dieseldre2k

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Jul 25, 2008
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hi,

i was wondering if it's possible to hook up the WD TV HD Media Player to an external USB DVD drive. i've been looking for an affordable DVD player that plays MKV files with no luck (only found this one for $900 - http://dune-hd.com/product_info.php?products_id=54). therefore, i think the best alternative would be an STB like this one with an attached external DVD drive.

to clarify, the reason i'm looking for a dvd player with MKV playability is because i like to archive my HD movies, and it's cheaper to keep MKV movies on blank dvd's than on hard drives. also, i do not want to waste all those hours converting my HD movies from MKV to things such as WMD-HD (so no ps3/xbox360 suggestions please).

thanks for the help.


P.S. if the WD Media Player can't be connected to an external DVD drive, do u know of any alternative that works (either as a standalone player or STB + drive combo)?
 

dieseldre2k

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Jul 25, 2008
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anybody? if i can get a simple yes or no to this, that would be fine too:

can you hook up an external USB DVD drive to the WD TV HD Media Player?
 
G

Guest

Guest
I've got AC Ryan's Playon!DVR TV and got it hooked up with a external usb dvd drive, works fine. However, the Playon!DVR TV doesnt play MKV from the usb dvd drive though (it only streams MKV from PC via a transcoder). Other file formats are fine, xvid, iso, ifo, vob etc. Not too sure if this reply is any use to you, well hope at least the part about it connecting ok with usb dvd drive is useful.
 

avfreak

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Apr 27, 2009
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The Popcorn Hour NMT/Media Player supports USB DVD drives so your MKV on DVD archives would work just fine.. I bought a popcorn hour and a WD TV HDMP and I love both of them! Though it would have been nice if the WD TV did support usb dvd drives.. But I guess its because it a product of WD which of course sells Hard Drives as its flagship product so removing that option forces you to buy a lot of hard drives for backups (they're hoping you pick WD drives lol).. But still WD TV is a great product to have and a cheap solution for your HD fix// :D
 

daisytown

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Jul 15, 2009
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Hi,

There is a custom firmware for WD TV who supported external USB CD/DVD, USB HUB, USB Ethernet and some other features ... you can take a look at http://b-rad.cc/wdlxtv or directly on WD TV official forum http://wdtvforum.com/main/ under "Homebrew/Custom firmware"

Hope this help