Good news boys and girls!

Denon have released an DSS amplifier with both HDMI and DVI inputs and outputs. It also has a built in Faroudja DCDi video processor...

Just look at all these connections... even FireWire: -

http://img238.exs.cx/img238/222/denonavca1xvrearoutputs9jt.th.jpg (http://img238.exs.cx/my.php?loc=img238&image=denonavca1xvrearoutputs9jt.jpg)

For more information look here: -

http://www.avland.co.uk/denon/avca1xv/avca1xv.htm


Cheers

I had posted before about how the player hung transcoding files with my 1 ghz processor and 192 RAM. I tested it last night with Task Manager running. The second I start to play a clip I have 100% CPU usage, but with 50 RAM still available. This is with nothing else running except for usual Windows processes. I tried this with bitrate at 8000, 3000 and 1000 and also after changing virtual memory to 1 GB. Before that the VM was at 350 MB. What is going on here?

THANK YOU! I will give that a shot. If that does not work, I will try to just capture and convert the video directly through the Plextor capture device and see if that works.

Originally posted by mherman2
THANK YOU! I will give that a shot. If that does not work, I will try to just capture and convert the video directly through the Plextor capture device and see if that works. You should not need to do this!

Try some other DV.avi to Mpeg4 encoding applications such as, Dr DivX or Nero's Recode2 - that comes as part of NeroVision Express.

But hang on... your "Subject" says DIVS and not DivX... Are you sure DIVS is Mpeg4?


Cheers

Originally posted by SeeMoreDigital
Good news boys and girls!

Denon have released an DSS amplifier with both HDMI and DVI inputs and outputs. It also has a built in Faroudja DCDi video processor...

Just look at all these connections... even FireWire: -

http://img238.exs.cx/img238/222/denonavca1xvrearoutputs9jt.th.jpg (http://img238.exs.cx/my.php?loc=img238&image=denonavca1xvrearoutputs9jt.jpg)

For more information look here: -

http://www.avland.co.uk/denon/avca1xv/avca1xv.htm


Cheers

It was released here in the US as the AVR 5805 last fall. It is a great AVR. I am thinking of getting one this summer when I upgrade my systems. I know 2 people that have the and are very happy with it. It goes for 6K USD.

Originally posted by webboy10169
Hmmm 10 gigs a month christ im pulling that down a day...

I use to use uncensorednews 35 bucks a month for 2 gigs a day.
giganews is unlimited for 25 bucks a month they limit the connections to 4.

what about dsl is that limited too?

I am amazed that the Hollywood crowd hasn't went after the newsgroups. It would seem to be a piece of cake for them to convince the cable Internet providers (via threats of lawsuits) to remove the tons of copyrighted material on their news servers.

Anybody have some insight into why this hasn't happened. It seems overdue and inevitable to me.

And I just got an AVR-3805... Hrm.

Originally posted by Kermee
And I just got an AVR-3805... Hrm.

You can probably buy around 8 of them for the price of that receiver!

Is everyone having trouble with .ts files and the new firmware? I played a few last night and they seemed fine. I still prefer converting to .vob since you get FF/RW/jump, but no problems with some test transport streams.

HDV MPEG Playback

Ulead sent me some test update files for their HDV Plug-in and the audio sync problem is now gone with the capture (unfortunately still there in the editor) but relevant to the LinkPlayer2 now those files will play with audio. Ulead does a realtime MPEG wrapper to the transport stream file as it is being captured. I'm going to guess that the audio in the transport streams are randomly spaced and their original wrapper stuck with that but now compensates. I was going to ask Ulead if was possible to allow us to generate HD MPEG files with Dolby since MSP supports it as I thought it might solve the program and it is still probably a good idea.

I don't see what the value would be for having Dolby audio for HDV 1280x720p30 mpeg or TS streams, when it's only (2) channel, and the 384 kb/s 48khz mpeg1 layer 2 audio already plays on the linkplayer2. Not much else besides the linkplayer2 and D-VHS can play HDV video, so compatibility would not seem key. Perhaps I am missing something.

Lots of programs, ULEAD included, will convert the mpeg1 layer II audio to Dolby AC3 for DVD authoring. That's where Dolby IS needed because it's part of the NTSC DVD-Video specification, and not all standalone DVD players will support mpeg1 audio.

But the LinkPlayer2 does support HDV audio and video, and since practically nothing else does, sharing and compatibility of HDV files is very unlikely, so as long as the LinkPlayer2 supports the standard HDV audio, I don't see the need for AC3 and HDV.

In my $0.02, the best hope for sharing HDV content remains WMV9, which plays on personal computers, and hopefully will make an appearance on other future standalone DVD players.

I was thinking that the AC3 might make that playback more robust. I get better results out of DivX with my HDV files as Microsoft's encoder has never handled HDV very well (their encoder does not like the audio stream either).

I can only relate that my experience with encoding HDV to WMV9 using TMPGEnc 3.0 Express has been slow(on highest quality settings)...but flawless on both audio and video.

I use Dr. Divx which can be downloaded for a 15 day free trial. The new DivX Fusion codec will have menuing, subtitle, chapter, additional audio track capabilities too. They have made the Fusion beta avaiable.
http://www.divx.com

I guess I like throwing my support behind someone other than Microsoft :D

I haven't seen this little trick I just learned posted here, so I'll do it. I primarily use my linkplayer2 to play back HDTV files (.TS and Divx HD) via DVD media, and I too noticed that some of the features like playlist, repeat options, etc is unavailable (invalid message always given), but if you press the play button twice (like double clicking with the mouse button) when selecting any file from the Discs, that will enable all of the functions you'd have if you were accessing the content from the Link Server. Now I don't have to bother rejoining all of these 100mb TS files I've been burning to DVD5 I downloading from USENET . . . Yay!

I was doing some disk clean up last night on my XP box. I had the advanced japanese linkserver, an earlier version of advanced and a standard linkserver, momitsu etc etc.

After removing all the servers except the current release of the advanced beta I rebooted, my linkplayer is now playing back ty files using the transcoding on advanced server !!!!!!

The bad news is that they are pixelated and the audio sounds normal then chipmunk then normal etc etc !

So there is a least hope for us die hard want ty playback people .

I've read a few accounts of not being able to fast forward TS files either streamed over the network or played off of a burned DVD. I've tried converting the streams to mpg in HDTVtoMPEG and haven't had any luck either. I do have one or two movies that play and can fast forward, but I don't know what's different about them. Is there any remedy for this, or is it better to convert them to xvid or something?

Whelp, I have quite a few .TS streams, and none of them can I navigate, I just have to let them play. But . . . I've downloaded several tv shows that are DivX HD, and those I can navigate without any problems. I have Dr. Divx, and using the Divx HD profiles to encode .TS streams to DivX HD, I am amazed at the quality. Using the medium setting, I converted an episode of Desert Speaks to DivX HD and burned both the .TS stream and the AVI to DVD. Playing them back to back I couldn't even tell a difference, pluse the DivX HD file is 1/3 the size of the .TS file, even at the highest quality setting, and it I can FF/RW through it without any problems. I hope this helps, I plan on converting all of my .TS files that won't fit on a DVD5 disk to DivX HD, since I'm so happy with the quality of the files as played back on the linkplayer2.

Originally posted by InterceptPoint
I am amazed that the Hollywood crowd hasn't went after the newsgroups. It would seem to be a piece of cake for them to convince the cable Internet providers (via threats of lawsuits) to remove the tons of copyrighted material on their news servers.

Anybody have some insight into why this hasn't happened. It seems overdue and inevitable to me.

Because they would have to shutdown all the Usenet servers. There are thousands of Usenet servers throughout the world. The people who own them have very good lawyers.

Besides, you shut one thing down, something else will replace it. It's like weeds in the garden.

Originally posted by angrytaxman
I've tried converting the streams to mpg in HDTVtoMPEG and haven't had any luck either.
I've used HDTV2MPEG 1.11 beta to convert TS to PS, and it works fine. Also, VLC works to transcode TS to PS. Since it doesn't need to reencode, the conversion runs quickly. After converting to PS then you can ff/rw/seek on the LinkPlayer.

HDTV2MPEG 1.10 did not work for me.

My source is a DVICO FusionHDTV tuner card in my pc.

Originally posted by brianvann
... Now I don't have to bother rejoining all of these 100mb TS files I've been burning to DVD5.

What application do you use to join TS files? I have a MyHD MDP-130 HD capture card that captures in .ts format and a joiner would be heaven. Hoping you've found a good one.

HDTV2MPEG (all versions) can join them into one TS or PS file. I just joined several .TS files into one PS file, and now I'm able to use FF/RW when I view them on the Linkplayer2. I'm so glad I bought it, AND joined this forum!

I have one of these units and love it. Since they came out with new software I am able to have my 4 hard drives on a server show up on the AVeL LinkPlayer2, where before you had to goto the computer and select the other drive each time. The only complaint that I have is that the USB port in the front currently does not support ntfs file system and I have quite a few hard drives that are in external USB 2.0 cases. If they can fix this problem then it will be the complete system. This way if you wanted to take several movies somewhere, all you need is the player and a USB external hard drive and not have to lug a computer with you (unless you have a notebook)

I just bought the LinkPlayer2 and am working my way through the startup problems. Right now I am having trouble with the AVel LinkServer.

Here is the problem:

When I launch AVel LinkServer it launches fine but it hangs (I get the old Hourglass that runs forever) so I am not able to access the menu system. I can close the window and it is not hanging the system.

I have installed the latest firmware and updated to version 1.8.
The network is working fine.
I can access the Video/Photo/Music screen on the TV
I have streamed files from my PC to the TV
Internet Radio Works (this is wonderful)
Screensaver works fine
The DVD player works fine.

I'm running XP Professional
I have SP2 installed but have disabled the firewall
I have a MyHD MDP-130 installed (possible conflict?)
I am running McAfee Anti-Virus (possible conflict?)

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

seems we may receive new firmware in a few days...
http://www.iodata.com/usa/forum/showthread.php?t=55

has anyone seen this yet???

this seems very nice.

http://www.buffalotech.com/products/product-detail.php?productid=96&categoryid=18

[QUOTE]Originally posted by InterceptPoint
[B]I just bought the LinkPlayer2 ......

See my earlier post re: Problems with AVeL Link Server

I can add that I installed the Advanced Server but it also has execution problems. The symptom: CPU=50%, continuous HDD access and the application never comes up. I suspect this is related to whatever problem I have with the basic Link Server not functioning.

Sure hoping someone has seen these problems and can point me in the direction of a solution.

I did have problems with the Advanced Server. One of my computer systems would work fine with it but another system the LinkPlayer could see the software but not communicate with it. I then got the new beta of the original software and it works just like the advanced server software by allowing me to select multiple folders from different hard drives and have access to all of them. The post 2 above this one linking to Buffalo Tech, their system looks just like the linkplayer except that it has wireless installed.

Originally posted by pcmacbob
I I then got the new beta of the original software and it works just like the advanced server software by allowing me to select multiple folders from different hard drives and have access to all of them. The post 2 above this one linking to Buffalo Tech, their system looks just like the linkplayer except that it has wireless installed.

A couple of questions:

1. Where did you get the beta software?

2. Can I use Buffalo Tech software/server as an alternative to LinkPlayer?

Also has anyone purchased the Buffalo player yet? I see it is available on a few websites... anyone have a picture of the back of the unit?

Can I still buy the "good " Linkplayer? I got into this discussion late. There is supposed to be a new firmware that disables the upscaling feature/bug. I read this today:

*LinkPlayer doesn't have an upscaling function. The current market available DVD movie (480p SD) is by 480p out with no scaling even if LinkPlayer setting is 720p or 1080i HD mode. 720p DVD disc will come in a market, and it can be played by 720p output.

Does this mean that the new firmware is in place or am I good to go on my purchase?

BadB0y2K

I haven't been following all this for awhile. Does it look like there will be a firmware update to fully support .tp files before the nasty one might come that disables DVD scaling?

- Tom

right now, firmware that removes the upscaling feature is pure speculation.

As for whet you'd get if you bought one today ... i'm not sure but i think it's safe to say it will upconvert.

Originally posted by A/Vspec
Also has anyone purchased the Buffalo player yet? I see it is available on a few websites... anyone have a picture of the back of the unit? Its not available yet , i called Buffalo Tech's US office and they could not provide me any details because they have not seen it yet. I spoke with a tech-support rep and he could neither confirm or deny the upconversion to HD from this device. If this does , then its better than the Linkplayer , its has DVI, and it has Wireless G, USB2.0, component.

Originally posted by InterceptPoint
I just bought the LinkPlayer2 and am working my way through the startup problems. Right now I am having trouble with the AVel LinkServer.

Here is the problem:

When I launch AVel LinkServer it launches fine but it hangs (I get the old Hourglass that runs forever) so I am not able to access the menu system. I can close the window and it is not hanging the system.

I have installed the latest firmware and updated to version 1.8.
The network is working fine.
I can access the Video/Photo/Music screen on the TV
I have streamed files from my PC to the TV
Internet Radio Works (this is wonderful)
Screensaver works fine
The DVD player works fine.

I'm running XP Professional
I have SP2 installed but have disabled the firewall
I have a MyHD MDP-130 installed (possible conflict?)
I am running McAfee Anti-Virus (possible conflict?)

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Answering my own question hoping to help the next guy or gal who runs into this problem.

My issue with LinkServer (and Advanced Linkserver) turned out to be due to the huge number of files that I keep in "My Photos". LinkServer defaults to "My Documents" and apparently thinks it has to catalog every audio, video and photo file in "My Photos", "My Videos" and "My Music". In my case that included 23,000 photos, mostly shot with my trusty Sony digital camera. That caused the LinkServer application to give me the old hourglass while it set about it's task. It could be I was too impatient to wait but I suspect that the application probably hit some kind of a limit before it made it to the end. This puts you in never-never land since you can only change the defaults if you can get the application to open.

The solution: move the files out of My Photos temporarily, run LinkServer and change the defaults. The solution for Advanced Server is a little more complicated and I haven't learned it yet so I will hold off on advice there. The fact is that it also opened OK once I moved the files out of the default "My Photos" subdirectory.

My apologies if this problem has been beat to death and I just missed it. I picked up hints in this very long thread but I couldn't find anyone who had stated the problem and the solution explicitly.

Originally posted by jackshakes
right now, firmware that removes the upscaling feature is pure speculation.

As for whet you'd get if you bought one today ... i'm not sure but i think it's safe to say it will upconvert.
I'm getting the feeling that though the tech companies give the standard line that they will have to disable it due to contractual requirements they might be planning to challenge it in court (or just put pressure on organization to remove it). We all know that it is a ridiculous thing to disable upscaling based on the ignorance of movie studio execs and I think the industry may be planning to gang up on them and have the requirement removed. That may be why some major companies when pressed at CES thought they would still offer upscaling and HD via component.

Originally posted by Toastermax
Its not available yet , i called Buffalo Tech's US office and they could not provide me any details because they have not seen it yet. I spoke with a tech-support rep and he could neither confirm or deny the upconversion to HD from this device. If this does , then its better than the Linkplayer , its has DVI, and it has Wireless G, USB2.0, component.

Be careful...I-O Data sells a unit with those features in Japan. See page 1 of this thread.

And...it does NOT upscale CSS encrypted content over the DVI, but DOES upconvert the same over the component output.

Again...refer to page 1 (or 2 or 3...) :)

What you need to verify about the Buffalo, is if the DVI output is HDCP compliant, before you can assume it will upconvert encrypted content over DVI.

Originally posted by A/Vspec
Also has anyone purchased the Buffalo player yet? I see it is available on a few websites... anyone have a picture of the back of the unit? I found this low resolution image: -

http://img181.exs.cx/img181/3332/buffalopcp3lwgdvd5tm.png

The back of the player appears to offer the same outputs as the I-O DATA player.... Shame!


Cheers

Could be...but on mine the RJ45 ethernet socket is at the corner, not the middle as pictured above.

Hey...where is that KISS unit btw? (strumming fingers...)

Originally posted by Tom Roper
Could be...but on mine the RJ45 ethernet socket is at the corner, not the middle as pictured above.This is most probably because, unlike I-O DATA, the Buffalo player's not following Sigma's development kit design.

Originally posted by Tom Roper
Hey...where is that KISS unit btw? (strumming fingers...) Delayed... again!


Cheers

I think SMDs "shame" remark was targeted towards the lack of 6 analog outs.

Originally posted by epsilon
I think SMDs "shame" remark was targeted towards the lack of 6 analog outs.

Lucky for him! ;)

Originally posted by InterceptPoint
Answering my own question hoping to help the next guy or gal who runs into this problem.

My issue with LinkServer (and Advanced Linkserver) turned out to be due to the huge number of files that I keep in "My Photos". LinkServer defaults to "My Documents" and apparently thinks it has to catalog every audio, video and photo file in "My Photos", "My Videos" and "My Music". In my case that included 23,000 photos, mostly shot with my trusty Sony digital camera. That caused the LinkServer application to give me the old hourglass while it set about it's task. It could be I was too impatient to wait but I suspect that the application probably hit some kind of a limit before it made it to the end. This puts you in never-never land since you can only change the defaults if you can get the application to open.

The solution: move the files out of My Photos temporarily, run LinkServer and change the defaults. The solution for Advanced Server is a little more complicated and I haven't learned it yet so I will hold off on advice there. The fact is that it also opened OK once I moved the files out of the default "My Photos" subdirectory.

My apologies if this problem has been beat to death and I just missed it. I picked up hints in this very long thread but I couldn't find anyone who had stated the problem and the solution explicitly.

I had the exact same problem you did, InterceptPoint. And it happened with both the Momitsu, and Avel servers (both of which I believe are based on the same Japanese code). It took awhile to figure out what was causing the problem, since when the program hangs, you can't go in and change settings... it's a Catch-22. I see this as a major bug in the server software.

I solved my problem in a similar way that you did, by re-directing the root folder for Photos. However, I'm not convinced that the problem is caused by the number of images. I have far fewer photos in my collection... maybe several hundred or a thousand. Even when I limited my top directory to "My Photos", the server software hung. I had to re-direct the root folder to a subfolder of "My Photos" (containing about 500 photos) to get it to work.

Obviously, this is a kludge solution because I can't choose from my entire library when making a slideshow. I have seen other people post here that they have many thousands of photos, and have never seen this problem. So this is a bug in the server code. I suspect it's related to the naming of the images in the database (maybe duplicates cause a problem?), or perhaps a corrupted image that it can't make a thumbnail from.

In any case, you can't disable scanning for images, or change program options so that the problem goes away. Still looking for a solution.

I have been trying to archive some .ts streams to DiVX-HD using Dr. Divx. When playing back the divx files on the Linkplayer, there's a loss of fluid motion (for lack of better way of putting it.) It almost seems like there's a problem with the frame-rate or something. The effect is sort-of like old-time silent film effect, but MUCH less obvious. Sometimes it is barely noticable.... Picture quality itself is very good, and sync to retained AC3 audio is dead on; it's just a motion problem.

Have any other linkplayer owners seen this problem? I am not sure if it's an encoding problem, or a playback problem. The DiVX-HD samples from the DivX website play back extremely well on the Linkplayer, so I am suspicious of my encoding process. Are there some "magic" settings I should use with Dr. Divx? I've tried lots of variations of all the settings, but they all seem to exhibit this problem to varying degrees.

Any ideas?

- Frank

Originally posted by epsilon
I think SMDs "shame" remark was targeted towards the lack of 6 analog outs. Yes there's that.

Plus no DVI/HDMI outputs and then there's that very unhelpful D4 socket, when 3No RCA/phono's would have been better... And a euro scart output!

All of which are being addressed on the Zensonic Z500 ;)


Cheers

Originally posted by potus
... Sometimes it is barely noticable.... Picture quality itself is very good, and sync to retained AC3 audio is dead on; it's just a motion problem. What "Advanced Simple Profile" (ASP) settings are you using?

Are you encoding with, GMC and/or Qpel. And which B-VOP implementation, "Adaptive Single Consecutive" (ASC) or "Adaptive Multiple Consecutive" (AMC)?

Also... what pixel resolution frame sizes are you using? Do they include any black mattes? And at what bitrates?

Are you playing the encodes via disc or via ethernet link?


Cheers

I have found a conflict between the MyHD MDP-130 and the LinkPlayer2.

I noticed that MyHD MDP-130 will come up but you cannot get access to the application if the AVel LinkServer is running. Also, if MyHD is running OK (with the LinkServer not running) then the AVel LinkServer client will not complete execution.

The conflict is "well behaved". Closing the MDP-130 application allows the LinkPlayer server to complete execution. If LinkPlayer is running and the MyHD MDP-130 application is launched then closing the LinkPlayer server will restore access to the MyHD controls.

Any ideas for fixing this?

I'm hoping Cliff is hanging around this thread.


Edit:

After the initial post I tested the Advanced Server with the MDP-130 and found no conflict. Both run fine at the same time. That's good news.

Originally posted by SeeMoreDigital
What "Advanced Simple Profile" (ASP) settings are you using?

Are you encoding with, GMC and/or Qpel. And which B-VOP implementation, "Adaptive Single Consecutive" (ASC) or "Adaptive Multiple Consecutive" (AMC)?

Also... what pixel resolution frame sizes are you using? Do they include any black mattes? And at what bitrates?

Are you playing the encodes via disc or via ethernet link?


Cheers

Hmm... so many options! Let me try to answer the best I can.

Looking at the Dr. Divx "Profile Editor", I enable "Certification Level" and select "Divx certified High Def Video" option. This disables some of the other setting. Nothing called "ASP" is available.

GMC and Qpel check boxes are un-checked, but grayed out. (I can't change them with High Def Certification selected.)

"Bidirectional Encoding" set to "Adaptive Single Consecutive". Adaptive Multiple is not available. Only "Off". I think I tried "Off", but didn't seem to help.

For frame size, I use 1280x720 (source is 1080i ts capture), and select "bicubic neutral" for resize filter. No black matte cropping.

For bitrate, I tried 3500 (that's what the HD-Divx samples use), as well as higher rates. Didn't seem to matter much. (except for better image quality as you raise the rate.)

Other settings:
Encode Mode: 2-pass (also tried 1-pass... same problem)
Frame Rate: x1
Encode Performance : standard
Quantization type: H.263 (grayed out.. cannot change)
Bitrate Modulation: 0
Psychovisual Enhancement: disabled
Preprocessing source: unchecked (disabled)
Deinterlace Settings: Progressive Output
Maximum keyframe interval: 300
Scene change threashold: 50%

Most of the settings were left at the "out-of-the-box" settings for the "Divx certified high def video" profile.

I tried playing from the network via AvelLink Server, and also from burned DVD-R... Same problem with each.

Any recommended changes to the Divx settings would be greatly appreciated. Perhaps we can come up with "AVLP-recommended" profile(s) to share with others.

Any recommended changes to the Divx settings would be greatly appreciated. Perhaps we can come up with "AVLP-recommended" profile(s) to share with others.

I have a couple of .ts files sitting in the doctor's office as we speak. I really would like to know the best way to get these huge files into something more manageable. I'm running out of HD space quick and would like to burn these fiiles to dvd to play in the player. I have already spent a few days encoding and re-encoding since autogk bombed out when I ran out of disk space! I'll let you know if I can get decent settings when I check the file out tonight.

Originally posted by potus
[B]I have been trying to archive some .ts streams to DiVX-HD using Dr. Divx. When playing back the divx files on the Linkplayer, there's a loss of fluid motion (for lack of better way of putting it.) It almost seems like there's a problem with the frame-rate or something. The effect is sort-of like old-time silent film effect, but MUCH less obvious. Sometimes it is barely noticable.... Picture quality itself is very good, and sync to retained AC3 audio is dead on; it's just a motion problem.


I think your problem is that the .TS file is flagged as containing 29.97 fps but only contains 23.97 (or some value similar to this) true frames. What you need to do is IVTC or pulldown the file to only get the true 23.97 fps and only encode those. If you do not do this you end up with a jerky looking file. This is why pulldown is so important in Progressive DVD players. Without proper pulldown the playback on the screen would be jerky.

Now, for a solution to do this here is what I use:

virtualdubmod
LAME mp3

In short open the .ts file in virtualdubmod and do automatic IVTC on it using the frame rate option. Compress the video using xvid (better than divx) L5 setings in Quality mode (3 or 4 quality setting is a good value depending on you taste). Compress the audio using Lame MP3.

The resulting avi file will play smoothly on your screen (unless the .TS was trully 29.97 fps... but this is another story)

Thanks for the information potus,

Just to let you know, ASP implementations are features such as, B-VOP (aka: Bi-Directional encoding), GMC, Qpel and Quantization matrices other than H.263.

Now, with regard to your problem, the only things I can think of are: - The player does not like DivX's "Adaptive Single Consecutive" B-VOP implementation.... And some players don't!
If you are keeping the AC3 stream, it's not being interleaved correctly (with the video) while muxing into the .AVI container. Try to see what happens when you de-mux and play the DivX video stream only (ie: without audio). You could also try encoding a DivX sample without B-VOP.


Cheers

Potus,

Could you make a 1 minute .TS file available for us to try to encode? This way I could be sure that the recepy work with you file and let you know what the problem/solution should be.

Sure, I can provide a sample file. But I don't have a place to put it. Any suggestions? (1 minute file will be about 140MB or so...)

I'll tryout some of these encoding suggestions myself tonight.. But I would really like to use divx for a couple reasons:
1) It seems faster than xvid. 4-5X encode time is about all that I am willing to tolerate. Anything slower is just not practicle. (I have a 1.8GHz p4, and I don't think xvid can acheive the speed I need.)
2) Seems simpler.
3) I really would like to retain the AC3 soundtrack.

Ultimately, I would like to formulate standard "recipes" or profiles that could be automatically applied to my stream clips. Maybe run a task at night to convert them while I sleep or something.

Re: Problems with Dr.DivX HD files?

I have successfully encoded many HD TS and PS streams with Dr. Divx including one I did last night in 1080i using the non-certified setting which played back fine on the Linkplayer2. This file was 29.97 fps with AC3 retained. Dr. Divx is to say the least a bit flaky. What I have to do until they fix it is do a batch encode and then go edit the job file (.dij) and correct the filesize which is always wrong! Otherwise even though you want the filesize determined by the bitrate it still tries to encode it to match the filesize given. Say your TS file is 600 MB and you set 5010 kbps the file should be around 200 MB but what you'll probably get is something like 48MB. Edit filesize in the job to 200MB and it will come in at around that with the average bitrate at about 5000 kbps.

I bet Dr. DivX is better at standard DVD type files and wasn't that well tested with HD TS and PS because of the wide variances in those kind of files (weird PIDs for example). The above trick works about 90% of the time but is a pain. I also found that if I ran Movie Transformer to do a Divx encoding the next time I ran Dr. Divx it often was well behaved for that session. I suspect that though Dr. Divx is supposed to be using a built-in encoder and not the shared codec it may be using some variables in the registry for the shared codec. Note that Dr. Divx has a setting file in its folder but this setting seems to be duplicated in the registry too. I am going dump their registry variables between jobs to see what really gets changed.

Another tip is to be careful about the resize. By default Dr. Divx wants to get rid of black bars but I always turn that off and make sure the crop is all 0 when going from 1080i to 720p as the result after overscan can be too cropped.

Hi Brian,

Did you generate your DivX encodes with B-frames. And if so which implementation?


Cheers

Big thanks to everyone trying this out... I bet we'll collectively come up with a great solution to this problem..

Brian: Can you give some details about your "non-certified" settings in Dr. Divx? Also, if you have something better than Dr. Divx that will do the same job, I'm all for it.. (as long as it's fairly easy to use and reasonably fast...)

Thanks.

Originally posted by potus
... Also, if you have something better than Dr. Divx that will do the same job, I'm all for it.. (as long as it's fairly easy to use and reasonably fast...) Have you tried Nero Recode2 - which comes as part of NeroVision Express?

It offers NeroDigital Mpeg4 encoding with AAC audio within the .MP4 container. You can even create your own chapter seeking points along with 2No subtitle and 2No audio tracks.

It does not however include 6Ch AC3. And sadly because neither I-O DATA or Sigma understand the importance of multi-channel AAC decoding you will not be able to benefit by generating NeroDigital Mpeg4 files with 6Ch AAC audio.

Recode2 does have the fastest Mpeg4 encoder... after XviD.


Cheers

Well, it sounds like the loss of AC3 rules out Nero Recode2.. Also, when I installed the trial version of NeroVision Express, it made my system act flakey.. Simple things like navigating folder hierarchy in Windows explorer slowed to a crawl... Uninstalled it, and my problems went away.

So, you think XviD is FASTER than DivX? That has not been my experience. I tried Xvid via AutoGK, and the encode times were much worse...

If you take a trip over to the Mpeg4 section of the Doom9 Forum (http://forum.doom9.org/forumdisplay.php?s=&forumid=17), you'll be able to read up about all the current Mpeg4 codecs. There are even yearly speed tests conducted.

When did you last try Recode2? The newer versions are much improved.


Cheers

I tried Recode2 trial version just a week or so ago.. (I think...) Did they fix the performance problems w.r.t. interaction with Windows Explorer? But that doesn't matter. If I loose the multichannel audio (AC3), then it's a no-go.

I'll take a look at doom9 later. Thanks for the tip. Last time I was there, though, it was information-overload! Not sure I have time for that. I want the one-button solution. :-)

Originally posted by potus
Sure, I can provide a sample file. But I don't have a place to put it. Any suggestions? (1 minute file will be about 140MB or so...)

I'll tryout some of these encoding suggestions myself tonight.. But I would really like to use divx for a couple reasons:
1) It seems faster than xvid. 4-5X encode time is about all that I am willing to tolerate. Anything slower is just not practicle. (I have a 1.8GHz p4, and I don't think xvid can acheive the speed I need.)
2) Seems simpler.
3) I really would like to retain the AC3 soundtrack.

Ultimately, I would like to formulate standard "recipes" or profiles that could be automatically applied to my stream clips. Maybe run a task at night to convert them while I sleep or something.

Actually xvid IS the fastest encoder of them all. The fastest way to encode if final file size control is not a must is to use the "Target Quantizer" option. This way only a single pass is required for awsome visual. The downside is that the final file size will vary greatly. But the encode is as fast as it can be.

If you want to retain the AC3 stream than "virtualdubmod" is the way to go. With it you essentially open you file, force IVTC, add a deinterlace + resize filter , set it to just copy the audio stream (default behavior) and picj you compression codec. You then do a save as avi and let it convert the file.

At the end you will get a perfect file encoded in xdiv or divx wit AC3 sound track!

Hope this will help you out.

cyburn:

Thanks for the info.. I will try to digest this, and see if I can get it to work.

If I get stuck (a likely scenario... ) I may be back for more advice!

So.. VirtualDubMod, force IVTC, deinterlace, resize, copy audio, select Xvid encoder, pick 1-pass "Target Quantizer", write to .avi.

piece 'o cake.

- Frank

Originally posted by SeeMoreDigital
Hi Brian,

Did you generate your DivX encodes with B-frames. And if so which implementation?


Cheers
No, I turned off B-frames.

Originally posted by potus


Brian: Can you give some details about your "non-certified" settings in Dr. Divx? Also, if you have something better than Dr. Divx that will do the same job, I'm all for it.. (as long as it's fairly easy to use and reasonably fast...)

Thanks.
1) No resize. Output setting to 1920x1080.
2) I did the 1080i file twice once with interlace and once progressive. Progressive is the best setting. Interlace shimmered a little though the field order was correct.
3) Frame rate was ~10000 kbps on the interlace and ~8000 kbps on the progressive.
4) Default settings but with B frames turned off. No psychovisual either but it defaulted to off. 2-Pass is default.
5) Defer to batch encode.
6) Open the dij file with Notepad and change the filesize to something more correct (this may change the bitrate depending on how you set it).
7) Run the batch encode.

Note this was just a first attempt after encoding many files resized to 1280x720p using the certified setting. I will probably experiment with some of the extra settings.

Movie Transformer was a little more reliable as far as getting the settings right but tricky to use. It crashes when you go to render if things aren't just so. It is also slower than Dr. DivX. It is even more crashier with the Fusion beta.

http://www.henrykellner.com/MovieTransformer/

Originally posted by potus
cyburn:

Thanks for the info.. I will try to digest this, and see if I can get it to work.

If I get stuck (a likely scenario... ) I may be back for more advice!

So.. VirtualDubMod, force IVTC, deinterlace, resize, copy audio, select Xvid encoder, pick 1-pass "Target Quantizer", write to .avi.

piece 'o cake.

- Frank

Sorry I got to complicate things a bit but one more prep step is required... Unfortunatly virtualdubmod does not read .ts nativelly. You will need to use hdtvtompeg or similar on them to make them readable by virtualdub.

Start to get a bit more processing... but well worth the effort.

I'm a huge fan of using Donald Graft's MPGDecoder and AVISynth to feed MPEG-2 transport or program streams into VirtualDubMod and use the Decomb 5.2.1 plug-in for AVISynth.

But whatever floats your boat.

Originally posted by Brian Conrad
No, I turned off B-frames. Then it could well mean potus's "stuttering" problem is due to DivX's new "Adaptive" B-VOP implementation.

Maybe some more of you guys could do some tests. Also I wonder if removing packed bit-stream would help matters. Either way I-O DATA should be able to provide a fix!

potus, have you tried an AVI muxing/de-muxing tool called AVI-mux (http://www-user.tu-chemnitz.de/~noe/Video-Zeug/AVIMux%20GUI/index-eng.html)?

http://img233.exs.cx/img233/1230/avimux8tj.gif

It provides great flexibility, making it quite simple for the user to de-mux and re-mux different types of audio streams.


Cheers

I received my player yesterday and have spent this morning playing, downloaded the new firmware etc. One thing to note the player did not come with the female connector, had to order one.

I am quite impressed with the DVD performance but performance over G-Network is unuseable. The network is set at G only and no security and the player is connected via a Netgear Access point. I have this same setup on a MediamVP in my wifes hobby room upstairs and it works fantastic.

With the LinkPlayer it seems to hadle low bitrate DivX Ok (occasional jerks) but when using files recorded of BTV (Medium DVD Quality) it starts and runs for about 10 seconds before it alternates between freezing and jumping to fast forward for about 30 seconds then it just freezes altogether. Same thing happens with ripped VOB's. All of these files play without a hitch on the mediaMVP hooked up the same way.

I took my laptop into the HT room and set it in the same place as the Access Point. The laptop reported a 100% quality link and speed. Started a ripped DVD playing over the G-network and it ran without a problem.

Anyone have any idea why the link player is having a problem, or is anyone seeing similar issues.

If I had to guess I would think it has to do with the content. I had some problems streaming content on my Super-G wireless set-up until I started running caps through VLC. I can now play HD TS files across the network with little or no probs. If I have to stop and start a stream then I get play back issues.

Any one know if these probs could be due to VBR vs. CBR streams?

Originally posted by Trevorsplace
I received my player yesterday and have spent this morning playing, downloaded the new firmware etc. One thing to note the player did not come with the female connector, had to order one.

I am quite impressed with the DVD performance but performance over G-Network is unuseable. The network is set at G only and no security and the player is connected via a Netgear Access point. I have this same setup on a MediamVP in my wifes hobby room upstairs and it works fantastic.

With the LinkPlayer it seems to hadle low bitrate DivX Ok (occasional jerks) but when using files recorded of BTV (Medium DVD Quality) it starts and runs for about 10 seconds before it alternates between freezing and jumping to fast forward for about 30 seconds then it just freezes altogether. Same thing happens with ripped VOB's. All of these files play without a hitch on the mediaMVP hooked up the same way.

I took my laptop into the HT room and set it in the same place as the Access Point. The laptop reported a 100% quality link and speed. Started a ripped DVD playing over the G-network and it ran without a problem.

Anyone have any idea why the link player is having a problem, or is anyone seeing similar issues.

Has anyone had success playing video from a DVD+R DL (Dual Layer Disc) with the stock reader?

How about with the Lite On?

I just did some tests as a follow up on the lousy G performance. My normal recording settings are DVD compliant 720x480, 6.45Mbps and they won't play more than a couple of seconds without being unwatchable. I recorded a couple of shows at several different settings down as low as 352x480, 2Mbps. The lowest bitrate file plays fine for about 10 mins then it starts to have problems. I'll try doing a couple of more tests including some Divx converts.
UpDate:
Looks like it a network issue. The laptop with a PC G card in plays everything in the same location, but if I connect the laptop into the Netgear access point is stumples on MPEG also. I relocated the Access point to a different part of the room and thought I'd solved the problem. For about 45 mins I was able to stream everything including full rip DVD's. Then it started playing up again. Looks like I will have to bite the bullet and route a hardwire outside and back into the room.

The D4 to Component Female Adapter Cable

Got the free cable today from I-ODATA, connect it to Monster Cable--> AV then Sharp Z9000U 110" fp. It resolved the flicking (garbage signal) problem that I been having. So, I truly believe that the original D4 cable if not because of the quality then it must be the shielding.

Yes Tom Roper was right; the PQ is much (clean) better and those Bikini under 1080i never look that good before. Since it¡¦s free, why not give it a try? I'm happy. Should I thank I-O DATA or Monster Cable?

:)

Got my player last week. Great machine. Excellent value. 2 questions:

1. Playing live music. When I go to the directory and hit play, in between songs you get a gap or pause. Not good for live music. One option is to combine all the songs into one large file, however, not desired, no cues to skip forward.

2. Quality XVID DVD rip. One of the first things I did was start ripping my music DVDs to the hardrive to make a "Video Server" or my own MTV or what I call FMTV. I have 80 GB drive, it didn't take long before I was getting low on space. No problem, I've seen quality rips of DVDs 1/3 the size. Problem I can't get there. I've experimented with many settings based on guides from Doom9 and Videohelp, but the results are not satisfying. I know I can get an encode that essentially clones the video at a third oft the size. I do leave the original audio and understand that will compromise file size rather than using mp3 vbr. Any suggestions on settings with xvid in Virtualdubmod to reduce file size while maintaining video quality.

Thanks for any suggestions.

I just downloaded the advanced server from the IOdata site and I can not get it to connect. The prt number is set to 8000 like it is suppose to be. I instantly get the "login later" pop-up when I try to connect.

Has anyone else had this problem?

The advanced server defaults to a different port (8010?), IIRC. When both servers are running, you should see both in the AVLP2 menu as <machinename> and Advanced <machinename>.

Update on Encoding with Dr. DivX
I have found that if you delete the Filesize entry the DIJ file Dr. DivX will then use the bitrate as the criteria for generating the file. This eliminates the need to guess what the filesize should be especially when encoding the non-certified 1920x1080 format (usually at 6000 kbps). Also make sure you exit Dr. DivX and re-run it after editing the files (which are in the (Jobs/Custom directory of the Dr. DivX directory) as apparently at runtime Dr. DivX parses the files and stores them in memory so changes while running the program won't take effect.

I have tried all sorts of variations of settings of Dr. Divx, and can still NOT get rid of the jittery playback. I disabled bidirectional encoding and psychovisual effects, and stuck with "1-pass quality-based" (2-4) to ensure high-quality in one pass. I tried various resize settings, including NO resizing, interlaced, and progressive output. In all cases, the result still has some frame-rate jitter. I have a short test clip I am using that demonstrates the problem quite easily. I have yet to find ANY Dr. Divx settings that provide satisfactory non-jittery playback...

I have a feeling this may be a de-interlace problem (though my simple sample clip is non-film source, so I don't think it's a telecine issue) I tried to use VirtualDubMod to try out some de-interlace filters and other interlace/IVTC options available there, but I couldn't get past square one. I have my .tp file converted to .mpg via HDTVtoMPEG, but when I open it in VirtualDubMod, I get audio, but blank video... I have no idea what I am doing wrong..

With all this hassle, and rediculously long encode times, I am beginning to think that the best option may be to just acquire massive amounts of disk space...

- Frank

Originally posted by Kermee
I'm a huge fan of using Donald Graft's MPGDecoder and AVISynth to feed MPEG-2 transport or program streams into VirtualDubMod and use the Decomb 5.2.1 plug-in for AVISynth.

But whatever floats your boat.

Kermee:

Thanks for the suggestion. I am definitely willing to try this, but am a mpeg weanie.. Care to elucidate? Looks like I need three pieces of software other than VirtualDubMod (and Divx/Xvid), right? I'll try to collect these and see if I can muddle my way through....

- Frank

Originally posted by potus
I have tried all sorts of variations of settings of Dr. Divx, and can still NOT get rid of the jittery playback.

Hmm... jittery playback was not my problem. I've done lots of encoding with Dr. Divx and everything is smooth. In most cases I used the default settings but turning off the bidirectional setting which was on by default as it was suggested to help keep the file sizes from going wacky. My main problem was to keep Dr. Divx from screwing up with too small a file and low bitrate regardless of what I set-up which would result in a low grade blocky encoding. I have it down so that it is impossible to tell the difference between the TS file and the Divx file on the Linkplayer.

I changed the register that control the brightness of the blue LED
Original value: 2.7K ohm, tried a number of different values, I finally decided to use the: 10K ohm, cut the brightness a bit more than 1/2
I did not want to make change to the IO data board, so I decide to bypass the onboard resister instead of replace it, this way, I can remove my mod if needed just in case(if you know what I mean) ;)
I was too lazy to remove the board, so I just remove enough to put the soldering gun through.

last one

I have been using my Avellink Player with the V. 1.8 Avellink Server which is working fine. I downloaded and installed the Avellink Advanced Server. It works fine until I select the transcode option. then I get nothing but "Playing 1 of 9" appearing briefly on my screen followed by a totally black screen. I am using the Advanced Server on a P4 2.8 GHZ with 2 Gb of RAM running Windows XP PRo.

Has anyone gotten the transcode option to work? If so, what types of files are you using it with? How did you set it up? What do you find the Advanced Server to be useful for doing that cannot be accomplished with the standard server? Is there anyway to use the Advanced Server to get sound to play back on WMV V9 files. (Using the standard server, these files play back video fine, but have no audio. On my PC using WMP10, they play back fine with both video and audio.) If anyone has gotten transcoding to work with the Avellink Advanced Server could they respond with a step by step procedure for getting this to work?

Thanks in advance for your help.

Tom

Originally posted by bananags
last one

Dimming the blue LED! BRILLIANT!

Thanks for the pix and the info! I'll add your post up to the FAQ soon.

Anybody care to try their hand at divx/xvid encoding a short sample? This particular sample is 1080i, and I cannot find ANY settings in Dr. Divx that do not result in combed/jittery output.

In this sample clip, a train is moving left to right. If you concentrate on the numbers on the front "2003", and the letters on the side "Ferromex", it is very easy to detect encoding problems. Especially when compared with the LinkPlayer's rock-steady display of this original. Just watch those letters/numbers as they move by. In ALL my encodes, there are obvious signs of combing and/or improper de-interlace effects.

Maybe one of you mpeg gurus out there will have better luck.

Right-click to download.... it's around 12MB...

https://home.comcast.net/~owenplanet/mpeg/copper_clip.mpg

Frank

Potus,

I think I solved it. Have a look at:

http://maltais.gotdns.com:6000/lp/coper-i.avi

The solution went like this:

No pulldown needed. No IVTC needed. Deinterlacing was doing a bad job with it. So here is the solution:

1. Open file in VirtualDubMod
2. Select XVID compression and configure for:

Profile @ level: DXN HDTV with Adaptive Quantization, Interlaced Encoding, Top Field First, B-VOPs ON, Max consecutive BVOPs 1, Quantizer ratio: 1.5, Quantizer Offset 1.00, Packed bitstream OFF

Encoding Type: Single pass

Target quantizer: 4.00

Advanced options: Motion Search: 6, VHQ: 1, Use VHQ for b-frames too ON, Use chroma motion ON, Turbo ;-) ON

3. Set Audio stream copy

4. Save avi

5. Enjoy the show on the player

Note that the compress frame rate on my P4 3GHZ is about 4fps. Not too bad for a 1920x1080i encode! Usually Interlaced video is always Top field first, so pick this option when encoding interlaced HDTV material.

cyburn:

Nice job! Looks pretty much like the original. (unlike ANY of my encodes..)

Few problems though. I can't seem to get VirtualDubMod to work for me. It doesn't complain when I open the files, but just presents black frames. Also, I only have a 1.8GHz machine. That means my encode speed will be 2.5 fps if I'm lucky. Assuming a "frame" is 2 interlaced fields, this is roughly 12X real time. So it will take me 24 hours to encode your typical 2 hr movie!! That's pretty intolerable...

Did you try converting to 720p? I noticed you get a pretty good speed boost when encoding the smaller frame sizes. (should be able to get by with a lower bitrate, too, I imagine.)

I sure wish there was an easier, faster way to get these things compressed. But at least now I know it IS possible to get quality results. What do you think the secret was? The top-field-first interlaced encoding?

I encourage others to try out their "favorite" encode settings on this clip. It would be nice to have some alternatives to try. (especially given my inability to get VirtualDubMod to work...)

Thanks much...

- Frank

Do you think I would have success streaming live baseball from mlb.tv? And would I be able to get Mets games or are there blackouts in NYC?

Originally posted by potus
Did you try converting to 720p? I noticed you get a pretty good speed boost when encoding the smaller frame sizes. (should be able to get by with a lower bitrate, too, I imagine.) Here's a link to an progressive XviD 1280x720 encode, generated at 2750Kbps over 2passes (http://82.2.167.237/Uploaded_Files/AVS_Forum_files/XviD_2pass_1280x720_2750Kbps.zip). The AC3 audio element has not been included.

I've located the file on my home server so I'm afraid the download speed will be only be at 128Kbps!

Anyway... see what you think.


Cheers

Originally posted by TomWheeler
I have been using my Avellink Player with the V. 1.8 Avellink Server which is working fine. I downloaded and installed the Avellink Advanced Server. It works fine until I select the transcode option. then I get nothing but "Playing 1 of 9" appearing briefly on my screen followed by a totally black screen. I am using the Advanced Server on a P4 2.8 GHZ with 2 Gb of RAM running Windows XP PRo.

Has anyone gotten the transcode option to work? If so, what types of files are you using it with? How did you set it up? What do you find the Advanced Server to be useful for doing that cannot be accomplished with the standard server? Is there anyway to use the Advanced Server to get sound to play back on WMV V9 files. (Using the standard server, these files play back video fine, but have no audio. On my PC using WMP10, they play back fine with both video and audio.) If anyone has gotten transcoding to work with the Avellink Advanced Server could they respond with a step by step procedure for getting this to work?

Thanks in advance for your help.

Tom

I guess from the lack of any answers that no one has been able to successfully transcode any files using the Avellink Advanced Server?

Tom

Originally posted by potus

I encourage others to try out their "favorite" encode settings on this clip. It would be nice to have some alternatives to try. (especially given my inability to get VirtualDubMod to work...)


I suggest you install Gordianknot on your system. Virtualdubmod is bundled with it along with all the codecs you need to properly decode and render mpeg2 streams.

This is what I use and have no problem with mpeg2 files in vdubmod.

Originally posted by TomWheeler
I guess from the lack of any answers that no one has been able to successfully transcode any files using the Avellink Advanced Server?

Tom

I haven't had any problems with video except where my machine wasn't fast enough for doing the transform to MPEG2 in real time.

What codecs (audio and video) are you trying to transcode and how is it packaged (avi??).

Originally posted by SeeMoreDigital
Here's a link to an progressive XviD 1280x720 encode, generated at 2750Kbps over 2passes (http://82.2.167.237/Uploaded_Files/AVS_Forum_files/XviD_2pass_1280x720_2750Kbps.zip). The AC3 audio element has not been included.

I've located the file on my home server so I'm afraid the download speed will be only be at 128Kbps!

Anyway... see what you think.


Cheers

Sorry. This encode has exactly the same problems as my own. Take a look at the numbers on the front of the engine as they approach the upper-right corner of the screen. The "2003" looks like "22000033" due to improper de-interlacing.

But the image quality is quite impressive, given the very low bitrate.. What was your encode speed in fps?

Originally posted by potus
Sorry. This encode has exactly the same problems as my own. Take a look at the numbers on the front of the engine as they approach the upper-right corner of the screen. The "2003" looks like "22000033" due to improper de-interlacing.

But the image quality is quite impressive, given the very low bitrate.. What was your encode speed in fps?

Not sure I agree, although not saying you're wrong either. It looks like normal, progressive 2:3 pulldown of 24 FPS interlaced source, to my eyes.

Progressive images are flashed twice, and double imaged on panning and motion. The difference with *native* progressive images, is that you don't see the double image when freezing the frame.

But this source started out as 24 fps interlaced video, that was converted to progressive frames.

It's hard to really tell without being able to step single frames with an editor, in which case if you get the field order wrong, as you pan it will appear to take two steps forward and then 1 step backward, before repeating. If the field order is correct, then each step of the pan goes forward.

Again, I think you have to step through frame by frame with an editor.

Originally posted by potus
Sorry. This encode has exactly the same problems as my own. Take a look at the numbers on the front of the engine as they approach the upper-right corner of the screen. The "2003" looks like "22000033" due to improper de-interlacing. Yes, sadly you are indeed correct.

With this in mind, I wonder how well cyburn could generate a 1280x720 encode in progessive mode too?

Originally posted by potus
But the image quality is quite impressive, given the very low bitrate.. What was your encode speed in fps? Using DivX in "Balanced Mode", I get around 12fps for the first and second pass. Using XviD it's around 15fps.


Cheers

The file is 1920x1080 29.97 fps with TopFieldFirst. The latter is the problem. Most of the 1080i files I have encoded successfully with Dr. DivX do not have the TopFieldFirst. It appears the program does not check like it should for field order in the header and assumes the field is always the second.

Tom:

No, sorry. I completely disagree. If you play the original, interlaced video, you DON'T see this double-image effect. You don't need to single step and/or pause.. it is rock steady. I tried all the LinkPlayer output modes, to make sure it wasn't something with the LinkPlayer, but the "shadow" images are there on the 720p encode, but completely missing when playing the original... (and also missing from cyburn's encode..)

The goal is to re-create the quality of the original. Anything else is unacceptable..

I can't believe nobody else is bothered by this. The difference is like night-and-day to me. The double-image thing is totally unacceptable.

One interesting thing, though. When I pause my encodes, the double-image goes away. When I pause SeeMoreDigital's, the double-image remains. In both cases, however, the double-image is obvious during play, and this is completely unacceptable.

- Frank

PS.. I DON'T think the source is 24FPS... I'll bet it is "pure" 30fps 1080i video. Pulldown has nothing to do with it. I will have to capture some live sports events to verify, but I bet I will see the same problems with ANY 1080i captures, film-based OR video based.

Have you tried encoding bottom field first as Brian suggested?

Originally posted by Brian Conrad
The file is 1920x1080 29.97 fps with TopFieldFirst. The latter is the problem. Most of the 1080i files I have encoded successfully with Dr. DivX do not have the TopFieldFirst. It appears the program does not check like it should for field order in the header and assumes the field is always the second.

AHA! I think you may be on to something here. This makes complete sense... It is mixing the wrong fields. (i.e. field 2 of frame 1 with field 1 of frame two, then field 2 of frame 2 with field 1 of frame 3, etc...) This would explain it.

Now.. How do I get Dr. Divx to fix this?

A lot of that Discovery-HD type video is shot at 24 fps to give it a film look, but it's broadcast with pulldown at 1080i 60 fields/second. By the time you get it, it's 30frames/second.

It's not that I'm not bothered by it. But I think Brian is right, the field order looks wrong.

Originally posted by SeeMoreDigital
Using DivX in "Balanced Mode", I get around 12fps for the first and second pass. Using XviD it's around 15fps.


Cheers

WOW 15fps!.. Now you're talking! (Well, relatively speaking, of course.. In my dreams this number should be around 120fps for ultimate "practicality"... but we are getting there, I suppose. A few more rounds of Moore's law...) What 's the speed of your computer?

15fps means I can encode my typical 2hr movie in around 4 hrs? Schedule 2 overnight while I sleep.. This may be doable!

Divx Labs will probably have to fix it. I would consider it a bug. Most all the 1080i files I have do not have the top field first. You can check using Bitrate Viewer:
http://tecoltd.com/bitratev.htm
I have a registered version but the demo I think will probably still give you the header info . There are probably some other utilities to do this too.

Originally posted by Tom Roper
...and by the way, I mentioned it first. And when I said stepping through the frames with your editor, I was referring to your encoded file, not the source.

Yes, I think I understood what you were saying. I interpretted this as "you really can't tell the difference unless you step through with an editor"... But THIS is what I disagree with! It is immediately apparent to me that something is "wrong" with the video, just by viewing it straight-away in LinkPlayer. It is NOT "hard to really tell".. It is very obvious. I don't need to examine individual frames. Just play the clip.

I also _thought_ you were implying "this is just a fact-of-life that we all just have to live with, and besides, you can't tell the difference." Dunno if that's what you meant, but I CERTAINLY disagree with this.

Sorry if I misinterpretted what you were saying, but that's how it read to me.

Originally posted by Brian Conrad
Divx Labs will probably have to fix it. I would consider it a bug. Most all the 1080i files I have do not have the top field first. You can check using Bitrate Viewer:
http://tecoltd.com/bitratev.htm
I have a registered version but the demo I think will probably still give you the header info . There are probably some other utilities to do this too.

Perhaps there is a way to convert my caps to "bottomframefirst" before encoding?

Anyone know the appropriate channel for submitting this "bug" to divx labs?

Both the new/proposed versions of DivX and XviD offer "Top Field First" encoding.

http://img86.exs.cx/img86/577/xviddivxsettings0ef.png

However, how well this works may depend on your decoding application. I've been using MPEG Mediator for years but it would appear it copes much better with PAL interlaced content rather than with NTSC.

potus, I have an 2.8GHz P4 with 512MB of RAM. But don't forget interlaced encoding does take longer!


Cheers

I was only trying to help...

I would suggest hereafter that you move this off-topic discussion to an appropriate forum. Your Divx encoding problems have absolutely nothing to do with the Linkplayer2.

Yes you're right Tom,

One final thing some of you might like to know is that DGIndex is able to detect which "field" is presented first: -

http://img39.exs.cx/img39/8261/dgindex4xh.jpg

For more information, please look here: -

http://forum.doom9.org/showthread.php?s=&threadid=90694

And should this discussion be moved to another thread can someone provide a link to it in this thread please?


Cheers

Originally posted by SeeMoreDigital
Yes you're right Tom,

And should this discussion be moved to another thread can someone provide a link to it in this thread please?


Cheers

Yes, this is becoming a bit off-topic. But it IS pertinent to LinkPlayer2 owners, since this IS the ONLY standalone HD-Divx certified player currently available. I think if we came up with a "best-practices" for producing quality HD-Divx encodes for the LinkPlayer, it might be of use to the general Linkplayer2 audience...

That being said, can someone suggest an appropriate forum/thread for us to move this discussion?

Tom: No offense meant. Really. You HAVE helped, and I DO appreciatte it.. Thanks.

Also MUCH thanks to all the other contributors. Lots of great info here, as usual.

If it hadn't been Copper Canyon...which is so beautiful, I could have paid more attention to the double image myself.

What about potus or SeeMoreDigital starting a new thread right here?

I've got an idea for a name for the topic...

How about a catch-all like, ENCODING FOR THE LINKPLAYER,
or ENCODING FOR THE SIGMA EM8620L,
or ENCODING FOR HDTV PLAYERS
or ENCODING XVID FOR NETWORK PLAYERS

Note. there is also a new section at AVS, HDTV Recorders and Players, that while probably is the most appropriate place, it might escape notice of people that have been reading LinkPlayer2 news here.

Paul_PDX,

Thank you for responding. Since I can play .wmv V9 HD files on my P4 2.8GHz machine using WMP10 and get both sound and video whereas when I try to stream these wmv V9 files down to the Avellink player from this machine and view them, I get perfect video but no audio using the standard Avellink server, I was hoping that I could get the sound by transcoding these files with the Advanced Server. Have you tried to do this? I have not been successful at getting anything to play with transcoding checked in the Advanced Server options.

Tom

Some interesting facts about the jerky playback of the 720p version of the coper video sample:

I was puzzled by this progressive movie looking odd on interlaced display. I was unsure if the 30fps was really at play with my mind here... So I expanded each fields of the interlaced video (bob() function in avisynth)obtaining a 60fps video at half the original resolution.

I then resized it to 720p frame size, encoded and played on linkplayed.

Guess what, the video look perfect.

I guess the problem is really the interlaced nature of the source material. Does this mean that all progressive video played back on an interlaced display exibit this behavior... probably yes at varying severity levels... but this piece of video seem to be an extreme example of what can go bad.

You know what? Thinking of it some more I just realized what is the source of the problem here! The lack of Motion Blur! This explains why if I "bob" the source to get 60fps it play smooth! With all 60 fps the spacing of each frames makes for a smooth motion. Now remove each second frame things get too crisp... not enough bluriness to link each image. This is why the video look like garbage... because it it too sharp!

I encoded the video again with a blend deinterlace filter + motion blur + resize and it now look watchable. Certainly not as good as the 60fps 720 version but better than the straight deinterlaced version.

Have a look at:

720p 60fps (http://maltais.gotdns.com:6000/lp/coper720p.avi)

and

720p with motion blur (http://maltais.gotdns.com:6000/lp/coper720p-mb.avi)

This short clip is certainly a keeper for demo/testing purpose.

Okay I've started a new thread in the following HDTV > HDTV Recorders & Players section: -

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?s=&threadid=515917


Cheers

Does anyone know if the player supports .m4a audio files? I know it says it supports AAC files, and from my understanding, .m4a is the AAC container type iTunes uses when it makes unprotected Apple Lossless files. I want to switch my default encoder to Apple Lossless, but not if the LinkPlayer does not play these files.

Originally posted by mikemav
Does anyone know if the player supports .m4a audio files? I know it says it supports AAC files, and from my understanding, .m4a is the AAC container type iTunes uses when it makes unprotected Apple Lossless files. I want to switch my default encoder to Apple Lossless, but not if the LinkPlayer does not play these files. As far as I'm aware, this player does not accept AAC audio files with the .m4a file extension (a produced with iTunes). However a firmware update should be able to cure this!

When it comes to playback of Apple Lossless audio files in .m4a I very much doubt Apple will allow I-O DATA to do this without some form of licensing.

Apple Lossless is not a form of AAC. It's basically the same type of lossless audio you can generate with QuickTime Pro, but muxed as a private stream into the .MP4/.M4A container, instead of the .MOV container!


Cheers

I was hoping someone has iTunes set to Apple Lossless, and the player to try it out on. I will check when I get back home. I know the files that are .m4p will not play (these are the DRM protected ones from iTunes Music Store), but I did not know the .m4a was proprietary. We'll see.

When I try to play these files using the Link Player and std server (actually, Momitsu server), I get Unsupported Audio Codec error. Might it be possible to add support? Maybe in Advanced Server?

This is not a DRM/ copy protection issue. These are rips I made, not purcased from iTunes Music Store (those files are .m4p)

By the way, I just discovered the Slim Devices Squeezebox network MP3 player and Slim Server software both support Apple Lossless, so I know it is possible for 3rd party companies (other than Apple) to build this support in. Come on I-O Data, let's add support for .m4a in a firmware update please. As hard drive storage becomes cheaper, ripping to the larger file sizes of lossless codec's make much more sense (and these lossless files are still about 1/2 the size of the original .wav CD files anyway.)

Originally posted by mikemav
Come on I-O Data, let's add support for .m4a in a firmware update please.

I would prefer that they get their core support working correctly first. TS support is a joke in todays firmware update and it seems xvid is completely broken now.

Originally posted by irgaac
I would prefer that they get their core support working correctly first. TS support is a joke in todays firmware update and it seems xvid is completely broken now.

==>Try WIZD yet? it can be use to replace all the Linkplayer software, we have the source code so it's easy to fix thing. Flipflop does a great work adding more features to it.

m4a is a supported filetype in Wizd server app (look that up, FlipFlop is maintaining the latest code now)
I never play m4a file before, but looking at the code it support this extention.

if you have to use the Linkplayer software, You should try the registry hack posted sometime in the past to add this file filetype into your Linkplayer server software. I don't think this is a hw/fw issue, just need the software to recorgnize the filetype and the iodata will play.
I have not follow this thead closely, i may be wrong

Anh

Has anyone updated to the latest firmware and checked to see if dvd upconverting still works?

thanx

Well another update without any audio for Windows Media Video HD or fixes for WMA Lossless.

IRGAAC -- have you already rolled back or are you going to live with this one for a while to see what else is in there?

Has any one else tried it out yet?

Originally posted by irgaac
I would prefer that they get their core support working correctly first. TS support is a joke in todays firmware update and it seems xvid is completely broken now.

I agree, there doesn't seem to be much improvement in .ts support (in spite of claims), but I'm not having any trouble with xvid/divx files. What sort of problems are you having?

xvid issues huh i will update firmware as soon as the wife and kid finish watching the incredables (again for the 100 time) which is a xvid file...

My LinkPlayer just arrived at home today (I'm stuck at work) and I'm wondering which firmware I should load. If there are problems with today's firmware, will I be able to load the next most recent version?

Originally posted by webboy10169
xvid issues huh i will update firmware as soon as the wife and kid finish watching the incredables (again for the 100 time) which is a xvid file...

weren't they watching that movie last time you needed to test something?

is that really just code for "when I get home" because you work for the cia and can't say what you do on a day to day basis?

Originally posted by jackshakes
weren't they watching that movie last time you needed to test something?

is that really just code for "when I get home" because you work for the cia and can't say what you do on a day to day basis?

or do you just want to taunt us more straight-laced folks that say "doesn't that movie not come out until 3/15?"

Originally posted by mikemav
or do you just want to taunt us more straight-laced folks that say "doesn't that movie not come out until 3/15?"

Yes thats right its the taunting i love so much... And no im not affiliated with any "agencies" I work from home and this is the only movie my kid wants to watch. And for any of the "agencies" watching i have already pre ordered my copy of the incredables.

Paul_PDX,

Rolled back almost instantly. There is nothing to live with, I bought the player to play HD TS and XVID files, neither of which work in the latest firmware.


potus,

Encrypted MPEG error on almost every XVID file. The few TS files that actually do anything just give me horribly stuttering audio.


I am starting to wonder if I made the right choice with this player :(

Originally posted by irgaac
Paul_PDX,

Rolled back almost instantly. There is nothing to live with, I bought the player to play HD TS and XVID files, neither of which work in the latest firmware.


potus,

Encrypted MPEG error on almost every XVID file. The few TS files that actually do anything just give me horribly stuttering audio.


I am starting to wonder if I made the right choice with this player :(
I second this although i did not encounter any xvid errors most if not all of my .ts files do not play and i get that audio studder with the dolby light flashing on and off.

But i will sat the menu speed is greatly improved. rolling back now...

Just finished adding internal IR emitter to my player ...
Works great !
The space is limited around the IR receiver so I had to take the whole
front mask off and than put all that stuff back together ...
I drilled hole on the back panel right beside the AC plug for 3.5mm
jack to be able connect the emitter to Xantech IR repeater.
Works like a "Swiss watch" - well worth the pain disassembling the unit :)

Originally posted by lifeisfun
Just finished adding internal IR emitter to my player ...
Works great !
The space is limited around the IR receiver so I had to take the whole
front mask off and than put all that stuff back together ...
I drilled hole on the back panel right beside the AC plug for 3.5mm
jack to be able connect the emitter to Xantech IR repeater.
Works like a "Swiss watch" - well worth the pain disassembling the unit :)

And im sure were all wondering if you took pictures and have a write up on the way :D

This won't make me very popular ... I didn't :(

Originally posted by TUFU
...

http://www.iodata.jp/support/qanda/answer/s12198.htm

4.One of my friend told me he did not experience lag problem with WMV HD.
I had test "amazon,dolphin,T2, caves,and the discovers" so far.

...


How does the player aquire license for the T2 WMVHD DVD ??? It acces the license trough the LAN to a computer that has to be connected to the internet ????

Sorry,I mean playing downloaded trailers of WMVHD including T2 not the real WMVHD DVD.

There are now more pages to this thread than TUFU has posts! ;)

I'm a first time member on this forum. I have been reading this monstrous thread now for a few weeks. Wow! what a wealth of information on the LinkPlayer. Great experts here on the list, too. Anyway, I bit the bullet and bought the LinkPlayer from the IOData Website last week. The player arrived on Friday (took a week to get here to Boston from California).

I hooked it up to my Yamaha RXV-1300 component video input using the supplied D4 cable (cable construction quality sucks as echoed several times in this thread. Cheap plastic) and connected the receiver component out to my Panasonic AE700 PJ component in using a high-quality component cable.

Here are my first impressions:

1. Out of the box, setup was very easy hooking my receiver and PJ. Got it working with store bought DVD's in 30 minutes. Checked it out with Independence Day, the Day after Tomorrow, and Jurassic Park DVD's. PQ is stunning even at 100" size! Played a few burned MP3 disks. Worked fine.

2. I'm yet to update the firmware (didn't hook it up to the computer yet), was too busy watching existing DVD's with the wife & kids. Compelling!

3. However, I have a few issues with the WAF (wife acceptance factor).

a) The (overly) bright blue light on the front panel and the green LED display is annoying and distracting when watching PJ picture in a darkened room. The silver color wasn't a good match with the rest of the A/V equip. It would be great if IOData came up with a black version of the player with a redesigned front panel.

b) I noticed that the DVD drive is very loud--makes a high-pitch whining (or whirring) sound. Very annoying, distracting, and loud especially clear during quiet scenes. Seems the noise is somewhat less when playing MP3 disks. I read somewhere earlier that this is a firmware issue and that the speed of the drive can be controlled (or reduced) in the latest version. Is this true of the latest firmware upgrade? Or is this more a function of the DVD loader itself?

3) Finally, I tried all the output video modes (480i, 480p, 720p, and 1080i). To my eye, 1080i seems like the sharpest of them all. However, I was noticing bands and lines scrolling up and down when I switched to 480p. Did anyone run into this? Not sure what was going on here. my projector was reporting 525p when in the 480p output from the Linkplayer. Anyone know what might be going on here?

4) One last comment: The PQ seems to be fine with the supplied D4 cable. Not sure what I will get from buying the panasonic cable. Any see a noticeable difference in PQ?

3. a) a few pages back a guy showed how he put a resistor (10k I think) in series with the LED and was able to dim it a good bit. You could also disconnect it all together.

3. b) replacing the stock loader with the lite-on unit may help here. the other guys can say for sure.

4. You should go to IOData's website and order the female d4 connector. It's free and supplies minimal cheapness before terminating in female connectors so you can add your own cable.

I doubt that over the 1 meter D4 component cable provided with your player you would improve PQ if you were able to find a better quality cable...

Onlong distance run, maybe but if you use your receiver to switch video and then run a good size cable from your receiver to your PJ, you will not really improve anything replacing the interconnect between the player and the receiver... my opinion !

Have you tried HD media up to now ?

Has anyone had audio issues playing DVDs with this player where the soundtrack becomes muffled? My Linkplayer has been working great until a few days ago when all of a sudden my DVDs are playing back with muffled audio. The same discs played back in a different player are just fine. This was before the most recent firmware update, so I went ahead and updated to the latest and the audio problem remains.

Have to admit that I'm having doubts about this product now.... TS playback is just not up to snuff, and they desperately need a UI designer for their playback software.

Anyone seem to notice that I-O DATA USA Team has not posted to the I-O Data Forum since the 22nd of Feb.

and they desperately need a UI designer for their playback software.

I couldn't agree more with this. The UI is nothing to write home about. Navigating from a list of files to a group of buttons is very clumbsy. At least have a single row of buttons.

Don't get me wrong, I am really liking this player so far. The nice thing is that all of this stuff can be improved in firmware upgrades.

Originally posted by lmengel
Anyone seem to notice that I-O DATA USA Team has not posted to the I-O Data Forum since the 22nd of Feb.

I've noticed.

Upgradable firmware is good in theory, except the last two firmware upgrades seem to have broken more than they fixed.

hmm, I haven't upgraded yet. What did the last two upgrades break? I might decide to (or not to) upgrade based on what's broken..

Originally posted by GaytonTer
hmm, I haven't upgraded yet. What did the last two upgrades break? I might decide to (or not to) upgrade based on what's broken..

North America - Version 05-26-050202-01-IOD-234-000
Released: March 04, 2005

[ Update Info ]
- Add the "Online Premium Contents" option in setup menu
- Add the "NTP Server access" option in setup menu
- Stop video signal after turn off remote power button
- Support MPEG2-TS with MPEG1 layer2 audio playback
- Improve Navigation sound
- Improve vTuner with HD mode

This latest version breaks 70% of my .ts files, they won't play at all, and 90% of my XVID stuff with an "encrypted MPEG" error. I will not be testing the next firmware version as you can only rollback one version on the player. Since I am not happy with the current version nor the previous version I am stuck with the lesser of two evils. If I try the next firmware version and the .ts trend continues i will be stuck with this version of the firmware as my only rollback option and I do not find that acceptable at all.


North America - Version 04-91-050127-01-IOD-234-000
Released: February 04, 2005

[ Bug Fix / Improvement ]
- Dolby Digital AV Receiver compatibility (VERIFIED)
- DVD Loader eject button function
- MPEG2-TS file playback quality (Need to update AVeLLinkServer)
- DVD MPEG2 file trick playback stability
[ Additional Online Services ]
- vTuner Internet Radio
- Internet News RSS (free)
[ Notice ]
- You need 2 different firmware updating in order to add all these new functions. This means a normal update, and D: update (for user interface refresh). (Assumed Translation: You need to install AVeL LinkPlayer Server V1.8)
- For vTuner usage, don't use HD browser mode (the next update will support it). firmware. (If you attempt to use vTuner in HD browser mode, you will not get sound.)

Fixed the broken sound output with certain recievers and added new features to the player, but also most .ts streams would only display a blank screen until you paused and then hit play again. Then the stream would skip until it caught up to the buffer. Some of my less pristine .ts streams will hang on this firmware version. I am not too happy with this version but I am stuck with it.

North America - Version 04-33-041227-01-IOD-234-000
Released: December 29, 2004

[ Bug Fix ]
1. Resolve a problem that an 5.1ch audio (ex: Dolby Digital) lack sometimes happens on DVD movie's trick playing.
2. Add unaccepted words on Wireless LAN SSID. (N/A)
3. Resolve a problem that some AVI files audios and videos aren't matched.
4. Resolve a problem that a front panel stop button doesn't work correctly.
[ Codec Support ]
- AVI2.0 (Over 2GB)
- DivX® HD Movie (Full version)
- MPEG2-TS (Standard Spec: Packet Size 188 Bytes)
[ Additional Functions ]
- UDF Format Support for DVD/CD media
- CD-ROM Update Function
- Add the "Drive Speed" menu to change drive spin speed
- Add "Square Pixel" mode to video menu toadjust aspect ratio of AVI file
[ Notice ]
- For LinkServer users, it needs to be updated for MPEG2-TS playback
- For Advanced Server users, it has not had 100% compatibility for the latest firmware.

This was the first firmware to officially support .ts streams, it was also the most compatible. I only had one HD xvid that this firmware wouldn't play correctly and my computer would. If I could roll back to this firmware version I would do it in a heartbeat. I also never had a problem with my receiver getting audio from the player, if you do have the problem then you have no choice but to upgrade to the next version of the firmware, unless you want to live with 2 channel only.

NOTE: I only use this player for playing HD .ts files and some XVID encodes. I could care less about mp3 or picture support and even less than that about vtuner support if that is even possible. If your priorities are different please ignore my opinions on the different firmware versions.

For you newbies...Irgaac is a *very* reliable source of experience on the LinkPlayer, and an early adopter. If he says it, bank on it.

I would only add that perhaps we need to fall back to phoning/emailing I-O Data customer support, (Jack and Hiromi) to try and get some response. No response has been forthcoming from the I-O Data User Forum.

Has anyone with the US player (non-wifi or dvi) dowloaded and used the open source server? I mainly use the player for streaming home videos, online photos, music playback, and DVD playback.

Is it worth it? Does it work well?

I guess the player tries to do too many things. I'd probably be happy if it only played my .tp files from my fusion card. But I've never had much luck with that.

DVD playback and Xvid & WM9 playback are nice too if they work but mostly only icing on the cake for me.

With this much (attempted) versatility I guess everybody's priorities will be different.

- Tom

Originally posted by trbarry
With this much (attempted) versatility I guess everybody's priorities will be different.

- Tom

Well, I'll put my little moose on the table. I don't think it's quite the case of how iodata addresses users' priorities, I think it's a simpler case that their programmers may not be all that good.

When updates to one section of code apparently break code elsewhere (I don't know firsthand--based on posts here I'm not comfortable upgrading to the latest version), it conjures up visions of spaghetti code and disorganized development.

I have an Xbox running XBox Media Center on my HDTV downstairs and the Linkplayer on my living room TV upstairs. They are both wirelessly joined to my network and it gives me a great opportunity to do some basic A/B comparisons. Even though the XBox relies purely on software-based codecs, its facility for handling media seems so much smoother, as if the programmers have a much deeper understanding of media file varieties and how to handle them. (My library is almost exclusively divx or xvid avi files viewed over the wireless connection.)

When you want FF, there's no weird scanning thing prior to FF. 2x, 4x, 16x, 32x--whatever you want--push the button and away it goes. And when you REW, there's no lurching forward a few minutes before backing into the REW. It's all very smooth and efficient. Same thing for .MP3s--there's no awkward buffering pause before playing an i-radio station. Just click and it's there.

Don't think this is a complaint--I love this player and will probably get the DVI version for the TV downstairs when it's released. All I'm saying is that what little knowledge of programming I have suggests to me that firmware and software upgrades will probably be awkward and buggy for awhile and will probably try our patience. I don't see any reason not to be patient, but I still wouldn't mind if they hired one of the XBox-programmin' kids!

Thanks for the kind words Tom.

You aren't a slouch when it comes to these players either :)

Originally posted by KeithAdv
Well, I'll put my little moose on the table. I don't think it's quite the case of how iodata addresses users' priorities, I think it's a simpler case that their programmers may not be all that good.

When updates to one section of code apparently break code elsewhere (I don't know firsthand--based on posts here I'm not comfortable upgrading to the latest version), it conjures up visions of spaghetti code and disorganized development.



I don't think that is really the case. The firmware is developed in Japan, and while they use NTSC for their SD broadcast standard their HD standard is different than ours. Also they have been updating the .ts support in the last 3 firmware versions so I don't believe it's changing something else that is breaking .ts support, I think they are just not using good samples of our .ts streams to test their updates with.


You cant really compare this player to an Xbox, after all folks have been coding windows media apps for 10 years now. The Sigma chip used in this player has only been out for a year and no other vendor has managed to bring a player to market using it yet.

Has anyone found a way to turn the LinkPlayer into a LinkTheater?

The LinkTheater appears to already have support for WMV DRM and has a much nicer interface from the images I've seen on the buffalotech website.

However, their remote appears to have some differences, which might be an issue.

Basically, I was thinking it might be possible to capture the FW download from a LinkTheater then somehow simulate the FW server on the PC to get it on the LinkPlayer.

Otherwise, has anyone tried swapping out the LinkTheater's server? I expect that it would atleast give us an improved UI. I'll give it a try later when I get home.

Where can you download the LT sever ?

Originally posted by GoingHD
Basically, I was thinking it might be possible to capture the FW download from a LinkTheater then somehow simulate the FW server on the PC to get it on the LinkPlayer.


This should be a no brainer with a few edits to the lmhost file on your pc

Need Help....
Running the Linkplayer on a SuperG Wireless network, playback is flawless other than it freezes every 3 mins for about 10 seconds. It is very repeatable, no stutters or anything but every 3 mins it just freezes. looks like it a problem with settings on the wireless network.
Any help would be much appreciated.

It appears the LT server has not been upgraded yet, so there are no servers to download.

I expect they will have one sometime soon.

If you read their PDF files you can see how DRM will be implemented. After a real quick glance, it looks like it will require the user to access the PC server to activate it. Not sure if it is a one time deal or not.

I have not downloaded the new firmware from March 4th. Does this release take away the upscaling capability? Can anyone confirm?

The commercial dvd's look pretty dang nice on a 1080i.

Mike

Originally posted by irgaac
...Also they have been updating the .ts support in the last 3 firmware versions so I don't believe it's changing something else that is breaking .ts support...

You cant really compare this player to an Xbox, after all folks have been coding windows media apps for 10 years now. The Sigma chip used in this player has only been out for a year and no other vendor has managed to bring a player to market using it yet.

I can't speak credibly to the .ts thing--don't use them; don't know about them. I'm just responding to comments I saw in this forum and elsewhere.

But I'm still not convinced about the other part. I'm not saying at all that the programmers suck or the player sucks. The programmers are at least competent and the player is cool. Nothing impresses quite so much as the conscientious effort they are making to update the firmware. I'm an official iodata fan.

However, I don't know if OS/chip knowledge is as important here as a real in-depth knowledge of media files (particularly the divx ones I use), networking, and how to work with them knowledgably and efficiently. I'm sure you already know that a high-level language like visual basic or delphi will let you easily work with media files, but if you want to ROCK with them, you have to get to a lower-level language and, more important, know those file structures inside and out, and, even more important, be inventive.

With the Linkplayer, I can view the files, FF and REW them after a fashion, but overall I'd have to evaluate the performance as clumsy.

I've been having audio playback problems of commerical DVDs since I got the box, and through 2 firmware updates...I'm using an Aragon Soundstage as the processor, and haven't tried moving it to the bedroom's Denon 160x.


Seems to be start-up related, as pausing / restarting & menus seem to trigger the drop outs.


ggggggggggggrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr!

Anyone with a Macintosh care to try a new server software option? Elgato has posted a public beta of their upcoming product:

http://www.elgato.com/index.php?file=support_updates_eyeconnect

there is also a new thread:
http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?s=&threadid=516702

I have so far not been able to get it to work with the AVLP2. I have read conflicting reports - is the linkplayer UPnP AV certified or not?? Anyone know?

I am posting this in both threads, hope that is OK...

Zach

I have not been able to get the linkplayer2 to work with straight UPnP servers at all.

I have gotten some UPnP servers to work, including Mac elgato. The secret is that the UPnP "client device" is NOT the Linkplayer itself, but the Linkplayer server. The PC version of LinkPLayer server has a UPnP checkbox (ON by default). For elgato, this means you have to run elgato on a Mac, and LinkPlayer on a PC. (The Mac version of Linkplayer server does not seem to have UPnP support yet.)

So in order to see the UPnP server from Linkplayer, you select your PC LinkPlayer server, then navigate to Video/Audio/Music, just like normal. But at the top level of these pages, you will see links for the UPnP servers on your network. Navigate into these, and you get access to the uPnP served content.

Although I WAS able to "see" the elgato server in this way, unfortunately none of the actual content would play. It would always say "invalid format" when attempting.

The Windows Media Connect uPnP server worked fine. I could navigate and play content from that server without any problems. This is more convenient, since I could run WMC and the Linkplayer server on the same box.

Has anyone received the D4 to Component Female Adapter from I-O Data?
Is it worth the wait or should I just fork over the $50 for the JVC cable. I have a nice 10' Monster cable that I could use with the adapter.

Thanks..

I got the D4 cable. They sent it out right away. Didn't try it yet, (still using the original D4 cable) but I can't see how it wouldn't work fine. I would save the $50, and just go for it. There is a link somewhere on their website. You need to provide the serial number of your unit.

I sent the email two weeks ago. shortly after I got the unit. I haven't gotten a reply or anything so I wasn't sure they were shipping them yet. Maybe they are out-of-stock or something.. I guess i will wait another week. I just want to start using the thing..
S-video is just.... well.. S-video..

Thanks..

took me about 2-3 weeks to get it ... didn't count really ... i'm only using some semi better than average cables along with it (RCA brand premium cables from home depot ... better than radio shack but not nearly as good as the stuff you'd spend $100+ on)

I didn't notice a huge difference but that doesn't say much. I'm not very good at noticing the subtle differences if I don't see them side by side.

why don't you use the D4 cable that comes with it for now? If it's too short use a set of RCA adapters from radio shack with your own component cables till your female adapter gets here.

Originally posted by jackshakes
why don't you use the D4 cable that comes with it for now? If it's too short use a set of RCA adapters from radio shack with your own component cables till your female adapter gets here.

That's exactly what I was going to do the day I got my LinkPlayer, but as I was leaving for RadioShack I figured I would check the mailbox. Sure enough my D4 cable came the same day as my LinkPlayer. :D

I am now using the D4 adapter with a good Monster component cable. Picture quality looks great to me.

The adapter is pretty thin (isn't the JVC also?), so I would not really consider an upgrade. But it shoudl help the short-OEM cable for free...

The JVC cable cleaned up video noise from the picture, for me. I swapped them back and forth repeatedly for confirmation of this. Others have not reported the same benefit. Perhaps my installation is a noisier environment for RFI/EMI etc., and thus the better shielding of the JVC cable is the benefit not needed for the stock cable in a less noisy environment. But it is better. And the D4 connecter snaps tightly into the socket whereas my stock connector wiggled around.

I managed to lose the remote to my AVLP2/DVDG!!!

Anyone done the same and ordered a new one from IO Data or used a programmable universal remote?

I would apreciate any help here!!!

/BE

If you have jp1 remote, there is a config file available at the jp1 yahoo group.

Some Radio Shack and "All-for-one" remotes are jp1.. But you will need a special cable and PC to load the codes. Dunno if these are available in Sweden, though.

Would it be possible to get MLB.TV through my TV? If I listed the page as a Favorite could I do it that way? I would have to be able to log in with a username and password and even if I can do this will it play smoothly?

I dont have a LP so I don't know the steps to stream it, but I can do it with my XBox using XBMC. I open up the stream with Windows Media Player, grab the URL it's connecting to and create a text file and drop it in there and name it whatever.STRM. I put it in a folder that XBMC can see and it caches for a few seconds then plays. If you can play files like this, it should work. I noticed that the link doesnt work after a period of time, I haven't lost connection or tested the exact time that the link stays alive. Good luck.

Another Sigma HD box enters the frey ---

http://www.pinnaclesys.com/aboutus/PR/News.asp?NewsID=3908&Langue_ID=7

Pinnacle Systems Unveils ShowCenter 200, Including High Definition Photo and Video Support

Intuitive User Interface and Exceptional Audio and Visual Quality Promise an Easy, Engaging Entertainment Experience


MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif. 3/11/2005- Pinnacle Systems®, Inc. (NASDAQ: PCLE), a leader in digital video solutions today announced ShowCenter 200, its latest digital media adapter.

Pinnacle ShowCenter 200 connects directly to a PC, or to a home network, and streams media files to any television or home entertainment system connected to the ShowCenter player. A complete solution that works with highspeed wired and wireless (802.11g) home networks, Pinnacle ShowCenter 200 includes the digital media adapter set-top box with a front panel USB port, a remote control, Ethernet and power cables, and easy-to-use media management software.

High Definition Video and Photo Support

ShowCenter 200 includes support for high definition video and photo, significantly enhancing their quality on televisions with HD capabilities. In addition, users can now view HD video in a variety of formats including WMV, .AVI, and .MPEGs files and enjoy high quality photos taken with mega-pixel digital still cameras.

Enjoy Online Video and Music Content

With ShowCenter 200 it will be possible to enjoy music and video throughout the home by streaming content via integrated wireless support. It offers an easy-to-use TV interface that gives remote control access to video, photo, music and TV files stored on the PC. Music lovers can automatically import content through their RealRhapsody® subscriptions, including over 770,000 songs and broadband users can listen Internet SHOUTcast™ radio on their home audio system.

Powerful Media Management

Unlike competing products, ShowCenter 200 includes powerful media management software, Pinnacle MediaManager, which allows users to manage all photo, video and music files with ease. ShowCenter 200 easily supports large media file collections and includes integrated CD and DVD burning for archiving collections or sharing playlists. Using Pinnacle MediaManager, consumers can create playlists, import and export content and browse auto playlists including Top Rated and Most Played.

Easy Set-Up and Installation

A new, improved installation wizard makes it simple to install ShowCenter 200 and connect it to the PC via a wired Ethernet connection. The only product within its category to offer ‘watched folders,’ content can be imported from folders automatically, alerting the user when new media is found. With a simple TV interface and category organization, the ShowCenter 200 provides intuitive navigation for selecting content with a remote control.

Control Personal Video Recording on your PC

Pinnacle ShowCenter 200 also allows consumers complete control of the PVR features via the PCTV tuner card that can be installed on the PC. Timeshifting allows users to view live television and pause, as well as to fast forward and replay programs. Integrated burning makes it easy to archive recorded content to CD and DVD.

Pricing and Availability

Pinnacle ShowCenter 200 carries an MSRP of $299 and is expected to be available in April at most major retailers and through the Pinnacle e-store.

I see it includes the ability to create playlists and from the description the overall GUI seems much better. Maybe this will inspire Iodata to improve the very awkward GUI on the LP.

That's awesome. Pinnacle is famous for high quality, but where is Sigma mentioned?

Originally posted by potus
If you have jp1 remote, there is a config file available at the jp1 yahoo group.

Some Radio Shack and "All-for-one" remotes are jp1.. But you will need a special cable and PC to load the codes. Dunno if these are available in Sweden, though.

"All-for-one" is available in Sweden.

Got any suggestions for a cheap remote with jp1 that can match the buttons on the AVLP2?

Originally posted by Tom Roper
That's awesome. Pinnacle is famous for high quality, but where is Sigma mentioned? It's not!


But I think it's "a given". Especially when you consider their "std-def" 1000g uses Sigma's EM8551 chip-set....

Anyways, here's a bit more info about the new "high-def" 200 device: -

http://www.pinnaclesys.com/ProductPage_n.asp?Product_ID=2656&Langue_ID=2 Including it's specification (http://www.pinnaclesys.com/docloader_n.asp?templ=10&doclink=/WebVideo/showcenter200/English(UK)/doc/uk_showcenter200_specifications.html&Product_ID=2656&Langue_ID=2&loc=spec&division_id=)


And the old "std-def" 1000g device: -

http://www.pinnaclesys.com/ProductPage_n.asp?Product_ID=1491&Langue_ID=2


EDIT: And don't forget about, the proposed Sony VGP-MR100

http://www.ecat.sony.co.jp/products/picture/large/VGP-MR100.jpg

http://www.ecat.sony.co.jp/products/picture/VGP-MR100_003.jpg

http://www.ecat.sony.co.jp/vaio/acc/acc.cfm?pd=19898


Cheers

I'll bet that Sony device is NOT HD. It shows a D3 connector (NOT D4), so it's probably std-def.

EDIT: oops... I found that D3 is 1080i (whereas D4 is 720P?).. Anyways... Nevermind.. It could be Hi-def afterall.. Though D3 DOES imply lower resolution limit than the D4 connector on Linkplayer.

Ok, I've deleted my last post about I-O Data and the latest firmware.

With the latest firmware I was unable to play vob files created with DVD Shrink v3.2.

I reinstalled the firmware and tried again and played around with the setup settings.
Nothing seemed to help, then I found that the problem lies in the size of the files.

I had been creating vob files which were large enough to contain a whole movie. I tried some of the early vob files I had created using DVD Shrink's default of creating vob files in 1 GB size chunks and they played perfectly.

Originally posted by lmengel
Ok, I've deleted my last post about I-O Data and the latest firmware.

With the latest firmware I was unable to play vob files created with DVD Shrink v3.2.

I reinstalled the firmware and tried again and played around with the setup settings.
Nothing seemed to help, then I found that the problem lies in the size of the files.

I had been creating vob files which were large enough to contain a whole movie. I tried some of the early vob files I had created using DVD Shrink's default of creating vob files in 1 GB size chunks and they played perfectly.

I agree. Ran through exactly the same setup, and same problem. All of my VOBs are 1 large file/movie. Hope they get this resolved. The pause between multiple VOBs is not acceptable to me.

Originally posted by potus
EDIT: oops... I found that D3 is 1080i (whereas D4 is 720P?).. Anyways... Nevermind.. It could be Hi-def afterall.. Though D3 DOES imply lower resolution limit than the D4 connector on Linkplayer. In my opinion the so called, "D connector" is an absolute waste of time... And is far too prone to damage and poor build quality.... What's the matter with simply fitting 3No RCA/phono connectors?

Actually the D3 offers 720p. And the D4 offers 1080i: -

http://img39.exs.cx/img39/4949/dconnectors6ca.gif


Cheers

Originally posted by potus
I'll bet that Sony device is NOT HD. It shows a D3 connector (NOT D4), so it's probably std-def.

EDIT: oops... I found that D3 is 1080i (whereas D4 is 720P?).. Anyways... Nevermind.. It could be Hi-def afterall.. Though D3 DOES imply lower resolution limit than the D4 connector on Linkplayer.

D3 supports 480i, 480p and 1080i

D4 supports 480i, 480p, 720p and 1080i


What you really want is D5... :)

Originally posted by Bodhidog
I agree. Ran through exactly the same setup, and same problem. All of my VOBs are 1 large file/movie. Hope they get this resolved. The pause between multiple VOBs is not acceptable to me.

You might want to check out FlipFlop's updated wizd server. It can play through the VOB file breaks without the pause. It also has chapter navigation and bookmarks..

Originally posted by SeeMoreDigital
Actually the D3 offers 720p. And the D4 offers 1080i: -

I think those are swapped according to all the other documentation I've seen...

Will the Linkplayer2 work if it is wired directly into a wireless router and be able to serve from a PC that is connected via a wireless card?

Originally posted by kjack
I think those are swapped according to all the other documentation I've seen... Hi Keith,

Yes, I've seen it presented both ways round...

As each variation is supposed to offer a higher definition than the next, I guess much could depend on whether the writer feels 1080i offers higher definition images than 720p (or vice versa) :eek:

Wasn't it developed by some guy in Japan?


Cheers

Originally posted by edbetty
Will the Linkplayer2 work if it is wired directly into a wireless router and be able to serve from a PC that is connected via a wireless card?

Yes -- if your router doesn't have too much of a delay between the wired lan and wireless lan portion and if your wireless connection is fast enough and clear enough for the type of media you are playing.

Examples: Thru my Dlink DI-624 I can use the LinkPlayer2 to play HD TP files stored on my laptop most of the time at 802.11g 54Mbit setting (Intel 2200BG wireless in laptop) and I can play SD Vobs 100% of the time (When my laptop is hooked to AC).

When running on battery my laptop clocks down and I can barely serve MP3 or WMA files without pauses unless the laptop is right next to my router.

With my wireless desktop running at super-G speeds (Dlink PCI card set at 108mbit) I can source media flawlessly unless I am also using the wireless network to copy files at the same time,

Originally posted by potus
If you have jp1 remote, there is a config file available at the jp1 yahoo group.
Could you please provide a link, I'm unable to find it.

Originally posted by SeeMoreDigital
Wasn't it developed by some guy in Japan?

Probably -- it's now an EIA-J spec. Bet the guy didn't even get a bonus for it... :)

Originally posted by kjack
Probably -- it's now an EIA-J spec. Bet the guy didn't even get a bonus for it... :) Well... here's what I-O DATA says about the connector: -

http://img203.exs.cx/img203/1360/d4connector0dj.gif

It would seem they are identifying the D3 output to be 720p and the D4 to be 1080i....


Cheers

seemore...
Higher up on the same HTML page there is a table where D3 is 1080i and D4 is 720p -- IODATA seems to be confused also ;)


Video Resolution Image Source Output
D1(480i) D2(480P) 4:3 4:3
16:9 16:9
D3(1080i) D4(720P) 4:3 16:9
16:9 16:9

Originally posted by Bjorn_E
I managed to lose the remote to my AVLP2/DVDG!!!

Anyone done the same and ordered a new one from IO Data or used a programmable universal remote?

I would apreciate any help here!!!

/BE

I use the Logitech Harmony 659. Kinda pricey, but it controls just about everything you can throw at it, and is easily upgradable to new configurations on the internet (along with fairly consistent firmware upgrades). Even new and obscure devices (like the Linkplayer) has settings already available on-line. It has a much longer "throw" than the Linkplayer remote, which is convenient.

I have the Harmony as well and it is very good.

I tried a DivX "Burn to Rent" the other night from GreenCine: http://www.greencine.com

The movie played back fine over my network though the encoding could have been better. They don't yet have a very large selection of movies that you can "Burn to Rent" which is what you want if you want to play back the film over the network on your Linkplayer or put it on a CD or DVD. Here is their current listing:
http://www.greencine.com/static/divx/featured_divxdrm.jsp

They do have a larger selection of DivX and WMV VOD movies you can rent to watch on your computer. By mistake my first rental was computer view only. It was 16:9 and a much better encoding probably due to a better source. The size was 512x288 at around 800 kbps so I tried encoding an HD show at those settings and it looked quite good on my 53" HD set even with a 1-pass in Dr. Divx. What I learned the hard way is you need to not only register with GreenCine but with DivX too so you can get the file that sets up the Linkplayer for rentals.

Originally posted by epsilon
Could you please provide a link, I'm unable to find it.
Here is a keymap-master file for the LinkPlayer. This is based on the one on the JP1 group, with a few more keys added, and set up for the ReplayTV 5000 remote.

Thanks, I'll give that a try. I would still like the original though, as I don't have a ReplayTV and I'm just starting to learn the jp1 software.

Originally posted by Paul_PDX
seemore...
Higher up on the same HTML page there is a table where D3 is 1080i and D4 is 720p -- IODATA seems to be confused also ;) Hi Paul...

I wonder who (or what) "JP: D Tanshi Kikaku" is?


Cheers

Originally posted by Paul_PDX
Yes -- if your router doesn't have too much of a delay between the wired lan and wireless lan portion and if your wireless connection is fast enough and clear enough for the type of media you are playing.

Examples: Thru my Dlink DI-624 I can use the LinkPlayer2 to play HD TP files stored on my laptop most of the time at 802.11g 54Mbit setting (Intel 2200BG wireless in laptop) and I can play SD Vobs 100% of the time (When my laptop is hooked to AC).

When running on battery my laptop clocks down and I can barely serve MP3 or WMA files without pauses unless the laptop is right next to my router.

With my wireless desktop running at super-G speeds (Dlink PCI card set at 108mbit) I can source media flawlessly unless I am also using the wireless network to copy files at the same time,

Are you using a Dlink Super-G router? What's the model number? Also, is there a Super-G equivalent of the DI-624 or a 108mbit setting on your DI-624?

Finally, How much does distance play a factor in playing back media? My Linkplayer will be least 70-80 feet and two rooms away from the server. How will this effect the wireless performance?

Originally posted by GaytonTer
Are you using a Dlink Super-G router? What's the model number? Also, is there a Super-G equivalent of the DI-624 or a 108mbit setting on your DI-624?

Finally, How much does distance play a factor in playing back media? My Linkplayer will be least 70-80 feet and two rooms away from the server. How will this effect the wireless performance?

Only tangentially related to this question--I have a Linksys WRT54GS (a wired/wireless router with something Linksys calls "speedbooster"), located in my basement. My media drive is a Maxtor One-Touch 300G connected externally to my main (always-on) computer via USB 2.0. That computer is wired to the network.

The Linkplayer in my living room is connected wirelessly via a Linksys WET54G Wireless Bridge, and the Xbox in the family room is connected the same way. I use mainly divx movies and it works flawlessly--both boxes running at once, if I need to, and there's never a problem.

Distance is supposed to be a limiting factor in wireless networks, but I wonder if things like inter-brand compatibility play a role as well. For example, for several maddening days before I bought the Linkplayer, I tried to run a DLink Media Player (DSM-320) in exactly the same location and it could not stream any media--including Internet radio--without stopping within a few minutes due to loss. Even a Wireless-G Range Expander would not improve the situation, nor bypassing the internal DSM-320 wireless and resorting to a DLink wireless bridge. I was so happy to take it all back to the store. Networks are fun.

Originally posted by GaytonTer
Are you using a Dlink Super-G router? What's the model number? Also, is there a Super-G equivalent of the DI-624 or a 108mbit setting on your DI-624?

Finally, How much does distance play a factor in playing back media? My Linkplayer will be least 70-80 feet and two rooms away from the server. How will this effect the wireless performance?

Hardware:
Dlink DI-624 Rev B1 (Super G Router)
Dlink DWL-G520 (Super G PCI card)
Intel 2200BG (standard 802.11G laptop card)

set on Super G I have been able to stream hour long TP files to the AvelLink from up to about 40ft with one internal wall (wood stud and sheetrock) between the wireless part of the link. I also have a had really good luck with my server located one floor down and over about 20 feet (maybe 30 feet apart).

Using regular G I have had similar luck at closer distances < 40ft.

Over about 40 ft I start going thru a second wall in my house with is part concrete block and my signal reliability drops too much to stream HD (I can stream music at over 100 ft on super G in my house though -- its just video where I need a better link).

I had to get rid of my 2400MHZ phones to get any of it to work reliably,


Good luck

Originally posted by epsilon
Thanks, I'll give that a try. I would still like the original though, as I don't have a ReplayTV and I'm just starting to learn the jp1 software.
To use this on a different remote, what you need to do is change the remote type on the 'setup' worksheet, and assign your buttons on the 'buttons' worksheet.

To get the original, go to http://groups.yahoo.com/group/jp1/ and sign in. Then go to http://groups.yahoo.com/group/jp1/files/3.%20Device%20Codes/DVD/ and download the Avel_Linkplayer_2.txt file.

Unless you happen to have the Radio Shack 15-1994, the "original" at yahoo group is no better for you. FlipFlop's version has more codes defined, so it's a better starting point... This remote has a lot of "oddball" functions, so you'll probably want to tinker with the keymapping anyways...

Anyone got any discrete codes for this yet? (Discrete ON/OFF, maybe discrete zoom modes and discrete "tv output" mode selects would be nice)

Originally posted by lmengel
With the latest firmware I was unable to play vob files created with DVD Shrink v3.2.

I reinstalled the firmware and tried again and played around with the setup settings.
Nothing seemed to help, then I found that the problem lies in the size of the files.

I installed wizd and large vob files play fine. I assume the problem must be on the LinkServer software (macintosh) side.

Thank you Potus and FlipFlop. I understand how to change remotes in KM, but not how to strip stuff (ReplayTV keys); no matter, should be able to figure it out.

On a related note, has anyone with an MX-500 figured out if there's a compatible device to use as base? I don't want to have to learn every key (I don't even know if I have enough memory left).

Originally posted by Bjorn_E
I managed to lose the remote to my AVLP2/DVDG!!!

Anyone done the same and ordered a new one from IO Data or used a programmable universal remote?

I would apreciate any help here!!!

/BE

I have a Pronto TSU3000 PCF file you can download here: PCF file (http://cooldog.com/livingRoom.pcf)

if it helps.

I've been reading this thread on and off and noted the so called "upgrade" firmware issues people have been having but I thought it only plagued the people trying to run HD content.

My setup is SageTV with the Hauppage MPEG2 card and it works great. SageTV is my SD DVR and the linkplayer hooks up my hometheater in the family room. My wife and kids love the setup and it works great. I have a library of MPEG4 files of shows the kids watch again and again.

Anyway, the latest firmware upgrade, March 3rd I believe, no longer works to play the MPEG2 files recorded at the max bitrage from my SageTV setup. Thank goodness I could roll back one upgrade.

For me that last upgrade worked perfectly. All I play are MPEG2 files from the Hauppage card and make my MPEG4 files with AutoGK. All my audio stuff is working fine. I am now super gun shy about trying any new upgrade now if it is going to break my stable setup. Please I/O data, get your software quality testing department to never let this happen again.

All the best,
Ricardo

I own a IO Data AVLP1, which is almost the same as the AVLP2 but without the USB connector, wifi, some codecs support and other features.
What I would like to know in order to jump to the AVLP2, is whether it supports subtitles with the recent firmware updates. I know, probably most of you don't care about it, since cool movies are in your own speaking language, but for me that I need spanish or japanese subs to enjoy the 100% of the movie, subtitles are the most important feature for this device. I will appreciate any information about AVLP2 supporting any kind of external subtitles, such as srt, sub, smi, etc.
Thank you, best regards.

Originally posted by miyoshi
What I would like to know in order to jump to the AVLP2, is whether it supports subtitles with the recent firmware updates...

I will appreciate any information about AVLP2 supporting any kind of external subtitles, such as srt, sub, smi, etc.


I-O Data claims working subtitle support, but no one else has gotten them to work yet.

See these threads on the I-O Data forum:
http://www.iodata.com/usa/forum/showthread.php?t=68

http://www.iodata.com/usa/forum/showthread.php?t=42

http://www.iodata.com/usa/forum/showthread.php?t=143

Originally posted by irgaac
I-O Data claims working subtitle support, but no one else has gotten them to work yet.

See these threads on the I-O Data forum:


Thanks a lot irgaac !

I had the chance to talk with I-O Data technical support in Japan and they said that as long as the DIVX standard specification doesn't support external subtitles, AVLPx will not show them. I wonder if they will be supported when the new divx fusion compilant firmware comes out.

I am sure they will since it has been advertised since the products inception.

We should probably get Kermee to add something about subtitle support to the FAQ.

I hope it's just my perception, but I-O Data seems to have gone silent...

Theories are like noses, everybody has one. My $0.02 on the recent firmwares is not so much that the software coding per se has gone awry, but that processor bandwidth is given up in trade for new features and functionality with each upgrade. <--- I truly hope I'm wrong. The first people to notice it are the high bitrate users.

Originally posted by Tom Roper
I hope it's just my perception, but I-O Data seems to have gone silent...


I sent a made a couple of posts last week, and sent PM's to the IODATA team account to be sure that they got noticed. I've had no response whatsoever.

The 1080i timing issue is pretty critical. If that doesn't get fixed soon, I may end up back at the HTPC stage again. I still use an HTPC for my main theater upstairs, but was hoping that this LinkPlayer would be the solution for the other rooms in the house where I wanted less hassles and a simpler user interface.

Oh well ....

Over in the IOdata forums several users have found that HD material works just fine when using the Mar 4th firmware, but only when paired up with wizd.

It appears the LP server software is the reason the newest FW is failing.

I have yet to confirm this myself.

I use wizd myself.

The problem is that their 1080i sync rate, and front-porch and back-porch timing parameters are just simply wrong. Slightly, but enough to cause sync problems and underscan/overscan issues for many displays.

Originally posted by Tom Roper
I hope it's just my perception, but I-O Data seems to have gone silent...

Theories are like noses, everybody has one. My $0.02 on the recent firmwares is not so much that the software coding per se has gone awry, but that processor bandwidth is given up in trade for new features and functionality with each upgrade. <--- I truly hope I'm wrong. The first people to notice it are the high bitrate users.
A 1080i ts file (not sure on the bitrate) that used to play fine 2-3 versions ago, is now broken. It now advances a few frames for a split second and freezes for about 10 secs, ad infinitum. This off the DVD drive so, no server involvement.

Originally posted by Tom Roper
I hope it's just my perception, but I-O Data seems to have gone silent...

Theories are like noses, everybody has one. My $0.02 on the recent firmwares is not so much that the software coding per se has gone awry, but that processor bandwidth is given up in trade for new features and functionality with each upgrade. <--- I truly hope I'm wrong. The first people to notice it are the high bitrate users.

I don't think the processor is bit starved. I look at it this way, KISS had announced a player using this chip set forever and a day ago, it has slipped 3 times so far and currently has no availability date. No other manufacturer has brought to market any device using this chip set that I know of. I believe that I-O Data is running into all of the usual first adopter problems but are doing it on a live product instead of an unreleased one. I am glad they released this product early. I am less happy that they are taking what seems to me to be a shotgun approach to developing the firmware updates, instead of getting one feature working rock solid and then moving on to something else it seems they are trying to fix a lot of things simultaneously and buggering things up. I think they need to take a step back and get the basics working and solid, then go back to adding other features.

Originally posted by Tom Roper
I hope it's just my perception, but I-O Data seems to have gone silent...

I just checked. The last post from them was a single one made on 2/22/05. Before that, on 2/18/05, they made a bunch in one day.

I'd REALLY like to know why they have vanished from their own forum.

Originally posted by irgaac
I don't think the processor is bit starved. ....

they are taking what seems to me to be a shotgun approach to developing the firmware updates, instead of getting one feature working rock solid and then moving on to something else it seems they are trying to fix a lot of things simultaneously and buggering things up. I think they need to take a step back and get the basics working and solid, then go back to adding other features.

I would have to agree with this. The features really shouldn't be competing for cpu cycles. They typically do NOT run simultaneously. For example, take the "vtuner" feature (please!). How can this possibly affect normal non-vtuner video play? When you are playing video, the "vtuner" feature code should not even be running.

I think it's just your typical software "bugs" creeping in. And I am not sure all the blame should be placed on IODATA. I bet some of this is coming from Sigma, since they probably are providing the "core" code for driving the chip. Probably iodata threw in a new release they got from Sigma along with the other "feature"-based changes they've been working on. I suppose they should have tested it a bit more, though....

And having worked on many software teams, the apparent "shotgun" approach does not surprise me. It is extremely inefficient to have ALL your developers working on one thing, and then ALL moving on to another. It is much more logical to split the development feature-wise amongst your developers. The tricky part is always integration and testing. And it looks like iodata has apparently left the testing task to US!

Originally posted by psg
I use wizd myself.

The problem is that their 1080i sync rate, and front-porch and back-porch timing parameters are just simply wrong. Slightly, but enough to cause sync problems and underscan/overscan issues for many displays.

@psg: Sorry, I was not replying to this comment, but the previous post by Tom. I think you posted while I was writting. Although, I too have the 1080i video issue on my Mitsubishi.

In my post I should have said high bitrate material instead of HD material. I was trying to say that the high bitrate issue seemed to have been addressed with wizd.

Nevertheless, I've still been meaning to switch over to wizd. I'll eventually give my TS files a try under the new firmware. But given epsilon's comment, I'm not going to push myself so hard to make the switch over. Maybe IOData will soon work out the kinks in the new firmware. I'd love to spend more time with the LinkPlayer, but the only free time I have is when I'm at work :-)

We've been suckered! They takes our money and then they sneaks away....tricksy hobbitses.

LOL Canuck, we could all use some comic relief...

Back to my .ts problem, I haven't tried it with the immediately previous version, I'll do so tonight. Which reminds me, with the current state of affairs, we could all use the ability to be able to flash the firmware via disc. I wonder if that will ever happen.

For the record the SOHD-167T will play DVD+R DL and not just commercial dual layer discs.

The reason I specify is that I have experienced PC drives that will read commercial dual layer discs but not the new burnable blanks.

I just got my AVLP2 last week and I tried to watch "The Incredibles" last night via component.

First thing I noticed was the whine of the DVD player. My old samsung DVD player is quiet plus has great video.

The other problem is I get horizontal color bands which really show up in "The Incredibles" which has broad areas of the same color. I am not sure what is causing this problem.

I just checked. The last post from them was a single one made on 2/22/05. Before that, on 2/18/05 I have posted over at the IO Data forum that Jack Akita (the main USA customer rep, if not the only USA rep) has been off on vacation. It is obvious that for some reason IO Data decided to release the new firmware before his return. They did not even post on their website that they had new (3/4) firmware until the 14th. This was coincidentally the day that Jack Akita returned from his vacation.

The reason he has not posted on the website may be because he does not have an answer from their development team or Sigma as of yet. I am sure he has read the forum as well as the many emails he probably received. I would give him another week or so to fix the problem before I decide to put a PC in my living room.

Of course, I may be more patient than others because I used to own a Prismiq and they never got around to any of the promised upgrades. I would rather have a company try to get the upgrades out as soon as possible and I can decide at that time if I want to "upgrade", "roll back", or not. The current software works fine for me, but I did have to "roll back" once in the past to get sound back on my Divx HD trailers.

It's not that there haven't been any replies to my posts, or to posts regarding problems specific to the 3/4 upgrade ... there haven't been any replies to ANY posts at all.

That's what is a little bit unnerving.

If he's the only person representing them on the forum, and he's going to be gone for a time, he really should just simply say so. That's good business practice, and just simple common courtesy.

I'm glad that they have an aggressive release schedule too, but I'm appalled that there's been no acknowledgement of the 1080i timing issue ... it's so basic to the whole unit that it's not the sort of thing one can ignore.

psg, I think you put your finger on what's been nagging at me too. Doesn't this experience mirror in some ways what happened before with Vinc and Bravo?

Got email yesterday from Jack at IODATA. He indicated that the advanced server was now playing ty files with VIDEO good, but audio problems. He indicated that TIVO was working with them
may not be a good thing if they end up using .tivo files with encryption as that would lock out all of us Dtivo owners !

Originally posted by Tom Roper
psg, I think you put your finger on what's been nagging at me too. Doesn't this experience mirror in some ways what happened before with Vinc and Bravo?
I don't know, since I never got involved with those companies.

I do hope that the "IO-DATA USA Team" reappears soon, though!

If he's the only person representing them on the forum, and he's going to be gone for a time, he really should just simply say so. My experience with many small companies is that they monitor the forums only in their spare time.

Right now I am guessing that he has his hands full with the many projects they have going on. The issues are many...ty file support, Microsoft DRM add on, Rhapsody add on, bug fixes, 2GB limitation on UHLD, etc... He has emailed snoots and I also heard from him this evening. The best way to get to the bottom of a problem is to email their customer service directly. It still takes a few days to a week to get an answer, but at least he does get around to emailing (eventually).

The issue I asked him about could also be the issue that you are dealing with. My HDTV has a problem with interpreting bright flashes during movies in 1080i. He said he would report the problem to his engineers.

They promised a new macintosh server software version by the end of Feb. I don't mind if they don't want to be too active in their own forum, but they should not make promises on it and then disappear completely when they don't come through.

They promised a new macintosh server software version by the end of Feb. I don't mind if they don't want to be too active in their own forum, but they should not make promises on it and then disappear completely when they don't come through. Maybe you should send that question to their customer service. I have heard from them and so has snoots. That would not qualify as "disappearing completely".

Don't get me wrong, I am not happy that the January release of the DRM and WMA Audio support has now been moved to "Mar/Apr". However, from what I understand, that is related to Microsoft's product control. I am also not happy that I paid $400 for the UHLD that can't see files over 2GB. I am just saying that measuring a company's efforts based on their forum support is something I have not heard of before now. On the other hand, if you measure the company by the fact that they are behind schedule on planned updates, that is something I can completely understand.

If I were the management at IO Data, I would never release a planned firmware update schedule. There is no upside to it. In most cases, I would suspect that they are getting the planned dates from the companies they have to deal with and pass them on to us. When someone like Microsoft doesn't move at the speed they estimated, it only leaves IO Data looking bad.

I agree there is no upside to releasing a planned firmware update schedule. But I see no upside to putting up a forum where the most recent response from the I-O Data team is now a month old, particularly when there are major issues with 3/05 firmware upgrade that have not been remotely acknowledged.

The thing that gets me is that if the last two versions of firmware have specific issues (which they do), you can't go back to a previous "working" version. Just that last one. We are relying on some "guinea pigs" who are brave enough to load the latest firmware before the rest of us feel compelled to load what we are hoping is a stable firmware. I am really hoping for downloadable firmware updates.

If I remember correctly, there is an issue with DivX playback in the March 4th version. Something about file is encrypted or something. I remember seeing it when I tried it. I am now converting all of my movies to DivX, but I will not dare to load the next firmware until I get confirmation from someone that it is working properly. Or, I will be screwed.

Originally posted by uofmtiger
Maybe you should send that question to their customer service. I have heard from them and so has snoots. That would not qualify as "disappearing completely".

I suppose I should... But I was referring only to their activity on their own forum - where they made the promise and where they actually have "disappeared completeley"...

If they put up the forum for us consumers to chat by ourselves that would be fine, but they made the decision to post on it and promise things... I understand there are good reasons for delays, I just think we are entitled to hear those reasons since they chose to start the discussion in the first place... just tell us you are working on these things IO Data...

Zach

I just need to do something real simple, I want to burn x movies that downloaded from a few paysites into a format that will play sound with
the video. Most of my files are .avi and far from high def,but when I burn my disk with sonic solutions that came with my Asus dvd burner my avel link2 gives me the "Black Screen of DEATH" plays sound but no video till the end and drops the sound and plays the video in fast foward. I can set the go too and get the video to play but no sound.These same files play just fine on the computer. Whats Wrong? Defective Player?Do I need other encoding software to reburn the files? What should I buy to reburn so I can play my files?

Have you tried Dr. DivX? There is a trial available. I am using it to burn all of my movies to DivX using their HiDef profile. I am very pleased with the quality and have no A/V sync issues.

Yes that got me beond the "Black screen of death" thank you.
I was about ready to send it back. This is really strange they have to
be re encoded. I tryed video from 2 different paysites and had the same probem.Now is there anyway to merge these files together while I'm at it,
some of these clips from the paysites come in 8 or 10 different mini parts that need reassembled. Or is that asking to much? Whats it take to do that? I think Roxio had that feature but the layout of that program and slowness was kind of annoying. I never really got past the trial period.The Dr divx seems like it will get me down the road anyways.

Try naming them VIDFILE_1.avi, VIDFILE_2.avi etc. Dr. DivX will append the file names automatically. At least it does for .vob files.

hi folks...
I am also in the market for a:
--either a standalone networked dvd player
--or...one of these new steaming media players that also has wired/wireless port..

My problem is this...
--which player will do justice for dvd and also able to play divx/xvid windows media files of my media/file server??

I am looking for one box that does justice to dvd's, that i can connect to ,my video processor...either using the dvi/component/sdi input ..so that I cna play on my crt projector...

also...does the momitsu 880n also play other formats...i understand it can do apples song format...but can it also do say: divx/xvid...stuff???

Why is it so hard to find one box that does everything and is networked???
I mean I am willing to pay one "high" price to get this done..instead of buying two or three boxes...
also....all of the annoyances should be "off" (stuff like remote blocks..so that you have to watch stuff and not be able to ff...macrovision...not interested in recording illigal copies..but just to play them..I mean with the coist of a dvd these days..who would copy them?? no region code...that is annoying...also a great look...)
IS THERE SUCH A PLAYER...I mean i would pay a good grand for such a player...

Anyhow, sorry for ranting...

I am in California by the way...

Martin

The product specification sheet for the LinkPlayer stated it support QuickTime, MOV (3ivX + MP3).

I download movie trailers from Apples website and I get Unknown codec error when I try to play them on my LinkPlayer.

I end up having to open the file in QuickTime and export them as divx pro files.

Are MOV files supported?

FYI, I too have been in direct contact with Mitsuo (Jack) Akita, they are feverishly working on getting the DRM/WMA Pro updates released.

So far it is looking like DRM support via Windows Media Connect only, hopefully that will change, but I'm not holding my breath. After reading all the DRM documentation it is pretty clear that the on-disc DRM schemes require a Windows PC to generate the license key. I bought the Amazon WMVHD for testing and not only do you have to have a Windows PC to run licgen.exe, but you also have to have a Windows registry to store the key for your computer once it is generated. BrianV at Buffalo has confirmed this, which is why they will be implementing DRM support through Windows Media Connect as well.

Mitsuo at IOData has indicated otherwise, but I'm not 100% sure he is on the same page as the IOData engineers. I sure hope he proves me wrong though.

Windows Media Connect is basically just Microsoft's UPNP software, with the added feature of being able to do "pass-through" DRM to approved devices.

BrianV at Buffalo has said that a new DRM scheme will be available soon that will not require a Windows PC to decode, and that technology will be implemented on the LinkTheater (and I assume the LinkPlayer). But as far as working with current retail WMVHD DVD's, I think you are pretty much locked in to using Windows Media Connect for those.

Anyway, IOData hasn't disappeared, just up to their waste in trying to get DRM support working.

Ben

I just got my Uhdl running with the avel link player,and many of my files play fine. It must just be my luck to have gotten some stubborn ones to begin with.I have those same files moved to the uhdl and they both produced the black screen effect. Hey thanks I feel a lot more at ease with this thing now. Now if I try to play windows media,will the player stall playback while it trys to search the internet for DRM stuff? I have this problem with my pc where I can't play anything back while it waits about anywhere from 13-20 minutes for windows media to play the internet game.I have set this thing up on my lan No DHCP server just to get away
from the waiting period for Digital Rights.On my pc I use the faststone player, and its docked with divx,quicktime and Windows media player. No way to undock it. I've removed everything from Windows media player playlist but still no good.

The rep from IOData is back online this minute answering PMs and making comments on many of the posts since he left on Feb22.

Since he unaware of some of the new ideas, he needs additional feedback. So if you made any comments, take a look and see if you need to supply additional info.

Yes...The I-O Data USA support Team is back, but they are saying they haven't found problems with the firmware.

You guys reporting the broken TS... Irgaac, this means YOU (and others) need to get busy with them.

http://www.iodata.com/usa/forum/showthread.php?p=959#post959

Originally posted by Tom Roper
Yes...The I-O Data USA support Team is back, but they are saying they haven't found problems with the firmware.

You guys reporting the broken TS... Irgaac, this means YOU (and others) need to get busy with them.

http://www.iodata.com/usa/forum/showthread.php?p=959#post959

We are all such Forum junkies :)

According to this post http://www.iodata.com/usa/forum/showthread.php?t=219

This is our firmware memory mapping trouble.
Dear all,

Sorry about this problem. It depends on the inside firmware memory mapping. The latest setting is not good. our team is looking for the best tuning. Please give us a couple of weeks. Thank you.


I am not sure if he is talking about the .ts problems in the OP or the wallpaper problem but I believe it is the .ts problem.

In other news it seems PAL support will be in the next firmware bot no region change

It appears the moderator is changing a few of the threads to polls so you can vote on which features are important.

Go vote.

Problem for them, I've been voting "Yes" on everything!

Docking and undocking from Wmp should be in the top needed function.That way you could play other video while DRM plays lets see whither you like me.

Off the current topic, but one of the many annoying things about the remote for this thing is that you cannot scroll with the arrow keys, you have to press it multiple times to get to the bottom (or top) of a page. I don't suppose there is any way around this. I have an MX-500 remote.

Mike, did you have to learn all the keys to the MX-500, or did you find a device to use as base for the AVLP2 remote?

I just learned 'em to MX-500.