Sunday, September 26, 2010
How to Install Firmware on your WDTV Media Player!
This is a Step-By-Step video guide for noobs on how to flash your WDTV with custom firmware. All of the software used is free and legal. I have put together a very well organized .zip file to go with this instructional video to make it as easy as possible. This Zip file includes EVERYTHING you will need to upgrade your WDTV (1st or 2nd generation) to B-Rad's custom firmware.
First you need to know if you have a 1st or 2nd generation unit. Read this post to figure it out:
What WDTV Do I Have?
Before you begin, you will need to download the appropriate zip file.
Here are the download links for both:
IF YOU HAVE A 1ST GENERATION UNIT, DOWNLOAD FROM HERE:
Download -> WDTV Gen 1 Software Pack
IF YOU HAVE A 2ND GENERATION UNIT, DOWNLOAD FROM HERE:
Download -> WDTV Gen 2 Software Pack
There is one difference when using the software pack for Generation 2, (other than different file names for some things), Ignore STEP 4 on the video, I already took care of it for you :)...
If you download the files, go through the video, and have any questions, feel free to leave a comment in here. I will do my best to respond to questions.
---WHAT NEXT?----
Now that you have your fancy new custom firmware installed, some of you may be asking, "What Next?" To that I ask... Have you ever been annoyed by the fact that your WDTV only has TWO usb ports? I sure have... One very easy to implement feature of your new firmware is its support for USB Hubs. I have a short, easy to read tutorial that talks about how to add one to your system so that you can plug in up to 8! total devices.
>>View the Next Tutorial - How to Add a USB Hub to Your WDTV.>>
If You Need to Revert to Factory Firmware, Read This: Restore Factory Firmware
------DISCLAIMER--------- i.e. the fine print :)
This is for either a FIRST GENERATION WDTV or a SECOND GENERATION WDTV (depending on which pack you are downloading). Not a WDTV Live or a WDTV Mini.
What we are doing today is upgrading the "firmware" on your WDTV box. Firmware is like semi-permanent software that runs or operates your hardware. Most electronic devices have firmware. Firmware can be used for different things, in the case of the WDTV, it is essentially the operating system for the device and the on-screen display. Whenever you upgrade or change the firmware of a device, your risk destroying the device. This is because firmware is stored on in a special "read-only" type of memory in the device. Whereas you can easily install and uninstall "soft"ware, firmware is a bit tougher to change. The process of installing new firmware to a device is called "flashing." What you need to know is that if you screw it up while it is installing or otherwise, it could make your device not work, in which case you have a nice looking paperweight. Suffice to say, it is always a bit nerve racking the first time you do a firmware upgrade on a device. However, if you are careful, you shouldn't have a problem. I have flashed the firmware on my device probably upwards of 20 times now without incident. As a final note, if everything works correctly, the process is reversible in that I have included a legitimate Western Digital firmware and instructions on how to "flash it back" to that.
-----END DISCLAIMER-----
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94 comments:
Hi Roman
First off; what a great site and just what a noob to all this needs - thanks for all the effort you've obviously put into this blog of yours!
Though new to all this WDTV stuff, I'd class myself as an intermediate user; I know a little bit about most PC stuff, but wouldn't say I was an 'expert' on anything!
However, I followed your guide to install custom FW on the WDTV and when it got to the copying/installing bit, I went to make a cup of tea coz as you said, it takes a while.
When I left, it was only at about 10%, but when I went back, it was showing as 'no signal' from the WDTV, the two white lights for Power and usb were lit up...but nothing was showing on the tv from the WDTV player!!
I left it for 30mins like this, but it was by now, obviously 'locked up' So I looked on the WD site about recovering borked FW upgrades and DL'd the official FW and copied the files onto a diff USB pen from the original one I'd used. I powered off the WDTV, and rebooted it with nothing plugged in. The WDTV splash screen appeared for a few secs - then a blank screen again. Powered off again, but this time booted up with the 'official' usb pen drive in place. This time, the new interface showed up and 'scanning usb drvice' appeared....but never changed, just kept scanning, and scanning!!
So I unplugged the power again, but this time I re-plugged in my WD My Passport drive with all my stuff on it. Again I got the 'scanning usb device' message - but this time after about 2-3mins, it finished the scan and I was presented with the new interface!
Phew! I thought it was 'a goner' tbh and when I checked the 'About' screen it showed v1.03. XXXXX I thought for a sec it hadn't flashed correctly as I was expecting to see v1.0.6.... but then realised I'd only changed the wdtv.ver file and the actual FW I'd flashed with WAS actually 1.03!
Anyway - that was my experience of following your tutorial - it might come in handy if someone else goes off to make a cuppa instead of watching what's going on :D
WOW.... I wonder what in the world happened. I am glad that you were able to save your device!
thanks for the thanks btw :)... I enjoy this stuff but BOY was it a headache to first get into. I am hoping to save some other folks the same pain...
A few questions...
Do you currently have the modded firmware installed or are you running the official Western Digital firmware?
If no, I would like to see if I can help you getting it up and running (as long as you still have the nerve to mess with it at this point :)...lol)
I thought I nuked my device once because I walked away during a firmware update and came back quite some time later and it hadn't made any progress. I believe it eventually "un-stuck" itself and all was well but that only ever happened to me once.
A few more questions...
ARE YOU ABSOLUTELY CERTAIN you got the right modded firmware for your device? If you have a 2nd generation device and tried to install the 1st generation modded firmware or vice versa that could possibly cause the problems you experienced.
IF YES....
Did you format your flash drive to fat32 before starting. If you are installing from a Hard Drive that is NTFS it probably should still work, but general rule of thumb is to use a portable flash drive thats if formatted to fat32.
Finally, if the power kicked off (or you have an adventurous cat in the house... (like us)...) at some point in the middle of the update and came back on, that could possibly cause the problem as well.
That is all I can really come up with as to what could possibly be the problem?
Tell me what your situation is and perhaps we can move forward from there.
Cheers,
Roman!
Hi Roman,
I've followed this tutorial for a 2nd gen device but I don't think it's working properly. The device reported that the firmware installed properly but after I completed step 6 I'm still being prompted that there is new firmware.
I now have a weird interface and everytime I try to run something e.g. movie sheets it doesn't seem to be working which leads me to believe that the update hasn't worked properly.
Do you have any ideas?
It sounds to me like you didn't copy wdtv.ver file from the "Step 6" folder onto your drive once you were done with everything else (for the firmware upgrade). This will cause the WDTV to tell you that you still need to upgrade even though your firmware has changed. The "wdtv.ver" file from the "STEP 6" folder needs to be copied back onto your drive, overwriting the .ver file that is currently on there. Do that and tell me if it fixes that problem.
As to your OSD issues, I will need some more explanation as to exactly what is going on/what you are seeing. Did you go through the movie sheets tutorial as well?
I don't have a Gen2, but other folks that have used it for their Gen 2's have told me that everything worked fine. We should be able to get you up and running :)....
Cheers and happy new year,
Roman
Edit... "wdtvhd.ver" file
HI Roman,
Thanks for the reply, I completed step 6 by copying over wdtvhd.ver but I still get promted to install the new firmware.
Regarding my OSD I know longer have the default interface that's shown in your tutorial but rather a simpler interface designed by lilibabe.
Finally I followed the movie sheets tutorial but couldn't get it to work which lead me to believe that maybe it was because the firmware installation didn't work properly.
Is there a sure fire way to confirm that the custom firmware has installed properly on gen2? When I go to about I see that the version is 1.01.77 and there is a logo that says "OSD MOD designed by lilibabe".
Thanks again and happy new year to you to!
Hi Roman,
Sorry missed your previous post, edited the file and now I'm no longer prompted that there is new firmware :)
However the rest of my post still applies.
I would say that the firmware is Definitely installed. :)...
I am not quite sure why movie sheets aren't working... Are you at least getting the thumbnails? (be sure that you are viewing your video collection in "thumbnail" mode and not "list" mode, look at video settings...)
I am not sure if movie sheets will work with a 2nd Gen unit or not?
Funnily enough (and perhaps irrelevant) my movie sheets are currently not working on my device, but I have mucked about with my thumbdrive quite a bit recently (messing with installing a webserver) and probably inadvertently deleted something I needed... :)....
If "thumbnail" mode is turned on and it still isn't working.... I would suggest wiping out your drive and starting over again from the beginning of the MovieSheets tutorial. You don't need to keep any files on the drive for the custom firmware to keep on working. You only need to have the files on the drive for the OSD and movie sheets. Also, make sure your thumbdrive is formatted to FAT32... not NTFS...
If all of that doesn't work... it might be that this particular movie sheets app pack won't work on a gen2 unit :(...
Good luck with it and tell me what you figure out (or don't figure out)...
Cheers,
Roman
Hi Roman,
Just letting you know that I have everything working e.g. networked device, streaming and movie sheets. I installed the following firmware from brads site: 1.01.77_B-RAD.CC_WDLXTV_G2-0.4.1.9-6 and all features pretty much came out of the box. There are newer versions of the wdlxtv g2 firmware but they didn't support the driver for d-link dwa-140 usb adapter out of the box.
Thanks again for your help, I got there in the end :)
Hey George,
ROCK ON!
Thanks for the heads up on the firmware version you are using. I will go to b-rads site and get the download and update it here so that everything will work for everyone else.
A few questions (if you don't mind answering)...
By "All features" do you mean things like file sharing (samba), usb hub (that comes out of the box with both versions)?
Are there any other features I should give people a heads up about?
Did you use a dwa-140 for your networking?
That's all the questions I've got. I am glad you were able to get it all working smoothly in the end. Isn't streaming nice :)
Cheers,
Roman
Roman,
Congrats for your blog. It's very useful for noobies like me.
I had ver. 1.04 v17 installed in my WDTV and decided to roll it back to ver. 1.03.49_V and hack into ver. 1.03.49_V-WDLXTV-Live-0.4.5.3,
I got the background running and thumbnails are bigger than 1.04 but can't get the moviesheets nor access to blocked contents on You Tube.
Is there any way to solve this?
Tks in advance.
laraujo
Hi Roman,
I haven't been able to explore everything but I can tell you that samba, usb hub, movie sheets and support for dwa-140 wireless adapter do come as part of this firmware :). I must agree that streaming is great, although I've noticed that even if the device is switched off my wireless adapter still flashes, I just have to make sure I pull the plug :)
Thanks again for all of your help, I will try and donate something soon.
@Luiz
Hey, thanks for your thoughts. Based on you response in sounds like you are using a WDTV-LIVE!...
All of my videos are made for the 1st or 2nd Generation WDTV HD (this is prior to the live). I only own an original (which I will now refer to as "vintage") 1st Gen WDTV, so I don't have much experience with the other devices.
All that being said, I am not sure if the movie sheets will work on your device or not. I am guess not if you haven't had any luck with them yet.
As far as getting locked content like Youtube running... I honestly also have no idea... I would check out here: http://www.wdtvforum.com/main/
I don't come up with any of this stuff on my own, I just make it easier for everyone else to have access to. I get most of my info from that Forum. They have a whole section devoted to the live, you may be able to find the answers there with some digging.
Good luck!
Roman
@George
Thanks for getting back with me!
So, support for the dwa-140 is built in now! No jacking around with extra app bins?! Sweet... No extra app bins for Samba or the movie sheets either? Very nice!
As far as your device flashing... That's because the only way to completely power down the WDTV is the pull the plug unfortunately. I wish they just put a physical power switch on the darn thing...
As always, I appreciate the donations :)
Cheers!
Roman
Hi Roman,
First of all, thx for all the great guide here.
Referring to step 6, after copied the wdtvhd.ver into the thumbdrive. Does it mean that the thumbdrive have to be plugged to the WDTV all the time.
TQ.
@afs
The short answer is "No"... your drive does not need to be plugged in at all times for the firmware to work...
BUT... (and this is a pretty big "but" no pun intended :)...)
If you use any other custom apps (which you probably will, why else install custom firmware?) you will most likely want to keep them on this drive and THEY will require that you keep the drive plugged in to work. My OSD mod is a good example of this, if you want to use the OSD mod, you have to keep your drive plugged in.
However, you don't have to leave the drive plugged in to have just the firmware... your WDTV will funcion fine without it.
If you are worried about not having enough ports, please see my post on adding a USB hub...
If you want more info on -what- exactly that wdtvhd.ver file is, I also wrote a post on that. The short answer is that if you don't copy that file back over in step 6, the WDTV will continue to ask you if you want to update your firmware everytime you start it up with the drive plugged in or plug the drive in while it is running. Read that page on this site for more detail.
Cheers,
Roman
Hi!Roman,
I have a 1st gen WDTV. I found your blog about custom firmware, and I tried to follow your step, but somehow I keep getting stuck from downloading your the wdtv-softwarepack.zip. When I tried to extrack it to my desktop just like what your step said, somehow the file is empty. Am I missing something here?
@ Arman
That is an odd problem to have? What version of windows are you running? Is this a home computer or a work computer? (It might be an administrative rights issue)
How big is the file when you download it?
How familiar are you with working with .zip files?
If you have full access rights on your computer and are running windows xp/vista/7 then my first recommendation would be to try to re-download the file. Then, if that doesn't fix it, try to use the free version of a program call "WinRAR" to open it up.
Fill me in on some of these things and perhaps I can offer some more help. Otherwise, I hope my suggestions fix the problem.
Good luck with it :)
Roman
Hi Roman,
I was having a similar problem as the previous poster. When saving the file to my desktop and then attempting to extract it, winrar, 7-zip or winzip said that the file was corrupted. Hence, I decided to just open the zip file instead of saving it and I was able to extract the file.
Victor
Hi Roman,
The software pack is no longer at Filedropper. Please help.
Thanks,
Kim
@ Caimin
thanks for the heads up, I will get the link fixed ASAP!
@ Caimin
Actually, I just checked the links and BOTH are still working just fine for me?
Is anyone else having this problem?
Thanks,
Roman
i can't download also...
@ Trigo (and anyone else reading through the comments)
As far as my computer goes, when I click on the links I am taken to the appropriate downloads page for the files. Is anyone else still having issues at this point?
I have never had any issues with the links myself so I am curious... If enough people complain, I will do some research and see if I can't find a few good places to post mirrors from...
Hello Roman I'm Marco and i'm writing from Rome very far away from you!
I'm interested in your tutorial to make the upgrade to my first generation WDTV I would try it, but I didn't found the section on how to get back to the old original firmware ... can you help?
Best regards
See you soon
@Mamelon (AKA Marco)
There isn't a section made :)... But I appreciate the thought. It is a fairly simple process to revert to the original firmware. I will make a quick "text only" tutorial and post it on here as my next project. Perhaps I will work on it this weekend :)...
I visited Rome in September of last year. Didn't go into the modern city but what I saw of "historical" Rome was amazing!
Cheers,
Roman
Hi Roman
I appriciate a lot your answer, ive follow all your guide step by step but on my 1st generation wdtv with your firmware LaurentG doesn' works as your guide....it could be my pendrive? ( an awful pen drive!!!) i dont know the reason.... could you help me again please?
@mamelon
If you are absolutely certain you have followed my videos EXACTLY, using the files I provide on this site and using the program I provide to format your pen drive... And Laurent-G still isn't working... Then "yes" your thumbdrive might be at fault. The only reason I know this is because another poster was tearing his hair out trying to figure out what he was doing wrong (couldn't get OSD mod to work, like you) and it fixed itself when he switched up to a new thumb drive properly formatted using the formatting tool I provide in one of the packages. So, perhaps this is your issue as well.
Please post back on here if you figure out what is wrong :), it might help someone else with similar issues.
Good luck with it, I hope it is an easy fix!
-Roman
Hello Roman I'm here again, because I can not understand where i am wrong following your tutorial.
So, I bought a new pendrive (Sandisk 4Gb), formatted with your software in fat32 (quick) and I put the firmware in it and, I think I've done everything up here as the rule says-
The Wd system now says my firmware is 1.03.01 wdlxtv 0.5.8.1 ... (but should not be the 1.06.01 as corrected with notepad ++?!)
I fix the problem as stated in step 6 and I moved to the second tutorial
In the same pendrive (that contain the fw of 1st tutorial, as i can see in your video) I entered what is contained in the "step1" folder
but even here I see that there are things that do not work.
In fact, I've inserted the pendrive in my wd and I Turned on the power (with my pendrive plugged in before),
but your lilibabe osd does not work for me (why?) the MediaLibrary is off, my HD is divided
as advice in folders and ive already work in with tvixie ( fantastic!!), the file laurentG.config is correct as I've read in your blog!!!
So everything is done as you suggest.....but there is something that stop all!!!
You've done a great work, please try to do a miracle for me and put myself on the right way.
I'd like to remeber you that my is 1st generation wdtv and it had the last 1.03.01 original firmware. It hasnt writte on dts ( so i suppose that is the 1st generation!!! like yours)
I do not think the problem is due to the fact that my files are. mkv!!!!
@mamelon - Let's see where to start... :)
First of all, sorry you are having such a royal headache! I have been there and understand the frustration...
Let's start with what is easy and work towards what is hard :)
1. mkv doesn't matter AT ALL... The format of your video files has nothing to do with whether or not the OSD Mod (Lilibabe) will work.
2. Your firmware is displaying the correct version. What we put in that wdtv.ver file (1.06.01) and what version actually installs ARE NOT related. I know... this seems odd but there is good reason for it. I did a whole post on the *.ver file... Read these pages on my site:
"what is the "wdtv.ver" file?"
http://romanstechhelp.blogspot.com/2010/10/q-what-is-ver-file-on-my-wdtv.html
AND
"what is the "wdtv.bin" file"
http://romanstechhelp.blogspot.com/2010/10/q-what-is-wdtvbin-file.html
Read those posts and it should clear up some confusion on that matter :)
3. All tutorials are done using the SAME pen drive... You were correct on this.
4. ONLY THE FILES from the tutorials should be on the pen drive. NO MEDIA, VIDEOS, MUSIC, PICS, etc... Just the stuff from my tutorials as shown in my tutorials.
5. You shouldn't have to mess with the LaurentG config file...
6. VERY SPECIFICALLY SPEAKING... Is the "OSD.bin" File (from my software pack) on the root (i.e. not in another folder, but directly on the drive) of the pen drive.
OK... IF everything checks out above and it isn't working... Try having JUST the pen drive plugged into your WDTV (Don't plug in the other external drive with your media) and then turn it on and see if you get the lilibabe screen.
IF YOU DON'T
Turn the unit back off, and try plugging the Pen drive in the other USB port on the device and then turn it on again and see if it comes up.
IF IT DOESN'T COME UP...
Post again on here and we can move forward from there. I will eventually just have you send me a screenshot of your drive (as shown in windows explorer) so that I can see the file structure. We can even try to do remote assistance if you are running Windows 7 at some point :)... I will do my best to try to help you out...
Look forward to hearing back from you soon :) hopefully with good news!
Cheers,
Roman
........ I can not believe I did the procedure at least 10 times,
I studied up to the bottom of your tutorial, I have read,
understood and translated everything you've written,
I have tried to be as clear as possible in my translate into English my thoughts,
we made ??many assumptions, but one thing I have probably misinterpreted,
I have always turned off by the remote my wd .... once inserted the pendrive with
the software to laurentG .... and I never thought (once off) to
disconnect the cable that feeds the wd .... then this evening after
having replaced all the procedure I had this thought and tac lilibabe osd appeared
Roman .... thanks for your Your patience and perseverance
... I do not know when, but "I will not forget your valuable" help.
Now my wife (....she's waiting a baby!!!) will be very happy she'll be able to see the movie comment...ahaha
best regards
You are great man....good luck for evrything
Marco from Rome :-)
@mamelon
LOL! Very sorry about the mix up! I do this stuff so often I didn't even think about the fact that you weren't unplugging the device but were just using the remote power button!
:).... Sometimes it is the simple things!
Glad you were able to get it fixed. Thanks for posting back and sharing what happened and having a laugh with me. I am sure you are not the first person to have made this mistake and I am sure your post will save someone else from doing the same thing.
Cheers and Congratulations on the baby :)
-Roman
Hello Roman, with pleasure I tell you that everything works perfectly, the only thing, unusual, is that to implement the operation of lilibabe osd mod every time I've to disconnect and reconnect the main power cable for, the rest .... I am very satisfied .
Thanks and see you soon hoping for a donation to you for the work done
Donations are very much appreciated :)... you would be the first lol
Download links arent working for me :(
@ Jason
Just checked, both links are working as far as I can tell
Which fw is in this link for the gen2? thnx
@ tibimakai
If you download from this link (up above):
Download -> WDTV Gen 2 Software Pack
That is the software pack for the 2nd gen unit. I noticed you are trying out wireless as well. Just so you know, I am not sure whether or not the other tutorials work on a Gen 2 unit. I have been told that the Movie Sheets tutorial does work. If you get the wireless to work, please do tell :)
I know that it's for the 2nd generation, but which one? 1.01.77/wdlxtv-g2-0.4.5.3?
the wireless won't work because I don't have the right DWA140. it looks like there are other versions of this adapter, not just the 2870 and 3070.
@ tibimakai
Let me take a look at the software pack and tell you what version of the G2 firmware it is.
Based on the .ver file that comes with the firmware it is: 1.01.77-ls. This may or may not be the latest Generation 2 firmware.
As far as other versions of the wireless adapter goes we are hitting on that in our other discussion :)...
I love that you took the time for folks like me to flash their old WD Live. I'm really interested in moviesheets only....just because I downloaded thumbgen, spent the day making them, and can't view them. Question 1 ~ If I follow your directions will I be able to view the moviesheets without additional installs? Question 2 ....where is a paypal link to donate? Thanks in advance. Brad
OK 2 more questions....why do I want to copy and replace (overwrite the file in step 6) and why doesn't blogspot like Chrome and force me to use IE? Brad
@ Anonymous (Brad)
Hey Brad, glad you found the site :)...
First of all, this isn't for the "live". It is only for the 1st Generation and 2nd Generation units. Make sure you have either a 1st or 2nd generation unit before proceeding. See this post: http://romanstechhelp.blogspot.com/2011/03/wdtv-product-line-up-and-how-to-tell.html
I only own a 1st generation Unit so I was only able to make tutorials for it in particular.
To Answer your other questions:
1. I have another tutorial on setting up movie sheets but I don't use thumbgen :(. I am not sure if the sheets you created will work with my tutorial or not? You may have to rename some files or tweak the settings file with the OSD mod I provide in that tutorial. I can walk you through this (with some more information from you) if you find out you have a 1st Generation unit and get the custom firmware flashed.
2. LOL - I just got rid of all my paypal donation links because no one has ever donated and I wanted to make my site more appealing. The paypal account is still there however! Just send money to my account at "roman2025@gmail.com" if you want to donate... Which BTW is much appreciated :) and you would be the first :)
3. That file you are overwriting in step 6 is the wdtv.ver file. I have made a detailed explanation of how this file works in another post: http://romanstechhelp.blogspot.com/2010/10/q-what-is-ver-file-on-my-wdtv.html
Short answer is that if you don't change it back the WDTV will keep prompting you to upgrade even though your unit is already flashed.
4. I am using Google Chrome right now as I write this without any problems? I have no idea why blogspot is forcing you to use Internet Explorer?? If you find out why though please tell me as it could make for an interesting/short article :)
Hope that answered all your questions!
Cheers,
Roman
Disabling extensions I was able to determine it was Ghostery - Version: 2.3.0 that was the culprit. Now using Chrome to view the site.
Thanks for your time and efforts.
Thanks for putting the paypal donate back on...now I can actually post "first" and not get banned! Have a great day!
I don't ban ppl for not donating :)???
If I did that I wouldn't have any comments but yours! lol
Anyhow, I appreciate the donation and will definitely try to help you get things figured out!
Cheers,
Roman
Hey Rom, do u hav a hack that can turn this device into a digital tv receiver to rceive FTA channels
@ Anonymous
If only! Unfortunately I don't though and I am not aware of any hacks out there that would do that. You would actually need a "digital tuner" wouldn't you?
Hi guys, I wonder if WD fill ever make any official firmware for WDTV newer than 1.03. I think they totaly forgot WDTV's prior to WDTV Live, as if they have never made them....
What I'd like to see are some more options like: title resizing, background changing, showing more picture thumbnails raws per screen, faster picture loading and NO MKV SOUND PROBLEMS! Roman please tell me what features do we get with your firmware 1.6. upgrade ?
Thank you ! Regards -d.
Hi Roman, I have just installed your firmware update to my Gen 1 WDTV. Installation was successful, Thank you. Couple of questions for you.
Every time i try and play one particular movie "MKV" file, 1st of all it doesnt play, fair enough but then after that, it doesnt want to play any other file until i reset "Factory Settings" which goes back to your original firmware update and its back to working properly. Very strange, do you think its the mkv file that knocks a certain setting out?
2nd Q, Just curious, what new features have i got now that ive installed your firmware update compared to the WD 1.0.3? Thanks. John.
@ Anonymous
Yes, WD really dropped the ball on supporting their older devices :(, probably decided that there wasn't a large enough user base...
I have posted or spoken elsewhere regarding updated features. You can always take a look at b-rad's website. Just google "b-rad's WDTV" and his page will come up. Look for the custom firmware for the WDTV 1st Generation, he has a list of cool stuff that you can do. Obviously my other tutorials are also things that you can only do using modded firmware.
Hope that answers your question :)
Cheers,
Roman
@ John,
Your MKV file problems are a bit odd? I have ran into issues where using a certain file would mess things up, but usually just a hard reset (yanking the power cord) would fix this issue.
In regards to new features, take a look at the rest of the tutorial list :)... You can do quite a bit with the modded firmware. As far as just, out-of-the-box features (so to speak) you can now use a USB hub and several models of "Wired" Ethernet Adapters (or so I have read elsewhere, I use wireless).
The firmware by itself doesn't afford a whole heck of a lot at first glance, but it allows you to do quite a bit more on top of it. Hence, see my other tutorials.
Cheers and happy modding :)
-Roman
Hi there hope you can help ive just hacked my first gen wdtv and i was hopping to change the move sheets but im having abit of difficulty with it ive followed your instructions to the letter i transfered over the files and pluged in the thumb drive but for some reason i can not get it to work ive turned the media libray on and tryed it and then turned it off and tryed it but still no sucess please help would very much like to change it to a better sheet
@ anonymous
If you have followed my instructions perfectly and are still having problems, try using a different thumb drive (less than 4gb) and make sure it is formatted to Fat16 (FAT32 might work, FAT might work, NTFS might even work but try to stick to FAT, FAT16, or FAT32). Many people have had issues due to bad thumbdrives.
Cheers,
Roman
Roman,
I am having a different problem than many people on here. I follow your instructions to letter. Once I have all the files on the USB Flash drive i think plug it into my WDTV and let it scan. Once it finished scanning it finds the update and I hit ok. On the next screen all the info checks out and then I select ok again. My WDTV reboots. The WDTV starts up and shows the loading screen after that it blinks and goes to a screen of TV snow.... yes TV snow. It just stays like that and I am pretty sure at this point it is frozen. Can you help?
SNOW! Seriously?? And you are sure the "TV SNOW" signal is coming from the WDTV??
I have never heard of this problem and honestly wouldn't know where to start?
Are you sure you have a 1st or 2nd Generation device? That is usually an appropriate starting point for diagnosing issues :)
I wish I could be of more help right off the bat but this is a totally new problem!
Cheers and good luck,
Roman
thank you,got my 1st gen WD back from black screen.
Hi Roman,
I've followed the steps in your tutorial and for some reason my WD TV Live is not displaying the firmware in the USB drive...any clues??
Never mind my previous post...I got it working!!
Keep up the great work!
Is the GEN1 software pak corrupted? I keep getting unexpected end of archive error when I try to download it. Thanks
The download worked fine for me?
Hey roman when did you download it? Is this an error with my computer or something?
Sorry guys I got it. I had to go to another computer. Thanks
what Firmware is used for WDTV Mini Media Player???
@ Shadowmaker
I have no idea :), you will have to google it. I don't think there has been much outside development done for the device.
ok thanx!
can u update the files for gen 2 please when i extract theres no file in the step 1 folder
Please upload generation 1 software including instruction because when i downloaded it is not complete with steps,Cheers
ROMAN!
Totally appreciate your videos and tutorials on installing CFW (Custom Firmware) on the WDTV. I'm currently looking at physically adding a power switch to the WDTV Gen1 Unit, shouldn't be too hard for those who can hold a steady solder iron, but I will definitely post pics and tutorials. Like yourself, I don't see why WD didn't put one on the unit, seeing as how HOT it gets when powered OFF. Now with the CFW, it will keep my HDs spinning which is never a good idea, seeing as how sensitive they are when they are bumped/moved around.
Thanks again for all the help!
I have wdtv gen 1 and was trying to get it to play mkv files with dtt converted through mui...Odd thing happened and now almost all MKV files freeze my video on black screen and wont play other videos either until repower reset...Help please? thx arizonamatt1@yahoo.com
I meant DTS not dtt
Hi Roman
I installed the custom firmware with success but I have problems with a new thumbnail I copied into a folder on my external HD movie folder. The rest of my thumbnails display properly except the new one I copied. The movie for that thumbnail plays okay just the thumbnail not displaying
Can you help?
Hi,i hope that you can help me..I have a wdtv g(wdooavn-oo) player with problems..before i upgrade with custom firmware i did not had any bugs..i downgraded to 1.03 but the problems didn'tgo away.ex :a play an mp4,then i want to watch a mkv,wdtv stuck on a black screen,i pres back on the mp4 to play but nothing,it stucks on blck screen..what should i do now..i tried again with WDTV-SoftwarePack from site..but again this problems persist...i downgraded again..but nothing..Before all of these my wdtv work't fine with 1.01 firmware,i upgraded to 1.03 from http://www.wdc.com and then with custom firmware from http://romanstechhelp.blogspot.com/2010/09/buy-me-drink.html..how can i go back to that?Soryy my language is funny..i hope that you can help me..i dodn't know what can i do..
thanks for the post. is there any way that i can do auto install the firmware, ie once i insert the use i like the player auto install the firmware instead of me going to setting and install the firmware. the reason being i lost my remote so wanted to install custom firmware and wanted to make use of eiri to mode the IR keys?
@ Anonymous (Nov 8,2011, 11.42am) - this is a WDTV bug which occurs when it does not like a particular file format. Only answer is to disconnect power for a few seconds. Do not retry the problem file as the same thing will happen...
Hey, do u have a hack for WDTV Mini?
Greetings, y cant download WDTV Gen 1 Software Pack, dont show the button to download, can you fix please
Hi Roman. great blog. I cant believe i just found out about modding my wdtv gen 2, I had no idea! I followed your instructions, all well explained. When I installed the firmware the WDTV unit reset and then froze on the first logo screen. Seems I am not the only person this happened to but I couldnt find a answer. Anyway I managed to fix it so if anyone has this problem you can see my bodge fix here http://wdtvforum.com/main/index.php?topic=8631.0 and maybe it works for you, worth a shot. If not Romans restore guide does the trick so no need to panic. One thing I would like to know Roman. I cannot find anywhere what all this custom firmware does! Please explain in layman's terms for me what my new modded firmware now allows me to do. Sorry for being a dunce!
Hi Roman!
Please upload the WDTV Gen 1 Software Pack!
Thank you
Cant download the Gen 1 sw pack. Please upload it to alternate site. I tried with gen 2 pack but my wdtv doesnt detect the new firmware
H?i Roman
I just got the WDTV Live Media Player (p/n WDBAAP0000NBK) with factory firmware version 1.06.15_v ..I notice part number on the menu of tv for box is WDAAP0000NBK..When i put your files on 1 gig usb drive it does not recognise..Nothing happens..Any help please
Hi Roman,
I need Software Pack for WD gen1.
I cannot download it, please can you update the link?
thanks.
non working gen 1 link...can you update please
Hello Roman, Great post and great site.
I'm having problems actually installing the hacked firmware, I have followed all steps and have copied the 2 files already included in the file I downloaded "WDTV-SoftwarePack-Gen2" step 3 files. I confirmed that the USB Key also a SanDisk Cruise was formatted as FAT32. My problem is that my WDTV Live HD never actually auto detects the firmware so it never loads. Saying this I guessing its a Gen 2 from your Product Line Identification blog page. Although I don't see my model listed which is a "WDAAP0000NBK" it does have an ethernet port, 2 USB ports and the sides are grey in colour, it also decodes DTS ect, so I assume its a Gen 2. My current firmware is "1.06.15_V" from WD site.
Can you please advise if you have heard of anyone else with the same issues and if you have any ideas.
Regards Alex
Sorry I don't have a Google account and don't recognize the other options and published this link as Anonymous. Please contact me on email provided below.
light2au@yahoo.com.au
link for WD gen 1 is dead...please update!
Great job btw
Hi Roman,
is ther a way to put Netflix on WDTV Live Media Player (not the Plus....)
many thanks
Does anyone have a good link for the Gen 1 files? The File Dropper location looks like it wants you to sign up to access??
Is Roman still monitoring/supporting this WDTV blog site? Have not seen any responses from him in over a year.
love to have that gen 1 file set, link still dead
Pleaaaase update!!
Anyone got the goods for this!?
I want to Make my WD TV networked with a wired connection but with using a USB hub I want to add a 1TB WD Passport drive and use the whole thing as a NAS - including uTorrent
I'm desparate!
Its kinda sad that people that actually downloaded the gen 1 files cant be bothered to upload them somewhere
Download link ??
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