Any luck playing 5D2 .MOV files on TV? WDTV? Other media players?

[David Koo]

Has anyone had any lucking using a WDTV Media Player to play their 5D Mark II .mov files on their TV? I know that the WDTV was previously playing the video fine but there was no audio. I did a search on the web, but I couldn't find out if that issue was fixed by a new firmware update. If the WDTV doesn't work, has anyone tried other media players? I know that I can transcode the audio, but I would prefer something that can play the RAW .mov files.

I'm tired of doing the whole transcoding, importing, editing, burning DVD thing for my home movies of my kids... Professional projects—no problem.

[Andree Markefors]

Well, as .mov is one of the few containers that WDTV doesn't support, I'm afraid you'd have to transcode to .mp4 or something.

Should be doable in QuickTime without rencoding the video by choosing "passthrough" for video in the encode settings.

I've been wanting to try this myself. If I get around to it I'll post back.

[Bill Binder]

I'm nearly certain that you can stream (probably more like progressively download, and it might even be transcoding on the fly, not sure) the original 5D2 .mov files from Tivo Desktop (Pro) to your Tivo via the Home Media Option. Of course, that only works if you have Tivo and the not-free version of Tivo Desktop, but I believe I tried it once and I could even start watching the file before it was completely transferred to the Tivo. I might add that despite how some people might poo-poo it, using Tivo Desktop, it's actually totally freakin' awesome. It's even able to transfer and play DIVX and XVID files!

[Keith Paisley]

Originally Posted by David Koo

Has anyone had any lucking using a WDTV Media Player to play their 5D Mark II .mov files on their TV? I know that the WDTV was previously playing the video fine but there was no audio. I did a search on the web, but I couldn't find out if that issue was fixed by a new firmware update. If the WDTV doesn't work, has anyone tried other media players? I know that I can transcode the audio, but I would prefer something that can play the RAW .mov files.

I'm tired of doing the whole transcoding, importing, editing, burning DVD thing for my home movies of my kids... Professional projects—no problem.

I have tried a few clips and can confirm that the WDTV Live plays 5D Mark II's footage flawlessly. I stream it over the network from a Mac. Audio works perfectly, too.

Edit: This is straight off the camera - the WDTV plays 5D MK II's native .mov file, no need to remux to MP4.

[David Koo]

Thanks for the info everybody...

Keith, I will definitely look into the WDTV live!

[Andrew Waite]

you say you can stream it, but can you play it locally off a USB device? I know the old WDTV you could not, but I heard the new LIVE version supports more audio codecs.

[Keith Paisley]

what is the difference? It is still playing the file, decoding the same bits.

But yes, to answer the question I have played it straight off the memory card via a card reader and the USB interface. It plays both the audio and video whether the storage is local or network attached.

[Dan Chung]

I can confirm this too, I got a WD Live a month back and it plays from memory card in a USB reader flawlessly.

Dan

[Tomaso Perrone]

Neither locally nor over the lan

[Rick Hill]

I have a WD Live and it does plays 5d files ok.

It does however frequently lock up and crash. Usually requiring a removal of power to fix it (turning off and on via remote is not good enough). Network connectivity is spotty.

I do not consider the WD Live a polished product yet. Maybe some future firmware upgrade will get it there but it's not there today.

[Keith Paisley]

Originally Posted by Rick Hill

I have a WD Live and it does plays 5d files ok.

It does however frequently lock up and crash. Usually requiring a removal of power to fix it (turning off and on via remote is not good enough). Network connectivity is spotty.

I do not consider the WD Live a polished product yet. Maybe some future firmware upgrade will get it there but it's not there today.

I wonder what the difference is between yours and mine. I have had mine since early November and I've played around with it quite a bit, and I don't recall it ever locking up or crashing. Mine is almost strictly used to connect to network attached shares. I don't use it to view raw 5D MK II footage very often but I do use the youtube player, pandora, and watch my library of DVD and HD-DVDs.

I'm not saying that it's perfect - there are a number of glitches that need to be addressed, and I expect them to be fixed (hopefully they won't brick half the population of WDTV Lives on their next try!), but for the $100 that I paid for it, I think the WDTV Live is a pretty amazing little device. Obviously I would not feel that way if it were treating me to frequent lockups or freezes. Is it locking up on the same type of content all the time?

[Rick Hill]

Is it locking up on the same type of content all the time?

Hmmmm. It seems pretty random. I'm not really sure what causes it but just about any given viewing session I am guaranteed to have to do a power down once or twice. The screen simply goes black and the unit becomes unresponsive to the remote (the only input available). It's done this on all types of sources (CF card via USB, USB connected Drive, Network Drives, Media Server - all have caused crashes).

It's usable but unpolished. It's not good enough to be a "media player" in the sense that I would always use it to play my media - video, music, etc.

I most likely will upgrade from my 10yo "compatible" CRT rear projection HDTV to a 1080p flat screen. I will then use a standard PC to become my media server since it seems a regular PC is the best media player I have used yet.

[David Koo]

I read somewhere that the WDTV live has a "pause" between playing clips. Is that true? If so, how annoying is it?

Also, Rick, it sounds like you may have a defective unit. Any way to exchange it for a new one?

[Keith Paisley]

Originally Posted by Rick Hill

Hmmmm. It seems pretty random. I'm not really sure what causes it but just about any given viewing session I am guaranteed to have to do a power down once or twice. The screen simply goes black and the unit becomes unresponsive to the remote (the only input available). It's done this on all types of sources (CF card via USB, USB connected Drive, Network Drives, Media Server - all have caused crashes).

It's usable but unpolished. It's not good enough to be a "media player" in the sense that I would always use it to play my media - video, music, etc.

I most likely will upgrade from my 10yo "compatible" CRT rear projection HDTV to a 1080p flat screen. I will then use a standard PC to become my media server since it seems a regular PC is the best media player I have used yet.

is it well ventilated? Mine sits vertically on a shelf in between my AV receiver and some other gear and I can feel it throwing off some heat, but I guess it has enough airflow to be okay. I think I've seen some people complaining of heat-related lockups, though, so could that be the issue you're seeing?

If not, I would get it replaced under warranty. Anyhow, I still think it's suitable for reviewing 5D MK 2 footage.

[Rick Hill]

Originally Posted by Keith Paisley

is it well ventilated? Mine sits vertically on a shelf in between my AV receiver and some other gear and I can feel it throwing off some heat, but I guess it has enough airflow to be okay. I think I've seen some people complaining of heat-related lockups, though, so could that be the issue you're seeing?

If not, I would get it replaced under warranty. Anyhow, I still think it's suitable for reviewing 5D MK 2 footage.

I keep my gear in a media closet so I bet that's it. Thanks for the heads up!