Originally posted by FlyOnTheWall
question.... can I use the DVI to VGA adapter and still use the customized resolutioin? I

That's possible on the V880 and should be the same on the V880N

Greetings Auric

I am really going to watch this thread for people who are early receivers of this player. I just a thread of a person who slammed the V880 player for its looks and build-quality. I hope they do a better job on this player. I am considering this one for my purchase.

mallu2u,
I have noticed that we are both doing the same exact thing (among a larger crowd of eager consumers of course). Where did you hear comments about the V880N specifically. To the best of my knowledge non have hit the streets in the US. Extremephono is still listing July 15th as the date they get them.

Anyways as for comments on the V880, I have decided that if the networked version was not coming out and the V880 did not have the IR conflicts with Pio equipment I would have the V880 right now.

I am taking the word of some well spoken V880 users, BajaFish being the first to come to mind. BTW To me the recent June DVD SHootout at hometheaterHiFi actually helped solidify my decision to go with the momitsu over the Zenith. Bravo D2's issues with IR conflict still and some other issues leaves them out of the running.

Just to keep options open... Anyone know of a stand-alone, networked video/mp3 unit that decodes divx/xvid as well as mp2/mp3?

Originally posted by mikemav
The KiSS 508 looks to be for sale now here (http://www.mtsbs.com/index.asp?PageAction=VIEWPROD&ProdID=11). I emailed KiSS about the 600, since the 508 does not do WM9 (or HD?.) I know this is an 880N thread, but the addition of WM9 on a (hopefully short-term) future product raised my eyebrows. Could be an interesting year. I hope they offer the KiSS without the hard drive. W/ a 1TB server, hard drives I got!

These seem pretty cool, though a little on the expensive side.

I've seen a test of a KISS 508 in a German Magazine, this machine isn't bad, but it's pq is much worse compare to a Yamakawa 365 which was testet one month before.....

(The Yamakawa has got the same motherboard than the Momitsu, and all of them use a Sigmadesign-Motherboard)

So lets hope that the pq of the KISS 508 suffers because of KISS related things and not because of the Quality of the Sigmadesign 8550 motherboard..........

Greetings Auric

P.S. About the DP 600..... This DVD-Player was first announced in January 2003 !!!! And still no information about a delivery-date (I don't think that it will be availlable this year...)

Originally posted by Beaker1024
mallu2u,
I have noticed that we are both doing the same exact thing (among a larger crowd of eager consumers of course). Where did you hear comments about the V880N specifically. To the best of my knowledge non have hit the streets in the US. Extremephono is still listing July 15th as the date they get them.

Anyways as for comments on the V880, I have decided that if the networked version was not coming out and the V880 did not have the IR conflicts with Pio equipment I would have the V880 right now.

I am taking the word of some well spoken V880 users, BajaFish being the first to come to mind. BTW To me the recent June DVD SHootout at hometheaterHiFi actually helped solidify my decision to go with the momitsu over the Zenith. Bravo D2's issues with IR conflict still and some other issues leaves them out of the running.

Beaker: I read that about the V880 (http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?s=&threadid=418166) and not V880N. But since its the same company I do not expect Momistu to make radical design changes for its V880N (although that would be great). I was therefore curious how is looks. Although player performance is the most important thing for me, I am a tad bit interested in aesthetics as well.
I am surprsied that after reading the secrets shootout , you are still inclined towards Momitsu. For me, it aroused my interested in Zenith quite a bit despite the fact I always liked Momitsu more...since Zenith blew every other player! What are you basing your liking for Momitsu on (except regular firmware)?? I am really curious now since as you mentioned, I am in the same situation as you.

I like the fact that it had really good results for the black and white levels and that it has less of a sync delay and less pixel cropping (by alot) than the Zenith. I want a good DVI connection upscaled at 720p. If I did not have a DVI connection I would get the Zenith, but I am leary of the Zenith's White crush over DVI and poor results on some test. I also remember that the Momitsu had a shorter Layer change time. Another plus.

I'm not saying that it's perfect or even better, just what I noticed on the shootout.

Even I plan to use the DVI only. However one thing to think abt is whether some of the above issues (and others on the shootout) can be fixed by firmware updates or not. If yes, we might be in good shape buying it. What do you say?

Extremephono is now listing 8/15 as projected date for production units... wonder if this thing will ever make it.

Originally posted by pengelbr
Extremephono is now listing 8/15 as projected date for production units... wonder if this thing will ever make it.

I think I am going to pass this player now. Enough wait for this thing!

Can someone speak to the quality of the VOB files themselves? I am worried if I rip a good dvd movie.. say the LOTR extended for example or EP2 ( all digital ) that the VOB will degrade the original signal... is this true?

The VOB files will be identical to the VOB files on the DVD itself, so there should be NO DIFFERENCE in quality.

Not to mention, you will have ~10GB+ worth of data on the hard drive.

I have to say that the further delay to August is highly disappointing and will likely move the V880N down on my short list (from the will buy it now #1 spot) to allow for another player to be bought sooner. Now I wish that BestBuy would carry in the retail stores the Zenith DVB318, ASAP. If nothing good is out before 8/15 I will consider the V880N again.

BUt I have to say that I'm still highly disappointed if this delay from 7/15 to 8/15 is real. :(

Ahh.. The eternal predicament: Buy now or wait?....:)

and who is to guarantee that this will actually come out on 8/15! Maybe or maybe not. Even V880 has been delayed by a month now. So there are some issues that Momitsu needs to sort out that affects both players.

mallu2u,

Few post back you mention that dvb-318 blew V880 away on the Secrets DVD shootout test scores. OK let me clearify couple things for you (guys). Most Secrets DVD tests are on de-interlancing and chroma handling performance (especially de-interlacing). Yes, 318 incorprates Farodja chipset which is one of the best de-interlacing chipset avaliable. But, de-interlacing is not the only factor that make the picture quality look great. Take HD-931 for example (since I've got both 931 and V880, I'm using it for example, and since I never seen the 318, I don't want to say any bad about it), it has the Farodja 2310 and it scores really well on the secrets shootout, but I still use the V880 to watch most of my DVD than the 931 for few reasons: 1) V880 has better black and white level than the 931. 2) it doesn't streatch any movie aspect. 3) No EE 4) I can't stand the graininess on the 931.

In the defense of 931, some DVD de-interlacing flag handling is so bad on the V880 that I just can't take it anymore to watch it with V880 and that I use the 931 instead.

One most important thing about all these is the black and white level, doesn't matter how well the de-interlacing is, if it has white and/ or black crush, how can it make the PQ look great? hmm let me rephrase it - if all different levels of black look black and all different levels of white looks white, how would that make the picture quality look good and detail? Bad flag handling only happen on some f@##ed-up DVDs, but if the player has black and white crushed issues, it would happen on any disc you throw at it (every movie). I don't know about you, but it would bother the crap outta me. As you know both 318 and 931 has the white crush, and 931 did not pass the blacker than black. as for me, if a player like the V880 (or D2) has "OK" de-interlacing chipset and didn't have the black and white crushed issues, I'm all for it.

Bottom line - HD-931 scores 82 and V880 scores 69, you don't see people rave about the PQ on 931 (I can't say about the 318, 'cause I never seen it), and you can't base on the test score to determine the PQ on the player (they're other factors beside the de-interlacing).

PS we all know that V880, 318 and 931 are not perfect, but they are near perfect for the price that we paid for (we all know that there is no perfect DVI player out yet). I'm happy with what I've got now and untill the player with Farodja and perfect implementation or HD DVD / blue ray, I'll wait.

Baja

I can't believe this got bumped back again... still this player has no competition imo unless the 941 gets the dvi crush fixed, then it might be a cheaper alternative for me (if it ever comes out :rolleyes: ).

Does anyone know of another method to upscale non-dvd sources? Excluding the Iscan HD or other $500+ solutions.

Originally posted by BajaFishin
mallu2u,

Few post back you mention that dvb-318 blew V880 away on the Secrets DVD shootout test scores. OK let me clearify couple things for you (guys). Most Secrets DVD tests are on de-interlancing and chroma handling performance (especially de-interlacing). Yes, 318 incorprates Farodja chipset which is one of the best de-interlacing chipset avaliable. But, de-interlacing is not the only factor that make the picture quality look great. Take HD-931 for example (since I've got both 931 and V880, I'm using it for example, and since I never seen the 318, I don't want to say any bad about it), it has the Farodja 2310 and it scores really well on the secrets shootout, but I still use the V880 to watch most of my DVD than the 931 for few reasons: 1) V880 has better black and white level than the 931. 2) it doesn't streatch any movie aspect. 3) No EE 4) I can't stand the graininess on the 931.

In the defense of 931, some DVD de-interlacing flag handling is so bad on the V880 that I just can't take it anymore to watch it with V880 and that I use the 931 instead.

One most important thing about all these is the black and white level, doesn't matter how well the de-interlacing is, if it has white and/ or black crush, how can it make the PQ look great? hmm let me rephrase it - if all different levels of black look black and all different levels of white looks white, how would that make the picture quality look good and detail? Bad flag handling only happen on some f@##ed-up DVDs, but if the player has black and white crushed issues, it would happen on any disc you throw at it (every movie). I don't know about you, but it would bother the crap outta me. As you know both 318 and 931 has the white crush, and 931 did not pass the blacker than black. as for me, if a player like the V880 (or D2) has "OK" de-interlacing chipset and didn't have the black and white crushed issues, I'm all for it.

Bottom line - HD-931 scores 82 and V880 scores 69, you don't see people rave about the PQ on 931 (I can't say about the 318, 'cause I never seen it), and you can't base on the test score to determine the PQ on the player (they're other factors beside the de-interlacing).

PS we all know that V880, 318 and 931 are not perfect, but they are near perfect for the price that we paid for (we all know that there is no perfect DVI player out yet). I'm happy with what I've got now and untill the player with Farodja and perfect implementation or HD DVD / blue ray, I'll wait.

Baja


BajaFishin: Interesting you wrote that. I really did think Zenith blew away the competition. I am not that technical and went with the overall score. But I was corrected by Kris Deering himself. Look below....

**********************************************************
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Zenith blew away the competition but I would inclined towards Momitsu for atleast the fact that whenever they saw an issue, they come out with firmware to resolve them fast, and at no cost!
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------



I wouldn't say Zenith blew away the competition. It had the advantage in de-interlacing but pretty much sucked otherwise. Our tests put a lot of weight on de-interlacing but personally I would have taken the Bravo D-2 for the better analog performance and core.
******************************************************

I therefore came back to Momitsu. :-) Bravo has seen a lot of issues with D2 and Momitsu seems to be a better player between the two. Therefore its maybe going to be V880 or the V880N for me. But sadly both are getting delayed.

mallu2u,

keep D2 on your list too, it's the 2nd gen. DVI player, yes it's issues, but only few people has issues (and you know how people is - one small issue, they try to make it looks like if the whole sky is gonna fall down). You should also consider 941 and S97 too.

I'm getting a projector in about 2 - 3 month, and I also need a DVD player, so I'm kinda shopping for a DVI/HDMI player too.

These are what's on my list:

HD-941
S97
DVB-318
D2/3
59AVi

(since I already got the V880, I don't need another one or the N series).

BTW Happy Forth of July.

Baja

I just took the plunge and got the v880 with a DVI-D cable.. it will be hooked up to my HS20 projector ( 110" screen ).

I was trying to wait for the v880N for the VOB streaming over the network ability.. but then I started calc'ing how much disc space I would need for all my DVD's and I was looking at about 2 terrabytes ( 10 gig per DVD average ).

Now that actually isnt that much.. I have a 1 terrabyte server in my house already.. but to add another 2 terrabytes + controllers ( they would have to be SATA of course which means 2 more promise controllers + 2 sticks of 512 cache for the cards )... well it get's pricy.. I can just walk my lazy butt over to the player for that much money :)

Jeff

Has anyone tried a mod X-box for DVD upscaling and network playback?

I hear the network playback is fine, however, I saw one mention from a guy that said the DVD quality "sucked", however, when questioned for more details he no longer posted replies.

I realize you wouldn't have DVI output, however, with component output, dvd upscaling and network playback of files for around $250 it seems like a pretty good deal until the 880n comes out...I am tired of waiting but I don't want to waste $250 either.

i did a search in this thread but found no info, so i need to ask:

does this unit do SACD and/or DVD-Audio?

i just returned a bravo d2 and would LOVE a universal player with DVI output that ISN'T the samsung (poor video output via DVI).

thanks

after doing a little research I may just buy the 880 and use the dvd-rw for my avi/dv files since I have no idea when the 880n will be released...it could be delayed and delayed and delayed

Originally posted by subq
Has anyone tried a mod X-box for DVD upscaling and network playback?

I hear the network playback is fine, however, I saw one mention from a guy that said the DVD quality "sucked", however, when questioned for more details he no longer posted replies.


The Gateway and other non Sigma-based machines actually run a transcoding software on the PC to reduce the bitstream before transmitting to the DVD-client. Therefore, the picture quality is not too great.

The proper way is to send raw video data without any transcoding or compression over Ethernet to the DVD-client.

Extremephono,

Thanks...I actually decided to just get the 880, not sure I can wait for the 880n since there is no telling when it will be available.

I will use DVD-RW for my DV/AVIs right now.

Originally posted by oleus
i did a search in this thread but found no info, so i need to ask:

does this unit do SACD and/or DVD-Audio?

i just returned a bravo d2 and would LOVE a universal player with DVI output that ISN'T the samsung (poor video output via DVI).

thanks

This player does not do the DVD Audio. Samsungs & Denons have this feature.

Originally posted by BajaFishin
mallu2u,

keep D2 on your list too, it's the 2nd gen. DVI player, yes it's issues, but only few people has issues (and you know how people is - one small issue, they try to make it looks like if the whole sky is gonna fall down). You should also consider 941 and S97 too.

I'm getting a projector in about 2 - 3 month, and I also need a DVD player, so I'm kinda shopping for a DVI/HDMI player too.

These are what's on my list:

HD-941
S97
DVB-318
D2/3
59AVi

(since I already got the V880, I don't need another one or the N series).

BTW Happy Forth of July.

Baja

Alright. I am not sure when S97 or 59AVi is coming out. How much would they cost? I really did want to make a decision this month but it seems that would not be possible.

BajaFishin: S97 would not be an upconverting player, right? If its not, what makes you still be interested in it?

Where can I find the user manual for V880? Any link?

mallu2u,

The manual for the V880 and V880N are both on the Momitsu website:


http://myweb.hinet.net/home1/alwaysonline/V880Manual.pdf
http://myweb.hinet.net/home1/alwaysonline/V880N_manual_final.pdf

Aaron

Originally posted by mallu2u
Alright. I am not sure when S97 or 59AVi is coming out. How much would they cost? I really did want to make a decision this month but it seems that would not be possible.

I believe Panasonic S97 can upconvert via HDMI, unless someone correct me otherwise.
The 59AVi is Pioneer DV59-AVi.

Now that Denon is coming out with few DVI and HDMI players, so I'm might consider those too.

Baja

Thanks Aaron for providing me with the links. I went on the Momitsu website at Momistu.com and did not find them there.

BajaFishin: But I believe the players from denon and Pioneer shall not be at the same price point as the others. Surpringly nothing that I read on web about S97 mentioned upconversion.

Originally posted by mallu2u
Thanks Aaron for providing me with the links. I went on the Momitsu website at Momistu.com and did not find them there.


Not to be sticky about it but the links for the Momitsu user manuals ARE on the web site. They are the same links that Aaron posted above. Just go to the DVD specifications page and right near the top of the page there is blue lettering highlighting the manual link.

John:)

Saw it there John. Sometimes if you look hard, you miss the obvious. I was earlier looking at the main page and the FAQs page. Thanks!

Folks: How is the return policy of Extremephono? Anyone used it?

Any confirmed date on shipment of this beast yet???

pushed to Aug...which may push to Sept, who knows

Everytime the shipment month arrives it get pushed out another 1-2 months.

Not too be rude, but the delays we have seen from all the various companies with the 2nd gen up scale players is absurd, momitsu and the rest better hope Sony and Denon delay their players also or they have lost my money. I mean Aug, that is like 5-6 months late. Arrrggggg!!

Lets hope that this delay in the V880N means a stronger and more stable initial firmware for the player. This can still be an amazing player as long as both major components work properly (DVD upscaling over DVI and network streaming). As we have seen in the past the quality of the firmware can play a curtial part in the performance.

OK, fine so I am just attempting to put some type of positive spin on a very very frustrating situation. But with a Pioneer Elite receiver my options are limited to the V880N (if no IR conflict like V880) and Zenith 318 for my price range at this time.

I hope the Panny S97 player comes out just before the V880N to get some reviews... but it still does not have the network streaming. Ahh the headaches...

I checked with my account rep at Momitsu during the week and was given last week of July / first week of August for the first shipment of the V880N. They have had some component shortages that have affected the Mass Production of the player. The Video Input Module is still on track for about mid August.

Aaron

so Video Input Module is still going to be an extra cost. I thought they might bundle it in...as they had initially announced...

yeah, it is not like they havent had some extra time to get thier sh** together for that!

Originally posted by mallu2u
so Video Input Module is still going to be an extra cost. I thought they might bundle it in...as they had initially announced...

"initially announced"...?
It was allways announced as an option.

My bad then...I remember reading in on the forum somewhere that it was supposed to part of the original design but was later changed. Thanks for the info.

Originally posted by mallu2u
My bad then...I remember reading in on the forum somewhere that it was supposed to part of the original design but was later changed. Thanks for the info.

I think what it said was that it was an option and would ship together installed. Then they said it(input module) wasn't going to ship with the unit but would be installed by the user.

I just wish it would SHIP!

Clay

I want my 880N now, I can't wait any ............................................................ .... longer.

anyone hear the latest from momitsu?

Lets keep this bumped, has anyone contacted momitsu lately...

HEY GUYS GUESS WHAT.... Now its Sept 15 instead of August. Will this player ever be for sale?

Nice, I just checked extremephono's site, and vorgusa is right. Thanks Momitsu yet again. I am starting to wonder if this is really just a big hoax. I mean it was supposed to come out 6 months ago! I am not going to buy this unit now.

EDIT:
Ok so looked at the price of the V880 (not 'N') and its $247 now? I thought they raised the price due to the fact of the upgraded DAC's, but since that unit hasn't shipped yet, what gives with the price increase from $229? Can anyone tell me when the "new" 880 is going to be shipped?

I am sure the price on the 880 was raised (a) to make more money on those who decide not to wait yet again for the 880N and (b) make it less likely that some of these people who would otherwise go for the 880 now will actually do so. In other words, they hold us by the throat. Whatever one decides to do now, we lose !

You don't HAVE to buy this player. I've been following this thread and it kinda makes me laugh. Yea it was supposed to come out a while ago, but if it eventually can up convert other sources this is worth waiting for. I was into this hobby just a year or two ago when the only thing that could up convert was a Faroudja for any where from $2000 to $3000 to get a decent picture, so just be happy it's "coming soon".

Rome wasn't built in a day!!

Scott

Scottyb, I see your point, but all I'm saying is that I bet the Romans werent promised to have their city built in one night, which is what Momitsu has done now multiple times. I really dont mind waiting for a product to be held back until all the bugs are fixed, but again, don't tell me my city will be built in July, if you really have no clue when it will be finished. Quit giving release dates until you are positive it is final. Agreed?

I have tried to start a thread about this but no one responded. What do you guys think about this player? http://www.airlinktek.com/english/prod_mg100.htm
It does not have upconverting, but it still has DVI and most HD televisions upconvert themselves. It uses USB2 and has DVD-A, and does everything the V880N does without the need for software on the computer, so linux and MAC users should be able to use it. I have not been able to find anything else about it. Has anyone else tried?

Hi vorgusa

Nice Player :) :)

I dig myselve though the Korean Webpage;)

I Bet it's got the same Sigma-Design Chip and Mainboard than a Momitsu V880N, Yamakawa 375 or KISS DP-508!. Only in a much nicer Box!

What's missing is the Video-In Module, and probably the Wide-Open Firmware-Version that's give a **** of what Hollywood wants:p :p

Greetings Auric

Wow! Another delay for V880N. Wonder if I should just scratch it off my list.

Originally posted by Auric
Hi vorgusa

Nice Player :) :)

I dig myselve though the corean Webpage;)

I Bet it's got the same Sigma-Design Chip and Mainboard than a Momitsu V880N, Yamakawa 375 or KISS DP-508!. Only in a much nicer Box!

What's missing is the Video-In Module, and probably the Wide-Open Firmware-Version that's give a **** of what Hollywood wants:p :p

Greetings Auric

I have a feeling I am not going to wait around for the 880n. It may be another 6 months for all we know. The question is...what is the price of the one you just pasted and where can you get it. The biggest reason I don't think it is an option (at least for me) is that it doesn't upconvert.

Unfortunetly I don't know anything about the price.
The biggest reason I don't think it is an option (at least for me) is that it doesn't upconvert.
I have actually been curious about this. Since DVI send all the digital data to the television and most HD television upconvert would there be any difference, since expensive TVs should have better upconverters than cheaper DVD player. Plus has anyone ever compared a regular DVI DVD player to an upconverted DVI DVD player.

Does anyone know where on the internet to buy one of those Mediagate DVD players for the US, if they are shipping? How about a manual? The link did not seem to work.

I do a Google search on the MG-100 AND 1080i and get lots of hits for Korean sites that seem to indicate that 1080i/720p is supported. For the USA, at least, this player would seem to be "Forthcoming". Front panel layout seems to be a modified Momitsu. I wonder if all these players are, essentialy, the same with different branding but, otherwise, identical guts.

So is this player like the V880N?

I read a user review of the mediagate MG-100 (in Korean, unfortunately) that indicates it does support 1080i/720p, and the reviewer claimed it did a very good job of upconverting DivX material - which apparently is 480p native (?). Also has DVI, RGB, and component outs. Also, the reviewer compared it against a modded X-BOX and the mediagate was superior, for what it's worth. The firmware seems a little buggy for now but will be updated. One notable thing is that it is a "network" player (on top of reading DVD/CD discs) so that you can play all your media files from your computer through it. Supports DTS pass-thru as well.

Unfortunately I do not think they export this outside Korea though (at least for now). Maybe someday, and maybe as an OEM. I think the on screen menu is only in Korean so good luck if you can get your hands on the unit! Roughly $300 USD so not dirt cheap.

-(11b/g/Nitro XM wireless - Future Model)

Interesting.

of course it does us no good if we can't get ahold of it

in the same boat...looking for a 880n alternative

300 is still cheaper than the v880N and I doubt it is the same parts since it does not have a PCMCIA card slot so you can do the wireless Networking. Too bad they do not ship to the US.
Looks like we might have to look elsewhere for a network upconverting DVD player, but I don't think there are a lot of them out there.

I wonder if all these players are, essentialy, the same with different branding but, otherwise, identical guts.

It takes a long time for everybody to realise that all these Players share the absolute same Motherboard from Sigma-Designs!

What's different is the DVD Drive, the Powersupply, the Box, the Display, the Remote, the numbers of additional Features on daugterboards like Video-In, PCMCIA-Connector, SCART-Connector and the Version of the Firmware!

What could be different is the ability of the (same) Firmware to do things like being codefree, or do a forbitten upconverting!

All these Manufacturer don't develop a DVD-Player, the only put together existing pieces, and do the branding!

Greetings Auric

Can a few of us send an email to the contact email address on the US site to see if they have plans to ship a US version of the Mediagate MG-100? I doubt they would put in on the english version of the site if that were not the case. Here (http://www.airlinktek.com/english/company_05.htm) is their email. I think this looks like a nice alternative to the 880N. Even if it does not up-convert (which it may, according to that Korean review), a previous poster is right...unless you have a CRT, your projector will scale whatever comes in anyway unless it is an exact 1:1 match for the native res of the panel, which is often tough nut to crack.

Why do you think that it doesn't Upconvert :confused: :confused:

On the Korean Webpage (where I can read only Numbers but no Letters:p ) is something written of 720p and 1080i........

That has to do something with upconverting because it's a DVD Player and not able to Play HDTV DVDs or Windows Media 9 Disks. (Or am I Wrong
:confused: )

Greetings Auric

Originally posted by Auric
Why do you think that it doesn't Upconvert :confused: :confused:

On the Korean Webpage (where I can read only Numbers but no Letters:p ) is something written of 720p and 1080i........

That has to do something with upconverting because it's a DVD Player and not able to Play HDTV DVDs or Windows Media 9 Disks. (Or am I Wrong
:confused: )

Greetings Auric

My projector doesn't upscale anything. If the DVD player is sending a 420p signal that is what it is going to display. If I can send a 1080i signal from the DVD player it will display that.

After muddling through Mediagate's website, I found out that the company exports their "Car MP3" players to Australia. There is someone who claims that he is in charge of overseas marketing, who also posted an Australian store that sells the MP3 player (not the mediagate in question). So, it seems that the company has some ability to market their stuff abroad. Given that the mediagate has been released very recently in Korea (a firmware upgrade is release as of July 19), who knows if they aren't gauging interest in overseas markets?

I grabbed the specs and they do upconvert (480p, 720p, 1080i), composite, S-video, component & DVI outputs, digital optial out, digital coax out, stereo out (duh), USB (1.1 only?) and 10/100 ethernet. Supports 90 - 220 volts and 50.60Hz - meaning pretty much anyone in the world can use it without a need for a voltage step-up/down transformer as it stands.

Anyway, sometime tomorrow or so I will see if I can post in Korean whether they have any plans to sell stuff overseas, and also say that even with zero marketing efforts, the AVS Forum (!) has picked upon this news with enthusiasm. Let's see where that takes us.
-------

How do I post photos? I saved a few photos of the menu screen and scene playing a movie (the guy used a 22" LG Wide LCD monitor). The screen capture does not reflect the actual quality he says.

Hope this is interesting.

Originally posted by subq
My projector doesn't upscale anything. If the DVD player is sending a 420p signal that is what it is going to display. If I can send a 1080i signal from the DVD player it will display that.

subq, what kind of projector? if you have a CRT, you are correct. If it is digital (DLP, LCOS or LCD) then I am afraid you are incorrect. While these projectors can receive almost any signal between video (15.75khz in NTSC) to over 100 khz (1280x1024 PC, etc..) and all the HD resolutions in between, they do not get displayed at that resolution. Your digital projector has a fixed native resolution. It is most likely 1280x720p (newer hig-end DLPs) or XGA (1024x768) or widescreen lower res (1024c576) Whichever of these is the resolution of the projector, EVERYTHING that comes in gets scaled to that resolution. Okay, maybe not 100%, since some projectors have a 1:1 setting, which allows the different resolutions to be displayed in a way that does not fill the entire display chip, but then the image will vary in size depending on what source you send it. Models with this mode are fairly rare; most just scale everything to native.

One of the supposed advantages of a DVD player that can scale to custom resolutions (like the 880) is that you can send the projector exactly what it normally scales everything else to (called native res, or "golden rate" according to Faroudja), thus bypassing the internal projector scaler and using the one in the DVD player. The problem with this is often it is easier on paper than in reality. Not only do projectors have a native resolution (1280x720, 1024x768, etc..) but they also have a native scan rate. For instance, not all 1024x768 signals sent to the NEC HT1100 will be left unscaled- only one at that perfect rate will be passed on untouched. Often this info is hard to find. On the NEC, for example, I believe it wants to see 1024x768 at 50 Hz refresh. This is an uncommon refresh, but unless you can match it somehow, the projector will scale. Also, you are betting that the scaler in the DVD player is better than the one in the projector. It depends on the projector at that point. An NEC HT1000 and several In Focus models, amongst others, use the Faroudja scaler chip. I do not think a DVD chip will be better than that. Going in DVI has advantages since you bypass a digital-analog/ analog to digital conversion, but if that new player outputs DVI at 480i or 480p, that may not be a bad thing if the scaler in your projector can take that signal over DVI and does a good job scaling. Then again, maybe it does scale in the Media Gate DVD- I have no way of knowing yet. I did email them, BTW. No response yet.

Sorry if this is too OT- just wanted to pass this info on.

OK. I posted the screenshots and how it looks in the gallery.

http://gallery.avsforum.com/showgallery.php?cat=500&ppuser=7428895

I have a pansonic LCD projector and it supports:

Supports VGA, SVGA, XGA, WXGA, 480p, 480i, 525i, 625i, 720p and 1080i.

It will change according to whatever signal it is being fed. A menu option will show what signal it is receiving. It is very easy to see the change from 480i to 1080i when I change to HD channels.

Originally posted by foma
OK. I posted the screenshots and how it looks in the gallery.

http://gallery.avsforum.com/showgallery.php?cat=500&ppuser=7428895


very nice...I want to get my hands on one of these...the 880n is 6 months away IMO :)

Originally posted by subq
I have a pansonic LCD projector and it supports:

Supports VGA, SVGA, XGA, WXGA, 480p, 480i, 525i, 625i, 720p and 1080i.

It will change according to whatever signal it is being fed. A menu option will show what signal it is receiving. It is very easy to see the change from 480i to 1080i when I change to HD channels.

That list of what is supports is on the INPUT side, but all outputs will be native rate. It will scale all of these inputs to the native rate of this projector (probably 1024x768, but you did not post the model # so I cannot be sure.) HD content IS true 1080i (or 720p for ABC/Fox), so the difference will be obvious if you downres it to 480i. This is not the issue here. DVDs are 480 lines, not 720 or 1080. When a scaling DVD player sends out 1080i, it is not true 1080i, it is upscaling, the same as your projector will do when it receives 480i or p DVD now from a regular DVD player. HDTV and upscaled DVD are not an apples to apples comparison.

And, BTW, I agree w/ you. I want a MediaGate NOW. Hope we can find one that will ship before the 880N.

mikemav,

right, but unless I understand it incorrectly, which is possible, won't a DVD player upconverting to 720p or 1080i look better than the standard 420p output...kind of like a line doubler?

I have the PT-L500U which is native widescreen and supports full HD res. I previously has the PT-L300U which had to do 1/4 HD.

Originally posted by subq
mikemav,

right, but unless I understand it incorrectly, which is possible, won't a DVD player upconverting to 720p or 1080i look better than the standard 420p output...kind of like a line doubler?

I have the PT-L500U which is native widescreen and supports full HD res. I previously has the PT-L300U which had to do 1/4 HD.

subq, I looked up the Panansonic, and it is a 3 chip .7" LCD with native res of 1280x720. All signals coming in get scaled to that resolution. If you send a 720p signal to it, you may have a chance to bypass the internal scaler, which would be the best option. (BTW, if you have a switchable HD tuner, you may want to try 720p instead of 1080i to see if it looks better on your projector.)
When you ask "...kind of like a line doubler", you are correct, but what you need to see is that your projector has one of these as well, and will force it to be used on almost all signals coming i n (unless they perfectly match the resolution and native scan rate of the LCD panels.) The main point is if the Momitsu or other scaling DVD player has a better scaler chip than what is built into your projector? Only way to tell is to try them both.

Anyway, all of this is mute (EDITwhoops, I meant moot) now that pics have been posted showing the Mediagate can output upscaled 720p or 1080i DVD, so you are set either way. Sorry we got so off topic.

as long as something was learned :)

the main thing is I think we would all like to see if we can get a hold of this thing and how much it would cost us

There seems to be more of these players than we realize

AVel LInkplayer
http://www.iodata.com/news/releases.php?newsID=9&ts=4&tsc=20
http://shop.iodata.com/shopping/products.php?cat=MIJ&sc=JSR&pId=AVLP1%2FDVD&spec=1#spec
this site has dollar value, so it can probably be bought in the US
DVI has upconverting and acepts wireless

hmmmm $299 for that one...I wonder if it is any good

Yep it can except wireless cards b and g types will work with Windows, MAC, and LINUX and ohh yeah user must be able to read Japanese...... Damn. There are so many of these players overseas why don't they just translate the language to English and send them over here.

Most of them are small companies so do not have the resources to handle warranty/repair/various support services. Best bet would be for them to latch onto a big name distributor like Best Buy/CC and use their marketing/service power and use the store's house brand names.

Another thing is that most consumers don't even know what 480p, 1080i means and will just buy "HD-TV"s sold in the B&M stores, and stick to the big name DVD players. Firmware upgrades by burning a CD and what??? Network to a computer hard drive and stream what??? Fuhgaddaboutit!

You may ask then, what's so different about the Asian markets that companies put these out? One big thing I suspect is that most people subscribe to broadband service, and I mean not those measley DSL lines or cable modems here in the U.S. but faster versions like VDSL are cheap and widely available. This leads to rampant file sharing - I heard that you can download a 700 mb file in about 15 minutes on a good day in South Korean homes with VDSL service. That's half (or a full) DivX movie with DTS encoding. And there are numerous internet communites that do nothing but "share", ahem, ripped movies and subtitle files (for foreign movies) that cost nothing or next to nothing to join. So rather a fair-size demand for these "network" based or hard-drive based stand-alone players exist overseas. Certainly (I haven't looked at any numbers) I am willing to bet the HD-capable TV/projector usage rate is bigger in the US than in any other country - maybe with the exception of Japan?. But movie file sharing is not that popular, and very time-intensive in the US.

Plus we have companies that are trying to take down file sharing programs like Kazaa and Napster.
Even if we do not have the same internet speed, we still have the routers and switches that can handle the workload. Plus these products are definetly targeting HD televisions (since they have DVI ports that upconvert) and the US has a large quantity of HD televisions you would think they would try to sell their products here also.
The linkplayer is being sold in the US, but for some reason they do not want to spend a little time to change the language to English so we can read it. If your going to go out of your way to sell them in the US put it in a language we can read!!!

Do the Momitsu players have a Zoom feature like the Bravo?

Think they do. You can always download their manual from their website and check out all the features...shweet product.

lets not forget about this player... keep this bumped with any more info from momitu or email contact you guys may have with the company...

yeah be sure to bump it once a month when they push the date back

anyone tried the linkplayer?

Or what about that Mediagate one?!?!?! That looks sweet! Any news on if an english version will be available..... ummmm... in my lifetime that is... ;)

There is a US distribution site for the player as well as a forum for posting issues/problems. Seems as thou a lot of ppl are happy with it. I'll keep using my htpc until something better comes along. I'd post the link but i have to post 3 times before i can paste links heh.

For which player?

Man..I wish V880N can be released before Sep 15th! 1910 is a strong contendor for me now that it is going to be released before this player

Is the Sigma Design 8550 chip available in any product at all yet?
Anybody know?

Mediagate dissapointing:

1) They do not have the right FCC certification to export to USA
2) The Ethernet port can only connect to a PC via cross-over cable, cannot work over network.

I'm planning to buy a Momitsu v880 to use with my new (but not here yet) Mits 62525. My main issue is that the v880 has a DVI connector and the 62525 has an HDMI connector.

I know there are crossover HDMI-DVI cables, but the only ones I have found are Monster and cost over $200. Is there an online sight that has a better price than this? I'd like a quality cable, but $200 seems absurd to me.

I'm also curious about purchasing the v880. The only sight I have found so far is extremephono.com. They seem legit, but require PayPal. What's up with that? I'd prefer to use a credit card. Any other places to get a v880?

Thanks...

-jb

JBeach try going to www.pacificcable.com they have cheap cables that work great. I wonder why anyone would make a player that can only connect through crossover cables. Why not just use USB2 or firewire. Seems like they were trying to fools some people or maybe if you connect the computer to a router through crossover and then the router to the mediagate through crossover??? anyone know if that would work with the proper full duplex router?

Originally posted by jBeach

I know there are crossover HDMI-DVI cables, but the only ones I have found are Monster and cost over $200. Is there an online sight that has a better price than this? I'd like a quality cable, but $200 seems absurd to me.


Also check out Gefen at http://www.gefen.com/kvm/cables/hdtv_dvi.jsp



I'm also curious about purchasing the v880. The only sight I have found so far is extremephono.com. They seem legit, but require PayPal. What's up with that? I'd prefer to use a credit card. Any other places to get a v880?-jb

Try http://digitalversion.myweb.hinet.net/cypress_shop/cypress_shop.html

Originally posted by vorgusa
JBeach try going to www.pacificcable.com they have cheap cables that work great.

Thanks for the link. They have an HDMI to DVI one meter cable for $28... certainly a large difference in pricing.

-jb

no problem, I had to get one for the toshiba player, but unfortunetly now it is just lying around, since that player got shipped back

Originally posted by jBeach
I'm planning to buy a Momitsu v880 to use with my new (but not here yet) Mits 62525. My main issue is that the v880 has a DVI connector and the 62525 has an HDMI connector.

I know there are crossover HDMI-DVI cables, but the only ones I have found are Monster and cost over $200. Is there an online sight that has a better price than this? I'd like a quality cable, but $200 seems absurd to me.

I'm also curious about purchasing the v880. The only sight I have found so far is extremephono.com. They seem legit, but require PayPal. What's up with that? I'd prefer to use a credit card. Any other places to get a v880?

Thanks...

-jb

While in paypal, you can still pay with a credit card. Extremephono is very well regarded on Avsforums...lot of members have had good dealings with him. When I would buy the V880 (when the updated version comes out), I would too buy from them.

I also purchased from them recently (Extremephono) and used Paypal. My player has not arrived yet but is in transit. I would recommend them as communication was great and they even informaed me of a refund based on a shipping promotion they were/are having.

I got tired of waiting for the 880N, and even the new 880 so I ordered from them with paypal last week. I already got the unit, and am happy as a clam. I was real worried reading about all the problems people had with the 880, but was tired of watching dvds on my old Denon 1500 interlaced "ghetto dvd". Even my remote works perfect, although I only sit about 15 feet from my tv. I have watched 10 movies on it, and no stutter effect. Great picture on this dvd, although that was never an issue. It plays my Xcopy backups and everthing I throw in it.

For those of you that are in my boat, buy with confidence. Otherwise, you will wait around forever. By the time they get the 880N out, Bravo will be making a D7. And your crazy if you actually think it's going to be released Sept. 15. I played this game with Momitsu since May.

Moisty

Originally posted by mallu2u
While in paypal, you can still pay with a credit card. Extremephono is very well regarded on Avsforums...lot of members have had good dealings with him. When I would buy the V880 (when the updated version comes out), I would too buy from them.
I did purchase the v880 Sunday night using a credit card through paypal. I'm very negative towards paypal and usually stop when I hit one of their links to pay for a product. I have seen a extremephono representative here on AVS in the past, so I purchased it from them.

I got an E-Mail message back from paypal, but nothing yet from extremephono. I'm used to getting an E-Mail back from someone I purchase from in about five minutes, so I'm wondering what is going on.

I'd like to wait for the v880n, but I have a new set coming the beginning of next week. I think I can sell the v880 once the v880n comes out.

Thanks for the information. It's nice to hear that other people have had success buying from extremephono...

-jb

MoistSurprise4U & jBeach: Could you do me a favor and report your early impressions or review on ur Momitsu in this thread: http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?s=&threadid=423609. I maintain this thread and like to hear from you.

Originally posted by mallu2u
MoistSurprise4U & jBeach: Could you do me a favor and report your early impressions or review on ur Momitsu in this thread: http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?s=&threadid=423609. I maintain this thread and like to hear from you.
I'll be happy to.

I'm not sure when I going to get the player, though. I ordered it Sunday night and still have only gotten the PayPal E-Mail. I would have thought I would have heard from Extremephono by now.

Maybe it is already on the way and they just forgot to E-Mail me... :)

I plan to hook it up to the HDMI connector on my Mits 62525 with a DVI-HDMI cable I ordered at www.pacificcable.com. The cable isn't here yet either... Actually... the television isn't here yet either... sheesh... always waiting for new stuff to come in...

-jb

Mallu2u,

I just read your DVD thread (good job) and some people are saying that the v880 is also held up until September. Is that true?

The Extremephono web site says they have the v880 in stock as of 8-6-2004. Will that be the old v880? I wanted the one with the new DAC chip... I thought it was supposed to be available last month...

-jb

The 'updated' version is going to be available in September...Extremephono said that in one the threads...one with updated DACs and remote. Here it is: http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?postid=4076245#post4076245

Originally posted by mallu2u
The 'updated' version is going to be available in September...Extremephono said that in one the threads...one with updated DACs and remote. Here it is: http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?postid=4076245#post4076245
I remember seeing a note on their website about the updated player. I thought it said that the new version would be out in June or July... The note is no longer on the Extremephono web site, so I figured that all the v880's were the new version... :(

I sent Extremephono an email this morning (Wednesday) to see if they got my order. I haven't heard anything since placing my order Sunday night.

-jb

Originally posted by jBeach
I remember seeing a note on their website about the updated player. I thought it said that the new version would be out in June or July... The note is no longer on the Extremephono web site, so I figured that all the v880's were the new version... :(

I sent Extremephono an email this morning (Wednesday) to see if they got my order. I haven't heard anything since placing my order Sunday night.

-jb

This is so new...that they are not emailing you back. Can you not call them? The website should have a contact number.

Extremephono answered my email and sent a FedEx shipping number. They actually shipped it Tuesday, so I should get it by Friday... I hope...

-jb

I got my Momitsu v880 DVD player yesterday. Unfortunately I don't have my new television (Mits 62525) yet (long story).

Does the v880 output in 480i so that I can use in on a normal, standard, old television? The manual says 480p, 720p, and 1080i only. A friend swears it will work on an old televisions at 480i.

I'd like to try it out with my current set, but don't think it will work.

-jb

post the same Q on this thread: http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?s=&threadid=405786. Someone who has it shall reply to it.

Does the v880 output in 480i so that I can use in on a normal, standard, old television?

All DVD players have 480i composite and/or s-video outputs (576i if you live in a PAL country). Analog component outputs can also be 480i.

Originally posted by kjack
All DVD players have 480i composite and/or s-video outputs (576i if you live in a PAL country). Analog component outputs can also be 480i.
I attached my Momitsu v880 to my 27" Sony with an s-video cable. It worked perfectly, just as you said. Thanks.

I have a DVI<>HDMI cable to attach the v880 to my new Mitsubishi 62525 when it gets here.

Will using the standard 720p output be good enough, or should I try to match the native resolution and frequencies of the 62525 perfectly to eliminate the digital to analog conversion?

-jb

Sep'04, $399

will this date hold from extremephono.com ?

who knows. no news from extremephono. seems they have stopped visiting/replying in this forum since last few weeks.

This is my first post, so thanks for being patient...

I just got a momitsu v880 last week and have it hooked up to my mitsubishi 62525 via a dvi->hdmi cable from pacificables. (JBeach: After reading your post, I see that you have a similar setup and will probably come across a similar issue):

I bought the momitsu b/c of its supposedly amazing dvi output and region-free abilities, but none of the preset dvi settings work well with the Mitsubishi 62525 except 480p. Both 720p and 1080i on all frequencies come out jumbled and 480p wont do, so I've tried to come up with custom settings that will work. The closest I've come is by using EmuMannen's program in conjunction with Powerstrip's preset timings for a 1024x720p HDTV. It's much better, but there are still a lot of jittering pixels... Does anyone have a similar setup and solved these issues? Conversely, how does one make minor adjustments to the custom settings - which variables should be adjusted first (and by how much)?

In the meantime, I've been using 720p via components for some pretty great dvd pq, which I'm satisfied with (but the promise of dvi is nagging me).

Thanks in advance.

Originally posted by mallu2u
post the same Q on this thread: http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?s=&threadid=405786. Someone who has it shall reply to it.
yeggman: Post the Q in the thread above..might get a faster response there...

wish people would realise that this thread is supposed to be about the V800N

this is the version of the momitsu with the video input.

Now, to keep this thread on topic, I hear from a reliable source that V880N's are shipping from Momitsu this week. V880 deluxe model is also shipping.

It's nice to be called 'reliable' :)

The V880N and V880 Deluxe are indeed shipping this week from Momitsu. When the V880N arrives I'll put it through it's paces and post a full review as quickly as possible.

The Video Input Module for the V880N is not yet released but will be very very soon. Momitsu are pretty excited about this release and have taken the time to get it right, can't wait to try it out.

Aaron

Thanks guys. I shall be eagerly awaiting your reviews. I am waiting to get either the Denon 1910 or one of the Momitsus so badly now! Wait has been a long one now...Extremephono's website does not indicate any new activity though

Originally posted by Azzad
It's nice to be called 'reliable' :)

The V880N and V880 Deluxe are indeed shipping this week from Momitsu. When the V880N arrives I'll put it through it's paces and post a full review as quickly as possible.

The Video Input Module for the V880N is not yet released but will be very very soon. Momitsu are pretty excited about this release and have taken the time to get it right, can't wait to try it out.

Aaron

Aaron: Did Momitsu talk about fixes some of the issues with V880? Loader stuttering and others that have been talked abt in other Momitsu threads...

Originally posted by pasey25
wish people would realise that this thread is supposed to be about the V800N

this is the version of the momitsu with the video input.

Now, to keep this thread on topic, I hear from a reliable source that V880N's are shipping from Momitsu this week. V880 deluxe model is also shipping.

Hi, pasey25,

Is the 'reliable source' in Australia?

This is the first I've read about 880N shipping and it is very good news. If I don't order right away, do any of you know how the long the wait becomes?

You know whats funny? I just started reading this thread again from the beginning.............

The Original Poster said........

The 880N is supposed to be released in January and it apparently supports network connections via an ethernet cable.

:D

Clay

Originally posted by afterhourz
This is the first I've read about 880N shipping and it is very good news. If I don't order right away, do any of you know how the long the wait becomes?
Wait for it to 'actually' start shipping first....and wait for first set of reviews..that my policy and advice to you...

Best news ever as soon as the input module is avalible I will get em both for sure!

Originally posted by kwokyan
Hi, pasey25,

Is the 'reliable source' in Australia?


yes it is.

Originally posted by mallu2u
Wait for it to 'actually' start shipping first....and wait for first set of reviews..that my policy and advice to you...

Someone will have to buy it to get those reviews out. I don't mind taking the plunge but I wanted to wait on a *few* reviews to get a feel for it. And get a very rough idea of what to expect if I don't order the 880N early...

Anyone know what the backorder was like when the Momitsu 880 first came out?

ok so maybe my question was a little premature :D

Extremephono's website still says the same for Momitsus. Watch that to know when they start shipping.

any news abt new Momitsus shipping?

has anyone written to extremephono lately?

Anybody have any news on this player yet?!

Given that the first shipment is due in Australia today, I would have thought that US distributors would have their hands on them by now?

I've been waiting too long for a decent DVI DVD Player... This had better live up to expectations. :rolleyes:

Cameron_S

I know it better! and I really hope the video input module is close behind it cos I won't order untill I can get both at once

One US distributor says they expect to receive the 880N around 9/15. Please let us know how they perform!!

Hi,

Momitsu V880N is finally available now! :)
https://www2.setssl.com/~hivizone/dvdplayer/v880n/v880n.gif

Available as in you've received it, or it's shipping now?

Clay:confused: :D :)

Our order shipped today. Will review once they arrive - hopefully Friday.

Aaron

Yeehhaaa! Any more news on how much longer we will have to wait after the v880n's release for the input module Azzad???

input module, let's get our hands on the unit itself first

exactly..lets see the first set of reviews come out for the player...am assuming that V880 deluxe also would have started to ship now.
Azaad: Please post your detailed review asap!

Extremephono bumped up the price for V880 Deluxe to 279!! This is ridiculous. They first bumped their price for deluxe even before it was released and then delayed. Now again..seems that I shall give that one a pass, unless it outperforms Denon 1910. Lets see how many takers at that price...

Extremephono also revised its estimated arrival for the 880N from 9/15 to 9/30... any hopes we'll have this by halloween?

The selling price of the V880 Deluxe may go up even more and we would probably discontinue the $1 shipping very soon. Momitsu raised their prices (our cost) by 30%.

Oh oh. Thats even worse! When shal the two players ready to ship out from ur side?

HiviZone has it listed now as in stock, but wants $80.50 to ship to the US!

That's crazy!

I think I'll wait until the US distributors start getting it in...

Mike

The V880 Deluxe just came off the line last week. The V880N's are not readied yet. We do not believe the HK store could have real stock.

When you get them, could you please publish the changes/issues fixed/pictures in the new V880 Deluxe? Are they planning to have a firmware upgrade anytime soon?

Originally posted by Mike Karolitzky
HiviZone has it listed now as in stock, but wants $80.50 to ship to the US!

That's crazy!

I think I'll wait until the US distributors start getting it in...

Mike

I received a Skyworth from them about 2 months ago and shipping was $64.50. The 880N can't weight that much more.:eek:

extremephono can you tell us what the price will be for the v880n, because hivizone has it now for 350 then 80 for shipping. extremephono says it will be 399 plus shipping in 23 days.

Hi everyone,

Its been a little while since my last post as I have been really busy and not much has really changed with the Momitsu. They have been really stable and very popular since the last firmware update, basically moving like hotcakes.

I know a lot of people from around the world have been talking on various forums and online buying sites about the upcoming release of the V880N and how their stock is "currently being shipped" and so forth, but to no avail. Preorders were taken and refunds had to be issued due to delays. We have kept quiet on this and stuck to our original time frame of mid September so as not to disappoint our customers. Finally the time is here.

On the contrary to what you may have heard, the V880N will be ready to ship from the manufactuer by the start of next week (beginning 13/09) and no sooner. We are the main and only listed Australian distributor for Momitsu and therefore we will be the first to release the V880N in the courtry and this will not occur before the end of next week which is the earliest we hope to have the first shipment.

The RRP for the player will be $699 however we will be doing an introductory release special for preorders. If you are interested in taking advantage of the deal and securing a V880N from our limited first shipment, please email me or PM me for the details.

We have also confirmed that the input module will not be ready for release with the V880N but should follow in the next month or two as it is still in development. This can be purchased as an option from us once it is released, however cost is still unknown.

If you are interested, please hurry as inital stock will be limited and I am sure these will go fast.


Thanks

Originally posted by Extremephono
The V880 Deluxe just came off the line last week. The V880N's are not readied yet. We do not believe the HK store could have real stock.

V880N is available in Hong Kong now. It is true. :p

Originally posted by boatman
I received a Skyworth from them about 2 months ago and shipping was $64.50. The 880N can't weight that much more.:eek:

Hi, boatman,

Skyworth 3050 is a slim DVD player and its weight is lower than Momitsu V880N. Please note that V880N has more components than a regular DVD player (such as USB and LAN ports)

I live in Hong Kong and visited the Akihabara shop in Mongkok yesterday, that sell the Momitsu's, in Hong Kong. Specifically asked about the V880N (have the non network one allready) and they said it is ONLY sold in Taiwan.

Tried to get some more info but their English was not good and i dont speak Chinese.

I guess they are wrong....

MH

Does anyone besides Extremepho know abt the V880 Deluxe and if so, what is its price, for USA. Other vendor seem to have lower price for V880 but are not sure abt Deluxe version...whatz going on? I cannot believe only extremephono is getting a new player with better DACs and new remote, etc...

Any more news on how much longer we will have to wait after the v880n's release for the input module Azzad???
All I can say is that Momitsu are very conscious of the demand for the Video Input Module and will release it at the earliest possible opportunity when everything is 100%.

Azaad: Please post your detailed review asap!
I'm stocked with caffine and ready to go! New 200Gb Hard drive is loaded with VOB and MP3 files, projector at the ready. Tracking the shipment online and adjusting sleep patterns to suit.

Does anyone besides Extremepho know abt the V880 Deluxe
Coming in the same shipment as the V880N, will also review in the same sleepless night.

Aaron

Originally posted by mallu2u
Does anyone besides Extremepho know abt the V880 Deluxe and if so, what is its price, for USA. Other vendor seem to have lower price for V880 but are not sure abt Deluxe version...whatz going on? I cannot believe only extremephono is getting a new player with better DACs and new remote, etc...

Azzad: Can you answer my above Q?

Mallu2,

Answers to your questions.

Does anyone besides Extremepho know abt the V880 Deluxe and if so, what is its price, for USA.

Yes - we know about it and have stock in transit. The V880 Deluxe is slightly higher in cost price due to the new features. So this would explain why other vendors have a lower price for the V880 model. I won't quote prices online it is bad form.

I cannot believe only extremephono is getting a new player with better DACs and new remote, etc...

To my knowledge the only changes are the Dual DACs to allow simultaneous connection of more than one output at once and a new improved remote control with new codes (Not clashing with Pioneer). I don't expect that the new DACs will offer any performance improvements, however the removal of the internal switch which previously selected between outputs may lower the noise level slightly. The features of the Deluxe will be certain once it arrives and has been tested.

Aaron

To my knowledge the only changes are the Dual DACs to allow simultaneous connection of more than one output at once and a new improved remote control with new codes (Not clashing with Pioneer). I don't expect that the new DACs will offer any performance improvements, however the removal of the internal switch which previously selected between outputs may lower the noise level slightly.

This is half correct. We already have the V880 Deluxe, or so called. Most of what Azzard says is correct, except the remote control. The new remote is of higher quality, ie. less faulty remote problems, and looks nicer cosmetically, however it uses the same codes and therefore still interferes with some Pioneer equipment. It is a thin flat remote that takes thin watch type batteries (provided). The other difference is the new 'deluxe' version is supposed to have improved software in the loader. Not sure if this is the case for sure, but I can say, so far no reading problems!!!

Our conservative policy is not to get the first built lots. Therefore, we are not beating the clock to get the first production units, but rather, to get the earliest units that had fully gone through production QC and QA pipe lines.

The cost for V880N is to be finalized, but not more than $399. Shipping cost to USA is more expensive than inter-Asia shipping, and the shipment also needs to clear the US Customs, plus the DVD players are policed by the FDA (for laser devices) and FCC (for EMI radiation).

The extra DACs in V880 Deluxe adds benefits such as: (1) no disconnecting of S-video and composite cables and (2) improvement in video S/N ratio. Performance through DVI is not affected.

Does anyone know if the 880N's networked video playback be passed through the DVI output? I know that DVI works w/ DVDs, but just havent seen anything about whether video files streamed from the computer will also be via DVI.

And does anybody know if it's possible to play dvd images instead of just the vob files. Or maybe a mounted image?

Nobody knows anything yet!

Nobody has ever seen one in reality, nobody knows what Sigma Chip is inside, everybody wishes, guess or hopes what will be.....

Let's wait another few days, let them open the (pandoras) box and test the machine.

Then all these questions can be answerd!

Greetings Auric and sorry about my english

right. but we need to put these questions out there so they can be answered. ;) we're all just very excited.

Well, after making that comment about the shipping, I placed my order with HiVi Zone this morning...

We'll see what happens...

Mike

Originally posted by mfugaro
This is half correct. We already have the V880 Deluxe, or so called. Most of what Azzard says is correct, except the remote control. The new remote is of higher quality, ie. less faulty remote problems, and looks nicer cosmetically, however it uses the same codes and therefore still interferes with some Pioneer equipment. It is a thin flat remote that takes thin watch type batteries (provided). The other difference is the new 'deluxe' version is supposed to have improved software in the loader. Not sure if this is the case for sure, but I can say, so far no reading problems!!!

Does the new Deluxe player offer other issue fixes? Also, is there a new firmware expected soon from Momitsu soon?

Originally posted by Mike Karolitzky
Well, after making that comment about the shipping, I placed my order with HiVi Zone this morning...

We'll see what happens...

Mike

Mike: Let us know how it goes...have u ordered the deluxe or the network model? And do post ur review as soon as you get to test it out!

Originally posted by mallu2u
Mike: Let us know how it goes...have u ordered the deluxe or the network model? And do post ur review as soon as you get to test it out!

I ordered the 880N. That's what I've been waiting for. I will keep you all informed.

Mike

Originally posted by Mike Karolitzky
I ordered the 880N. That's what I've been waiting for. I will keep you all informed.

Mike

Just read ur earlier post. Thats a lot for the shipping!! And am not even sure abt their return/exchange warranty. Any particular reason u went with them? Kinda surprised.

The site says there is US service support, and ExtremePhono is actually going to be $50 more ($399 as opposed to $349), before shipping.

Call me early adopter, bleeding-edge, just plain crazy.

Maybe it was an impuse buy.

Mike

Our shipment of the Momitsu V880N just arrived. I quickly took these photos for the forum.

http://www.aztron.com.au/images/box.jpg
http://www.aztron.com.au/images/front.jpg
http://www.aztron.com.au/images/rear.jpg

Apologies for the poor quality of the photos.

We have started the review. Please do not PM with questions relating to the review until it is complete. I'll release details as they are uncovered.

For now I can tell you this:
The player is based on the EM8550 chip.
There is a custom DVI menu on the main setup page like the V880 but no secret code to access.

You might like to read the latest User Manual which was recently updated by Momitsu.

http://myweb.hinet.net/home1/alwaysonline/V880N_manual_B5-full.pdf

Regards
Aaron

Hi Aaron

Thanks for the pictures:)

What about opening the hood and make some more pictures?
You are shure about the 8550?
What about the rear of the machine is there an opening for the Video-In-Module?

What about the codefree/macrovisionfree settings?

What about the filmmode? Still rely on the progressive Flag of the Disk(which is quite often wrong)? (check with StarWars EP1)

Greetings Auric, and sorry for my bad english

i'm sure he will answer all that in his revew, have patience my young swedish aprentice :)

I like the look of the blue front pannel I wonder if that is standed

Could be a protection foil.....



my young swedish aprentice :p :p :p :p :p :p :p

The sun is very hot in Down-Under?

Greetings Auric

LOL I knew I should have read you post again before submitting :D
Ahhh no one remebers poor Switzerland :p

Originally posted by Auric
Could be a protection foil.....

Ahh ur probebly right I actually like the look of it might leave mine on:)

Could be a protection foil.....

Nah, I asked Aaron and he said it is actually blue.

less chit chat.. more info =-)


I cant wait for some reviews... hopefully we can get some MAC OS X reviews for the few mac guys on the board as well...

Aaron posted a small 'initial impressions' review on our Australian forums last night.

Here's a link:

http://www.htcentral.net/forums/index.php?showtopic=2136&st=45

Regards
Cameron_S

Sorry about the delay. Busy during the day packing and dispatching to customers who had preorders. Had a lot of fun with the player last night and will post some more details this evening.

Aaron

Aaron,

Thanks for the great info, i sent you a PM but no rush. Keep testing, and posting...

Any news on a European version of the V880N?

Or should I just buy from an international shop like hivi zone? I do not really care about the scart connector, and I asume the player is region free anyway. Or are there any other differences?

And how about HDCP? The manual doesn't say much about it, can it be turned off?

Regards, Stefan.

Woo-hoo! It's shipped!

Here's the email from HiViZone:

The DVD player(s) that you ordered has/have been shipped by SpeedPost (EMS). The
tracking number of the parcel is
EExxxxxxxHK

You will receive it soon.

Important notes about receipt of the DVD player:

1, If you discover that the parcel is damaged seriously when it is delivered to
you, please do NOT sign a receipt and contact us immediately.
2, Please try to test the various functions of the DVD player after you receive
it to make sure it functions properly. Please contact us within 3 days upon receipt
of the
player if it does not work properly.

Thanks again for shopping with us, and we hope you'll visit again soon!

Cheers,
HiViZone

At least if it's a total failure I can return it within 3 days....

Mike

Am waiting for a detailed review from Azzad & Mike K for:

- networking features
- fixes for issues that were with V880
- other new features
- interface
- remote issues
- no conflicts with Pioneer
- overall build quality & reliability
- support for various DVD and file formats
- PQ quality for DVI and Component upscaling
- Layer Change time and buffer memory
- screen captures would be AWESOME

Feel free to add to the above list what these guys can report back to us abt.

Thanks!

Originally posted by sddroog
Any news on a European version of the V880N?

Or should I just buy from an international shop like hivi zone? I do not really care about the scart connector, and I asume the player is region free anyway. Or are there any other differences?

And how about HDCP? The manual doesn't say much about it, can it be turned off?

Regards, Stefan.

Hi, sddroog,

V880N is region free and no HDCP.

Originally posted by kwokyan
V880N is region free and no HDCP.
Thanks for your response. I really really hope your right. But why does the manual says: "DVI output Support HDCP (High-bandwidth Digital Content Protection)" and "HDCP Copy Protection: A built-in Pass/Fail test uses HDCP authentication protocol to check a display's compliance." (page 12)

Regards, Stefan.

I haven't had the time to write a full review yet, but have spent a lot of time with the player over the last 24 hours. Rather than wait until I format and write a full review I thought I would share some of my findings to date.

The V880N is a lot more than a DVD player and question/answers and a full review would be a huge amount of work. Some of the finer details will need to wait until there is more people able to offer their comments and experiences.

I run a CRT projector and I am in the business of Display Calibration for Home Theatre. Consequently my time with the player has focussed on DVD playback from both disks and over the network. I also tried MP3 files and playing internet radio stations for background music. I won't be doing any extensive testing with playback of DIVX, MP4 or other 'online' file formats for the time being. I think this philosophy fits with the intended use of most Home Theater enthusiasts, who strive for quality.

All my testing has been with 50Hz PAL material. Consequently at this stage I can't make any comments about handling of incorrectly flagged discs, pulldown, progressive flags and other matters that relate to NTSC material. If I can get hold of some buggy NTSC material I will test it out.

Also my testing has only been through the Ethernet port to a 100Mbit DSL modem / router to my PC running Windows 2000 SP3. The USB and wireless ports are not fast enough to support DVD playback over the network so I will leave testing them till later. Outputs I have used are Composite video to my basic 76cm widescreen TV and RGBHV from the DVI port to my NEC 6PG Xtra CRT projector.

The build quality is very good and quite similar to the V880. Momitsu have added a standard IEC power socket on the rear panel and a 'hard' power switch to turn the unit off. The design is based on the Sigma designs EM8550, verified by looking inside. The remote is a slimline design and takes a CR2025 Lithium battery. Response to the remote control and range are a big improvement over the old V880. Also the loader is extremely fast and literally changes chapters instantly. I have thrown a number of disc in the player and not had any problems with the loader. Overall the player is very stable and has the feel of a mature product. Navigating the Setup menu is a bit 'quirky' but this isn't something you need to do often.

http://www.aztron.com.au/V880N/remote.jpg

There is a custom DVI Menu which is accessed without using a code like the old V880. The entry fields are the same and I was able to setup for 1280x720 at 75Hz for the CRT projector (This worked for all DVD's including those with Macrovision). There is a TV OUT button on the remote control to cycle through the available outputs. The player will not output Composite video and DVI at the same time, you need to cycle the outputs with the TV OUT button like the V880.

http://www.aztron.com.au/V880N/customres.jpg

There is also a page on the setup menu for changing the region of the player. The page says that region changes are restricted to 5 changes, as required by the DVD standards. I haven't tested this function. Region 0 is available.

http:www.aztron.com.au/V880N/region.jpg

The software was straightforward to install on my PC and didn't cause any problems. Also the player correctly detected my internet settings from the router and ISP and I did not have to enter any numbers or configuration to get the player onto the internet - nice work.

When you first turn the player on it presents you with a login screen (Michael is the name of my PC):

http://www.aztron.com.au/V880N/login.jpg

The top selection is to play disks. Select this and it behaves like a normal DVD player. The video quality seems a notch up on the V880 and certainly didn't disappoint. There is no Brightness, Contrast and Saturation controls available for DVD playback. I hope it stays this way personally as there are standards for these aspects of a video source and adjustments should be made in the display device. Without access to an oscilloscope it is difficult to set the old V880 controls to the right level . Audio performance over Optical connection was faultless and I have not noted any lipsync issues - the Momitsu has always been good in this regard.

No suprises playing DVD's just behaves as you would expect and no problems noted. There is a transparent Information screen activated by pressing the INFO button on the remote.

http://www.aztron.com.au/V880N/info.jpg

Also you can jump to a specified time points or title/chapter:

http://www.aztron.com.au/V880N/search.jpg

OK so you install the 'Momitsu Media Center' on your PC. This has 3 Sections - Movie, Music and Photo. Each section can have a defined directory on your PC. In addition you can specify addtional directories called ' watch' directories to add to the places that the server looks for media files. The Server application is simple and just sits in your Task Manager bar, nothing to configure other than the directories you want to use. If you like you can change the default port from 8000 and some options relating to slideshows to play when playing music files or internet radio stations.

As mentioned previously the top entry at the Login screen is for DVD disk playback. Under that the servers that the player has found are listed. The player supports multiple servers. Select a server that is running and you are presented with the Media Center Home Page:

http://www.aztron.com.au/V880N/select.jpg

The interface is very simple and clean. The first entry is MOVIES. Select this and you are presented with a list of the directories and files found under the directories you specified when configuring the Server application on the PC.

The player will play VOB files, it doesn't currently support ISO files. I also tested MPG files which were SDTV recordings from the Digital TV card in my PC (Twinhan DVB-T) - no problems. If you select the VIDEO_TS directory of a DVD disk (or backup) it will list the VOB files. You can play these one at a time or by selecting PLAY at the top of the page it will play all of the VOB files in order. Press the Chapter Forward keys to jump between VOB files until you get to the main movie VOB and you can watch your DVD backup. The player will automatically change to the next VOB file when the first one ends. There is about a 0.5 second pause and a black screen during the changeover to the next file.

Navigation during VOB or MPEG playback did not support chapters. However you can jump to 10, 20, 30 % etc by pressing the corresponding number button on the remote keypad. Also by holding down the left or right arrow button you can 'goto' any discreet point in the file expressed as a percentage. There was no noticable delay in the jump, very fast. You can also Fast forward or Rewind at four different speeds. Pause is also supported, but no resume if you hit Stop (The DVD disk player does bookmark the stop position).

http://www.aztron.com.au/V880N/goto.jpg

Many people want to archive their DVD collection on a server and have the Momitsu play these files back. To test this I used DVD Decrypter to read a DVD and make a single large VOB file containing just the main movie and the desired sound tracks and subtitles. This worked great and the Momitsu played the VOB file perfectly. the Player played VOB files with DTS and Dolby Digital Soundtracks. Also the subtitles could be selected if they were built in the VOB file. The player correctly read the Anamorphic flags in the VOB file and displayed the video at the correct aspect ratio. This method will be better than archiving ISO images if you just want the main movie content. The final VOB file will be smaller than an image of the whole disk and just contain the information you want.

The second Entry in the Media Center Home Page is Music. Selecting this will show the contents of the folders you selected when configuring the server. It also supports playlists from common PC playback applications including Winamp. MP3 functions include playing all files in a directory and Shuffle. Other Audio file formats are supported but I only tested MP3 at this stage. Audio quality is top notch for MP3 files, especially at high bitrates.

http://www.aztron.com.au/V880N/selectmusic.jpg

I also made an ISO DVD-RW disk with MP3 files on it and the player recognised the MP3 files and played them. Most DVD players get confused when they don't see a DVD movie format on a DVD disk. You can fit about 80-100 albums on one DVD. I didn't check for playlist support with this feature yet.

Next Selection on the Media Center Home Page is Photo. As you would expect you can see the image files in the specified directories and can view them individually or in a slideshow. Didn't test this much but the image quality is very nice. Might use this for screenshots from the CRT projector.

Next Selection on the Media Center Home Page is Internet. This gives a number of options, the first of which is to view the Internet bookmarks that are in the specified directory. You can then surf the web, but the interface is tricky with the remote and the only part of the page shows at once. This is a nice feature to load up you favorite stock report or the weather, but not a page where you want to navigate. The other option allows the seelction of Internet Radio stations. I haven't tried this before and was suprised at the quality of a 128Kbit radio station - better than local FM broadcasts and no commercials! I can see this feature being popular in our household for background music. While the radio station is playing a slideshow can be presented from your chosen directory.

Thats a good summary of my experiences so far. I have been impressed by a number of factors especially the stabilty of the software, clean yet powerful interface and overall Video and Audio quality. Some of the navigation in the Setup Menus is fiddly, but this doesn't detract from the normal functions of the player.

I hope this has answered at least a few questions and will let you know more as I try more of the features and supported files.

Aaron

great review. Thanks.

That music GUI looks like it would be fairly hard to navigate for large collections of music. How fast/responsive is it to paging up and down through letters? Any idea if it supports cover art?

Sounds like this player will work out nicely, I am looking forward to extremephono having it in stock. I'd also like to complement you on your choice of movies... office space is a great movie.

Originally posted by Azzad
....
There is also a page on the setup menu for changing the region of the player. The page says that region changes are restricted to 5 changes, as required by the DVD standards. I haven't tested this function. Region 0 is available.....
Aaron

That sounds like a deal killer to me. I have many region 1 RCE discs that require the setting to be on region 1 and I have many region 2 and 3 discs. I would definitely be changing the region setting more than 5 times.

Noel

fantastic review Aaron! Thanks for all the great info. Any info whether this release fixed some of the earliers issues with Momitsu or any info on a firmware?

Originally posted by noelm
That sounds like a deal killer to me. I have many region 1 RCE discs that require the setting to be on region 1 and I have many region 2 and 3 discs. I would definitely be changing the region setting more than 5 times.

Noel

I second that...there should be way to get around that...changing only 5 times over the lifetime of the player...huge limitaion.

"There is a TV OUT button on the remote control to cycle through the available outputs. The player will not output Composite video and DVI at the same time, you need to cycle the outputs with the TV OUT button like the V880."

I thought this player was going to be able to do both at the same time?

I have a video touch panel and was hoping to output the DVD movie selection menu to it.

Originally posted by Azzad


Also my testing has only been through the Ethernet port to a 100Mbit DSL modem / router to my PC running Windows 2000 SP3. The USB and wireless ports are not fast enough to support DVD playback over the network so I will leave testing them till later.
Aaron

Does the above mean that one cannot use the player to connect wirelessly to a laptop and play movies from there?

I have a question about the Custom DVI Resolutions. If I just have an EDTV Plamsa (852x480), and I want to use DVI, what resoultion would I set it for to get a nice 1 to 1 pixel match?

thanks

you should be able to use it wirelessly, but you probably should not use high resolution video or it will not look right, but MP3s and AVI files should be good. It will probably work the same as having a laptop watching movies off a desktop through wireless.

Originally posted by vorgusa
you should be able to use it wirelessly, but you probably should not use high resolution video or it will not look right, but MP3s and AVI files should be good. It will probably work the same as having a laptop watching movies off a desktop through wireless.

Never used wireless to play movies and therefore asking this Q. If the quality is not going to be good, what is point to buy the network player at all? Not just for MP3 files, is it? I want to watch movies from laptop and upscale them. What is the best way to do that, in that case?

I think I said that wrong... When I said quality I meant something along the lines of kb/s if the kb/s are higher than the speed of your connection then it will pause and you will have lag. The picture quality will not change because it is a digital signal... you will not have snow or distortions, just pauses while the player catches up. This could also be a problem if you arer downloading at the same time and if you are far away from the router.

I'm guessing the wireless connection on Momitsu might be able to sustain 300 kb/s, 18 mb/min, 1.08 gb/hr on the optimistic end.

I'm basing this off 802.11B working at a real transfer rate of 3 MB out of the theoretical 10 MB.

Does anybody know if this will work with a MAC?

Originally posted by speters
Does anybody know if this will work with a MAC?

Right now, the software is only for Windows-based systems.

That was a great review! I don't think I could add much to that, but if anyone has any questions or wants a different view, I'll see what I can do once I get the player!

Looking forward to it even more...

Mike

For it to work with a MAC it would probably need a firmware update since MACs and Windows do not play together nicely over a network

Does the above mean that one cannot use the player to connect wirelessly to a laptop and play movies from there?

I'm guessing the wireless connection on Momitsu might be able to sustain 300 kb/s, 18 mb/min, 1.08 gb/hr on the optimistic end.

The Wireless connection is 802.11b, which has a theoretical bandwidth of 10Mbit/s (approx 1.2Mb/s). We have a 802.11b wireless network in the office and get about 800 Kb/S transfer rate. The same limitations apply to USB 1.1 which is rated at the same speed. Even 802.11g struggles to deliver more than 3Mb/s in testing I have done.

DVD playback requires up to 9.8Mbits/s and could only run smoothly on perfect theoretical 10Mbit/s link. In reality a faster link is required. The manual states that MPEG2 up to 9Mbps is supported over Ethernet.

You could try using a 802.11g wireless access point connected to the Ethernet port on the momitsu and a 802.11G wireless card in your laptop. Would be interesting to see the results, on paper it would work. The other solution is to reencode your video to a lower bitrate (loss of quality) so it will play smooothly over 802.11b wireless.

I have a question about the Custom DVI Resolutions. If I just have an EDTV Plamsa (852x480), and I want to use DVI, what resoultion would I set it for to get a nice 1 to 1 pixel match?

You need to look at the specifications of your plasma, usually in the back of the user manual. If your Plasma supports 852x480 at 60Hz then that is the resolution to use for 1:1 pixel mapping. The V880N actually has this resolution in the inbuilt selections. Some plasmas only accept normal PC type resolutions over DVI and can't support 1:1 pixel mapping. In this case I usually ruan 1024x768 and the picture quality is still superb by comparison to an analog connection.

That music GUI looks like it would be fairly hard to navigate for large collections of music.

I think it is very easy to navigate. The folders on your PC are presented exactly the same on the Momitsu. Also it supports playlists so you could put the directories somewhere else and then just select the playlists you want. Playlist support makes it quite powerful. Changing pages is rather quick and you can search for song titles by typing text with the number keys on the remote (like a mobile phone).

Aaron

Originally posted by Azzad

You need to look at the specifications of your plasma, usually in the back of the user manual. If your Plasma supports 852x480 at 60Hz then that is the resolution to use for 1:1 pixel mapping.


Will that apply for me 2? I have an 1024 x1024 Alias pannel but thats interlaced or some ****... would I be better selecting 1080i, 1024 x 768 or 1024 x1024???

Mullins2k

Will that apply for me 2? I have an 1024 x1024 Alias pannel but thats interlaced or some ****... would I be better selecting 1080i, 1024 x 768 or 1024 x1024???

Sounds like a Hitachi or Yamaha HD Plasma (same product). If so they are actually 1024x512 (Don't ask how they call that 1024x1024). I've calibrated heaps of these and setup with a Momitsu. You can use 1024x512x50Hz or 1024x768x75Hz (Preferred) either will work nicely. Both of these are custom resolutions that you can enter on the Custom DVI screen.

What I have said above assumes you mostly want to play PAL material. Pal material will play smoothest at 50 or 75Hz.

Aaron

thanks for that Azza 1024 x 768 75hz it' is, by the way I am Jai parr from Sydney if u didn't know :)

This player looks to be awsome.
I fumbled through alot of posts and read the manual but I would feel better getting a direct answer from somebody...

I have a samsung with a native 1080i component input.
I would love to purchase this player if it can upconvert DVD's to 1080i component output.
Does this player upconvert via component outputs to 1080i?
If so, would I lose any picture quality due to copy protection other then the normal digital to analog converion taking place in the player?

The player is able to output the following resolutions over Component with any disk (unlike the Samsung)

480i60Hz
480p60Hz
576i50Hz
576p50Hz
720p60Hz
1080i60Hz

so I guess the answer to your question is yes.

Aaron

Thanks for all the info so far Aaron. Can you provide a little more detail on the pq and build quality. If you can compare pq to some other player (Denon 1910), that would be helpful. Some other reviews have pointed out poor build quality, I expect it's flimsy (so it can't be dropped) but can it be bumped :)

The networking features on this thing rock from what I've been reading and I will have to try your suggestion - Hardwire it to the wireless access point - really creative btw and yeah it might work.

Thanks for all the awesome info Aaron!

Will there be a secret way to reset the region changing limit back to 5? This is maybe a stupid question but that definitely sounds like a deal breaker to me as well. Just to watch one of my foreign dvd's will involve 2 switches. One to get into the necessary region, and one to get back. That means I can only do it twice. That sounds ridiculous!

Everything else on this player sounds awesome, and i'd love to order one, but...

chris

i suspect if there is a firmware cd/dvd that it would reset this?

There is also a page on the setup menu for changing the region of the player. The page says that region changes are restricted to 5 changes, as required by the DVD standards. I haven't tested this function. Region 0 is available.

Great review Aaron.

I assume by selecting Region 0 you are making the player multiregion therefore this is what should be selected. Once it is selected 5 times it will keep the region as 0. You can the play any dvd from any region as long as 0 is selected. Can anyone confirm or deny this??

Hi jotrim1, I hope you are right but I have heard that region 1 disks with RCE will refuse to play in Region 0 players. This would still force us to change to region 1 occasionally, and we'd very quickly use up our 5 chances. There must be a way around it.

chris

Interesting thread. Does anyone know if it supports DVI-I output and not just DVI-D? I'd want to convert the digital signal to analog (component) to run up to my PJ...

The DVI port on the Momitsu V880N is DVI-I. Supports both DVI-D (Digital) and RGBHV. I'm using the DVI port to run my NEC CRT projector with RGBHV inputs at a custom resolution.

The player also supports 480p, 576p 720p and 1080i via component, no need to convert from RGBHV.

Aaron

Hey Azzad,can the V880 be converted to a V880N? or would it cost more than it's worth?
I already have the V880,and i'd like to fit the video input module when it comes out.I don't really need the networking bit,do you think there will be a model coming out with the video module and no networking? Or maybe even a kit to fit the input module to V880's? (Could include a new board with the later chip fitted.)Thanks for any help you can give.

And what about this region issue? Can it be reset via the firmware disc? It would be ridiculous to lock it after 5 changes!

Don't know if this will throw any light on the multiregion versus region free debate but here is the response I got from Hivizone when I asked about the region setting:

"Actually you do not need to change the region code of the V880N as it is
multi-region by default. "

Originally posted by whitey66
...Or maybe even a kit to fit the input module to V880's? (Could include a new board with the later chip fitted.)
What is the video input module?

I've heard several people mention the video input module, but I've never seen a reference to what it is or does. Is it something that adds the second DAC to the original v880 player?

-jb

Originally posted by jBeach
What is the video input module?

I've heard several people mention the video input module, but I've never seen a reference to what it is or does. Is it something that adds the second DAC to the original v880 player?

-jb

Top right of this page is a box that says "search this thread".....please use it. Typing in "video module" in this thread search yielded 38 responses, including this one:
http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?s=&postid=3968709&highlight=input+module#post3968709

For those us us that subscribe to this thread, it is not fun to get yet another email today alerting us to this post that has been answered many times before. Don't mean to rant, just pointing it out.

And to provide a quick answer, it is an input that allows an extra source to plug into the player and be upscaled and converted to DVI (or maybe upscaled by the component out?)

Hi Burtz,

I believe if the player ships in region free mode, that just means it will be set to Region 0. The potential problem is that some DVD's have something called RCE (Region Code Enhancement I think) on them. The DVD actually checks what region the player is set to, and will refuse to play if it is not set to 1.

A list of some titles affected, plus tons of other info, can be found here:

http://www.dvdtalk.com/rce.html

chris

Hi Chris

I think the issue with the 880N is if it is a region 0 player, or multiregion. If it is multiregion, as the Hivizone response suggests, as I understand it, this means the player can be switched to the region of the disc and there are no RCE issues. If it is region 0, I understand this to mean the player can be set to Region 0, and RCE issues will result.

The other complication is does the 880N only allow 5 changes. Although I specifically asked about this, the hivizone response did not address this issue. So more information may be required from gallant testers, or Kwokyan from Hivizone.

Hi again Burtz,

From reading Aaron's impressions of the player so far, I would say you can set the player to any region you like, but only 5 times. I went ahead and ordered one today, i'm just hoping there will be a workaround for this issue.

chris

So far, pretty cool! I have tried Saving Private Ryan (Region 1) and Eight Diagram Pole Fighter (Region 3) and both have worked beautifully!

I am having a problem with the software though. I was able to install it without error, but I am getting an "Unable to start MMC" error when trying to start the app. I don't know if it's a XP SP2 issue or maybe a re-install.

Also, for us 60HZ 120V people, the unit I received from HiViZone didn't come with the correct powe cord (UK Mains). It's basicaly the same kind you would use on your computer...

I did take a shot of the compact browser, it's awkard to type in.... maybe an wireless keyboard plugged into the USB?:)

I am currently hooked up by component to 1080i my DVI to HDMI cable is on order, but the pic is great!

No luck with the pic.... not that great anyway...

Mike

Originally posted by Azzad
There is no Brightness, Contrast and Saturation controls available for DVD playback. I hope it stays this way personally as there are standards for these aspects of a video source and adjustments should be made in the display device.

So, people's who display device doesn't allow any of these adjustments on the signals received via the DVI input need not apply?

RoboRay,

Certainly with a DVI connection there is a lot of risk in having Brightness and Contrast controls on the DVD player. There is only one setting which will correctly use the 16 to 235 signal range required by a DVI connection and pass black at level 16. Any setting other than this will either crush balcks, crush whites or limit the dynamic range.

That said if your display does not have a Saturation control then that may be useful on source equipment to overcome colour calibration errros in the display. There is a correct level of saturation to be applied to the output, but unless a display is calibrated to D6500, the saturation level will need to be adjusted on the display for best subjective PQ.

Another nice feature would be a gamma control to adjust for less than optimal gamma characterists which I do often encounter when calibrating displays.

My comments were based on the difficulty I have experienced and the many questions I get from customers asking where to set the Brightness and Contrast controls on the V880.

What type of display do you have that doesn't allow adjustment. PC monitors do not usually have a saturation control.

Aaron

Hi ,
I am at the moment tossing up between the V880 Deluxe or the V880N. I have been waiting for these new models to arrive,as I have been excited like everyone else here, to see what these players can do.
As I was looking around for information here and there, about pro's and con's and which model would suit me best, I decided to look at extreme phono , as I wanted to look for a review and more info etc.
There is an update on this site , regarding build quality of these new units which were shipped to Asia and Australia.
Has anyone else read this?.
Regards
Juz

Originally posted by Mike Karolitzky
So far, pretty cool! I have tried Saving Private Ryan (Region 1) and Eight Diagram Pole Fighter (Region 3) and both have worked beautifully!

I am having a problem with the software though. I was able to install it without error, but I am getting an "Unable to start MMC" error when trying to start the app. I don't know if it's a XP SP2 issue or maybe a re-install.

Also, for us 60HZ 120V people, the unit I received from HiViZone didn't come with the correct powe cord (UK Mains). It's basicaly the same kind you would use on your computer...

I did take a shot of the compact browser, it's awkard to type in.... maybe an wireless keyboard plugged into the USB?:)

I am currently hooked up by component to 1080i my DVI to HDMI cable is on order, but the pic is great!

No luck with the pic.... not that great anyway...

Mike

Mike: Are you going to compare this player with the earlier players that you had? Also, any details on its PQ, esp when upscaling?

Just read it after you wrote. I can see some responses coming from australian and asian etailers...:)

There is an update on this site , regarding build quality of these new units which were shipped to Asia and Australia.

A customer alerted me to this message on Extremephono's website this afternoon. I know that Extremephono reads this forum so I would welcome their comments.

The comments made by Extremephono are totally unfounded and I would question their position to make these comments. They do not have stock of the V880N and have not seen stock that others are holding so I wonder how they can reach these conclusions. I can say that 'our' stock is top quality, each unit that has been sold was fully tested prior to sale and our demonstration model was opened for inspection. There is no evidence that this stock is substandard and all units have worked perfectly.

The reason for the numerous delays in the release of the V880N was Momitsu ensuring that the product was right before it was released. Having used my personal V880N every day now for almost a week I can confidently say they wait was worth it.

The reason that some suppliers now have stock of the V880N is that they placed orders many months ago with Momitsu. The initial quantity was limited and fully subscribed to those that had placed earlier orders. The suppliers that chose to be cautious and wait until the product was released are not able to obtain stock until the earlier orders are fulfilled.

This statement and those made earlier in this thread are 2 examples of Momitsu distributors making unfounded claims in an attempt to detract sales from distributors that placed early orders for the V880N. I think the Internet public are smarter than that and can see that such actions are in poor taste.

Sorry to bring commercial politics into this this forum, but the question was asked and I think it was fair to comment.

Aaron

Originally posted by Azzad
A customer alerted me to this message on Extremephono's website this afternoon. I know that Extremephono reads this forum so I would welcome their comments.

The comments made by Extremephono are totally unfounded and I would question their position to make these comments. They do not have stock of the V880N and have not seen stock that others are holding so I wonder how they can reach these conclusions. I can say that 'our' stock is top quality, each unit that has been sold was fully tested prior to sale and our demonstration model was opened for inspection. There is no evidence that this stock is substandard and all units have worked perfectly.

The reason for the numerous delays in the release of the V880N was Momitsu ensuring that the product was right before it was released. Having used my personal V880N every day now for almost a week I can confidently say they wait was worth it.

The reason that some suppliers now have stock of the V880N is that they placed orders many months ago with Momitsu. The initial quantity was limited and fully subscribed to those that had placed earlier orders. The suppliers that chose to be cautious and wait until the product was released are not able to obtain stock until the earlier orders are fulfilled.

This statement and those made earlier in this thread are 2 examples of Momitsu distributors making unfounded claims in an attempt to detract sales from distributors that placed early orders for the V880N. I think the Internet public are smarter than that and can see that such actions are in poor taste.

Sorry to bring commercial politics into this this forum, but the question was asked and I think it was fair to comment.

Aaron

Frankly, I believe there is logic in the above post. Unless there is some proof that the Int'l units are bad, I would agree with Azzad on above. Lack of several reviews confirms that fact the Momitsu has not started shipping out many V880Ns until now. That may be the cause of low/no dealer inventory.

does the V880N allow custom resolutions?

Originally posted by WynsWrld98
does the V880N allow custom resolutions?

The <Search> Button is your friend...




and yes it does.....

Originally posted by Azzad
A customer alerted me to this message on Extremephono's website this afternoon. I know that Extremephono reads this forum so I would welcome their comments.

The comments made by Extremephono are totally unfounded and I would question their position to make these comments. They do not have stock of the V880N and have not seen stock that others are holding so I wonder how they can reach these conclusions. I can say that 'our' stock is top quality, each unit that has been sold was fully tested prior to sale and our demonstration model was opened for inspection. There is no evidence that this stock is substandard and all units have worked perfectly.

The reason for the numerous delays in the release of the V880N was Momitsu ensuring that the product was right before it was released. Having used my personal V880N every day now for almost a week I can confidently say they wait was worth it.

The reason that some suppliers now have stock of the V880N is that they placed orders many months ago with Momitsu. The initial quantity was limited and fully subscribed to those that had placed earlier orders. The suppliers that chose to be cautious and wait until the product was released are not able to obtain stock until the earlier orders are fulfilled.

This statement and those made earlier in this thread are 2 examples of Momitsu distributors making unfounded claims in an attempt to detract sales from distributors that placed early orders for the V880N. I think the Internet public are smarter than that and can see that such actions are in poor taste.

Sorry to bring commercial politics into this this forum, but the question was asked and I think it was fair to comment.

Aaron




We (Com-Tek Australia) are the main and official distributors of Momitsu products in Australia, with distributions of large quantities, not 'handfuls', as well as being the pioneers of bringing the Momitsu products to Australian customers via our ever expanding list of retailers Australia wide.
I would like to clarify once and for all this issue that has been brought up by Extremephono and now Azzard. What Extremephono has said on their site is 100% true. This is the reason why most of the larger distributors around the globe are still waiting for the official product to be sent.
The V880N production model is due to ship this week. The reason for the delay is that Momitsu received their first shipment of the V880N from the manufacturing factory and there was a problem with them that stopped them being released. Due to the fact that there were one or two small distributors around that were putting a lot of pressure on Momitsu to release the product to them, and they had already prepaid, Momitsu decided to keep these customers off their back and manually fixed a few from the initial 'problem' bunch before sending the rest back to the manufacturer. These manually repaired units were then shipped to these customers, while the larger, main distributors waited for the official product.
I would also like to make it clear that this does not necessarily mean that you may experience problems with this early release of the V880N, however customers should be aware of this potential risk and also why only very few distributors actually have the V880N while the major distributors are still waiting.
As stated previously, the official V880N product is still on target to be released and shipped by the end of this week, so if you can wait, I would suggest this would be a good idea to ensure you are receiving the full official production model. You should also note that any Momitsu product that is not purchased from Com-Tek, or via our partner channels, will not be covered by our official Momitsu 12 month warranty or after sales service.

This is the official word from Momitsu, so if you have any doubts about this, then the best thing to do is contact and ask the source, Momitsu, and they will clarify.

Thanks

We never implied that the earlier production units are bad, just that we chose to delay the introduction. As a consumer, you are well protected by Momitsu's service and warranty anyway.

As a company we are conservative. As we need to stand behind our (iron-clad) 30-Day DOA/defective exchange policy, with the volume we typically do, we don't have room for RMA's.

I emailed HiViZone last night about the quality of the units and the one I was shipped; this was the response:

> I just received a unit from you this week and it's great!
>
> There has been a lot of discussion of the currently shipped units.
>
> Is this one of the hand-assembled pre-production units? Should I be
> concerned about the quality/performance?

No, it is the final product. The quality and performance is same as other
units of V880N.

I haven't had an issue yet. I should have more time to configure it and set it up tonight. I am still working thru an issue with the software.

Mike

My v880N was dispatched today from Azza yeehaaaa!!!
I will post my opinions soon :) The awsome thing is I should have it before the Original star wars trillogy is released!!!!!!!!!!! Can't wait

yup mine is on it's way from Taiwan, just ordered it two days ago. I contacted them and they verified that it is the pull production model. :)

Guys,


I've been following this thread from my Navy ship. The connection is very slow but I just can't help my addiction to HT. Even at sea I need a AVS Forum hit from time to time. Anyway, I've own my V880 for little over a year and haven't had any problems. I've contacted a distrubuter in Singapore, my homeport, to see if they have any stock. I plan to purchase one from there once he receive his stock. I was just wondering if one of the current owner of the V880N could start an "Official Momitsu V880N" thread to start tracking reviews, tech info, and setup recommendation now that they are starting to shipped. The first 15 or so pages of this thread is simply "When will we get, oh when will it come" Anyone? Well I have to go, don't want the Captain to catch me getting another HT fix.


Thanks and Hello from the high sea

Andre

Originally posted by Fraza
Guys,


I've been following this thread from my Navy ship. The connection is very slow but I just can't help my addiction to HT. Even at sea I need a AVS Forum hit from time to time. Anyway, I've own my V880 for little over a year and haven't had any problems. I've contacted a distrubuter in Singapore, my homeport, to see if they have any stock. I plan to purchase one from there once he receive his stock. I was just wondering if one of the current owner of the V880N could start an "Official Momitsu V880N" thread to start tracking reviews, tech info, and setup recommendation now that they are starting to shipped. The first 15 or so pages of this thread is simply "When will we get, oh when will it come" Anyone? Well I have to go, don't want the Captain to catch me getting another HT fix.


Thanks and Hello from the high sea

Andre

Andre: Some dedication towards ur HT!! Logging on from sea and reading the forum! I like ur idea. I shall create a new thread, if its already not there and put it out later today...

ok, I created this new thread for network-based players, that shall include Momitsu and all other such players as well so that we can truly benefit from the technology rather than just one player....please post your opinions/impressions there...also let me know which players to add there..

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?s=&threadid=446614

Guys...for those who posted reviews of 880N in this post. could you post that review on the above thread as well. I want to get that thread going for all of us....Mike, Azzad, Mullins, Davey

Just a quick question... I own a Pioneer VSX-39TX AV Receiver and I read where the original V880 had remote control I.R. code compatability problems with 'some' Pioneer hardware. I don't think anyone posted a list of the offending hardware or if the problem was ever corrected, but more imporatantly, does anyone know if the V880N remote control exhibits the same problem?

... don s ...

Mallu2u, thanks for starting the new thread. With the ship's internet connection it take about two minutes to load one AVS Forum page but it better than nothing at all. I usually surf late at night when everyone else is sleeping because it helps with the speed and I only go to AVS and Ecost. I wasn't aware that there other network players out there so now I'll have to do my research all over again.


Thanks

Andre

I was debating if I should say anything....but I noticed when I was on Extremephono today...that they are now taking orders for the V880N.

On the fence a bit on whether I want to get one so soon....though my birthday is coming up ;)

The Dreamer

Dreamer: Check my thread above that links to a new thread I created for networking players. Seems like IOData player might make a better gift :)

Originally posted by mallu2u
Dreamer: Check my thread above that links to a new thread I created for networking players. Seems like IOData player might make a better gift :)

Hmmn -- I didn't think you could even buy the IO player in the US? What are the advantages, assuming it is available?

It looks like the US version of the IO player will have no dvi out, and no wifi...at least according to their webapge. If that is true, then the momitsu is an easy call.