Port XBMC to run on the WD TV Media Player (Western Digital WDTV)?
#31
I will be testing tonight to run XBMC on my Vista premium (server) desktop (as I got it already working with TVersity and Twonky) and my WDTV (client) connected to the network via Upnp.

Because the WDTV can't handle the XBMC script itself.

This is my setup:

Unofficial WDTV firmware from B-rad.cc: WDLXTV 0.5.6.1
http://b-rad.cc/wdlxtv
WDTV essential Application: B-rad.cc Upnp (0.2.2)
http://b-rad.cc/326/wdlxtv-app-pack-upnp-djmount
Other WDTV Applications: Weather&RSS (webserver addons 0.2), Apple Trailers (0.3.3.1beta), YouTube (r249), Shoutcast (no audio)

My hardware specs:
Windows Vista Home Premium desktop pc
WDTV
Wireless USB stick: Linksys wusb600n with WPA2 (ralink rt2870) plugged in the WDTV
USB Stick: 16GB Sony stick plugged in the WDTV
W. Router: Linksys (Cisco) WRT160N router
10240 kbps / ADSL2+ 10Mbps (according to speedtest.net / speedtest.bbned.nl)
------------

I will let you guys know what is or isn't working on the XBMC this weekend.

I already tested with TVersity which didn't play 720p (audio problem). I also tested Twonky which did work with 720p over network but isn't free to use.
See my result here on that test: http://www.twonkyforum.com/viewtopic.php?f=12&t=6805
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#32
I have tried XBMC today and yesterday for a while with the setup as described in my previous post.

These are my experiences with the program.
First of all I'll have to say that the shortcut in the Windows Vista Start menu and in the quick program launch in the Windows taskbar both gave errors when used to start the program. However using the file directly from Program files>XBMC.exe did work nicely and I could create a shortcut within my quick start without any problem. Pretty weird shortcut error. But anyway back to the experience with the software itself.

Videos I have tested (via WDTV > Video > Upnp > My video files > folder(s) chosen on XBMC):
480 and lower - works nicely. Play/Pause works almost directly. Rwd/FFwd 4/8/16 works but slower then when used on usb stick ofcourse.
720p - plays correct audio/video op movie/series. Rwd/FFwd 4/8/16 works very slow. When used speed 16 it skips 1 minute (if you wait long enough)
I also tried to use YouTube and other video plugins that I have installed in Program files/XBMC/plugins/video however they only show up as folders. I think the plugins only work on a XBOX. But I'm still searching the web to read more. If anyone can help out please say so. Should I be able to get e.g. this plugin running and watch 123video.nl both via my desktop pc and WDTV?

Audio tested:
mp3 - files play but takes a bit long to hear sound and see the screen where you can see artist/track/cover.
also I wasn't able to go to next song. I could only ffwd and rewind in the track.

Photos tested:
.jpg - images show however 1.5MB> pictures show up very slow. Also previous/next image doesn't respond
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#33
The new Western Digital - WD TV Live has ethernet!!!

$120
http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage.jsp?...8121172453
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#34
migueld Wrote:The new Western Digital - WD TV Live has ethernet!!!

$120
http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage.jsp?...8121172453

Yes that is indeed great news. I know there is now another WDTV Live which has network support and YouTube, Pandora (us only) and Flickr connections build in.

However this topic is for users with the 'old' WDTV with no standard network connection which are using XBMC. I'm still using it and are very enthousiastic about it. I can play 720p files over wireless network from my Vista pc to my WDTV. Smile
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#35
http://www.bestbuy.com/site/Western+Digi..._desc=null

WDTV Live Plus HD Media Player Supports wireless network connection to your home network with an optional USB wireless adapter (not included).
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#36
Since WD TV has the best price point / features - Is it possible to hack it to have xbmc?
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#37
no
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#38
XBMC is the BMW/Lexus/etc of media playback software- it costs more, but the experience can't be beat...

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#39
nice price point, eh? you get what you pay for
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#40
vskatusa Wrote:Since WD TV has the best price point / features - Is it possible to hack it to have xbmc?

If it has the best features, why do you need XBMC?
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#41
I believe he meant best price/feature ratio among its peers (cheapy sigma based streamers). I doubt he was comparing its feature set in any way to xbmc.
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#42
wdtv can't play 1080 without stuttering, i.e. planet earth with any bgird scenes
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#43
poofyhairguy Wrote:XBMC is the BMW/Lexus/etc of media playback software- it costs more, but the experience can't be beat...

That's a good one. With my luxury car I get in and turn the key and the car operates perfectly without any extra effort on my part.

While XBMC is very good, it does not nearly have the ease of use, especially in the HTPC realm, to qualify as a luxo-premium product.

The fact that I can't go out and buy a PC and get good performance, including lossless audio streaming with the XBMC Live image, without tweaking drivers, settings, infrared controlsets, etc, makes your comparison a bit laughable.
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#44
Judging XBMC just because XBMC Live is kinda difficult sometimes is ridiculous. Almost every decent nettop comes with Windows 7. You can go and buy any Windows 7 ION system and a cheap Windows Media remote, install XBMC on there and enjoy everything you said really easily. HDMI audio works (even lossless PCM streaming), with one very easy to install pluggin the remote works, 1080p playback works, and most of the settings are on reasonable defaults. Now I will admit it is harder to use XBMC off the bat than other media centers due to its vast flexibility, but reading the directions is kinda normal for the high end.

My mom got a new BMW last week and the car has literally ten times as many buttons as her last car had. She had to read the manual over the last week just to be able to do stuff that she easily did in her last car. Does her BMW's complexity means that it is not "luxo-premium?" No way!

Do a lot of us make it harder? Yes. XBMC gives the flexibility for geeks like me to use Linux to make XBMC appliances. That route isn't easy, but for some the results are worth it.

For the vast majority of XBMC users who are just using Windows, XBMC is no more difficult to deal with than your average program. Sometimes the hardware popular for XBMC has limitions (like the fact ION systems can't bitstream HD audio) but that is not XBMC's fault. I don't know a single person after using my XBMC setup that would prefer a WD Live instead. Sure I had to work to get there, but the results beat out anything I can buy in a store. And me going that route was completely optional to me- I could have stuck with Windows 7 and got similar and still better than WD Live results...

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#45
Windows 7, ick. Smile
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Port XBMC to run on the WD TV Media Player (Western Digital WDTV)?0