WD TV HD Media Player

[IPopov50]

I have the LG BD570 player so i could just make the blu-rays to mkv and play them directly from a usb hard drive with little differance?

If your player can take external HDD on USB and play from it, you are good to go

Can u make large uncompressed mkv files?

Yes you can using "mkv.remux" profile

[hanibal]

Specifications

* HDMI Output: Up to 1080p (24 & 60Hz)
* Disc Playback Capability: Blu-ray Disc, BD-R/RE, DVD, DVD±R/RW, Audio CD, CD-R/RW
* Video Content Format: DivX®/DivX HD, MPEG4 AVC, HP@L4.1, MPEG2, HP@ML, SMPTE VC1, AP@L3, MPEG2, HP@ML, AVCHD, MKV
* Home Link Playable Content Format: DivX®/DivX HD, MPEG2 TS/PS, MPEG1 SS, XVID, MKV, AVI, WMA, MP3, AC3, AAC, JPEG, PNG
* Supported Audio Standards : MP3, WMA, WAV
* Built-in Audio Decoders : Linear PCM, Dolby Digital Plus, Dolby TrueHD, DTS-HD Master Audio, DTS Decoder
* Digital/Analog Conversion: 192KHz/24bit
* WiFi® Certified: 802.11b/g/n (2.4GHz band only)
* Dimensions: 16.9"W x 1.7"H x 8.0"D
* Weight: 4.4 lbs
* Power Consumption: 20W

[GregiBoy]

We don't know. Post the specs of the player. Yes you can.

[hanibal]

I have the LG BD570 player so i could just make the blu-rays to mkv and play them directly from a usb hard drive with little differance? Can u make large uncompressed mkv files?

[BlackDog]

media player list

Afte some debte with some of the moderators earlier about quality, I have been looking at going this route as well. I figure that as long as 25g blanks are more xpensive than $3, HDD space is going to be less expensive.

As far as I could find there are only 5 or 6 Media Players that will play Blu-Rays rips with full menu's, which is what I a looking for. Here is the list I was able to find. Though the Argosy player didnt make the list (not full menus?).

http://www.iboum.com/net-media-players.php?sort=sortprice&chip=&pfilt=&hdd=&net=&fan=&lcd=&dts=&dtsp=&dolbt=&dolbtp=&dtsma=&dtsmap=&year=&ppp=40&bd=yesfull&dvd=&netflix=&dvbt=&pg=1&rp=bdfull

[GregiBoy]

Yes, that is what I have read also. Basically, BluRay, no menus EVER !!!

[wapitikev]

There was a post awhile ago on the WD forums that BR Menus would never be available because the WDTV did not and will not support Java.

You may be in the same situation.

MKV is the way..... Still no menus though.

True...I also read somewhere that even if you use Blu- to ISO there are still no menus.

-Wapitikev

[GregiBoy]

There was a post awhile ago on the WD forums that BR Menus would never be available because the WDTV did not and will not support Java.

You may be in the same situation.

MKV is the way..... Still no menus though.

[wapitikev]

Turns out I don't have any Blu-disc rips languishing on any hard disks...it'll take a while to make one (my Blu-disc rig is busy encoding Paranormal Activity at the moment).

I'll report back when I've tried it.

-Wapitikev

Unfortunately, it appears that the Free Agent Theatre HD + (FAT+) will not play Blu-disc menus directly off a hard drive (but either does the WDLive)...perhaps a future firmware update. BUT the FAT+ does play the Blu-disc .m2ts files (sound and subtitles are there). However, if the disc does not happen to have the entire feature in one .m2ts file then finding the next file after the first one finishes can be frustrating.

Although I've never tried it (hmmmn...something to do tomorrow), I believe that encoding to a container (like MKV) using passthrough should solve the latter problem.

-Wapitikev

[GregiBoy]

As I have said innumerable times over the last eight years:-

Once you go the Media Player route, you never look back. No burning anything and the ability to access your entertainment library at the touch of a button is outstanding.

I know !!! I'm preaching to the converted !!!

[wapitikev]

The FreeAgent Theatre HD + will play the DVD ripped straight to a hard disk just like a player plays the real disc (just tried it on The Matrix). Navigate to the folder with the IFO files and start the first IFO...the main DVD menu then comes up and you can navigate (and play the movie or special features) just like the DVD.

Now off to try a BluDisc HD rip.

-Wapitikev

Turns out I don't have any Blu-disc rips languishing on any hard disks...it'll take a while to make one (my Blu-disc rig is busy encoding Paranormal Activity at the moment).

I'll report back when I've tried it.

-Wapitikev

[wapitikev]

I'm going to reply to my own question, in case anyone else has the same....

Previously I was unable to download the Argosy user manual from the taiwan url that rithmetic quoted. However, I found their american site, and the manual here:

http://www.argosyusa.com/download.shtml?DefaultTab=0

So the answer: According to my understanding of the manual, loading on a complete dvd folder, finding it through the menu and playing seems perfectly viable.

The FreeAgent Theatre HD + will play the DVD ripped straight to a hard disk just like a player plays the real disc (just tried it on The Matrix). Navigate to the folder with the IFO files and start the first IFO...the main DVD menu then comes up and you can navigate (and play the movie or special features) just like the DVD.

Now off to try a BluDisc HD rip.

-Wapitikev

[wapitikev]

Looked at a lot of reviews and talked to a local DVDFab devotee in my home city who has a WD & a FreeAgent Theatre HD + and decided to go with the FreeAgent.

It loves the HD audio in my BluDisc-MKV conversions...never had a single one with audio lag (yet).

FreeAgent just put out the GoFlex TV HD Media Player (for $120CAD) which has the identical guts and connections that the FreeAgent Theatre HD + has (the Theatre HD + was about $50 more).

I love it.

-Wapitikev

[Doug in Toronto]

I'm going to reply to my own question, in case anyone else has the same....

Previously I was unable to download the Argosy user manual from the taiwan url that rithmetic quoted. However, I found their american site, and the manual here:

http://www.argosyusa.com/download.shtml?DefaultTab=0

So the answer: According to my understanding of the manual, loading on a complete dvd folder, finding it through the menu and playing seems perfectly viable.

[Doug in Toronto]

Hey guys, thanks for all the information you've posted here. This has been a hard issue for me to get my head around and you've been a big help. That first "back to basics" post by ipopov50 was an eye opener.

Several posts back, "starlighterone" asked about playing rips generated by DVDFab using DVD to DVD copy. That system creates not one, but a series of .VOB files, just as on the original DVD. Can you help me by telling me if those are considered a container, that might be played on the Argosy? Or to play, do you have to go to a BlueRay version of DVD Fab and reduce them to a single file like mkv

I know the Argosy website indicates that it accepts DVD, but ipopov50 mentioned that the files have to be containerized - I thought that implies a single file, whether mkv or divx or whatever. So I'm confused.

Thanks - and apologies for drawing your discussion down to a more rudimentary level.

@rithmetic - I'm sure looking forward to your streaming review!