WD TV bad and good news

icarusi

Regular Member
Joined
Nov 23, 2008
Messages
88
Reaction score
0
Points
6
Age
74
My Satellite Setup
Fortecstar Passion+
My Location
UK
I finally got a Western Digital WD TV HD unit from Tescos, the only place I could find with a no quibble return policy on it. The bad news is that it doesn't play 'native' P+ .TS files directly. If you pass them through TsRemux it will play them, unfortunately the P+ won't play those files, so you end up with two files if you want to use both the WD and the P+. Even with files remuxed via TsRemux the WD won't play the P+ 'chopped-up' files seamlessly but stops, loads and starts files in alpha numeric order. You need to use TSSplitter or tsMuxeR to join the parts for the WD TV to play them (which is slow compared to TsRemux remuxing) and then you'll probably need to use NTFS file system to overcome the FAT32 4Gb filesize limit. Fortunately Easius partitioner can write a FAT32 and an NTFS partition on the same drive which the P+ will accept, showing and usuing the FAT32 and ignoring anything on the NTFS (which 'Swissknife' couldn't do).

The TsRemuxed files I joined with TSSplitter did have some pixellated frames at the join, but the P+ doesn't always playback perfectly over the native file split points. The tsMuxeR s/w won't accept P+ .TS files although it has the function to remove parts within a file as well as top and tail. TsRemux has top and tail function only.

The navigation on the WD TV isn't good. It only has FF and FR at up tp 16x, no jumps, bookmarks or gotos, and at 16xFF often loses the time counter or the picture freezes and the counter resumes. Sometimes it locks in FF and only recovers after it's played out the entire recording. This is with the latest firmware update. That alone is cause to return the unit even without playing P+ format TS files.

The WD TV did play some current BBC HD files I recorded via my Nova HD S2 pc card and Cyberlink s/w, in the correct aspect ratio, which the Cyberlink s/w can't!

I intend to try the Asus HDP-R1 if it reappears but otherwise unless the WD TV live (both have network connectivity) gets better navigation than the WD TV I'm more likely to go the Bluray route now that prices are falling and the TsRemux/TSSplitter/tsMuxeR route seems to at least provide an alternative to 'P+ only' playback .
 

Burnham Beech

Specialist Contributor
Joined
Jan 1, 2000
Messages
1,047
Reaction score
53
Points
48
The Western Digital WD TV HD is a neat small unit at a reasonable price.

If you want a media player that plays (almost) everything you should look at the PCH-110 - a much better option. Been around for longer than the WD TV HD and has regular firmware updates.
 

icarusi

Regular Member
Joined
Nov 23, 2008
Messages
88
Reaction score
0
Points
6
Age
74
My Satellite Setup
Fortecstar Passion+
My Location
UK
icarusi said:
The tsMuxeR s/w won't accept P+ .TS files although it has the function to remove parts within a file as well as top and tail. TsRemux has top and tail function only.
Correction, tsMuxeR doesn't remove parts within mp4 files, just tops and tails by specifying the start/finish times of the centre part you want to keep. It seems to be pretty accurate but has no included viewer, so you'd need to prepare a cutting schedule of timings via another viewer, eg two cuts either side of an ad break then join those parts to make a file minus the ad break.
 

icarusi

Regular Member
Joined
Nov 23, 2008
Messages
88
Reaction score
0
Points
6
Age
74
My Satellite Setup
Fortecstar Passion+
My Location
UK
Burnham Beech said:
The Western Digital WD TV HD is a neat small unit at a reasonable price.

If you want a media player that plays (almost) everything you should look at the PCH-110 - a much better option. Been around for longer than the WD TV HD and has regular firmware updates.
Much pricier than the WD TV (in UK) and still the problem of a no quibble return stockist if it doesn't play 'native' P+ files. What's the navigation like? Does it do jumps, bookmarks, gotos etc. on HD mp4 files?
 
Top