Ummm....A4 chip vs. Atom chip, maybe? Software isn't _nearly_ the only difference between the two.
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WDTV Live Streaming box = Holy Grail (LAN Playback + Web Services)
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Ummm....A4 chip vs. Atom chip, maybe? Software isn't _nearly_ the only difference between the two.
True. My fault, I thought you were saying you ran Boxee on the same system and did not have issues. Did not realize it was another unit.
brownstone
Golden Member
I'm almost convinced to try this unit out. Also, it appears that it is now $90!
I just got the WDTV Live Streaming (2011) version. I'm not happy. It's slower than the AppleTV + XBMC, and I'm not able to get it to see my Windows shares (but my PBO, AppleTV + XBMC, and Boxee Box all see the Windows shares perfectly). It will see my Windows media streaming software (PS3 MS) and can stream from that, with quality losses; I want simple SMB sharing.
I suspect unless I can find a workaround this is going back. I'm disappointed with it.
So far best is still Boxee Box and AppleTV2 + XBMC.
I suspect unless I can find a workaround this is going back. I'm disappointed with it.
So far best is still Boxee Box and AppleTV2 + XBMC.
Kaido
Elite Member & Kitchen Overlord
Mine shares from SMB; did you update the firmware? (twice for me) Also, what quality loss are you noticing? edit: oh, using transcoding software, right. missed the MS part 😉 Yeah, set that puppy up for direct streaming!
Was very disappointed in the Boxee Box, personally. The desktop software is far better imo.
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I just bought one a few weeks ago and I have no problem accessing my shares either. In fact, that's the strongest point of this unit IMO. Didn't mess with firmware updates either.
It will access my Windows box via NFS, so I installed NFS and did that (SMB's not working at all - very annoying). However, it doesn't display the show information nearly as intelligently and completely as XBMC and Boxee Box do, so unless I can find a solution in a few days it's going back. For example, it will download the movie information, but I must enter the movie's folder to display all the information about it (Boxee Box and XBMC both abstract all folder bits and physical location information from the media library / browser). The TV shows I have have no information about the show, and if I turn on the TV Show View, it only shows me one show of the 75 shows total that my media library has.
I'm very, very unimpressed.
I'm very, very unimpressed.
Yes, Windows shares. I don't use media center.
I go through SAMBA, not NFS. As for movie info, couldn't you have researched this before you bought it?
Kaido
Elite Member & Kitchen Overlord
You may need to login to the Windows share. My buddy had the same problem late last night - his new WDTV wasn't seeing his files until he used his username and login. I have my FreeNAS SMB share set to anonymous on my primary share, so I didn't have to type anything in on my network and it picked it right up, but his primary share is a Windows machine, so he had to go that route.
Kaido
Elite Member & Kitchen Overlord
I don't think anything can touch XBMC's scrapers. They have pretty good technology for it. Even my old modded Xbox 1's do excellent scraping. However, I personally prefer to get artwork manually when I rip or record shows so that I can pick the cover I want, so that aspect doesn't bother me. You may want to check out page 190 of the PDF manual for adding custom sources via XML - it's not nearly as automatic as XBMC, unfortunately, but it seems that there is a lot of flexibility if you're interested in tinkering with it:
http://www.wdc.com/wdproducts/library/UM/ENG/4779-705062.pdf
However, XBMC on ATV2 sounds like a really good solution for your situation, so you may be better off just using that unless there's a specific web service you need. If I didn't use Hulu Plus and Vudu, I'd probably just stick with my modded ATV2, but I really like having all of the web services on my LAN streaming box, plus without any tinkering for an OOTB experience.
I think the only things I'm missed are MOG and Amazon, but I don't really use music on my TV, ah, ever, and I rarely use Amazon Prime for movies, so not a dealbreaker for me. The best combo I've ever used is Plex with a remote and keyboard/trackpad because I get LAN, Web, and Emulators, but having a dirt-simple playback box is really nice too.
I did. And everything I read said it had a good scraper, but it's clearly not up to the level of XBMC.
It's not as if the WWW is overrun with high-quality reviews of these boxes which give extensive information on the details I'm looking for. I read the review, far above, and grabbed one based on that.
The fact that it simply doesn't see my Windows 2008 SMB shares (but it does see the same server's NFS shares) is very puzzling. It sounds almost like a master browser issue; I'll look into it over the weekend if there's time.
How did your friend "use" his username and login? I click on "Windows" in the "Network" interface, and nothing ever appears. I click on "Unix" or the second choice and my NFS shares (on/from the same Windows server, mind you) shows up right away. Frustrating!
I looked at 190 and it shows some media library metasource business. Where's the XML file info?
Found it - p194. The entire point of scraping, though, is to automate this; I don't want to manually do this for each of the different technologies (XBMC, PBO, Boxee Box, WDTV Live Streaming...) that I own; that's crazy. Each should be able to automatically do all of this; manually is so 2008. 🙂
I bought a refurb Logitech Revue to do this sort of thing, as my htpc is getting a little long in the tooth and is getting louder and louder over the years. The Revue was a tremendous waste of money. I was shocked to find that I couldnt see local smb shares without buying an app. The native Youtube app was a joke when trying to view subscriptions, and you couldnt write comments. I expected better integration from Google. I'll give this WD a shot. Now I'll take just simple smb access so I can get rid of the htpc.
Based on my experiences I wouldn't bother; just grab an AppleTV2 and take 5 minutes to jailbreak it and slap XBMC v11 on there, or if that sort of thing bothers you, buy a Boxee Box.
I'm very disappointed in this entire experience with this device! I can get the files browser working great, but I had that with a Patriot Box Office 2 years ago!
What are you doing for a remote, or are you just using the Apple remote?
BTW, I was looking at a review of the WD and the person clicked Samba, but it took a sec to load. In fact the reviewer didnt notice it and did it again and then saw the smb servers right away. Once the smb server was selected, username/password showed up.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=awBXpQv3cAI#t=05m50s
The Apple remote is a deal breaker.
Well, I'll pick one up tonight and return it if it doesnt work out. I'd rather have the WD, as the interface seems alright, and apparently if you hook up a usb drive it can act as a rudimentary nas. I dont like that odd shape of the Boxee, and the ATV2 doesnt have the usb port or a decent remote.
Buy a Harmony remote of some sort; problem solved.
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