There is also another scale mode called "Square Pixel", which I haven't been able to figure out what it's good for.

I don't know what it stands for - but myLP2 is set to square pixel and that gives me the best aspect ratio for HD I have ever had.

My display is a 4:3 CRT HD - so with other solutions I had to either zoom (or full) or watch letterbox

The square pixel choice gives me a much larger letter box and retains aspect ratio - so I don't get tall thin people. While I still lose a little of the width I use a lot more of my monitor's real estate.

The square pixel is one of the key features why I will watch using the LP2 instead of MyHD card at times

Has anyone tried playing back files captured using Beyond TV?

There are some new ATSC cards that come bundled with an HDTV-enabled version of BeyondTV. One such card I am considering is the "KWorld atsc-110". Anyone happen to know the file format used?

I don't know what it stands for - but myLP2 is set to square pixel and that gives me the best aspect ratio for HD I have ever had.

My display is a 4:3 CRT HD - so with other solutions I had to either zoom (or full) or watch letterbox

The square pixel choice gives me a much larger letter box and retains aspect ratio - so I don't get tall thin people. While I still lose a little of the width I use a lot more of my monitor's real estate.

The square pixel is one of the key features why I will watch using the LP2 instead of MyHD card at times

Hmm.. interesting. My 4:3 HD CRT (a Sony HS420) presents HD signals (720p and 1080i) in a 16:9 format letterboxed within the 4:3 screen. This yields "proper" aspect ratio for standard HD signals (HD output from my stand-alone atsc tuner also look fine on the set.) When I use the square pixel mode, the extra ltterboxing is too much, and I get short fat people. I usually stick with "Fit to screen". This gives me the best aspect ratio for my display(s).

It now supports PAL output as well. Which is really annoying for me, as I have to cycle through more display modes when switching between the 1 or 2 "useful" modes.

I believe the JAPAN NTSC option is missing from US units.

There is also another scale mode called "Square Pixel", which I haven't been able to figure out what it's good for.Thanks Potus...

If the player was able to detect MPEG-4 encodes with AR signalling I doubt you would need this "Square Pixel" option. As any square pixel encode should have a PAR of 1:1.... and should be detected as such!

I'm finding it very difficult to determine whether this players Syabas middle-ware is intelligent enough to recognise encodes with MPEG-4 aspect ratio signalling because it seems the user needs to be tell the player what to do!

For instance, with my Pioneer player and Xcard, if I place two 720x576 files into a folder, one with 4:3 PAR signalling, the other with 16:9 PAR signalling. When the files are played my TV "pings" between the two shapes, without me having to fiddle about with the remote.... Can the I-O DATA player do this?


Cheers

Thanks Potus...

If the player was able to detect MPEG-4 encodes with AR signalling I doubt you would need this "Square Pixel" option. As any square pixel encode should have a PAR of 1:1.... and should be detected as such!

I'm finding it very difficult to determine whether this players Syabas middle-ware is intelligent enough to recognise encodes with MPEG-4 aspect ratio signalling because it seems the user needs to be tell the player what to do!

For instance, with my Pioneer player and Xcard, if I place two 720x576 files into a folder, one with 4:3 PAR signalling, the other with 16:9 PAR signalling. When the files are played my TV "pings" between the two shapes, without me having to fiddle about with the remote.... Can the I-O DATA player do this?


Cheers

Not sure I followed all that.. Tell you what... point me to some samples, and I'll try em out...

Not sure I followed all that.. Tell you what... point me to some samples, and I'll try em out...Okay...

Here are some AR Signalling Test Samples (http://82.2.167.237/Uploaded_Files/AVS_Forum_files/AR_Signalling_Test_Samples.7z) for you to try!


Cheers

It now supports PAL output as well. Which is really annoying for me, as I have to cycle through more display modes when switching between the 1 or 2 "useful" modes.

I believe the JAPAN NTSC option is missing from US units.

There is also another scale mode called "Square Pixel", which I haven't been able to figure out what it's good for.

One note on the PAL output mode it is only for PAL 576i at 50HZ -- unfortunately they didn't add HD 50HZ modes like are available on the Snazio.

As for Square Pixel - I use it for default on my LP2 -- it give the best AR for all of my HD material which is mostly what I play with this player. AFAIK none of the Syabas players try to swith aspect ratios automatically based on the content so the Zoom/AR button has to always be available... (I wish they would add a couple more zoom modes for DVDs to toggle between Pan/Scan/Lbox/and Anamorphic on either 16:9 or 4:3 sets).

The "square pixel" format is terrific for certain HD files encoded in Xvid. I've got a bunch of episodes of "Lost", for example, which GSpot reports were encoded using XVID, at 624x352, or 608x336... Because they were recorded off the air, there's an ABC logo in the corner which is supposed to be a perfect circle. Using the square pixel format, it is. Using any of the other screen sizes, it's stretched out, or compressed, or otherwise distorted to one degree or another.

And, as a reality check, the proportions on the people (especially certain individuals on this show) look most excellent in the square pixel format.

The "square pixel" format is terrific for certain HD files encoded in Xvid. I've got a bunch of episodes of "Lost", for example, which GSpot reports were encoded using XVID, at 624x352, or 608x336... Because they were recorded off the air, there's an ABC logo in the corner which is supposed to be a perfect circle. Using the square pixel format, it is. Using any of the other screen sizes, it's stretched out, or compressed, or otherwise distorted to one degree or another. I must admit I find this quite bizarre!

The pixel ratios of both those encodes offer a pixel AR (as near as damn) equating to 1.7777:1 (aka: 16:9). Therefor, this player should be perfectly capable of correctly displaying the image already.... ie: without having to be told to do so!

Talk about making an easy thing more complicated :(

I must admit I find this quite bizarre!

The pixel ratios of both those encodes offer a pixel AR (as near as damn) equating to 1.7777:1 (aka: 16:9). Therefor, this player should be perfectly capable of correctly displaying the image already.... ie: without having to be told to do so!

Talk about making an easy thing more complicated :(

I am not so sure you can blame the player. I'll bet it's the display not handling HD input correctly. On my displays, I NEVER have to use "square pixel". In fact, it almost ALWAYS results in improper distortion. I have a feeling that "square pixel" is provided as a "favor" by LinkPlayer to compensate for improper display handling. It is obviously useful, as others here have attested to.

I'll see if I can generate a 624x352 Xvid sample, and see what I get on my display with the various modes....

PS.. I checked the zoom mode menu again. It actually DOES have the "JAPAN NTSC" as well as TWO PAL modes (one for composite/SVideo, one for component.

I am not so sure you can blame the player. I'll bet it's the display not handling HD input correctly. On my displays, I NEVER have to use "square pixel". In fact, it almost ALWAYS results in improper distortion. I have a feeling that "square pixel" is provided as a "favor" by LinkPlayer to compensate for improper display handling. It is obviously useful, as others here have attested to.


THAT's an interesting idea... my "display" is a 50" NEC plasma set -- a 50XR4A. I'd be pretty surprised if it can't handle HD input correctly! But maybe I've somehow set it up stupidly.

It's going from the IODATA (set to 1080i ) to the component inputs on the TV. Although the TV has six screen size settings (normal, anamorphic, stadium, 2.35:1, 14.9, and zoom), only Anamorphic and 2.35:1 are available when a 720p or 1080 signal is input. What do you think would be the optimal settings for the IODATA (as between 480i, 480p, 720, 1080) and the TV for most applications?

I am not so sure you can blame the player. I'll bet it's the display not handling HD input correctly. I'm more of the opinion it the Syabas middle-ware that's at fault here!

As you know I'm testing the Zensonic Z500 and thankfully it behaves properly. In much the same way my Pioneer DVD player and Xcard does, neither of which run Syabas middle-ware!

On the other hand I have an ADS Media-Link which does run on Syabas middle-ware... And much like you guys I have to fiddle with the output settings to obtain the correct shaped image.

Bye-the-way.... have you managed to play the "AR Signalling Test Samples" I provided.... If so, how did you get on?


Cheers

Wow. That sucks. What a stupid design. I guess using a spare PC as a server is looking better all the time. I can easily add all the drives I want to the PC (cheap internal IDE drives, or external USB/Firewire drives), and have wizd serve ALL of them to my LP2... I agree, it makes no sense to have added space if it cannot be used by the Linkplayer. There are several problems with the new UHDL software related to everything but large movie files (no photo slideshow and no shuffle play). My setup now has a USB hooked up directly to the Linkplayer with files that are smaller than 4GB (photos and music for now). And my UHDL has my 4GB+ movie files. I have tested it with huge HD files and it works great without a computer.

My issue with adding a computer for all time use is that I already have my computer hooked up to the TV, and when it is on, I prefer using it over the Linkplayer.

Bye-the-way.... have you managed to play the "AR Signalling Test Samples" I provided.... If so, how did you get on?


Cheers

Yes, I did play those samples. If there is PAR data in those files, the Linkplayer seems to be ignoring it. It plays them all as if PAR were 1.0. (square pixels).

I should note that I played them off the DVD drive, so I think that pretty much rules out the Syabas software, don't you think?

I also played these samples through 2 different PC players (Quicktime player and RealPlayer). Both players treat them as if PAR=1.0 as well.

Yes, I did play those samples. If there is PAR data in those files, the Linkplayer seems to be ignoring it. It plays them all as if PAR were 1.0. (square pixels).

I should note that I played them off the DVD drive, so I think that pretty much rules out the Syabas software, don't you think?.Not really... The entire player runs on the software... It's the standard software Sigma provides with all their chip-sets and is part of their SDK.


I also played these samples through 2 different PC players (Quicktime player and RealPlayer). Both players treat them as if PAR=1.0 as well.Sadly neither of these players come with very advanced video decoders.... Even the new QuickTime 7's decoder is lacking in this area, despite the fact it can handle MPEG-4/AVC....

In order for the files to auto AR correctly you'll either need to install a suitable MPEG-4 direct show filter decoder. As found with the new XviD beta2 builds. Or you could install a self contained media player (with it's own in-built filters) such as VLC player!

Here's an example of how the Z500 (and Pioneer) handle the two files successively (http://homepage.ntlworld.com/seemoredigital/Temp_Test_Files/AutoAR.7z)

Sorry about the poor image quality my DV camcorder is in France and I had to use my daughters £50.00 Vivitar "stills" camera.


Cheers

....I'll see if I can generate a 624x352 Xvid sample, and see what I get on my display with the various modes....I took the liberty of encoding this 60 second 624x352 (http://82.2.167.237/Uploaded_Files/AVS_Forum_files/624x352_Test_Sample.7z) square pixel sample for you ;)


Cheers

It's going from the IODATA (set to 1080i ) to the component inputs on the TV. Although the TV has six screen size settings (normal, anamorphic, stadium, 2.35:1, 14.9, and zoom), only Anamorphic and 2.35:1 are available when a 720p or 1080 signal is input. What do you think would be the optimal settings for the IODATA (as between 480i, 480p, 720, 1080) and the TV for most applications?

Hmm.. Try this: First set the IOData to "fiit to screen" mode. Then choose either 1080i or 720p output, depending on which looks better on your set. If non-anamorphic content that has pixel dimensions in 16:9 ratio (such as 1280x720, 1920x1080, 624x352, etc.) does NOT display correctly, then I think you have to suspect there is something wrong with the display. As far as I can tell, under these conditions, the LP2 sends out a pretty "standard" HD signal.

Did you try displaying those 624x353 DivX files with a PC player? Perhaps they are anamorphically encoded in some way? (dunno why they would be, though...)

Have you tried hooking up some other HD source to your set? Like maybe a STB tuner? How does the picture look?

Hmm.. Try this: First set the IOData to "fiit to screen" mode. Then choose either 1080i or 720p output, depending on which looks better on your set. If non-anamorphic content that has pixel dimensions in 16:9 ratio (such as 1280x720, 1920x1080, 624x352, etc.) does NOT display correctly, then I think you have to suspect there is something wrong with the display. As far as I can tell, under these conditions, the LP2 sends out a pretty "standard" HD signal.

Did you try displaying those 624x353 DivX files with a PC player? Perhaps they are anamorphically encoded in some way? (dunno why they would be, though...)

Have you tried hooking up some other HD source to your set? Like maybe a STB tuner? How does the picture look?

I'll try these experiments this weekend, and let you know the result. (I can tell you already, though, that the Divx files all look exactly right on the PC.)

I took the liberty of encoding this 60 second 624x352 (http://82.2.167.237/Uploaded_Files/AVS_Forum_files/624x352_Test_Sample.7z) square pixel sample for you ;)


Cheers

Finally got to look at this sample (7z format is REALLY Mac-unfriendly!)

Results: It looks fine on my 16:9 display with the LP2 set to either Fit-to-screen or Fullscreen mode. It looks compressed in vertical dimension with square-pixel mode. Fit-to-screen shifts the image a little off center horizontally, so in this case, fullscreen mode works best.

It looks to me (and this is just a guess) like "square-pixel" mode simply attempts to "fix" the non-square pixels of anamorphic DVDs. But it does it in a really weird way. It starts with "fit-to-screen" scaling, and then scales the vertical dimension another 0.84x (the inverse of DVD PAR.) When playing back DVD VOBs, this DOES generate correct geometry (circles look like circles), but results in excessive letterbox/pillarbox (image occupies only 1620x911 of available 1920x1080 output...) In my experience, "fullscreen" mode works much better.

Thanks potus,

What you describe is the same as I experience with my ADS Media-Link.

All these "screen" options seem too much like hard-work to me.... Thankfully it's a far more straight forward affair setting up the Z500. And the AR signalling detection and up-scaling (of non copyright) media is correctly positioned thru' all modes ;)


Cheers

Well, it sounds like the Z500 will be a pretty nice machine once it's finally released.

My hope for LP2 is that there will eventually be an improved release of the Syabas middleware.

In the meantime, if you are playing normal stuff, (like ALL my HD stream captures...) there really isn't all that much "hard-work". You just set it up once and forget it. It's really not all that bad.

Also, the fact that we have access to third-party servers (wizd, for example) helps. Do you suppose wizd would work on Z500? Or is Z500 server so much better? (Their site mentions Twonkyvision, Windows Media Connect and uPnP, so I imagine wizd would probably work, too...)

Well, it sounds like the Z500 will be a pretty nice machine once it's finally released.

My hope for LP2 is that there will eventually be an improved release of the Syabas middleware.

In the meantime, if you are playing normal stuff, (like ALL my HD stream captures...) there really isn't all that much "hard-work". You just set it up once and forget it. It's really not all that bad.

Also, the fact that we have access to third-party servers (wizd, for example) helps. Do you suppose wizd would work on Z500? Or is Z500 server so much better? (Their site mentions Twonkyvision, Windows Media Connect and uPnP, so I imagine wizd would probably work, too...)

One -- that is the number of programs I have had to manually change aspect ratios on since I have had my LP2 last December. That was a Disney Non-Anamorphic version of "the Incredibles" that also played wrong by default on my Sony DVD drive. Once I set my screen type, screen resolution, dvd type, and start up aspect this player has worked fine for me on every thing I play on my Samsung DLP 16:9. I also use Wizd. With 16:9 sets and Wizd I have not had to fight with the zoom button at all -- definitely not as often as I have to with my HD tuner and my set.

My hope for LP2 is that there will eventually be an improved release of the Syabas middleware....)I would like to think so too.... This is one of the reasons why I was (and remain) so pro-active in the AVLP2, Buffalo and SnaZio threads in the first place ;)

Also, the fact that we have access to third-party servers (wizd, for example) helps. Do you suppose wizd would work on Z500? Or is Z500 server so much better? (Their site mentions Twonkyvision, Windows Media Connect and uPnP, so I imagine wizd would probably work, too...)I must admit I have not tried Wizd (or even the supplied Twonkyvision) with the Z500.

As the Z500 supports SMB network sharing, all one has to do is enable "sharing" for any of your HDD's folders, even external HDD drive folders, card readers and virtual CD/DVD drives and the player finds them and displays them within the players on-screen GUI ;)

I'm also kinda hoping the new version of DAEMON tools is going to help with the DVD IFO parsing issue none of these Sigma chip-set based players has been blessed with.... otherwise Wizd will be a necessity!


Cheers

As the Z500 supports SMB network sharing, all one has to do is enable "sharing" for any of your HDD's folders, even external HDD drive folders, card readers and virtual CD/DVD drives and the player finds them and displays them within the players on-screen GUI ;)

Cheers

That all sounds great, but in my experience, Windows "personal file sharing" is really no substitute for a dedicated server process. Windows XP Home seems to place a pretty low priority on servicing file sharing, and will quickly starve the remote client at the first sign of any local activity. i.e. if you are doing anything on your PC that makes use of the CPU and/or disk, the player won't be able to get enough data through the network link.

My previous experience was with a Roku HD1000. It also relied on Windows file sharing instead of a dedicated server process. It was incredibly easy for me to cause video playback to stall out. All I had to do was drag some windows around on the PC while Roku was playing back a file.

This is not the case with the LP2. I can do some pretty demanding stuff on the PC, and video streaming to the LP2 seems unaffected. The dedicated server process seems to do a much better job of maintaining the required network throughput, even while the PC is busy.

...Windows "personal file sharing" is really no substitute for a dedicated server process...I lurk here potus because my Pinnacle SC200 has the same Sigma chip as the LP2. Anyway your comment is something I'd not seen before nor thought much about so it's causing my eyes to open wide with wonder. I mean what is a "dedicated server process" anyway? Intuitively it feels like I can agree with you:

1. The Pinnacle system includes its own dedicated stream-server (named, oddly enough, strmserver.exe) and a SQL server system of managing files & data that the networked box displays & plays. This is their "MediaManager" application suite.

2. It also includes a "Direct File Access" DFA mode which bypasses the MediaManager somehow; I don't really know how it works, BUT...

The DFA mode seems very sensitive to network activity, more so than files played thru the MediaManager app.

Anyway I don't mean to hijack this thread toward my Pinnacle system, just maybe to say that your comment causes me to think more seriously about using wizd instead of DFA (wizd works w/the SC200 as well). Thanks for the idea.

... I mean what is a "dedicated server process" anyway?


By "dedicated server process", I mean ANY of the separate PC (or Mac) based "media servers". This includes wizd, TwonkyVision, Avel LinkServer, Windows Media Connect, etc.. as well as your "MediaManager" program. I am not surprised that you see performance issues with the direct file access mode. This undoubtedly makes use of network shares.

A media server is meant to insure delivery of data at a consistent, uninterrupted rate, so as not to disrupt realtime playback. "personal file sharing" is not.

Thanks TUFU,

It looks that we came to the same conclusion: no limitation in upscalling by the component output.

Regarding DVI, I read somewhere that someone "cheated" the AVLP1 by starting playing a DVD from the attached computer and then switch to the internal DVD and succesfully got image from the DVI!.
I need to find this thread again to try it to the AVLP2.

Cheers
Arrius

A secret cheat for enabling the function of DVD-VIDEO playback from DVI output in Japanese model of AVLP2, you have to configure D4 output mode (any resolution) in video settings under setup mode.
While playing back DVD, then press the 出力切換 button in remote set to get DVI output which also can toggle between various listed DVI resolution.

Regards

Ricky

Just happened to see this trick to make AVLP2 region free.
Press " SLOW BACKWARD" button in the setup screen
then press"4 6 4 6"
a "region code" appeared
press "0"
"open ,saving" appeared, done.

It worked in my Japanese model of AVLP2.
But I still can't get DVI output via DVD-ROM.

A secret cheat for enabling the function of DVD-VIDEO playback from DVI output in Japanese model of AVLP2, you have to configure D4 output mode (any resolution) in video settings under setup mode.
While playing back DVD, then press the 出力切換 button in remote set to get DVI output which also can toggle between various listed DVI resolution.

Regards

Ricky

Is there still no way of out-put:ing upscaled DVD-video from the internal DVD-ROM via DVI?
Someone must have made a hack for this..?

A secret cheat for enabling the function of DVD-VIDEO playback from DVI output in Japanese model of AVLP2, you have to configure D4 output mode (any resolution) in video settings under setup mode.
While playing back DVD, then press the 出力切換 button in remote set to get DVI output which also can toggle between various listed DVI resolution.

Regards

Ricky

Nice! :)

But... I have a Japanese version player, but I don't have the original remote. Which is the 出力切換 -button? I.e. what is the function of it (play, stop, ff, zoom, audio etc...)?

A secret cheat for enabling the function of DVD-VIDEO playback from DVI output in Japanese model of AVLP2, you have to configure D4 output mode (any resolution) in video settings under setup mode.
While playing back DVD, then press the 出力切換 button in remote set to get DVI output which also can toggle between various listed DVI resolution.

Regards

Ricky
出力切換(=しゅつりょくきりかえ=Shutsuriyoku kirikae=Output switchover):
This is the video output selection button (Toggle from S-VHS/Composite to various D1-D4 and DVI outputs)


BTW:I'm playing via WLAN from a HDL-G400U (LAN HDD with integrated AVel Server). On mpeg-1/2 movies I notice sometimes freezing frames/stuttering/accelerated playback. I found the same behaviour on my PC with AVLink Server or wizd. Any idea what the reason might be?

Ok, thanks!
So I can just start a DVD with D4 output selected, and then switch to DVI?

Ok, thanks!
So I can just start a DVD with D4 output selected, and then switch to DVI?
Douitashimashite!
Why not just try it?I can't tell, because my player is DVD-less. And my Oppo has no problem at all playing thru DVI.
My TV has a D1-D4 input, so as for me it's nearly the same as DVI.

Unit locks up within 15 minutes of playback of HD transport streams. Similar problems existed in prior releases, but it so bad now, that is is unusable.

When it locks up, the front display counter is frozen, and it is usually unresponsive to the remote; you have to reset the machine using the on/off switch on the front. (meaning, you have to get up from your seat, walk over to the machine and power-cycle it, afer which you have to wait for it to re-start, and then navigate back to the program you were watching.) This is completely unacceptable.

Has anyone else noticed similar problems? My transport streams were captured from a myHD card. I am also testing a new ATSC capture card from KWorld called "atsc-110". Same problem with stream captures from either card.

- Frank

Unit locks up within 15 minutes of playback of HD transport streams.

Is there any wireless componentry between your source PC and the Linkplayer, or is your network 100% wired? I'm wondering whether the problem might be network-based, e.g., some segment of your network (with wireless generally being the weakest link) unable to keep up reliably with the (higher) data rate required for maintaining an HD stream, resulting in the network being unable to feed the stream on time reliably, resulting in Linkplayer barfing. If there were a network issue, you'd potentially see the problem on more bandwidth-demanding (HD) material first.

It's not something I've seen specifically with Linkplayer setups, but certainly is common with other similar products. (Similar to the extent that their "input" is shows stored on the network in various formats and their output goes to the TV.)

Is there any wireless componentry between your source PC and the Linkplayer, or is your network 100% wired? I'm wondering whether the problem might be network-based, e.g., some segment of your network (with wireless generally being the weakest link) unable to keep up reliably with the (higher) data rate required for maintaining an HD stream, resulting in the network being unable to feed the stream on time reliably, resulting in Linkplayer barfing. If there were a network issue, you'd potentially see the problem on more bandwidth-demanding (HD) material first.

It's not something I've seen specifically with Linkplayer setups, but certainly is common with other similar products. (Similar to the extent that their "input" is shows stored on the network in various formats and their output goes to the TV.)

Nope, I am 100% wired. I can monitor the network via perfmon, and I am seeing very consistent 19Mb/s data rate.. Then, when the player barfs, it drops suddenly to 0 (for obvious reasons.) Also, just for kicks, I stripped all but one program from the stream, resulting in less data (~15Mb/s). And it STILL freezes.

I have seen the kinds of problems that you can get when the network cannot keep up (like when attempting to play over wireless) and it's different. You get stuttering, syncopated play, weird playrates, etc.. But the player doesn't just keel over and die, like it is doing for me. I really do NOT think this is a network bandwidth issue. When I was testing, the PC was completely idle (except for wizd running), and the PC and LinkPlayer were connected directly to the same 10/100 switch, so it should have been like a direct 100Mb connection between the two.

Also, how do you explain why it suddenly got significantly worse with the latest firmware? I cannot play a single 1Hr HD stream straight through without it crashing. I know it wasn't like this before. I've got lot's of old "LOST" episodes saved, and I KNOW I was able to watch some of them straight through without the player crashing. Not anymore.

- Frank

Nope, I am 100% wired. I can monitor the network via perfmon, and I am seeing very consistent 19Mb/s data rate.. Then, when the player barfs, it drops suddenly to 0 (for obvious reasons.) Also, just for kicks, I stripped all but one program from the stream, resulting in less data (~15Mb/s). And it STILL freezes.

I have seen the kinds of problems that you can get when the network cannot keep up (like when attempting to play over wireless) and it's different. You get stuttering, syncopated play, weird playrates, etc.. But the player doesn't just keel over and die, like it is doing for me. I really do NOT think this is a network bandwidth issue. When I was testing, the PC was completely idle (except for wizd running), and the PC and LinkPlayer were connected directly to the same 10/100 switch, so it should have been like a direct 100Mb connection between the two.

Also, how do you explain why it suddenly got significantly worse with the latest firmware? I cannot play a single 1Hr HD stream straight through without it crashing. I know it wasn't like this before. I've got lot's of old "LOST" episodes saved, and I KNOW I was able to watch some of them straight through without the player crashing. Not anymore.

- Frank

Given that your network is wired, I'm sure you're right that it's not a network issue. I would mention, though, that some players absolutely DO just "keel over and die" when there's a bandwidth problem...they don't necessarily just pause and wait for the network to catch up. (It would be nice if they did, but, sadly...)

And, had this been the problem, it could easily have gotten worse with the latest firmware, if there had been changes to the firmware which had the (presumably unintended) consequence of worse handling of bandwidth starvation.

Again, though, it certainly sounds like your problem is player oriented rather than network oriented. Have you tried using the "advanced" Linkplayer server software, which transcodes the stream on the PC before sending it to the Linkplayer? It's not a perfect solution, by any means, but it might tide you over until what is (apparently) a firmware problem gets ironed out.

Given that your network is wired, I'm sure you're right that it's not a network issue. I would mention, though, that some players absolutely DO just "keel over and die" when there's a bandwidth problem...they don't necessarily just pause and wait for the network to catch up. (It would be nice if they did, but, sadly...)

And, had this been the problem, it could easily have gotten worse with the latest firmware, if there had been changes to the firmware which had the (presumably unintended) consequence of worse handling of bandwidth starvation.

Again, though, it certainly sounds like your problem is player oriented rather than network oriented. Have you tried using the "advanced" Linkplayer server software, which transcodes the stream on the PC before sending it to the Linkplayer? It's not a perfect solution, by any means, but it might tide you over until what is (apparently) a firmware problem gets ironed out.

Thanks for the suggestions. I really don't think I can use the advanced server, because I doubt my PC has enough horsepower for that. It has a real hard time even PLAYING these streams, much less transcoding on the fly.

If it's not my network, perhaps it is just my particular unit? Has anyone else out there seen this problem? It is easy to reproduce: Capture a 1hr HD program (LOST, West Wing, whatever...). Play the unmodified .tp (or .ts) file over the network. It should crash within 1/2 hour.

Also, I have noticed one other thing. When I strip out the unused PIDs to make the stream "thinner", it will still crash on playback, but it will take it a little longer. Perhaps there is some memory leak or something in there that makes it crash after processing "X" amount of data from the stream?

I haven't tried Avel's 2.0beta server yet. It still doesn't recognize .ts or .tp files.

But I have to say, I am getting real tired of living on the bleading edge! It astonishes me what we are all willing to accept. It's "OK" for a network player to crash on network errors? huh? And this one-step forward, three steps back firmware progression from IODATA is getting pretty old...

- Frank

If it's not my network, perhaps it is just my particular unit? Has anyone else out there seen this problem? It is easy to reproduce: Capture a 1hr HD program (LOST, West Wing, whatever...). Play the unmodified .tp (or .ts) file over the network. It should crash within 1/2 hour. - Frank

That is pretty much all I ask my LP2 to do - play HD transport streams - and I never see that crash. I even make edits in the streams first. I would continue to rule out PC/network issues.

Z

I haven't tried Avel's 2.0beta server yet. It still doesn't recognize .ts or .tp files.



- Frank

???????? it recognizes ts for me and probably most everyone else - but still only works on tp with renaming

Back to advanced server for me

That is pretty much all I ask my LP2 to do - play HD transport streams - and I never see that crash. I even make edits in the streams first. I would continue to rule out PC/network issues.

Z

thanks for the feedback. What server are you using on your PC? I am using the latest wizd server.

The problem has DEFINITELY gotten worse since I did the firmware upgrade. It now crashes 2-3 times for EVERY 60min HD stream capture. This is why I suspect it is something in the firmware.

???????? it recognizes ts for me and probably most everyone else - but still only works on tp with renaming

Back to advanced server for me

You mean all I have to do is rename the .tp files to .ts, and it will play them? I'll have to give that a try. Thanks..

UPDATE: Just tried it (renamed .tp to .ts) It STILL does not recognize the file. I will try advanced server next.

I am using the latest wizd server.
Try putting your ts files into a directory named VIDEO_TS and use the wizd server.

Try putting your ts files into a directory named VIDEO_TS and use the wizd server.
Wait.. I'm confused.. I AM using the wizd server. But the files are not in VIDEO_TS directories. I thought was only for VOB processing. Does it do something with .ts/.tp files too?

Shouldn't have to do that... mine sees them just fine without a Video_TS folder.

I've downloaded ts files from newsgroup of HDTV programs that came in as multiple ts files. By putting them into VIDEO_TS, all play as one file continuously. When I tried to concanated them into one file, I had problems w/ playback and this was my fix.
I'm using wizd on a MAC w/ 10.4.

I've downloaded ts files from newsgroup of HDTV programs that came in as multiple ts files. By putting them into VIDEO_TS, all play as one file continuously. I would have thought placing all your .TS files into a folder with any name would do the same!

Probably so. But it worked so I keep it.

I've downloaded ts files from newsgroup of HDTV programs that came in as multiple ts files. By putting them into VIDEO_TS, all play as one file continuously. When I tried to concanated them into one file, I had problems w/ playback and this was my fix.
I'm using wizd on a MAC w/ 10.4.

Oh, you are talking about the seamless combine feature of wizd. I think that got removed for all but .vob playback a while back. (it WAS in an older version of wizd.) I am running the latest PC-based version of wizd.. Maybe your mac wizd is older? (I think .ts joining went away when they added IFO-scanning for chapters...)

I'd like to try the Mac version for kicks. Got a link to a wizd binary?

Shouldn't have to do that... mine sees them just fine without a Video_TS folder.

Where are your .tp files from? (myHD, etc..) And have you experienced any of the problems I have been mentioning? (crash within 15-20 minutes?) Any special wizd settings? (wizd.conf file settings...)

.ts files, not .tp. I have to rename .tp files. Nothing special in my Wizd.conf, I just point it to the master directory. All of my .ts streams are in subfolders underneath that. I've used files from a lot of sources... MyHD, Fusion3, downloaded, whatever.

.ts files, not .tp. I have to rename .tp files. Nothing special in my Wizd.conf, I just point it to the master directory. All of my .ts streams are in subfolders underneath that. I've used files from a lot of sources... MyHD, Fusion3, downloaded, whatever.

You don't need to rename the .tp files, just modify your server-config.xml file for the advanced link server to add the following line:

<mediaFile extension=".tp" fake=".ts" resumable="yes"/>

I added it just after this line:

<mediaFile extension=".ts"/>

Save and then restart the advanced server and you should be able to see the .tp files w/o having to rename them

You don't need to rename the .tp files, just modify your server-config.xml file for the advanced link server to add the following line:

<mediaFile extension=".tp" fake=".ts" resumable="yes"/>

I added it just after this line:

<mediaFile extension=".ts"/>

Save and then restart the advanced server and you should be able to see the .tp files w/o having to rename them

I think he was talking about wizd, not Avel Advanced Server. But for me, I don't have to rename these for wizd. .tp files show up without renaming. madpoet, what version of wizd are you running? And since you didn't mention any problems, can I assume that all your files play fine?

You mean all I have to do is rename the .tp files to .ts, and it will play them? I'll have to give that a try. Thanks..

UPDATE: Just tried it (renamed .tp to .ts) It STILL does not recognize the file. I will try advanced server next.

I guess I am still confused by your answer. I thought the discussion was about use of the new beta AVel Linkserver. My point was that it does; as did the previous server, play ts files fine.

For me - with my source of tp files being MyHD, it plays such files fine but they must first be renamed with a ts extension

So therefor I am back to the Advanced Server - which does have the mime feature for recognizing tps as ts so no renaming required.

But I would rather have the advantages Adam was noting of the better playback and the less memory use associated with the new beta; so still not happy and may revert to renaming and using the new beta versus the convenience of playing tp files without renaming

Are there other consequences or advantages to using the Advanced server versus the new beta server??

Frank -- I tried several old and new MyHD captures last night (Lost, Alias, CSI, etc). Some were 720p and some 1080i. None of them locked up for me. I am also using the newest WIZD. (Wizd doesn't care what your folder structure looks like except for DVDs).

Do you have anything else on your network besides your PC, a router, and the LP2 that might be interrupting the network traffic (especially anything new or recently installed)? Do you use Antivirus software on your PC that you could temporarily disable to see if it might have anything to do with it (since your AV software is probably being updated weekly or daily it is another variable like the new firmware)?

Do you have any other plug and play devices?

What router do you use -- does it do wirelesss as well as wired?

Excuse my ignorance, but what is WIZD and where do I get it?
I currently use the advanced server, is this better?

Excuse my ignorance, but what is WIZD and where do I get it?
I currently use the advanced server, is this better?

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?s=&threadid=496964&perpage=30&pagenumber=1

Bottom of the first post has the link to flipflops English versions.

That thread is the best place to discuss WIZD since flipflop reads it sometimes.

I should add Wizd is a flexible alternative to IODATA's servers and it supports DVD rips on the network better than any other solution.

Sorry, you're right... just tried again. I never bothered to stop my practice of renaming .tp files, and had some memory that they didn't work. They do indeed with wizd! :). Anyway, I have no lockups whatsoever. I'm running 100Mb wired, it goes through 3 switches between the file server (a RAID5 Win2K server) and the Linkplayer2.

-MP

Quick question...due to a move and slow in getting things set back up I haven't downloaded at least two and maybe three of the last firmware upgrades.

Does anyone know of any issues/problems I should be aware of? Hopefully it will upgrade them in order.

Also, has 1080i upconversion been affected in the new firmware upgrades?

Thanks in advance for your help.

Quick question...due to a move and slow in getting things set back up I haven't downloaded at least two and maybe three of the last firmware upgrades.

Does anyone know of any issues/problems I should be aware of? Hopefully it will upgrade them in order.

Also, has 1080i upconversion been affected in the new firmware upgrades?

Thanks in advance for your help.

Firmware upgrades happen in order...
Upconversion still works with newest ...

Frank -- I tried several old and new MyHD captures last night (Lost, Alias, CSI, etc). Some were 720p and some 1080i. None of them locked up for me. I am also using the newest WIZD. (Wizd doesn't care what your folder structure looks like except for DVDs).

Do you have anything else on your network besides your PC, a router, and the LP2 that might be interrupting the network traffic (especially anything new or recently installed)? Do you use Antivirus software on your PC that you could temporarily disable to see if it might have anything to do with it (since your AV software is probably being updated weekly or daily it is another variable like the new firmware)?

Do you have any other plug and play devices?

What router do you use -- does it do wirelesss as well as wired?

Thanks Paul (and madpoet) for trying this stuff out. Sounds like maybe it's NOT the LP2 afterall. You guys seem to be doing almost exactly what I'm doing, but without the crashes.. (unless, of course, it is something about my particular unit.)

My network configuration is pretty simple. One router (Linksys wirelessG with 10/100 switch) up by the PC, connected to one additional 10/100 switch down by the AV rack. The PC is conneced to the switch on the router, and the LP2 is connected to the 10/100 switch.

As far as your suggestion about new stuff on my PC.. I think you may be onto something. I recently installed BeyondTV (came with a new capture card I got at newegg). It has this feature that might be the culprit. You can setup recordings remotely via the snapstream website. BeyondTV software on the PC polls this site periodically in order to "see" any new settings.

I'll disable BeyondTV and let you know. It would be a shame if I had to turn it off to get LP2 playback to work, though.

Thanks again... You have given me some good ideas to try out..

-- Frank

I guess I am still confused by your answer. I thought the discussion was about use of the new beta AVel Linkserver. My point was that it does; as did the previous server, play ts files fine.

For me - with my source of tp files being MyHD, it plays such files fine but they must first be renamed with a ts extension


Yes, I think we are talking about the same thing, the new beta Avel linkserver. But my experience is different from yours. Even when I rename the files as .ts, it STILL does not seem to recognize it. Unless I am doing something really dumb. (entirely possible...) I also have a .ts file written by HDTV2MPEG (NOT a .tp renamed as .ts) that it doesn't see, either. wizd sees them all, so that's what I've been using.

Thanks Paul (and madpoet) for trying this stuff out. Sounds like maybe it's NOT the LP2 afterall. You guys seem to be doing almost exactly what I'm doing, but without the crashes.. (unless, of course, it is something about my particular unit.)

My network configuration is pretty simple. One router (Linksys wirelessG with 10/100 switch) up by the PC, connected to one additional 10/100 switch down by the AV rack. The PC is conneced to the switch on the router, and the LP2 is connected to the 10/100 switch.

As far as your suggestion about new stuff on my PC.. I think you may be onto something. I recently installed BeyondTV (came with a new capture card I got at newegg). It has this feature that might be the culprit. You can setup recordings remotely via the snapstream website. BeyondTV software on the PC polls this site periodically in order to "see" any new settings.

I'll disable BeyondTV and let you know. It would be a shame if I had to turn it off to get LP2 playback to work, though.

Thanks again... You have given me some good ideas to try out..

-- Frank

I had a similar setup to yours with the wired part of a DLINK Wireless router and a DLINK switch and I found I couldn't have any part of my PC to LP2 path passing thru the DLINK Wireless router. Otherwise whenever anything went thru the wireless to the internet I had delays on my wired segments. Finally I ended up this way.

LP2 and PCs hooked to DLINK SWITCH hooked to DLINK WIRELESS ROUTER hooked to Internet.

The strange thing with my wireless router is that it works fine (no dropouts) going direct from a wireless laptop to the wired LP2) but if everything was wired and it was in the middle watch out.

If beyond tv seems to be involved you might be able to keep it with a change similar to what I ended up with.

Problem with my new Linkplayer:

When playing a TS file from the network server, I get a horizontal line of digital noise on the screen. It almost looks like there is a line of memory with random noise in it that won't be over written. The noise is fixed multicolored pixels. This only happens with network files. DVDs play OK in the machine. This happens in any display output mode. I'm running the latest firmware and latest server software. Other brand media players don't show this problem so it's not the network, source material or the server PC. Here's a screen capture while the Linkplayer was in NTSC output mode:

http://www.sonic.net/~semuther/video_line.jpg

I am wondering if I have a bad player, although it is curious that HD TS files will play OK from the drive itself.

Steve

http://www.sonic.net/~semuther/video_line.jpg

I am wondering if I have a bad player, although it is curious that HD TS files will play OK from the drive itself.



That picture is how all TS files looked for my player back in early January -- it was one of the first things they fixed. If you have updated all the way to the newest firmware I would have to guess that it is either your player or that your Ethernet cable is passing too close to your D4 cable and generating electrical noise. What resolution is your set and what resolution are you playing??

That picture is how all TS files looked for my player back in early January -- it was one of the first things they fixed. If you have updated all the way to the newest firmware I would have to guess that it is either your player or that your Ethernet cable is passing too close to your D4 cable and generating electrical noise. What resolution is your set and what resolution are you playing??

The problem occurs in any output mode and in any file resolution. In fact, I removed the unit from the TV room, put it on a lab bench next to a pc with capture card to grab the image I posted. An entirely different setup with an NTSC video cable (not the D4).

I am assuming that, as I forced the machine to do an online upgrade today, it installed the latest version, or do I have to upgrade multiple times to reach the final firmware version?

Steve

Edited: OK, I see that I've got to roll through ALL the updates to get to the latest. Too bad the dealer didn't do this...

Edited: OK, I see that I've got to roll through ALL the updates to get to the latest. Too bad the dealer didn't do this...

Hopefully you have broadband !

I've really screwed something up. I used a program called autoruns to disable some services at startup and I must have disabled some of the wrong ones because I started getting the white screen and "cannot connect to server", so I went back to the program and enabled everything again, now I get "Wait for a while and log on to Link Server". I've restarted the LP and the computer twice, and turned the power on and off.

The IP address in the server is 192.168.102.100, but in LP setup is 192.168.102.101. When I changed it on the setup screen I got an IP conflict error message. How do I get this thing working again?

That WIZD server is pretty nice, but is there any way to reduce the number of line items per screen, I tried setting "page_line_max" to 10 in the config, but that didn't seem to make a diff, always putting up to 18 items.

I am running the pc version wizd_0_12h_pvb_12

I've experienced the IP error message before - to fix it I turned off the computer, the LP and the router. Then turned on everything in the following order:

1. Router
2. Computer
3. LP

This worked for me.

Geno

Thanks, I was able to fix it be reinstalling the server. Your way is good to remember though

Well, I have tried MANY things, and my player STILL hangs on every .ts/.tp stream capture I have tried to play on it. There were some questions about my network setup, and possibly interaction with PC background software, so I tried a number of things, with no luck. Here is the list of things I tried:
1) Disable BeyondTV software (and all virus scanners, etc...)
2) Remove wireless router from network, leaving ONLY PC and Linkplayer connected to each other via a SINGLE 10/100 switch.
3) Swap in a different switch.
4) Swap in different cables.
5) Verify "good" connection to PC through switch by connecting another PC to the switch and measuring sustained file transfer throughput of around 8MB/s. (Linkplayer should only need 19Mbps, or ~2.5MB/s or so for my streams...)
6) Use wizd and latest AvEL server.
7) Switch to a Mac as server, running AvEl server.

In ALL cases, the results are the same. The Linkplayer will eventually crash. In most cases it is an abrupt halt of the video, usually leaving the last frame frozen on the screen. When I have monitored network activity on Mac OR PC, it shows consistent rate of around 2.5MB/s (~19Mbps), and then an abrupt drop down to 0 at the time of Linkplayer crash.

So, it looks to me like this is clearly a Linkplayer problem. I think it is related to the latest firmware, because I do not recall having such consistent problems prior to the "upgrade".

On the other hand, I have gotten mixed responses from others. Many of you have claimed to have no problems playing HD streams, while others have similar issues. (I think one guy mentioned that his unit crashes every 9.5 minutes, or something like that.)

So, I'm not really sure what to do next. Is the unit defective? Will this be fixed in next firmware? Given that some people have problems while others do not, perhaps there is some LinkPlayer setting that is prone to these problems? (like, video output mode, scale mode, etc...) Maybe I will play around with some of these.

Right now the thing is pretty much useless for what I bought it for. (playing HD streams.)

- Frank

Does it play these TS files off a USB drive directly connected?
I wa at a friends house last night to see his unit (don't have one yet, have the Roku). And we played my files off my USB drive directly. The only thing we noticed that we could not do is fast forward a file that was playng off the USB drive.

I certainly don't have a solution to offer. For diagnostic purposes, though, it might be helpful if:

1) You could tell us whether, for any particular ts stream, it always craps out at the same point in that stream? Or does it crap out at a seemingly random point in the stream, different each time? The former might be indicative of a problem with the stream itself, rather than the player. (Admittedly, this seems unlikely, because you mention you've used multiple methods to create the streams.)

2) Someone who reports "no problems" could tell us how they have their player set up--all possibly pertinent menu settings (video output, scale, screen saver timeout, audio settings, etc.) (For the guy whose stream dies every 9.5 minutes, I'm wondering if there's some issue in the new firmware with the screen saver timer interacting badly...is his screen saver set to 10 minutes? Maybe see if he gets different results setting the screen saver to "never"?) (As Spock might have said, "When you've exhausted the logical possibilities, it is time to start considering the illogical ones.")

3) Someone who reports "no problems" could send you (maybe burned to a disc) one of the ts streams that's giving them no problems, so you could see if you get the same result, with their stream. Clearly, you want to eliminate as many variables as possible here, and the stream itself is one of the variables.

I certainly don't have a solution to offer. For diagnostic purposes, though, it might be helpful if:

1) You could tell us whether, for any particular ts stream, it always craps out at the same point in that stream? Or does it crap out at a seemingly random point in the stream, different each time? The former might be indicative of a problem with the stream itself, rather than the player. (Admittedly, this seems unlikely, because you mention you've used multiple methods to create the streams.)



In my case, it seems to crap out at different points in the stream each time I attempt to play it. Even when I use the same server to play the same stream, it will die at fairly "random" spots, but generally after playing the stream for > 8 minutes or so. Sometimes it will play as long as 30 minutes or so. If I strip out excess programs from the stream, it seems to be able to play longer before it dies.

Does it play these TS files off a USB drive directly connected?
I wa at a friends house last night to see his unit (don't have one yet, have the Roku). And we played my files off my USB drive directly. The only thing we noticed that we could not do is fast forward a file that was playng off the USB drive.

I'll try that, but I think there may be a 2GB (or maybe 4GB?) filesize limit on the FAT32 drive. 2GB is less than 15 minutes of HD playtime, and it may be able to go that long even from network play. (Also, I don't happen to have a spare drive handy at the moment...) Thanks for the suggestion.

Try running some of your files thru this program to see if anything is strange about them. AFAI can tell I am doing the same as you -- MyHD captures from OTA played over net to the LP2 and this weekend mine played at least 8 hours that way.

http://users.adelphia.net/~mwilczyn/mpeg2repair/

My setup which is working flawlessly:

P4 2.2GHZ streaming over 100BT ethernet thru a DLINK 8 port 100BT switch to my LP2 using wizd as the server. UPNP is shut off on my PC. My PC is not conncted to the internet usually. XP PRO SP2, McAfee Enterprise Antivirus 8.0i,Daemon Tools,Wizd,Avel Servers std&adv,Swisscenter with Simese, and MyIRC/MyHD all running on the PC. MyHD usually recording when playing back with my LP2.

LP2 set as HD browser mode, 720p component output, Full Screen, or Square pixel mode playing to Samsung 16:9 DLP tv.

Media being played is from OTA ABC (720P), CBS(1080i), and NBC(1080i) mostly and some have had commercials removed with HDTVtoMPEG2 but most have them intact and I just ff thru them. My ABC has no substreams, CBS and NBC shows do have subs sometimes. Most files were captured with MYHD MDP120 using the newest 1.66 software (old files with older versions). All of my channels have signal strengths greater than 55.

(with the MyHD software all of my channels have Digital Closed Caption information embedded in the streams).

I'll try that, but I think there may be a 2GB (or maybe 4GB?) filesize limit on the FAT32 drive. 2GB is less than 15 minutes of HD playtime, and it may be able to go that long even from network play. (Also, I don't happen to have a spare drive handy at the moment...) Thanks for the suggestion.

I'm not so sure it has to be FAT32. My drive was not and my friends player played off my drive. There is no 2GB limit as far as I know. We played files larger than that.
Maybe I'll have to stop by and bring one ;)

On the other hand, I have gotten mixed responses from others. Many of you have claimed to have no problems playing HD streams, while others have similar issues. (I think one guy mentioned that his unit crashes every 9.5 minutes, or something like that.)

So, I'm not really sure what to do next. Is the unit defective? Will this be fixed in next firmware? Given that some people have problems while others do not, perhaps there is some LinkPlayer setting that is prone to these problems? .

I am still a little unclear on your source of transport stream files. My LP2 plays ts files obtained from cable/firewire fine (do you have a cable box and firewire available for 5c=0 ts source?) It also plays tp files fine (must either rename to ts or use the mime extention feature in Advanced server to ts) when the source is either OTA (MyHD MDP100)or QAM with single channel selected (MPD130).

The LP2 will not play back QAM recordings when single channel is not selected - real slow playback and audio is out of sync and garbled. So I assume you are not talking a QAM multi-stream source?

I am still a little unclear on your source of transport stream files. My LP2 plays ts files obtained from cable/firewire fine (do you have a cable box and firewire available for 5c=0 ts source?) It also plays tp files fine (must either rename to ts or use the mime extention feature in Advanced server to ts) when the source is either OTA (MyHD MDP100)or QAM with single channel selected (MPD130).

The LP2 will not play back QAM recordings when single channel is not selected - real slow playback and audio is out of sync and garbled. So I assume you are not talking a QAM multi-stream source?

These are mostly OTA streams captured from a MyHD MDP120. I also have the same problems with OTA streams captured with a new KWorld atsc-110 card using BeyondTV. (I am too cheap to pay for cable. besides, most of the HD that I want is availible for free via OTA.)

My setup which is working flawlessly:



Thanks for all the great info Paul. I really appreciate it. Your setup looks pretty similar to mine. Coupla differences on LP2 settings, is I am using 1080i output, and non-HD browser mode. Seems like these shouldn't matter, but you never know. I'll try out your settings later and let you know how it goes...

- Frank

Thanks for all the great info Paul. I really appreciate it. Your setup looks pretty similar to mine. Coupla differences on LP2 settings, is I am using 1080i output, and non-HD browser mode. Seems like these shouldn't matter, but you never know. I'll try out your settings later and let you know how it goes...

- Frank

Ok, so I tried switching output mode to 720p, and enabling HD Browser mode. Still no luck. It hangs on every HD capture I have.

Are you recording and playing from a different drive than the MyHD program file?

In my case I record to a second, slave IDE drive and playback from either that or a USB2 external hard drive.

Are you recording and playing from a different drive than the MyHD program file?

In my case I record to a second, slave IDE drive and playback from either that or a USB2 external hard drive.

It doesn't matter. Crashes regardless of where the file is located. I have placed it on master, slave, on other machines (Mac), used various servers, etc. No matter what I do, they crash when played back on LP2. I REALLY don't think this is a PC problem.

Beside, I have also disabled MyHD altogether, and still have the crashes. And of course, MyHD is not running on the Mac I serve files from.

Last night I finally found a TS file that totally locks my LP2 - it is a recording of Star Wars Ep 2 that I recorded when FOX showed it a couple months back. I would have to Power Off and back on (with the remote) to get it back.

Tonight I will try to get around to running it thru MPEG2Repair or VideoRedo and see if anything strange shows up and see if the resulting file works.

I know that my nephew watched this recording before with one of the summer versions of the firmware so it does look like something has changed somewhere.

I just got the machine to crash playing a .ts file I burned to DVD-R.. So it is not just network play that has the problem, though it seems much more prevalent there.

I also got it to crash on a file that I ran through MPG2Repair. The file was actually pretty clean, as MPEG2Repair only found 3 bad frames in a 1-hr program.

potus,

This is just a thought. Is there anyway your Linkplayer could be overheating? Does it have other components on it, or in a cabinet. When running Hi Def files, I'm sure it makes it a little warmer, who knows maybe the latest firmware upgrade made it run hotter. It just seems odd that some are having problems and some are not, there has to be a reasonable explaination... Well then again, maybe not. :)

Take care,

JRad

Has anyone here used the Pinnacle HD showstream box ? Thats what I have now and I'm wondering if moving to the linkplayer would be a worthwhile move ? I use the box 90% for playing dvds on HDD (in vob/ifo format).

potus,

This is just a thought. Is there anyway your Linkplayer could be overheating? Does it have other components on it, or in a cabinet. When running Hi Def files, I'm sure it makes it a little warmer, who knows maybe the latest firmware upgrade made it run hotter. It just seems odd that some are having problems and some are not, there has to be a reasonable explaination... Well then again, maybe not. :)

Take care,

JRad

This is good suggestion. I do have the player in a closed cabinet (well, the back is opened, but it does get a little warm in there...)

I'll try moving the player out of the cabinet and re-test.. Thanks for the idea.

I have EXACTLY the same issue as Potus. My player was working flawlessly until I decided to upgrade the firmware last night. Multiple .ts files that worked on the old firmware (Feb. version I think) now stutter and hang up on playback. Nothing in my environment has changed at all and I have been running the linkplayer daily since last year. I can't see how this is not a firmware issue.

Why did I upgrade the firmware you might ask? I am asking myself the same question now. I did not realize I couldn't downgrade it, so I was a bit cavalier. Now I am kicking myself...

This is good suggestion. I do have the player in a closed cabinet (well, the back is opened, but it does get a little warm in there...)

I'll try moving the player out of the cabinet and re-test.. Thanks for the idea.

Just tested with the player out of the cabinet. Still crashes. I even took the lid off the case. Didn't matter. It still crashes. The case and/or chips weren't even that warm to the touch at the time of crash.

I'm glad to hear other people are seeing the same issue. Well, I'm not glad they're having problems, just that my problems have been independently verified.. I think IOData has some work to do.

potus,

This is just a thought. Is there anyway your Linkplayer could be overheating? Does it have other components on it, or in a cabinet. When running Hi Def files, I'm sure it makes it a little warmer, who knows maybe the latest firmware upgrade made it run hotter. It just seems odd that some are having problems and some are not, there has to be a reasonable explaination... Well then again, maybe not.

Take care,

JRad

I have also had big problems with my player since the last FW uppgrade.It would hang on every .ts file,sometimes after 10 minutes,sometimes after longer periods.
Yesterday i took the lid of,suspecting maybe the Sigma chip ran hot.I layed a 40mm computer fan on top of the chip,and immediately noticed that the player started behaving better.It actually played consistantly for 3 hours without a glitch.

Today i went a little further with my experiment,went out and bought some heat sinks ment for PC Ram chips.Covered the Sigma chip with heat sinks,mounted the fan on top.So far it's been playing smoothly.I am in the midddle of testing it now,will be posting more results.Would be very nice if someone else tried the same thing,just to compare.

hmmm, I may put off the upgrade... I had not done it just because I have been lazy, but now it seems this is not an isolated problem...

Today i went a little further with my experiment,went out and bought some heat sinks ment for PC Ram chips.Covered the Sigma chip with heat sinks,mounted the fan on top.So far it's been playing smoothly.I am in the midddle of testing it now,will be posting more results.Would be very nice if someone else tried the same thing,just to compare.

That's great that you found a solution to your problem, and maybe even the cause of my problem, but my experience was quite different. I was able to get the thing to crash while the Sigma chip was still quite cool. I didn't go to the extremes that you did, but to be honest, I don't really think I should have to. And what about all those people who are NOT having these problems? I doubt they all have heat sinks and fans installed.

If there is a heat problem (which it sounds like there is, at least in your case), IOData needs to address it. We shouldn't have to mod the thing just to get it to work.

potus wrote:
That's great that you found a solution to your problem, and maybe even the cause of my problem, but my experience was quite different. I was able to get the thing to crash while the Sigma chip was still quite cool. I didn't go to the extremes that you did, but to be honest, I don't really think I should have to. And what about all those people who are NOT having these problems? I doubt they all have heat sinks and fans installed.

If there is a heat problem (which it sounds like there is, at least in your case), IOData needs to address it. We shouldn't have to mod the thing just to get it to work.

Just a quick update:
My player have now been running constantly for 6 hours with HD .ts files after my little surgery.I no longer have a doubt,it's heat related.

potus: I totally agree with you when you say it should be I-O Data's job to address this issue,but i couldn't resist trying :)

When it comes to the fact that not everyone has problems with the latest FW,i wonder if it could have something to do with different hardware revisions.There may be different revisions of the main board out there and the FW update may not be equally suited to all revisions. (just a thought)

When it comes to the fact that not everyone has problems with the latest FW,i wonder if it could have something to do with different hardware revisions.There may be different revisions of the main board out there and the FW update may not be equally suited to all revisions. (just a thought)

Another possibility is that there are some "marginal" chips in some of our players. It is a well known fact that marginal chips can be persuaded to function properly by cooling them way down. It is a common method when debugging circuit designs to shoot suspicious components with freon.

This would obviously be resolvable by replacing the main board. (glimmer of hope...) Of course, a firmware fix would obviously be easier, but I'd personally rather have more robust hardware in any case.

I wonder when/if IOData is gonna chime in here?

I wonder when/if IOData is gonna chime in here?

Jack seems to be pretty good about monitoring the forums but they obviously have a serious problem here and we haven't heard anything yet.

Consider me concerned. :(

Well,it looks like i have solved my problem,but in my opinion I-O Data should have responded to this already.I have monitored their forum,but it's awfully quiet.......
Feel like i'm part of a BIG beta test :mad:

I think it is a combination of both, heat and different revisions of chips and or mainboards. It seemed wierd to me that when doing the inductor and cap mod that there was not a heatsink to be found on any chip. You would think that the amount of processing the Sigma chip does, especially under a load like TS streams, that it would at least have some kind of passive heat sink on it. I have not had any problems with mine, but I am just playing short hd clips, nothing longer than 2 or 3 minutes at a time. (knock on wood)

You would think that the amount of processing the Sigma chip does, especially under a load like TS streams, that it would at least have some kind of passive heat sink on it.

When I touched the chip with my finger immediately after a crash, it was not at all hot. I don't think a properly functioning chip "needs" a heat sink. I suspect there are some flaky chips out there that fail even under relatively low heat levels. This would explain why the heat-sink experiment worked, and why there are some units that seem to work fine (WITHOUT heatsinks, fans, etc...) Although I have opened the case on my unit, and placed it in open-air far from any other heat source, it continues to crash. Maybe if I put a heat sink on it would help. Maybe not. Maybe I would need active cooling to get my particular unit to work. who knows.. The point is, this chip OUGHT to work fine under these really pretty "mild" heat conditions.

I for one sure do NOT want a noise-generating fan in my av cabinet, if I can avoid it. I'd be willing to bet none of the IOData competitors use cooling fans. (Zensonic, etc.)

I for one sure do NOT want a noise-generating fan in my av cabinet, if I can avoid it. I'd be willing to bet none of the IOData competitors use cooling fans. (Zensonic, etc.)No.... they certainly don't!

What's more the SnaZio and the Zensonic players have the "plug-in" wireless data module positioned directly above the Sigma chip-set ;)

Any chance you can send me a copy of the file you are having a problem with?


Cheers

No.... they certainly don't!

What's more the SnaZio and the Zensonic players have the "plug-in" wireless data module positioned directly above the Sigma chip-set ;)

Any chance you can send me a copy of the file you are having a problem with?


Cheers
Well, every one of my .ts capture files fail for me. However, they are all around 8GB in size. The only practical way to get one to you would be to send files burnt to DVD-R. How much do you suppose it would cost to send one (or 2) disks to you in the UK? I'd be willing to spring for it if it's reasonable.

Hey, maybe you could convince Zensonic to make me a USA beta-tester? Then I could test it out myself. I surely have lots of experience as an IOData beta tester! Seriously, though, if Zensonic is really going to release in USA, it would probably be helpful for them to test on some USA OTA streams, don't you think?

I don't think a properly functioning chip "needs" a heat sink. I suspect there are some flaky chips out there that fail even under relatively low heat levels.

I understand what you are saying, I don't want a noisy fan on mine either. For a chip to function properly, it needs to dissipate heat. Most if not all of the latest GPU's have some way to dissipate heat. Heat is a killer. I am not saying this is definitely the problem, maybe it is not an issue with the Sigma chip. It is pure speculation on my part. With that being said, it is odd that this problem started after the last firmware upgrade. It's probably just a bug introduced in the last firmware upgrade. Send SMD the file and see if it will play with any of the players that he has.

Take care,
JRad

Well, every one of my .ts capture files fail for me. However, they are all around 8GB in size. The only practical way to get one to you would be to send files burnt to DVD-R. How much do you suppose it would cost to send one (or 2) disks to you in the UK? I'd be willing to spring for it if it's reasonable.

Hey, maybe you could convince Zensonic to make me a USA beta-tester? Then I could test it out myself. I surely have lots of experience as an IOData beta tester! Seriously, though, if Zensonic is really going to release in USA, it would probably be helpful for them to test on some USA OTA streams, don't you think?It shouldn't cost too much to post me out a couple of disc's from the good 'ol US of A. I'm able to send disc's to your country for as little as £1.50.

Seriously though, it would be very useful for me to have some much longer HD-MPEG-2 samples, as the longest I have is only around 5 minutes :(


Cheers

I understand what you are saying, I don't want a noisy fan on mine either. For a chip to function properly, it needs to dissipate heat. Most if not all of the latest GPU's have some way to dissipate heat. Heat is a killer. I am not saying this is definitely the problem, maybe it is not an issue with the Sigma chip. It is pure speculation on my part. With that being said, it is odd that this problem started after the last firmware upgrade. It's probably just a bug introduced in the last firmware upgrade. Send SMD the file and see if it will play with any of the players that he has.

Take care,
JRad

Yes, you are right that heat dissipation is required for lots of diffferent chips. I wasn't refuting that. I was just saying that for THIS chip, it does not appear that it generates all that much heat, based on touching it with my finger. The chip was probably designed such that it should NOT require heat sinks/fans. Just a guess, but I'll bet the other players based on this same Sigma chip also do NOT use such cooling methods. I think SMD has confirmed this for the Zensonic.

I sure do hope there is a firmware fix for this. But based on past IOData experience, I have absolutely ZERO confidence in this. In fact, it is more likely to get worse, not better. I'm about ready to call it quits on this thing. The Zensonic is looking better all the time. I know it is not yet available, but what good is an available unit (LP2) that doesn't work?

Why can't IODATA sell there UHDL enclosures without a hard drive? Their best enclosure can't be worth more than 100-200 range.. And I can get a good 7200 RPM hard drive with my happy meal these days. geez..

Fabian.

Why can't IODATA sell there UHDL enclosures without a hard drive?

It seems pretty simple to me...they make more money selling them bundled with an HD. :D

You aren't the first to complain about this and I-O Data's lack of response is actually a pretty good indication of their position.

Bottom line: don't hold your breath.

I download my HDTV programs from newsgroups. HD files (.ts) usually run 3-5 Gigs for an hr tv show so I have been downloading the compressed versions 300-800kb. One thing I have noticed is that if the file extension is mpg (svcd 1920x1080), I'll have black bars top and bottom; but if the extension is avi (xvid), I get a full screen. What's up with this?

I am curious are the people with the heat issues using replacement drives? I had some problems using the Liteon drive and eventually took it out. I assumed that the drive was the problem but I am wondering if it wasn't because the drive was creating more heat than the stock drive and causing the chip to fail.

I've got the stock drive. And LOTS of issues. (not convinced it's heat related in my case though.) Problems persisted for me even when I opened up the case. Chip was nice and cool at time of crash.

Has anyone tried to "upgrade" from the Oct 31st firmware to a previous version? I was thinking of setting up a local website with a link to the Feb 4th firmware and trying to "upgrade" to that version. I don't want to wreck the player, but I haven't heard back from IODATA about the .ts playback issues either from my email or through the forums.

I'm no brain surgeon, but I would believe that whatever version you could go back to would have to be either the first one from day one and upgrade to the version you want or one of the upgrades that you could not roll back from. In other words it would have to wipe all your current fw completely.

Sort of like treading on glass.

It looks like Jack is finally back on the IOData forum. There are a flurry of new posts made within the last hour or so..

Looks like he is steering clear of current complaints about Oct 31 firmware, though.... Absolutely no response to the many posts concerning this issue...

Where the heck is the link player 3..? I have $500 bucks ready to spend and the promised fall 2005 release has come and gone..

Fabian.

OK. I got totally confused with this D4. Is this Analog or Digital?

Is this their way of getting around the upconversion via component?

Will this work cable work? http://www.lik-sang.com/image.php?category=76&products_id=777&img=gc_dvcable
--
Edit: my mistake. the link above seems to be for TV with japanese d-input.

D4 is analog not digtal

Just wanted to chime in with my own success story replacing the original DVD drive with LiteOn SOHD-167T. A little fiddling with a knife filing down the plastic to get the faceplate to fit, some manipulation to get the drive situated and fastened properly and voila.

The new drive responds much better, not any noisier than the original and I'd say that overall I'm extremely happy with the upgrade.

Just wanted to chime in with my own success story replacing the original DVD drive with LiteOn SOHD-167T. A little fiddling witha knife filing down the plastic to get the faceplate to fit, some manipulation to get the drive situated and fastened properly and voila.

The new drive responds much better, not any noisier than the original and I'd say that overall I'm extremely happy with the upgrade.


A 250 dollar DVD player and they give you a DVD drive that makes you wonder whether or not the drive door is ever gonna open when you press the drive button? Did your MOD fix that? I guess Ill look into it if it does but IODATA should be footing the bill for this bologna IMO

A 250 dollar DVD player and they give you a DVD drive that makes you wonder whether or not the drive door is ever gonna open when you press the drive button? Did your MOD fix that?

Unfortunately swapping the DVD drive didn't fix that, nor was I expecting it to. Ever since a few firmware updates ago, the Eject button on the front of the unit has been very flaky. Sometimes it opens the drive right away, other times I have to hold the button for a second or two to get it to respond, and other times it doesn't do anything at all. The remote works fine though, so as long as I have fresh batteries it'll be fine ;)

I also just replaced the drive with the lite-on 167. The first one made a noise like sand was inside when you moved it from side to side. I installed it anyway, but when I slowed the drive down to "slow", it kept making terrible noises that would come and go. I replaced it with the last drive in North Dallas. It still sounds like sand is inside, but the noise is not as bad when running. Normal speed sounds like a jet taking off and slow occasionally makes a rubbing/shoshing noise. BUT, it works where the old epo wouldn't play ANY of my DVDs.

That shifting sand noise is also present in my Lite-On 167T. Try as I might, I couldn't see anything inside that was responsible for the noise. It's only something I hear when the drive is turned during handling. I also have the jet aircraft and shoestring sounds during play. They were quite disconcerting when I first bought my 167T. I soon learned to recognize the sounds as normal for this unit.

I just bought a 10-pack of Verbatim DVD+R Double Layer discs on sale at Best Buy for $20. I hope my Lite-On loader will play 1080i files recorded onto this media. It may be a week or two before I get around to trying a burn.

video lan might dissapear. I just tried this one out tonight,it outputs at about 480x352
this is nice for playback without having to re-encode.Also you don't need avelink player to use it,just a TV out.
Looks like they have support for several operating sytems too.
Another helpful one for any 98se users if thier are any is mouse move, it stops the screen saver from interfering during these long re encodes
www.rjlsoftware.com
heres http://www.videolan.org/vlc/.

I cannot read and comprehend 120 pages of this.

Does the Linkplayer2 play .ts files perfectly?

How about large .ts files and segmented .ts files?

Does it support 5.1 out digitally?

Does it play .ts files off of dvd-r or dvd+r right from its internal drive?

Any network issues?

Any stutter or sound issues?

Does it upscale via component out?

Is the D4 connector cheaply made?

Can it be replaced with a VGA to component cable?

Any firmware issues? What current version is stable?

Any reasons not to buy this ?


I mainly want to play .ts files perfectly over a network or from its dvd drive.

If it can upscale dvd's thats a bonus.

If it can play other formats thats a bonus.

If it does any of this via DVI should I need it - its a bonus.

TS Files play fine as well as it's 5.1 audio. Also plays WMV, XVID and several others. I play everything across my network. Every player has its issues/quirks. I-O Data keeps on releasing new firmware to correct previous issues. Some are having trouble with the current firmware. I'm not.

Buy it. You'll be quite pleased. Good luck.

To all I-O DATA player owners who have sent me e-mails requesting Z500 firmware to run on their players.... Please stop!

Not only is the Z500 firmware incompatible with I-O DATA player, even if it was compatible I would not send it to you....


I thank-you in advance for your co-operation.

TS Files play fine as well as it's 5.1 audio. Also plays WMV, XVID and several others. I play everything across my network. Every player has its issues/quirks. I-O Data keeps on releasing new firmware to correct previous issues. Some are having trouble with the current firmware. I'm not.

Buy it. You'll be quite pleased. Good luck.

The "trouble" some of us are having happens to be EXACTLY what mikecazzx is concerned about: .ts playback. For some of us (admittedly a minority at this point), .ts playback will freeze the player at intervals of 5-30 minutes. You have to power-cycle to recover. Makes the unit practically unusable for .ts play.

So if you buy it, you'll probably be quite pleased. But be aware that you might be quite frustrated, as many of us are. Good luck. You'll need it.

The "trouble" some of us are having happens to be EXACTLY what mikecazzx is concerned about: .ts playback. For some of us (admittedly a minority at this point), .ts playback will freeze the player at intervals of 5-30 minutes. You have to power-cycle to recover. Makes the unit practically unusable for .ts play.

So if you buy it, you'll probably be quite pleased. But be aware that you might be quite frustrated, as many of us are. Good luck. You'll need it.

Thanks for the heads up. The Roku tonight against my video card showed me my HTPC is not up to the job anymore - the HD1000 blew it out of the water...see post here.

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?p=6657013#post6657013

I do have some issues playing back .ts on the Roku - seems to randomly be sound dropouts. Most files are tested with mpeg2repair before playing however.

I am 95% sure this is a file issue and not the Roku's issue. Also, a quick forward or backward jump 10 seconds gets the sound back - so not too much of a hassle compared to an HTPC lockup or no sound at all etc.

With this report of the Linkplayer having issues with .ts files - I just might keep this Roku. Nothing is easy in this hobby I guess.

Hey your fairly close to me - we should hook up the Roku and see how it looks against the Linkplayer - what are you feeding it into?

The "trouble" some of us are having happens to be EXACTLY what mikecazzx is concerned about: .ts playback.

Unfortunately, I-O Data continues to refuse to acknowledge this problem. I would have returned the unit if they didn't make the process so intimidating and confusing. You lose at least $50 returning a unit that doesn't even work correctly.

Bottom line: this whole firmware update sucks.

Unfortunately, I-O Data continues to refuse to acknowledge this problem. I would have returned the unit if they didn't make the process so intimidating and confusing. You lose at least $50 returning a unit that doesn't even work correctly.

Bottom line: this whole firmware update sucks.
I just found out about the JVC SRDVD-100U tonight - seems like a real possibility between its dvd playback of ts, ts over network, upconverting dvd's and DVHS quality output.

However - I am concerned with just how much of this unit is built and supported by IODATA?

I-O Data responded yesterday by assuming the position that the problems are created by each users specific files and not the new firmware. Essentialy, it's your fault, not the Linkplayer's.

HERE'S A SAMPLE FROM THE COMPANY:

http://www.iodata.com/usa/forum/showthread.php?p=5491#post5491]

I had my first problem with freeze ups last night. I've been watching the first season of Veronical Mars. The first 10 episodes have played fine, but the 11th and 12th froze up and I could only get them back by turning off the power. I couldn't even access the main menu until I did this, I got the white screen.

Anyway, atlhough I didn't do it myself I don't imagine the 11th and 12th files were encoded any differerently than the first 10. It's got to be the player.

On the other hand, why didn't I have a problem before? All of these files have been played after the lastest firmware. Is is possible that there is some very small error in the files causing the problem. Hardly seems likely as many people have played many files without a problem before.

Your symptoms sound a little different from mine. I never get a "white screen". Just a frozen image.

But Jack has been trying to help trouble-shoot my problem. I even sent him a sample video. He claims that this problem will be fixed in Dec 16th release of firmware.

- Frank

It may be a little different, I've been having network problems and maybe I just lost the connection and got it back with powering off and on.

When I say a white screen I mean the playback freezes, then I stop it, and then can't connect to the server. You don't lose the server connection? Or are you unable to even clear the screen after it freezes?

Your symptoms sound a little different from mine. I never get a "white screen". Just a frozen image.

But Jack has been trying to help trouble-shoot my problem. I even sent him a sample video. He claims that this problem will be fixed in Dec 16th release of firmware.

- Frank

So in 9 days I will be able to play all of my .ty files too? Or is it just a .ts fix? In any case Im glad IODATA is listening.

So in 9 days I will be able to play all of my .ty files too? Or is it just a .ts fix? In any case Im glad IODATA is listening.
He made no mention of .ty files. And the date of release is still a little up in the air. They are shooting for the 16th, but it is not an "official" announcement. I am sure they are doing their best to make sure this release as bug-free as all the previous ones! ;)

I-O Data responded yesterday by assuming the position that the problems are created by each users specific files and not the new firmware. Essentialy, it's your fault, not the Linkplayer's.

HERE'S A SAMPLE FROM THE COMPANY:

http://www.iodata.com/usa/forum/showthread.php?p=5491#post5491]

Well, that's not entirely true.

I-O Data responded today acknowledging there is a problem and that there is a Dec 16th firmware update scheduled.

Indeed there was some confusion on the issue, but we will certainly see for ourselves soon if it is resolved.

http://www.iodata.com/usa/forum/showpost.php?p=5531&postcount=22

Dear Rewound,

His (jwcrash's) comment might be almost correct. But we are saying "we found a couple of MPEG2TS file problem by Frank's help. However it will be resolved by the next firmware because we have already checked Frank's MPEG2TS files at our site by the next version." So please understand this proplem for some particular cases, not for al MPEG2TS. Thank you.

Well, that's not entirely true.

I-O Data responded today acknowledging there is a problem and that there is a Dec 16th firmware update scheduled.

Indeed there was some confusion on the issue, but we will certainly see for ourselves soon if it is resolved.

http://www.iodata.com/usa/forum/showpost.php?p=5531&postcount=22

Well, that's not entirely true. I-O Data responded today acknowledging there is a problem and that there is a Dec 16th firmware update scheduled.

Uhhh...

His (jwcrash's) comment might be almost correct.

I appreciate your faith in a forthcoming firmware update as a solution to EVERYONE'S (not only Frank's) .ts playback problems. Just wish I shared your blind optimism. :D

Uhhh...

I appreciate your faith in a forthcoming firmware update as a solution to EVERYONE'S (not only Frank's) .ts playback problems. Just wish I shared your blind optimism. :D

Well, let's say hopefull, but NOT blindly optimistic! Keep in mind that I only sent a single .ts file to Jack. I have many others recorded from various OTA broadcasts, and even using different capture cards. Some have been processed by mpeg2repair and/or hdtv2mpeg, others are "raw" streams. Without exception, my LP2 has problems with ALL of them.

But you never know. Perhaps they fixed a bug that is the root cause.

I'm also still a little mystified as to why EVERY .ts file fails on my player, while many people have no trouble with ANY of them. There seems to be some unit-to-unit variation. Which implies that any fix/patch may have different effects on different units. i.e. A patch that "fixes" my unit could conceivably be damaging to current "good" units.

I also hope (but am not optimistic) that this next release will not introduce NEW bugs. They seem to have a problem with this...

- Frank

I also bought the AVEL Player 2 and the LITE-ON 167t, like Kermee and SpyFly.

I have two issues:

1) I cannot get it to be totally region free...
What I did:
I used LtnRPC to "disable" the region code on the LITE-ON, but then it will only play region 1 DVD's. If I change the region code to 2 it will play region 2 but not 1 (obviously). So I know it can work both ways but I don't want to have to change the region by tearing the player apart and changing it on my computer.

Q: Does the Linkplayer have to have a certain code for it to function? Can you get firmware what makes it think it is a certain code but is really free?

2) Region 2 DVD's seem to play choppy, both pressed and burned DVD's???
What I did:
It seem to do this with both loaders. I ripped a region 2 DVD and took out its region code, this one plays choppy on the original loader and the liteon. Once I changed the code on the lite-on I tried a pressed DVD with the same result..

Anyone???

Well, let's say hopefull, but NOT blindly optimistic!

YOU should absolutely be hopeful for a fix because Jack is directly dealing with your problem. Congrats! :)

I was responding to Rewound's position...because he's going out of his way to tell me what I'm posting is "not entirely true". "Blindly optimistic" seemed appropriate considering all of the things going on here. A vague announcement more than a month after this problem was solidly documented on numerous forums and blogs wouldn't normally seem to inspire that type of loyalty. I mean, Jack from IO Data says I'm "almost correct" about it being a user-side issue.

:confused:

Maybe I've just read too many complaints with trite (http://www.iodata.com/usa/forum/showthread.php?t=905&page=2) or non-existant (http://www.iodata.com/usa/forum/showthread.php?p=5321#post5321) responses from the company I gave $250 to and have become jaded. I certainly hope you're right about no new bugs!

Maybe I've just read too many complaints with responses from the company I gave $250 to and have become jaded. I certainly hope you're right about no new bugs!

Yeah, I feel the same frustration as you. You are absolutely right that we should NOT assume that this next firmware release will fix everything. IOData's record is pretty clear on this. We are actually more likely to find some new problems.

This is clearly NOT a polished consumer-grade product. Anyone who buys this should realize that they are PAYING $250 to become free beta testers for IOData.

On the other hand, at the moment, there does not appear to be any better alternative. I suspect this will change after the very promising Zensonic offering is finally released.

- Frank

In all honesty I think it's practically impossible to manufacture a network media player that will suit all people all the time!

When it comes to playing high-def (or even std-def) MPEG-2 captured streams, there are just too many variables in the way any given broadcaster can place the video, multiple audio, multiple subtitle and misc other data within the .TS container. Not to mention differences in the way our devices may be configured to do the capturing.

Quite often we'll come across an TS stream which may contain all manner of conflicting PID stream data. Which in-turn could confuse the hell out of any hardware decoder.

After-all, if TS streams were perfect, there wouldn't be any need for these "TS correction" applications that are littered around the web ;)


Cheers

On the other hand, at the moment, there does not appear to be any better alternative.

There's the problem...no one else can stream HD. Working some of the time is the only alternative to never at all!

2) Region 2 DVD's seem to play choppy, both pressed and burned DVD's???
What I did:
It seem to do this with both loaders. I ripped a region 2 DVD and took out its region code, this one plays choppy on the original loader and the liteon. Once I changed the code on the lite-on I tried a pressed DVD with the same result..


Are you outputting to a 480i set. Several people have said it doesn't play PAL very well unless going to 480p or an HD resolution (or a real PAL set).
At 720p all my disks play great.

Quite often we'll come across an TS stream which may contain all manner of conflicting PID stream data. Which in-turn could confuse the hell out of any hardware decoder.

After-all, if TS streams were perfect, there wouldn't be any need for these "TS correction" applications that are littered around the web ;)


Cheers
Well now hold on there... There MUST be some standards for stream formats. I don't have ANY trouble playing these streams LIVE with any number of ATSC tuners from various manufacturers.

- Frank

Well now hold on there... There MUST be some standards for stream formats. I don't have ANY trouble playing these streams LIVE with any number of ATSC tuners from various manufacturers.Although you might be okay in your region or even country. Lets not forget these players have to cater for other digital TV standards around he world

Over here in Europe we use DVB (Digital Video Broadcasting), which is currently split into three protocols: DVB-C (cable), DVB-S (satellite) and DVB-T (terrestrial). Each protocol can have different methods of storing PID data/information within the stream, any of which could confuse a hardware decoder.

Even fragmented/unclosed GOP's can confuse a hardware decoder!


Cheers

Sure, I can see that. But there must be some finite number of "standards" that are being used in practice. If the machine has been validated to play "standard" US atsc transport streams, why shouldn't it be able to play ALL atsc streams broadcast under the same standards?

Or, put it this way. I can buy atsc tuners from any number of vendors and they will ALL have no trouble decoding atsc streams broadcast from stations all across the country. Why isn't the LP2 able to do the same? It is apparently well defined. I don't understand where all the variability comes from. What's the point of standards?

Sure, I can see that. But there must be some finite number of "standards" that are being used in practice. If the machine has been validated to play "standard" US atsc transport streams, why shouldn't it be able to play ALL atsc streams broadcast under the same standards?

Or, put it this way. I can buy atsc tuners from any number of vendors and they will ALL have no trouble decoding atsc streams broadcast from stations all across the country. Why isn't the LP2 able to do the same? It is apparently well defined. I don't understand where all the variability comes from. What's the point of standards?

If you Google - PSIP problems "ota tuners" you will find lots of people with older OTA tuners (including Set Top Boxes) had major issues when Guide Data and Digital Closed captioning came outi n late 2004 and early this year. Many needed firmware updates to fix or they became boat anchors. My MYHD card actually would crash if I tried to bring up guide data for PBS in my town since my local channel published two weeks of guide data and they only thought a channel would have a days worth in the stream. The MyHD programmers didn't find it for awhile because their PSIP samples didn't include so much data.

A lot of these quirks resolve around ambiguity in the standards (there are several ways to do the same things in ATSC) and how the major HD broadcast hardware companies implemented things slightly differently especially in early hardware.

Add to this that TV isn't received flawlessly -- ATSC has 16bytes of error correction availble to it for every 188 bytes. Our capture devices tuners have to fix broadcast quirks as it writes them to disk. How well it fixes them might not always result in a truly complaint ATSC stream but it just has to be good enough for our capture cards playback logic. By the time the stream gets to the LP2 it doesn't have access to the error correction logic that a tuner would have available.

On our LinkPlayer2 boxes (and other Sigma boxes), the sigma chip itself also doesn't know anything about ATSC or DVB stream format, it only knows MPEG2 MP@HL. When I first got my LP2 , Iodata didn't mention TS format at all. Many of us pointed out how renaming TS to MPEG2 could often let us play so Iodata added some code to support us. Back then I usually stripped out all of the extra stuff in the stream with several manual steps (H2M, MPEG2Repair, etc).

All of the LP2s logic for dealing with extra stuff in the ATSC or DVB stream such as subchannels, audio streams, guide data, Digital Closed captioning, etc need to be filtered out by the firmware before giving good data to the Sigma chip which is what it expects. Also in TV broadcasts a stream that starts out at 720p with AC3 audio might have gaps with 480p and PCM audio for commercials depending on which city you are in. This gives the firmware more logic issues to deal with.

I believe too often the firmware expects the streams to always be perfect examples where everything is exactly in the order they expect (based on samples they have on hand). If the data is layed out any differently then the error handling logic is supposed to step in an get things back in synch before continuing. I have a strong feeling the programmers try too hard to use what they have instead of just looking ahead in the stream to the next thing they do recognize and then continuing from there.
A TV tuner when it can't repair the data it receives just replaces it with random blocks and keeps looking for the next block.

Most of my problems in the past were located at commercial breaks. My only problem now comes rarely at edit cuts. I am very lucky where I live that I have very strong signals without multipath for all channels and I am able to get captures that are what the LP2 seems to expect.

Ok.. Sounds to me like we are just too close to the bleeding edge at the moment.

Does anyone else have a problem with PAL (region 2) dvd's playing choppy? It seems like the processor is not keeping up (like trying to play divx on a P1)... I tried what Paul_PDX said changing to 480p 720p and also 1080i but this does not resolve this issue. Any suggestions?

Does anyone else have a problem with PAL (region 2) dvd's playing choppy? It seems like the processor is not keeping up (like trying to play divx on a P1)... I tried what Paul_PDX said changing to 480p 720p and also 1080i but this does not resolve this issue. Any suggestions?Where are you from Scoobyone?

If you are based in an NTSC country, are you sure your TV can handle PAL 50Hz content?


Cheers

Holland, but living in the US! I'm not sure it can handle PAL 50hz content but when I tried it at 480p and 720p it still was choppy... Others like paul_pdx seem to have gotten it to work properly..

Others like paul_pdx seem to have gotten it to work properly..They probably own "mult-system" TV's/display devices!

Multi-system TV's don't seem to be as widely available in the US as they are in Europe :eek:


Cheers

They probably own "mult-system" TV's/display devices!

Multi-system TV's don't seem to be as widely available in the US as they are in Europe :eek:


Cheers

Got hold of a multi-system and tried it... No luck!! :(

Does anyone else have a problem with PAL (region 2) dvd's playing choppy? It seems like the processor is not keeping up (like trying to play divx on a P1)... I tried what Paul_PDX said changing to 480p 720p and also 1080i but this does not resolve this issue. Any suggestions?


Which version of the firmware are you running? This problem was fixed months ago to the best of my knowledge.

Which version of the firmware are you running? This problem was fixed months ago to the best of my knowledge.

I connected the player to my hub 2 days ago and let it update... As far as I know it would be the newest version then??

I connected the player to my hub 2 days ago and let it update... As far as I know it would be the newest version then??

There are a number of firmware updates I imagine your player needs...and each one needs to be added manually. It won't automtically choose the latest one. Keep updating until you get the verison you want (ie maybe NOT the latest version from October).

Good luck!

There are a number of firmware updates I imagine your player needs...and each one needs to be added manually. It won't automtically choose the latest one. Keep updating until you get the verison you want (ie maybe NOT the latest version from October).

Good luck!


Thanks guys for your help... My PAL region 2 discs play perfectly now!!!

I-O Data responded today acknowledging there is a problem and that there is a Dec 16th firmware update scheduled.



Just got word today from Jack that they have discovered some other problem with the upcoming firmware release. This will more than likely cause a delay. New firmware is unlikely to be released before year end.

sigh....

- Frank

Super. :rolleyes:

OK, I've been reading this thread off and on over the past few months as I'm interested in a player to play my high definition material over. This thread is really long and looks like a wealth of information about this player, but lately there's been a lot of technical talk that mostly goes over my head.

I just would like to know from the people that have this player, bottom line, is it good for playing .TS MPEG files off of DVD-R's that I've archived? I've mostly recorded directly to my PC and then burned the .TS files onto a DVD-R. Does this player play these discs well, without glicthes? Also, I see lots of references to the "mod" that people are doing to the circuit board to make the component output look better. Does this need to be done in order to enjoy the .TS files on my Sharp 37D5U in high definition?

Also, is there any major reason I should consider the JVC SRDVD100U version of this over the Linkplayer2? I noticed the JVC has DVI, is that worth $100 more?
Thanks!

In all honesty I think it's practically impossible to manufacture a network media player that will suit all people all the time!

When it comes to playing high-def (or even std-def) MPEG-2 captured streams, there are just too many variables in the way any given broadcaster can place the video, multiple audio, multiple subtitle and misc other data within the .TS container. Not to mention differences in the way our devices may be configured to do the capturing.

Quite often we'll come across an TS stream which may contain all manner of conflicting PID stream data. Which in-turn could confuse the hell out of any hardware decoder.

After-all, if TS streams were perfect, there wouldn't be any need for these "TS correction" applications that are littered around the web ;)


Cheers


Perhaps the solution is in some kind of software program that converts the mpeg2 TS files to LP2 compliant mpeg2 TS files?

Perhaps the solution is in some kind of software program that converts the mpeg2 TS files to LP2 compliant mpeg2 TS files?There are applications already available that can help with this.

If you have not done already.... check out HDTVtoMPEG2 (current version 1.11.83) and MPEG2Repair.

Both these applications allow you to remove un-wanted audio and subtitle streams (which appear as a PID number) from your .TS streams.


Cheers

There are applications already available that can help with this.

If you have not done already.... check out HDTVtoMPEG2 (current version 1.11.83) and MPEG2Repair.

Both these applications allow you to remove un-wanted audio and subtitle streams (which appear as a PID number) from your .TS streams.


Cheers

For me VideoRedo has been able to fix even my worst streams so they have played suceessfully for me.

OK, I've been reading this thread off and on over the past few months as I'm interested in a player to play my high definition material over. This thread is really long and looks like a wealth of information about this player, but lately there's been a lot of technical talk that mostly goes over my head.

I just would like to know from the people that have this player, bottom line, is it good for playing .TS MPEG files off of DVD-R's that I've archived? I've mostly recorded directly to my PC and then burned the .TS files onto a DVD-R. Does this player play these discs well, without glicthes? Also, I see lots of references to the "mod" that people are doing to the circuit board to make the component output look better. Does this need to be done in order to enjoy the .TS files on my Sharp 37D5U in high definition?

Also, is there any major reason I should consider the JVC SRDVD100U version of this over the Linkplayer2? I noticed the JVC has DVI, is that worth $100 more?
Thanks!

Mine (I have two) play TS files I record with MYHD 99% successfully. Every now and then I get a stream I need to repair before playing. When I have archived to DVD-R (single layer) I have had no problems playing them back from the DVD. (I don't have a Dual Layer burner so no comments froim me on those).
The MOD is definitely optional == but those who can solder and have tried it do say it sharpens the image a bit. I personally wouldn't pay an extra $150 for the DVI for this generation of player and if you have DVI+HDCP only (not HDMI) people are reporting some problems with DVD upscaling so the JVC might also be a pass if you don't have HDMI ports on your set.

For me VideoRedo has been able to fix even my worst streams so they have played suceessfully for me.

Can you explain the process of taking multiple segmented ts files and checking them for errors with VideoRedo before archiving them?

Also checking for errors and combining into 4.5 gig files?

Mine (I have two) play TS files I record with MYHD 99% successfully. Every now and then I get a stream I need to repair before playing. When I have archived to DVD-R (single layer) I have had no problems playing them back from the DVD. (I don't have a Dual Layer burner so no comments froim me on those).
The MOD is definitely optional == but those who can solder and have tried it do say it sharpens the image a bit. I personally wouldn't pay an extra $150 for the DVI for this generation of player and if you have DVI+HDCP only (not HDMI) people are reporting some problems with DVD upscaling so the JVC might also be a pass if you don't have HDMI ports on your set.

Not to refute what Paul says, but to give you another data point: Mine, play files I record with myHD 0% successfully. Well, they play for awhile, but every single one off them WILL crash the unit within 5-30 minutes. No amount of "fixing" with any tools seems to help.

So you might be lucky, but you never know.

I cannot personally recommend this player for .ts playback. It simply does not work (for me anyways...)

- Frank

put me in the camp with fully successful playback for both MyHD and firewire captured from cable box transport stream files. These are always from a hard drive - and are always the full ts stream in a single file as I have never understood why I should do anything to break them up with hard drives as cheap as they are

put me in the camp with fully successful playback for both MyHD and firewire captured from cable box transport stream files. These are always from a hard drive - and are always the full ts stream in a single file as I have never understood why I should do anything to break them up with hard drives as cheap as they are
Hey, would any of you "successful" .ts guys like to swap some samples? Maybe I just have a bad unit. Put a long sample ( > 45min. My unit will actually get through short samples fairly reliably) on a DVD-R and send through snail-mail? If you like, I can send my sample to you on DVD-RW, then you can overwrite with your sample and return it back to me. This would minimize the cost to you... Any volunteers?

Hey, would any of you "successful" .ts guys like to swap some samples? Maybe I just have a bad unit. Put a long sample ( > 45min. My unit will actually get through short samples fairly reliably) on a DVD-R and send through snail-mail? If you like, I can send my sample to you on DVD-RW, then you can overwrite with your sample and return it back to me. This would minimize the cost to you... Any volunteers?Yes... send me a sample please on good old DVD-R.... I will PM you my address ;)

Hey, would any of you "successful" .ts guys like to swap some samples? Maybe I just have a bad unit. Put a long sample ( > 45min. My unit will actually get through short samples fairly reliably) on a DVD-R and send through snail-mail? If you like, I can send my sample to you on DVD-RW, then you can overwrite with your sample and return it back to me. This would minimize the cost to you... Any volunteers?

I will volunteer as well - you can pm me your address and I will send out something on a dvd-r asap as the cost is trivial

but before I send I will make sure the file is playing on an HD, and will copy anything I get to an HD first as I never use the attached dvd player

Since you want over 45 mins will probably need to span a couple dvds anyway as it will probably be over 4 gigs even with commercials stripped out - will just send a recent hd tv show - hour long with stripped commercials that I have already watched without a problem

Edit - I tried playing two separate shows tonight to make sure they were ok to send. Both ended up with lip sync issues (although they played fine with MyHD when I shifted to that to get rid of lip sync prob which occurred at the splice points of commercial cuts). So I tried a third program, this time using Dolby Digital out instead of stereo, and it worked without lip sync issue until half way through when it had major breakups - but that was also with MyHD playing so perhaps just a bad recroding. Maybe I am also having problems with this latest firmware as I didn't remember previously having problems with the LP2. Or maybe it is just with edited files.

Trying to correct my lip sync issues I went back to the Advanced Server and still had them - so went back to files that weren't edited with H2M and finally got stable, lip sync free palyback on tonight's Reunion (without other issues either - but will admit to jumping a couple % through commercials - so it wasn't exactly straight playback. So it looks like I do have a file to send POTUS if still interested and also looks like if I want to watch ts streams with the LP2 I won't be stripping out commercials

Im pretty lazy and havent been stripping out commercials. I know I know Im wasting disk space. What the Lp2 needs is a 30 second skip button :D

There are applications already available that can help with this.

If you have not done already.... check out HDTVtoMPEG2 (current version 1.11.83) and MPEG2Repair.

Both these applications allow you to remove un-wanted audio and subtitle streams (which appear as a PID number) from your .TS streams.


Cheers

Yeah I have those and VideoRedo but havent used them yet and Im a real newbie with video editing. Really need to find a manual for VideoRedo Plus.

Im pretty lazy and havent been stripping out commercials. I know I know Im wasting disk space. What the Lp2 needs is a 30 second skip button :D
Exactly! We NEED a 30 second skip button... I have been asking for this for some time now. Last time I did, I got the standard responses about how "easy" it is to strip out the commercials. Sorry, but unless it's automatic, and I mean COMPLETELY automatic, it just ain't gonna happen on a regular basis.

Exactly! We NEED a 30 second skip button... I have been asking for this for some time now. Last time I did, I got the standard responses about how "easy" it is to strip out the commercials. Sorry, but unless it's automatic, and I mean COMPLETELY automatic, it just ain't gonna happen on a regular basis.

One note -- using the % method for ff one percent ahead is about 36 seconds for a one hour show. The annoying thing is every now and then it will think you are at zero percent when you start arrowing even if in the middle of a show. However when it is working arrow right 5 or 6 times and you usually are near the end of a commercial gap.

I still would prefer a dedicated 30 sec skip and 8 second back capability.

Not to refute what Paul says, but to give you another data point: Mine, play files I record with myHD 0% successfully. Well, they play for awhile, but every single one off them WILL crash the unit within 5-30 minutes. No amount of "fixing" with any tools seems to help.

So you might be lucky, but you never know.

I cannot personally recommend this player for .ts playback. It simply does not work (for me anyways...)

- Frank

So, does anyone have any reason to think or does anyone know that the JVC SRDVD-100U plays .TS files burned onto DVD-R discs better than the LinkPlayer2? If neither does this well, which player does this the best? Or is it just better to stick with my P4 Dell connected via DVI to play these?

Thanks!

So, does anyone have any reason to think or does anyone know that the JVC SRDVD-100U plays .TS files burned onto DVD-R discs better than the LinkPlayer2? If neither does this well, which player does this the best? Or is it just better to stick with my P4 Dell connected via DVI to play these?

Thanks!
Pardon my ignorance if I am wrong - but I dont think the linkplayer2 had an internal dvd drive?

Reports posted here support perfect playback from the SR100U's internal dvd drive.

So, does anyone have any reason to think or does anyone know that the JVC SRDVD-100U plays .TS files burned onto DVD-R discs better than the LinkPlayer2? If neither does this well, which player does this the best?

I would think that they do that exactly the same. But why would you want to burn to disk? The real advantage of this player is streaming HD over the network from your computer... Even if you have a dual layer burner you can't fit an HD movie on one disk...

And, yes, the AVLP2 has a drive...

Z

Pardon my ignorance if I am wrong - but I dont think the linkplayer2 had an internal dvd drive?

It comes with a DVD drive. Out of curiosity, what gave you the impression it didn't? This thread is in the "DVD Players" forum, after all. And swapping out the standard EPO drive with a Lite-On is one of the more-discussed mods on this (and other Linkplayer) threads.

:rolleyes:

I would think that they do that exactly the same. But why would you want to burn to disk? The real advantage of this player is streaming HD over the network from your computer... Even if you have a dual layer burner you can't fit an HD movie on one disk...

And, yes, the AVLP2 has a drive...

ZOk yes thats right - how did I forget it had a drive? Trying to compare the hodge podge of network players that have come out lately has me punch drunk. I think the difference was that the Linkplayer was "said to" NOT support upscaling normal retail dvd's via a dvi or high quality output. The SRDVD 100U does however.

Once you fill your hard drives with hd material (which takes about 1 day depending) you need to archive. Being able to drop in a dvdr full of .ts files for perfect playback in the dvd drive is a handy thing - not everything will be available on a network all the time unless you have terabyte servers.

One thing this is for sure, this is an in between technology as we move towards downloadable high quality uncompressed dvd content and bulletproof media and network players. I am always behind of ahead of the curve on this stuff.

One note -- using the % method for ff one percent ahead is about 36 seconds for a one hour show. The annoying thing is every now and then it will think you are at zero percent when you start arrowing even if in the middle of a show. However when it is working arrow right 5 or 6 times and you usually are near the end of a commercial gap.

I still would prefer a dedicated 30 sec skip and 8 second back capability.

Another comment on the % skip feature -

When you start watching a show that is being simulatneously recorded (I use MyHD) the 100% point seems to be locked in at the point you start viewing. Watching the Redskins/Cowboys tonight could FF or jump % - but if you try ff past the 100% point the file stops. It would be nice to have this fixed in a future software update so you can watch a program as it is being recorded and still go past the point where the end was when you started watching still having FF and skip available (It would play passed the end/100% point if I didn't hit FF or arrow key)

Another data point on watching ts streams (from MyHD). I watched the Redskins/Cowboys as it was being recorded, Ghost Whisperers, and Cold Case tonight all without any problems whatsoever. The files had not been processed to remove commercials but I did skip forward through commercials. So it is definitely working fine for me with unadulterated files

Ok yes thats right - how did I forget it had a drive? Trying to compare the hodge podge of network players that have come out lately has me punch drunk. I think the difference was that the Linkplayer was "said to" NOT support upscaling normal retail dvd's via a dvi or high quality output. The SRDVD 100U does however.

Once you fill your hard drives with hd material (which takes about 1 day depending) you need to archive. Being able to drop in a dvdr full of .ts files for perfect playback in the dvd drive is a handy thing - not everything will be available on a network all the time unless you have terabyte servers.

One thing this is for sure, this is an in between technology as we move towards downloadable high quality uncompressed dvd content and bulletproof media and network players. I am always behind of ahead of the curve on this stuff.

Exactly. I've already filled about 250gb of a 320gb hard drive on my PC with HD stuff I've archived. I'm having to archive onto DVD now. It's really pretty nice. You can get a 1 hour show minus commercials onto one DVD-R and sometimes fit 2 30-minute shows minus commercials on 1 DVD-R, depending on the bit rate. For movies, I figiure I'll put them on several DVD's and if I don't wan't to keep swapping DVD's, I could copy the files to my hard drive then join them together and watch them over the network.

Anyway, I guess the major difference in the two is the DVI and maybe a more stable drive to read .TS files?

Another data point on watching ts streams (from MyHD). I watched the Redskins/Cowboys as it was being recorded..........

I was streaming the Colts/Chargers game yesterday from MyHD, as it was being recorded, and it would play a few minutes and then move on to the next file in the directory. I have yet to master playing an open file.

I'm using the Advanced Link Player and have set the config file to accept tp files. Don't know why I can't successfully stream open files as they are being recorded.

Once you fill your hard drives with hd material (which takes about 1 day depending) you need to archive. Being able to drop in a dvdr full of .ts files for perfect playback in the dvd drive is a handy thing - not everything will be available on a network all the time unless you have terabyte servers.

We have had this discussion here before. I guess it comes down to how much you want to archive. I typically only keep things until i watch them, but I save some movies that I happen to get in HD. My personal choice is to go the hard drive route. At the moment I have about 450GB of video (mostly HD, some ripped DVDs) stored on hard disks.

"a dvdr full of .ts files" is not going to happen unless they are very short clips...

My 1080i 1 hour dramas come out to 4.8-5.0 gigs each. You cannot fit even one on a DVD-R. You could fit a 720p 1 hour show on one disc, but only one. Yes, I guess there is a way to strip null packet(?) from the streams to make them fit - yet another step.

A quick check of prices show that name brand dual layer DVD-Rs are still about $2 each. You can get hard drive space for $.20-$.25/gig, so they are about the same in price... Yes, the DVD media will drop quickly, but when you factor in all the extra work to burn them... AND you still can't even put one full movie on one DL DVD! And all my HD based files are right there on the network whenever I want them. Yes, you need a machine running all the time, but I do for other reasons anyway...

I just used naslite+: http://www.serverelements.com to make a fast, cheap, networked fileserver. I highly recommend it. They even have a free version. I have it running on an old pentiumII(actually more than it needs) that was destined for the dumpster. Check it out, you can have a fast network fileserver for the price of the drives +$25. It streams HD to the AVLP2 just fine(not without the server sw running on another machine). No drive size limit and no file size limit... and, no, i don't work for them...

The only reason I personally would consider burning anything is for backup...

Z

I was streaming the Colts/Chargers game yesterday from MyHD, as it was being recorded, and it would play a few minutes and then move on to the next file in the directory. I have yet to master playing an open file.

I'm using the Advanced Link Player and have set the config file to accept tp files. Don't know why I can't successfully stream open files as they are being recorded.


For one thing - I record to 999 gig files so they are all single, but I imagine you are doing that as well. Perhaps this is happening when you pass the 100% point? Mine would go back to the file player when I went past the 100% point and did an arrow forward or FF, but I could get back to the same watching position quickly (which would be obviously at a lower percentage). Maybe keep track of where you are occasionally with the info button and you will probably not have a problem until you pass the original file end. Try starting playback with more minutes available if that is your problem. One thing of interest was the file duration field while recording live. Would get a report like 17:28:00 at the end when I would catch up which seemed to be the actual clock time (file start time + duration?)

Once you fill your hard drives with hd material (which takes about 1 day depending) you need to archive.

No way. Once my TB servers are filled I will buy another or larger hard drives for them. Once you think of the space those DVDs occupy, the time involved in burning, the cost of the DVD DL media all versus the convenience of having the movies on hard drives its a no brainer. I have neither the time or the space for that foolishness.

No way. Once my TB servers are filled I will buy another or larger hard drives for them. Once you think of the space those DVDs occupy, the time involved in burning, the cost of the DVD DL media all versus the convenience of having the movies on hard drives its a no brainer. I have neither the time or the space for that foolishness.

Hmm unsure on your math?

What does it cost to create a terabyte server? Lets assume you had a pc already - how many drives and or add in cards are needed? Whats the total cost?

Hmm unsure on your math?

What does it cost to create a terabyte server? Lets assume you had a pc already - how many drives and or add in cards are needed? Whats the total cost?

Dont forget to ask what is Vurbano's time worth?

For some the convenience, time savings etc. are worth much more than any differences in hardware and storage media costs. Pick whichever methodology suites you based on whats more important to you, time, money, convenience etc.

Kelly

What does it cost to create a terabyte server? Lets assume you had a pc already - how many drives and or add in cards are needed? Whats the total cost?

OK, using my low-cost solution above, I think you could do it for about $300 using a dumpster-bound PC(does need an ethernet card) and 4 250g drives... If you are willing to look for and wait for rebates you can get 250g drives right now for $70 plus shipping: (and always getting cheaper)

http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=1265028&CatId=525

There is a free version of naslite that runs on a floppy, and you need no additional hardware beacause you use the 4 existing IDE connectors of the PC.

If you don't like rebates, then I would look on ebay for the best price for new 250g(or bigger?) IDE drives. I put a gigabit network card in mine, but only because I am a geek and I got it for $10 on ebay. I am also running the plus version of the software, which is $25, and it is using the CD drive so I only have 3 IDE channels available, but it could run on an external CD drive or even a bootable flash drive in order to regain that 4th IDE spot...

How many here are archiving full HD content to DVDs? Any more reports? I can't imagine the hassles and time involved with trying to archive a 15 gig movie to DVD...maybe to back it up in case of data loss, but not If I actually wanted to watch it from there...

Z

edit:
PS you could also buy a complete 1Tb NAS for $730+shipping(with rebate):
http://shop4.outpost.com/product/4350515

Hmm unsure on your math?

What does it cost to create a terabyte server? Lets assume you had a pc already - how many drives and or add in cards are needed? Whats the total cost?


If you watch sales at Fry's (if you are near one) you can find 250GB drives as low as $69 -- that is about 27 cents a GB or $1-$4 per show -- you can buy blanks for less but as he said there is time and convenience factors. However if you don't back up to dvds you should double the number of hard disks or add error correcting raid to avoid losing it all and that can double the price again.

Either way there are trade offs -- I sometimes back up TS files I really don't want to use but I built a big server (with cheap slow drives and some raid) to have convenience.

Has anyone seen the Buffalo threads lately - Buffalo has dropped support officially:

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?p=6757130&&#post6757130

I am glad I returned my BLT and got a second LP2.

In case you don't also follow the Iodata forum - Iodata has posted that the next firmware is being prepped to deploy from the Syabas servers -- they are expecting to post the next firmware on the 26th or 27th (he said it might even be there on Christmas).

I will wait on installing this one til I see reports from others (or know that this one supports rollback) as my TS files are playing perfect right now.

In case you don't also follow the Iodata forum - Iodata has posted that the next firmware is being prepped to deplou from the Syaba servers -- they are expecting to post the next firmware on the 26th or 27th (he said it might even be there on Christmas).

I will wait on installing this one til I see reports from others (or know that this one supports rollback) as my TS files are playing perfect right now.

I will be the sucker that tries it like always :)

After a few failed attempts I was succesful with a DVD -R using Nero by unchecking the "allow multisession". Tried to play and it wouldn't recognize. Turned the power button off and on and it did recognize it. I hope I don't have to do this every time I play a DVD but anyway, hopefully it will play without stuttering, we'll see.

But my real point - I thought I read here, or on the IOData Forum, that a ripped DVD would not display the Menu and Chapters. Did I read that wrong or has something changed, because I do see the Menu. No chapters because this DVD doesn't have any (who can guess the director?).

...But my real point - I thought I read here, or on the IOData Forum, that a ripped DVD would not display the Menu and Chapters. Did I read that wrong or has something changed, because I do see the Menu. No chapters because this DVD doesn't have any (who can guess the director?).

Backed up DVDs to Hard Drives will not have Menu capability on the LP2 but if you put them on a DVD-Video formatted burned DVD they will.

Again from the Iodata forum -- when asked about status on the next gen or LP3, IODATA rep answered:

"Good question...

Originally we would get a booth with a new product, but its schedule was delayed. Then we canceled this space at once. However we had another reason to have a booth on Oct (2 month ago), then kept looking for a space. CES is getting more popular, but normally somebody might cancel some spaces on Nov or Dec.... But there is no cancellation. So... we decided to give up. This is a true story.

Instead of that, our partner companies will take a demo of LinkPlayer.
- Intel
- Microsoft
- DivX
- JVC
- Plextor
- Sigma Designs
- Nero

P.S.
We cannot say "what's a new product." Don't ask to me..."

Sounds like they missed out on a booth but they will have new product shown!

One other tidbit from the IODATA site today -- a Firmware CD for the JVC owners without internet connections. Wouldn't that be great for new owners to get there LP2s up to the newest version without a dozen updates.

One other tidbit from the IODATA site today -- a Firmware CD for the JVC owners without internet connections. Wouldn't that be great for new owners to get there LP2s up to the newest version without a dozen updates.


Where did you see that?

Well i had linkplayer for a grand total of 5 days after buying it for the sole purpose of streaming ts files to my XG. I started off by updating the firmwares and tested out a some ts files I had. I was very unhappy with how crappy they looked so I figured it must due to the filters everyone goes on about so I removed them. Played a few mores files and while it was slightly improved, it still looked like crap. To be honest Im actually quite upset that I spent $300 on this unit and the jvc cable and people looking to buy this machine (at least to stream hd files) should think twice. just my 2 cents.

Where did you see that?

http://www.iodata.com/usa/products/products.php?cat=HNP&sc=AVELK&ts=2&tsc=&sc=AVELK&pId=FWCD-SRDVD100

Well i had linkplayer for a grand total of 5 days after buying it for the sole purpose of streaming ts files to my XG. I started off by updating the firmwares and tested out a some ts files I had. I was very unhappy with how crappy they looked so I figured it must due to the filters everyone goes on about so I removed them. Played a few mores files and while it was slightly improved, it still looked like crap. To be honest Im actually quite upset that I spent $300 on this unit and the jvc cable and people looking to buy this machine (at least to stream hd files) should think twice. just my 2 cents.

That sounds like a fairly abnormal experience with the AVPL2. I'm no expert, but in a blind test I am not sure I could tell the difference between a live OTA HD feed and a transport stream playing through my AVLP2 on my front projector...

What were you comparing it to? and maybe tell us more about your setup?

Z

Well it's getting weird. Tried to watch the movie tonight and it wouldn't play. Turned power off and on again, no dice. Tried again and the 3rd time it recognized the disc, but instead of going right to the movie I got Music/Audio/Video folders and when I pressed Video I saw a Audio and Video TS folder. Was able to start the movie from there.

Now there are people here and I can't watch the movie, I want to be able to concentrate on it, will have to see later if it will play without stuttering.

Anyway, what happened above, is that what usually happens with burned DVDs or do they go right to the main menu?

That sounds like a fairly abnormal experience with the AVPL2. I'm no expert, but in a blind test I am not sure I could tell the difference between a live OTA HD feed and a transport stream playing through my AVLP2 on my front projector...

What were you comparing it to? and maybe tell us more about your setup?

Z

I've thought about removing the filters but I'm hesitant to, I'm afraid I'll screw up. How much of an improvement would you say, 10% or something like that?

For that matter, what others who have done it say?

Concerning the image, I use 720p to my H79 in native mode (pixel perfect)

Have you tried using 1080 out? Most folks agree that 1080 looks better even on 720 native devices.

I have been reading this thread on and off for quite sometime, and I finally broke down and got this Linkplayer 2 for Xmas. I did have 1 quick question. What other servers work on this unit hooked to a Mac.. OS X.

I know there is the AveL link Server, and the new one from Wiz, but are there any other ones that work with a MAC.

Also:

Any news on Visualizations while listening to Mp3s. (like Itunes)

What about support for Movie Covers from amazon instead of Video TS folders?

Thanks Alot

I know there is the AveL link Server, and the new one from Wiz, but are there any other ones that work with a MAC.

There are a couple others written for other players that are very similar to the AVEL server, but I use EyeConnect from Elgato. Nothing simpler if you have an EyeTV 500... It does everything the AVEL does, plus it acceses all your EyeTV recordings. Not free, but there is a free trial...

Z

There you go. You just set the region of your DVD-ROM drive... One of the RARE times you actually will WANT to. Leaving it unset or set to a different Region will make it virtually impossible for you to use the DVD side of the AVLP2.

I think I'm going to get the liteon, I'm sick of DVDs not playing. Only one question, in order to set the region, how do you connect the liteon to the computer. USB?

I think I'm going to get the liteon, I'm sick of DVDs not playing. Only one question, in order to set the region, how do you connect the liteon to the computer. USB?

Since the Liteon has a parellel IDE connection, you need to open your computer and attach it to an IDE connector in your computer. If you don't have a free connector, disconnect your current CD or DVD drive and attach the Liteon there. Don't forget to also attach the molex power connector. Once the computer sees the Liteon drive, you then go in and set the region. Once done, put your computer back to the way it was and stick the Liteon in the LP. You'll be very happy with its improvement.

It will play my -R DVDs made with Nero? The ones that sometimes play and sometimes don't, depending on the weather and the alignment of the stars?

Is the liteon loader superior to others for the same price. I'm going to the Best Buy near my house to get a keyboard and thought I could pick up a drive at the same time and they might not have it. I know I can get it cheaper elsewhere, but it's not an issue.

I just updated to the new firmware and am seeing some issues that I need to check out some more. Since there is no rollback I urge you to wait until I have had more time to see what is going on.

Can't believe I've had my LP2 for over a year now. I have a quick question I've never found the answer to:

Why is the LiteOn player the only one people talk about? Can't you just change the drive from the EPO to any brand??

I just updated to the new firmware and am seeing some issues that I need to check out some more. Since there is no rollback I urge you to wait until I have had more time to see what is going on.
How did you get the updated firmware? When I attempt, it tells me I already have the latest firmware, which was last updated on Oct 31st.. Is there some trick to it this time around?

Why is the LiteOn player the only one people talk about? Can't you just change the drive from the EPO to any brand??

I'm sure there are others. It's probably that someone tried the Liteon, it seemed to be an improvement from the EPO, and others have just followed suit. At least that's my theory.

OK, finally got things under control here after ripping my entire setup apart trying to figure out why I had NO AUDIO.

I have updated the firmware in this player countless times in the last year and I have never had a problem like this before.

Once I updated the firmware the player rebooted and of course wiped out all my settings, hit TV mode several times to get something to show up on the screen and reset the video, audio and DVD settings back to what they were before. I only have a stero setup in my living room right now so I have always had the player in stereo mode and let the player convert everything to stereo PCM.

At this point NOTHING had audio. If I changed to Dolby in the setup menu I could only play HD TS files and VOB files with audio, nothing else had audio. I only use an optical cable so I scrounged up an analog set and tried analog from the player to the reciever, no sound at all with analog. I started turning options off in the setup because HD browser mode has caused problems in the past, still no luck.

On top of the lack of audio, video looked horrible compared to the previous firmware. I used a show we had watched last night to check PQ since it was still fresh in my memory.

Finally just before I chucked the player through the front window I tried a factory reset as a last resort, I didn't think it was going to change anything but it was the only thing left to try. Once the reset completed and I got back into setup and reconfigured everything I finally got to hear the system beep when I saved my changes. When the player finished rebooting everything was back to normal.

Sorry I didn't have time to check the new firmware to see if it actually fixes or breaks anything else, I spent all the time I could with it just trying to get it to work :(

Is there some trick to it this time around?

Sort of, the firmware is on the server but they have not updated the page that checks what you have against what the latest firmware is. Once they do that you will be able to get it the normal way.

I'm sure there are others. It's probably that someone tried the Liteon, it seemed to be an improvement from the EPO, and others have just followed suit. At least that's my theory.

Actually the LiteOn was tried because it was cheap, black and available. It worked so a couple of other people tried it. Then it became harder to find so people tried the new version of the same drive and had problems with it. Since then it has become the GRAIL drive for the LP2 because it is the only one we KNOW works, there are probably a bunch of others that will work but no one has spent the time to try a bunch of drives and figure out which ones work and which don't.

it was cheap, black and available.
Sounds like an ad in the personals section. :p

Thanks for the info!

:)

Sort of, the firmware is on the server but they have not updated the page that checks what you have against what the latest firmware is. Once they do that you will be able to get it the normal way.
Can you fill the rest of us in on the "non-normal" way? How can I get it without waiting an indeterminable time for someone to update the page?

I am surprised you haven't figured it out yet potus, you already know how it just hasn't occured to you yet.

Is there some trick to it this time around?


Yes, this time the firmware works and has fixed everything. But you can't get it. :D


In the past I've been able to get it on the web page by reinstalling the whole server, but the page today says latest update is 10-31-05. But at the bottom of the page it mentions "very fast" speed, so maybe that's it.

I am surprised you haven't figured it out yet potus, you already know how it just hasn't occured to you yet.
OK, shoot me. I haven't figured it out yet. Is there a direct url that can be used to access it or something? Can't you please just tell us?

From the IO-Data forums:

Sorry for our update server problem

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Dear All,

Sorry about that. According to engineer's today 28th report, the update server had a couple of problem. This new firmware will be today's evening or tomorrow morning. We apologize for all. Thank you.


Should be out for everyone tonight or tomorrow.

Hey, would any of you "successful" .ts guys like to swap some samples? Maybe I just have a bad unit. Put a long sample ( > 45min. My unit will actually get through short samples fairly reliably) on a DVD-R and send through snail-mail? If you like, I can send my sample to you on DVD-RW, then you can overwrite with your sample and return it back to me. This would minimize the cost to you... Any volunteers?

POTUS - the file you sent me played all the way through without crashing.

I would say if yours was crashing - and also crashing on the file I sent you, that you actually do have a bum unit and should get it replaced.

I was playing the file from the stock dvd drive. And using the old firmware but also played stably on the new firmware. I did the filter mod but don't see where that would make a difference

On both your cut file and files I have cut I get audio sync problems but will post about that separately here (http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?p=6803112&&#post6803112) in other thread

POTUS - the file you sent me played all the way through without crashing.

I would say if yours was crashing - and also crashing on the file I sent you, that you actually do have a bum unit and should get it replaced.

I was playing the file from the dvd drive. And using the old firmware but also played stably on the new firmware

On both your cut file and files I have cut I get audio sync problems but will post about that separately
I am playing the same file right now using the updated firmware. So far, it hasn't crashed, but it has problems at the cut points, as you have mentioned. Besides the audio getting out of sync, at each cut point the video plays back too fast, but then settles down to normal speed after a few seconds. After that, the audio is significantly delayed.

So far, with the new firmware, crashes have been less frequent, but still there. Haven't really tested dvd play much, mostly network playback, so I suppose there could be some network issue confounding things a bit. But I still think I have a bum unit, based on our file-swap experiment. I was completely unable to play either your sample, or my own from DVD drive. Both would crash the unit very reliably.. I will try to repeat the dvd tests (using the new "fast" mode) when I get some time.

- Frank

I am playing the same file right now using the updated firmware. So far, it hasn't crashed, but it has problems at the cut points, as you have mentioned. Besides the audio getting out of sync, at each cut point the video plays back too fast, but then settles down to normal speed after a few seconds. After that, the audio is significantly delayed.



- Frank

Frank - mine never crashed (nor the file you sent me) on either the new or the old firmware so I would think your unit is bad. And I am talking playback on the dvd drive so the network doesn't come into play although that is my normal source. I did play the file I sent you all the way through with the dvd drive. And I did not change the speed at all

But I do get the same exact audio sync and video speed symptoms on the cut files that you describe. Plus the files play back fine using MyHD so it appears to be that the LP2 can't handle the modified files.

From the IO-Data forums:
Should be out for everyone tonight or tomorrow.

Lots of problemssss.

Lots of problemssss.

Seems to work for me. What problems?

Seems to work for me. What problems?
Some with stutter image, some with no audio(on and off so I had to pause and play), and some won’t even play & hung the box. Above HD files (Divx) were working perfectly under old firmware.

http://www.iodata.com/usa/forum/showthread.php?t=1018

Major problems. VOB's breakup at the 5:23 mark. It happens pretty consistanly on files over the network. I upgraded because of some other issues and now I wish that I didn't. They were minor compared to this. Looks like mine is a doorstop unti\if it is fixed........

JRad

Hi everyone,

I know this post will get buried rather quickly in this thread, but I wanted to add that I upgraded the dvd loader in my AVLP2 from the stock EPO unit.

Instead of the LiteOn 167T, I decided to go with the BenQ 1650V, black version. I chose this unit because (a) my brother upgraded his AVLP2 with the 167T, and he has problems reading a DVD+R that I burned for him. Checking the specs of the 167T, we found that it does not list support for DVD+R media. Ymmv. (b) Can't find the black 167T at NewEgg anymore (c) The 1650V was $23 shipped from NewEgg. And (d) the 1650V gets stellar ratings for its error correcting capabilities from scratches on discs. In fact the review I read said it is unparalleled in error performance. (e) Oh, also the 1650V has roughly 10% faster seek times than the 167T.

Install was slightly different from the 167T instructions, mainly because the drive seems to be longer and screwing in the rear two screws to hold it in place didn't work. I epoxied the drive in place on the studs, because (a) my experience with hot glue is it doesn't hold so well on metal (again, ymmv). (b) Epoxy is a heck of a lot stronger than hot glue. (c) I couldn't find my hot glue gun. :)

The heat shield on the right seemed to be a problem, so I bent it back away from the front to prevent obstruction. I positioned the unit so that the faceplate was in a nice position, and epoxied all 4 studs (probably overkill, but wth). Btw, the AVLP2 faceplate snapped on just fine, although it's a little snug.

Performance-wise the 1650V seems to be stellar. Extremely fast in responsiveness. The reason I upgraded, was I have a disc of TV episodes I bought off eBay, and the EPO would always crash 14 min into one of the episodes on the disc. Without chapter breaks on this disc, I was unable to watch the rest of the episode. The 1650V plays through this point flawlessly, and also fast forwards and rewinds through the point just fine. Very good performance. Also the FFW and RW seem to now work at near advertised speeds (i.e. 32x, 48x) whereas the EPO never seemed to FFW/RW very quickly.

The only minor criticism I have, is when resuming from pause, the 1650V jumps ahead 4-10 seconds. Not a big deal really, as the RW feature now works correctly. Also, the unit doesn't seem to have a region free hack available, but it's been reported that the AVLP2 is region locked in its own firmware, so this might be irrelevant. The 1650V can apparently be flashed with a Plextor firmware to make it RPC-1, but I didn't experiment with that.

I've only tested this unit with a few discs, but it works fine so far. Regardless, it's much better than the stock EPO unit.

catware,
congrats to your new drive! Seems to be the perfect replacement solution to the discontinued LiteOn drive.
I was under the impression that the LiteOn drive needed to be set to Region 1 before installed in the AVLP2. Did you do this with your drive or did you simply install the drive out of the box into the AVLP2?
/Anders

Major problems. VOB's breakup at the 5:23 mark. It happens pretty consistanly on files over the network. I upgraded because of some other issues and now I wish that I didn't. They were minor compared to this. Looks like mine is a doorstop unti\if it is fixed........

JRad

I was really sceptical when I read this. I mean, come on, EVERY VOB breaks up right at 5:23? You got to be kidding me, right? But then I tried it, and sure enough, the video breaks up right at 5:23 mark, on all DVD VOB files played from network.

It is really bad, and a brand new sypmtom of the latest firmware that did NOT occur in previous releases. This is a MUST FIX....

I was the happy owner of two LPs, till I update one to the new firmware. Now tons of break ups and freezes with my backup'd DVDs thru Wizd. The LP with the old firmware (Octs) plays perfect, but the Dec 27 crap and 'happy new year.' I will not update the firmware in my Octobers machione for fear of steps backwards.

I remember awhile back, reading a thread on setting up a personal web server as a way of rolling back the firmware when the rollback option was not avialable thru the firmware itself. Does any one know the link to this thread or even is it still possible?

A happy owner that is now looking at a expensive book end. :mad:

I was really sceptical when I read this. I mean, come on, EVERY VOB breaks up right at 5:23? You got to be kidding me, right? But then I tried it, and sure enough, the video breaks up right at 5:23 mark, on all DVD VOB files played from network.

It is really bad, and a brand new sypmtom of the latest firmware that did NOT occur in previous releases. This is a MUST FIX....

I did find a workaround. Run each vob through VideoReDo's quick stream fix. it seems to take care of the 5:23 freezeup problem, but at times video playback does not seem as smooth as it was before. I played back a vob that I had recorded from my cable box onto dvd ram and at the 5:23 mark the LinkPlayer gave an error message saying that it could not play a protected file. This is a different symptom than before, it only happens on this one file. This problem after the upgrade is too obvious of a problem to miss during beta testing. I think there is something funny going on. (IMO)

Happy New Year,
JRad

I was under the impression that the LiteOn drive needed to be set to Region 1 before installed in the AVLP2. Did you do this with your drive or did you simply install the drive out of the box into the AVLP2?
Thanks :) I set the Region to 1 (United States) in WinXP before installing it. The jumper is also set to 'master' and it works fine.

So far so good -- the drive does perform very well. It does skip forward 4-10 sec after pausing, but this is actually much preferrable to the EPO, which lately wouldn't resume AT ALL after pausing -- it would simply lock up and I'd have to either stop the disc and start over, or cycle the power on the AVLP2 for hard lockups.

I still have the same problems when going through the menu system of Disc 2 of LotR:RotK EE. I experience lockups and/or when I select certain submenus (such as Sound/Screen Setup) the video won't change but I'll get the cursor positions of the submenu -- randomly placed on the screen to match with the submenu but without a changed still frame to show me exactly what I'm selecting. I'm now thinking (as before) that this is a AVLP2 problem or possibly a disc problem, though unlikely it's the latter.

Also, contradicting what I wrote earlier, the 32x/48x FFW speeds are definitely not close to their advertised speeds, but no worse than the EPO was. I have the drive speed set to 'default' in the setup menu.

Someone wrote that the LiteOn successor model to the 167t didn't work for some people -- I don't know what those problems were but for me the BenQ 1650V seems to work fine and certainly much better than the EPO, especially with reading problem discs. I'm sure there are dozens of drives that will work fine as replacements for the EPO in the AVLP2 -- this just happens to be one that I picked and it works well so far.

Major problems. VOB's breakup at the 5:23 mark. It happens pretty consistanly on files over the network. I upgraded because of some other issues and now I wish that I didn't. They were minor compared to this. Looks like mine is a doorstop unti\if it is fixed........

JRad
Same here Mpeg 2 break up at 5:23 mark and breakups every 20 minutes or so.

Is there no way to roll back to the previous firmware?

Time for me to dust off the HTPC. The linkplayer is a great idea but will never work with this company in charge

This problem after the upgrade is too obvious of a problem to miss during beta testing. Which company beta tests its software before shipping anymore? Testing is sooooo 1980's!

Sad to say, but even my favorite Apple Computer, Inc., has fallen victim to the trend. I'm nostalgic for my old Macs that worked perfectly out of the box... not that I don't enjoy today's capabilities. Instability goes with having 350,000+ files in a base OS installation instead of the two files that came on my first Mac's 400K boot floppy named System and Finder.

None of this excuses I-O Data for its lack of testing. It raises the question about whether the Linkplayer2 is entering the twilight of its product cycle, notwithstanding the "renewal" LP2 (http://www.iodata.com/usa/forum/showthread.php?p=6068#post6068) that's to debut this week.

Returning to Apple, they're rumored to have some big video announcement on 1-10-2005. I won't speculate as to what it might be. I'm hopeful it may convert my LP2 to a paperweight. We'll just have to wait and see. In the meantime I'm sticking with the June LP2 firmware which works some of the time.

Which company beta tests its software before shipping anymore? Testing is sooooo 1980's!I'm happy to inform you that Zensonic do.... and I'm just one of several testers ;)


Cheers

I'm happy to inform you that Zensonic are.... and I'm just one of several testers ;) SMD, I've been following the Z500 thread (http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=482136&page=13&pp=30) with quiet interest. My question about the Zensonic is whether it handles MPEG2_ts stream discontinuities better than the LP2?

My biggest beef with the LP2 is that it goes beserk after MPEG2 edit points, and it refuses to play a large number of my MPEG2_ts files that, presumably, have minor sequencing issues at the beginning. I-O Data denies knowledge of such problems despite ongoing reports in their forums dating back many months.

I burned a DVD with several movie examples that refuse to play on the LP2. May I send you my DVD to try on the Z500?

Which company beta tests its software before shipping anymore? Testing is sooooo 1980's!

I agree, I guess there has been some other bugs in previous upgrades that should of been obvious. I suggested to Jack in the IODATA forum that maybe a group of power users should be used for beta testing like what Zensonic does. This would offer a better chance to find these "bugs" in firmware upgrades BEFORE they are released to the public. Lets see if he goes for it.

JRad

I saw your suggestion. It's been suggested before. My guess is Jack will go silent again shortly after the "renewal LP2" is out and we won't hear from him for another 2-3 months. I hope I'm wrong about that but it's been the pattern we've observed in the past. When Jack reemerges from the shadows it's because there's some announcement. Issues get 'addressed' briefly but then we're left wondering if anything was actually accomplished.

Not to sound too bitter; I have to say my LP2 still does more for me than it did when I first purchased it in May and I've had lots of enjoyment despite its shortcomings. But that's partly because I didn't apply the 10-31-05 or 12-27-05 updates.

A large part of everyone's disappointment, I think, is not with I-O Data's behavior per se. It's been discouraging to watch one company after another flounder in the media player market. Rembering what happened to support of the Roku and Buffalo HD players makes me realize we're not so bad off in comparison... which is little consolation to the person whose LP2 just became a dust collector. Still, I'd hate to watch all the companies flee the media player market because it's too much effort for too little return.

There has to be a way forward, I hope. Maybe Zensonic has the formula for success. Maybe I-O Data can pull it together someday. Maybe Apple will suprise us with something big next week and be able to deliver on the announcement better than in years gone by.

It's a new year, people! Anything is possible.

I remember awhile back, reading a thread on setting up a personal web server as a way of rolling back the firmware when the rollback option was not avialable thru the firmware itself. Does any one know the link to this thread or even is it still possible?

I don't know if this link is still applicable or not. I will try it when time prevails.

JRad






Try this post
http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/show...3&&#post5457853

I burned a DVD with several movie examples that refuse to play on the LP2. May I send you my DVD to try on the Z500?Yes by all means... I'll PM you my address ;)


Cheers

Well, I tried rolling back the firmware from the directions on pages 99, and 100 of this thread, but it did not work. It gave me an error and said the signature had changed. Anybody else have any luck?

JRad

So I spent $250 on this thing. Converted 150+ DVD's to MPEG2 so this thing would play them from my network. Now, since I cannot rollback the firmware it basically useless.

I have had few problems in the 9 months I have had my linkplayer. Now with one firmware update it is almost useless. With the to be intoduced (improved) linkplayer comming out I am sure support for this one will be dropped.

I will never buy anything from IO data again.

With the to be intoduced (improved) linkplayer comming out I am sure support for this one will be dropped. I wouldn't be so sure about that. I'm guessing the only difference may be a new DVD loader and some styling changes. On the other hand, the way things are going with recent firmware updates maybe we should hope they stop doing anything further to ruin this player. ;)

Any chance you could return your LP2 in exchange for one that works? It might be worth asking.

"Any chance you could return your LP2 in exchange for one that works? It might be worth asking.[/QUOTE]"


The only thing that is broken on my linkplayer is the firmware!

They should remove the new (broke) firmware and allow us to update "back" to the previous firmware.

Had I noticed that the rollback feature was gone I never would have updated!

Irgaac,

Is there any way to roll back the firmware using your method disscused way back in this thread, or did they change the signatures between the Oct. firmware and the Dec. firmware? Any help would be appreciated.

JRad

Well, I tried rolling back the firmware from the directions on pages 99, and 100 of this thread, but it did not work. It gave me an error and said the signature had changed. Anybody else have any luck?

JRad

I don't know what's on those pages, but here's the link that has the previous firmware versions. However not quite sure how to roll it back. Hope this helps.

http://www.cyberjam.us/iodata/

I will never buy anything from IO data again. I view I-O Data as a company with probably less than 10 employess, all of them holding 'day jobs' somewhere else. That may or may not be true but it helps me feel better about my purchase. Still I share your frustration in wishing the LP2 lived up to its full potential.

Looking at this box as a garage project built by a couple of guys who wanted to see what they could do in their spare time makes the LP2's blemishes somehow less irritating. In that light it has some of the iconic appeal of the Apple II computer, which was a masterpiece of low budget ingenuity and which people patched & hacked until it was unrecognizable.

I don't suppose Snazzio or Zensonic have deeper pockets than I-O Data. They'll probably run up against the same development cycle wall in a few months, as Buffalo and Roku did last year. Staying in this market is about unshakable willpower and a desire to create something people can enjoy. Making money at it is an uncertain plus.

Unfortunately the take-away message for the Sony's and Panasonic's of the world may be that media players are an unprofitable and risky business. Big companies won't want to enter the media player market until they see start-ups making piles of money at it. Just look at how the bottom fell out on the set-top box industry last year. I picked up an EOL'ed Accurian HDTV STB at Radio Shack last week for $89. The receiver wasn't available more than six months before it was discontinued and there's nothing wrong with it! Even the plasma TV market has razor thin margins these days. Companies like Fujitsu are exiting the very market they created.

I give I-O Data credit for making something useful from ingenuity and a bucket of parts. I hope they can see this product through to a successful end but I sense they may be running out of motivation and capital.