# Forum Home Renovation Television, Computers & Phones  Streaming files of your home network using a wd media player

## dabba

Hi  
I have a wd live tv media player connected to my Home LAN. The cables ran are cat6 and all test ok.
I have a HDD plugged direct into the modem/router which I intend to stream files to the wd media player. 
Problem i have is that some files play ok and some freeze half way though.
According to wd tech support, this is due to the wd media player being unable to support high bitrate files, and there suggestion is to use other software for the playback such as 'Tversity'. Question I have is where do I download the software as I stream from the. HDD to the wd media player without using a pc as a server..? 
Any suggestions please..? 
Thanks  
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## Uncle Bob

I've got a couple of these around the home as well. One stream over wifi and the other via ethernet. Both work without issue, even with 1080p media. My files are streamed via a 2008 server though. It's just a network share, no encoding software is being used. 
I suspect the modem you are using doesn't have enough grunt. Can you watch them OK on a computer attached where the WDTV is?

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## dabba

Thanks bob 
Silly me, I don't think I've checked that 'obvious' test yet.
I'll get back to you with an update... 
However I have used a pc to watch the files from other rooms (using wireless), appears ok but still takes a little while to upload...  
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## r3nov8or

Assuming the HDD has USB, you could attach it directly to the WD Live and see if the same files have issues.

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## dabba

Yes I have connected the HDD via USB direct and there is no problem at all.
Come to think of it, the HDD is connected to the router via USB, could that be the reason for the problem?
(I.e. Use a HDD which connects to the router via ethernet)  
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## r3nov8or

If the router is particularly poor at processing USB devices, or uses a very old (slow) version of USB, then that could be the problem. If you could attach the HDD to the USB of, say, a PC with a known-fast USB (2 or preferably USB3), success could prove that the router has slow USB. 
A HDD that connects to your router via ethernet is typically called NAS (network attached storage). There are plenty about. The HDD you have could probably be taken out of it's current container and installed in a NAS chassis.

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## dabba

Yes I think we are getting to the route cause now, I've had no problems when reading from the hdd plugged into a pc or media player. 
Regards the NAS option (I've seen these in the local jbhifi). Obtaining and converting to a NAS chassis, is that a complex IT savvy process? Or reasonably straight forward that the average joe could do? 
Thanks  
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## r3nov8or

Should be reasonably straight forward. Most of them run a web service so you can access the system from a web browser on the same network to configure its settings etc. The included and/or online instructions should do the trick. Obviously this is more complex than simply plugging in a USB drive...

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## Uncle Bob

It might be easier to just get a better modem with plenty of grunt, such as a Fritzbox.

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## dabba

The router is a cable router and not ADSL (provided by the ISP - big pond) I'm not sure if you can buy an off the shelf cable router with a better spec..?? 
In addition, regards USB NAS adapters - Can anyone recommend a suitable device? 
I've read a couple of reviews and can't find a stand out winner...  
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## r3nov8or

Are you asking for a NAS that is attached by USB?

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## dabba

Yes, I believe you connect the hdd via usb to the adapter, then the adapter to the router via Ethernet..  
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## r3nov8or

Well, it could work. I've not used one. Search for 'usb ethernet' in ebay and you might find what you need, but make sure the usb interface is correct for your hdd. A dedicated NAS would be better imho, but is much more expensive. 
also what is the model number of your cable modem?

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## dabba

The router supplied by bigpond is a 'net gear cable home network gateway - CG3100D-2BPAUS. 
In addition, I played about with the setup some more last night... 
When I connected a pc to the LAN cable where the wd media player is, the pc was slow to read the hdd plus some videos were still sluggish. 
I then connected the hdd direct into the wd player and mapped the drive to a local pc. Streaming obviously worked fine on the wd player and also seemed fine streaming to the pc. So I guess as a temp solution I'll leave the wd player on with the hdd plugged in there.
The only downside is that when  I come to read the hdd using a tablet and a file explorer app, the videos are still sluggish and froze still, but maybe the strength of wireless connectivity contributed to that...???  
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## r3nov8or

Re your network gateway, if you google "CG3100D-2BPAUS usb" you will find others on Whirlpool and Telstra Crowdsupport with USB HDD performance issues. Looks like a firmware update required from Netgear.

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## dabba

Thanks again for the info..  
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## simopimo

USB support on routers can sometimes be a bit hit and miss.  Even though USB2 theoretically provides the bandwidth a movie needs, the router's implementation of USB2 may be a little lacking and it can't pull the files out quickly enough for the WD player.  This is pretty common on routers as they aren't really designed to serve files fast. 
As r3n0v80r pointed out, go for a twin-drive NAS.  This sits on the network and stores all of your files, plus it can be configured to backup your precious files to a separate USB drive and up to the cloud as well.  Not all that expensive but it'll do what you're after.

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## dabba

Thanks to all for the info. 
I think I'll start looking into NAS  options in the near future  
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## simopimo

If you stick with one of the major brands you can't go wrong.  I'd recommend going with a RAID-1 configuration (this gives you disk redundancy if one drive fails) and look for one that supports what's called "cloud backup" which means that backups take place automatically across the internet without any user intervention required.  QNap, Synology, Thecus, Netgear, Buffalo and other well known brands all make good NAS devices and they're all easy to use too. 
Main reason I recommend cloud backup is because you don't have to think about doing backups. It just happens.  And the number of times I've asked people whether they've taken a backup and received a blank stare validates my recommendation!!!

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## r3nov8or

Agreed, backups are essential. Just watch what you backup via the internet, as it can chew up your allowance pretty fast.

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