Over the weekend, Western Digital silently introduced their WD TV HD Media Player. It is an extremely small device (think two WD Passport drives stacked on top of each other) which packs an extreme amount of processing power. And best of all: I picked one up on sale at Best Buy for $99.99.
The unit’s design is nearly identical to WD’s MyBook series drives. features two USB ports (one on the back, one on the side), an HDMI output supporting up to 1080p60, and an optical SPDIF output. It supports drives formatted with FAT32, NTFS, and HFS+ file systems.
Plugging it in to my current AV setup was very easy. This device not only boasts an optical SPDIF output, it also supports audio over HDMI, though no bitstreaming support for HD audio formats (more on that later).
At first, I did not really expect much. For a device with an MSRP of $129.99, what can one really expect? It seems Western Digital has decided to pack support for nearly everything into this tiny box at such a tiny price. From the manufacturer’s website:
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)
Playlist - PLS, M3U, WPL
Subtitle -SRT (UTF-8)
Disclaimer: I did not test all of the formats listed above, as I’ve basically switched my entire media library to MKV containers with H.264 and AC3/DTS audio. I also did not bother testing analog outputs.
After getting it connected to my TV and receiver, I plugged in one of my drives. The first thing I noticed was how bad the “media library” function is. It might be a good thing for people with unorganized drives, but I already know my folder structures, so I’d prefer to just have a folder view. After turning the “media library” function off in the system settings, I had a normal folder view. I also switched the view to “list” instead of “thumbnail” since it is much faster. The other essential setting is to switch the audio output to “digital”, otherwise it’ll just play two channels even if you’re connected via SPDIF.
The first file I played was a recorded TV show with 720p resolution, encoded with x264 at around 5mbps, and containing AC3 (Dolby Digital 5.1) audio. So far, so good. My receiver showed Dolby Digital coming through, and the video playback was very smooth.
The one thing I did notice is that the decoder chip inside (Sigma SMP8635LF) seems to be doing some type of video processing work, because the 720p files seemed to have added sharpening or “edge enhancement” which I was not able to turn off – somewhat annoying, since at times it would add unnecessary noise especially in dark scenes. This was not a problem when I switched the output resolution to 720p.
Next, I tried a 1080p x264 file, also in an MKV container, this time with DTS audio. The video bitrate was around 15mbps, and I honestly expected many dropped frames. However, I was proven wrong, as the file played back with no issues at all. My receiver showed DTS audio coming through, and the video played back on my TV with no dropped frames.
Since I was playing back a 1080p file and the player was outputting 1080p60, I did not notice the sharpening effect mentioned above. I’m going to assume this is because there was no scaling going on, therefore no postprocessing of any kind.
With each file I tested, I increased the bitrate, so next I tested a 25mbps MPEG2 file (I had to change the extension from .TS to .MPG as the player won’t recognize .TS files). It was a 1080i movie captured from DTheater tape, and looked very nice. The player did a decent job with deinterlacing/IVTC, but when I switched the output resolution to 1080i and let my TV do the work, I did notice a slight increase in picture quality and motion was a bit smoother. This was mainly noticeable during slow camera pans.
Finally, I tested a couple of Blu-Ray backups. The player would recognize an .ISO file, however it didn’t understand the Blu-Ray structure, so it would not play that particular file. I decided to extract the .m2ts from the .ISO image and test that, and to my surprise, it worked! This particular movie was encoded with AVC at a bitrate of around 30mbps. The WD TV played it without breaking a sweat. Fast motion and lots of action, with bitrate peaks of over 45mbps, and playback was flawless. I’m sold.
A few miscellaneous issues:
Sometimes the video won’t completely fill the screen at first. It’s easily fixed by zooming in, then back out. But for some reason, the decoder just doesn’t scale the video properly. This doesn’t happen always. It seems to happen completely randomly. Once I zoomed in and out to fix it, it would play properly for the rest of the file. This issue is pretty annoying, and hopefully it can be fixed.
I tried playing an MKV file containing MPEG2 video and AC3 audio, and it did not play. While that’s not a traditional container for those codecs, it still should have played.
The interface is a bit sluggish, although not the worst I’ve seen. It’s not unbearably slow, but there is definitely room for improvement.
1080p24 would be really nice. I shouldn’t necessarily expect that for $99.99, but I don’t think it would be very difficult to add that functionality via a firmware update.
I’m really upset that there is no network connectivity with this device. If I had to guess, I’d say WD did this because they want people to buy their drives as a complement to the media player.
Finally, I wish this device could switch the output resolution to the currently playing file’s native resolution. If I’m playing a 1080p file, output 1080p. If 1080i, output 1080i and let my TV do the deinterlacing (the chip inside of the player, while not terrible, does not do a great job). If 720p, output 720p, and so on… you get the point.
Conclusion:
The WD TV HD Media Player is worth every penny. Power consumption is much lower than using an HTPC. It’s completely silent. It plays back 1080p files like they’re no big deal. If you’re like me and have been waiting for a device like this, I can tell you with confidence that you won’t regret purchasing this. Though I had a few minor complaints, it’s a great deal for $129.99.
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November 4th, 2008 at 11:18 am
[...] Filed under: HDTV, Home Entertainment [...]
November 4th, 2008 at 11:46 am
[...] Filed under: HDTV, Home Entertainment [...]
November 4th, 2008 at 1:12 pm
[...] cool review of it here , and it’s only $99 from best buy [...]
November 4th, 2008 at 2:58 pm
[...] Ureaj naprosto oduevljava listom podranih formata, a vjerujem da e mnogima izmamiti osmijeh na lice podrka za h.264, MPEG-4 i Matroska kontejner. Audio lista takoer je impresivna, te uz OGG, FLAC i Dolby Digital podrava i MKA, AAC i AIF/AIFF audio formate. Ureaj glatko reproducira 1080p H.264 format, premda je prilikom testa bilo problema s otrinom kod 720p datoteka u 1080p izlaznoj rezoluciji, a ureaj s vremena na vrijeme na popuni itav ekran slikom, ve je potrebno napraviti zoom-in i zatim zoom-out da bi se stvar rijeila. 1080p24 takoer nije podran, kao ni .iso i .ts datoteke, premda su to mali nedostaci s obzirom na broj podranih formata i vrlo atraktivnu cijenu. Eh da, da ne zaboravimo – ovaj mali ureaj troi daleko manje elektrine energije od kakvog HTPC-a, a ujedno je i potpuno beuman. Cijelu recenziju proitajte na MaddHat stranici, a mi emo se potruditi to prije saznati hoe li se isti pojaviti kod nas i, ako da, po kojoj cijeni. [...]
November 4th, 2008 at 3:19 pm
Hello,
I have alot of avi & mkv anime with embedded subtitles, does it support this? Thanks…SW69
November 4th, 2008 at 4:48 pm
[...] Video demonstration Bilder Feedback från användare av WD TV Read More Posta enkommentar [...]
November 5th, 2008 at 12:18 am
[...] Filed under: HDTV, Home Entertainment [...]
November 5th, 2008 at 12:52 am
[...] Re: WD TV HD Media Player For those interested here is a review MaddHat.com Blog Archive New WD Media Player Reviewed, Stripped Naked [...]
November 5th, 2008 at 2:23 am
[...] Re: WD TV "High Definition Multimedia Adapter" Saw this yesterday on Engadget. Looks an interesting bit of kit and should be fairly cheap, hopefully it won’t be too long before it come out here. Here’s a review of it: New WD Media Player Reviewed [...]
November 5th, 2008 at 2:46 am
[...] Ürünün detaylı incelemesi ve pek çok resim burada. Merhaba, Mesleki Deformasyon’a hoş geldiniz. Sitemi beğendiyseniz sayfamı takip etmek için RSS aboneliği başlatabilirsiniz. İyi eğlenceler. Etiketler: medya oynatıcı, mp3, MPEG-4, western digital, Xvid [...]
November 5th, 2008 at 5:10 am
[...] Originally Posted by sarang go go go ask KMD. Only concern was MKV and it supports. Should we wait a lil for reviews to rip it apart and see if it stands the test? 100$ looks pretty col though. Similarly specced TViX module costs a bomb in here that too w.o the HDDs. Dada, reviews are out.. check Engadget today. MaddHat.com Blog Archive New WD Media Player Reviewed, Stripped Naked It’s 120$ at buy.com though.. let’s see what it is at the other sites. Last edited by TechHead : Today at 04:29 PM. #8 Today, 04:28 PM [...]
November 5th, 2008 at 5:47 am
[...] Okuyun – New WD Media Player Reviewed, Stripped Naked Bu Haberi Paylaşın: [...]
November 5th, 2008 at 9:53 am
[...] So when is Seagate releasing their version? (review here) [...]
November 5th, 2008 at 4:00 pm
[...] Update: review / / MaddHat.com [...]
November 5th, 2008 at 7:08 pm
[...] Western Digital HD Media Player 1080P I am seriously thinking of buying one of these soon. If you’re like myself and download a lot of video files off the net, whether they are full episodes, movie trailers, etc… you wished you could watch it without having to build a HTPC to do that task. MaddHat.com Blog Archive New WD Media Player Reviewed, Stripped Naked This guy has a review of it, and it looks to play just about every format out there without any problems. BB has it for 99 bux and that is a steal. [...]
November 5th, 2008 at 8:22 pm
[...] Maddhat.com has a great review on the WD TV HD and you can follow the following link to read more on their review and there’s some great bonus pictures of what makes it tick if you are interested in that sort of stuff like I am. Click Here [...]
November 8th, 2008 at 5:00 am
[...] Brett Burns z MadHat.com rzucił na nie okiem. Według niego streamer jest wart każdego, wydanego centa! [...]
November 8th, 2008 at 6:34 am
[...] Register to remove advertisement digg_url = ‘http://www.erodov.com/forums/wd-tv-hd-media-player,13829/’; digg_title = ‘Erodov: WD TV HD Media Player’; Western Digital – WD TV HD Media Player PROVANTAGE: Western Digital WDAVN00BN WDTV HD Media Player 1080P This device turns your USB drive into an HD media player, allowing you to watch your favorite HD movies on your TV Price = Rs. 7,600 + shipping 12 units coming in stock next week Shipping Options Mumbai Cash on Delivery = Rs. 80 Mumbai Courier = Rs. 50 DTDC Plus (Guaranteed Next Business Day Delivery) Zonal = Rs. 125 Metro = Rs. 175 Rest of India = Rs. 250 DTDC Air Zonal = Rs. 75 Metro = Rs. 85 Rest of India = Rs. 100 Zonal = State of Maharashtra, Gujarat & Goa Metro = Bangalore, Delhi, Kolkata, Chennai & Hyderabad Introduction WD TV HD Media Player turns your My Passport, or similar USB drive, into an HD media player. Connect your USB hard drive to this device and play crisp HD movies, listen to high-quality digital music, and watch slideshows of your family photos on your TV. No need to figure out complicated home networking or reconnect AV and power cables. What could be simpler? Theres no limit to the size of your media collection; just add more drives for more movies. Supports Full HD 1080p video playback and navigation. Also works with most popular USB drives. Compatibility 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) Playlist – PLS, M3U, WPL Subtitle -SRT (UTF-8) Review MaddHat.com Blog Archive New WD Media Player Reviewed, Stripped Naked Warranty 3 Day DOA warranty applies. Beyond that Todphod warranty applies. __________________ Need something from the US? Just send me the product link via PM to receive a quote. Preferred sites (but not restricted to) include: newegg.com | amazon.com (products shipped by amazon only) | crazypc.com [...]
November 8th, 2008 at 4:22 pm
[...] : MaddHat.com Blog Archive New WD Media Player Reviewed, Stripped Naked BESTBUY " 100$ Western Digital – WD TV HD Media Player for Select USB Storage Devices – WDAVN00BN [...]
November 8th, 2008 at 11:16 pm
[...] Brett Burns z MadHat.com rzucił na nie okiem. Według niego streamer [...]
November 9th, 2008 at 6:03 am
[...] Brett Burns z MadHat.com rzucił na nie okiem. Według niego streamer czytaj dalej… [...]
November 10th, 2008 at 2:51 pm
Will it play just regular dvd ISO’s not blu-ray, i have a ton and really do not want to convert them to anything else
November 11th, 2008 at 1:54 pm
just bought one few hours ago and to answer some question
@SeaWolf69
its doesn t work well with ANIME released MKV
glitchy videos
unsupported audio (ogg 48khz)
embedded subtitle not displayed
the problem is anime group don’t have policy and rules about encoding , I mean each team encode with their own setup at contrary TV show and movies group released used to have standard
@ivan Says
yes it plays DVD iso but no access to IFO(menu) chapter browsing but its not a big deal to me
I hope WD will support product and do firmware update to fix theses problem and add more function in the future (not sure since there is no space left) If not it would be a big shame and mean toss 100 bucks for nothing for me :/
November 14th, 2008 at 5:16 am
[...] M jo nesten testes ut Den har kommet i butikkene p andre siden av kulpen. Her er en privat test som har kommet ut MaddHat.com Blog Archive New WD Media Player Reviewed, Stripped Naked Ser jo slettes ikke dum ut. Kan jo velge om man nsker bruke en usb-hd eller pendrive for spille av filmen. Streaming er ikke mulig Heller ikke nettverkstilkobling. [...]
November 15th, 2008 at 4:06 pm
[...] down Wednesday, November 5, 2008, 1:32 This news item was posted in Products category and has 0 Comments so far. Filed under: HDTV, HomeEntertainment [...]
November 16th, 2008 at 11:43 am
[...] What it released was WD TV HD Media Player – A simple little gadget that you can use to attach any USB external HD to your TV and receiver, and play the content inside, including FULL HD! Here’s one review, probably many more to come… [...]
November 17th, 2008 at 7:02 am
can u try this H264 clip http://w17.easy-share.com/1702393899.html to see if WD HD TV player able to playback? Thks~
November 21st, 2008 at 4:50 am
[...] http://maddhat.com/?p=31 [...]
November 30th, 2008 at 11:31 pm
[...] MaddHat.com » Blog Archive » New WD Media Player Reviewed, Stripped Naked [...]
December 1st, 2008 at 1:45 pm
Hey! I want to watch 1080p movies on this, but im wondering if a “Corsair USB Flash Voyager GT 16GB” will be fast enough to use as a source or should i go with the “Western Digital My Passport Essential 160GB” instead? The storage isnt important to me, so i would rather go with a thumbdrive than a extern hdd if its fast enough. Any ideas?
Thanks in advance!
January 7th, 2009 at 4:33 am
Dear Brett,
I have created a blog for WD TV in Greek language and I would like to ask for your permission to translate this review in Greek and post it on my blog.
Please contact me by email.
Kind Regards,
Dionysios
January 14th, 2009 at 4:29 am
[...] Gata am aflat – MaddHat.com un review destul de bun.. Ce sa zic..best buy! __________________ Whyismyspacebarnotworking?! [...]
January 17th, 2009 at 2:45 pm
[...] Re: [OT] Hd Multimediali, Mediacenter e affini Il Fri, 28 Nov 2008 15:17:12 +0100, DoLLo ha scritto: > [KINGS OF QUOTE ACHIEVEMENT] Sempre dai commenti di AvMagazine http://maddhat.com/?p=31 Sui 100 euro non mi sembra cosi’ male per i comuni mortali. — Amario [...]
January 17th, 2009 at 2:52 pm
[...] Re: Consiglio per Box Media Player "Marco" <ab…@tin.it> ha scritto nel messaggio news:87Z5Z241Z36Y1231411430X8772… > Il 08 Gen 2009, 11:32, Enrico ICQ # 23239603 > <enrmb> ha scritto: >> Marco ha pensato forte : >> > Benissimo, vada per il prodotto citato da MiT. >> Premesso che io non ho quel modello. Cmq: >> > Per dato che sono un neofita di questi player: >> > 1) hanno problemi nel "vedere" i file avi, ecc oppure no? >> Ovviamente no >> > 2) sono silenziosi ? non che un player da 100 euro una caffettiera >> > e uno da 300 silenzioso? perch allora sceglierei quello silenzioso >> > anche spendendo un po’ di + >> Non ha parti meccaniche. Quindi tutto dipende dal tuo HD esterno. >> > 3) Non ci sono problemi nel collegare il player tramite usb all’hard >> > disk esterno (che ho gi) e il player tramite scard alla TV, vero? >> E’ fatto apposta per fare questo. Ora non so se ha la vecchia scart ma >> cmq con dei convertitori possibile fare tutto. Magari informati prima >> su che cavi ha il prodotto e su che interfacce ha la tua televisione. > Grazie, sei stato gentilissimo. Mi ha preceduto Enrico, aggiungo solo che puoi leggere alcune recensioni del prodotto su: http://maddhat.com/?p=31%22 http://www.avmagazine.it/news/htpc/w…ayer_3921.html http://www.hwupgrade.it/forum/showthread.php?t=1889276 « Immagine del mio disco fisso… senza altri fronzoli | SOLUZIONI IMMEDIATE… » [...]
January 25th, 2009 at 10:29 am
[...] Ką gali WD media grotuvas [...]
February 4th, 2009 at 2:40 pm
[...] vor einer Minute Das Teil ist echt interessant! Muss ich zugeben. Als nchstes steht bei mir erstmal ein Fernseher an, aber ich kann mir durchaus vorstellen, anschlieend dieses Ding dazu zu holen. Tests waren wohl zum guten Teil durchaus positiv. Es kann auch FullHD-MKVs (und natrlich auch 720p) abspielen, und das offenbar auch sehr flssig. Als Schnittstelle fehlt bei Amazon noch die Angabe (war fr mich wichtig) "Optisch", das Ding hat nmlich in der Tat auch einen optischen Digitalsound-Ausgang. Hammergeiles Teil, fr 100 kann man da nichts sagen. Netzwerk brauche ich gar nicht, transferiere sowieso gerade alle meine Filme auf USB-Fesplatten, da ich schon einen DVD-Player mit USB habe. Aber der kann eben keine HD-Inhalte und das Men ist nicht gerade Archiv-geeignet (kurze Dateinamen etc.). Hier ist z.B. ein kleines englisches Review, das sich ganz gut liest. Quasi schon gekauft. Glaube nicht, dass man damit etwas falsch macht. [...]
February 17th, 2009 at 9:59 am
[...] Re: Got a NAS…now what? If you access the streamers and network players section on this board there is a lot of information on your options. I have a netgear EVA8000, soon to be replaced by the 9150, and a western Digital Tv adapter, you can read about it here MaddHat.com Blog Archive New WD Media Player Reviewed, Stripped Naked metroman. [...]
February 19th, 2009 at 7:15 pm
[...] my personal review review WD TV HD Media Player (WD00AVP) incerc sa fac atat un review cat si o comparatie cu Popcorn Hour model A-100, dar este departe de a fi ceva complet intrucat nu am avut timpul necesar si dispozitivele necesare pt. testare. prima impresie: mic, simplu, usor de manevrat intrucat nu detin un display HD ready sau full HD, acest review (la partea de afisare) se va rezuma la tv-ul meu SD l.e. am testat pe 2 lcd tv-uri hd ready pachetul cumparat cu 455 ron de la firma x vine cu firmware-ul 1.00 detaliile tehnice le stiti deja, reamintesc doar cateva: dimensiuni NMT, 125.5 mm / 100 mm / 40 mm, greutate 330 g, 2 mufe usb 2.0, una in spate una lateral stanga, de pe mediile de stocare citeste atat FAT32 cat si NTFS (logic, nu, ca o mare parte din materialele video depasesc 2 gb/fisier), mufa HDMI (nu stiu ce versiune), iesire optica (digitala) audio, o mufa RCA video si doua mufe RCA audio (stanga/dreapta), in cutie gasiti cablul AV cu 3 mufe RCA, pachetul nu vine cu cablu HDMI sau cablu audio (optic). cutiutza (daca pot sa-i spun asa) nu are ventilator, are racire pasiva, un mare radiator pe chip-ul principal, mai multe detalii/poze aici: MaddHat.com functionalitate meniul playerului este unul simplu, impartit pe categoriile specifice, film / muzica / poze / (setup), meniul raspunde bine la comenzile de pe telecomanda si are un efect de fade la intrare/iesire dintr-un folder sau play/stop pe fisierul multimedia. in modul list, sunt afisate pe ecran un nr. de 7 obiecte (foldere/fisiere), (11 obiecte la popcorn hour), daca ti apasat pe tasta jos de pe RC face scroll repede si nu incarca atunci cand treci in ecranul urmator (cum face popcorn hour, ~1.5 sec.), o alta chestie buna ar fi ca, in categoria de browsing… (video sa zicem) iti arata doar folderele ce contin materiale video, daca celelalte foldere de pe hdd/stick sunt goale sau nu contin material video, nu sunt afisate (un lucru f. bun, sa nu cauti de nebun prin foldere dupa fisiere), popcorn hour iti arata tot. playerul porneste cu "cursorul" pe modul browsing pictures (nu tine minte ce a vizualizat ultima data, nu permite setarea implicita a modului cum sa porneasca), nu e mare lucru, dai ^ ^ de pe RC si ai ajuns in modul browsing video, dar ca idee asa tot cam asa e si la popcorn hour. poate rula (in ordinea alfabetica [cred]) toate materialele video dintr-un folder, spre ex. daca ai 00001.mts si 00002.mts intr-un folder o sa ia automat 00002.mts dupa terminarea 00001.mts (asta este o setare sa faca play continuu). informatiile despre materialele redate sunt saracacioase, ex. la filme, la apasarea butonului option de pe RC nu iti spune decat timpul cat / din cat, o bara de progres si numele fisierului (nu ai info despre codec (a/v), rezolutie, container, etc.) vestea buna este ca daca dai stop la un film in timp ce ruleaza, apoi play te intreaba daca vrei sa reia de unde a ramas, poti inchide playerul de pe RC ca tot retine ~unde a ramas. vestea proasta e ca nu are posibilitatea de jump to (sa ii scri tu ora:min:sec.), ca sa derulezi pana la jumatatea filmului (spre ex.) dai FF nu conteaza cu cat x si apesi pe next, o sa sara 10 min. inainte, popcorn hour are functia jump to, dar nu are history (am inteles ca s-a implementat la nu stiu care dintre modele (A-100/A-110) posibilitaea sa bagi filmul la "favorites" cu history de 10 fisiere video. wd hd isi face pe hdd/stick un folder ".wd_tv" ce contine o baza de date "ph.db" de mici dimensiuni… cu info despre history/favorites, sau o alta baza de date in caz ca folosesti playerul cu optiunea (default) de media library ce iti da posibilitatea sa cauti un fisier sau informatii dintr-un fisier anume in baza de date (vezi search pe RC). telecomanda (RC), contine 17 butoane, ~minimul necesar, dpmdv lipsesc 2 butoane… cel de schimbat subtitrarea si partea audio (acest lucru se face din meniul option (buton pe RC), RC-ul de la popcorn hour (A-100) cotine 50 de butoane cam incarcata. butoanele de stop / play nu sunt amplasate f. ergonomic (nici la popcorn hour), sagetile (sus/jos/stanga/dreapta) nu sunt functionale decat in meniuri, adica nu au si alte functii in timp ce rulezi un material audio/video/imagini. http://www.onlybestrated.com/images/a-100_remote.gif http://maddhat.com/wp-content/upload…/wd_remote.png partea video filmele se vad bine chiar si pe display-ul meu SD, se observa diferenta dintre un DivX (avi SD) si un mkv HD, logic, nu ? am observat ceva artefacte la un film (ca si cum ar fi fost filmul corupt la key-frame-uri), s-a rezolvat dupa update-ul de firmware la v1.01 pt. cine nu stie ce formate video cunoaste aceasta cutiutza… .avi (DivX/XviD/MPEG4); .mpg/.mpeg (MPEG1/2); .mkv (H.264 si cele facute cu x264, evident); .mov (H.264); (DVD) .iso/.vob; .ts/.mts/.m2ts/.wmv, etc. gasiti o lista completa in link-urile de la final sau la producator pe site. ruleaza fara probleme* material 720p/1080p, atat (deja) clasicele .mkv-uri cat si BD RIPP-urile .m2ts. de FF maxim fara frameskip beneficiaza clasicele divx-uri si dvd-uri, la materialele HD apare frame skip incepand cu FF ~4x. nu stie de wmv cu video WMV1 / Windows Media Video V7 si audio WMA2 / Windows Media Audio V8 – 32 kbps, 32 kHz, stereo. stie de containerul .wmv dar nu stie sa decodeze acele formate video/audio nu stie de asf (idem cu ^^^) nu stie de audio WMA3 / Windows Media Audio 3 nu stie de audio Vorbis / A_VORBIS nu stie de ripp DTS, adica fisiere cu extensia .wav, probabil daca fac un iso o sa vada…sau doar in structura de DVD. la subtitrarea in romana de tip UTF-8 dintr-un .mkv, nu afisaza corect caracterele diacritice, practic sunt lipsa. subtitrarea este pusa corect in .mkv, cu charset ISO-8859-2 nu stie sa schimbe "pistele" video dintr-un container .m2ts (da’ cine oare stie ? astea sunt raritati, ce pretentii am si eu containerul .mts ruleaza smooth dar mai repede decat trebuie (parca ar fi viteza 2x), am doar un fisier mts, tre’ sa incerc mai multe exemple *ce probleme am avut cu anumite materiale video: merg mai rpd decat normal: The.Bourne.Ultimatum.2007.HDDVD.1080p.DTS.x264-CtrlHD.mkv Sample.La.Leggenda.del.pianista.sull’oceano.OAR.HDTV.720p.x264.aac.HDBRiSe.mkv o parte din materialele 1080p se vad cu mici defecte (niste macroblocuri pe ecran… la schimbare de key-frame si nu numai), cam aceasi pondere o are si popcorn hour, desi au fost 2 cazuri de material 1080p in care pe wd tv se vedea si pe popcorn hour aveam imagine neagra, dar el mergea (subtitrare, etc.) sau un caz de 1080p ce rula ok pe wd hd si pe popcorn hour apareau acele "defecte" pe ecran. ponderea este destul de maricutza, >20% din materialele 1080p au sanse sa ruleze cu descrierea de mai sus (cu firmware-ul prezent, v1.01) nu am intampinat probleme la mkv-uri 720p (a fost o exceptie ), desi am testat multe sample-uri l.e. popcorn hour avea firmware din august 2008 cand am facut comparatia, dupa ce am pus ultimul firmware au disparut 98% din problemele mentionate mai sus. extensia .vbs apare in lista fisierelor video (wtf ?!?) legat de subtitrarea la filme, vede atat subtitrari externe (langa fisierul cu film), subtitrari de tip .srt / .ssa / .aas, cat si subtitrari interne (embended) de acelasi tip (nu am verificat inca daca tine cont de font-uri, culoare, etc.), deci, daca ai un .mkv cu 2 sub interne si una externa, primeaza aia externa (adica o sa fie default), si poti schimba si din cele interne, total o sa vada 3 subtitrari). la fisierele de tip .srt, nu stie de tag-uri gen <b>linie de text</b> sau italic, etc. ramane sa verific cu .ssa pt. ca acolo sigur este inclus in standard (bold, italic, font, culoare, pozitionare, etc.) pt. moment (si sper sa fie pt. moment), nu stie de encoding-ul eastern europe pt. a afisa diacriticele sh si tz din lb romana. daca mkv-ul nu are subtitrare externa, si are doar interna (una sau mai multe), nu porneste default nici o subtitrare, trebuie sa te duci in option de pe RC si sa alegi subtitrarea care tre’. la subtitrare nu poti schimba: culoarea / pozitia / marginea / timpii de afisare (shiftarea in caz ca e decalata), popcorn hour stie. multa lume se intreaba de ce nu stie playerul de subtitrari de tip .sub, desi in specificatii apare acest lucru, pai stie dar cele ripp-uite de pe DVD, adica un fisier .idx ce contine informatii despre timpul de afisare, etc. si un fisier .sub (binar) cu poza corespunzatoare pt. fiecare linie (linii) de text afisate, din ce am inteles este vb. de .bmp monocrom. acest player nu stie de subtitrare de tip .sub cu informatia referitoare la frame-uri (cadre), popcorn hour ramane blocat cand pornesti un film cu subtitrare de tip .sub, si singurul remediu este sa-l scoti din priza
l.e. am pus ultimul firmware la popcorn hour s-a rezolvat problema cu .sub, acum stie sa o citeasca. continuare in post-ul urmator, limitare la 10000 char/post. __________________ Astept Core 3 Trio [...]
February 21st, 2009 at 2:32 am
[...] iar cea mai ieftina solutie existenta este un WD TV™ HD Media Player plus un hard disk estern pe USB : WD TV HD Media Player ( WDAVN00 ) MaddHat.com __________________ Galeria foto personala Oferta servicii foto [...]
February 28th, 2009 at 1:50 pm
[...] WD TV’nin diğer iç detay fotoları için MaddHat blogunu ziyaret edebilirsiniz. [...]
March 11th, 2009 at 3:12 am
[...] WD-TV kan virkelig afspille høj kvalitet. Fx. “1080p x264 mkv 30 Mbps”. Det er tekniksprog for “Fremragende Full HD-kvalitet”. Det lille HD-vidunder prises for sin formatunderstøttelse. Og den får gode anmeldelser. Eksperterne på recordere.dk diskuterer dimsen over, indtil videre, 16 sider. Masser af tips til begyndere ud i mediecentre. På dansk. [...]
April 9th, 2009 at 9:45 am
[...] Re: WD TV – USB – HDMI – control remoto Les dejo unas imagenes http://maddhat.com/?p=31 [...]
April 23rd, 2009 at 1:47 pm
[...] У многих могут возникнуть вопросы, зачем такое устройство если есть компьютер, который отлично справляется со схожими задачами? Ответ прост: для комфортного просмотра на LCD или PDP телевизоре, компьютер должен обладать не только мощным процессором, но и видеокартой с выходом HDMI или DVI с переходником HDMI. И желательно с выводом звука через тот же HDMI, иначе звук будет идти через акустику компьютера, что почти всегда не удобно, особенно если у вас есть ресивер с приличной акустикой. Прибавьте шум от работы системного блока и энергопотребление. Что там еще осталось ? Да, программное обеспечение (кодеки и проигрыватели) и работа драйверов видеокарты, которые по собственному опыту не всегда готовы работать со 100% надежностью. Поэтому, небольшое, мало потребляющие электричество, бесшумное устройство которое справляется с декодингом всего, что душа желает имеет все шансы быть востребованным. Мы лично проверили как работает WD HD TV player на разных форматах видео и остались очень довольны. Список поддерживаемых разрешений велик, вплоть до 1080p, субтитры с кириллицей отображались без проблем. Так же без проблемно переключались звуковые дорожки в HD. Цена устройства 195 уе. Больше информации на сайте WD:http://www.wdc.com/en/products/products.asp?driveid=572&language=en Тесты на maddhat.com и на the-gadgeteer.com 23.04.2009 (21:47) Темы: новости Архив [...]
June 9th, 2009 at 11:49 pm
[...] Enfin, je signale un test complet, qui date un peu, sur : http://www.planetenumerique.com . Ce dernier ne tient pas compte des récentes améliorations, mais il permet de se faire une bonne idée du produit. Vous pouvez également consulter le test de MaddHat . [...]
July 9th, 2009 at 12:42 pm
It’s true this is a very good player for the money though it does have buggy issues as many have reported. Too bad western digital has not released a firmware version yet to fix these problems. once they do this will be a hard to beat player since it can do ALMOST everything you would want it to do. Seems there are two types now: with and w/o hard drive. those with HDD like the Mediagate or Popcorn hour are a good choice. those w/o hard drives like the WD TV, IOMEGA Screenplay are good too but you have to attach some sort of external usb storage anyway. So choose wisely. If you are looking for something that may be better than the WD TV, search for this: “Mediagate MG-M2TV”. this is the newest player from Mediagate which can do everything the WD TV can but actually supports more formats like RMVB (real video) for many Asian videos. so this is one item i’m really looking forward to. hoping the reviews are good on this one.
August 4th, 2009 at 12:15 pm
[...] MadHat.com – offers a comprehensive review of the WD TV HD Media Player including results of playing back a variety of HD video formats including MKV wrapped H.264 encoded video with AC3/DTS audio and Blu-ray .m2ts files. FYI, the device does support DVD movie ISO (I’m guessing unencrypted). [...]
October 26th, 2009 at 5:47 pm
Hey guys i bought one myself but some mkv movies im not able to hear sound but able to watch picture.is there anything i can change or what do i have to do help please..email me with tip
thank you
chucky