WDTV replacement required. Help, please.

[crab]

My WDTV first became almost obsolete and then it died completely. I have so far failed to find a satisfactory replacement, and should be very grateful for advice and/or assistance. I live in Pattaya.

 

My TV system was: External hard drive USB to WDTV; WDTV HDMi to Yamaha transceiver; Yamaha transceiver HDMI to LG TV. 

 

I am currently connecting the hard drive directly by USB to my TV, but that is very unsatisfactory, primarily because of the inability to select subtitles. The TV, though "smart" is old, anyway, with primitive software. I was once advised that the solution was an "android box", even though I have absolutely no interest in streaming. So, I obtained a TX6, which seemed from write-ups to satisfy my needs, but discovered that many of the onscreen settings are in Thai and, despite efforts, I never got it working. I did at one point achieve video, but no sound with it, let alone subtitles.

I am old, weary and not very competent. My very best solution would be to find somebody in Pattaya to come to my house and solve my problem for me. I would, of course, be happy to pay a reasonable fee for this.

 

Alternatively, can anybody suggest a moderately priced alternative to the TX6 which could fulfil my requirements with easy setup in English? I do, of course, need to operate everything, including selection of subtitles by remote. And, let me repeat, I am not interested in streaming.

 

Thank you in advance.

[Bruno123]

Strange that you cannot get the Android box settings all in English. Perhaps someone can help you with that.

I have a specifically Thai Android box and everything is available in English. I doubt that yours is different.

[Bruno123]

I doubt the process is much different from this: 

 

Then you can plug your hard drive directly in to the Android box and use the KODI application to play all of your files and to display subtitles. It's actually relatively simple.

 

Just one step at a time. Language sorted firstly.

[Jai Dee]

The Tanix TX6 android box seems to come with good reviews and will certainly out-perform your old WDTV box.

 

Although it comes with HDMI 2.0 support your Yamaha receiver only supports HDMI 1.4 so do not waste unnecessary cash on upgrading your HDMI cables.

 

 

 

As suggested by Bruno123 you can use either the Kodi app, or the VLC Player app, or the MX Player app to play your media files with subtitles.

All of these apps will play your media files... you just need to decide for yourself which one you prefer to use.

 

To change the setup language to English would not be a difficult task for a native Thai speaker... it is very similar to changing the setup language on a TV.

Do you know any Thai people that could help you with that?

Alternatively if you took the box with it's power adapter into somewhere like Tukcom and ask one of the Android box vendors there (and offer them 100 baht), they could change it for you in less than a minute.

 

 

/Edit - the specs on your TV indicate that it is a Full HD model (1080p) so don't waste your time trying to download and play 4K content (even though your TX6 Android box can play it).

 

Edited August 18, 2022 by Jai Dee

[Bruno123]

From the video the JaiDee posted:

 

[KannikaP]

5 hours ago, crab said:

And, let me repeat, I am not interested in streaming.

So you prefer to download and save the TV programs to a hard drive? 

For £50 you can get a Fire TV or Chromecast and have more choices than you can handle.

[Bruno123]

If you need further help with changing the language, look here; 

 

 

In other words, clicking on your Settings 'cog' and go by the icons shown in the video.

[Bruno123]

1 minute ago, KannikaP said:

So you prefer to download and save the TV programs to a hard drive? 

For £50 you can get a Fire TV or Chromecast and have more choices than you can handle.

But that isn't what he wants. I'm sure it will be annoying to him to have to even see this after what he wrote, especially as he already has a Android Box from which he can stream.

[KannikaP]

13 minutes ago, Bruno123 said:

But that isn't what he wants. I'm sure it will be annoying to him to have to even see this after what he wrote, especially as he already has a Android Box from which he can stream.

I thought he wanted to watch (UK) TV whenever he wants. I merely suggested a very simple solution to his problem.

Hope he does not read my previous post if it is going to annoy him. 

[Bruno123]

1 hour ago, KannikaP said:

I thought he wanted to watch (UK) TV whenever he wants. I merely suggested a very simple solution to his problem.

Hope he does not read my previous post if it is going to annoy him. 

 

Probably just me

[BigStar]

2 hours ago, KannikaP said:

I thought he wanted to watch (UK) TV whenever he wants.

No, read the OP before posting. It really is mind-boggling to our poor Brits that not everyone wants to watch streamed UK TV.???? WOT? Deprived souls.

 

I do exactly as the OP. In fact, little content of any kind I want to watch is streamed. Even if it is at the present time, it may not be in the future where I can find it easily. I prefer watching via a media player like Kodi, stopping and resuming at will. I may also want to keep it my media library.

 

So, OP, with Android, unlike WDTV (not Android), you can set up sharing with your PC and easily copy/paste files to your USB drive attached to the box. Or you can install an FTP server on your box and transfer files via FTP. Finally, you can download files directly to your USB using an Android bitorrent client.

 

Keep at it. Your TX6, after you grow accustomed to it, is gonna be SO much better than that primitive WDTV. You got a lot of mileage outta yours. Mine died more than 10 years ago and I'm glad it did.

 

 

[crab]

Many thanks, everybody, for a helpful bunch of comments - none of which offended or irritated me!

 

The consensus appears to be that my TX 6 could actually do the job, if I can suss it out, and that's good news. I shall ask a Thai friend for help with it; and perhaps see if a Num Chai tech can help me; and perhaps try Tukcom, as one of you intelligently suggested.

 

And, if none of that works, well, I'll be back here in tears...

[Jai Dee]

9 minutes ago, crab said:

The consensus appears to be that my TX 6 could actually do the job, if I can suss it out, and that's good news.

Your TX6 can certainly do the job and as soon as you get used to it you will love it!

 

I too had a WDTV box many years ago, and migrated to an Android box when it died... I never looked back!

 

Just try to follow Bruno123's suggestions of clicking on your Settings 'cog' and go by the icons shown in the video he posted... hopefully you will get it set to English by yourself.