Two wdtv gen 1 questions - usb power options and avchd playback

[yoda313]

Hey there,

I have a gen 1 wdtv media player (it has the latest firmware as far as I know - it hasn't been updated recently I believe). I am finally going to use it more often on a second hand hdtv I have.

Question 1 - I thought usb hard drives were supposed to shut down when you turn off the wdtv media player? Mine did not. Do any wdtv models do this? This would be useful since I have to unplug the power cord to turn off my powered usb drive - an auto off would be nice.

Question 2 - I have a lot of videos in avchd mode on dvdrs. Can I simply copy the avchd disc to the usb harddrive? Will the gen 1 see the m2ts file in the stream folder? Or do I need to do something to a avchd disc to get the gen 1 to play it? I can play m2ts files from my hauppauge hd pvr just fine but I haven't tried a avchd folder.

Thanks for any answers here.

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I don't have any plans to buy a new one so I'm gonna live with it but I'd like to know these questions. Thanks.

[Case]

1/ I don't know about connected hard disks, but my WD TV still consumes power after using the Off button on the remote. Temperature of the unit keeps being quite high, until I actually unplug the power cord, then it cools down to room temperature. I'm thinking of using a power strip extension with an On/Off switch, just for the WD TV.

2/ My WD TV Live HD Media Player plays avchd .iso disk images from USB flash drive.

[jagabo]

Question 1 - I thought usb hard drives were supposed to shut down when you turn off the wdtv media player? Mine did not. Do any wdtv models do this?

Some USB drives support power switching via USB, some do not. The newer the drive the more likely it is to support that. My WDTV Live turns my USB drive off and on. It's possible that the original WDTV doesn't support this feature. You might check for firmware updates.

Question 2 - I have a lot of videos in avchd mode on dvdrs. Can I simply copy the avchd disc to the usb harddrive? Will the gen 1 see the m2ts file in the stream folder? Or do I need to do something to a avchd disc to get the gen 1 to play it? I can play m2ts files from my hauppauge hd pvr just fine but I haven't tried a avchd folder.

I'm not sure about the original WDTV but the WDTV Live can play BD ISO and folder rips. But it doesn't support the menus. It will only play the longest title it finds in the ISO/folder.

Regarding power usage, the WDTV live consumes about 4 watts in standby (ie, turned "off" by the remote control), 9 watts while playing HD video (not including any USB drives being powered by the device). If you leave the device sitting all year in standby you're talking about ~$5 in electrical usage.

[yoda313]

Temperature of the unit keeps being quite high,

I know the WII does the same thing. I hardly use it anymore so it remains unplugged until I want to use it.

My WD TV Live HD Media Player plays avchd .iso disk images from USB flash drive.

How do you make an iso image from a avchd disc? Does multiavchd or tsmuxer do this?

Some USB drives support power switching via USB, some do not. The newer the drive the more likely it is to support that.

Mines several years old so it may not. However the usb harddrive does have esata ports so its not THAT old. I'll have to double check the firmware again but I do believe it has the last update they made for the gen 1.

I'm not sure about the original WDTV but the WDTV Live can play BD ISO and folder rips. But it doesn't support the menus. It will only play the longest title it finds in the ISO/folder.

Assuming the gen 1 does by folder rips do you mean simply copying the avchd folder to the harddrive? That would be the absolutely easiest solution. I don't have many I want to copy but it would be great to avoid any reencoding at all (unless it's quick transcoding to a special container).

Menus aren't a biggie since most of my avchds have simple menus anyway. It does support avchd chapters though right?

Thanks everyone. I'll do some copying over the weekend from my avchd discs and find out. My mkv backups and m2ts files play just fine but I have yet to experiment with my avchd discs. As I mentioned I don't have another bluray player that I can use on the extra hdtv and this would be the only way to watch them in hd (well 720p at least for my downconversions).

[Case]

My WD TV Live HD Media Player plays avchd .iso disk images from USB flash drive.

How do you make an iso image from a avchd disc? Does multiavchd or tsmuxer do this?

The image files I played were created by someone else, but I was thinking of using a disc burning app (e.g. ImgBurn - create image file from files/folders) to create image files. I don't think these two tools you mention can create .iso files by themselves.

[yoda313]

My WD TV Live HD Media Player plays avchd .iso disk images from USB flash drive.

How do you make an iso image from a avchd disc? Does multiavchd or tsmuxer do this?

The image files I played were created by someone else, but I was thinking of using a disc burning app (e.g. ImgBurn - create image file from files/folders) to create image files. I don't think these two tools you mention can create .iso files by themselves.

Ok. I'll work on it sometime this weekend. No Lions game tomorrow since they played on Thanksgiving. Maybe then. I'll let you know what I find out.

[RabidDog]

You can get some nice remote switch off plugs from maplins (1 remote controls 3 power switches). Why not just copy the data off the discs onto a Hard disc (Much better than USB thumb drives) using windows drag n drop. And don't forget to check out the alt firmwares (B-rad), they support some stuff that the official ones do not eg usb hubs.

[MilesAhead]

Hey there,

I have a gen 1 wdtv media player (it has the latest firmware as far as I know - it hasn't been updated recently I believe). I am finally going to use it more often on a second hand hdtv I have.

Question 1 - I thought usb hard drives were supposed to shut down when you turn off the wdtv media player? Mine did not. Do any wdtv models do this? This would be useful since I have to unplug the power cord to turn off my powered usb drive - an auto off would be nice.

I have WD HDTV for USB gen 1 with the last available firmware update. Instead of external USB drives I use internal drives in a USB 2.0 docking station. After shutting off the WD box I push the button to power down the drive. A lot more convenient since I have USB 3.0 docking stations on my PCs. I can copy files onto the drives at full speed. Then when I want to play I just plug that drive into the dock connected to the WD box. Also since USB 3.0 has been out for awhile, they are selling USB 2.0 docks at bargain prices to unload them.

Question 2 - I have a lot of videos in avchd mode on dvdrs. Can I simply copy the avchd disc to the usb harddrive? Will the gen 1 see the m2ts file in the stream folder? Or do I need to do something to a avchd disc to get the gen 1 to play it? I can play m2ts files from my hauppauge hd pvr just fine but I haven't tried a avchd folder.

I just copy the .m2ts file from the main movie. The WD box seems to handle .m2ts much better than .mkv container. I just rename the .m2ts file to the name of the film. Unfortunately WD gen 1 box does not support PGS subtitles. But you can use tools to extract the subtitle PGS track you want, then use BDSup2Sub to export the subs as idx/sub pair of files. If you have the last firmware update for gen 1 player, it adds idx/sub support. Just name the .idx and .sub files to the same basename as the movie and the player will pick them up. Now I even convert .srt to idx/sub so I can make the font larger. I use AviAddXSubs to create external idx/sub pair from .srt input. The max settings for .srt subs in the player options are still too small for my taste. Also you can use AviAddXSubs to position the subs.

[yoda313]

thanks everyone.