I am looking for a good deal on that unit. I notice Amazon has it listed as out of stock or discontinued. Is this unit fairly new, or is there a successor about to come out?

yes, 663si universal with hdmi, just $50 more..lets cancel, zenith

Yes, please cancel that order and be done with it. Five whole business days to wait for a product to ship is just an atrocity beyond words. Definitely should cancel the order because of that.

There's no use in trolling on that subject now in more than one thread. Cancel the order, buy something else, and move on with your life, please.

Originally posted by Q of BanditZ
I am looking for a good deal on that unit. I notice Amazon has it listed as out of stock or discontinued. Is this unit fairly new, or is there a successor about to come out?

Which player are u talking abt?

The Pioneer unit that this thread is the subject of. ;)

Q of BanditZ: I had mentioned this earlier that this player is at an incredible price of $120 plus tax at CC right now! I just bought it yesterday to test how it works. Shall pick it up later today.

<jaw drops to the floor>

Wow. I will EAGERLY await your impressions on this!

:)

I'm surprised you guys find the video quality on this player good. I bought it and popped in a few dvd's and the first thing i noticed is that my old cheap sony dvd player was definitely better than this one. The pioneer was grainy/jaggy and just looked poor on my 51s500 (isf calibrated/focused etc). My first impresion was "yuck". I also bought the denon 2200 and this picture blows away the 563A by a mile... hands down. I'm returning the pioneer today. If picture quality is a big concern this is not the player to get IMO. Though its a good way to get your toes in the water with multichannel music, but once you shell out another few hundred for a quality dvd player the price aint lookin so good. just my 2 cents...

How about if I already have a unit dedicated to DVD's and I strictly am concerned with audio without having to spend a mint to do it:?

tubenewbee,
Did you happen to try any changes to the 563a's default video configuration settings?

This can help the picture quality a lot. While prehaps not the absolute best video quality available; this player, when set properly, can provide a very good overall picture.

Veritas, just curious, what settings do you use? I didn't use anything scientific to set mine, but IIRC, I set chroma up one notch, I also set brightness (or whatever it's called) up one notch, as it seemed I had to do that to get it to display blacker than black. I also set picture (or whatever) down one notch, to compensate for the increased brightness.

Actually I don't remember now what my last settings were/are. I use mine with both a FPTV & a FP. So any current settings of mine simply depend on how froggy I am at any particular time...I.E. But usually this involves either bumping up/down contrast/etc (like yours).

My changes are done simply by "eyeball" (I know what I like when i see it basically), even though I have a VE disk. Providing my settings probably would not help anyone, unless they had the same media, output devices & liked the type of picture I like (not probable). Picture quality is very subjective, and everyone has their own preferences...darker, brighter, more saturated colors, etc.

My point in mentioning the video config settings was that many seem to knock the picture the 563a w/o ever even tying to adjust the picture settings. The control settings are there for a reason, and yes you can improve on the the default settings...but again each person tastes will be different as there is no perfect/best setting for all source material, output devices, & people. If you find you don't like the default settings, try tweaking the settings to something you like more...and don't forget about also tweaking your video output device too! Between tweaking both of these, you can get a very good picture with the 563A.

My current problem with the 563A though is the apparent need (I don't have any disks yet that won't play- yet - but that may be only a matter of time) for a firmware upgrade, and having to send it off for upgrade, vs downloading or getting a frimware CD from Pioneer. Personaly, I'll hold off awhile and hope the Pioneer offers a better firmware upgrade process -w/o having to send mine off for several weeks. All 563A owners should lobby Pioneer for this!

Originally posted by mallu2u
Coz we are not allowed to talk numbers on Rear Projection TV forum where I usually spend my time and therefore assumed the same for this forum as well. The price is $120 plus tax! Thats damn cheap considering the MSRP is still at $250!

Dear Mallu, did u pick up from store?

Is there a firmware upgrade available, or do you just think there should be one? If there is, what's it supposed to address?

There was long article, re this player NOT PLAYING certain SACD , pioneer acknowledges that

Originally posted by zoro
Dear Mallu, did u pick up from store?

Yes Zoro I picked it up yesterday but could not get a chance to hook it up and see what difference it makes. I shall post my thoughts on it hopefully by tomorrow morning.

Originally posted by Veritas
Actually I don't remember now what my last settings were/are. I use mine with both a FPTV & a FP. So any current settings of mine simply depend on how froggy I am at any particular time...I.E. But usually this involves either bumping up/down contrast/etc (like yours).

My changes are done simply by "eyeball" (I know what I like when i see it basically), even though I have a VE disk. Providing my settings probably would not help anyone, unless they had the same media, output devices & liked the type of picture I like (not probable). Picture quality is very subjective, and everyone has their own preferences...darker, brighter, more saturated colors, etc.

My point in mentioning the video config settings was that many seem to knock the picture the 563a w/o ever even tying to adjust the picture settings. The control settings are there for a reason, and yes you can improve on the the default settings...but again each person tastes will be different as there is no perfect/best setting for all source material, output devices, & people. If you find you don't like the default settings, try tweaking the settings to something you like more...and don't forget about also tweaking your video output device too! Between tweaking both of these, you can get a very good picture with the 563A.

My current problem with the 563A though is the apparent need (I don't have any disks yet that won't play- yet - but that may be only a matter of time) for a firmware upgrade, and having to send it off for upgrade, vs downloading or getting a frimware CD from Pioneer. Personaly, I'll hold off awhile and hope the Pioneer offers a better firmware upgrade process -w/o having to send mine off for several weeks. All 563A owners should lobby Pioneer for this!

So currently is how does one get a firmware upgrade. I'd rather do that since I already bought one yesterday and see it with upgrades. Should be better for audio and video, right?

Originally posted by mallu2u
So currently is how does one get a firmware upgrade.
Here is what is mentioned about this by a member at the Sound&Vison forums. As of 04/15/2004.
And this is the thread HERE (http://soundandvisionmag.com/idealbb/view.asp?topicID=30715&sessionID=4D386E5DFCF34F63BC95BEED18B61EA0), in case you wish to view it.

"You have to contact CUSTOMER SUPPORT DIVISION
PIONEER ELECTRONICS (USA) INC.
P.O. Box 1760
LONG BEACH, CALIFORNIA 90801
1-800-421-1404
I called and they are aware of the problem, they assigned me a case id and informed me someone would contact me"

"Well Pioneer called and the news was not good. They want me to pack the unit and ship it to Ohio. I called the shop in Ohio and they said they were running behind, 2 weeks. So after shipping, which I have to pay, and the 2 weeks, we are talking 3-4 weeks without the player."

I'll repeat what I said in the other thread about this player. That's wretched customer service, whether it's a $150 DVD player or a $2000 player. That just plain stinks and I can't believe Pioneer can't meet the customer half way vs. having to ship the unit in.

I was thinking about getting this unit for DVD-A and SACD, but I guess I don't want the headache at this rate.

CC online and local [OK] lists price as 134.99. How/Where did ya get it for 120.00?

Thanks


Originally posted by mallu2u
Coz we are not allowed to talk numbers on Rear Projection TV forum where I usually spend my time and therefore assumed the same for this forum as well. The price is $120 plus tax! Thats damn cheap considering the MSRP is still at $250!

Originally posted by Q of BanditZ
I'll repeat what I said in the other thread about this player. That's wretched customer service, whether it's a $150 DVD player or a $2000 player. That just plain stinks and I can't believe Pioneer can't meet the customer half way vs. having to ship the unit in.

I was thinking about getting this unit for DVD-A and SACD, but I guess I don't want the headache at this rate.

Then don't buy one.
But lotsa luck finding another multi format player for $150 or less. Or anywhere near $200, for that matter.

And seeing as how Pioneer ships it back to you at no charge, they are meeting you "half way". And you shipping it to them, should only be about $10 via ground. Not to mention, that many of the units being sold now, may possibly already have the updated firmware in them, if they were made in the last month or so.

Originally posted by NoIdUh
CC online and local [OK] lists price as 134.99. How/Where did ya get it for 120.00?
That's because last week it was on sale, this week it is not.

Thou makest a good point my good sir.

SOLD! :)

Originally posted by NoIdUh
CC online and local [OK] lists price as 134.99. How/Where did ya get it for 120.00?

Thanks

Well..when I bought it day before...it was 119 plus tax and therefore I paid $125 for the unit...seems that it was a special that is no longer available..I posted it the moment I found out...

Folks...I have heard that if u have a good TV, then the TV can do interlacing better than the DVD player...in that case..u really do not need interlacing from DVD player and should turn that off...in that case why would u need a progressive scan player? IF the above is true, does anyone know where I can switch that on for my Sony XBR?

Mallu, I am still waiting to hear your impressions and take down on this unit! :)

Just an FYI, : there is a modded Pio 563A that can be purchased from underwood Hi-Fi that improves the audio quite a bit. It takes the player out of the inexpensive range but does give a higher quality audio product.

http://show.audiogon.com/cgi-bin/sh.pl?0&1&adlr&Underwoodwally&1&

I'd like to verify this from a reliable third party please. I may still wait for the Yamaha s1500, but this is intruiging...

All,
APLHIFI.com (Alex Paychev) also offers 563A mods. From what I've seen on AudioAsylum.com (digital forum) his mods are quite good...but the cost can get quite high...but I think he offers dif levels of upgrades for the 563A.

Here's the direct link: http://www.aplhifi.com/Pioneer563a.html

Folks,

I finally got around to setting up the Pioneer 563A DVD player to my system and boy was I glad I did! There are more much goods and minor bads in this DVD player.

Video Quality

- I loved the video quality of this player. This is way way better than the current Panasonic DVD player that I own right now. I gotta say that when I popped in DVD in this player, I did not notice a major change in the picture quality. There was some improvements but not enough to justify the upgrade. Then I switched the video output from 'Interlaced' to 'Progressive' and the magic began! The picture was much sharper, better colors and more detailed. I did not see the pixelization that I do with my current Panasonic Player. I was loving it! I did not play a lot with the brightness, contrast in the DVD menu but standard seems to be working great for me. In my Sony XBR, I did set the video mode to 'Progressive' but I believe when the TV knows that it already is getting a progrssive feed, it lets the DVD take care of it.
- Changing chapters and menu is also definitely faster than my current DVD player which I liked.
- noted a bad below

Audio Quality

The audio seems to be pretty good as well. Now I know this player has the Dolby Digital and DTS decoders but I test with a DTS DVD as well. Dolby was good. I was not concerned on this count since I was gonna use digital output anyway and my receiever has all these decoders built-in.

MP3

Now current panasonic player did have the MP3 support but not the great Text read & display that this player offers! I loved browsing thru the folders on my CD and selecting a particular song and playing with this player. You can even turn on displaying the name of song etc on the TV. Wow! This might be a regular feature of so many players nowadays though, I realize that. With my old player, I had a remember a track # or keep a list of songs on that Cd along with their positions!

Minor Bads

- When changing songs on my MP3 CD, the player responded slowly. Does not change them very fast...thinks something and then does it...
- During video playback...after a while, the player would kinda slow down and jerk/slow down while playing and then starts playing normally. Noticed this for various scenes but not at the same scenes and therefore not a problem with the DVD. I just bought it brand new and works great with my old player. Dunno if there is a setting for that. Please let me know if there is



Outstanding Questions/Issues

1. I do not know whether this DVD player that I bought has the much talked about firmware upgrade or not. Is there a way to find that out?
2. I do not own any SACDS or DVD Audio disks and there did not test them.
3. I still have to test my DVD +RW with this player
4. This is my FIRST ever progresive scan DVD player and therefore do not know what a better/more expensive might do in addition to this player.
5. I did not test a DTS DVD with this player.

Let me know if you know of any ways I could resolve the few bads that I noticed and or if have Qs on what I wrote.

Thanks!

I have had one of these for about 2 months now and I have noticed that on some, not all, disks, the picture will skew to the left starting about 15 to 20 lines from the top of the screen. Some disks I have seen this with include "Spy Kids", "Princess Mononoke", "School of Rock" and some Japanese import disks. It goes away if you switch to interlaced video.

Has anyone else seen this? Other than the skewing, the picture looks better in progressive scan on my set, so I would like to be able to leave it set that way, but can't because of the skew.

I'm gonna go back to my 4 year old Toshiba if this keeps up.

Thanks for any responses.

I just bought this player yesterday and shall be watching it more closely in days to come. Any sign of that and I shall report here...how old is ur player?

For those of you who are new to this player, this review (http://www.slottweak.com/DV_563A/563review.htm) I wrote a few months back might help.

Hi Gary,

Just a comment on what part of your review...

" The way Pioneer elected to do DSD conversion for SACD's is quite interesting, and not unlike a couple of very expensive and well regarded SACD players. With Bass Management off, the signal goes from DSD to Analog directly, and with Bass Management on, it goes from DSD to LPCM to Analog. Since it goes to LPCM,"

This isn't correct on the 563. I believe you received some info from Pioneer that stated the above but I have scoped the 563 playing SACDs and no matter how it's bass management and time alignment are configured DSD is what is fed to the DACs on SACD playback.

Shawn

I have just purchased this player and my first impression is good. One disk I have seen pixelation on and that is Master and Commander especially scene 5 when they are in the fog the scene is quite pixelated and the image seems to flicker. So far other disks I have checked seem pretty good.

Found an answer to my problem with pixelation on Master and Commander. Apparently it is a problem with the compression on the disc when it was transferred.

Folks,

What was the issues that you experienced with this player for which you had to/or are considering a firmware upgrade. I want to make sure my player (DV-563A )does not have those issues since I just bought it.

Thanks

My Sony S560D finally died this week (NO DISK) and I picked up one of these players today primarily for the onboard 5.1 decoder. The other features are just gravy!

Quick question - is there a way to display REMAINING TIME for a movie? That was a handy feature of my old sony that I don't always see on other players.

Thanks

I also just bought this player.........seems very nice so far.

Mike

Gruber: I think when u hit the display button, you see the time remaining for the disk. I know this works for the CD atleast. Will check the DVD tonite for this.

I think to get to elapsed/remaining you hit the display button twice

Originally posted by mallu2u
What was the issues that you experienced with this player for which you had to/or are considering a firmware upgrade. I want to make sure my player (DV-563A )does not have those issues since I just bought it.
Playback of certain DVD-Audio disks are a problem.

And more detailed info about that is HERE. (http://www.highfidelityreview.com/news/news.asp?newsnumber=10659686)

What is the region-free hack for this player?

Hi all - too damn tired tonight to search this thread - so hopefully someone who reads this can answer it. Just finished listening to a DVD-A disk - Piano, Bass & Drums from AIX. First of all, I have reported audio drops with this player for DVD-A - I have 6 AIX DVD-A's now and have not yet encountered an audio drop with them - sweet.

Now for the problem, sporadically after listening to a DVD-A - if I threw in a movie my digital audio did not work (currently using the coaxil connection for digital audio). My 6 channel is the only source I can get for sound for full surround, but only stereo sound for digital. So after listening to PB&D in DVD-A, I switched over to digital on my receiver to watch a movie (Hannibal). Well, no sound at all now! Tried three other DVD's - The Longest Day, Finding Nemo, and Monsters Inc. - No audio with digital selected on my amp. Tried the 6 channel and voila - sound.

hmmmmm..... anyone encounter this? I have it shut off now - I'm sure tomorrow when I try again the digital sound will work. Oh, I know my equipment quite well - I know all my inputs and outputs - both my Xbox and PS2 - also connected digitally, play 100%, including tonight when I tested it - this is a player problem, not a receiver problem. The digital signal does not get transferred now once I am listening to DVD-A in 6 channel.

Thanks in advance to anyone who can offer advise as to what this problem is and how I can (if I can) correct this!

Does powering off and then on again reset it so DA works? If not, do you have digital audio turned off in the player menu? The feature it there to get a bit better sound out of 192 stereo music.

Seems like you almost have to get this thing modded up to the $500 level, as was discussed earlier in this thread, to make it really viable. True, or untrue?

GTX - I did check it and yes the DA is on in the player menu - I had to actually go into the inital settings and tell the player my receiver was dolby and DTS compatible, now it works again.

Well, I guess that's what you get with a cheap player - something I'll have to live with until a better solution comes along (like a Denon 5900 but for a 1/3 of the price :) )

I've owned my Pioneer for about eight months now and the only major issue I have with the player is theat the IR codes are the same as my Pioneer DVL 909 Laserdisc player.

Originally posted by Kpt_Krunch
Hi all - too damn tired tonight to search this thread - so hopefully someone who reads this can answer it. Just finished listening to a DVD-A disk - Piano, Bass & Drums from AIX. First of all, I have reported audio drops with this player for DVD-A - I have 6 AIX DVD-A's now and have not yet encountered an audio drop with them - sweet.

Now for the problem, sporadically after listening to a DVD-A - if I threw in a movie my digital audio did not work (currently using the coaxil connection for digital audio). My 6 channel is the only source I can get for sound for full surround, but only stereo sound for digital. So after listening to PB&D in DVD-A, I switched over to digital on my receiver to watch a movie (Hannibal). Well, no sound at all now! Tried three other DVD's - The Longest Day, Finding Nemo, and Monsters Inc. - No audio with digital selected on my amp. Tried the 6 channel and voila - sound.

From your post, it was not quite clear what connections do you use for different modes of audio. If i understood correctly, you use digital coax for DVD movie audio, and 6 analog interconnects for DVD-A/SACD. Correct?
Do the sanity check first - check all your cables, connections and settings in both DVD player and your receiver. If there are no problems with the connections and settings, I would guess you have some clock synchronization issues. It could be either your player or your receiver to blame. Try connecting your DVD player to a different Optical Input. Does it change anything? In the past I had a case when one of the optical inputs on the receiver would constantly fail to lock on to the signal.

hmmmmm..... anyone encounter this? I have it shut off now - I'm sure tomorrow when I try again the digital sound will work. Oh, I know my equipment quite well - I know all my inputs and outputs - both my Xbox and PS2 - also connected digitally, play 100%, including tonight when I tested it - this is a player problem, not a receiver problem. The digital signal does not get transferred now once I am listening to DVD-A in 6 channel. [/B]
Again, don't be so quick to dismiss your receiver. Digital connection requires two parties to sync to maintain the signal.

Originally posted by Q of BanditZ
Seems like you almost have to get this thing modded up to the $500 level, as was discussed earlier in this thread, to make it really viable. True, or untrue?
I disagree with this statement, Q. I use Pioneer Elite DV50A (an Elite version of Pio 563A) in my secondary setup and am absolutely happy with the unit. Granted, it is not a high end unit, and I don't expect it to perform on the level with let's say Denon DVD2900 or higher models. But in its product tier, this is a very nice performer. After using it for a couple of months I have not encountered a single issue with it so far. And it plays everything I throw at it - all of my DVDs, DVD-R/+Rs, VCDs, Audio CDs, DVD-A, SACD. I have yet to encounter some of the issues with the discs described in this thread. Picture quality is very good, audio vise it not as good as Denon DVD2900 which I used to own before, but is very close to it. And since I have full range speakers all around set as LARGE I don't have any problem with the BM of this player. I get lots of bass in any mode. Of course, again, you have to always keep in perspective that the unit we are talking about is basically an entry level player, but even being that it does perform very decently.

Kpt_Krunch, I just read a very similar post to yours in the AMP section. Now, that was interesting that two people have the same strange issue. I went ahead a tried to reproduce this issue in my setup several times, but in my case everything works ok, I do not lose the digital connection. Here is a copy of my post in the other thread:
Originally posted by Jim85IROC
My NAD T742 seems to be getting awfully confused by the optical digital output of my Pioneer DVD player.

Everything works fine until I select the digital input while the dvd player is playing a SACD or DVD Audio disk. The receiver gets confused and begins acting like there's no digital connection. Fine, there's no digital output when playing those disks. But... it can't get that digital link back later. Even with a regular cd or DVD the digital light just blinks. If I hook my other dvd player to a coaxial digital input, it'll usually find it and play. If I unplug the coax and plug it into the 563... no sound and the light blinks. But, plug it back into the other dvd player and all is fine. Then if I select the 563 again, sometimes it'll find it and work. Sometimes I have to go into the 563's menus and turn the digital input off, then back on for it to find it.

Turning devices off and back on doesn't do anything. It doesn't do this when I bring the 742 back to the dealer, so I look like a fool in front of them. So far the 563 hasn't done this with my denon receiver, so I still think the 742 is at fault.

Has anybody else had this sort of problem?

Jim, I just read a similar post by Kpt_Krunch in the DVD Forum. He did not specify which receiver he uses, but he did complain about exact same thing as you - losing digital coax signal after listening to DVD-A or SACD via analog interconnects. This is interesting. I also use Pio Elite DV50A (an Elite version of Pio 563A) mated to Denon AVR3803. I put Diana Krall's "The Girl In The Other Room" SACD in my DV50A, turned my Denon to Ext IN (5.1 analog in) and listened to a few songs. Then I started toggling the inputs on my Denon while SACD was still playing - Denon , unlike NAD, does not seem to be confused by Pio - it turned on the Digital Coax input with no problem. I stopped SACD playback, ejected it and immediately put a "Brian Setzer Orchestra: Live in Japan" DVD disc (with DD5.1 and DTS tracks) in my Pio. As soon as the FBI warning went away, the receiver locked on the digital connection with no problem at all and started playing.
So, in short, Denon does not have this problem with Pio player. I am totally clueless what would cause NAD to get so confused? Could it be just malfunctioning digital input circuitry on NAD?

Originally posted by Kpt_Krunch
......I had to actually go into the inital settings and tell the player my receiver was dolby and DTS compatible, now it works again....

Does the problem still exist? Can you duplicate it again?

Originally posted by TauRus
I disagree with this statement, Q. I use Pioneer Elite DV50A (an Elite version of Pio 563A) in my secondary setup and am absolutely happy with the unit. Granted, it is not a high end unit, and I don't expect it to perform on the level with let's say Denon DVD2900 or higher models. But in its product tier, this is a very nice performer. After using it for a couple of months I have not encountered a single issue with it so far. And it plays everything I throw at it - all of my DVDs, DVD-R/+Rs, VCDs, Audio CDs, DVD-A, SACD. I have yet to encounter some of the issues with the discs described in this thread. Picture quality is very good, audio vise it not as good as Denon DVD2900 which I used to own before, but is very close to it. And since I have full range speakers all around set as LARGE I don't have any problem with the BM of this player. I get lots of bass in any mode. Of course, again, you have to always keep in perspective that the unit we are talking about is basically an entry level player, but even being that it does perform very decently.

That's cool! :)

I may yet get this unit, depending on my budget. How much more does the Elite version cost?

One thing that I haven't heard commented on is that this player has front arrow keys, menu, and enter keys. These have come in so handy when DVD's don't automatically start or I need to do something and I don't want to get the remote. It may seem stupid, but it's one of the features I make the most use of. Before I knew of this (563a) and before I knew of this forum, I had planned on getting a lower end pioneer based solely on the fact that they had front navigation buttons.

Ryan

FWIW, I've had this player since not long after it came out. I haven't had any major issues with it. My only complaint is the too high sub crossover frequency for SACD and DVD-A use. If it weren't for this, I'd probably keep this player for a long time. Honestly, I really don't play SACDs/DVD-As that much, but I like the ability to play them. If I do end up using this feature more, I will probably replace it with a player with better BM when better ones come down in price.

Originally posted by GTX_SlotCar
Does the problem still exist? Can you duplicate it again?

Sorry I haven't responded in a while on this - I have been 'tinkering' around some more. I can duplicate this now pretty much whenever I want. I was listening to some DVD-A's tonight, and then put in LOTR - ROTK - I did not switch my receiver (an HK-520, sorry TauRus, forgot to mention it in other posts) over from 6 channel to VID 4 (this is where I have my DVD and coaxil setup on the HK520). Once the DVD is in and starts playing, I switch my receiver over to VID 4. The Dolby light will come one, but only two speakers in my HK-520 display lights up - no sound at all. I change back to 6/8 channel, and the sound is back.

The fix is the same. I have to power off both my HK 520 and my 563a player. Then I power up the Receiver first, then the 563, go into initial settings on the home menu - say yes to everything (as my Hk 520 is compatible in all modes) and then it works fine.

Now, if I eject a DVD-A, then swith my 520 over to VID 4 from 6 channel, then put in a regular DVD, it works fine.

Sooooo, I still don't know which is at fault. I'm not really happy about it but what can I do?? At least it still works.

I am looking at upgrading the player to the 59 AVi model as I want the DVI (well, HDMI to DVI) connection for my Sammy HLN617W. I'm just waiting for the 941 to come out and see if they (Samsung) have made the necessary improvements to it. If so, I may get both, A/B them, post my results here of course (oh, I know the 59 AVi model will be better, but will it be 3 times better as I believe it will be 3 x the cost) and return the one I feel is the lesser for the money spent.

However, this 563a player is not going anywhere - it is a great player and except for this annoyance - which after reading here may be related to the H/K rather than the player - has performed flawlessly for me.

I have an HK320. I'll see if I can remember to try it tonight.
Let's see if I've got this straight. Play a DVD-A in 6 channel. Switch to DVD-V and start it playing. Turn sound over to digital on the HK.
I use an Outlaw Audio ICBM, so I haven't used the HK digital inputs for DVD in a long time. We'll see what happens.

Yup - GTX that pretty much sums it up. Curious to see if you ahve the same results - I would imagine you would as the only difference between our AVR's is the 520 is a bit more powerful

Kpt, it could be something with your particular HK receiver or with your particular player (I am somewhat leaning towards the receiver's fault after failing to reproduce it in my setup), like some synchronization issues. Do you have another receiver to try and reproduce it at your home? It would be great if GTX tries that too, but in his case its a different receiver and a different player, so in any case you will not really know which unit is indeed to blame.

Mine worded fine.
I put in Steely Dan's 'Everything Must Go', (multi-channel, dvd-a) played a few songs (of course) and then popped in Total Recall (DD 5.1). After the movie got going for a while, I switched the HK from 6 channel to digital (optical 2). The sound transferred fine.

Before I bought my HK320, I was actully looking at the 520. I also considered the 325 and 525, but didn't care about the extra channel amp, liked the extra power of the 20 series and the 25's were more expensive. I ended up buying the 320 instead of the 520 only because I got a great deal on it. As I recall, the 520 decodes HDCD. The 320 and the 563a don't, and neither does my Pioneer PDR-05 (http://www.audioweb.com/Ad/AdInfo.asp?adid=134501). No big deal, I guess. I've only got one HDCD anyway.

Originally posted by TauRus
Kpt, it could be something with your particular HK receiver or with your particular player (I am somewhat leaning towards the receiver's fault after failing to reproduce it in my setup), like some synchronization issues. Do you have another receiver to try and reproduce it at your home? It would be great if GTX tries that too, but in his case its a different receiver and a different player, so in any case you will not really know which unit is indeed to blame.

Unfortunately the 520 is the only digital receiver I have (I have an older Yamaha RX-V1070) and a really old Kenwood that is packed up somewhere.

I will soon be getting a new DVD player (the 563a will stick around - I will use it upstairs when the 520 moves up there - when I upgrade that.....does it ever end?) but I will definitely check the new player to see if I have the same problem or not.

The more I think about it though, it has to be the player - as I really don't do anything to the receiver to fix it, it is all at the 563a end - my guess is something in my player does not reset (I don't know what that would be) when I eject the DVD-A disk - so even though I put in a DVD-V disk, the player still thinks it still has a DVD-A. My receiver responds the same way when I change the input to VID 4 (again, my DVD digital/video connection on the receiver) when I have a DVD-A in there.

Only another player will lay it to rest - the Sammy 931 is over 50% off now, final clearance, so I'm sure the 941 is around the corner!

Kpt, funny that you mentioned Samsung players. I just posted a comparative review of Pio Elite DV50A and Samsung HD841 ( I bought one today hoping to get an upscaling universal player). It is in the "Samsung HD841 Available" thread. You can check it out if interested. :) My search for a better upscaling player continues.

And the search goes on.....

For those looking for a fast 563A firmware update, check the Pioneer data base for local repair shops.
My longtime shop here in the Minneapolis area "COMPONENT ASSEMBLERS" received the update disc "May 04" and upgraded my unit while I stood there and watched.
Its completely automated 11 or 12 step process without the need of user intervention.
Took more time having him fill out the work order to get paid by Pioneer that the two minute update.

If its that easy, maybe someone somewhere could get ahold of the disk and provide and ISO for us to burn. That'd definitly be better than sending my player to who knows where.

Originally posted by oryan_dunn
If its that easy, maybe someone somewhere could get ahold of the disk and provide and ISO for us to burn. That'd definitly be better than sending my player to who knows where.

I'll second that - today when I put in a DVD-A (AIX records Peppiono D'Augustino - great disk!) there is a sound segment at the beginning of the disk. However, instead of hearing the menu sound - all I got was digital noise. It definitely was the players fault, not the receivers - as on the display of the 563a the disk stopped on it's own, reset, then started up again. This time I heard the menu sound music, but it came in and out. The music on the disk itself played just fine after that.

Maybe I got a bum player - I'll see if I can trade it in when I pick up the 941 in the next couple of weeks.

ya I wont send my Pioneer out but someone somewhere has to have leaked the disk. I cant understand why Pioneer would make you send out the player and pay shipping one way for an update via disk. Pioneer told me it was not a disc so whos right? makes no sense to me it wouldnt be.

Originally posted by Diode1
For those looking for a fast 563A firmware update, check the Pioneer data base for local repair shops.
My longtime shop here in the Minneapolis area "COMPONENT ASSEMBLERS" received the update disc "May 04" and upgraded my unit while I stood there and watched.
Its completely automated 11 or 12 step process without the need of user intervention.
Took more time having him fill out the work order to get paid by Pioneer that the two minute update.

Hi Diode1,

What is your new firmaware version? My 1 week old machine's firmware is 1.906_SglStp and would like to know if this is new/old.
You can display the firmware by:
open "HOME MENU"
goto "Initial Settings"
goto "Option" (no enter to the list)
press "DISPLAY" on remote

TIA,
Sam

brumanm
The update is only on a disc, fixed my October 03 build.
I was still on the fence as to keep it or not with that new unit out.
So while I was at the pawnshop that I purchased my 563a from
last weekend, I let them know of the problem and the steps i took
to get it repaired. They offered to credit me some of my $95.
So all in all I now only have $70 invested in a player that will really
not serve much more than a jukebox for dvd-rw mp3's. Also a backup unit.
I already own a Sony 222 sacd & Ns900 sacd/dvd + and panny Rp91 for dvd-a.
The 563a with high bit-rate mp3's sound darn good for background music,
and you can place several hundred tracks
on one dvd burnable R or RW, I use +r media.
Also this is one of few players that I have found to random play dvd mp3 tracks.

Originally posted by SamL
My 1 week old machine's firmware is 1.906_SglStp and would like to know if this is new/old.


The new (fixed) firmware revision is 1.906. At least that's what came back on my 563A after the update; it previously had firmware rev 1.306.

Scott

What did that firmware do for you?

Mine is 1.706.
I have a problem in that I have to tell the player to play dvd video instead of dvd-a in order to hear Elton Johns "Goodbye Yellow Brick Road" dvd-a by Universal.
Can anyone with 1.906 confirm the Universal "bug" being fixed?

thanks

BTW I got this player last week and its my first experience with dvd-s/sacd and I have to admit to being very impressed with the formats.
Its definetely exeeded my expectations.Ive always felt there was something missing with cds (being old enough to have purchased many new vinyl records :) ) and assumed it was just me.
After some sacd/dvd-a listening, I realize I WAS missing something. Very nice.
And also nice of Pioneer to have such an inexpensive model for testing the waters without a major investment.

Originally posted by Q of BanditZ
What did that firmware do for you?

I don't yet own any of the "problem" DVD-A discs, so I can't be sure if the updated firmware has truly helped. But that's a problem that I intend to fix soon! :)

bump

diode: im assuming eventually when this player gets old the firmware will be leaked online. you can almost expect it.

I got my player for $70 also as a open box buy at CC. the manager doesnt like open boxed items so gives them a big discount.

Originally posted by Tack
Mine is 1.706.
I have a problem in that I have to tell the player to play dvd video instead of dvd-a in order to hear Elton Johns "Goodbye Yellow Brick Road" dvd-a by Universal.
Can anyone with 1.906 confirm the Universal "bug" being fixed?



Tack -

I have the same problem with "Gaucho" by Steeley Dan, which I believe is also a Universal disc. Is this a problem with this player and all Universal discs? I beileve I've read about other players that have had problems with discs distributed by Universal.

I don't know what my firmware version is - I can check tonight, but I would be interested to know if there was an easy fix for it - or I may return it for the 578a (I'm still within a 30-day window).

Well if the new firmware fixes it, its all good. Hopefully it can be availible as a download and burned to a disc.
If not......I may return it and upgrade too.

Originally posted by bruman
diode: im assuming eventually when this player gets old the firmware will be leaked online. you can almost expect it.

I got my player for $70 also as a open box buy at CC. the manager doesnt like open boxed items so gives them a big discount.

That truly is a bargain for this player. My BB wanted to sell me the store one...$150 minus 10% since its open box. I said no way! At $70, I would have jumped on it!

there is one more demo I seen yesterday on the self at CC and was $99

If I needed another I would have asked for a price drop and showed them my $70 reciept on the other one. same manager too. wonder whats with the price difference ?

mallu2u: if your interested in it I can ask him if he would sell it to me for the same price I bought before($70). then you just pay me the shipping to you. your close so it would prob be $15 UPS. $85 for this player is still a bargain. let me know I would do the favor for you.

I agree, it is bargain!! while same deinterlacing performance as newer one!

This may actually be a superior player to its successor.. I am still considering it for my audio needs...

I'll prob wait till samsung 941 shows up!! but interiem not bad sub $100 , you can always sell

I have the 1.306_SglStp as my firmware. Is the new firmware available anywhere for download and install?

Also, how do I make this player region free? Any issues with that? The player sometimes pauses on some movies for a sec. Do u guys notice that as well?

Originally posted by Q of BanditZ
This may actually be a superior player to its successor.. I am still considering it for my audio needs...

The CD performance of this player is only "OK". Although it has a bit more detail, deeper bass and good output (20mV), it is also harsh and boomy.
I prefer my old Pioneer Dv505 when listening to CD.
Have not try SACD or DVD-A.


Sam

have any of you experienced that for some DVDs, the player pauses for a second or so?

mallu2u:

The 563A doesn't have a fast layer change and will pause for a second once midway through dual-layer movies. If that describes your issue, then you might consider the new 578A which is said to have a seamless layer change.

Interesting. BradJudy, how can I know if the movie I am watching is a dual-layer movie? Would the firmware update fix this issue? I am currently on 1.306 while the new one is 1.906 I think...

mine is 1.706

I wish someone on the inside from Pioneer would slip us the firmware as an ISO with instructions on how to install it. It shouldn't be that hard, considering other companies issue end-user installable firmware. Does anyone know anyone that works for Pioneer that might be willing to help?

Ryan

you would think someone on this board or another popular board would know someone, huh ? its really amazing with all the techs online nobody has come up with it.

Originally posted by mallu2u
Interesting. BradJudy, how can I know if the movie I am watching is a dual-layer movie? Would the firmware update fix this issue? I am currently on 1.306 while the new one is 1.906 I think...

It would be very unusual for firmware to fix this. Dual layer movies generally have a yellowish tint to the bottom of the disc. Most major commercial DVDs are dual layer. If it only happens once in each movie and always happens in the same place, this is likely your problem.

I wonder how the Pioneer Elite DV-50A compares to the DV-563a? Here is a pic http://www.pioneerelectronics.com/pio/pe/images/portal/cit_3442/2046358EX-500_big.jpg

Here is a link to the Elite home theater system that it is bundled with, the Elite EX-500: http://www.pioneerelectronics.com/pna/product/detail/0,,2076_2047431_2046358,00.html

It doesn't seem to be any different than the 563 other than it says Elite on the drawer. I would look at the manual, but they don't offer it on their website. I did a little digging on the parts site, and the service manual for the 563 is the same as for the 50a.

Ryan

I picked up one of these at CC for 80 bucks open box...worth every penny

Sorry to ressurrect an old thread but has anyone found a downloadable firmware upgrade for the 563a yet?

nope

Any word one a replacement for this unit with HDMI?

and iLink?

the 1.906 firmware has been leaked. if you look hard enough it can be found on AVS. you will have to request it from other members who have it.

for those doubters....I told you so. it was only a matter of time when this player didnt matter anymore and the firmware would be leaked.

It's been so long since I done anything with mine except use and enjoy it, I've forgotten how to look up which firmware I have. Since I got one of the first units, I'm sure it's an old one.
What issues would 1.906 fix? Hmmm, for that matter, what issues do I have with mine? I can't think of any. Oh, every once in a while it makes a quick screetch or crackle type noise. It doesn't happen very often.

It's been so long since I done anything with mine except use and enjoy it, I've forgotten how to look up which firmware I have. Since I got one of the first units, I'm sure it's an old one.
What issues would 1.906 fix? Hmmm, for that matter, what issues do I have with mine? I can't think of any. Oh, every once in a while it makes a quick screetch or crackle type noise. It doesn't happen very often.
It mostly fixes playability issues with some DVD-A and SACD discs. Elton John's GYBR (DVD-A) would play with no sound, skipping on Dark Side of the Moon (SACD)...etc!

To check your current version do the following:
- turn on the player
- on the remote press: SETUP
- Choose INITIAL SETTINGS
- press: ENTER
- highlight: OPTIONS
- press: DISPLAY
- in the lower part of the screen the version number will be shown.



it fixes playability issues with certain DVD-A discs. I heard it helps with some MP3 issues too. if you dont own any of the problem DVD-A discs dont bother. but it cant hurt either. all up to you. I did it so I dont run into those problems later. plus I wanted to be able to play my steely dan gaucho disc.

Bruman, where can I get this?

I thought the 563a had to be sent away for a hardware update for the BIOS? Or is this a software-only one which could be loaded off a CD?

its not true. rumors and lies, as far as I can see.

from what I heard , people that actually brought in their player locally to be done sat there while a tech put in a cd and did the firmware right in front of him. its BS.

I used it and it worked flawlessly.


it is software.

I've had this player since they were released and now have a Who "Tommy" DVDA that will only play using the "video" selection . I'm assuming that this firmware upgrade will fix this? If I could download and burn a cd and do the upgrade I would but I'm not going to do the service center thing for just one cd. Is this file now available anywhere to download?

I'd like to get this firmware upgrade also. Any help?

Steve :D

Yeah, if the cat is out of the bag so to speak. On the newer firmware for this now long discontinued player.
Why is there still such a big secret on where to find it now?

The service center will upgrade the player. I bought one last summer used in ebay. Called pioneer and told them that tommy would not play. They sent me an authorization to have it upgraded at the local authorized service center in San Francisco. this was the nearest one to me that had the disc and could do the work. I tried to get them to send me the disc but they would not. Call them (pioneer) and see what they say. Oh and it fixed the problem with tommy.

jeff

here is the firmware. use at your own risk and I wont be repsposible for user error. just covering my butt. its an ISO image which can be burned to cd with just about any software burner. I used dvddecryptors USO write utility. its also winziped.


http://www.megaupload.com/?d=CVLUQLCY

I tried that D/L, when it was up. And all I got was a zero byte zip file.
I just tried to D/L it again to see if it was just maybe a bad D/L, and now it seems to be unavailable.

I updated the original link. it was working fine before. my isp wont allow file serving or I wouldnt use a flie host.

megaupload makes you wait for the file, 40seconds I believe. watch out as they have a pop up window that covers the download link in the upper right hand corner. just close that pop up and you will see it. I tried to direct link to the file with them and it did work but for some reason isnt anymore so just use the ad link I supplied that makes you wait.

OK, now it worked. And yeah mega sure has some pop-ups, even when you try and close them.
Even after I closed it like you said in order to see the D/L icon, a fairly "skanky" one still popped up during the D/L.

Here is a real link from my Comcast account, no crazy popups, etc.

Link (http://home.comcast.net/~ericreid77/563a_1.906.zip)

Wow, that was was a kick in the head easy. [Edit: after reading I don't think that quite came out right -- it really is simple. Download squidboy file, burn a CDRW, pop in player, close drawer, wait, done]

Now, any way to make this thing region free that easily or is that still a hardware change?

Anything has to be easier than doing the firmware upgrade on the Yamaha DVD-S2500.
You almost need to stand on your head to run the upgrade for that player.

squidboy.... nice job , thanks! keep this firmware alive! verizon makes you pay for storage. I am sure I could have uploaded the file to the website verizon offers but didnt want to put that much effort into setting up the page and ftp software.

No problem. I don't really use my webspace for anything, and since the file is so small, it will probably be there until I close my account (not anytime soon).

very cool! thanks!

Agreed! Thanks a bunch!

Thanks! I do love my 563. Just got an oppo and it isn't that much better than my good old 563.

Thanks for posting the links to the firmware update.
I have downloaded and unzipped then burnt to CD-RW but when I stick the disc in my 653 it just locks up and displays "can't play disc".
Has anyone got any suggestions? Maybe I did something wrong in the burning process?
Thanks for any help.

Take Care
4WR

I know for upgrading the 578 and 588, the disk MUST be labeled PIONEER in all caps and the file must be in the root directory.

Thanks for posting the links to the firmware update.
I have downloaded and unzipped then burnt to CD-RW but when I stick the disc in my 653 it just locks up and displays "can't play disc".
Has anyone got any suggestions? Maybe I did something wrong in the burning process?
Thanks for any help.

Take Care
4WR


You say "653" is that just a typo? It is for the 563a. It worked fine for me without any changes from what is there.

I did mean 563 that was indeed a typo.
I will try labeling the disc.

Thanks!
4WR

The file I used was just called pioneer.iso ( all lower case). All I did was burn it to a cd and put it in my 563a and close the door. It automatically updated the firmware in 12 steps and ejected the disc when it was complete. Just remember to go through the players setups as all the settings will be set to the factory default after updating.

Thanks! I do love my 563. Just got an oppo and it isn't that much better than my good old 563.

Sorry to drag up a month-old post, but I just got an Oppo myself, and it replaced my 563. My experience differs dramatically from yours.

I can't think of enough superlatives to describe the improvements offered by the Oppo. The video from the Oppo is absolutely STUNNING. Detail is amazing, dynamic range is tremendous, macroblocking is reduced to near nonexistence . . . For the first time, I truly feel that the picture quality I'm getting is equal to the best commercial theater experiences I've had.

My display is a Hitachi 57SWX20B, and the Oppo is connected to the DVI input and set for 1080i. The 563 was connected to the component inputs with a high-quality cable, but there was ghosting and a lack of detail. I'd done an electrostatic and mechanical focus on the TV, along with a painstaking manual convergence. I'd tweaked everything I could with Avia. So I'm now wondering whether I had a defective 563, or that perhaps it's a poor match for the Hitachi.

The 563 has been relegated to the 30" LCD in the upstairs family room, for emergency DVD viewing and music. The Oppo is NEVER leaving the Hitachi . . .

So am I blind and/or insane? It's just that, in my experience, the difference between the two players is so dramatic that there's simply no comparison.

Well, except that the Oppo remote sucks. I'll put up with it, though :)

I dont know who would consider the 563 a good video machine. I always thought it was terrible and mine was kicked to the side as a audio only machine.


the 563 was a lacking machine and not one I would consider ever for video. audio fine but never video. it was outdated as a video machine when it was released.

I did mean 563 that was indeed a typo.
I will try labeling the disc.

Thanks!
4WR

Did you ever get the firmware upgrade to work? I burned several CD-R's and could not get my 563a to recognize the CD as a upgrade disk. Is there a freeware burning program that I can use that people have had success with?

Did you burn it as an ISO or as a data disc with the ISO file on it?

You need to make sure that you are selecting "Burn Image" or something similar. If you are going through a wizard where you are selecting the name of the disk, the files to include, etc, you are doing the wrong thing.

I did a quick google search and found this:

http://www.deepburner.com/

It's a freeware burner that handles ISOs. I don't have any experience with it, but it looks easy enough to use.

Edit:

If you (or anyone else) is having major problems with this, I don't mind burning a CD for you. If you send me the CD and return postage, I will burn a working upgrade disk. PM me if interested.

Did you burn it as an ISO or as a data disc with the ISO file on it?

You need to make sure that you are selecting "Burn Image" or something similar. If you are going through a wizard where you are selecting the name of the disk, the files to include, etc, you are doing the wrong thing.

I did a quick google search and found this:

http://www.deepburner.com/

It's a freeware burner that handles ISOs. I don't have any experience with it, but it looks easy enough to use.

Edit:

If you (or anyone else) is having major problems with this, I don't mind burning a CD for you. If you send me the CD and return postage, I will burn a working upgrade disk. PM me if interested.

Thanks. I tried using Firestarter on the Mac which is supposed to be able to burn ISO CD images but perhaps it's not working properly. I'll try the free deepburner and see if that will work and if not, I'll send you a blank CD-R.

Hi!
I live in Brazil (DVD region 4) and upgraded my Pioneer DVD DV-563A firmware to version 1.906.
Originaly my player was region 0 and after firmware upgrade it turned to region 1.
Does anyone know how to turn it back to region 0 or All to play my Region 0,1 and 4 DVD?

Thank you,

Edmar

Anyone ever done an SDI mod to this player? I realize it's not the best candidate, but I'd still be curious.

Sorry to dig up an ancient post. I've had the 563A for a while but just recently got my first DVD-A disc, which is the Lord of the Rings: Fellowship of the Ring Complete Recordings. Try as I might with every combination of settings I haven't been able to get it to play. Any idea if this was one of the discs that had problems and needed the firmware upgrade? I'd rather avoid the firmware upgrade if it's another simple problem, but I'll do it if I need to.

I have my player hooked up to a Denon AVR-2807 receiver and it's hooked up via both digital and 6 channel analog just to make sure all signals will get through.

Thanks for any help on this.

Does your 563a have the original firmware, i.e. are you the only owner and have you never had the firmware upgraded? If yes, then I can't say if this disc is a problem or not (obviously I guess it is). I had issues with the Who - Tommy. this one had been mentioned by others as not playing with the original firmware. I had my 563a updated and then it played.

Upgrading is a huge hassle depending on where the nearest authorized Pioneer service center is. If you call Pioneer and tell them that you have a dvd-a disc that won't play and you'd like to have it's firmware updated. They should (at least they did for me a year or so ago) send you a letter that you take with your player to a center if one's located near you. Most can do the update while you wait. if none are close to you, you have to send it in.

Hope this helps.
Best,
jeff

Hmmm I've had mine since it came out. Now granted I have never upgraded the firmware but mine works flawless for me. I have the 5.1 and optical hooked up. I am still impressed with it.

I checked and I had the 1.7 firmware, so it wasn't the latest and that is probably my problem. I downloaded the pioneer.iso file from this thread and burnt it on a CD-R as a disk image (using Disk Utility on the Mac) and it said it could not play it. Tried the same on a DVD-R disc with the same results. Any other suggestions as to how to get it to be recognized by the Pioneer? It recognized that there was a CD in there. It just couldn't play it.

I think your gonna have to "splurge" and buy another/different DVD-A to see if it is the player or the disc.

I checked and I had the 1.7 firmware, so it wasn't the latest and that is probably my problem. I downloaded the pioneer.iso file from this thread and burnt it on a CD-R as a disk image (using Disk Utility on the Mac) and it said it could not play it. Tried the same on a DVD-R disc with the same results. Any other suggestions as to how to get it to be recognized by the Pioneer? It recognized that there was a CD in there. It just couldn't play it.


You must have burned it wrong in some way, because I used the file that was listed here also and it worked just fine for me. As far as trying to guess what may have gone wrong, I'm not a Mac person so I don't even know where to start. But I have seen posts about the same thing happening to other people in other threads when trying to burn a ISO of a DVD or CD on a Mac. And all I could tell, is that it depended a lot upon what software they used to burn the ISO in order to make it work successfully.

You must have burned it wrong in some way, because I used the file that was listed here also and it worked just fine for me. As far as trying to guess what may have gone wrong, I'm not a Mac person so I don't even know where to start. But I have seen posts about the same thing happening to other people in other threads when trying to burn a ISO of a DVD or CD on a Mac. And all I could tell, is that it depended a lot upon what software they used to burn the ISO in order to make it work successfully.

Well, originally I just tried copying the file onto a CD and clicking Burn. That didn't work so I googled how to burn a disk image and the instructions they gave were pretty straighforward:

Open Disk Utility
Mount the iso file as a disk image in there.
Click on it and press Burn.

This is supposed to burn it as a disk image.

So if there are any Mac users out there who know of a different way or different program, or if anyone would be willing to send me the disk I would very much appreciate it.

Well, originally I just tried copying the file onto a CD and clicking Burn. That didn't work so I googled how to burn a disk image and the instructions they gave were pretty straighforward:

Open Disk Utility
Mount the iso file as a disk image in there.
Click on it and press Burn.

This is supposed to burn it as a disk image.

So if there are any Mac users out there who know of a different way or different program, or if anyone would be willing to send me the disk I would very much appreciate it.I'm a Mac user and have the 563a player also. My mother has one as well which hasn't been updated yet, so I am interested in doing this also. I had the same results burning discs from the pioneer.ISO file on my Mac, unfortunately I had the same results burning the disc on a Windows PC also. I found the iso file but no instructions on updating the firmware once the disc is inserted in the player. Is it supposed to just read the disc and automatically start the update process, or do we need to do something special?

I found the iso file but no instructions on updating the firmware once the disc is inserted in the player. Is it supposed to just read the disc and automatically start the update process, or do we need to do something special?

Just let the disc play, and do not interrupt it in any way during the process.
Just wait until it notifys you that it is done.

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?p=7362133&&#post7362133

I got a good disc using Nero on my PC. The disc created was named:

051102_1133

And it has 4 files on it:

autoboot.ab
B3BA1906.ab
hwf.ab
hws.ab

And is 3.2MB in size

It worked and re-updaded my player successfully. The update started immediately and showed the progress step by step on the TV.

The simplistic explanations given earlier in this thread on how to burn the disc are not correct. The burning software must treat the ISO file as a complete disc image, expand it and burn it properly.
If I can find a Mac compatible way of doing this I'll post back later.

Roxio's Toast should have the ability to do this, but I can't test it at this time. I was currently just trying to find a way to do it from within the Mac OS.

I just recently got a link to an iso image for GetGray calibration DVD and successfully burned it on my Mac using Disk Utility and it's working fine. The exact same procedure is not working for my pioneer.iso which makes me suspect that it is either a different format that the Mac can't handle or the version of the file that I downloaded (from this thread) is corrupted somehow. Can anyone point me to another version of the file or perhaps a VIDEO_TS or other format for burning it, or if you would be willing to mail me a copy, please PM me and I would be happy to pay for shipping and the cost of the disc.

Thanks.

Ernie

The zipped file that is listed is good and not corrupt, unless you had some sort of glitch in D/L it. Try D/L it again, and if that don't work then maybe try to find someone that you know with a Windows based PC to burn one for you. Also, it is NOT any type of video file, it's a ISO image of roughly 3.5mb worth of 4 data files, one of which is a autoboot file. So there is no way to make it a Video_TS file. And so you should be burning it to a blank CD, and not a DVD.

Look at the instructions in this thread:

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=799337

Obviously, not the same player, but the instructions for burning the ISO should be the same.

Look at the instructions in this thread:

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=799337

Obviously, not the same player, but the instructions for burning the ISO should be the same.

Thank you for the link. Those actually the instructions I found and used when I burned it. As I said, I have another iso that I was able to burn with no problems, and this one has not worked with the exact same process, which makes me suspicious of the iso file rather than the process I am using.

I have the pioneer dv 563a dvd audio player and it will not play dvd audio on any dualdiscs or on several dvd audio discs. Does anyone have a link and instructions on the latest firmware update?

I have the pioneer dv 563a dvd audio player and it will not play dvd audio on any dualdiscs or on several dvd audio discs. Does anyone have a link and instructions on the latest firmware update?

Firmware is here:

http://home.comcast.net/~ericreid77/563a_1.906.zip

Unzip and burn the ISO to a CD. Instructions are above.

I've been wondering if I'm missing something by sticking with my 563. There are tons of new players out there now. It looks fine to me, but possibly because I haven't tried another player. Is upscaling the way to go on my 56" LCoS 720p?

I've been wondering if I'm missing something by sticking with my 563. There are tons of new players out there now. It looks fine to me, but possibly because I haven't tried another player. Is upscaling the way to go on my 56" LCoS 720p?

I know exactly what you mean, my 563 has performed like a champ since the day I purchased it. I've been very happy with it's audio (although some might claim this is only ignorance is bliss...)

I currently feed the 563's 480i component output to my VP30 processor. The image is very good on my 60" LCoS, but lately I'm thinking about upgrading to an OPPO 980H to take advantage of 480i over HDMI and moving the 563 out of the theater and into my living room. What's holding me back? The 563 "just works", it plays every disc I drop into it without issue (CD, DVD, DVD-R, DVD+R, DVD-RW, DVD+RW, SACD, DVDA).

My guess is that you'll see an improvement moving to a newer upscaling player, but if the 563 is working fine why bother? Take the money and invest it in more movies. If you find that you can't fight the upgrade bug I suggest looking at the OPPO 983H.

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=905400

I "upgraded" to a Samsung that upconverts to 1080i over component.

Audio was horrible on high rez discs. So I put the 563 back for audio only.

I know exactly what you mean, my 563 has performed like a champ since the day I purchased it. I've been very happy with it's audio (although some might claim this is only ignorance is bliss...)

I currently feed the 563's 480i component output to my VP30 processor. The image is very good on my 60" LCoS, but lately I'm thinking about upgrading to an OPPO 980H to take advantage of 480i over HDMI and moving the 563 out of the theater and into my living room. What's holding me back? The 563 "just works", it plays every disc I drop into it without issue (CD, DVD, DVD-R, DVD+R, DVD-RW, DVD+RW, SACD, DVDA).

My guess is that you'll see an improvement moving to a newer upscaling player, but if the 563 is working fine why bother? Take the money and invest it in more movies. If you find that you can't fight the upgrade bug I suggest looking at the OPPO 983H.

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=905400

Thanks for sharing your experience. I think I may just hold out on that upgrade. I'll just not worry about a digital connection until the market decides which way the future of home video formats will go.

You should definitely make sure your cable ingress is grounded properly - that's a safety issue. But if it is grounded, and you still have a problem, try this the Jensen ISO-MAX Model VRD-1FF:

http://www.jensen-transformers.com/iso_vid.html

I use it and it works very well - no degradation of the picture quality. Compatible with HDTV, Pay-per-View, and Cable Modem.

I bought a VRD-1FF from Full Compass and it eliminated all of my horizontal hum bar problems.

can't imagine anyone wanting to use this player for video.

audio only here.

it does pass blacker than black.

can't imagine anyone wanting to use this player for video.

audio only here.
I am NOT impressed by its audio, above average at best IMHO...

I have the pioneer dv 563a dvd audio player and it will not play dvd audio on any dualdiscs or on several dvd audio discs. Does anyone have a link and instructions on the latest firmware update?
Mine was brand new without any FW upgrade and it played the DVD-Audio The Look Of Love by Diana Krall Without any problems which is a dual disc BTW.

It seems that the players made in 2004 play everything fine. I have a 563a made in Jan/04 It came with the final firmware and plays everything.

has anyone gotten the ISO to burn "correctly" on a Mac? Now, before everyone chimes in that we mac users burn the thing wrong, that isn't the issue. I've looked at this "pioneer.iso" on several systems and unix systems and it appears there is either some additional information embedded into the beginning of the ISO or it isn't flagged as a specific type of ISO.

No system I have can look at it correctly (Sun Solaris, Linux, FreeBSD, Mac). Yes, I can actually mount the ISO using Toast on a mac, but then toast knows how to deal with, shall we say, "not so friendly" formats.

Update-- seems this ISO is actually a CD-XA UDF format, created by Easy CD-Creator 5.3 (Roxio) .. same folks as Toast (no wonder Toast can read it). Since UDF support is about NILL on anything but windows, and CD-XA isn't fun to deal with from a pure data view, I'll dig up a windows box.

If you register at GetManual (http://www.getmanual.com), then log in and search for the DV-563. They have the service manual for $10 and the firmware for $5. I think it's the most reliable solution we've got for this player at this time.