Kenwood Entre Technical Discussions [Text View] - Page 4

boxerhips

06-29-05, 11:39 AM

The first part is the Entre loading from the Seagate drive and the second part is whem I hit "any key" during boot to start "pShell". Initializing RAM from 0x12dd0 to 0x16fffff

ROM Bootloader version number - 1.11

IDE driver initialized...

IDE devices found :
Hard Disk 0 Found
Model : ST320410A
Serial : 3FG0JZ97
Rev# : 3.34
Part ID : 1 Start: 63 Size: 409537 WP: 0
Part ID : 2 Start: 409600 Size: 409600 WP: 0
Part ID : 3 Start: 819200 Size: 409600 WP: 0
Part ID : 4 Start: 1228863 Size: 409537 WP: 0
Part ID : 5 Start: 1638400 Size: 409600 WP: 0
Part ID : 6 Start: 2048000 Size: 10240000 WP: 0
Part ID : 7 Start: 12288063 Size: 10239937 WP: 0
Part ID : 8 Start: 22528000 Size: 10240000 WP: 0
Part ID : 9 Start: 32768000 Size: 6332416 WP: 0

Mounting READONLY partition....
Try to mount CD! ....

No RAM image found on CD!!!
decrypting ram image
Loading RAM Bootloader....
in: 7.0.1/RAMBL.lok

load address = 0xD80000

start address = 0xD80004
start addres = 0xd80004

Starting disk load...
...
Disk load completed

Transferring control to the downloaded code

@2PORT@Initializing RAM from 0xdee930 to 0x16fffff

Physical and Application memory size:

SDRAM Controller 0 Bank 0 has 16MB installed.

SDRAM Controller 0 Bank 1 has 8MB installed.

SDRAM Controller 1 Bank 0 has 0MB installed.

SDRAM Controller 1 Bank 1 has 0MB installed.

Application memory size = 23MB

RAM Bootloader version number - 1.12
Hit any key to load pShell! ....

IDE driver initialized...

IDE devices found :
Hard Disk 0 Found
Model : ST320410A
Serial : 3FG0JZ97
Rev# : 3.34
Part ID : 1 Start: 63 Size: 409537 WP: 0
Part ID : 2 Start: 409600 Size: 409600 WP: 0
Part ID : 3 Start: 819200 Size: 409600 WP: 0
Part ID : 4 Start: 1228863 Size: 409537 WP: 0
Part ID : 5 Start: 1638400 Size: 409600 WP: 0
Part ID : 6 Start: 2048000 Size: 10240000 WP: 0
Part ID : 7 Start: 12288063 Size: 10239937 WP: 0
Part ID : 8 Start: 22528000 Size: 10240000 WP: 0
Part ID : 9 Start: 32768000 Size: 6332416 WP: 0

Mounting READONLY partition....

Mounting ACTIVE partition - 7.0.5/

Try to mount CD! ....

No RAM image found on CD!!!
decrypting ram image
Loading app image(lck file).....
3870720 Done! (5778 msec)
start address = 0x101c4c

Transferring control to the downloaded code now

@2PORT@return from tsd_create == 0
key->tsdanchor == a46f1c
key->tsdix == 2
p1 == 16fd654
p == 0
return from tsd_setval == 0
p == 0
*p == 0
return from co_register == 0
get_eh_context == 26a600

Date Time Level IL Task File Line Message
---------- --------------- ------- -- ---- ---------------- ----- -------

Found SL11 controller

I2C error = 0x4 retrying ... error = 0x4 retrying ... error = 0x4failed, error 4

Did not find Philips H11A; assuming generic hub
IusbCardInit: Bus Num 0 Initialized. Minor 0, Entry 0x22F960, InitFlag 0x80
Found 1 Iusb Card.
Compaq USB driver registered
Rio 600 USB Driver Registered
Allocated USBHubCb is bcf054
HAL's INTRP EP Handle is c04ce0
GetConfigutraLocation returned 7.0.5/mdm.ini
open_f on 7.0.5/mdm.ini returned 0
GetConfigutraLocation returned 7.0.5/mdm.ini
open_f on 7.0.5/mdm.ini returned 0
2004-06-03 17:37:44.805503 NOTICE 0 ROOT /startup : 92 Filling OSD wi
th 0

APE initialisation sequence...
layers_client in GUI setting root dir = 7.0.5/
2004-06-03 17:37:44.805875 NOTICE 0 ROOT /startup : 98
GUI stack size = 65280
GUIH stack size = 4096
ANT realflex heap size = 2097152
ANT heap size = 0
2004-06-03 17:37:44.903426 NOTICE 0 ROOT /startup : 216 APE event loop
task running
Initializing RAM from 0x12dd0 to 0x16fffff

ROM Bootloader version number - 1.11

IDE driver initialized...

IDE devices found :
Hard Disk 0 Found
Model : ST320410A
Serial : 3FG0JZ97
Rev# : 3.34
Part ID : 1 Start: 63 Size: 409537 WP: 0
Part ID : 2 Start: 409600 Size: 409600 WP: 0
Part ID : 3 Start: 819200 Size: 409600 WP: 0
Part ID : 4 Start: 1228863 Size: 409537 WP: 0
Part ID : 5 Start: 1638400 Size: 409600 WP: 0
Part ID : 6 Start: 2048000 Size: 10240000 WP: 0
Part ID : 7 Start: 12288063 Size: 10239937 WP: 0
Part ID : 8 Start: 22528000 Size: 10240000 WP: 0
Part ID : 9 Start: 32768000 Size: 6332416 WP: 0

Mounting READONLY partition....
Try to mount CD! ....

No RAM image found on CD!!!
decrypting ram image
Loading RAM Bootloader....
in: 7.0.1/RAMBL.lok

load address = 0xD80000

start address = 0xD80004
start addres = 0xd80004

Starting disk load...
...
Disk load completed

Transferring control to the downloaded code

@2PORT@Initializing RAM from 0xdee930 to 0x16fffff

Physical and Application memory size:

SDRAM Controller 0 Bank 0 has 16MB installed.

SDRAM Controller 0 Bank 1 has 8MB installed.

SDRAM Controller 1 Bank 0 has 0MB installed.

SDRAM Controller 1 Bank 1 has 0MB installed.

Application memory size = 23MB

RAM Bootloader version number - 1.12
Hit any key to load pShell! ....
---------

IDE driver initialized...

IDE devices found :
Hard Disk 0 Found
Model : ST320410A
Serial : 3FG0JZ97
Rev# : 3.34
Part ID : 1 Start: 63 Size: 409537 WP: 0
Part ID : 2 Start: 409600 Size: 409600 WP: 0
Part ID : 3 Start: 819200 Size: 409600 WP: 0
Part ID : 4 Start: 1228863 Size: 409537 WP: 0
Part ID : 5 Start: 1638400 Size: 409600 WP: 0
Part ID : 6 Start: 2048000 Size: 10240000 WP: 0
Part ID : 7 Start: 12288063 Size: 10239937 WP: 0
Part ID : 8 Start: 22528000 Size: 10240000 WP: 0
Part ID : 9 Start: 32768000 Size: 6332416 WP: 0

Mounting READONLY partition....

Mounting ACTIVE partition - 7.0.5/

Try to mount CD! ....

No RAM image found on CD!!!
decrypting ram image
Loading pShell.lck....
774144 Done! (1188 msec)
start address = 0x1200004

Transferring control to the downloaded code now

@2PORT@return from tsd_create == 0
key->tsdanchor == 13d1c70
key->tsdix == 1
p1 == 16feee4
p == 0
return from tsd_setval == 0
p == 0
*p == 0
return from co_register == 0
get_eh_context == 12cbdc0

Escient Autostart pSHELL

$Id: root.c,v 1.23.2.27 2003/02/17 00:58:31 fme Exp $
$Id: sys_conf.h,v 1.11.34.9 2003/02/17 00:49:52 fme Exp $
$Id: autostart.c,v 1.15.22.49 2003/03/12 13:49:29 ddaly Exp $
$Id: congetch.c,v 1.2 2000/08/11 13:09:20 ddaly Exp $
$Id: volume.c,v 1.3 2001/12/28 18:00:35 jef Exp $

Pseudo device initialized...
TFTP device initialized...
IDE driver initialized...
Hard Disk 0 Found
Model : ST320410A
Serial : 3FG0JZ97
Rev# : 3.34
Size : 16498944

Part ID : 1 Start: 63 Size: 409537 WP: 0
Part ID : 2 Start: 409600 Size: 409600 WP: 0
Part ID : 3 Start: 819200 Size: 409600 WP: 0
Part ID : 4 Start: 1228863 Size: 409537 WP: 0
Part ID : 5 Start: 1638400 Size: 409600 WP: 0
Part ID : 6 Start: 2048000 Size: 10240000 WP: 0
Part ID : 7 Start: 12288063 Size: 10239937 WP: 0
Part ID : 8 Start: 22528000 Size: 10240000 WP: 0
Part ID : 9 Start: 32768000 Size: 6332416 WP: 0

7.0.1 will be used as the initial volume.
pHILE+ volume 7.0.1 mounted.
7.0.1 will be used as the initial volume.
IP address is 169.254.1.120
Gateway IP address is 169.254.1.1
Netmask is 255.255.255.0
MAC address is 00:30:60:BF:FF:07
Interface type is hpna
Executable:
File type is image
Volume is readonly
File name is RAMBL.img
Alternate:
File type is image
Volume is readonly
File name is pshell.img
Volume "readonly" maps to partition 7.0.1.
This volume is already mounted as the initial partition.
Volume "active" maps to partition 7.0.5.
pHILE+ volume 7.0.5 mounted.
Volume "update" maps to partition 7.0.2.
pHILE+ volume 7.0.2 mounted.
Volume "media1" maps to partition 7.0.6.
pHILE+ volume 7.0.6 mounted.
Initializing random number generator with seed 60bfff07.
Autostart starting.
Network [HPNA] driver loading...Done.
Press any key to skip autostart of RAMBL.img.

Booting from [-:ÀPLñ].
Could not open readonly/partitions.prp.
Error 0x00000023 finding partition executable file readonly.
Autostart failed with filename [RAMBL.img]
fopen() : 200d - prepc error value
autostart (fn:readonly/pshell.prp) Could not open readonly/partitions.prp.
Unable to determine the active partition.
Setting up initial volume as active. Good luck.
Error 0x2025 mounting of pHILE+ disk volume readonly
Attempting to mount MS-DOS volume readonly.
Error 0x2025 mounting of MS-DOS disk volume readonly.
Volume readonly unreadable.
ERROR: NFS server daemon startup failure

set_hostentry:176 ERROR - function not supported.

set_hostentry:176 ERROR - function not supported.

set_hostentry:176 ERROR - function not supported.

login:
Does any of this help? Please! Thanks Tim

boxerhips

06-29-05, 11:42 AM

This what my Maxtor 40gb drive (booting throgh the Lite-on ) does: This iInitializing RAM from 0x12dd0 to 0x16fffff

ROM Bootloader version number - 1.11

IDE driver initialized...

IDE devices found :
Hard Disk 0 Found
Model : Maxtor 54098U8
Serial : K80A88TC
Rev# : DA6207V0
Part ID : 1 Start: 63 Size: 409537 WP: 0
Part ID : 2 Start: 409600 Size: 409600 WP: 0
Part ID : 3 Start: 819200 Size: 409600 WP: 0
Part ID : 4 Start: 1228863 Size: 409537 WP: 0
Part ID : 5 Start: 1638400 Size: 409600 WP: 0
Part ID : 6 Start: 2048000 Size: 10240000 WP: 0
Part ID : 7 Start: 12288063 Size: 10239937 WP: 0
Part ID : 8 Start: 22528000 Size: 10240000 WP: 0
Part ID : 9 Start: 32768000 Size: 6332416 WP: 0

Mounting READONLY partition....
Try to mount CD! ....
CD mounted

RAM image found on CD!!!
decrypting ram image from CD
Loading ram image from CD(lok file)....
in: 7.1.1/ram.lok

load address = 0x100000

start address = 0x100004
start addres = 0x100004

Starting disk load...
......
Disk load completed

Transferring control to the downloaded code

@2PORT@Hard Disk 0 Found
Model : Maxtor 54098U8
Serial : K80A88TC
Rev# : DA6207V0
Part ID : 1 Start: 63 Size: 409537 WP: 0
Part ID : 2 Start: 409600 Size: 409600 WP: 0
Part ID : 3 Start: 819200 Size: 409600 WP: 0
Part ID : 4 Start: 1228863 Size: 409537 WP: 0
Part ID : 5 Start: 1638400 Size: 409600 WP: 0
Part ID : 6 Start: 2048000 Size: 10240000 WP: 0
Part ID : 7 Start: 12288063 Size: 10239937 WP: 0
Part ID : 8 Start: 22528000 Size: 10240000 WP: 0
Part ID : 9 Start: 32768000 Size: 6332416 WP: 0

---------------------------------------
CD Update Utility
---------------------------------------

Processing Partition 7.0.1
Initializing partition
source file = KMC.tar
Uncompressing 7.1.1/KMC.tar
something bad happened:
Cannot open %s

something bad happened:
This is a fatal error.

something bad happened:
Read error on %s

something bad happened:
At beginning of tape, quitting now

something bad happened:
This is a fatal error.

something bad happened:
Read error on %s

something bad happened:
At beginning of tape, quitting now

something bad happened:
This is a fatal error.

something bad happened:
Read error on %s

something bad happened:
At beginning of tape, quitting now

hey

06-29-05, 12:48 PM

Hi,

I've been reading this thread and the main thread for a couple of months and appreciate all of the information. I've been mostly interested in two topics: (1) upgrading the hard drive and (2) getting mp3 files recorded on the hard drive to output digitally. I have two Entres, one for CDs and the other for DVDs.

I upgraded the hard drive on both Entres. One of them works fine and I am in the process of recording my CDs. The second one started out working fine and then quit rebooting. I can reload the system files and it will reboot following the installation of the software, but will not reboot after that (it just hangs). In addition, the original 20GB hard drive will continuously reboot. Does anyone have any idea what is happening or how to fix it?

In terms of the mp3 optical output issue, I've seen the question raised several times but no real public discussion about it other than raising potential legal concerns. I believe it's clear that there can be no legal liability associated with private use of the digital files, in part because Escient provides digital outputs. If there is a legal issue, it can only be Kenwood's and it probably is contractual in nature.

On a different topic, I've found that the OpenGlobe registration system is down about half of the time, but that it works fine when it's up.

Thanks for any help,
Hey

RonAuger

06-29-05, 05:38 PM

I just install a known working drive from an Entre. The drive was replaced with a 120gb. The funny thing is the drive is a Seagate20gb and not a Samsung. Is this correct? When I reset the EntreI get this:The Seagate 20GB drive is the original Entre drive they all were manufactured with. A 120GB drive (the Samsung is one that works with 15 partitions) is a replacement larger drive that a core group on this thread figured out how to load.

If you have the original Seagate 20GB and you are having problems installing on your 40GB drive, did you try installing via the CDR to the 20GB drive? (And don't hit any key when the prompt says to).

The error that the boot process reports looks as though there is something wrong with the KMC.tar file on the CDR you burned. Is that file present at the root of the CDR?

JRinOKC

06-29-05, 05:48 PM

Has anyone been able to set up an automatic backup of their Entre to PC? CuetFTP fails to change directories as intended when 7.0.6/. is set as the startup directory since it has already established 7.0.5/ as the home directory and ends up trying to change to 7.0.5/7.0.6/. which of course fails.

I'd like to be able to do a folder sync to just update the changed files on a nightly basis.

One other question, once the FTP port on the Entre has been opened how long does it remain open? Will I need to figure a way to open it every night for a scheduled backup?

I'm trying to do this to have the MP3s available on the PC to download into an Ipod.

Thanks for the help!

RonAuger

06-29-05, 05:51 PM

In terms of the mp3 optical output issue, I've seen the question raised several times but no real public discussion about it other than raising potential legal concerns. I believe it's clear that there can be no legal liability associated with private use of the digital files, in part because Escient provides digital outputs. If there is a legal issue, it can only be Kenwood's and it probably is contractual in nature.I don't know if it is possible to turn on the digital ouptut for MP3 files, especially without an Entre software upgrade (which will never happen). It's unlikely a tweak done to a file via FTP would do it. It would be interesting to see if an install CDR made from an escient.zip "golden" file (for a Fireball) would install on an Entre. Is anyone with both units able to get an escient.zip file and willing to try it (or has alrady tried it)?On a different topic, I've found that the OpenGlobe registration system is down about half of the time, but that it works fine when it's up.Since I've been re-installing my units over and over the past few weeks, I've noticed the same thing. And although the Entre warns you that you can't download CD/DVD info until registration occurs successfully, you can. It just keeps going through quick start every power on until you successfully register.

RonAuger

07-04-05, 07:49 PM

As I promised a while back, I have finished a WinCE application that can control the Entre (if your PPC is wirelessly connected to the same network/subnet that the Entre is on). It's one of the client types supported in a larger system that controls my theater. I had to make the PocketPC client talk to the Entre directly when the server component wasn't present -- didn't get around to it until now. You'll see alot of disabled features when my server component is not present, but it's useable with the Entre for both music and DVDs. AVS won't let me upload a .cab file so PM or email me your email address and I'll send it to you. I wouldn't mind hearing some feedback on it and you might find it useful. I've only tested it on an IPaq and a Viewsonic, both running WinCE V3.0.

You'll need to know your devices processor type -- ARM, ARMV4, MIPS, SH3, X86.
You'll also need the .NET Compact Framework (http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyID=a5a02311-194b-4c00-b445-f92bec03032f&DisplayLang=en)installed on your device.Wow -- I've only had 1 taker interested in this. Is there no one else that wants to control their Entre with their PocketPC? I'd love to get a little test group going for feedback/improvement.

hey

07-08-05, 07:28 PM

It would be interesting to see if an install CDR made from an escient.zip "golden" file (for a Fireball) would install on an Entre. Is anyone with both units able to get an escient.zip file and willing to try it (or has alrady tried it)?

I don't have a Fireball or the zip file, but I do have an extra Entre that I'd be willing to experiment on if anyone has the zip file to download. Hey

I have found the following tools to be the best and easiest to use:

Imaging: Image for Windows (contains checkbox for Backup Unused Sectors)
Editing: Hex Editor Neo (permits editing of physcial disk)

They both offer free 30-day trial periods and are cheaper than the competing commercial products.

http://www.terabyteunlimited.com/image-for-windows.htm
http://www.hhdsoftware.com/Family/hex-editor.html

hey!

Mkellyvich

09-01-05, 08:04 PM

Did anyone ever find a fix for the dreaded "runtime error 6" on DVDEdit? I have accumulated a few discs that don't have information and would like to catch up on the updates.

Thanks,

Mike

flavorguy

09-15-05, 12:59 PM

I performed a search, but couldn't find anything directly...

My installer is looking for the RS-232 protocol in which he could control the Entre functionality from an Elan VIA ...

Any help would be appreciated...

RonAuger

09-16-05, 12:55 PM

The two RS232 ports are for the Entre to control the Kenwood receiver and disc carousel. I don't think you can control the Entre via serial -- I have never seen any documentation on the serial interface. You can control the Entre via TCP (network). The documentation for that protocol is the same as the Excient fireball and is available.

flavorguy

09-16-05, 05:03 PM

Ron-

Thanks for the response... I passed it along to my installer and I'll see what he comes back to me with...

Flavorguy

Adam Mrotek

09-19-05, 02:07 AM

Flavorguy,
Let me know what you come up with. We have the same system (Elan). I would like to do something similar. We are learning to program Elan products, I'm just not sure how to integrate them.
Oh yeah, you have probably seen Elan's new product. It's kind of like an entree however only handles dvd's (up to four Sony 400 disc changers).

RonAuger

09-24-05, 03:18 PM

Is the Entre FAQ page being hosted somewhere else now? The bookmark I have is no longer valid

symneter

10-07-05, 03:14 PM

In spite of the issues I have read with the Entre, I purchased a refurb recently. After 2 days of trying, I am unable to get the unit to register. It gets online successfully and seems to handshake with OpenGlobe, but times out after a handful of minutes. I have noticed other posts stating this problem, but have not seen a solution. Is everyone else's Entre communicating with OpenGlobe okay these days. The unit simply states "registration failed". I bought this thing only to organize and control my 2 5900m.

RonAuger

10-07-05, 03:33 PM

I haven't used mine to access OpenGlobe in a while since my 1 5900m is chock full. Actually, disc lookups usually work when the registration server is not anyway. The registration server is often unresponsive for days at a time and then one day it'll just be there -- keep trying. It's been a few months since I had to register a unit, but I seem to remember that it could do disc lookups anyway (even though one of the screens said it couldn't).

symneter

10-07-05, 07:03 PM

Thanks. Unfortunately, this unit is being used for the first time, so it is seeking authentication, thus, it appears to be useless to me until it registers. Somebody tell me otherwise. Anyone know the actual web adress it is going to just to monitor availability.

Mkellyvich

10-07-05, 09:59 PM

I've had no problems with lookups (I put about a dozen discs in the #2 changer over the last week, probably about 30 discs over the last few months). I have not tried to re-register either of my Entres for about a year now, so I don't know if the registration server is still up.

Good luck,

Mike

symneter

10-08-05, 10:09 AM

Does anyone know if it is possible to run the Entre and changer without the authentication and registration process? I have not called Kenwood tech support. Will they even speak to someone about this antique?

Mkellyvich

10-08-05, 11:37 AM

I'd give Kenwood a call. Their tech support was still up last fall when I was adding Axcess terminals to my system, and the folks I talked to were quite helpful and knowledgeable.

Good luck,

Mike

stickman

10-13-05, 03:17 PM

Sorry, haven't been on in a while. I chaged the location of my website. You can get to the faq at www.bryer.org. The link is under the Home Theater section.

Is the Entre FAQ page being hosted somewhere else now? The bookmark I have is no longer valid

symneter

10-19-05, 06:57 PM

Thanks for the advise to call Kenwood. They got me fixed with DNS addresses.

Now my next question, is it possible to use to seperate Entres and have the respond to serperate remote codes? I would like to run 2 in my system.

Mkellyvich

10-20-05, 10:12 PM

I have not tried that. My second Entre is boxed up at present. I don't recall any menu settings for changing remote ID, but I don't think I ever looked for one. Once again, I'd call Kenwood and ask.

Cheers,

Mike

Thorerik

11-28-05, 12:22 PM

I'm interested in this application but am clueless on how to implement it. Do you need an address to send a disk?
Thanks,
Erik
(Thorerik)

ScottF200

11-28-05, 10:36 PM

I'm interested in this application but am clueless on how to implement it. Do you need an address to send a disk?
Thanks,
Erik
(Thorerik)

"this application" ... what are you refering to?

ScottF200

11-28-05, 10:47 PM

"this application" ... what are you refering to?

Perhaps you are refering to DVDEdit (available here - http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?p=5002166&highlight=dvdedit#post5002166 ) but you were unclear. This thread is about general technical issue and the Entre/5900. HTH

Thorerik

11-30-05, 03:34 PM

Hi,
I tried your method but it didn't come out the same. I quit the backup because it kept asking to span the volumes. I use the defaults in Ghost. Do you know why this happens?
Thanks,
Erik

Thorerik

11-30-05, 03:40 PM

I guess it would be appropriate to address who Iamb try to talk to. The previous post is to Slack concerning Entre Ghost backup procedures.

On another front I have had my Entre for about two weeks and it works fine except that it will not play back MP3's properly. The music stops and starts. It does this for the installed factory music samples as well as some music I transferred via Media Manager. When playing internet radio it will do it too even when it is not buffering in data. I have check with tech support and they had me try all kinds of stuff and finally said "Send it to service". Before I do has anyone come across this problem and a fix for it?
Erik

slocko

12-01-05, 02:03 PM

It's been a long time and I really don't remember anymore. I don't even have my entre hooked up anymore.

Hi,
I tried your method but it didn't come out the same. I quit the backup because it kept asking to span the volumes. I use the defaults in Ghost. Do you know why this happens?
Thanks,
Erik

Ben-M

12-06-05, 10:42 PM

I have been searching through the forums in an effort to find a way to resurrect my Entre. Long story short my unit did not come back up after a power outage about two weeks ago. The unit was plugged in to a high end Panamax power filter, so there should not have been a spike... apparently just the power interruption was enough. The Entre now has no front panel display, a flashing red status light, and an ejecting drawer when I attempt a reset. I have nothing plugged in to the USB ports, so that should not have been an issue. I located and downloaded the "kenwood.zip" reboot file from an ftp link found in the Yahoo Entre/Ipaq forum, unzipped it and made a boot CD, and tried to reboot the stock drive. The messages on the Entre display stepped through "reboot", "partitioning", "installing software version 2.0.0.8", etc. and ending with "installation complete remove CD and reset". Did this and no change to the inoperative baseline. I then ordered and installed a Seagate 120GB unit (jumpers set as master drive as per the original Entre drive), deleted the standard PART file & renamed the existing 120 file to PART (per instructions on Yahoo forum), made the new "120GB boot CD", and tried again. Got the same display message string, but unit still did not work after reset. As last resort tried using the "stock" 20GB kenwood.zip-based boot CD to reformat the new 120GB drive thinking that I could at least use it as a 20GB equivalent, but no such luck. Got same Entre display sequence, but unit still did not work upon restart. Any expert advise, help, encouragement, condolences, etc. would be much appreciated.

Design12002

12-08-05, 12:35 AM

I have just purchased a refurb entre. Tried to set up but had a bad internet connection and had to abort til that was fixed. Now I can not get the unit to start up at all and even with reboot, holding down power button, red light never stops flashing and nothing else happens. Any ideas on what to do next? Thanks Scot :confused:

dwm55

12-12-05, 07:20 PM

fz1234

12-12-05, 11:39 PM

Hey guys,

I have seen this red flashing light many times on alot of entres. This doesn't always mean you have a bad entre. The entre is similar to a pc when it boots if there is a failure it stops booting. To watch the boot process connect a null modem cable between the entres top serial port and a pc. Then use hyperterminal to look at what the entre spits out during boot(config:9600,8,n,1). Watch for it to error and see what it is reporting. I have seen two entres that seemed to have a failing IDE Controller and this would happen from time to time due to a failed write. You can copy partiton 7.0.1 to 7.0.5.

As for your installing 2.0.0.8 onto a new drive. It sounds like you are using the kenwood.zip upgrade cd. I did this the first time i tried to set up a 120g drive. You need the full installation *.zip I will chack around and see if i have it.

dwm55

12-13-05, 08:52 AM

Hey guys,

To watch the boot process connect a null modem cable between the entres top serial port and a pc. Then use hyperterminal to look at what the entre spits out during boot(config:9600,8,n,1). Watch for it to error and see what it is reporting.

It sounds like you are using the kenwood.zip upgrade cd. I did this the first time i tried to set up a 120g drive. You need the full installation *.zip I will chack around and see if i have it.

Thanks. I will dig a null modem cable out of my boxes of cables in the closet. It's been a long time since I had to use one of these.

Here is what I am using for the 120GB upgrade...

06/23/2003 05:40 PM......16,424,960.....KMC.TAR
06/23/2003 05:40 PM.......6,010,880.....KMCDB.TAR
06/23/2003 05:40 PM.......1,648,640.....KMCECOM.TAR
06/23/2003 05:40 PM......78,653,440.....MEDIA.TAR
06/23/2003 05:40 PM..........10,240.....MEDIADIR.TAR
06/23/2003 05:40 PM...........1,311.....PART.PRP
06/23/2003 05:40 PM...........1,487.....PART.PRP.txt
06/23/2003 05:40 PM...........1,313.....PART120.PRP
06/23/2003 05:40 PM..........10,240.....PART789.TAR
06/23/2003 05:40 PM..........10,240.....PSHELL.TAR
06/23/2003 05:40 PM.........837,048.....RAM.IMG
06/23/2003 05:40 PM.........868,352.....RAM.LOK
06/23/2003 05:40 PM.......1,546,240.....RAMBL.TAR
06/23/2003 05:40 PM...........1,767.....UPDAT000.PRP
06/23/2003 05:40 PM...........2,287.....UPDATE.PRP
06/23/2003 05:40 PM...........2,285.....UPDATE120.PRP
06/23/2003 05:40 PM...........2,495.....UPDATEAL.PRP
06/23/2003 05:40 PM...............8.....VERSION.TXT
06/23/2003 05:40 PM..........10,240.....WAVDIR.TAR
19 File(s) 106,043,473 bytes

I modified the PART.PRP and UPDATE.PRP files to reflect the 120GB drive, but so far I have not been able to make the settings work, that sky-chicken or krichter1 used.

Dave

dwm55

12-14-05, 12:48 AM

I was finally able to load the 2.0.0.8 software on the new 120GB drive.

I had several problems. The first time I tried to load the software, I was successful using the settings in the PART120.PRP. However upon reboot of the Entre, a message was displayed that it was checking the intregrety of the library. This process stopped at 94% completion and stayed there (finally got the nerve to reboot the Entre after three hours).

I suspected the first failure was due to not modifying the UPDATE.PRP file to reflect the changes in the number of partitions in the PART.PRP file. Upon trying to load the Entre a second time, the software installation process hung and never completed. I tried to use the PART.PRP and UPDATE.PRP settings that sky-chicken had success with, but again the software installation hung.

krichter1 shared the PART.PRP and UPDATE.PRP files he used to successfully load his Entre with. When I used these settings the Entre would flash PARTITIONING on the screen, followed by REBOOTING, and ejected the disc. When I looked at the drive in the PC, the drive had not been partitioned. I then modified krichter1's setting to remove the 17th partition from the PART.PRP and UPDATE.PRP files. The Entre loaded the software and after it booted, presented the introduction and setup screen on the TV.

Below are the contents of the PART.PRP and UPDATE.PRP for the Seagate ST3120026A 120GB drive I used. The Seagate drive appears to be somewhat smaller than the Samsung drives (shows 111GB in Windows 2000 vs. 114GB that people reported with the Samsung drive).

PART.PRP

partition.readonly=7.0.1/
readonly.label=readonly
readonly.blocks=102384
readonly.fdbs=16384

partition.update=7.0.2/
update.label=update
update.blocks=102400
update.fdbs=16384

partition.backup1=7.0.3/
backup1.label=backup1
backup1.blocks=102400
backup1.fdbs=16384

partition.backup2=7.0.4/
backup2.label=backup2
backup2.blocks=102384
backup2.fdbs=16384

partition.active=7.0.5/
active.label=active
active.blocks=102400
active.fdbs=16384

partition.media1=7.0.6/
media1.label=media1
media1.blocks=5120000
media1.fdbs=8192

partition.media2=7.0.7/
media2.label=media2
media2.blocks=5120000
media2.fdbs=8192

partition.media3=7.0.8/
media3.label=media3
media3.blocks=5120000
media3.fdbs=8192

partition.media4=7.0.9/
media4.label=media4
media4.blocks=5120000
media4.fdbs=8192

partition.media5=7.0.10/
media5.label=media5
media5.blocks=5120000
media5.fdbs=8192

partition.media6=7.0.11/
media6.label=media6
media6.blocks=5120000
media6.fdbs=8192

partition.media7=7.0.12/
media7.label=media7
media7.blocks=5120000
media7.fdbs=8192

partition.media8=7.0.13/
media8.label=media8
media8.blocks=5120000
media8.fdbs=8192

partition.media9=7.0.14/
media9.label=media9
media9.blocks=5120000
media9.fdbs=8192

partition.media10=7.0.15/
media9.label=media10
media9.blocks=5120000
media9.fdbs=8192

partition.media11=7.0.16/
media9.label=media11
media9.blocks=5120000
media9.fdbs=8192

partition.nummedia=11

UPDATE.PRP

#Partition 1
#===========
partitionnumber=1
tarfilename=KMC.TAR
initialize=YES
tarfiletype=UPDATE
partitionnumber=1
tarfilename=KMCDB.TAR
initialize=NO
tarfiletype=UPDATE
partitionnumber=1
tarfilename=KMCECOM.TAR
initialize=NO
tarfiletype=UPDATE
partitionnumber=1
tarfilename=PSHELL.TAR
initialize=NO
tarfiletype=UPDATE
partitionnumber=1
tarfilename=PART.PRP,partitions.prp
initialize=NO
tarfiletype=COPY

#Partition 2
#===========
partitionnumber=2
tarfilename=MEDIA.TAR
initialize=YES
tarfiletype=COPY
partitionnumber=2
tarfilename=PSHELL.TAR
initialize=NO
tarfiletype=UPDATE

#Partition 3
#===========
partitionnumber=3
tarfilename=
initialize=YES
tarfiletype=UPDATE

#Partition 4
#===========
partitionnumber=4
tarfilename=
initialize=YES
tarfiletype=UPDATE

#Partition 5
#===========
partitionnumber=5
tarfilename=KMC.TAR
initialize=YES
tarfiletype=UPDATE
partitionnumber=5
tarfilename=KMCDB.TAR
initialize=NO
tarfiletype=UPDATE
partitionnumber=5
tarfilename=KMCECOM.TAR
initialize=NO
tarfiletype=UPDATE
partitionnumber=5
tarfilename=PSHELL.TAR
initialize=NO
tarfiletype=UPDATE
partitionnumber=5
tarfilename=PART.PRP,partitions.prp
initialize=NO
tarfiletype=COPY

#Partition 6
#===========
partitionnumber=6
tarfilename=PART789.TAR
initialize=YES
tarfiletype=UPDATE
partitionnumber=6
tarfilename=MEDIA.TAR
initialize=NO
tarfiletype=UPDATE

#Partition 7
#===========
partitionnumber=7
tarfilename=PART789.TAR
initialize=YES
tarfiletype=UPDATE

#Partition 8
#===========
partitionnumber=8
tarfilename=PART789.TAR
initialize=YES
tarfiletype=UPDATE

#Partition 9
#===========
partitionnumber=9
tarfilename=PART789.TAR
initialize=YES
tarfiletype=UPDATE

partitionnumber=10
tarfilename=PART789.TAR
initialize=YES
tarfiletype=UPDATE

partitionnumber=11
tarfilename=PART789.TAR
initialize=YES
tarfiletype=UPDATE

partitionnumber=12
tarfilename=PART789.TAR
initialize=YES
tarfiletype=UPDATE

partitionnumber=13
tarfilename=PART789.TAR
initialize=YES
tarfiletype=UPDATE

partitionnumber=14
tarfilename=PART789.TAR
initialize=YES
tarfiletype=UPDATE

partitionnumber=15
tarfilename=PART789.TAR
initialize=YES
tarfiletype=UPDATE

partitionnumber=16
tarfilename=PART789.TAR
initialize=YES
tarfiletype=UPDATE

Procedure I used to load the 2.0.0.8 software.

After the new drive has been installed - Boot the Entre
The disc tray will open - insert the boot disc you have created
Close the CD drawer - The Enter will display the messages: Partitioning, and Rebooting. Shortly after it will display the message that it is installing the 2.0.0.8 software.
When the software has been loaded, the CD tray will open. Remove the disc and reboot the Entre when prompted.
When the red light above the power button stops flashing, the Entre is ready to be powered on (from the switch or the remote).
After that, follow the setup instructions on the TV.

BTW, thanks to fz1234 for his offer to help. I did have the full version of the 2.0.0.8 software.

Also thanks to krichter1, who spent a couple hours on the phone with me, and gave me advice to get this working.

Dave

Thorerik

12-15-05, 12:59 PM

Rather than upgrading the HD in the Entre has anyone figured out how to access a computer on a home network for music/video files and be able to use the Entres menu system to see/play them?

Adam Mrotek

12-16-05, 02:48 AM

Now that's thinking outside of the (black) box!

RonAuger

12-16-05, 10:59 AM

Rather than upgrading the HD in the Entre has anyone figured out how to access a computer on a home network for music/video files and be able to use the Entres menu system to see/play them?Not without getting WindRiver source code.

Thorerik

12-16-05, 10:36 PM

Has anyone tried hooking up the Sony 400 DVD changers to the Entre? The Sony products seem pretty reasonably priced. Just curious since the Escent Fireball works with Sony and Kenwood changers.

dwm55

12-16-05, 10:50 PM

I doubt it. Even if it did, the Entre has only a single serial port to control a changer. The Sony changers cannot be chained together like the DV-5900m's, so even if you were able to get it to work, you'd only be able to control a single Sony changer.

jondeniz

12-24-05, 01:30 PM

Hi, I am new and I apologise if I am breaking any rules here or asking an annoying question. This problem is however very perplexing and painful. I have the KW entre system with thee attatched KW 403 disk DVD players. I have cable modem access.
Everything has worked well for ~ 2 years, however, now increasingly when I select a particular disk it is the wrong disk, others are no longer listed (although I know they are there somewhere! It is like my system has Alzheimers! Probably ~ 15% or so of disks are now mislabeled. I have tried recanning all disks via changer mgt to no avail. I have considered RESETTING or removing and replacing all the disks but I have > 1200 in them and it doesnt sound fun. My AV guy who set this up is not terribly reliable and I would like to avoid paying him 100/hr .
Any suggestions?
Thanks!!

Thorerik

12-26-05, 11:32 PM

dwm55

12-27-05, 09:44 AM

Everything has worked well for ~ 2 years, however, now increasingly when I select a particular disk it is the wrong disk, others are no longer listed (although I know they are there somewhere! It is like my system has Alzheimers! Probably ~ 15% or so of disks are now mislabeled.

How far off is the selected disc from the one that was played? My changer will occasionally be one disc off from the one selected. When this happens, I will recycle power on the changer, and then reinitialize the changer if recycling the power doesn't work. Normally that is all it takes.

If the problem is more serious, you're Entre database (really a collection of XML files) may have become corrupted. Whether it is an impending hard drive failure is unknown. If you have backed up the Entre's /7.0.5 directory, you could restore it. I would search this forum to see what others did to rebuild the Entre's database. Otherwise, I would probably set the Entre to read all of the discs again. I have 1200 discs myself and know how much of a pain this is.

jondeniz

12-28-05, 05:51 PM

How far off is the selected disc from the one that was played? My changer will occasionally be one disc off from the one selected. When this happens, I will recycle power on the changer, and then reinitialize the changer if recycling the power doesn't work. Normally that is all it takes.

If the problem is more serious, you're Entre database (really a collection of XML files) may have become corrupted. Whether it is an impending hard drive failure is unknown. If you have backed up the Entre's /7.0.5 directory, you could restore it. I would search this forum to see what others did to rebuild the Entre's database. Otherwise, I would probably set the Entre to read all of the discs again. I have 1200 discs myself and know how much of a pain this is.

DWM: Thanks so much for your help, Kenwood returned from their Holiday hours (must be nice ;)) and recommended same thing, I will *sigh* Hard boot my entre and rescan all disc tonight.
I have not backed up my entre, saw the post on that one and it seemed a bit forboding to someone as untechsavvy as me.
BTW Awesome forum!
Jon

jondeniz

12-28-05, 05:57 PM

I would venture a guess that the hard drive within the Entre has become corrupt. It's not uncommon to see this kind of thing with hard drives especially since you have had yours running for the last couple of years. It's a mechanical device and subject to wear and tear. It holds all the corporate knowledge about your entre/DVD changers and is not easy to rebuild/replace. Sounds like you should send it to Kenwood Service Center East and take your lumps. In the long run you'll save money I think. Best of luck with it.
Erik
Thorerik:
I hope to god you are wrong but it is a scenario that I fear as well. I am first gonna try rebooting the whole thing (I did it before, but not by disconnecting/erasing all players first, so I believe the original mis-IDs remained).
PS: I forgot to answer DWM below on how far off the disc errors were, that is something I never thought to check, very good diagnostic maneuver, however, I suspect

Thanks again!

Jon

Thorerik

12-28-05, 07:39 PM

Its a good idea to exhaust all possible fixes before sending to Kenwood. My Entre is in the shop at Kenwood Service West. It actually had a hardware failure and required parts. I bought it from an outfit that promised a 30 day factory warrantee and as soon as I got it off the UPS truck and hooked it up I found that it wouldn't play music without stopping and starting much like what happens when you listen to streaming audio and have a slow connection and you have to wait for the buffer to catch up. Sure enough Kenwood honored the warrantee but now I have to wait till the parts arrive and shipping. I am indebted to many of the kind people here in the forum for their help. I wonder how we all survived without the internet sometimes.

I have many years as a PC tech/network engineer. When I read your problem that was the first thing that came to mind since I had seen the problem so many times with computers before. Once the sectors start to go on the hard disk it is only a matter of time. You may be able to rebuild or get it going again but what is really going on is the mechanics of the hard drive are breaking down and eventually it fails again. I guess you have to ask how much is your time worth? I just want my Entre working again and use its features to make my life a little less complicated. Again, good luck with your Entre and maybe the gods will smile upon you...
Erik

jondeniz

12-30-05, 01:09 AM

dwm55

12-30-05, 01:32 AM

Kenwood will only install a new 20GB hard drive. They will not support the 120GB upgrade. My hard drive failed a couple weeks ago, and I replaced it with a Seagate 120GB drive purchased from Best Buy. It took a little work to figure out the partitioning. If you purchase the Seagate or Samsung drives, the partitioning parameters are documented in this forum.

Physically installing the hard drive was easy; a couple of screws, plug in the IDE and power cable, and it was done. You just have to make sure the drive is set to Master when you install it (it's the default setting on most drives). If you decide to go this route, PM me and I can help you find the Entre's software that needs to be installed on the new drive. After the CD is created, installation is pretty easy.

Dave

Thorerik

12-30-05, 11:58 PM

I hope that your problem got fixed OK. Kenwood told me today that my Entre is on the UPS truck so I should have it in a few days. I am from the school that says "Grasshopper, it always better to have too much memory than be left wanting.." I took the advise of the guys in the forum here and looked for the exact model of hard drive I needed in order to upgrade to 120GB. We'll see how that goes.

In retrospect I was kind of miffed when my son walks in with his modded Xbox and shows me what it could do with about 100 bucks of parts. We were watching streaming video over my home network watching it all on the HDTV. We could access MP3 anywhere on the network play networked games over the internet with my other son in Florida (I live in the Seattle area) using a Media Center front end. Don't think I will give up my Entre though. It is a very easy to use media center that non tech type people (my wife) can use without having to remember a button pushing sequence. I like it too.when I just want to get something going. I thought about just going the xbox route and move all my DVD's to hard drives and then reality set in and I though again about how big my server farm would have to get and the cost. So my 400 DVD disk megachanger will be used just for DVDs and I'll move all my music over to the Entre and back it up with the CD-RW option.

Yes it's true. There are some very talented people here in the forum. They have shared their time and resources with me for which I am grateful. I hope as I learn more I can share too.
Erik

slocko

01-03-06, 06:18 PM

I think Media Center PCS with Media Extenders through out the house is the future. The software will get better and better and better.

Thorerik

01-04-06, 01:33 PM

sky-chicken

01-21-06, 09:25 PM

i JUST KILLED MY ENTRE BY MOVING THE HARDISK AND SOMEHOW TOUCHED THE POWER SUPPLY :-) Now the entre does not power up anymore ... RIP :-(

JonDeutsch

01-21-06, 09:49 PM

i JUST KILLED MY ENTRE BY MOVING THE HARDISK AND SOMEHOW TOUCHED THE POWER SUPPLY :-) Now the entre does not power up anymore ... RIP :-(

Time to look for more relevant and contemporary alternatives:

Escient
Windows XP Media Center

I'll be migrating from the Entre/DV-5900M combo this fall when Microsoft releases Vista Media Center.

dwm55

01-21-06, 09:57 PM

i JUST KILLED MY ENTRE BY MOVING THE HARDISK AND SOMEHOW TOUCHED THE POWER SUPPLY :-) Now the entre does not power up anymore ... RIP :-(

First thing I would do is check the fuse. It sits toward the front, underneath the hard drive.

Mkellyvich

01-22-06, 12:31 PM

If the fuse isn't the problem, there is an Entre on E-bay for $200... Much cheaper than the Escient boxes and a relatively inexpensive way to carry your system through till you're ready for the "next big thing".

Cheers,

Mike

JonDeutsch

01-22-06, 01:11 PM

I think the next big thing is Microsoft's Media Center. It does what the Entre does, but much, much, much more. And, with enough hard drive space, it effectively replaces a DVR and DVD changer as well.

So, I'm seeing Media Center as an "Entre" for music, movies, tv, photos, and internet content (IPTV). The Next Big Thing, indeed.

slocko

01-22-06, 01:56 PM

The future does look good for the Media Center. The reached the deal with Directv so future versions will support recording directly from Direct. They are going to support cablecards.

I agree the Vista version should be a good leap forward.

JonDeutsch

01-22-06, 02:20 PM

And, by the way, if you look back at my posts, I am historically not "for" a PC running the home theater. I generally felt that A/V manufacturers better understand the needs of media management and playback. But, although Kenwood had a head start with the Entre/Soveriegn system, they seemed to have lost the energy and nerve to press forward.

In the meantime, somehow, Microsoft slowly started figuring out how to do it. And, slowly, the MCE industry has shifted to seeing the MCE "box" as an A/V device instead of a PC. That shift has been critical... only geeks will want a minitower and QWERTY keyboards in their family rooms.

The rest of us want an Entre-like device that is as simple and as appealing, but can do more, and has more support. A high-power MCE box can be built or purchased for about $1400, which is much less expensive than an Escient box. And for the price, the MCE box manages a lot more media than an Escient.

That said, the Escient is probably easier to configure, setup, and operate. But, for it to manage audio, DVDs, and PC media, you're looking at $10,000 in hardware! No thanks.

With Microsoft inking deals with DirectTV and OpenLabs for digital/HD sat and cable recording native to MCE, you're looking at a home theater media manager that will trump just about any DVR on the market (including TiVo Series 3 and Comcast HD DVRs), not to mention be able to rip DVDs and CDs alike, and allow access to internet-based content providers like iFilm, Starz's iPPV service (VONGO), etc...

Add the fact that one could load MCE on their office PC and use their XBox360 to be their "Entre" is just another compelling option to convert the millions of PCs being sold each year into Media Center "brains" that don't even have to be in the family room.

So, I am becoming an unlikely convert that Microsoft might just make inroads into the future of home media management.

Mkellyvich

01-22-06, 04:22 PM

I agree that MCE is coming along nicely - I picked up an HP873 in 2002, a M376n in 2003, and a Z555 last year - all are still in use in the house, and all pull music, photos, and videos from a Buffalo Linkstation. That said, enough hard disc space to hold 800 DVDs still costs a meaningful chunk of change, not to mention the time investment necessary to put the DVDs onto the server. We use the two desktop MCEs as office computers and use the Z555 in the entertainment system as an OTA HD PVR and occasional gaming machine. The Entre/changer combo serves up the movies and music, mostly because it's there, it works, and everyone knows how to use it.

I posted on MCE a few months back when the Sony MCE+200DVD changer combo was released - my premise there was that the only significant hurdle remaining for MCE was to get direct access to satellite or digital cable TV. With the recent announcements about cablecard and DirectTV support it looks like MCE may hit the home stretch.

I found the recent LG MCE DVD recorder to be an interesting product, but I think they missed the boat with their high price point (~$600) and fees for the guide. By the time you pay for the box and the "lifetime" guide you are just about to the price of a low-end MCE box. They would have been better off dumping the charges for the guide, including the ability to play and burn HD content recorded on an HD-capable MCE maching, and aggresively marketing the box as the "living room" front end for an MCE system. Now that XBox360 is out, the LG box as released gets even more unattractive.

It will be interesting to see whether the recent market penetration gains MCE has made translate into widespread adoption of Vista MCE down the road.

Anyhow, back to your slowly-fading Sovereign technical support thread...

Mike

RodWatson

01-23-06, 01:59 PM

First of all, I am new to the Forums. I have read alot of the posts in the Entre threads, and you guys are extremely helpful. I have a typical Newbie question:

I just picked up a used Entre to control my 5050 changer. The RS-232C cable was not included, so I have to pick up one. I can't seem to find anywhere in the manuals whether I need a straight pin cable or a Null Modem cable. Any help? Thanks

Ben-M

01-29-06, 02:32 PM

I was successful in upgrading my Entre hard drive to a 120GB Seagate unit following the guidance of previous posts. Net cost of drive after rebates was about 30 dollars, so it was a bargain of an upgrade. Many thanks to all. My next mission is to install a Router/LAN system so that I can access the Entre via computer. I have sorted through old posts and they seem to suggest that a wireless LAN is not a viable option with the Entre. The ethernet to USB units recommended for the Entre do not seem to be manufactured any longer. Any advice on which hardware options to pursue given that I am starting from ground zero with a stand-alone Pentium 4 PC running XP/Media Center? Many thanks.

JonDeutsch

01-29-06, 02:43 PM

Ben,

My advice: independent of your Entre upgrade, I would invest in an Xbox360 and make that a thin-client for the Media Center features of your stand-alone PC for your home theater. It will replace your entre's MP3 features more eloquently, and with enough hard drive space, it can also replace your DVD changer in time.

dwm55

01-29-06, 11:27 PM

I can't seem to find anywhere in the manuals whether I need a straight pin cable or a Null Modem cable. Any help? Thanks

You need a DB9 Female to Female Null MODEM cable.

dwm55

01-29-06, 11:44 PM

My next mission is to install a Router/LAN system so that I can access the Entre via computer. I have sorted through old posts and they seem to suggest that a wireless LAN is not a viable option with the Entre. The ethernet to USB units recommended for the Entre do not seem to be manufactured any longer. Any advice on which hardware options to pursue given that I am starting from ground zero with a stand-alone Pentium 4 PC running XP/Media Center?

You can find plenty of the Belkin F5D5050's on eBay. I've had a good experience using this USB-Ethernet Network Adapter with the Entre. I have also used the Linksys USB100TX, but it only appears to work when connected through a 10Base-T hub. The Belkin network adapter doesn't have this problem.

RodWatson

01-30-06, 11:09 AM

Thanks DWM55, I kinda thought it was the Null Modem, but needed some reassurance. I happened to just pick up the Linksys adapter on EBay you mentioned. Have not started setting things up yet, but will probably now pick up the Belkin adapter instead after reading your other reply! I am going to wire it up to a Linksys WRT54G 802.11g WIRELESS-G ROUTER v5.0. Thanks once again.

Thorerik

02-03-06, 12:06 PM

After I got done upgrading my Entre a friend introduced me to his modded Xbox. Wow was all I could say. I felt a little bit silly spending all that time messing with the Entre (although the geek in me was having a great time!) to see about 100 bucks in xbox stuff do the pictures, video, games, and music. Still I think that using the Entre with the changers is a better solution than building a server farm with hard drives to store videos. I have found that I enjoy watching old TV series shows and the 400 discs I can store on a changer seems cheaper than hard drives and less voltile too. The Entre makes it easy to get to them too.

At the moment I'm in the wait and see mode. Don't really want to spend any more money until I see what Directv comes up with. I'm impressed with HD and have their limited HD service with Directv now. I keep hearing about 150+ and local HD channels controlled by their version of a media center. Anyone know where I can see a demo of what they have planned for release?

JonDeutsch

02-03-06, 05:47 PM

Anyone know where I can see a demo of what they have planned for release?

Just go to google and search for "Vista Media Center" and for images, click on google's "images" tab and see some screen shots.

RodWatson

02-07-06, 03:52 PM

Has anyone used a wireless keyboard with the Entre that happens to be in a "black" color, and is compatible? I have the Logitech 967090-0403 wireless keyboard in a standard creme color, but would love to have a black keyboard just for the aesthetics of the audio rack. Thanks.

Thorerik

02-07-06, 06:50 PM

I seem to remember using the Kenwood keyboard I bought as an extra for my 5050 changer. It worked OK except that the shift key was reversed. You had to hold down the shift key to do lower case as I remember. I think someone else had the same experience too. You had success with the logitech keyboard working normally?
Erik

Adam Mrotek

02-08-06, 03:21 AM

I also have the 0403 wireless. It has much more functionality than the changer's keyboard. The problem is that it is hard to get, I ordered a couple on-line and was sent a newer model, which didn't work with the Entre, as they said the 0403 was out of production. It also has some proprietary functions associated with the "F" buttons.

dwm55

02-08-06, 11:19 AM

Like Thorerik, I use the keyboard that came with the DV-5900M changer. Over the last two years, I haven't had a need to use the keyboard more than three or four times. Most times the Entre does a good job of identifying the movie without any effort on my part. Whenever I've had the occasional need to enter information, I've been able to quickly use the Entre remote to input enough letters for OpenGlobe to find the movie.

I looked at buying the black Logitech keyboard two years ago and couldn't find one then. I don't believe it is worth the effort, now that I've seen how little it would be used.

Mogulbasher

02-08-06, 11:07 PM

Ok I have purchased Girder and NetRemote and have feverishly been connecting up all of my MP3s which I can now control from anywhere in the hourse via TCP IP and wireless LAN. Next item on the list are my DVDs...

I guess my question is can I control my entre from Girder via RS232 or am I better of at this point breaking with the entre and using some other PC based software to manage the DVDs that connects with Girder and which can then drive the DV5050 via RS232. Incidentally anyone know where I can get the RS232 PRotocols from?

Thoughts ideas? IS there an http server buried inside the Entre that could be used to send TCP IP commands? Oh so many questions...Thanks...

Adam Mrotek

02-09-06, 03:00 AM

Someone on this forum created a TCP/IP ap for the Entre. I don't know if he perfected it or was absorbed by an unnamed entity as was DVDEDIT. Check postings by FZ

slocko

02-09-06, 10:32 AM

Also search for Ron Auger posts. He wrote an app that let you control from a pocketpc device.

RonAuger

02-09-06, 11:17 AM

That was me. I wrote a server and clients that I use to operate everything in my rack including the Entre. They are based on .NET 2.0. Since the Entre is the only network controlled component I have (the others are all serial or internal boards to the server), I made the clients able to operate the Entre directly if the server component is not present. I have a PocketPC client (screenshot (http://www.savefile.com/files3.php?fid=4202008)), a Windows client, and I'm starting on a WindowsMobile5 client for my phone.

I don't know of any documentation on the serial protocol the Entre uses. Anyway, serial is used for the Entre to control the Kenwood receiver and changer, not for something to control the Entre. To control the Entre, you need to use the TCP protocol. From the Escient website, I got the TCP External Control Protocol (http://www.escient.com/support/supportdocuments/SuppDoc_ExternalControlProtocol.pdf) for the Fireball. It's the same protocol for the Entre except some of the commands are not implemented in the Entre.

(not yet absorbed nor assimilated ;) )

Adam Mrotek

02-09-06, 12:40 PM

Wow Ron!
Very impressive!Wish I had the expertise to do that.The only other TCP/IP control I saw was limited to simple play/pause/FF/etc. buttons although it was cool to be able to access it from your laptop. Yours looks much more robust in that it appears you have much more feedback even than the entre gui gives.
Is there any way to import the entre GUI in realtime? I wonder if a pocketPC screensize/resolution would be conducive to this even if you could.

RonAuger

02-09-06, 05:35 PM

Is there any way to import the entre GUI in realtime? I wonder if a pocketPC screensize/resolution would be conducive to this even if you could.Not possible.
One could write an app that mimics the Entre GUI, if one were so inclined (which I am not). My app utilizes all the functionality I could get out of the Entre TCP control protocol and does everything I need -- including a running time display of playing MP3s.

My server component periodically FTPs the Entre database to a share the clients can reach. So when I choose DVDs/CDs/MP3s to play from the list the client gets from the Entre, I can show the cover/description/people/time and ask "Play|Cancel"

Thorerik,
I sent the PPC app to your email address.

Adam Mrotek

02-09-06, 10:20 PM

Ron, If you are giving out your PPC app I am extremely interested!

RonAuger

02-10-06, 10:24 AM

It requires .NET Compact Framework Version 1.0 minimum, probably already on your device but easy enough to get here (http://msdn.microsoft.com/netframework/downloads/updates/default.aspx) if it is not.

This app assumes your PPC device is on the same Ethernet network as your Entre (either thru internal wireless, wireless network card, or cradled to a desktop on the same LAN). If your Entre is rebooted, you must re-select and Save the Network options in Entre so that it will accept connections, otherwise it will actively refuse connections. It will currently only work with one Entre.

It’s not exactly a for-sale product, so I can’t guarantee I will fix bugs, but you can let me know if you find any (pls).

Send me your email and I'll send you the CAB install file -- just use ActiveSync to sync the file to the device, then click on the CAB on your device.

I may have confused some people with my previous post. I'll send anyone the PPC app but you won't be getting the server component, so you won't see the extra data (cover image, people, description, year, etc.) on your PPC device. You will have all the groups the Entre creates, all the titles in the groups, and be able to select titles (DVDs,CDs,MP3s) to play, pause, etc.

merlin001

02-25-06, 06:36 PM

Any chance someone could post or email me a list of keyboard commands that work with the Entre?

Thanks!
~ David (merlin001_at_gmail_dot_com)

ScottF200

02-25-06, 06:52 PM

The keyboard commands are in the FAQ which is down (gone?) but you can get it via:

http://web.archive.org/web/20041016021004/http://homepage.mac.com/jbryer/SovereignFAQ.html

slocko

02-25-06, 07:27 PM

Hi Scott. Good to see you still alive and kicking.

For you new folks here, Scott is the reason ftp to the entre is possible.

RonAuger

02-27-06, 11:12 AM

The Jason Bryer FAQ is at http://www.bryer.org/theater/sovereignfaq/sovereignfaq.html

atsarev

03-06-06, 03:14 PM

Obviously MM does not work as it was suppose, and apparently there is no alternative to it as for now. I used Musicmatch ti rip CD to PC and then back put on CD to rip it back to Entre. Regardless how I do it, (or even directly from audio CD to Entre HD) it creates 2 second gap between songs.
Does anybody know how to avoid annoying 2 seconds gap between tracks that creates every time I rip CD to Entre hard drive?

ScottF200

03-06-06, 09:12 PM

RonAuger,

Re: our offline discussion
BTW, here is the post that talks about the .DB being rebuildable via the XML files. ie. change/update(/delete?) xml files then force the rebuild via updating library.prp 'xyz.indexRebuild=true'.

I thought it would have gotten more excitement going since the .DB was cryptic and the XML is not. I actually have a spare Entre but have not had time to play with it and try to get the DVD Profiler XML to be translatable to the Entre XML so a rebuild could happen. There was a chap (alan_m_2004 ?) here a while ago that did that sort of thing for a living...but we have not heard from him.

I don't know if the <md5key>snip</md5key> is critical in allowing the Entre to "remember" where the disk is. ie. DVD Profiler XML doesn't have the Entre MD5Key.

Yes, I realize your question was about MP3s and CDs...<grin>

Kevin,

Re: our offline discussion
BTW, here is the post that talks about the .DB being rebuildable via the XML files. ie. change/update(/delete?) xml files then force the rebuild via updating library.prp 'xyz.indexRebuild=true'.

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?postid=5061225#post5061225

P.S. I have not tried this myself....someone with a fresh (without lots of customization) Entre should...

RonAuger

03-07-06, 12:40 PM

Thanks Scott. That and deleting one of the group XML files seems to do the same thing. Unfortunately the index rebuild is not quite working for me. As I explained offline, I'm trying to take my MP3 files from one 120GB Entre to another 120GB Entre. I've taken a single Music/MP3s/S0/S0/#.xml file that references a single MP3 track from a CD. I upload that XML file and all the files he references (including the cover art and the actual MP3 file) to their proper partitions/directory in the second Entre. After the DB rebuilds, I see the Title with the single track under it in the All group and the genre group. But the MP3 will not play and the cover art doesn't show for some reason.

I'll keep toying with it and see if I can get it to work. Thx again!

RonAuger

03-07-06, 01:53 PM

Never mind -- got it to work! A few things to note:

I mistakenly clobbered my library.prp by uploading one from another Entre. This made my 2nd Entre never finish booting. For one thing, this made the "discovery.serialNumber" in library.prp wrong for that Entre. Fortunately I could still FTP to it. I set it back to the number on the tag on the back of the 2nd Entre. I don't think it really matters much, it was just one of the things I changed while getting it to work again.

In library.prp there is a "udn" parameter that was wrong since I copied the library.prp from a different Entre. I'm not sure where else this is kept, but I'm pretty sure the mismatch was causing a problem. It looks as though this has to match the "erp" references in all the XML files. In the XML files there are several of these references in the tags <mp3info>, <cd>, <coverart> and <track href=>. I found the right KMC-number to use from one of the 15 default MP3s, since I clobbered the library.prp and the uploaded XML files came from another Entre. (erp = exterior routing protocol? external reference point?) It makes me wonder if I could play the MP3 files from Entre 1 by selecting them from Entre 2, having never moved the actual mp3 files from 1 to 2.

Also, the reference to the cover art in music/mp3s XML file for the tracks ripped from the CD, was not the same as the reference to the cover art in music/CDs XML file that contains all the tracks on the CD (even tracks you never ripped). So there were two cover art files I uploaded.

Long story short (I know -- too late), I can upload all my MP3s backed-up from one Entre, to another fresh Entre.

Mogulbasher

03-11-06, 02:17 PM

I just thought I would post here that I have (with lots of Ron's help) finally managed to get complete control of my entre from net remote through girder via the tcp ip plugin in girder. If anyone is looking for this type of solution and would like the lua files I have created please feel free to post and I will make them available. I am still finalising the script that will display entre data within net remote so for now it just allows net remote to act like the remote control for the entre. My goal is to actually have cover art and dvd menu showing in net remote and allow movie selection direct from net remote. Andrew

Adam Mrotek

03-12-06, 01:36 PM

Mogulbasher,
Count me in!

Mogulbasher

03-18-06, 10:34 AM

ok here is a zip file with the scripts.

http://www.mogulbasher.com/Entre.zip

gipinit goes in the luascript folder
aentre goes in the luascript folder
entre goes in the luascript\startup folder
entre.gml goes in the gml folder

The basic premise is that entre establishes a connection over port 226 via tcpip. You will need to adjust this file to contain the ip address in this line at the bottom

Entre = network.devices.Entre.New("xxx.xxx.xxx.xxx",226)

once loaded the GML contains commands for all the keyboard and remote buttons. It also has a database command. The only one working right now is get system movie data. This will send a ommand to the entre which will step through the database of the entre and populate a table in lua with all the movie information and movie numbers. this can be found in the variable inspector under aentre.Movies["1"].MovieData[1].TitleData[1-400]

You can then play a movie using these variables and the ESCX2005 command. I am still working on this, while I try to build a movie list inside net remote.

Have fun and feel free to post questions. Andrew

Mogulbasher

03-18-06, 10:35 AM

Does anyone out there have access to an RS232 protocol for the DV 5050 M

Mogulbasher

03-19-06, 02:25 PM

NEt Remote with a list of movies automatically downloaded from the entre

http://www.apcd2003.com/img/entre.jpg

Stoyan

03-19-06, 10:42 PM

Could someone hepl me get the ORIGINAL kenwood.zip file (for the factory-default 20GB hard disk)?

I have to reformat my hard drive but cannot find the original file & settings

RonAuger

03-20-06, 10:51 AM

The zip file is 91MB so it can't be emailed to you. The Kenwood Service Center will use an IM/file sharing program from AOL to get it to you. You don't need to be an AOL subscriber, just register (free) and install the AIM client and Kenwood will forward you the zip file.

Mogulbasher

04-16-06, 03:22 PM

I have uploaded a new set of files. The new files allow for page up and down of the movies, selecting a current movie by clicking on that movie (this will allow later functionality to pull data from the xml files about that movie) and an ability to play that movie by pressing play.

I have also included my ccf file for net remote. While a lot of the stuff I have built into this ccf will not work without a whole bunch of other files the entre page should work which will allow you to copy and past it into your ccf files.

Entre.lua goes into the girder\luascript\startup folder
aentre.lua and listmanager.lua go into the girder\luascript folder
entre.gml goes into the girder\gml folder

The ccf and ccf.lua files can go anywhere and you open the ccf in netremote

Regards, Andrew

http://www.mogulbasher.com/entre.zip

Nick Satullo

04-16-06, 04:16 PM

Hi Scott. Good to see you still alive and kicking.

For you new folks here, Scott is the reason ftp to the entre is possible.

Ah, the salad days.

Nick :cool:

twikel

06-05-06, 09:30 PM

Lost my copy Media manager for my entre. Can anyone email me a copy???

Todd

twikel

06-05-06, 09:32 PM

Has anyone triied running an Escient Fireball image on an Entre??? Comments???

phatnogin5877

06-09-06, 05:44 PM

krichter1

06-10-06, 09:51 AM

I just purchased a kenwood entre and have a quick question. is it possible to connect to my wireless network? or do I have to have a hardwired line all the way to my router? I thought there might be a way by using a wireless usb adapter or maybe a wireless adapter for fo a game console like the xbox. any input would be greatly appreciated. I tried looking throught the forums but could not get a quick answer.

You must use only the 2 usb adapters that the Entre has drivers in the OS loaded for. It also won't support 100m ethernet connections so you must bridge it to a 10mb hub first. As well the 1st time you boot up the updated drivers don't always work until you update to 2.0.0.8.

http://www.bryer.org/theather/sovereignfaq/index.html

BigDaddyP

06-13-06, 07:23 AM

This is probably in here but after two hours of searching I can't find it. Has anyone been able to FTP music to there Entre and then have it see the music added? Thanks

JonDeutsch

06-13-06, 08:46 AM

This is probably in here but after two hours of searching I can't find it. Has anyone been able to FTP music to there Entre and then have it see the music added? Thanks

I have never been able to, which is the fatal flaw of the Entre. Of course, the Entre was designed before ethernet ports were standard on non-computing devices, so we should give them some slack.

krichter1

06-13-06, 09:10 AM

FTP'ing music is not possible because the Entre relies on an index file which you would have to find a way to edit in order to get the .xml files created in the file system. If not then the Entre has no idea your music exists on that partition.

We all determined last year this was a futile effort!

Mkellyvich

06-13-06, 10:12 PM

krichter1,

Did anyone ever try putting the MP3s on the Entre and then forcing a library rebuild? I can't remember if this was tried and proven unsuccessful.

Cheers,

Mike

ScottF200

06-14-06, 12:33 AM

krichter1, Did anyone ever try putting the MP3s on the Entre and then forcing a library rebuild? I can't remember if this was tried and proven unsuccessful. Cheers, Mike

This was talked about up here (http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?p=7257923&&#post7257923) where Ron and I had a offline/online discussion. Ron's next couple post talk about some things he did to get it to work. His situation was 'easier' because he had model XML files use.

Long time no talk to guys. Hope all is going well. Been active in a lot of other things lately (mainly racquetball). TTYL

krichter1

06-14-06, 11:28 PM

Hey, Hey... Good to see you're still alive Scott! ;o)

As I remember Ron said he was able to get it to work but every xml had to be edited to look for the correct Entre db name (I think that has to match the entry in the master .prp file). That was only for moving existing xml's. Not sure anyone had the stones to try adding new files and forcing a rebuild by blowing away the .prp's (not me!)

RonAuger

06-15-06, 12:24 PM

Everyone's comments are correct. I took 2100 MP3 files (tracks) AND their associated XML files from one Entre, editted the XML files, uploaded them to a new Entre, and forced a DB rebuild. Of course, the editting of the 2100 XML files I automated. In fact, I don't see why someone couldn't automate the creation of an XML from scratch for each new MP3 file that you're uploading, as long as you know where in the directory structure you are going to put it and that there is enough room in that partition.

Mkellyvich

06-15-06, 08:05 PM

Thanks for the reminders Scott and Ron. Ron, did the XML edit and transfer also allow you to move over your movie database? I don't have that many (maybe 50 or 60 albums) CDs to move over to my backup Entre but I've added several hundred movies (including a bunch of DVD-Rs of movies not available on commercial DVD) since my last synch and would hate to have to ID them all manually next time I synch them.

Thanks,

Mike

RonAuger

06-16-06, 10:33 AM

I didn't try Movies -- but I image it would work also. I would FTP the Movie XML files off of your primary Entre and just use the second Entre to test the restore XML / rebuild DB procedure. Keep the backup of the files on your computer. In my case (and in yours) there's no need to keep the Movie DB on the second Entre when the changers are only connected to the first Entre.

Mkellyvich

06-16-06, 07:46 PM

My second Entre at this point spends most of its life in its shipping box - I picked it up just in case my primary croaks (it was only about $200, seemed cheap insurance at the time).

Mike

sky-chicken

06-22-06, 01:39 PM

would it be possible to connect an Sony ES777 to the entre ?

BigDaddyP

06-24-06, 09:03 AM

I'm sure someone else has already done this but my Entre is now WIRELESS! :)

JonDeutsch

06-25-06, 12:08 AM

Hey guys,

A strange problem has just surfaced on my Entre: It automatically, all-by-itself, begins fast-forwardig through my MP3 songs. The green display on the bottom actually says it's going into fast forward mode (forget the exact phase, but that's the effect). Hitting "play" doesn't have much effect -- it goes into play mode for perhaps a second, and then back to skip/ff mode where it just jumps through my MP3s at about 3x the speed it should (with standard FF choppiness).

What's going on? Yeah, I tried rebooting the Entre several times...

Thanks for any insight.

RonAuger

06-26-06, 01:01 PM

JonDeutsch

06-26-06, 08:22 PM

Sorry to say I have never heard of that one.

Does it happen on every MP3 you try to play or only sometimes?
Do you have any software on the same network as the Entre that is trying to control it?
Do you have a learning remote (Pronto or something) that needs to be rebooted also?

It happens on every MP3 I play. It starts happening within seconds of playing (exactly how many seconds varies). The display alternates between "play" and "scan forward" over and over again.

No, I do not have any software trying to control it (to the best of my knowledge, that is).

Yeah, I have a few programmable remotes, but I even tried blocking the IR receiver with some cardboard directly on the Entre, but it still went into "scan forward" mode all by itself. I admit, it does appear like a remote control is on the blink, but I'm fairly sure that's not the case.

It is a very, very odd problem to have with an Entre. I'm not sure what to make of it or what to do about it!

lzardkng24

07-15-06, 07:12 PM

Hello,

I have a Kenwood Soveriegn Entre Hub, it has a Belkin F5D5050 USB to Ethernet adapter plugged into it and a Linksys Game Adapter connected to it. It use to connect to Openglobe perfectly and if there was info to be gotten, it got it. A couple of months ago I started getting a DNS failure message. Logged into router and got the info (it had changed) and entered it into the appropriate fields but it still will not connect. I've tried just about everything from different CAT5 cables to rebooting the Entre & Game Adapter to adding Game Adapters MAC to routers list to trying different USB ports on the Entre etc. Ended up going out and getting a new Game Adapter thinking that the old one could be fried (couldnt test old one on my PC because power supply is buried behind whole entertainment unit =P) Tested new one and it connects just fine through my PC->Belkin F5D5050->Game Adapter to LAN/Internet. When I plug the setup to the Entre it still doesnt connect to Internet/Openglobe. Run test connection: Static, fails on 1st step. Dynamic, fails on 2nd step. I was thinking maybe the files needed for the Belkin F5D5050 on the Entre might of gotten corrupt but dont know how to get them back on if at all possible. ANY IDEAS =) Thanx in Advance for any and all help

Mkellyvich

07-16-06, 12:24 PM

LizardKing,

I had something similar happen a few months ago. I was able to resolve it by unplugging the Entre, leaving it unplugged for 10-15 minutes, then plugging it back in. BTW, if you are running the version 2 software (which you probably are if you have updated the software anytime in the last 2-3 years) you will only be able to connect using static IP (version 2 broke DHCP in the Entre's software).

Here's the procedure I'd recommend:

Check your static IP settings and make sure they are what you want (correct IP and DNS).

Put the entre in standby, wait 5-10 minutes to let the HDD turn itself off.

Unplug the Entre, wait 10-15 minutes.

Plug it back in and wait for it to reboot.

Check connectivity by your favorite method (through "Test connection" on the IP setup screen, try to update the software from the setup-utilities page, try to connect to an internet radio station, or try to look up a disc).

If unplugging doesn't work, try repeating the steps above twice - first with your USB-ethernet adaptor unplugged, then again with the adaptor plugged back in.

Hope this helps,

Mike

JonDeutsch

07-16-06, 12:42 PM

Nothing?

It happens on every MP3 I play. It starts happening within seconds of playing (exactly how many seconds varies). The display alternates between "play" and "scan forward" over and over again.

No, I do not have any software trying to control it (to the best of my knowledge, that is).

Yeah, I have a few programmable remotes, but I even tried blocking the IR receiver with some cardboard directly on the Entre, but it still went into "scan forward" mode all by itself. I admit, it does appear like a remote control is on the blink, but I'm fairly sure that's not the case.

It is a very, very odd problem to have with an Entre. I'm not sure what to make of it or what to do about it!

Mkellyvich

07-16-06, 10:27 PM

Jon,

I've never seen anything resembling your MP3 problem. Not sure what to suggest, other than maybe rebuilding the library (but this sounds like a playback problem rather than a database issue).

Do CDs and DVDs play normally?

Mike

JonDeutsch

07-16-06, 10:55 PM

Hi Mike,

Actually, that's a great question. Such a great question that I booted everything up and selected a CD. What do you know... it "scans forward" on CD tracks too. I am frankly surprised by this, as I kind of presumed it was a MP3 decode issue for some reason. I think turned on a DVD... and the same thing! It starts fast-forwarding.

It's almost like there's a remote "stuck" on FF mode inside the Entre, sending the signal periodically to FF.

But, it's really not the case... because a song will play for a good 20 seconds before it puts itself into "scan forward" mode. And, if stopped, it won't automatically "hit" the FF button by itself, or songs would start playing by themselves from stop mode -- which they don't.

So, as you can see, I'm quite puzzled. I can't make out what the problem could even remotely be.

Sigh.

Jon,

I've never seen anything resembling your MP3 problem. Not sure what to suggest, other than maybe rebuilding the library (but this sounds like a playback problem rather than a database issue).

Do CDs and DVDs play normally?

Mike

Mkellyvich

07-18-06, 10:57 PM

Jon,

Hmmm. Might try turning off the changers and seeing how MP3s play from the Entre, and/or disconnecting the serial cable(s) from the Entre and seeing if that makes a difference.

Do you have a USB keyboard connected? If so, try disconnecting that.

Last thing I'll suggest is disconnecting your internet line (HPNA or the USB-Ethernet adaptor, whichever you use).

Like you said, my first suspicion is some sort of control issue - my suggestions are aimed at eliminating the RS-232, USB, and TCP-IP connections as possible sources of spurious commands. Seems strange that the problem is always a skip forward and seems to happen (from your description) reliably after a consistent interval.

Hope this helps, let me know what you find out...

Mike

Mkellyvich

07-19-06, 01:12 PM

Jon,

One other thought - exercise the FF button on the Entre's front panel a couple of dozen times - perhaps it has some crud in it that's intermittently making contact.

Hope this helps,

Mike

RodWatson

08-05-06, 01:24 AM

I am having trouble FTP connecting to the Entre. The Entre is accessing the internet via OpenGlobe, etc. perfectly, and is downloading all the CD/Movie info and covers correctly. No connection problems at all. I can run a ping command from my PC to the Entre's IP address and it pings back correctly everytime. But each time I try to get an FTP connection, I keep getting "connection refused".

I am hooked up overall via high speed cable to cable modem to LinkSys router, and router to Entre using Cat5 cable to the Belkin adaptor. I am using the WS_FTP LE 5.0 program from my PC to FTP the Entre. I put in the Entre's IP address, friend as username, psos as password, and automatic detect for Host Type. Iv'e tried allot of different approaches, but just can't seem to get in. Is it possible the username and password are wrong? Do I need to specify something other than Automatic detect? Do I need to specify a specific host folder? Any help would be appreciated. Thanks.

PS: I don't think it matters, but I've tried connecting with my PC's firewall and virus protection programs turned off too, no change.

dwm55

08-15-06, 01:48 PM

sky-chicken

08-15-06, 04:53 PM

Here some of the utils. I leave it there for a week for you guys:

www.Pilottrainer.com/kenwood/EntreFTPv20.zi_.zip

www.Pilottrainer.com/kenwood/kenwood-entre-qa.doc

www.Pilottrainer.com/kenwood/DVDeditv22full.zip

www.Pilottrainer.com/kenwood/DVDedit24.zip

www.Pilottrainer.com/kenwood/Entre UPDATE Disc.doc

James A. McGahee

08-16-06, 11:20 PM

krichter1

08-17-06, 09:13 AM

The link was broken when he pasted, try this:

http://www.pilottrainer.com/kenwood/Entre%20UPDATE%20Disc.doc

sky-chicken

08-17-06, 12:10 PM

The last item listed immediately above
for "UPDATE Disc.doc"
gets a "page can't be found".

Repeated trys takes me to the Pilot Trainer web site, Cool site.

Any chance you can repost. Thanks for all these items!! Might be helpful if a brief description of what each is to be used for is also mentioned by each one.

Here some of the utils. I leave it there for a week for you guys:

(EntreFTPv20.zi_.zip) after installed is going to open the FTP port on the Entre. This program hast to be used befor you can FTP to it or before you can use DVD edit.

(entre-qa.doc) Q&A for Entre

(DVDeditv22full.zip) Make it possible to edit your Entre movie titel and copy coverart to it. Great program

(DVDedit24.zip) DVD edit exe file only. Copy into DVDedit directory and restart program

(Entre UPDATE Disc.doc) how to update the Entre.

Hope that helps. I also have the 90MB update file for 20 and 120 gb(if someone needs it)

James A. McGahee

08-17-06, 05:44 PM

The link was broken when he pasted, try this:

http://www.pilottrainer.com/kenwood/Entre%20UPDATE%20Disc.doc

Still causes my computer to freeze up. Finally got:
Not Found
The requested URL /kenwood/Entre was not found on this server

I sure appreciate your reposting and trying to help but I'm not getting there yet.
I would very much be interested in the 20 gig info. you have. Please send anything you don't mind sharing.

James A. McGahee

08-17-06, 05:47 PM

James A. McGahee

08-17-06, 11:20 PM

Getting a Not Found message on URL. Don't know what the problem is but thanks for reposting. Would love to have the 90MB update file for 20 and 120 gb (just in case I ever need it. Thanks for helping!

Did get instructions to download but now unable to get username/password to work to access Escient site.

Photog59

08-21-06, 02:32 PM

Did get instructions to download but now unable to get username/password to work to access Escient site.

I am having the same trouble it looks like they changed the login.
Anyony have the zip file I need to do this upgrade because my original drive is getting flakey and missing songs.

krichter1

08-21-06, 11:22 PM

It was posted about 7 messages ago by 'sky-chicken'.

NYTrojan

08-29-06, 02:01 PM

Hey everyone. New to AVS, but have owned an Entre for quite some time. It's great to see an active community is still out there for this device!

I had a question (actually 2)
1. I have recently reformatted my computer, and in the process lost Media Manager. Does anybody here have the Media Manager install file, or (better yet) some alternative that actually works well with the Entre?

2. Every now and then my entre just powers off. No idea why. If I unplug the ethernet port and hold the power button down for 20 seconds it restarts (eventually) and is as good as new, but until then it is just flat off. Any idea why this happens, and what I can do to prevent it?

Thanks!
Dave

James A. McGahee

08-29-06, 11:26 PM

Has anyone had their Soverign Amp. audio drop problem fixed? If so, where did you sent it and did they fix it properly w/o doing any other damage? I recently talked to a repairman at a respected Dallas-Fort Worth home theater store and he told me he thought I would probably be wasting my time and money trying to get it fixed as it sounds like a CPU design/hardware problem and most likely can't be fixed. Thanks--

NYTrojan

09-10-06, 12:26 AM

Thanks everybody for your help. I'm having another problem now though. I recently lost the power in my home. When it came back on, my Netmate ethernet adapter wouldn't turn on. When I plug it in to the Entre the green light turns on for a split second and then goes out. I have tried all ethernet ports. Any suggestions?

sky-chicken

09-21-06, 03:29 PM

Slingblade8381

10-10-06, 01:01 PM

I was able to send comands to port 226 but now it is no longer open. Any idea why this may be? Also anyone know what the user and password is for the telnet port is?

RonAuger

10-11-06, 01:34 PM

I was able to send comands to port 226 but now it is no longer open. Any idea why this may be? Also anyone know what the user and password is for the telnet port is?If you get the exception that says something like "TCP connection actively refused", it usually means the Entre was rebooted and you have to re-select and re-save the internet configuration options (Primary-Ethernet, Secondary-Ethernat). I don't think the Entre has a Telnet server, only an FTP server.

Adam Mrotek

10-11-06, 11:52 PM

Just got an e-mail from someone from kenwood product support on ipaqmusiccenter (yahoogroups). He stated he's willing to answer questions and posted some FAQ's.

Erf

11-16-06, 07:33 PM

because I know you will all think this is heresy.

Do you think an Entre could be configured to boot Windows XP Media Center Edition?

I am unable to locate the Entre specs anymore, as a FAQ posted on here some time ago now has a bad link.

However, I seem to recall that the Entre's processor is a PowerPC chip.

dwm55

11-16-06, 08:01 PM

Do you think an Entre could be configured to boot Windows XP Media Center Edition?

Your first problem is that Microsoft hasn't supported the Power PC chip since the early days of Windows NT.

AVITWeb

11-29-06, 08:55 AM

Correct if wrong, but try LCD.

James A. McGahee

12-16-06, 10:40 AM

I want to replace my Kenwood Sovereign large screen square p-touch remote control with the hand held Logitec Harmony remote with RF/IR controls.

Has anyone done this and what are the technical problems? Does it work better? Would appreciate lots of details.
Thanks--

Mkellyvich

12-17-06, 02:04 PM

I haven't used the Harmony, but I did program all the Entre, DV-5900M, and VR-5900 commands into a Marantz learning remote. Worked just like learning any other remote, but I had to put the Marantz about a foot away from the Kenwood remote to capture some of the receiver-specific commands. Recommend you learn the Entre and DV-5900M commands directly from the remote (for any commands the Harmony doesn't already have in its database).

In order to put all the commands necessary to select movies on the Entre and navigate DVD menus on the DV-5900M I used the Marantz's channel up/down and skip left/right for the Entre up-down-left-right keys (menu navigation), used the Marantz's up-down-left-right circle for the DVD up-down-left-right, and learned the play-pause-FF-RW-OK keys from the Entre remote. Configured in this manner, I can select and play movies with the Marantz remote without having to switch source modes.

Hope this helps...

Mike

James A. McGahee

12-19-06, 06:16 PM

I haven't used the Harmony, but I did program all the Entre, DV-5900M, and VR-5900 commands into a Marantz learning remote. Hope this helps...

Mike
Thanks! It helps a lot. Are you totally satisfied with the Marantz? What model is it? And if you don't mind my asking, what's the going price?

Mkellyvich

12-19-06, 09:41 PM

I'm using the Marantz SR-18, which came with a Marantz receiver I bought back in 1998. The remote has been available by itself as the RC-2000 Mk II. I don't think Marantz sells it anymore, but they are regularly available on EBay for $50-100 (search for "Marantz remote" and you'll find a couple). I've been very happy with the unit (I have 5 that I use in various rooms around the house) - it learns almost anything, it will control up to 10 components with 4 screens of buttons (hard buttons with labels on an adjacent LCD screen) for each, it has hard buttons so you can use it without looking at it, you can program macros for each component and for 4 dedicated macro buttons, and the units I own have held up well. It is also backlit, which is nice when using it in dark rooms.

The primary drawback with it is size - it's a pretty big remote, so kids or a petite wife may need to use both hands (I can use it with one hand). A second drawback is that you have to learn commands for anything other than Marantz components - not a big deal if you've ever used a learning remote, but it gets tedious.

One advantage you get with the Harmony - the internet databases often have commands that aren't on the component's remote such as discrete on, off, and input selection commands. I've thought about getting a cheap harmony to get these commands and then teaching them to the Marantz remotes. Discrete commands make the macros work much better.

Hope this helps,

Mike

James A. McGahee

01-13-07, 04:50 PM

Have any of you guys tried the new OPPO Digital OPDV971HD upconverting DVD player? Do your standard DVDs look any better played on the OPPO 971 than on your Sovereign Faroudja DV-5900M changer?

James A. McGahee

01-16-07, 11:01 PM

I'm looking for an upconverting DVD player that produces a better picture and sound than my Kenwood DV-5900M (7.1 sound + Faroudja processing). I will be using an InFocus 76 projector (PixelWorks processing) with the DVD player. Would prefer HDMI 3.1. I'm hoping one of the OPPOs or similarly priced DVD players are out there somewhere. I recently returned an HD Toshiba A2
after buying the HD DVD of King Kong to try out the Toshiba. It produced a very good image but I compared it to Gladiator and Stargate standard DVDs on the DV-5900M and there just wasn't that much difference. They were much closer than I expected. For $500 I need a bigger difference in picture quality. Anybody have any ideas?
Thanks-

Rudmeister

01-21-07, 02:09 PM

Hi guys,

Havent been here in awhile nice to see some of you are still here. Here is my dilemma. It seems I am always getting one of my dv-5900 changers fixed. It is a huge hassle to disconnect it, remove it from the rack and remove all discs. I am thinking of chucking the whole thing in favor of copying all dvds to my new HP media center pc and using it as a movie server. My questions are:

1 What is the best way to stream the video throughout the house?

2 Is there any software comparable to the Entre that will gather info and artwork and present me with a gui from which to pick a movie?

3 I would like it to be HD.

If streaming is not a good option I can connect the pc directly to my 5900 reciever.

Thanks

slocko

01-24-07, 03:39 PM

are you saying the hd dvd of King Kong did not look much better than Gladiator? I find that very hard to believe. I haven't seen the review of King Kong on HD, but it would still be amazing if it didn't look head and shoulders above Gladiator.

There is simply much more detail available in the HD version that should produce a superior picture. Of course I know the transfer plays a big role, but King Kong I think was using the VC1 codec and I know Microsoft has provided a lot of support on the majority of titles to get them to look good.

Very interesting.

I'm looking for an upconverting DVD player that produces a better picture and sound than my Kenwood DV-5900M (7.1 sound + Faroudja processing). I will be using an InFocus 76 projector (PixelWorks processing) with the DVD player. Would prefer HDMI 3.1. I'm hoping one of the OPPOs or similarly priced DVD players are out there somewhere. I recently returned an HD Toshiba A2
after buying the HD DVD of King Kong to try out the Toshiba. It produced a very good image but I compared it to Gladiator and Stargate standard DVDs on the DV-5900M and there just wasn't that much difference. They were much closer than I expected. For $500 I need a bigger difference in picture quality. Anybody have any ideas?
Thanks-

James A. McGahee

01-25-07, 08:48 PM

are you saying the hd dvd of King Kong did not look much better than Gladiator? I find that very hard to believe. I haven't seen the review of King Kong on HD, but it would still be amazing if it didn't look head and shoulders above Gladiator.

There is simply much more detail available in the HD version that should produce a superior picture. Of course I know the transfer plays a big role, but King Kong I think was using the VC1 codec and I know Microsoft has provided a lot of support on the majority of titles to get them to look good.

Very interesting.
I mentioned in another thread that my son brought home his XBox with his HD DVD of King Kong. It looked great! Encouraged, I bought the A2 (great, sleek styling. It look great right under my black IN76. I know it has got to be a great player but back to back I would have to say (without peaking anything electronically) the best picture was the XBox, 2nd was the Sovereign DV5900 changer, and 3rd was the A2. I'm now thinking of trying the PS3 to see how it stacks up but I understand King Kong is not available in Blue Ray (although I was told by at a national chain store that King Kong is available on both HD and BR). I think if I had spent time downloading the latest firmware, peaked the A2, etc. it probably would have fared much better. They are all great pictures but $500 is a lot for a little difference. I would prefer the XBox but since there is one in the family I'll check out the PS3 or maybe the Thoshiba XA20 (or whatever) that I went after (which they didn't have yet) when I ended up the the A2. After reading about it though I'm not sure I want to deal with its negatives. I haven't gone 1080p yet and I understand it really needs 1080p for the big difference.

merlin001

03-01-07, 02:29 AM

Has anyone had any trouble with Internet Radio on the Entre? I finally got around to setting it up, but haven't had much luck. The default stations are extremely poor and sound more like some insane electrical noise than radio. I also tried adding a few that work fine with Windows Media Player (all .asx locations), but the Entre keeps telling me that it can't connect. Any suggestions?

Thanks!
~ David

James A. McGahee

04-02-07, 10:28 PM

AVITWeb

04-02-07, 11:12 PM

Anybody know of a remote to replace the Power Touch that will do RF/IR as well as receive feedback from the receiver so you can see on the remote which speakers in use, and all the other good stuff, etc.
Thanks-

I don't think that there is one that does feedback...I know you can buy a piece which will allow you to move the receiving and sending eye so that you can control the receiver from another location, but nothing like you mention.

James A. McGahee

04-03-07, 07:05 PM

I don't think that there is one that does feedback...I know you can buy a piece which will allow you to move the receiving and sending eye so that you can control the receiver from another location, but nothing like you mention.

That would work! I was dreading reprograming a remote anyway. Do you, or anyone, know what the item "piece" above is called and where I can get one. I have a "Leap Frog" IR relay and it has an aerial so I assume it also does RF but of course the feed back wouldn't work.
Thanks-

Mkellyvich

04-03-07, 08:52 PM

James,

Audioplex technology offered a Kenwood-compatible two-way IR relay system-don't know if they still have it for sale but it's still up on the web - here's the link...

http://www.audioplex.com/K2S2PACK.htm

I haven't tried it, so I can't vouch for how it works. I use a Marantz RC-2000 Mk II learning remote to control the Sovereign components for everyday use, and only use the PowerTouch for setup tasks.

Hope this helps,

Mike

AVITWeb

04-03-07, 09:15 PM

That would work! I was dreading reprograming a remote anyway. Do you, or anyone, know what the item "piece" above is called and where I can get one. I have a "Leap Frog" IR relay and it has an aerial so I assume it also does RF but of course the feed back wouldn't work.
Thanks-

Yes, and if you can get it, you have to turn off it RF in order for it to work properly.
Although I would assume that almost any Send/Receive device would suffice.

Mkellyvich

04-04-07, 06:52 AM

I never had much luck with the PowerTouch RF - lots of interference and missed commands. I always ran my VR-5900 with the RF turned off.

Mike

merlin001

04-12-07, 05:41 AM

James A. McGahee

04-29-07, 07:32 PM

Since OpenGlobe no longer exists, is there a way to search the database? I've got an Entre, and some of the DVD titles don't get retrieved, and when I type in the name, the wrong disc info is retrieved. I want to try to find the exact name I need to manually search for the DVD info.

Thanks!
~ David
Just wondering where the album covers are coming from. I just purchased Little Miss Sunshine for my wife. Popped it in the Sovereign 5900 and the album cover & information about the DVD came right back. Does anyone know where it is coming from if Open Globe is out of business? I think I remember Escient (maker of the Kenwood Entre) merging with Open Globe sometime after the Escient split with Kenwood.

RonAuger

04-30-07, 12:36 PM

Escient (or somebody) is still operating the server that downloads DVD/CD info to your Entre, even brand new titles.

James A. McGahee

05-02-07, 10:26 PM

If you guys with Escient read this-Thanks-for continuing to allow us Entre users to receive DVD/CD covers and info. For one, when my Entre bites the dust, I will be purchasing my next "Entre" or "Fireball" from you if you are still helping us out.
One of you really helped me a lot on a weekend getting my Entre going when Kenwood was unable to figure it out and referred me to you. Very appreciative here.
Thanks again!!

James A. McGahee

05-28-07, 04:00 PM

I remember having a problem with my Sovereign system not powering up on whatever selection I previously powered down. It would power back up to the Sovereign DVD changer. Then it started working fine, I believe after a firmware download.

Now it starts up with the DVD changer most everytime, sometimes video, sometimes the passthrough video, and sometimes just the DVD audio.

I usually shut it down after watching Sat. (Video 3) and would like for it power back up on the last selection I powered down ex. Sat. (Video 3). Anyone know if this is a Powertouch remote programing error, firmware change, or a macro problem. I haven't changed the marcros on the remote but have changed some inputs in back of the amp. Sometimes I have to use the passthrough on the remote to get the video, but not always. I always have to change it to Video 3 to get the sound.

Anyone know why if you shut down on the Video 3 selection it would not power back up on the same Video 3 selection rather than defaulting to the DVD changer?

Mkellyvich

05-30-07, 09:12 PM

Never saw anything like that on my VR-5900. Are you sure that changing input connections on the back of the receiver hasn't dorked up a macro?

One way to check this would be to power down and power up the system using only the Powertouch's power button and see if it reliably powers up to whatever input was active when you shut it down. If so, you probably have a macro issue. If not, I'm not sure what to suggest.

As far as passthrough goes, I settled on hooking up the changer to the Entre, then connecting the Entre's component out to the DVD input on the VR-5900. That way the Entre screens never interfered with Sat or VCR video.

I jumped ship to the Escient DVDM-100 just this last weekend. I've enjoyed the Entre for the last five years, but finally couldn't resist trying out the new features of the Escient line (web control, view library by cover art, select from a list when looking up movies, play music off the PCs, etc). So far I like it, although the direct-to-the-movie DVD play doesn't seem to work with the Kenwood changers.

Cheers,

Mike

James A. McGahee

05-31-07, 11:15 PM

Never saw anything like that on my VR-5900. Are you sure that changing input connections on the back of the receiver hasn't dorked up a macro?
I pushed the eject button on the changer and did not ask it to play another DVD. It seems if there is anything "on the turntable" it defaults to resuming or restarting that DVD. It now powers up to Sat. every time, unless I ask it to play DVD, CD, etc. Problems seems to have taken care of itself now.
One way to check this would be to power down and power up the system using only the Powertouch's power button and see if it reliably powers up to whatever input was active when you shut it down. If so, you probably have a macro issue. If not, I'm not sure what to suggest.
I've been powering up the amp. button lately without using the powertouch remote. I am probably confusing the system. I'll try your suggestion.
As far as passthrough goes, I settled on hooking up the changer to the Entre, then connecting the Entre's component out to the DVD input on the VR-5900. That way the Entre screens never interfered with Sat or VCR video.
Great idea. I'll give it a shot!
I jumped ship to the Escient DVDM-100 just this last weekend. I've enjoyed the Entre for the last five years, but finally couldn't resist trying out the new features of the Escient line (web control, view library by cover art, select from a list when looking up movies, play music off the PCs, etc). So far I like it, although the direct-to-the-movie DVD play doesn't seem to work with the Kenwood changers.
What do you mean "the direct-to-the-movie DVD play" doesn't work? How do you get it to access and play your DVDs? Not sure I follow you here. Also, if you don't mind, email me what the going price for the Escient is and where you got it. If you got it at a chain store I might be able to check it out here in the Dallas area

Cheers,

Mike
Thank you,
Jim

Mkellyvich

06-01-07, 02:21 PM

Jim,

According to the manual and some postings in the Escient DVDM-100 thread, the system is supposed to start the movie right away when you press play for a DVD, bypassing all the trailers, ads, and menus on the DVD. Great feature for discs like Sixteen Candles, where the disc is authored to prevent the user from skipping past the previews. Supposedly this feature works when the DVDM-100 is used with the Sony changers (which I don't have), but with the Kenwood changers you just get the "prohibited operation" graphic and the previews etc still play. I'm going to call Escient today to ask about this.

I got the DVDM-100 at Bjorn's Audio-Video here in San Antonio. List price is $1999, but I paid a little less than 3/4 of that for a new open-box unit. If you go to the Escient website there is a dealer locator that will tell you where you can get the units in the Dallas area. They are also available from Crutchfield.

Cheers,

Mike

Johnla

06-02-07, 05:49 AM

There is a fully authorized online seller of refurbished Escient products, www.secondact.biz, that has some good prices if you don't mind a refurbished product. I even called Escient directly to verify that there were Escient authorized to be selling them, and they confirmed that they were, and that the refurbished products also come with a full 1 year Escient warranty. I bought a DVDM-552 from them about 3 weeks ago, and I can't even find a scratch on it. Plus if you search all the various sites that collect coupon codes, you can usually find a discount coupon code for secondact. The one I found at the time when I ordered mine was for free shipping on any Escient orders.

James A. McGahee

06-03-07, 05:58 PM

Johnla

06-04-07, 04:26 AM

I know I will eventually have to replace my Entre (made by Escient) and it would be cool if I could connect my Kenwood Sovereign Changer, which is almost full, and a Sony (or other) changer to the Escient at the same time.

According to Escient, you can not mix&match brands changers on a DVDM-100.
On page 19 of the owners manual, it states that they all must be the same brand and type.

http://www.escient.com/manuals/FBDVDM100UM.pdf

Mkellyvich

06-04-07, 06:09 PM

James,

The Escient tech I spoke to said that the functionality to skip the trailers etc was only on the sony changers. In the DVDM-100 thread here at AVS one of the posters speculated that all the Escient controller did to accomplish this was to send a play command to the changer, wait until the disc had been selected, then send "stop stop play". Apparently the Sony will stop playing immediately on receipt of the "stop" command, then start the movie on the subsequent "play" command as if you had already viewed all the preliminary material. The Kenwood changer appears to ignore all commands until the initial material has played (based on instructions encoded on the disc).

All of the Escient documentation is pretty explicit that you cannot mix brands of changers on the same controller - it needs to have all Kenwood (DV-5900M and/or DV-5050) or all Sony connected. Also, you cannot mix DVD and CD changers on the same controller.

Probably not what you wanted to hear, but I hope this helps...

Mike

James A. McGahee

06-04-07, 06:55 PM

Mathazar

07-20-07, 05:22 PM

It's been a long time since I've visited this board - great to see it's still alive! My Sovereign system is doing well (three 5900's and Entre with 980 DVD's) but I'm entertaining the thought of replacing my Entre with a Fireball to get some of the new software updates, themes, views, etc. that are currently offered with that product's software level. My biggest frustration with my Entre now is that my tried and true DVDEDit (v2.4) utility that Joe Sampo did a few years ago no longer works. It'll find and scan my Entre just fine, but in the process of receiving the data, it always dies on Packet #67 with an "Error 9". When that happens, I have to hard reset the Entre in order for DVDEdit to find it on the network again. DVDEdit used to work flawlessly for me for years...nothing has changed in my configuration or network so I'm wondering if maybe I've hit a wall or something with DVDEdit with regards to file size and/or number of DVD's. To be honest, I think the last time I used DVDEdit my DVD disc count was around 800 and not 1000. Maybe DVDEdit can't handle that number of discs? Anyone out there using DVDEdit with three changers?

Anyway, I've read that the Escient Fireball can be "controlled" via a web browser interface. Does that include editing disc info and uploading/selecting my own cover art for homemade family movie discs? About 200 of my DVDs are family vacations and holidays and such and I loved using DVDEdit to do my own cover art and disc descriptions. Does the Escient Fireball have this capability?

Thanx!
Kris

Nick Satullo

07-21-07, 02:26 PM

Mkellyvich

07-22-07, 12:40 PM

I'll second Nick's comments on the Fireball - I picked one up in May and have been very pleased with it. I just bought several more DV-5900Ms from a forum member and will be using both the Entre and the Fireball in my system.

The web interface works well, and the improved DVD search (which gives you all the matches and allows you to choose the one you like) is a big plus. It will allow you to edit all the disc info, change cover art, play discs, perform setup and maintenance functions, and even change background images on the Fireball's menus. No regrets with the Escient purchase.

If only the Escient supported the Axcess terminals... They are the prime reason I still have the Entre. DVDEdit has been unreliable for me (seems to work once in a while but usually errors out while reading data at startup).

Mike

Mathazar

07-23-07, 11:36 PM

Thanx, guys. I pulled the trigger and bought a refurb DVDM-100 from 2ndact.biz this afternoon online. They're quick - got email with a tracking number from them tonight confirming it's on the way already. Scheduled delivery is Friday - I'm guessing the unit will be spending the majority of the weekend looking up 980 DVDs. :D

And as an added bonus, I just saw in Escient's support download section free PC software that will allow the DVDM-100 to stream MP3s from a Windows system and display ID3 tag info and CD cover art (as well as use playlists). In our family room, I've been using a ROKU MP3 streamer for about 2 years connected to our MP3 archive of about 120GB of music files. It works fine, but I could certainly get used to the idea of browsing for music via a GUI on my 64" TV instead of the small (but effective) display on the ROKU.

I think I'm going to like this thing...

Kris

msb212

10-06-07, 10:45 PM

So, after a couple of years with no issues, we recently switched from dsl to a cable modem at our vacation home, where I have an entre set up. As a result, the entre no longer connects to the internet, and I am having a hell of a time figuring out the settings to enter. It's compounded b the fact that I have recently switched to a mac, so having a tough time sorting out where to even find the internet setings from it.

I have the belkin adapter attached to a wireless bridge, and it is lit with a green light, so it must be my settings...I've tried what I believe are the correct ones, and have rebooted the entre with the adapter in and out, as well as unplugged the entre.

Can anyone help me with the proper settings? Thanks a ton!

stoyan1508

10-18-07, 10:43 AM

BlitzK

10-27-07, 02:59 PM

Hey guys... I'm reading this thread (and others) but some of it is outdated and/or no longer valid.

A friend of mine has the Entre/Sovereign, I don't know the versions or anything, but it has never been connected online etc. He doesn't have any of the USB adapters either.

He has asked me to "set it up"... What do I need to do from scratch?

I can probably get a phone line to it. Do I need a dialup internet connection for this or is there a direct number I can dial to get any updates?

Which USB adapter should I get for it? I see the list, but do some work better than others... and are any of them currently being sold at compusa/bestbuy/etc?

After (or if) I get it all set up and connecting online, do they still provide current DVD cover/titles?

Any CURRENT tips/tricks would be greatly appreciated! I've never used the Kenwood Entre' system.

Thanks!

James A. McGahee

11-29-07, 10:33 PM

See if my last post in the non-technical thread helps.
"Kenwood Sovereign System (Changer, Entre, and Receiver) Issues and Answers" post 6580
http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=95150&highlight=McGahee&page=220

SvenC

12-13-07, 03:33 PM

Hi.
After a software update, my Escient SE-500i (500 GB internal drive) drive crashed (or the update is corrupt).
Question: Can I change the drive WITHOUT system backup?
I know, I cannot implement a new unformatted drive....

Does have anyone utils / tools for partioning / formatting for me?
Is this possible without an actually system?
The Escient support won´t help. :rolleyes:

Thanks for infos or hints ;)

slocko

12-13-07, 04:04 PM

out of curiosity, are the sony changers any smaller that the kenwood ones?

BigDaddyP

12-13-07, 08:03 PM

that would be a big no. They are just as big.

James A. McGahee

12-16-07, 07:39 PM

out of curiosity, are the sony changers any smaller that the kenwood ones?

Not sure if you are talking about the outside dimensions of the changers or the number of discs they will hold. Can't speak to the Sony but the Kenwood I have will hold 400 discs plus 3 slots for rental discs/temp. discs. My Kenwood sticks out about an inch beyond the front of my stack, quite deep, so I have it on bottom near the floor so it is not noticeable.

James A. McGahee

12-16-07, 08:28 PM

[QUOTE=SvenC;12481737]...
The Escient support won´t help. QUOTE]

I was considering jumping into Escient when my Entre dies. Just curious, why won't Escient support help?? Years ago they were great when Kenwood referred me to them concerning setting up my Entre . It is my understanding they made the Entre for Kenwood. I know they parted ways but I'm not going there if their attitude has changed. Don't want to be left out in tne cold...
Thanks-

Johnla

12-16-07, 10:46 PM

Mkellyvich

12-17-07, 09:42 PM

Johnla,

Are you using the Sony or the Kenwood changers with your DVDM-552? I got conflicting reports from Escient regarding whether the -552 would support the Kenwood changers (the manual says Sony-only, one tech said the -552 would support the Kenwood changers, and another tech said they would not). I agree with your comments on Escient - I've found the DVDM-100 to be an excellent product and Escient has been most helpful with questions both over the phone and via e-mail. They've continued to upgrade functionality of their controllers far beyond what the Entre provides (things like DJ modes, improved favorites lists, web-page control and content management, etc).

Thanks,

Mike

James A. McGahee

12-17-07, 10:51 PM

JohnLa,
Was referring to below which was an Escient product.
"After a software update, my Escient SE-500i (500 GB internal drive) drive crashed (or the update is corrupt).
Question: Can I change the drive WITHOUT system backup?
I know, I cannot implement a new unformatted drive....

Does have anyone utils / tools for partioning / formatting for me?
Is this possible without an actually system?
The Escient support won´t help."

As I mentioned I had great help with Escient support when I needed them. Just wondering why they would not help out if the equipment is their own. I understand they are pretty much the only game in town in that price range. Luckily my Entre is doing well. I was not being critical of Escient. As a matter of fact, somewhere in all these threads is a "Thanks You" from me for Escient (Open Globe) allowing all us Entre owners to continue using their CD/DVD album data base. I still get ticked with Kenwood for not following through on their promises. I still see "A Future Feature" on my screen whenever I happen to hit the email or surf buttons on the Entre remote.

Johnla

12-18-07, 03:39 AM

Johnla,

Are you using the Sony or the Kenwood changers with your DVDM-552?

I use the Sony's. I have 5 of them hooked up.

SvenC

12-18-07, 03:18 PM

I own a Escient DVDM-552, and have never had a problem or issue with their support. Don't blame Escient for Kenwoods lack of support. If Kenwood has basically dropped the ball and support on their own branded products, why should Escient try to do any more than Kenwood? Kenwood is the one that made most of the money by selling them, and more than likely part of the deal with Escient was that Kenwood was also the one that should be supporting them, and not Escient. I trust Escient to support their own brand of products under the Escient branding, but I would not expect them to offer much support for someone elses branded products even if they did originally make them. if you don't want to trust Escient because of the Kenwood lack of support now for their own stuff, that's up to you. But to move to anything other than a Escient setup can be even more costly than what the Escient products go for. As the choices for such products are limited.
Hi Johnla.
The "normal" support is great. But I mean the "extended" support with internal informations about HW / SW design resp. the internal HDD structure.
Now, I must send my defect device to my dealer here in Germany. The dealer looks what he can do. My device costs nearly 1800 Euro! here in Germany and is now defect (after 5 months :rolleyes: ).
Normallay, the customer here in Germany don´t buy a device without a simple drive exchange and the device is too expensive for the german customer.
I think, Escient only can sale products in Germany with a better support for a a simple HW exchange.
Now, I must send the device back and I must wait for analysis (days or weeks) and for the drive replace. Next time -> same problem -> same game.
My PVR and my mediaplayer don´t have this "drive lock". I can replace the drive without any problems if it´s defect... I think, the informations saved into the EEPROM and not onto the drive. The Escient needs a prepared drive for working, this is rubbish.... ;)
And this is the reason for my question. :)

I think, the SE-160i / SE-500i is the first product here in Europe - without any Sony Mega changer control. :(

TomBudC

01-02-08, 10:48 PM

Wow, still life left in these things. And now I'm in need of resurrecting mine and need the Entre OS .iso. Anyone who has it pls pm me. Thx
TomC

TomBudC

01-14-08, 02:22 PM

Bump. Anyone with the Entre re-install sfwre? I applied to the Yahoo Kenwood_Entre group because supposedly the sfwre is there, but looks like the moderator is out to lunch (or worse and their juvenile kids are running it); I was denied?? Fool is me though because I probably should've known better about that type of i-net trash. So, anyone help an Entre & Dv5900 enthusiast out? Thanks in advance.

slocko

01-14-08, 03:30 PM

try this thread:

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?p=12617319#post12617319

someone there was hosting the software.

James A. McGahee

02-02-08, 09:33 PM

My entre is not connecting. I suspect the internet configurations are not correct as Kenwood and Linksys are telling me different configuations to get it back up wirelessly. Any help (your current configurations, suggestions, etc.) would be much appreciated. It could also be my Linksys set up with the wireless bridge as some gal from Linksys did some really strange things with my settings remotely. Help!! and Thanks!!!

James A. McGahee

03-06-08, 09:57 PM

:DMy entre is not connecting. I suspect the internet configurations are not correct as Kenwood and Linksys are telling me different configuations to get it back up wirelessly. Any help (your current configurations, suggestions, etc.) would be much appreciated. It could also be my Linksys set up with the wireless bridge as some gal from Linksys did some really strange things with my settings remotely. Help!! and Thanks!!!

Just got an email followed by a phone call from a Kenwood guy who knows his stuff. I started calling Kenwood on Jan. 30th. On the third call they escalated my request for help to the "corporate" level, previously the "technical" level. At any rate I appreciate getting the following information which may or may not work with your system if you are having problems getting on the internet with your Entre. I do not have "Access" units so your settings will vary accordingly. I am using a Belkin USB Ethernet Adapter connected with a crossover cable to a Linksys Wireless Bridge to a wireless Linksys router.
(Note the *s below. When you unbox the Entre for the first time I believe you have to use "dialup to get things started, at least in some cases. The changing to/or selecting "dialup", "then reset", saving, then switching back to/or
selecting ethernet indicates to the Entre a need to "change" and corrects what I think must be a bug. Anyway this is about the only thing I had never tried, or heard of doing, and it seems to be the magic bullet that worked for me.)*

On Entre Remote:
Hit "Setup".
Select "utilities" at the bottom of the screen.
Select "system information".
It should list Server as "PROD". (If not you may need to spend a little time figuring out how to change it. I remember changing this once on another screen. When you save it there, it will also show up here.)
If ok hit Select on the remote to get out
then "back“ on "Setup - Utilities screen".
When screen comes up:
Hit "Internet Configuration" then
hit "primary tcp/ip settings".
Here are the settings he gave me:

TCIP/IP settings - Select "Static".
IPA 192.168.1.50
SM 255.255.255.0
GA 192.168.1.1
DNS1 207.250.129.8
DNS2 (leave blank)
DHCP (leave blank)

Save.
When you save you will be sent back to "Setup - Internet Configuration".
Under this select "network connections.
Select "dialup modem"* under Primary Network Connection
and "none" under Secondary Network Connection.
Hit "save".
When you hit save it will send you back to
Setup Internet Configuration. "Reset the Entre by holding down the power button on the Entre until the small red light starts flashing then release it. When it stops flashing and is solid red press the power button again to restart the Entre and release the button."
On Entre Remote:
Hit "Setup". Then back to to "Setup - Internet Configuration".
Under this select "network connections" (again)*.
This time select "ethernet" under Primary*..
and
"none" under Secondary Net....
Hit "save".
Hit "test".
Hope I got this right and Good Luck-

Johnla

03-09-08, 06:24 AM

I am interested (along with another AVS forum member) in knowing how much this "add-on" might improve the performance of a DCDi Faroudja progressive scan Sovereign DV-5900 DVD changer. Are we talking "near" HD quality, not as good (or perhaps better) than the Reon chip, Realta chip, negligible improvement, etc.?

I answered this in the other Kenwood thread, that you also posted this question in.

James A. McGahee

03-18-08, 09:34 PM

While watching recorded sat. and ripping a cd to the Entre hd, the amp. kept switching audio from the sat. to the cd (or hd) as the cd was being ripped. Each time a track would end on the cd/hd the receiver would switch back to the audio at the beginning of the next track of the cd and I would have to re-select audio for the sat. Changed the amp. input from Auto. but problem continued.

Anyone had this happen? Is there a simple fix?

Thanks-

CKOB1308

04-14-08, 01:11 PM

I have upgraded the Entre hard drive to a Samsung 120 gig. Now my question is, "How do I restore my previously saved media?" I followed all the steps, copied the content from my original 20 gig drive to the new 120 gig drive and when I complete the rebooting all previously saved media disappears. All I am left with are the out of the box mp3s and inernet radio stations. I am sure that the answer is somewhere in this huge thread but if someone who knows is reading could you lead me to the light? I have 2 completely full DV5900 and I had used half of the 20 gig drive capacity for mp3s. Hence there is no way I want to build all of that. Please help.

Has anyone tried or considered using Partion Magic or some kind of partition expansion tool?

TomBudC

05-05-08, 11:26 PM

My 5900 dvd has started not syncing when playing discs in progressive mode, and now on regular mode. I'm using a 1080p monitor thru component and it can get a bit picky, but now it's worse. It shows black with 1 noise line about a 1/3 up on the display when scenes with subtitles were shown, but now it 'cuts out' a lot on most discs. I haven't tried it with any other tv's but y'all got any ideas? Is it time to say goodbyy? I'm not using my Entre either now. THx

Mkellyvich

05-06-08, 07:59 PM

Is it a green line occaisionally flashing across the display? If so, your video processor board is failing. This has happened to two of my changers in the last several years.

This board is an easy swap (take the cover off, the board is right on top, pull a couple ribbon cables and four screws, swap in a replacement, reconnect, and button the changer back up).

The problem is that the board is not available as a spare part - but you can buy a used changer relatively cheap and swap the boards (or just use the used changer and keep yours for parts).

You can also use the changer with bad video for CDs - the video problem in my case did not affect audio or changer operation.

Hope this helps,

Mike

TomBudC

05-17-08, 07:48 PM

Thx Mike. I've been looking for a bad/dead 5900 but haven't found one yet. I'm not using the Entre so I should just be selling them both. But I can't sell the great 400-disc DVD player with the Entre if it doesn't work. Doh! I'll keep looking.
T--

James A. McGahee

08-01-08, 12:06 AM

Hope there is someone out there who can help me solve a few problems with my VR-5900's remote-the P-Touch III.

I inadvertently let my batteries run down as I always have the Power Touch remote plugged into the wall. I had to disconnect everything and move all the furniture out of the room for carpet installation. I discovered that the batteries were dead when I put everything back together. I lost all my IR added remote information so I reset the PT-III.

Problem 1:
When I touch "Setup", "Calib.", and do the calibration, there should be a following screen that ask me what model of power touch I am using, either Model 1, or Model 2. I've only been able to find that page after resetting the PT-III. I may not have the correct model selected. I can't find the PT-III model number on the remote itself or in the manuals.

Questions:
Is there any way to identify the model in order so I can make the correct selection?

Is there a way to get this page to appear without resetting and possibly losing my settings again?

Problem 2:
When I touch "Listen Mode", "Status", I get a screen that gives me the input signal type, for example, "PCM" is currently displayed for the show I'm watching. Also on this page there are supposed to be small squares that indicate what speakers are active, for the source selected, in the large outlined area in the middle of the screen. I am unable to get anything to show even though I believe all the speakers are working and sound fine. I feel I have a setting wrong. I have have had this problem before but can't remember how I resolved it. Nothing seems to be in the manual concerning this.

Question:
Any ideas how to get my speaker setup (icon squares) to be reflected in this block once again?

Problem 3:
I did have an Entre icon. It is gone. I read in the manual that some PT-III remotes have the Entre information (I assume firmware) built into some PT-IIIs but some do not. If it doesn't you have to send it to Kenwood to have the information (firmware??) installed into the PT-III. I had an Entre icon but can't remember if it came with the PT-III or I used the Entre's separate remote and fed in all its information to the PT-III myself although I doubt I did that as I would remember due to numerous buttons I what have to select. Perhaps I've just lost the Entre icon but the information is still there. I know how to create and icon but not sure it would work without IR downloading from the Entre's remote which would be a pain and might not work.

Questions:
Any ideas how to determine if the Entre information is or is not stored in my PT-III?

How do I get it (the Entre icon) to show up again?

I've made four phone calls and spent over an hour on the phone with Kenwood. They escalated my questions up to level three and when they have answers they will me call me. The last time this happened I never heard from them so I called them back. I not to hopeful now as most of their Sovereign guys have moved on.

Thanks for any help you can provide.

Mkellyvich

08-01-08, 12:58 PM

James A. McGahee

08-01-08, 10:30 PM

James,

The PTIII should keep the Model setting even when reset (at least that's what the manual says, see page 35 of the VR-5900 connection and setup guide). Setting should be Model 1.

To get the Entre icon, go to Setup-IR, select the input your Entre is connected to, then select "Entre" from the device list - on mine it is the first device in the list. The Entre button should then show up on your home page. If your remote isn't updated with firmware including the Entre it won't show in the device list.

Not sure what is going on with the listen status page - my VR-5900 isn't set up now (been using a Denon receiver since we moved to Florida) so I can't play with it to try to duplicate your issue.

Hope this helps...

Mike

This was a great help. You got me on the right track. Everything seems to be working again so I guess I have model 1 selected. The Entre was not the first item listed but I found it. There was an incorrect entry which I corrected. That got the Entre icon back in action and also fixed the missing speaker icons in the status window. I'm glad there are still a few of us hanging around this thread.

I need to replace the VR-5900. I am looking. How does your Denon sound compared to the 5900?

Are using the 5900's changer and Entre still?

Anything you miss about the VR-5900?

Thanks again,
James

proudx

08-13-08, 11:57 AM

I know entre autmatically names the DVDs in the ENtre interface itself, but does it actually name the dvds in the regular 5900m library on the dv-5900m itself?

In other words if I pull up the library icon on the 5900, and list titles will the titles be named there as well as the entre interface?

krichter1

08-13-08, 06:49 PM

It will if the DVD itself includes the metadata on the disc. Most do so when the 5900/5050's reads the disc it updates the info into memory.

Kevin

Mkellyvich

08-13-08, 07:32 PM

The Entre doesn't feed any name data back to the changer. Kevin is correct - if the DVD has DVD-text data on it, the changer will read that data and store it in the changer's library. If the DVD doesn't have DVD-text you will have to manually name it using the changer's remote in order to have it show up in the changer library.

The good news is that the changer associates the manually-entered name with the disc, so if you move it to a different slot within the same changer and play it the changer will recognize the disc and show your manual name in the library and on the display.

In a fit of boredom one weekend I manually named about 200 discs in one of my changers. I unloaded the changer when I moved to Florida - put the discs back in the changer (in no particular order with respect to what slots I'd removed them from), did an "all disc read" on the changer, and all the names popped right back up.

Cheers,

Mike

proudx

08-14-08, 07:35 AM

Mkellyvich

08-14-08, 09:07 PM

Proudx,

No such luck. I use the DVDM100 with the Kenwood changers (my Entre is music-only now, mostly to service the Axcess portals). It works great, but does not pass any info back to the changers.

Cheers,

Mike

James A. McGahee

08-21-08, 09:31 PM

Picked up a new Axcess from a fellow AVS member. Unfortunately the Kenwood supplied User Guide does not include any setup information. I downloaded the user guide from the Kenwood site. I found the setup procedure in the front of the downloaded guide although it is not included in the user guide supplied with the Axcess.

To get it started I had to connect my Axcess directly to the Entre. Only then was I able to get the Axcess to download the most recent (I hope) firmware.

Anyway the user guide says to use the same IP address, Subnet mask, Gateway, etc. as the Entre uses if unable to get the Axcess to reach the internet automatically. I entered the information manually exactly as the Entre shows but the Axcess says it can't find the server.

Do you guys remember or know if you used a different IP address, Subnet mask, Gateway, etc. for the Axcess than your Entre? If so what is it or how do I figure it out?

I feel like I am getting close. Any help would be appreciated.
Thanks

James A. McGahee

08-23-08, 08:54 PM

Anyone have a working Netgear PE102 10MBPS(10BASE-T) Home Phone-line RJ11 Ethernet RJ45 Bridge you would be willing to sale?

kelliot

09-20-08, 09:43 PM

I've got a DV-5050. Does it make any sense getting an entre off of ebay or whereever or should I just sell it or give it away? Its been in the box since I got it repaired a few years back.

Mkellyvich

09-22-08, 08:37 PM

If you can get an Entre and a compatible USB-ethernet adaptor for a good price the system is still quite useful - all the disk lookup, music, and internet radio functions work just as well as they always have. I still use mine daily.

Cheers,

Mike

CKOB1308

09-27-08, 08:36 AM

After several good years of use with the Kenwood Entre and Sovereign system I am at last packing it in. I have the Entre, VR5900, and 2 full DV5900 plus an Axess. For the last year or so I had problems connecting and keeping a connection. After trying everything, I couldn't get it to work. I after numerous calls to Kenwood I at last found a Tech who offered to check my unit. I sent the unit and low and behold, the problems was caused by some bad part on the motherboard. The Tech replaced the parts that failed but in the process had wiped my harddrive and all my media. I have the unit back but there is no way I am reloading my media into the Entre as its old technology. I am going 100% digital via my PS3. The time I would have spent on the Entre I am instead spending that time converting all media to digital. I will be able to play and view all my DVD movies, CD audio, Internet Radio Stations, Pictures and loads of intermedia through the PS3 from my home computer via my wireless network.

The Entre is a great system and I loved using it when it worked but if it is failing you, bite the bullet and go digital. I am a big Sony and Playstation fan but trust me it's the best device that you could use especially for our types who like to customize our media.

I want to thank all who have helped me over the years. This forum and thread has a great group of people on it. Good luck with your systems and if you decide to go digital with the PS3 send me a message and I would be happy to help you as you all have helped me with the Entre.

TomBudC

11-01-08, 04:57 PM

Me too. Since my DVD player is fritzing, I am going to sell it all.
Entre, DV5900 and a Linksys HPro200 Phoneline/Router. Heck, I even have a 2Wire HPNA router I need to get rid of.
It's been nice, but I'm now serving .iso's over LAN and viewing on any computer ever made with any OS via VLC.
This isn't the thread - But -If you're interested IM me because it's all going on local Crgslst in a couple days.
Thx
TomC

SonnyGTX

12-02-08, 09:13 PM

frylock420

12-06-08, 12:49 PM

hello all, to start off I picked up an entre for a steal on ebay last week and it did'nt come with the manual so If any one knows where to find a downloadable file that would be great. Next would be some info about the usable functions of this unit with it being almost 10yrs old like does it access the internet and e-mail as described, can you use this system to its full potential yet?-I've been through both of these pinned threads(entre & sovereign) and they have me worried that I just bought something that only does half of what it was promised to do.

Also who do I get in touch to get some help getting this unit setup and as operational as possible, Kenwood? -esceint? -imb??

and last where can I pickup the best usb to enther?net apapter localy?

has there been any updated since the 2.0.0.8 version that I have at the moment?

any thing else that I should know of like and upgrades or just fyi info would be much appreatiated

thanks from your new buddy Smokie Joe

dwm55

12-07-08, 01:58 AM

I don't believe the Internet browser and email ever worked. It's been a while, but I believe some of the original participants of this thread did get the browser to sort of work. The Internet movie and CD management functions work just fine. As for the manual, every now and then I run across it online, but a Google search tonight failed to locate a link for the manual. I have a copy that I can send to you. Send me a private message with your email address and I'll email it to you.

It's been a while since I called Kenwood, but I'd try there first if you can't find help within this forum. I'd be happy to answer some of your questions about setup, but I'm hardly an expert. I still use my Entre with three changers attached. I have some music stored on the Entre, but there are better alternatives for me than trying to manage my music collection on the Entre.

There are only a couple of USB adapters that are supported by the Entre. I use a Belkin F5D5050, and it's worked flawlessly for the last four years. You can stil find them on Amazon for around $28. You might find them on eBay as well. If you search the two Kenwood Sovereign threads in this forum, you should find a complete list of supported USB adapters. If you have trouble finding them, ask again and I'll see if I can find the list.

I'm still running release 2.0.0.8 of the software, but there is a later release available. I'm not sure what it fixed, but I seem to remember you could get the update through the Entre's system menu.

One tip: look around this thread and you will find quite a lot of information on customizing the colors and titles of the Entre, which allows you to give it a more pleasing visual experience.

dsc201knoc

01-26-09, 03:12 PM

dwm55

01-26-09, 04:58 PM

is there a way to mod the openglobe menu to make it look more upto date.. or maybe ftp to the unit pull off the skin then modify it in photoshop or something. if someone could give me some information that would be great.
Damon

Scott and krichter1 figured out how to do this a couple years ago. They identified a number of jpg files and color parameters that could be changed through FTP to the Entre. Try here first:

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?p=3969255#post3969255

If you still have questions and want some examples of what I did, send me a private message.

Regards,
Dave

TwistEdFish1

02-18-09, 02:26 PM

Greetings All,
I have had to recently restore my entre to factory settings, I still run it with the original 20gb HDD, my current issue is I have in the past upgraded my USB to ETH adapter to a belkin F5D5050 and now find that after a restore that adapter is not recognized by the entre in its factory form and simply locks my unit up, What im looking for is anyone with a downloadable copy of the original 20GB update files to at least version 2.0.0.3 at which point the belkin F5D5050 became a usable adapter. PLEASE HELP ME hehehe!!!!!

I do not have a dial up connection to let the entre update its self on the internet so the ETH connection is my only means.

So if anyone can point me to a Kenwood.zip that will allow me to do the manual update for the original 20gb HDD to get my adapter recognized I would offer you a Huge Smile and a Great big Thank You so Very Much my Friend!!!!!!!

TwistEdFish1

02-19-09, 10:41 AM

Greetings All, i am back with great news,
I have thanks to CountryBumkin gotten the manual install of the 2.0.0.8 upgrade files for the original 20g HDD for the Entre, I have aslo solved my Wireless problems with the Entre and now have a premium high speed connection, After trying like mad to find another adapter to attch to the Belkin F5D5050 to crossover back to a USB connection to get wireless I decided Why the hell not just move my DSL Modem and my Wireless router into the home theatre component closet? Then simply add a Wireless PCI card to my computer? DUH ME it works flawlessly and has not lost connection in over 16 hours since the connections were tweaked. I have no problems FTPing into the Entre and it grabs cover art and info faster than i can read the screen updates.

Anyone out there thinking that the Soveriegn components are no longer a viable set up for a home theatre should really look at it all a second time, I have the BEST Picture and Sound I have ever had in my home theatre. Both DV-5050m changers work perfectly and I swear to you they do have a better picture with a standard dvd than the Blu-Ray player in my PS3 does with a Blu-Ray DVD.

Thanks Millions to everyone who chimed in with advice and to all those in the past who left just the right tid bits of info to get me through this madness. One of the top things to mention is after the install was complete I had my electronics guy come to inspect everything so I could purchase a warranty to cover all the equipment and had no problems with him agreeing to give me a 6 year warranty on every component in my theatre closet. AND he wanted to know where I got the kenwoods, so he could look for some of his own!!!!!

Way to Go AVS Squad you all rock!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!