Wd Hd Tv

[jxc]

I just bought a WD HDTV with a 1Tb storage system and can't wait or it to arrive then to back up 400 DVD's oh what fun maybe i can get the misses to do once she has done the housework :E

[Jimmy Macintosh]

Very impressed with mine. The only problem I have is that all of the video icons are the same generic icon. I'd like to put the movie posters in their place.

Keeping DVD quality, I managed to fit just under 200 movies per 1Tb hard drive. Currently have two attached.

I actually prefer it over my DVD player now, no layer change.

[Bushfiva]

Tools like icontweaker will let you change individual icons.

Edit: iconx is less confusing since it's single-purpose.

[Tosh McCaber]

I haven't come across this bit of kit. What does it actually do?

[Jofm5]

It is a media player, will allow movies, audio and pictures to be stored on USB drives and then played back through the tv.

WD TV HD Media Player ( WDAVN00 ) (http://www.wdc.com/en/products/products.asp?DriveID=572)

Unfortuantely whilst it seems a good bit of kit it only supports Dolby 2 (Stereo) and not surround sound.

[jxc]

It only only supports stereo not surround Bugger :ugh: didn't think of checking that bit as thought it would is there any other ones out there that o surround sound ?

Cheers

[Jimmy Macintosh]

It supports all sounds upto 5.1 - It might even do the hi def 7.1 formats, but I'm not wasting 25Gb of space to check. You do have to connect with HDMi though. All of my rips, in order to get the file size down, I removed all audio except the 5.1 option or DTS whichever was available. My amp recognises the correct input and the sounds come out of the correct speakers. Don't know why the website says it downgrades AAC and DD to 2 channel.

It's great having my DVD collection available at the touch of a couple of buttons, rather than having to go into the spare room and look over a couple of bookcases of movies.

Just saw a 2Tb hard drive for $200...

[Jofm5]

If you go to the link I provided and look on the specifications tab you will see : -


Music - MP3, WMA, OGG, WAV/PCM/LPCM, AAC, FLAC, Dolby Digital, AIF/AIFF, MKA
Photo - JPEG, GIF, TIF/TIFF, BMP, PNG
Video -MPEG1/2/4, WMV9, AVI (MPEG4, Xvid, AVC), H.264, MKV, MOV (MPEG4, H.264),MTS, TP, TS
Playlist - PLS, M3U, WPL
Subtitle -SRT (UTF-8), SMI, SUB, ASS, SSA
Note:
- MPEG2/4, H.264, and WMV9 supports up to 1920x1080p 24fps, 1920x1080i 30fps, 1280x720p 60fps resolution
- An audio receiver is required for surround sound output. AAC/Dolby Digital decodes in 2 channel output only
- JPEG does not support CMYK or loss less.
- BMP supports uncompressed format only.
- TIF/TIFF supports single layer only



Edit: Just noticed you say you get 5.1 decoded - could be a probkem with the notes.

Does it have an optical out on the back - I can see it has space for one.

[Bushfiva]

Yes, there's a TOSLink on there. I think the manual's written by someone who doesn't necessarily understand everything s/he wrote about. For example, explaining TIFF is a "rastor" format, but not needing to mention the fact for just like GIF, jpg and PNG. I assume they mean you're only going to get stereo through the phono jacks, and in that context the statement may be accurate but misleading: the on-board decoder may be stereo only, but of course via TOSLink you're relying on the decoder of the target device.

I've got a similar device by TViX: a couple of features I like are the ethernet port, and the ability to play ISO images. It can play from its internal drive, up to two external drives, and from any drive it can find on the network. Mine's an older version, so it doesn't do most H.264 and, amazingly, the music player doesn't support playlists. Udderdandat, in general these are great devices. I've also got an AiVX, which is similar but in a portable 2.5" format.

[Jofm5]

Hmmm, if it has the toslink it should be like you said left down to the decoder - which almost makes me want to rush out and buy one.

The almost bit is not to say anthing bad of the box - its just my decoder only has a single optical in, and thats from my sky hd box at the moment - so would need a way of coupling two into one - even an optical switch would be good (but probably costs more than replacing the decoder).

Some more research for me I think

Cheers for the info - seems a nifty little unit.

[Bushfiva]

Optical switches are very cheap since, at the simplest level, they're purely mechanical. Mine cost something like $5.

[Jofm5]

Yep they are quite cheap - around $10 here (£5) - quite strange as the fibre optic cables cost alot more.

The bit always missing from my google search was TOSLink - I was not aware they were refered to that before you post - so thx for that.

Oh by the way - I am going to blame my forthcoming expenditure on yourself - cause if it was only stereo I would not have bothered - now I need ummmm

1. WD TV HD
2. 2 Terrabyte Disks (Lets not do this by half)
3. 1 Optical switch.
4. 2 Optical Cables.

Make that 3 optical cables as now I can do the PS 3

Could you PM your phone number so I can get her to nag direct ?

lol

[Bushfiva]

Well if you haven't actually bought one, you should look at http://www.tvix.co.kr/, Home (http://www.tvix.co.kr/eng/) and Home > Products > TVIX PVR R-3310 (http://www.tvix.co.kr/eng/products/PVRR-3310.aspx) or Home > Products > TVIX HD M-7000A (http://www.tvix.co.kr/eng/products/HDM7000A.aspx).

I can save you money on the TOSLink switch, though: I use a 2cm length of ballpen to join the cables together. Voila, instant switch.

Re big drives: I'm up to 5.2TB in RAID5 (old stuff, from when it was expensive) and 2TB in RAID1 (cheap as chips).

[Jofm5]

Looks good - but not sure what it gives me above the sky hd pvr I have already (You need a satellite contract etc but it really is the creme de la creme in the UK and the pvr is so sweet).

All I would be looking at is taking my substantial dvd library and placing it in a ready to use form rather than scanning the shelves etc.

[Nightrider]

Was looking into these multimedia drives also and went for the IOMEGA 1T Multimedia Drive (http://go.iomega.com/section?SID=9bc465b9e0ac387ca0eaa3ae0870c1c16ff:4710&secid=40361&newlang=en) for a valuable €179.00 in Spain.
Installation was as simple as the tin said, plug the cables, power it up, allow the home network to have a new IP-unit attached and that was it.
The interesting part is that all PCs in the home network see the drive as a simple HD, incoming streams can be stored on this drive while viewing other videos. Also, the extension of using all available HD in the house via the LAN makes this an unlimited storing device. Even the test of accepting a simple USB-HD worked charming....
With a DynDNS address streaming from home to my hotac is hassle-free....
Now that was some experience...

[Parapunter]

If it were me, I'd just build a media centre for about 500 tokens & have the jolly lot in one box. Oh, I did that already.:}

[Bushfiva]

And at only 2 to 7 times the cost of the products mentioned here. The WD box, for example, is around $75.

[Parapunter]

Yes and at 2 to 7 times the functionality as well. So, why not?

[Bushfiva]

:rolleyes:

[Parapunter]

Whatever you think Mr. Fiva. But I type from a machine that plays bluray, streaming media, over 1000 albums, freeview & if I wish, Virgin tv, fifty or so photo albums, a large collection of videos & tv series. All in 7.1 surround sound It's also available throughout the house via powerline networked extenders. In short, it is a complete all in one media solution and the whole thing is controlled via one remote.

When I've had enough of that, I press a button & I have a fully featured windows pc capable of running any application from office to firefox to photoshop.

Why you should feel the need to roll your eyes at me because i've pointed out that the above might be a limited solution at an inflated price when superior alternatives are readily available is beyond me?

I guess you must have a sinclair C5 in the garage:} Either that or you just dislike an invitation to debate?

[Jofm5]

Parapunter,

The two things are inherently different and the WD TV HD (Could do with a better name) seems to be a nifty unit.

Whilst I already have SKY HD (Multiroom) I do watch the odd DVD now and then, mainly cause SKY keeps repeating the same old dross. So to digitise my dvd library and make that available is appealing for such a budget price.

Media centre PC's have their place but it would be like cracking a nut with a sledgehammer. Even the small shuttle boxes are much larger, costlier and usually noisier (water cooling can silence these) than this box with an attached USB drive - and way more complex to operate.

Being a software developer I restrict my Computers to my study so that my living room can be considered just lesiure and not a work environment. I find it important to maintain that seperation as I work alot from home.

It is horses for courses, if I did not have Sky + on my HD box then I would look at a media centre PC for the PVR functionality - Bushfiva is probably in the USA so freeview is not really going to be an issue and you get all that and more on sky. Connecting your media centre pc to cable is possible but you will lose the specifics of being able to access a cable providers pre-recorded content as each implements this differently.

In summary - Media centre is good and has its place should you wish to dedicate time, money and resources to it but it is not everyone's cup of tea. Having already invested in a surround sound av amp, sky + etc it makes more sense to add this cheap unit rather than re-engineer the whole system.

Cheers

Jof

[Parapunter]

That functionality is supported in cam card in the Usa, but no matter. I'm the media center evangelist really, I've built systems with it since xp. For me, no other system works better & I'v looked at Sonos, Apple tv, linux mc, media portal & a few others. None of them exceed wmc on any level for my money.

I agree with your sentiment that you don't want a pc in the living room, but when you can have one that looks like this, would you reconsider?
http://i43.tinypic.com/30leb13.jpg

I agree that the wdtv is a swift bit of kit, but to me, it's another box in the room, when an mc machine sweeps them all away at a stroke.

I don't mean to fall out with anyone & I apologise if I've been thought rude, but I don't like being dismissed for postulating an alternative viewpoint, particularly when there is a reasonable justification.

As ever, the problem with media centers is that you do have to fiddle about a bit to get the best from them, the setup will be alien to the average user & you do therefore require a little imagination to get the best from one, but once you cross the rubicon...you get me!

[Jofm5]

I agree with your sentiment that you don't want a pc in the living room, but when you can have one that looks like this, would you reconsider?



No I would not lol.

I agree it looks good and would not look out of place - I just know that rather than watching the dross on tv I would end up on the PC. The way I discipline myself is by not having the temptation.

[Earl]

Is it normal to take between 2 an 3 hours to load one DVD using the ArcSoft Media converter software supplied?
Or do I have something configured wrong here?
Thanks