but remember more people are likely to complain about a product than praise it (a market research fact).

[cncb2]

Me too, unfortunately.  There is no indication that we should have hope or confidence that the many issues will be addressed...

[rustang]

I've had mine for about a week did all the firmware updates works great. This media player has more to offer then all the rest combined. WD has really pulled out all the stops on this one. If your not leading your following. I believe WD is setting the media player standard.

[Techflaws]

While I'm annoyed with several bugs I haven't experienced any of the three mentioned by the OP yet.

[mike27oct]

I have a Live Plus, not a Streaming, but I fully understand the frustrations of getting the thing to work well; if not properly.  A big problem I had turned out not to be with the unit or the firmware -- it all was caused by how Win 7 operates, I finally discovered months later.  Nevertheless, I love my Live player, because we use it every day; not just for movies or Netflix, but also for listening to our large iTunes library, Internet radio from around the world, photos and other things.  I also have a Roku, and I like it, too, as it is different enough from the WD box to use both for their particular attributes and strengths.

WD may have lost the poster of this thread, but hang in there rest of you folks, this gadget is cool. To help, here are some tips:

--  One's network needs to be setup and working well before connecting a WD player. This includes sharing folders from PC to PC.  A good understanding of network setup is essential.  I didn't have one at first, and I had to get it.

--  Wired is much better than wireless unless your wireless network is good and solid all the time (excellent or very good signal strength at the WDTV location.)

--  Get the complete user manual from the support area of WD.

--  Avoid being the first person on the block to install the newest firmware if you unit is working fine.  Read the forums for potential problems with it before you decide to install it.

--  Revert back to a firmware that worked well for you if necessary.

--  Check out the WD Support area for your particular unit; especially browse through the FAQs.

--  Spend time regularly in these forums reading threads that interest you.

OK, so who wants to add to this list?

[cncb2]

Yes, your list is good but none of that will fix bugs in the player.  We have to rely on WD for that and they just don't inspire a lot of confidence in their ability to fix these issues. 

For example, there is a serious problem with MKVs stuttering reported here: http://community.wdc.com/t5/WD-TV-Live-Streaming-Issue/MKVs-stuttering-due-to-network-exhaustion/idi...

A respected member of this community tracked this down to a network buffering problem in the SMP itself.  He reported this over a month ago and its status is still listed as "New" as if someone from WD hasn't even looked at it.  So, that suggests that they aren't going to be addressing this serious defect any time soon.  How long are we supposed to wait for this basic playback to work correctly?  I'm not willing to waste $100 to find out...

[cmccowan]

+1 for the WD Live Streaming Media player being the best widely offered solution right now at it's price point and one of the first to market with the latest chipset.

The new Roku, HiMedia and Kaiboer players have some attractive features - USB 3, eSata, but they release so many models.  I have confidence that WD will put sufficient effort into the current firmware before releasing another model.

I'm confident that it was one of the safest early adoption purchases I've made.  It would really be a no brainer if they would open it up for custom firmware though.

[Vadir]

marsradio, have you try rolling back to the previous firmware, and then reapply the update. There is chance that this may correct many of the issues you are currently facing. You can find details for how to rollback from the link below: http://wdc.custhelp.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/5860/session/L3RpbWUvMTMyNjkwNDYzNy9zaWQvRHppZ1NzT2s...