I haven't seen this question answered here yet but I might have missed it... I have some .ts streams I saved and recorded on my HD. If I burn these to DVD-Rs in either .ts format, or convert the ts to MPEG files with HDTV2MPEG can the LinkPlayer play the .ts files from the dvd disc or does it have to be from a hard drive/

Originally posted by cpalmer2k
I haven't seen this question answered here yet but I might have missed it... I have some .ts streams I saved and recorded on my HD. If I burn these to DVD-Rs in either .ts format, or convert the ts to MPEG files with HDTV2MPEG can the LinkPlayer play the .ts files from the dvd disc or does it have to be from a hard drive/

TS streams burned to and played from DVD-Rs will play, however you may want to consider changing the DVD drive to the Lite-on, which has already been discussed in this thread. I did, and now DVD-Rs play just as well from the DVD as they do from the hard drive.

What are people using to encode Xvid stuff? I have some 1080i HD clips I want to convert.... I see the max bitrate is 1.5Mbps, which is 12,000mbit/sec right? Maybe I'm wrong. Anyway, I want the maximum quality I can. I'm trying to get a 6gig HD file down to 4.4gig or under to get one a one sided DVD+R. I should note I don't want to use VitualDubMod as it's giving me some problems.

Thanks,
Chris

Help --

I did a reinstall of my system. Just tried the Linkplayer and can see my network, and my folders that contain my ts files, with no problem whatsoever. The problem I am having is, that when I got to open a folder full of ts files, I get message "There is no file in default movie folder".

What am I missing? Worked fine before I redid my system, and I can see and play these same files with no problem on the network using Roku or MyHD.

Thanks

When I user Auto Gordian Knot to transcode HD .MPEGs to XviD, I get stuttering video, the audio is out of sync and I get a grey line all across the bottom of the image. What's up?

Originally posted by Ron Tobin
Help --

I did a reinstall of my system. Just tried the Linkplayer and can see my network, and my folders that contain my ts files, with no problem whatsoever. The problem I am having is, that when I got to open a folder full of ts files, I get message "There is no file in default movie folder".

What am I missing? Worked fine before I redid my system, and I can see and play these same files with no problem on the network using Roku or MyHD.

Thanks

Did you install the original version of the server software or the 1.8 version? The original did not have .ts support built in.

A few question from a non technically person when it comes to Wireless networks.

I am looking to buy this player to play back my TS 1080i files from my computer. Questions-

1) For playing back 1080i ts files you need a superfast computer (currently my computer is only a AMD 1gh). Does the same hold true when you are using the Linkplayer to play back files from your computer or do I need to upgrade?

2) As I want to run a wireless link to my Home Theater room from my computer which is located about 40 feet apart is this doable? Will TS files stream without any problems?

3) Lastly what wireless hardware do I need for my computer to be able to do this and cover this distance. Super G has no meaning to me but I gather it is stronger signal?

Thanks in advance.

Originally posted by irgaac
Did you install the original version of the server software or the 1.8 version? The original did not have .ts support built in.

Irgaac:

That's it. I knew I was missing something. I forgot about 1.8. Now it sees my ts files. Now if only they'll enable FF and REW for ts, that would be terrific.

Thanks

Originally posted by Spizz

1) For playing back 1080i ts files you need a superfast computer (currently my computer is only a AMD 1gh). Does the same hold true when you are using the Linkplayer to play back files from your computer or do I need to upgrade?

Thanks in advance.

No, you don't need a beefy server for the standard server to work fine. The Advanced Server will need more horsepower since it will be transcoding on the fly. My current server is a P3 750 and works fine for the standard server.

Originally posted by Schlotkins
What are people using to encode Xvid stuff?
Chris,

The process I've used for several years and which works pretty well, albeit requires a few manual steps is, the following:

Use neuron's DGMPGDec (http://neuron2.net/dgmpgdec/dgmpgdec.html) to produce a .d2v file. I've been using V1.2.1 and it is working well.

I use to avisynth (http://www.avisynth.org/) frameserve the clip to virtualdub (http://www.virtualdub.org/).

An avs script to deinterlace video material and scale to 1280x720 (the native res of my DLP tv) could look like this:


LoadPlugin("F:\download\video\0625\avs\TomsMoComp.dll")
LoadPlugin("F:\download\video\0625\avs\SimpleResize.dll")
LoadPlugin("F:\download\video\0625\avs\UnDot.dll")

mpeg2source("C:\video\pg\pg.d2v")

tomsmocomp(1,5,0)
cropbottom(8)
simpleresize(1280,720)
undot()


It's preferable to use 2-pass encoding with xvid. The overall quality of the clip is greatly improved over CBR encoding.

Last I use avimux (http://www-user.tu-chemnitz.de/~noe/Video-Zeug/AVIMux%20GUI/index-eng.html) to mux the ac3 sound to the video. A tip there is to set the "maximum file size (MB)" setting to 4483. That corresponds to the size of the DVD-R and avisync will cut the file at that size. If it is too big, it's just to start all over again :)

I see the max bitrate is 1.5Mbps, which is 12,000mbit/sec right?

AFAIK, 1Mbps = 1 mbit/sec.
The Linkplayer2 can handle high bitrate xvid encodes. I would think it is safe to go up to 6-7 mbps.
/Anders

irgaac- Thanks for the reply. Are you using Wireless? Can you help with the other questions please?

Originally posted by Ron Tobin
Irgaac:

Now it sees my ts files.

Thanks

I just got a MyHD 130. I believe it uses the file extension .tp. I want to use my linkplayer to play HD captures. If I am using LinkServer ver 1.8 can I simply rename the .tp extension to .ts so linkplayer will play? Thanks!

Yes, or configure the recording in myHD to name the file as a .ts file at the time it does the recording.

Or reconfigure the LP server (whichever you use) to properly associate .tp/.ts files.

Originally posted by Spizz
irgaac- Thanks for the reply. Are you using Wireless? Can you help with the other questions please?

Sorry, I use a hardwired network.

Ok, I finally got some coherent result from Auto Gordian Knot. The XviD-AVI plays smoothly and I realized that I had to crop the bottom grey line ib the hidden advanced settings.
But... When I compare the resulting AVI to the original 1080i MPEG2 - I see that the AVI is much "jaggier" around sharp contours than the MPEG2.
I guess that it has something to do with deinterlacing or..?
Is it possible to encode a good 1080i XviD-AVI or should one allways go for the 720p-option?
And, if so, does AGK automatically deinterlace if I select output width to 1280 (hence producing a file that is 1280x720)?
I'd really like to retain the full resolution on the clips that I transcode, but if it isn't possible I guess 1280x720 will have to do...

My viewing comparisons are done using the AvelLink player and my 1280x720 LCD projector...

Hi arioch,

You might want to take a look at this thread: -

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


Cheers

Thanks! :) I made several searches in the forum for threads about this but got no good result... And the info on the software pages (Virtualdub, Avisynth etc.) is more suited for true hackers than me... :D:rolleyes:

I might have to jump ship. The support, information sharing, and upcoming firmware and server release information occurs much more regularly on the BuffaloTech LikeTheater thread.

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?s=&threadid=495915&perpage=20&pagenumber=1

Take a read, it is surprising what happens when a support group gets a viable technical feedback going. Having a native speaking person that can truly understand what is being said makes a HUGE difference. BrianV is willing to try to understand why something doesn't work and openly discusses solutions and making feature requests to the development team.

There is stuff being said that I was not even aware of, such as the HD browser mode only works in 720p, which is then upscaled to 1080i. However, a new firmware should be coming to support true 1080i. The same goes for displaying pictures. It has true browser support and can access more music services.

They are also seriously considering and have made it a top priority to adding NTFS read-only support for USB connected device.

BrianV has DRM support in beta test, which should be released this week.

It has true component outputs and does not appear to have the overscan and distorted video problems the LP has.

And best of all they have opened up an FTP server so they can examine and understand why some of our files do not work.

I'll see how this next round of IOdata LP firmware goes, but I expect the Buffalo LT will shortly replace my LP.

Originally posted by GoingHD

It has true component outputs and does not appear to have the overscan and distorted video problems the LP has.

That's a leap of faith I'll watch you make with interest, since scaling is done onboard via the same Sigma chip. Getting the facts takes corroboration when the placebo has been swallowed whole by the individual.

I want DVI with native pass-through, not scaling.

If you're waiting for DVI, then it is not for you.

But right now my TV is component and I am fine with component. In the future once I own a 1080P set, I will care. However, the LP doesn't work right now (for me) because they don't conform to proper video timings.

Since most of what I use it for, the LP handles fairly well. That is the ability to play HD MPEG2-TS. However, the latest firmware has royally screwed that up. I also still try to use the picture slideshow, play files from my MP3 collection, and play certain CD resolution videos but can't. In that scenario the LP is a total failure (for me) because of the video problems.

It sounds like the LT does all of this properly.


By true component, I mean they don't use the D4 to component garbage.

RE the LT -- I wouldn't jump ship yet. (read their whole thread)

They basically are the same players less the wireless missing on the LP with most of the same quirks (bad PAL playback, pauses, inefficient UI, no WMA 5.1 or WMA lossless, strange scaling quirks at times, poor management of large numbers of photos or music, no NTFS, poor USB navigation, bad remotes, bad ff, rew, slow support on media, etc.

I too have been impressed with how much time Buffalo is allowing BrianV on the forum to communicate with early adopters. However AFAIK they haven't released any new firmwares yet or revised server softwares. Also they don't seem to work with third party server softwares.

I-O-DATA also has people listening to us and they have been surprisingly responsive for a Consumer Electronics company -- try telling Sony about a quirk and see if you ever get a fix! If some of us could put our requests in Japanese I bet we would really see good responses.

As with I-O-DATA Buffalo/BrianV has said that the development is done in Japan for the Japanese player first so that priorities are set on that end.

He has mentioned NTFS as a research priority but no promises have been made especially if royalties are required to MSFT.

They mention DRM in Beta but I bet I-O-DATA has DRM in beta too as they are showing it on 25-27 April in Microsofts WCN booth at WinHEC. I think everyone is waiting on final Sigma and Microsoft changes before DRM will fly (Notice Kiss has been promising for over a year).

Pluses for the LinkPlayer2. I-O-DATA has been shipping the LP1 for over 2 years and LP2 for nearly one in Japan. They have lots of sales and lots of customers. Buffalo is new at this worldwide. They do have Momitsu, I-O-Data, Kiss, etc. to look at and copy but when it comes to HD IODATA does have a head start. In Japan all of these boxes are being looked at as ways of receiving live streaming media (both radio and tv). I seen no reason that either will diverge alot from the other and that some new feature development will continue to distract from many of our priorities at times.

Right now I would give the warm fuzzy factor to Buffalo here on AVSForum but I think that I-O-DATA is going to continue to be a great player with most of the same features -- I-O-DATA is trying very hard to make this a player that makes the US market happy.

How would you compare this player to Panasonic S97 for DVD playback without upconversion (in 480p mode)?

New, somewhat disappointed AVLP2 owner here feeling some "early adopter sting".

I don't have an HDTV set per se, I am using the Epson Home 10+ projector which downconverts 720p and 1080i. It is 480p widescreen native (ie. anamorphic DVD).

The player's 480p output is rather shoddy, the onscreen text is even missing some bits and pieces and there are noticeable mpeg issues with video playback. 720p and 1080i are a toss-up, 1080i seems to show better menu graphics but I can't tell if video content is playing any better.

No matter what mode I try, the menu graphics, and the content I'm playing, are just not sharp. Heck, they're plain blurry.

Any HD content I managed to get out of my computer via VGA cable was always very sharp, though my CPU isn't up to the task of TS playback and thus the need for the player. I realize component is no match for analog VGA but right now I'm wondering if the picture quality I'm getting is even as good as what I was getting from my old Philips 642 DVD/DivX progressive scan player.

I don't have DVI input on the projector so I'm not regretting waiting for that reason... but if anyone has any ideas, other than "try the JVC cable" (not willing to spend 50 bucks more on this thing) I'm open to suggestions.

I'm going to assume you've selected 16:9 from the DVD Setup, that you've played around with all the zoom modes on the remote and again for HD Mode Browser from the Options menu.

I'm also going to assume you've upgraded to the latest firmware 05-80-050321-02-IOD-234-000.

That said, what you're left with I can't verify. The component inputs on my monitor support only 720p or 1080i, not 480p. The 1080i output mode looks best in my personal opinion. But in your case if you select 720p/1080i, the player is upscaling and then your projector is downscaling. That doesn't sound like a good thing.

You may have to come to grips with the fact it's intended to be a hi-def player. The output D/A converter is not lacking, it's 12 bit 148.5 mhz, far better than most conventional progressive scan DVD players.

At 1080i, it puts up a nicely detailed picture on my HD monitor, although I agree it's not as sharp as VGA analog output from my HTPC, probably for the reason that the VGA is pixel perfect, bit mapped 1:1 at 1280x720 whereas the LinkPlayer2 720p/1080i Y/Pr/Pb is scaled with some overscan.

One concern in a front projector is always the distance from your component cabling to the projector, in view of the voltage level is a mere 1v peak to peak...not much, and easy to degrade if you are using the barrel adapters to extend the length. Then again that would be the same for your other player, so just a thought.

Originally posted by Tom Roper
I'm going to assume you've selected 16:9 from the DVD Setup, that you've played around with all the zoom modes on the remote and again for HD Mode Browser from the Options menu.

I'm also going to assume you've upgraded to the latest firmware 05-80-050321-02-IOD-234-000.

I didn't upgrade, what with all the negative opinions of the newer version(s) I figured I'd play around with the Dec. 2004 version that was factory installed first. I'll upgrade tonight when I have some more time.

I did select 16:9, interestingly it seems to lock my projector so that I can't change its zoom modes (normal, squeeze for anamorphic, and zoom to remove letterbox bars). I did select HD browser.

A couple of other disappointments, it won't play UDF formatted discs (this one I knew going in), any ideas for freeware mpeg2 splitters ? ISO only allows 2gb file sizes. I can mount the disc on my PC and use the server to play it but I'd prefer to make playable discs from now on.

Also, when I tried to load-up my mp3 list the unit opened a bright white error screen reporting it could not open that web page (I'm guessing the BIOS was designed for set-top boxes ?). It reported out of memory, ugh. OK, I have a lot of mp3s but it's not like they were all on the root menu or anything.

I sure hope the overscan issue gets fixed soon as I'd prefer a "pixel perfect" output, and perhaps my projector does, too.

And that blue LED is too damn bright !! Especially for a projector-based home theatre.

I'll report back tonight.

Well it looks as though the factory DVD player in my unit has died, I can't seem to get it to read any dvd's or cd's. It was working just yesterday and now all it does is click a few times and then it either hangs the player or says no disc. The normal whine is not present also, anyone have a similar problem? Could this be a firmware issue or more than likely a hardware issue... Any ideas will be appreciated

Note: I have not updated to the March firmware.

Lineman

Originally posted by Lexor
I didn't upgrade, what with all the negative opinions of the newer version(s) I figured I'd play around with the Dec. 2004 version that was factory installed first. I'll upgrade tonight when I have some more time.

I did select 16:9, interestingly it seems to lock my projector so that I can't change its zoom modes (normal, squeeze for anamorphic, and zoom to remove letterbox bars). I did select HD browser.

A couple of other disappointments, it won't play UDF formatted discs (this one I knew going in), any ideas for freeware mpeg2 splitters ? ISO only allows 2gb file sizes. I can mount the disc on my PC and use the server to play it but I'd prefer to make playable discs from now on.

Mine plays UDF formatted disks fine, and also vobs larger than 2gb. You have to grab the latest firmwares. And you have to get them in sequence, one after the other. It's going to take a little while. When you get up to around the Feb 05 update, you have to also get the "D" update. You'll see it listed on the firmware update screen *after* you first do the firmware. The "D" update is for the user interface. You also need to update the LinkServer to at least V1.8, and V1.9 is current.

You have to get the firmwares in order, in sequence. But the latest firmware, April '05 is the best. Feb and March are the worst.

Originally posted by lineman
Well it looks as though the factory DVD player in my unit has died, I can't seem to get it to read any dvd's or cd's. It was working just yesterday and now all it does is click a few times and then it either hangs the player or says no disc. The normal whine is not present also, anyone have a similar problem? Could this be a firmware issue or more than likely a hardware issue... Any ideas will be appreciated

Note: I have not updated to the March firmware.

Lineman

Sounds like you are playing burned DVDs. Indeed, the factory EPO306D loader is lame and very poor with marginal media.

You best bet is to replace it with a Lite-On SOHD 167T which you can get from Circuit City for $40 or Newegg or elsewhere for less.

Thx for the help Tom, esp. regarding the "D" update, without your help I would have assumed it meant that "Drive" updates were now possible ;) I'm not showing an April 5 update, April 1 was as far as I could go and now it's telling me (in Japanese and English) that I'm up to date.

The graphics at 480p without HD menus are passable, but not nearly as sharp as they should be (I'll still hold to the fact that they might not even be as sharp as those on my old Philips 642 DVD player -- I'd test but I've given the Philips to my parents). Any other mode shows disappointingly soft graphics and images. It doesn't help that the manufacturer decided to go for a "fast" defocused look for the menu titles !!

Bottom line, this unit is just not outputting a sharp enough picture to meet my expectations, it's factors softer than what I get from my HTPC via analog RGB. I may try getting a better component to D4 cable but I have to go at least 25 feet to the projector regardless... so in the end I just might end up selling the unit to someone with a rear-projection set if it provides a sharper picture for them. HD content from my HTPC is a "knock your socks off" experience even though my projector is 480p widescreen native, but this player is providing merely a passable signal. Anyone with DVI input would be well advised to wait for the next gen unit IMHO.

UDF discs are playing fine now, and I'm generally pleased with the unit's ability to play stuff in my testing so far, though I'm noticing 1080 content doesn't like to play in any mode other than 1080. Its playback abilities might in fact be enough to convince me to keep it around for a while as I don't want to spend the bucks to make a "real" HTPC with 3.2 ghz processor etc.

So you have a 480p projector? What resolution do you have the IDDATA set to output? 480p or 720p or 1080i?

Hopefully 480p so you are letting the IODATA do all of the scaling -- otherwise you are scaling twice and the softness is likely related to that.

What resolution do you use for your RGB output from VGA.

Also what are you using for your long cable run -- are they shielded as weel as your VGA cable??

So you have a 480p projector? What resolution do you have the IDDATA set to output? 480p or 720p or 1080i?

I have tried every available resolution.

Hopefully 480p so you are letting the IODATA do all of the scaling -- otherwise you are scaling twice and the softness is likely related to that.[/B]

The projector gives a "knock your socks off" image with HDTV via analog RGB (VGA). This is my first time trying component HDTV.

However, this guy agrees with me regarding the "soft" output:
http://hdsource.highlydef.com/2004/12/review-avel-linkplayer-2-part-1.html

What resolution do you use for your RGB output from VGA.

720p output from my PC to the projector via analog RGB (VGA) is best for output from the HDTV Wonder off-air tuner card... but that said, 1080i from the PC also looks much sharper than from the player.

Also what are you using for your long cable run -- are they shielded as weel as your VGA cable??

As I said it's a long run, 25 ft. and one day it might be longer if I ceiling mount my projector as planned ;)

My projector is brutally digital, and right now all I can say is I think this unit's output is soft... and for HDTV this is simply unacceptable. For everything but HDTV this player rocks.. but for HDTV I'm disappointed.. for now, anyway. If the manufacturer is listening, here's the goods: I'm turned off enough to prevent my early-adopter buddies from hopping on-board.

I can't think of what you are seeing bacause I sure don't see similar at 720p output into a 720p native set.

I can A/B my PC playing out DVI at 1:1 mapping playing the same 720p TS file as I play on the LinkPlayer via component and other than the overscan (and annoying shift to the left) losing me a 1:1 lock the quality is nearly identical from viewing distace (I did have to adjust color/contrast/brightness separately for the two inputs and of course with the PC I can adjust it for the source as well -- I have tried to match all close to NTSC 6500K).
My Component cables are 15' shielded off of the IODATA adaptor.

One reminder the LinkPlayer doesn't have a native resolution output setting so if you feed it a 720p file and you are set at 1080i and hooked to a 480p projector you will get one decompression folllowed by a scaling to 1080i followed by a scaling to 480p. (and this can get much worse depending on settings for zoom and aspect.)

Same will happen to with a 1080i file being watched at 720p on a 480p proj.

And if watching a DVD you will always get a scaling to the output res followed by a scaling back to 480p.

The only thing I can think of is that the loss of one to one is making the scaling that much worse for you projector.

Can LinkPlayer2 play PAL Divx on NTSC TV?

Originally posted by gevorg
Can LinkPlayer2 play PAL Divx on NTSC TV?

Yes, that works fine.
And now with the latest FW, PAL VOBs work pretty well. With earlier FW, they where choppy and pretty much unwatchable.

/Anders

Originally posted by Tom Roper
Sounds like you are playing burned DVDs. Indeed, the factory EPO306D loader is lame and very poor with marginal media.

You best bet is to replace it with a Lite-On SOHD 167T which you can get from Circuit City for $40 or Newegg or elsewhere for less.

Actually the DVD player won't play any type of disc, factory dvd, homemade dvd or factory audio cd. I realize that I can have a Lite-On installed but I am sure that by opening the case any warranty is void. I think I-O-Data should be recalling the units and supplying the dvd upgrade. I have never heard of a "dvd player" that doesn't have a dvdplayer in it that works! Some players dont read all formats but they normally read what there spec sheet lists...I have 4 other players that all play dvd's.

Lineman

Something positive to report, just programmed my Harmony 659, the IR receiver in the unit is adequate... happy to be using the magical abilities of this remote to shoot "through" obstructions. my Pansat 2500a, on the other hand, has a horrible IR receiver and I find I have to point the Harmony right at it.

umm... ok, I realized my projector reports the incoming resolution, and things aren't exactly kosher. here's what it's saying in the various modes:

when I set the player to ... the projector reports:
720p reports 750p
1080i reports 1125i
480p reports 525p

could this have something to do with the overscan problems ? I have a feeling it has something to do with my blurry picture. anyone else have a set that reports incoming component modes ?

Lexor>> No. That's simply other ways of describing the incoming frequencies. For example: 525p is 480p counting the overscan resolution. Both designations are equally correct.
But it is a fact that it most certainly can be you projector that induces the great PQ differences between YPbPr component and analog RGBHV. You need to try another source producing true 1080i or 720p via component and determine that source as being superior to the AvelLink before you can be sure that the projector isn't the culprint. That's the only scientific way of doing it anyway. :)
Simply noting that the RGBHV/VGA input on one projector produces a better PQ at the same resolutions is actually worhtless as "proof" for the AvelLink having poor PQ on the component output.

I am testing the AVeL at a friend's house tomorrow on his DLP rear projection HD set and will report back.

It is true that I've never fed an HD signal via component to this projector before, but as I said earlier it seems that even at 480p the AVeL produces a softer picture than my Philips 642 DVD player in the same mode...

Run Avia or DVE to check the resolution. I thought it looks soft, but it actually resolves more lines than my Panasonic RP82, comparing 480P on the RP82 to 720p upscaled component output from the LinkPlayer2.

Could be artificial sharpness caused by edge enhancement on the Philips 642.

Sigh, I not only forgot to bring my Avia disc but I also forgot the remote when I brought it over to my buddy's place last night. Thankfully it was at least in 480p mode and not 480i ... but unfortunately we didn't get a chance to see it display either 720p or a 1080i image. d'oh !!

The menu graphics were, well, soft. But, HD content burned to DVD-R discs looked really sharp, impressively so considering the content was 720p and 1080i but being displayed at 480p on a digital DLP based rear-projection set. I'm convinced there's nothing wrong with my unit, and I'll just have to live with the image I'm getting through to the projector for now. Ironically I bought the AVeL first for a DVD player but I don't think I've tried a single DVD Video disc with it yet :p

FAQ has been updated.

I realize that everyone is saying this supports upconversion, does anyone have comments as to why the advertising explicitly states that it does not?

"
* LinkPlayer doesn't support upscaling. Currently available DVD movies (480p SD) will be output as 480p even if LinkPlayer set to 720p or 1080i HD mode. Once 720p DVD discs become available, the player will output with 720p resolution."

Just installed a Fusion HDTV capture card as a source of HD content for my Linkplayer. I get great video but no audio on Linkplayer. Files play fine using the Fusion card playback. I am using LinkPlayer Server version 1.8 and February firmware (because latest firmware breaks mp3 playback). I am recording in native capture to mpg mode with Fusion. Any advice from current Fusion and Linkplayer owners would be greatly appreciated. Do any of the later firmwares play .tp files without conversion? Thanks!

Got both the Fusion card and the Linkplayer2. Can't comment on the .mpg format since I have never used it, but the .tp works fine. Just rename to file to .ts and it plays.

/Anders

Q: When will the AVLP2 have DVI and 802.11g (WiFi) for North America?

A: I-O Data states a version with DVI output and 802.11g built-in will happen in early 2005.

This answer seems no longer correct. Does anyone really know when?

I've tried leverything to get a hold of a "D4->component" cable, but no one seems to be able to ship to Sweden (Europe).

Anyone know of a web-site in Europe to buy one? Or some US site that will ship one to Sweden?

Why not get the adapter from iodata (it's free, at least in the US) and use your own component cables?

Hi all,

I am kind of surprised that I-O Data doesn't make it possible to make this player region free. I tried to email I-O Data but their sales people just don't bother to return emails. Weird way to run business.

Here in Toronto where about 50% of the population were born outside Canada Region locked DVD players make no sense at all.

Well, I guess it's a good point for competiotion that makes it region free out of the box or makes it very easy to unlock.

I'm still looking forward to put my hands on DivX Certified Sigma 8620 or better based DivX DVD player (Buffalo, eh?).

Later,
David W
GadgetStoreCanada.com

I-O Data *does* bother to return emails. Sometimes it takes a while. I heard from Jack Akita again yesterday.

That said, the player is not region free. Just the way it is.

Originally posted by Tom Roper
I-O Data *does* bother to return emails. Sometimes it takes a while. I heard from Jack Akita again yesterday.Yes, Jack is a good guy, he does bother, but when it comes to business... try to get ahold of head of US sales...

Originally posted by Tom Roper [B]That said, the player is not region free. Just the way it is. It's sad that is the way it is...
It looked so promising in the beginning in specs.

Oh well, I am sure we'll see more and better models.

Later,
David
GadgetStoreCanada.com

epsilon>> I bought my (Japanese version) player second hand here in Sweden, which apparently makes me non-legitimate for that offer. :(

So... I need to buy one.

Anyone?

Arioch: I looked at the European iodata site and they show both the adapter and a 5m cable. Will the UK rep sell you one? You may want to give them a call.

They have a European site??? What's the URL?
Weird that the Japanese and US representatives that I've contacted haven't notified me about this! Thanks man...

I-O DATA Europe (http://www.iodata.com/global/europe.php?ts=5&tsc=27)

Is this player sold at any retail locations, where I can take a look at the interface and make sure it does everything I need?

I got my LinkPlayer2 in the mail yesterday, and it is DOA. The power light comes on, but that is all. No LED display and not even the DVD tray will open. I went to the website to put in an RMA, and the first thing it asks for is your serial number and the date you ordered. I do this and it says my serial number cant be found! :mad: I called customer service and all you can do is leave a message. I also filled out another form on their site, and it shot me an email saying to fill out the RMA online....At least the email had a persons name and phone nubmer. I have left her a couple messages as well. All I want is a working player.

So, where is the best place to purchase one of these?

Dave

Originally posted by h2ofun
So, where is the best place to purchase one of these?

Dave

Digital Connection has them.

Any place that sells that would not hit me with calif sales tax.
I am looking at buying 3

Dave

Originally posted by h2ofun
Any place that sells that would not hit me with calif sales tax.
I am looking at buying 3

Dave

The only other place to buy it, that I'm aware of, is I-O Data, directly http://shop.iodata.com/ but I suspect they are also in Calif. Perhaps someone else on this forum can lead you to a dealer in some other state.

Everytime I try that link it comes back and says my IP address is France and then stops.

Dave

Originally posted by h2ofun
Everytime I try that link it comes back and says my IP address is France and then stops.

Dave

Strange. It works for me. Then try this one, which is their home page.

http://www.iodata.com/usa/

It is when I go to the online store it fails IP check

dave

It does not like my IP address here at work and not way to bypass

dave

It also doesn't like my work IP connection -- so I ordered from my dial up at home.

I saw on the I/O data web some info about maybe some new staff at NAB.
Any announcements?

Dave

I search the forum but could not seem to find an answer to this question. I was looking at the User Manual and it says that there is a limit on the DIVX format of 2 GB. Does that mean if I have a movie > 2GB on my PC that the LinkPlayer will not play the file? Thanks for your help!!

Blaine

Probably means it'll only read ISO discs and not UDF discs. ISO has a 2gig file size limit.

Will this thing play 16:9 dvix and 16:9 and not letterbox them like the Philips 642 does?

Originally posted by mrwilson

Will this thing play 16:9 dvix and 16:9 and not letterbox them like the Philips 642 does?

Yes.

Originally posted by beeaton
I search the forum but could not seem to find an answer to this question. I was looking at the User Manual and it says that there is a limit on the DIVX format of 2 GB. Does that mean if I have a movie > 2GB on my PC that the LinkPlayer will not play the file? Thanks for your help!!

Blaine

It is a certified DivX player -- it will play large files accross the net from a NTFS drive and it will play them from a UDF fomatted DVD.

Originally posted by mrwilson
Probably means it'll only read ISO discs and not UDF discs. ISO has a 2gig file size limit.

Will this thing play 16:9 dvix and 16:9 and not letterbox them like the Philips 642 does?

What Paul_PDX said about UDF.

Support for full UDF formatted discs was added in recent firmware updates. The 2GB file size-limit is outdated specs.

Originally posted by Kermee
What Paul_PDX said about UDF.

Support for full UDF formatted discs was added in recent firmware updates. The 2GB file size-limit is outdated specs.

Thanks for all of the feedback. I think I am ready to take the plunge and buy this player.

One more question.. I have a HDTV pioneer 58" rear projection and I was wondering how the quality of the picture would be using the linkplayer? I'm sure it won't be perfect HD quality, but just curious of what to expect.

I have an HDTV pc card that I record local ota with -- 720p shows play over DVI from the pc at 1:1 pixel mapping and has a beutiful picture.

When I play the same show I just recorded with the LinkPlayer there is a slight softness compared to the originals sharpness and the overscan is worse (ie some of the picture is off the screen -- more so in 720p than at 1080i). But all and all the picture is dramatically better than DVD or other SD sources.

Also DVDs look better on the linkplayer2 than with my 2 year old progressive Sony. And JPEGS from my digital cameras it tremendous. Great way to do slideshows. (all this on a 56" Samsung DLP - native 720p).

Because of the overscan I usually have the Linkplayer set to 1080i mode.

Ditto what Paul_PDX said 100%. I have Sammy DLP also, 1080i seems best.

Does anyone know if you can use ext2/ext3 file system on USB hard drives with the Linkplayer?

Edit: Problem fixed. I wasnt on the latest firmware.

I posted this on the IOdata site, but it doesnt seem to get much traffic, so I am reposting it here in the hopes that someone has experienced and solved the problem I am having. (Also sorry for the crosspost from the home media section of AVS forums, I didnt know about this thread under DVDs)

I got my linkplayer2 in the mail friday and went about setting it up Saturday. The linkplayer is hooked up to my receiver (panasonic SA-XR50S) via component for video and digital coax for sound. The linkplayer is hardwired through my router to my network.

I immediately played some divx video and it looked and sounded great, so I know all of the connections are physically correct.

I then went about testing the Rhapsody service (one of the selling points of this unit for me). I followed the guide on the Iodata site and upgraded the firmware to latest edition through the network. I upgraded the linkplayer server software on my computer to 1.9b, and upgraded to latest edition Rhapsody (3.0). I then set the Rhapsody UPNP setting to on in preferences / UPNP tab of Rhapsody. I add a bunch of playlists to the "My Library" section of Rhapsody.

I rebooted everything and started the server software and Rhapsody and Bam, the Rhapsody Media Server shows up on my linkplayers server menu. I select an artist, an album and a track and attempt to play it. It appears to load the song, but I get no sound

Things I have tried to "get the sound to work".
1) Swapping out digital coax sound for plain old L/R stereo RCA cables.
2) Changing the "enable transcoding to widely supported formats (WMA and MP3)" checkbox from unchecked to checked in the Rhapsody UPNP preferences tab.

If I understand it right, there are other server software packages that may work with linkplayer2? Are any of these good at supporting Rhapsody? Where can I locate any that might be?

I am really excited about jumping in to the home media scene. These forums seem to be a great resource for discussion, and let me say thanks in advance to everyone taking part in them.

solinar,

Turn off "HD Browsing Mode" on your IOData and see if you get audio. I haven't tested this recently but it was a weird known bug with streaming MP3's and if the IOData was set to "HD Browsing Mode".

Solinar, I'm really interested in your experience, as I too have Rhapsody, and am also considering this player.

Will the LP2 be able to play streamed songs from Rhapsody, or only purchased songs? And can the Rhapsody server transcode all formats into ones the LP2 can play (eg, Windows 9 Lossless)?

It would be great if it could play Rhapsody music without a server being up, but that's probably dreaming.

The possibility of changing the loader on this player got me thinking, is there any chance this player might be able to accept a blu-ray or hd dvd loader mod when they become available?

WB

OK

I tried turning off HD browsing mode. I also tried changing from "Dobly digital" mode to "Stereo" mode. Neither worked :/ Looks like I will be doing a format and clean install this weekend on my server PC this weekend to see if that helps. Thanks for the tip anyway Kermee.

bshor: I cant say for sure how it works since its not exactly working for me at the moment, but I can tell you that it appears to be able to stream anything that is in your "My Library" folder in Rhapsody. This includes subscription songs (ones you havent ripped), ripped or downloaded music, or radio stations. I can get the Artist Name, Genre, Album name, and track name for any song rhapsody has in its database. Now if I can just get the sound to work :)

hey,

I can't find any info on this and if it's here somewhere I apologize now for asking this but does this support or work with dvr-ms files (media center 2005) through the network?

Probably if the Advanced Server is used with transcoding on. (In general if you use AS can play most types that Windows Media Player can play even if the LP2 doesn't play it natively.

Make sure you read all the instruction on how to add a new file extension to the Advanced Servers configuration.

Thanks Paul....

Did a few searches in the two main threads, but couldn't find an answer to my problem. I'm running the latest (I think) beta of Advanced Server (2.2.99), and trying to play a .ogm file. But the player doesn't seem to recognize that type of file. Truthfully, I'm not exactly sure what an .ogm file is, though it seems to be a way to package a video and audio streams together?

I've been using TPMG to reencode the files over to mpg1, because my mpg2 trial period is up, but I was wondering, is there a way to get the Advanced Server to recognize these files or do I have to continue using TPMG or some other program to create files the player will recognize?

Thanks,

Chris

Problem Solved:

I'm a moron. When I first got the player I did a Firmware upgrade. I thought I was at the latest firmware, but I actually wasnt. It turns out the firmware upgrade process changes slightly after the first upgrade and I misinterpretted the new screen as meaning there were no more updates left to get. (I figured the player I got came with the latest firmware out when it was shipped). After another 4-5 updates all worked as advertised.

Anyway, I only got to play with it for a few minutes before I had to head back to the office. It seems to play anything you have as a playlist in "My Library" including subscription songs (ones you stream off the internet and dont have on your hard drive).

Thanks again

I finally know for sure why I was so unhappy with the Buffalo LT when I tried it for a secon HD player:

Someone posted:
"The linkplayer2 has a better video dac at 12bits/148.5Mhz while the buffalo is 12bit/54 MHz."
int the comparison thread and I hadn't cought the implications.

Today the Buffalo rep on the buffalo thread has said it can't do 19Mbps TS playback (about 12 Mbit is what he said).

This means no playing of full ATSC HD streams without stripping subchannels.

Even stripping subchannels at 12 MBit I can't play any ABC, FOX, or UPN TS/TP files in my town and on most nights I would be lucky to be able to play PBS, CBS or NBC thru a whoe show without spizes during action.

Win another one for the LinkPlayer2 since it plays all of them!

I was thinking the same thing, no problem with 19mbps TS.

On the DAC however, I'm confused. I'm 99% sure that Keith Jack said the 148.5 mhz 12 bit D/A converter was integral to the EM8620L Sigma MPU. If so, why would they not be the same on the Buffalo LT? I asked Brian about that, and he said something about asking his engineers, but otherwise no answer. I wonder if Buffalo *added* a DAC to their proprietary design because it has dedicated component outputs, whereas the I-O Data uses D4 connector for that?

Any way you slice it, 54 mhz for a video amplifier sounds bandwidth starved for HDTV.

I agree --- there is no reason the 8620L can do full ATSC rates of HD MPEG2.

One reason I thought of that the LT may have limited their speed might have been because of wireless integration -- there is no way to guarantee 19Mbps thruput on 802.11g.

I also agree that since buffalo player is using the same Sigma chip, it ought to be capable of playing the same streams as the LP.

But DAC speed has nothing to do with .ts data rate limitations.

Anyone using myth-backend on their server and using LP2 as frontend for browsing/viewing recorded shows ? I'll be interested in their experience.
I was probably going to buy Roku HD1000, but thanks to Paul for pointing out LP2 to me. Seems like a great product ! Better than Roku, with DVD player and cheaper !!!!

The AVeL LinkPlayer2 sounds really interesting. Hope you guys can help me w/my questions.

I'd like to put hi-def movies on DVD-R. I asked about it (http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?s=&threadid=538076) in the HTPC forum, but what I got isn't a route I want to take. The AVeL LinkPlayer2 might be right for me...

I want a not-so-complicated way to:
[list=1]
Grab HD from my D-VHS player or Motorola HD-DVR to PC. Looks like I can basically follow these directions (http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?s=&threadid=403695)
Convert captured HD (will it be a .TS file?) to HD DivX using AutoGK (http://www.autogk.me.uk/). Possible?
Burn file to DVD-R (will 2-hour movies fit?)
Use AVeL LinkPlayer2 to play hi-def DVD-R
[/list=1]

I'd appreciate any & all feedback. Thanks.

Dunno about the capture part, but all the rest of that sounds about right. A 2hour movie should fit, but quality will suffer a bit. The Linkplayer can certainly play HD DivX.

I would like to point out that the transcoding part is still EXTREMELY cumbersome and time-consuming. Even with AutoGK. Someone here mentioned that they stopped doing this when they discovered that they were spending a lot more time preparing media than actually watching it! The other option is to just get massive amounts of hard disk space, and retain the original streams. The Linkplayer can play these fine over a wired network.

The newest version of Nero Vision Express 3, which includes Recode 2, does a very good job at converting HD Mpeg2 .TS streams to HD Mpeg4 too!


Cheers

How's the performance? Normal Recode (aka DVDShrink) is amazingly fast. Is transcoding to MPEG4 similarly fast?

Also, last time I installed Nero Vision, it caused my system to slow to a crawl. I think it added some processing to Window's right-click menu (in explorer) which would make it stall for many many seconds. I could not tolerate that, and uninstalled it immediately. The problem went away. Has this problem been fixed?

How about filesize for 2 to 2.5 hour movies?

Originally posted by potus
How's the performance? Normal Recode (aka DVDShrink) is amazingly fast. Is transcoding to MPEG4 similarly fast? For an application that i totally re-encoding high-def Mpeg2 to high-def Mpeg4 it's pretty fast. And if you select the "fast" settings, and raise the encoding bit-rate to around 5Mbps, it can be very fast indeed.

With regard to DVD Shrink. Is it able to offer HD resolutions or just SD DVD resolutions?

By-the-way. If you are a fan of DVD Shrink you will notice that Recode2 has a very similar looking GUI. This is because the creator of DVD Shrink now works with the NeroDigital team.

Originally posted by potus
Also, last time I installed Nero Vision, it caused my system to slow to a crawl. I think it added some processing to Window's right-click menu (in explorer) which would make it stall for many many seconds. I could not tolerate that, and uninstalled it immediately. The problem went away. Has this problem been fixed? The new versions appear to be fine in this regard... But if you don't want Nero to take over all your applications, simply de-select them (in the check boxes) during installation.


Cheers

Originally posted by SeeMoreDigital
For an application that i totally re-encoding high-def Mpeg2 to high-def Mpeg4 it's pretty fast. And if you select the "fast" settings, and raise the encoding bit-rate to around 5Mbps, it can be very fast indeed.

Sorry to be a pain, but "fast" means different things to different people. Can you quantify? DVD Shrink can trancode (mpeg2-to-mpeg2) your typical 2 hr movie in about 1/2 hour. That is 0.25x actual play time. My experience with most encoders is that they take 5-20x play time. This is on a 1.8GHz p4. So DVD Shrink is orders of magnitude faster. Last time I tried the nerovision trial, it got nowhere near the performance of DVD Shrink.

To answer your question, DVD Shrink is very specifically meant ONLY for shrinking dvds. It ONLY transcodes mpeg2-to-mpeg2. No HD support.

On my Northwood P4 2.4 with 1.5GB PC2600: Agk takes about 7-8 hours to transcode a 1hr(less commercials so about 43 min) 720p HD stream from ABC to an 720P HD XVID in highest quality mode leaving the sound AC3 -- I get about a 50% reduction in size. It takes slightly longer with DivX5

Originally posted by potus
Sorry to be a pain, but "fast" means different things to different people. Can you quantify? DVD Shrink can trancode (mpeg2-to-mpeg2) your typical 2 hr movie in about 1/2 hour. That is 0.25x actual play time. My experience with most encoders is that they take 5-20x play time. This is on a 1.8GHz p4. So DVD Shrink is orders of magnitude faster. Last time I tried the nerovision trial, it got nowhere near the performance of DVD Shrink. I just tried generating a Recode2 encode at 720x480 from an Mpeg2 1920x1080 (1min) source and got around 16fps per pass using a 2.8GHz P4. So no, Recode2 is nowhere near as fast as DVDShrink in this regard.

But of course the encoded image is now no longer high-def!


Cheers

Looks like next gen player will be shown next month ---

InfoComm 05
- JVC "ProHD" MPEG2-TS encoding/edting/decoding professional concept
- New model AVLP2/DVDPA (engineering sample) working demo
Las Vegas, NV June 8th to 10th (Exhibition: JVC Booth # 1222)
http://infocomm05.expoexchange.com/


On the iodata boards several answers from the admin have been implying wait and see the next gen player

Where is the iodata board?

Dave

Originally posted by h2ofun
Where is the iodata board?

Dave

Here:

http://www.iodata.com/usa/forum/

Just got my LP a few days ago and have finally gotten it set up. What an amazing player. I am using the Linksys G w/speed booster router and connect the LP to the Linksys wireless G game adapter. DIVX avi and HD along with WMVHD files stream flawlessly and the picture is amazing.

I am very impressed at what this player can do!!!

:D

Does anyone have any front end screen captures, specifically music?

I've just installed a US LinkPlayer and updated its firmware to the latest revision (April 14th). I was surprised that it insisted on installing, in sequence, every firmware version that's been released. It took about a half-dozen iterations, but eventually I got it up to the latest.

I'm also running LinkServer 1.9b on XP.

I got this primarily intending to use it as a player for HD transport streams stored on my network. It seems to do this reasonably well, though with a few glitches (audio dropouts, failure to start cleanly in some cases, trouble with 480i streams).

One serious annoyance is that, unlike the Roku Photobridge, this player evidently won't see transport streams unless the file names have the ".ts" extension. In particular it won't recognize ".tp", the extension used by default with MyHD.

Is it necessary to change all these file names, or is there a way to configure the LinkServer (or the player) so that it will see ".tp" files as transport streams?

I've just installed a US LinkPlayer and updated its firmware to the latest revision (April 14th). I was surprised that it insisted on installing, in sequence, every firmware version that's been released. It took about a half-dozen iterations, but eventually I got it up to the latest.

Unfortunately that's just the way it is. It also causes problems when they break support for a certain feature for more than one firmware version since you can officially only roll back one version at a time. Look here for a work around.

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?p=5457853&&#post5457853

and here for the latest update.

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?p=5483070&&#post5483070


Is it necessary to change all these file names, or is there a way to configure the LinkServer (or the player) so that it will see ".tp" files as transport streams?

Check this post, replace ts with tp.

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?p=5059238&&#post5059238

Does anyone have any pics of the user interface on this thing?

Just upgraded to the June 2005 update and the "Online Premium Content" section is now, simply put, ... WOW!

You get a beautiful and colorful menu (esp at 1080i resolution) with pictures, online content, etc.

It's too bad that Avel's own video menu cannot be edited to add, say, a little picture of the movie's DVD box art and/or a short description of the movie.

I think Avel would do well by allowing the hundreds of its users to create their own "skins" for the various menus, which can then shared, much like is done with WinAmp. I think that allowing such freedom would also make this player into one of the most popular and best selling players around. The potential, as based on what they've done with the online stuff, seems limitless!
:eek:

satviewer2000,

Thanks for the quick post about the update! Will be updating the FAQ over the weekend after I have time to play with it also!

The latest Version: 06-35-050430-02-IOD-234-000
[ Update Info ]
- WMA Pro (Windows Media(R) Audio Professional) supported *2ch out only
- Microsoft Media(R) Connect supported
- Microsoft Media(R) DRM for SD implemented (PC's DRM video streaming)
- PAL TV Video Output
- DLNA compliance
- DVR-MS file supported (w/ LinkServer or Windows Media(R) Connect)
*We are planning one more minor update in this month.

I've seen lots of positive posts on this unit, but most all of the discussion is about Features. Has no one yet done any testing of the LP2 as a DVD player? "DVD Benchmark" type tests e.g. deinterlacing, CUE, BTB, that stuff?

It looks like it WANTS TO BE the centerpiece of a good HT, but it has to start w/DVD playback, at least in my present circumstance.

As an aside, the LP2 looks like a much better solution than a "media player only" box like the ShowCenter 200. I have a 1000 and it's great, but the LP2 looks head-and-shoulders above Pinnacle's new offering...

For those who are interested, I started a AVLP2 review thread over at the Mac HTPC Forums:

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=547351

Hopefully the Mac user base will see AVLP2 as a real, working solution to Apple's audio-video output shortcomings on the Mac Mini and other models. If this Mac AVLP2 thread takes off perhaps Kermee wcould consider putting a link to it at the top of this thread. Also, please consider updating the link to the Mac server software.

BTW, the 6-3-2005 firmware works really well for 1080i .ts playback. Notwithstanding its removal of the superb "Rollback Firmware" feature, this new version is a huge leap forward. I'm so pleased to have FF / Reverse now for MPEG2 transport streams (HDTV). Thanks a bunch, I-O Data!

Any way you slice it, 54 mhz for a video amplifier sounds bandwidth starved for HDTV.Analog HDTV signal only has a 30 MHz bandwidth.

The DAC outputs have to be lowpass filtered. The faster the DACs run, the simpler and better the lowpass can be. Using a video amplifier ensures the video outputs can drive longer video cables and difficult loads easier.

Analog HDTV signal only has a 30 MHz bandwidth.I'm not sure how you get this. I can't find a specification for analog HD (anyone have one), but at the very least:

720p: 1280 x 720 x 59.94 = 55.24 Mp/s
1080i: 1920 x 1080 x 29.97 = 62.14 Mp/s

with no blanking, that's over 31 MHz for 1080i. Typically there is around 25% blanking, meaning about 42 MHz for 1080i.

Xesdeeni

I've seen lots of positive posts on this unit, but most all of the discussion is about Features. Has no one yet done any testing of the LP2 as a DVD player? "DVD Benchmark" type tests e.g. deinterlacing, CUE, BTB, that stuff?

It looks like it WANTS TO BE the centerpiece of a good HT, but it has to start w/DVD playback, at least in my present circumstance.

As an aside, the LP2 looks like a much better solution than a "media player only" box like the ShowCenter 200. I have a 1000 and it's great, but the LP2 looks head-and-shoulders above Pinnacle's new offering...

No scientific testing, but here are some of my thoughts:

When it works, I think the up rez'ed picture was superior to any 480p I have watched on my Mits 55807 via the component inputs.

I disconnected mine about a week ago and started implementing an HTPC, because of the numerous bugs and failures of the linksys player. I have not upgraded to the latest firmware as I quit using it prior to its release.

The video timing is not correct and frequently causes my Mits to flash or loose sync and switch to a blue screen during playback. IOData acknowledged this problem a couple of months ago, but still hadn't fixed it as of last week.

Typically when I pause a movie, it won't restart and I have to recycle the linksys and start thumbing through the disc to find the spot I left off at.

If it has a problem reading a sector off the disc, it typically resumes play ~10 beyond the point of the error.

The disc drive in mine has quit reading discs altogether.

I really like the features, but it just too buggy for me to sit down and enjoy a movie with. I'm going to RMA mine for a new disc drive and sell it.

YMMV

Brian

I started a thread on the JVC PROHD SRDVD-100U (made by IODATA)

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=547592

I've got a couple of questions about the LP...

I'm planning to record a few movies and save them as .ts files for playback on DVD discs... can I leave the files as one big 4.7 gig file, or do I need to split them into smaller chunks?

Also can this thing play back .ts files from DVD+R Dual Layered discs?

I've got a couple of questions about the LP...

I'm planning to record a few movies and save them as .ts files for playback on DVD discs... can I leave the files as one big 4.7 gig file, or do I need to split them into smaller chunks?

Also can this thing play back .ts files from DVD+R Dual Layered discs?

One big file works just fine. As for DL, it's been reported to work, however I have not personally tried it.

Warning to owners of Sigma based players about the Showcenter!!

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?p=5750610&&#post5750610

You can't run the showcenter server software on any network with another one of these players without risking your non-Pinnacle players.

Hello,
I just received my i-o data dvd player dvdla avel linkplayer2 today.
I can't attach the d4 cable to the hdtv. (hitachi hdtv ultravision) (too short).
I did attach the regular patch cables (red-white-yellow) instead...
I don't seem to get high def. video. is this the reason why???

I have the 5m d4 cable on order. will it make a difference to my video resolution?
the problem is definiately not the source or the hdtv, as both are capable.

video does work for all files, but I don't get high def. (i seem to get 480p instead)
which defeats the purpose of high def. in the first place.

help!!!

sincerly, rob rope

yep, you are correct, you need he d4 cable if you want to get hidef out of the lp2.
The yellow cable is the composite video cable which only gives you 480i out.

/Anders

DiVX 6.0 is now out. I assume LP2 doesn't support it now, but does anyone know if is it possible to support it using just a firmware upgrade?

Xesdeeni

DiVX 6.0 is now out. I assume LP2 doesn't support it now, but does anyone know if is it possible to support it using just a firmware upgrade?

Xesdeeni


According to DivX the format is compatible with DivX 5 players but you just don't get the new menus/chapters/etc. I've downloaded a couple trailers from divx.com to try tonight if no one beats me to it...

Subs and alternate audio tracks work with the Revelations sample clip I downloaded.

Looks like the new DivX converter is no replacement for Dr. Divx. A preliminary scan of the forum looks like it downrez's HD. I don't want that and need the extra control I get in Dr. Divx. Since the update is cheap I still will probably get it but put it on another machine and not my video editing machine. I did play with the version 6 beta (Dr. DivX has a built-in encoder so it wasn't effected).

BTW, it looks like the latest LP2 firmware also wiped out some of my remaining plays on rented DivX videos. I'll have to be very careful about any further firmware updates.

Just got my Linkplayer a few days ago and I am loving it--except for one thing. Is there really no rewinding xvid recordings? When I hit rewind, it really just fast forwards! You would think that even if there was no rewind feature they wouldn't set it to actually fast forward, thus propelling you further away from where you want to be.

I've only had this for a few days, but it's turning out to a great box to mod. The Lite-On loader mod is terrific, and now I have another:

The component output is a bit soft, especially at 720p, but it's also noticeable at 1080i. This is due to the output being over-filtered, and as I've now learned, the designers may be covering up for a design flaw in 720p mode.

Let me preface this mod by saying it works very well to improve the sharpness of 1080i and 720p material, but you may see some faint diagonal interference lines when running at 720p, depending on your display. But if you are running 1080i, IMO this mod is pretty safe.

Note: you need to be proficient in soldering and desoldering surface mount components. Don't attempt this unless you feel you have the skills and the tools.
1. Take off the lid.
2. Desolder inductor L65 and capacitor C202. Don't lose them, in case you want to reverse this mod.
3. Replace the L65 socket with a short (either a solder blob or tiny piece of wire will do).
4. Test that you're happy with the sharper picture quality. Check for any interference lines. Also, check for any noticeable chroma delay, as the L-C filter you removed on the Y channel is still present on the Pr and Pb channels.
5. Replace the lid.

For those feeling more venturesome, you can optionally remove the other L-C filters on the Pr and Pb channels. Desolder L67, C200, L66, and C201, and replace the inductors with shorts. I chose not to do this on my box for two reasons:
1) The Pr and Pb channels have, at most, 50% of the resolution (bandwidth) as found in the Y channel, so the filters do not cut into the useful bandwidth of these channels as much.
2) I saw no chroma delay issues on my display, so removing the other filters seemed unnecessary.

Sorry I don't have a good pic, but L65 and C202 are just under the D4 connector in the pic. The second tiny pic isolates the two devices.

Chaps, I'm getting desperate for some help with a LP2.
I had a unit last year and enjoyed it until I found the delights of a Roku Labs HD1000 for TS files. Anyway I sold my LP2 at the time as the almost fabled WMV-HD support was not forthcoming.
So, to cut a long story short, I bought another LP2 about a month ago due to the recent firmware updates looking promising.
I used the machine for an hour or so and all was fine until I went to carry out the latest firmware update. After the firmware update was complete, I moved the unit into my equipment rack and was ready to try things out.

Nothing..nada..zilch.

No matter what I did I could not get an image using component. I pressed the TV modes button to change res etc but made no difference. I rebooted, more than once. I tried s-video and it's fine (but of course no good to me). I spent a few hours messing around until I gave up and emailed IO Data. They replied over a period of days suggesting I wait til another firmware update was available.
I do turn it on every now and then and try it but nothing has changed.

The strange thing is that my Sony HS50 is seeing some kind of signal as the screen sort of flickers (not that you can see a particular image but I'm sure you understand what I mean), suggesting there is something there until it eventually says 'Frequency out of Range'.
I have tried all resolutions (incl PAL) and tried it on another component input unit (Toshiba TV) and still nothing.

Any suggesstions would be wlecomed

:(

museumsteve,
Have you already attempted to select the desired output resolution from the setup menu, rather than using the TV MODE button on the remote?

I have an update on the above video mod. Previously I was using a 42" NEC plasma to evaluate picture quality, and found that just removing the Y channel LC filter gave a nice improvement in picture detail. Well, a front projection DLP on a 96" screen reveals that there is some chroma delay, or color bleeding. I removed the remaining LC filters on the Pr and Pb channels, and now the results are truly remarkable...the PQ now rivals what I see when feeding HD into the projector's DVI input. I wish I had made "before" and "after" pics. This is definitely a worthwhile mod.

-Dylan

I have an update on the above video mod. Previously I was using a 42" NEC plasma to evaluate picture quality, and found that just removing the Y channel LC filter gave a nice improvement in picture detail. Well, a front projection DLP on a 96" screen reveals that there is some chroma delay, or color bleeding. I removed the remaining LC filters on the Pr and Pb channels, and now the results are truly remarkable...the PQ now rivals what I see when feeding HD into the projector's DVI input. I wish I had made "before" and "after" pics. This is definitely a worthwhile mod.

-Dylan


Does this remove the issues you saw with 720p when you did the first mod?

Hey dahester, I also interested on performing the video quality improvement mod, I own a Sony HS20 projector.

Just a couple questions:

- Did you see increase in picture noise as a result of the modification ?
- Could there be other side effects of such modification ?
- Did you try 720p as well as 1080i ?

Any other pics illustrating the mod would be greatly appreciated !

Thank you ! :)

Does this remove the issues you saw with 720p when you did the first mod?

The interference pattern I saw was specific to using the NEC plasma, only at 720p, with either one LC filter or all three LC filters removed. There was no interference at 1080i. The (somewhat) good news is that this interference is display and resolution specific. On the DLP projector (Runco VX-5000c) there is no interference at any of the resolutions. So you will still need to test if the mod is OK with your specific display. It's probably best to remove the Y channel filter first and then check the output before desoldering all the filters.

I can't overemphasize the benefits of doing this mod. It's like getting a new prescription. You will definitely find that if you can get either 1080i or 720p working on your display without interference, you'll take that over the filtered muck you are watching now, even if that means extra video processing/scaling steps in your setup.

As best I can tell, the designers of this board used the exact same output filter topology for s-video, composite video, and component. They must have used a filter that is tuned for SD resolutions, and did not modify the filter values to open up the bandwidth for HD. They might have also needed to do this extra filtering to pass FCC testing. :)

Hey dahester, I also interested on performing the video quality improvement mod, I own a Sony HS20 projector.

Just a couple questions:

- Did you see increase in picture noise as a result of the modification ?
- Could there be other side effects of such modification ?
- Did you try 720p as well as 1080i ?

Any other pics illustrating the mod would be greatly appreciated !

Thank you ! :)

1. No extra picture noise whatsoever, just lots of extra picture detail. The faint interference lines are actually somewhat common on plasma displays, and sometimes it's necessary to apply RF filter chokes and other tricks to get rid of the problem. Bear in mind that when I saw the interference, the lid to the DVD player was off, and the player itself was situated only a few feet from the plasma. This interference could easily have gone away by using RF chokes, screwing the lid back on, or moving the player away from the plasma. I did not experiment further because I found that 1080i worked beautifully here.

2. I have not seen any other side effects, except of course you void any warranty that this player might have had. :)

3. Yes, 720p and 1080i are both improved substantially.

I will see if I can obtain better pictures, but my camera is a crappy 2MP with no provision for getting pics up close. Having said that, it should be easy to locate the components by device number, as mentioned previously - all six devices are located very close to the D4 connector.

Great info ! I will let you know how my changes go this coming weekend !

museumsteve,
Have you already attempted to select the desired output resolution from the setup menu, rather than using the TV MODE button on the remote?

yeah, I have tried every video option/combination there is. I am so gutted right now, not helped by IO Data telling me I should just wait
even though the machine is so new. All my other equipment is fine using component etc.

It's too bad you can't just extract an appropriate digital signal and create a DVI output while you're in there.

Xesdeeni

It's too bad you can't just extract an appropriate digital signal and create a DVI output while you're in there.

Xesdeeni

There are footprints for a DVI transmitter and a DVI connector, but there's no guarantee that the signals on the transmitter footprint are active. Some DVI transmitters can operate in a standalone mode, but they may not be compatible with the footprint. I think this would be a much more challenging mod.

If this mod is this important, why has it not been put into the standard product?

Dave

If this mod is this important, why has it not been put into the standard product?

Dave
Good question. I speculated earlier that they might have needed heavy filters on all outputs to pass FCC testing. The designers appear to have copied and pasted the same output filter for all video channels. Also, it's possible that the PCBs are being populated with the wrong-valued components, which is quite common.

Another wild speculation is that they needed to down-rezz the picture so they would be allowed by the DVD consortium to output DVD content over component video at 720p and 1080i.

I just recently got one of these, and of course swapped out the DVD drive with the Lite-on. Couldnt find a black drive, so I disassembled another Liteon black CDRW drive I had to get the black tray from it. That was a chore, and not worth doing again for sure!

All seems to be working great now, but I have one question I have not seen addressed, or just missed it. I have downloaded some of the non-DRM WMV-HD trailers from MS and tried to play them. Video is outstanding, but absolutely no audio. I only use digital audio, so maybe thats why, but my question is, will the LP currently play WMV files that have 5.1 WMA sound, or will it ever? When I encode my HD TS files, I encode them with the DD track intact, and this uses more space, so if I could reduce that with WMA I would. Thanks for any info!

The LP2 currently supports a 2 channel analog downmix for 5.1 WMA. Why they couldn't also provide 2 channel PCM on the SPDIF output isn't clear. Fundamentally the hardware can support it, and possibly even support WMA 5.1 over SPDIF.

I would continue to use AC-3 audio wherever you can; it's nearly universally supported.

Just a quick note on Wizd/LP2. The combination supports DTS! I installed the Wizd server last night. It's pretty simple, but gets the job done. As I cycled through the audio tracks on Coldplay Live 2003, I was surprised to see the DTS track coming through solidly. Very nice.
In less than a week this box has radically changed the way my home theater operates, and for the better.

I could go for a 2 channel PCM signal over the SPDIF! Now if the unit were to send out a WMA 5.1 signal over the SPDIF, then I would assume the processor would have to support WMA 5.1 decoding? Or are you inferring that maybe the hardware in the LP2 can convert it on the fly and send a AC3 signal derived from the WMA?

I guess the best route to go is just to keep muxing in the AC3 track in tact, and live with the slightly larger encoded file.

The DTS info looks good too, but I wonder how much work is involved in muxing in a DTS track instead of an AC3 track, since I would have to rip the DTS from a DVD and then figure out the timing sync, as opposed to letting DVD2AVI doing it automagically.

I think the reason we don't get the WMA downmix as PCM on the SPDIF is because they are sending the raw WMA 5.1 Pro directly out that port instead. The Linkplayer does NOT need to have a WMA decoder in order to send the signal out the SPDIF. All they have to do is be able to extract the WMA Pro from the stream, and send it through. Though they might need to some decoding in order to do the downmix.

It WOULD be nice, however, if they at least allowed us the OPTION to substitute PCM downmix for the raw WMA Pro on the SPDIF. That way you'd only need to hookup the optical connection to your amp. All other stereo signals (mp3s, non DD soundtracks, etc...) are already sent as PCM, so it is certainly doable.

Anyone have a good WMA Pro test sample? I'd like to see if the downmix is Dolby Surround encoded, or straight stereo.

So I guess I would still like to know if the LP's hardware is capable of converting WMA 5.1 to AC3 5.1 sound. I dont have a WMA capable processor, and dont plan on replacing my B&K ref50 anytime soon in order to get one.

I know certain motherboards' onboard audio chipset can do it, so it cant be too overly complex of a process.

Anybody know?

I have an update on the above video mod. Previously I was using a 42" NEC plasma to evaluate picture quality, and found that just removing the Y channel LC filter gave a nice improvement in picture detail. Well, a front projection DLP on a 96" screen reveals that there is some chroma delay, or color bleeding. I removed the remaining LC filters on the Pr and Pb channels, and now the results are truly remarkable...the PQ now rivals what I see when feeding HD into the projector's DVI input. I wish I had made "before" and "after" pics. This is definitely a worthwhile mod.

-Dylan


Dylan,

I just got my machine the other day and I love it. It looks great on my Mitsu rear proj. Tv, and I'm not capable of doing the mod myself. The good news is , I live in Austin too! So where and how much?

koik69

I'm busy with new job, but still can't wait to try Dylan's picture sharpening mod.

As long as you are jumpering the inductor, couldn't you just leave the capacitor in place?

koik69,
I'm leaving for Europe shortly for three weeks. I'll return July 19. Give me a shout on PM then.

Tom,
I didn't try to leave the cap in place. It's not recommended because the LC filter forms a nice 2nd order filter with flat in-band freq. response (although its corner frequency in this case is set too low). If you short out the inductor and leave the cap in place, you will get a 1st order low pass filter, which is a poor performer (you will also throw off the transmission line source characteristic impedence, which we probably should not try to cover here).

By removing both the L and C, we open up the bandwidth considerably, in fact maybe a little too much since now other sources of RF on the Avel Linkplayer board can couple into the Y, Pr, and Pb channels. Ideally one would use a program like the one I've linked below to retune the filter band edge to, say 50 MHz (-3 dB). Since the pixel clock of HD material is ~74 MHz, the highest frequency of interest is ~37 MHz, so a 50 MHz filter should not cut into the highest frequencies very much, but still provide some anti-aliasing and RF rejection.

http://www-users.cs.york.ac.uk/~fisher/lcfilter/

Since I'm getting great results without a filter, I've decided not to pursue the hassle of retuning the filter, ordering parts, soldering, etc.

I have implemented the filter modification, and the result is just amazing !!! I have removed the three capacitors and inductors as Dylan points out. Believe me, it is trully worth it !!!

The strange part is that I saw a clear result in 720p, I mean it's really night and day... all the bluriness is gone, and picture is now razor sharp. I did not see that much improvement on 1080i though...

I am facing a different problem, which I already had before the modification. In 720p and 1080i, I have a diagonal moving noise while using my Sony HS20 projector. I have tried re-shielding the D4 supplied cable and also shielding the internal circuitry from the power supply, but it did not seem to resolve things...

Now I am thinking on adding capacitors near power supply points in the PCB, as it could be some sort of ripple getting into the video signal... funny thing it is not present in 480p...

afss,
You're seeing the faint interference I saw when I hook it up to a plasma at 720p. It's too bad you are seeing it on both 720p and 1080i. Looks like, to make this mod 100% reliable, it might have to be done the hard way (see message above). But try an RF choke on the component cable. Also, this may sound funny, but use a crappy set of patch cables for your component video. These cables can act as a low pass filter on the video, and may reduce the interference (if it's on the signal conductor itself).

I'm starting to surmise that the interference problems are possibly coming from the display and not the LP2 per se. When an analog video signal is shown on a digital display, it must be digitized. There is probably some RF noise coming out of the LP2 on the D4 signal conductors which, if not properly filtered by an anti-aliasing filter, will give the interference you see.

I'm not sure how you get this. I can't find a specification for analog HD (anyone have one), but at the very least:

720p: 1280 x 720 x 59.94 = 55.24 Mp/s
1080i: 1920 x 1080 x 29.97 = 62.14 Mp/s

with no blanking, that's over 31 MHz for 1080i. Typically there is around 25% blanking, meaning about 42 MHz for 1080i.Your confusing sample rates with actual resolution... :)

If you short out the inductor and leave the cap in place, you will get a 1st order low pass filter, which is a poor performer (you will also throw off the transmission line source characteristic impedence, which we probably should not try to cover here).

Not sure I follow. If the cap and inductor are in series, then both have to be jumpered if removed, else you have an open circuit.

On the other hand, if they are in parallel, and you short where the inductor was, the cap is in parallel with the jumper only.

Am I missing something?

Or the capacitor is coupled to ground (probably)?

Good question. I speculated earlier that they might have needed heavy filters on all outputs to pass FCC testing. The designers appear to have copied and pasted the same output filter for all video channels. Also, it's possible that the PCBs are being populated with the wrong-valued components, which is quite common.

Another wild speculation is that they needed to down-rezz the picture so they would be allowed by the DVD consortium to output DVD content over component video at 720p and 1080i.

Basically, someone probably just decided to use the same filter on all channels for cost reasons. We do have a reference design that switches different filter characteristics in/out based on output resolution, but there's no guarantee an OEM will use it.

Some "cheapie" video boards don't have an analog output filter to lower costs -- they assume the analog video input on the TV will be lowpass filtered before being digitized to avoid aliasing artifacts. Needless to say, that causes some problems with some displays.

Another issue is that SD content upscaled to HD doesn't have a 30 Mhz bandwidth....probably much less than half that, but I would have to do a frequency spectrum analysis to be sure.

I'm not sure how you get this. I can't find a specification for analog HD (anyone have one), but at the very least:

720p: 1280 x 720 x 59.94 = 55.24 Mp/s
1080i: 1920 x 1080 x 29.97 = 62.14 Mp/s

with no blanking, that's over 31 MHz for 1080i. Typically there is around 25% blanking, meaning about 42 MHz for 1080i.Your confusing sample rates with actual resolution... :)So the hardware, which is designed based on specifications for HD resolutions, assumes the content won't have that resolution!? Surely you are joking.

Xesdeeni

Another issue is that SD content upscaled to HD doesn't have a 30 Mhz bandwidth....probably much less than half that, but I would have to do a frequency spectrum analysis to be sure.

Good to hear from the horse's mouth. :) Your book has helped me greatly in some of my moonlighting ventures.

I believe that, unless edge enhancement or some other nonlinear trick is employed, 6.75 MHz will still be the limit of upscaled SD material. In other words, a 6.75 MHz zone plate from a DVD should still measure 6.75 MHz on a 'scope at 720p or 1080i.

-Dylan

Or the capacitor is coupled to ground (probably)?

Yes, the inductor is in series and the cap is coupled to ground.

Hey Dylan;

Do you have access to the LP2 schematics ? I would like playing around further with filtering. I believe we could improve 1080i further, since it is still blurry even after removing the Inductors and capacitors close to the D4 connector. Like I said before, the improvement on 720p is amazing, on the other hand.

It might even be possible to add the DVI output by adding the missing DVI connector, ICs and other missing components. Have you considered that at all ?

Has anybody had problems on playing back movies .ts files from the player itself by disk? When I put the disk in, and start the movie, the audio is cracking(I'm not using digital) and video stutters for about 30 seconds or so and then it plays fine. Each disk will do that. But when I stream from the computer it plays perfectly. I download hi-def movies from newsgroups and then I combine the files and split to size using a program called NullPacketStripper. There is a function in NullPacket to adjust time , it reads :

"experimental function to skip a certain time period at the
beginning. This utilizes the PCR timestamps from transport stream
adaption fields, so reliability is limited"

I wonder if this will solve my issue or do I change to the Lite-on drive?

koik69

koik69, my HD files compiled from .ts newsgroup downloads, recorded to DVD-R usually choke for a while at playback, but I haven't upgraded the drive... and I can't remember if it happens via LAN... so I don't know if it's a bandwidth issue or hardware/firmware... or our source material for that matter. I can make my own HD content from off-air broadcasts but that's no fun :p

dahester, thx for this mod, nice work, I will perform it this weekend or sooner. I prefer mods that are free (well except for desoldering braid, damn it I'm out)... cost is why I haven't even looked into the LiteOn mod (plus I figure I might as well work the standard piece of crap till it 'caks' :p ).

Here I am, back to ask about D4 cables, thinking I'm just gonna have to deal with what I got.. and instead I find this miracle cure. This is great news considering I have basically stopped using player out of disappointment with the results I was getting to my 480p widescreen projector. I was ready to spend $xx.xx on a JVC D4 to Component... and ask about the possibility of Japanese D4 to VGA ... but instead I've got a fun project, what is hopefully a major improvement... and finally, a reason to open her up and void that warranty :D

Lex,

I tried the time delay feature in NullPacketStripper and it seemed to work with the first moivie I tried. It played back perfect. I'll try a few other movies.

Kirk


BTW - I'm looking for a copy of the RoseBowl in HD. My JVC HD VCR is modified to play regular tapes in HD, or I can use dvd copy of it.

koik69 @ yahoo com

Dear All,

It's a first time for me to visit AVS forum. And I have never known this thread. Wonderful! We apprecaited for a lot of talking about I-O DATA AVeL LinkPlayer. We will keep supporting all LinkPlayer lovers and potential customers in the future.

If you look for another answers, try to visit our official forum as well. We'll be very glad if AVS forum and ours provide more satisfaction for all. Thank you :)

Thanks for this great modification tip !! :)

I was not very happy after noticing quite a bit of blur when using my new linkplayer on my 110" projector screen with 720p output resolution. I first thought it was due to a poor D4 cable, but realized that it was probably rather the filter on the D4 out connector. I decided to go ahead and remove the filters as outlined in a previous post and I must say this was a great improvement!! All the blurriness is gone and the picture now is the same crisp quality as I have out from my PC to the projector via RGB. Without this modification I was going to return the player but now I am most happy with its performance. When watching pictures on a big screen on 720p the sharpness is now excellent whereas before is was not.

Lars158,
Do you mind take a picture of what you did on the mod?

Loquatsoft

Lars158,
Do you mind take a picture of what you did on the mod?

Loquatsoft

I did the same modification as described in detail in the earlier post (i.e. by removing the capacitors C200-202 and replacing the inductors L65-67 with a direct wire). Really quite straight forward, even though these components are tiny so some care and a good eye is required...

Does the player support Real video files, such as RM or RMVB? Thanks.

Lo all, after reading this monster of a thread, and finally the capacitor mod suggested earlier, I took my courage with one hand, and my soldering iron in the other, and tried the mod, altough i'm not really good at that.

well with a little patience, and calm, I managed to do it, actually if you have a fine tip on the iron, it's quite straightforward:

This is for all the guys with little experience in that matter, like me:

* Prepare a clean sheet of paper with drawings to put the removed pieces on, in case they are not the same you'll be happy to have them sorted...
* Prepare a wet sponge, to remove the melted metal from the tip of your iron.
* Let your iron get quite hot, you don't want to have to hold the tip onto the same square millimeter for 30 seconds...
* Use an iron with a really fine tip...

I started with the L65 Inductor: it's the largest of the 2, and it's the only one I could do and stop afterwards if it was too hard.
kind of a fallback plan.
I used a small flat screwdriver to push *lightly* against the inductor, while applying the tip on one of the ends, and then the other
*DO NOT put the tip ON THE BOARD, and not on the INDUCTOR ITSELF*
I don't know if it is dangerous to place the tip directly on the inductor, it would seem easier, since you could heat both tips evenly, but when in doubt...
After a few seconds, the inductor moved one end, and i placed the iron on the other end... a few seconds more, it was away.
Seeing that it was quite easy, I then removed the other inductors first (think of it as a training, before attacking the capacitors that are smaller...)

I then proceeded to remove the capacitors., using the same technique (screwdriver, and holding the iron VERTICALLY, to keep the other components safe from harm).
And after removing all 6 components, I had enough 'training' to put a metal blob on the inductor's place.

While doing that, beware of the SMOKE that comes out when you melt the metal.
you can either deal with it by blowing with your mouth,
or try to cover the tip of the iron with a small quantity of metal, and try to 'paint'.
After a bit of trial and error, I managed to make a connection.
did the same for the 2 other inductors, plugged back and tried...

And oh boy the joy while seeing the difference !!
looks almost like a DVI (you still have a lil bit of artifacts, but there is NO COMPARISON with before...)

I have it plugged on a Pana AE-700 projector, 720p native res, and it's pixel perfect.

I cannot insist enough that you need also to replace the backgrounds from the linkserver software, they are blurry and ugly, make yourself some nice backgrounds using photoshop, this will change your life...

Thank you guys for this daring and wonderful tip.

Note: Since I live in europe, and this player is not available here, I ordered if from california, and thus have absolutely no warranty on it. so I figured I'd try that :)

Note 2:
I'm quite sure I've written a thing or 2 (or 50) that are completely wrong, please correct me, I did that to show a few people like me that don't know much about electronics that it can be done quite easily.

So far, it sounds like this LC filter mod mostly improves 720p. Does it do ANYTHING (good or bad) to 1080i? (or 480p for that matter...)

In my case, it seems that a video noise was slightly enhanced after the filter modification. This noise can be described as small diagonal lines that move from the upper left corner to the bottom right one.

I have had this video noise with my Sony HS20 LCD display even before the mod. It is more pronounced with 720p and 1080i than 480p. This noise is not apparent on my (much smaller !) CRT TV. It is definitivelly a LP2 problem, as my denon DVD-1600 is side by side and does not have anything.

Okay, got some questions. I have taken my HDV and brought in via the
Cineform CFHD format, and yep, it took about 40 gig per hour.
So am trying to figure out output formats, space and players.

So, lets start with DVD output. I have two choice, letterbox or anamorphic.
So, what are the things to consider? Is a anamorphic DVD better to use than a letterboxed? Would one see difference in quality on a PC screen?
TV Screen? Any difference in output file sizes?

Okay, now on to HDV. So, I assume the best way to edit is in CFHD format, rather than m2t? Now, once this is done, it is output time question. I am looking at buying the I/O Data machine. Does it play both WM9 and m2t formats? At max encoding for an hour of data, what are the file size differences? Can the I/O Data network in the wm9 or m2t file so it would not be restricted in size with current optical media?

Dave

Okay, got some questions. I have taken my HDV and brought in via the
Cineform CFHD format, and yep, it took about 40 gig per hour.
So am trying to figure out output formats, space and players.

So, lets start with DVD output. I have two choice, letterbox or anamorphic.
So, what are the things to consider? Is a anamorphic DVD better to use than a letterboxed? Would one see difference in quality on a PC screen?
TV Screen? Any difference in output file sizes?"Anamorphic" has the capability of providing higher resolutions than "Letterbox", especially when encoding wider than 4:3 frames.


Okay, now on to HDV. So, I assume the best way to edit is in CFHD format, rather than m2t ? For very basic editing you could use a tool called DGIndex. This application can now cope with .M2T files, it can even de-mux .M2T files to their raw streams!

Now, once this is done, it is output time question. I am looking at buying the I/O Data machine. Does it play both WM9 and m2t formats? At max encoding for an hour of data, what are the file size differences? Can the I/O Data network in the wm9 or m2t file so it would not be restricted in size with current optical media ?Now you're asking..... high-def Mpeg2 (.M2T) files are much larger in file size than WMV9 or Mpeg4 files.

I have not worked out the expected min/max file sizes of an HDV 1080i or an 720p stream.... but I can tell you it's possible to store around 120 mins of HD Mpeg4 or WMV9 content on a single sided, single layer DVD~R/RW.


Cheers

Another question. Reading i/o datas response on their web about upconversion, I am confused. Does the existing I/O data do it? Will the new JVC unit do it? Continue to try and decide if I should buy now or wait for the JVC.

Dave

Apparently, up-scaling copy protected DVD's via the component video outputs is against CSS rules and regulations. It is allowed via an HDMI or DVI outputs but only if they support HDCP

Manufacturers offering an up-scaling feature (via component) can get into quite a bit of trouble. They could even lose their license to manufacture/produce DVD players. The CSS people are starting to toughen up on this issue!


Cheers

Apparently, up-scaling copy protected DVD's via the component video outputs is against CSS rules and regulations. It is allowed via an HDMI or DVI outputs but only if they support HDCP

Manufacturers offering an up-scaling feature (via component) can get into quite a bit of trouble. They could even lose their license to manufacture/produce DVD players. The CSS people are starting to toughen up on this issue!Yeah...and I cannot fathom why on earth this is so. My HDTV upconverts SD to HD internally. Who gives a flying crap whether the DVD player does this instead!? It doesn't add information. I can only conclude it's about power, not reality. What a bunch of whiny, greedy, megalomanics.

Xesdeeni

Dear Dave,

I-O DATA USA has 2 products of AVeL LinkPlayer category to North American market. One is AVLP2/DVDLA (available) and another is SRDVD-100U (coming soon). SRDVD-100U will not be sold by IODATA web site or IODATA's resellers. All distribution will be handled by JVC Professional Company.

SRDVD-100U has DVI output, then can support upconverting SD to HD. SeeMoreDigital is correct. Upconverting function needs DVI or HDMI output. AVLP2/DVDLA doesn't. This is a simple reason.

P.S.

We had planned AVLP2/DVDG (Japanese model) originally, but we understood it would not be useful for North American video lovers. Because it doesn't have HDCP on DVI, also the WiFi is very slow to stream HD high bitrate video even if the hardware is 11g/b. Buffalo's one has WiFi, but cannot make the best performance for HD video streaming. Of course, SD size should be OK, but not perfect. So we are suggesting a combination with a ethernet bridge for WiFi lovers. It's much better for streaming speed.

Another question. Reading i/o datas response on their web about upconversion, I am confused. Does the existing I/O data do it? Will the new JVC unit do it? Continue to try and decide if I should buy now or wait for the JVC.

Dave

No, Sigma EM8620L doesn't decode Real video files. Try to use I-O DATA Advanced Server. I believe no DRM Real video files can work. Thank you.

Does the player support Real video files, such as RM or RMVB? Thanks.

Upconverting function needs DVI or HDMI output. AVLP2/DVDLA doesn't. This is a simple reason.I beg to differ.

Upconverting SD to HD can certainly be accomplished via analog component. There may be contractual obligations with copy protected (CSS/DRM) content that prohibits this, but that doesn't mean non-copy protected content can't be upconverted.

Xesdeeni

Right. Sorry for my not-enough comment.
I'm talking about I-O DATA AVeL LinkPlayer product basis only (with Sigma EM8620L). Thank you for the comment.

I beg to differ.

Upconverting SD to HD can certainly be accomplished via analog component. There may be contractual obligations with copy protected (CSS/DRM) content that prohibits this, but that doesn't mean non-copy protected content can't be upconverted.

Xesdeeni

Couple of questions:

I have a lot of Divx and Mpeg movies burned to CD-R and DVD-R already. If I purchase this player I will have no way to network it. Can I play my Divx, Mpeg movies/clips directly from the CD-R's and DVD-R's? What about AVI's in other formats other than Xvid and DivX?

Or is there another player better suited for this?

Cheers!

This message is to IODATA -

I'd like to inform you that the latest firmware update (04-91-050127-02-IOD-234-000) causes frequent audio dropouts when playing DVD discs on my Denon AVR-3802 receiver (connected with coax digital cable).
The previous firmware (04-33-041227-01-IOD-234-000) does not have this issue for me, so I rolled back to the previous version - howver, I am now missing the updated Premium Content link in the logon area that the new firmware added...
Hopefully whatever was broken in this firmware update will be corrected in a future release, because I'd really like to try the new stuff out - but I won't do it at the cost of audio dropouts...

Thanks for your help!

-Ryan

I've read that the april FW version allows reading of PAL DVD and vobs. Does it output PAL 576i through the componant output ? Does it work ok ?

J.

I did the L-C mod. Big improvement for 720p.

But be careful. If you tear one of the tracing pads from the board, you won't be able to jumper where the inductor was, and you're screwed.

Of course, I can say "yes" to see the information in your thread.
But please check a couple of things before buying LP2.

LP2 supports the following DVD/CD media types and file types.
1. DVD/CD format
- UDF/ISO bridge or ISO9660 (Standard burning media)
- UDF format for DivX HD & AVI2.0 (Over 2GB file size)
2. DVD/CD media type
- DVD-Video/DivX®HDDVD/VideoCD/CD-ROM/CD-DA/DVD-ROM
(Media Type: DVD -R / -RW / +R / +RW / CD-R / -RW)
3. Video type
- MPEG1/MPEG2/MPEG2-TS/MPEG4/DivX®/XviD/WMV9
4. File extention name
- DAT, MPG, MPEG, M2V, AVI, MOV, MP4, M2P, HNL, WMV, MPE, M1V, VOB, DIVX, TS, TRP, M2T

If you need more information, please check IODATA web site. And Q&A page should be very useful for you. Don't rush. We really hope you to buy it after you understand this product spec. Thank you.

Couple of questions:

I have a lot of Divx and Mpeg movies burned to CD-R and DVD-R already. If I purchase this player I will have no way to network it. Can I play my Divx, Mpeg movies/clips directly from the CD-R's and DVD-R's? What about AVI's in other formats other than Xvid and DivX?

Or is there another player better suited for this?

Cheers!

Dear Ryan,

Yes, we know. And the latest firmware (07-74-050622-02-IOD-234-000 relesed on June 24th) can fix this problem, I think. Please try to update it. You need to hit FW Update tab a couple of times, then reach to this version. And Online Content Icon depends on another FW update. You can see "D: Update" on updating. Please try to hit it to update LP2's User Interface. Thank you.

P.S.
If you need more help, please call at 1-866-6-IODATA (toll free). Our support team is glad to help you.

This message is to IODATA -

I'd like to inform you that the latest firmware update (04-91-050127-02-IOD-234-000) causes frequent audio dropouts when playing DVD discs on my Denon AVR-3802 receiver (connected with coax digital cable).
The previous firmware (04-33-041227-01-IOD-234-000) does not have this issue for me, so I rolled back to the previous version - howver, I am now missing the updated Premium Content link in the logon area that the new firmware added...
Hopefully whatever was broken in this firmware update will be corrected in a future release, because I'd really like to try the new stuff out - but I won't do it at the cost of audio dropouts...

Thanks for your help!

-Ryan

Dear Johnny,

See this thread:

I-O DATA USA FORUM > AVeL LinkPlayer "AVLP2/DVDLA" (USA/Canada) > Hardware > PAL TV out > Full PAL Support

I think your concerned point is OK, but PAL out seems not perfect for all customers. Now our team is working to look for the better firmware.

I've read that the april FW version allows reading of PAL DVD and vobs. Does it output PAL 576i through the componant output ? Does it work ok ?

J.

[QUOTE=IODATA]Of course, I can say "yes" to see the information in your thread.
But please check a couple of things before buying LP2.

LP2 supports the following DVD/CD media types and file types.

4. File extention name
- DAT, MPG, MPEG, M2V, AVI, MOV, MP4, M2P, HNL, WMV, MPE, M1V, VOB, DIVX, TS, TRP, M2T


IODATA,

I am having difficulty playing back raw AVI files. I keep getting "unknown video & audio file." I get the raw AVI files from my video camera. Am I missing something? Also I am not able to play M2T, but TS files work great now.

money

If you are having problems with M2T (Sony HD I assume) rename them MPEG.

As for AVI it depends on what video type is encoded within (for example DV).
Only supported types withing AVI can normally play by default -- However, if windows media player can play your AVI you can use the Advanced Server to transcode the unsupported type to MPEG on the fly.

Paul_PDX,

Renamed M2T to MPEG and it worked like a charm.

Is there another way to get AVI to play besides the Advance Server & transcode? I use wizd and love that so I prefer not to change servers. BTW, I have the Canon Optura 300 which uses mini-dv. Does it matter what program I use to capture the feed to AVI? I have MS movie maker and Ulead Video 8. Any help would be appreciated. Thanks in advance.

money

Is there another way to get AVI to play besides the Advance Server & transcode? I use wizd and love that so I prefer not to change servers. BTW, I have the Canon Optura 300 which uses mini-dv. Does it matter what program I use to capture the feed to AVI? I have MS movie maker and Ulead Video 8. Any help would be appreciated. Thanks in advance.

money

Unfortunately DV is one of the few types that the Sigma chip in the LP2 isn't able to play natively and unfortunately WIZD doesn't transcode.

Since DV-AVI takes alot of space compared to MPEG2 I usually convert my DV captures to DVD (MPEG2) format -- I think Ulead can do it for you if you would want to try. MPEG2 will let you get an hour down to about 1-2 GB compared to DV being in the 15-25GB range for that same video.

If you love your LinkPlayer2 go vote --

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=558671

Some one has started a poll.

I am at a losss on how to make this player into a network. I have 2 computers in my house with a wireless broadband router. The cables they sent are way too short to be able to hook up to my pc, and do I hook to pc or router or do I purchase a hub?.... Im have a brain and very puter savvy but this is all new to me. I have about 40 movie files I would like to be able to play and was so excited when I recieved it but what a let down when it came and was only functional as a dvd player alone..... Caused a wee bit of turmoil at home. I have looked at lan cables but seems there different types....
Any help will be greatly appreciated.

Ps. I called Iodata and talked to customer support and what a moron I talked to... said all techs went home for weekend and took my phone number said some one would call Monday..... He sounded like a crackhead... Grrrrr :mad:

I am at a losss on how to make this player into a network. I have 2 computers in my house with a wireless broadband router. The cables they sent are way too short to be able to hook up to my pc, and do I hook to pc or router or do I purchase a hub?.... Im have a brain and very puter savvy but this is all new to me. I have about 40 movie files I would like to be able to play and was so excited when I recieved it but what a let down when it came and was only functional as a dvd player alone..... Caused a wee bit of turmoil at home. I have looked at lan cables but seems there different types....

I just got my LP2 yesterday as well and did not have any trouble getting this onto my network. The diagrams in the manual and online are pretty sufficient, granted I did not need them. You don't connect this directly to your PC, you connect it to a network and then connect to your PC via the network. If the network cables arent long enough then go buy some new ones, it's standard CAT5. If you dont have a network jack/hub/switch/router close enough to plug the LP2 into then you probably have to go wireless, so thats another ~$100 right there for a wireless bridge...hope your network is already 802.11G, cause I doubt you'll like the performance on a B network. Of course, wired network is preferred to keep the buffering to a minimum.

The Sigma website says that the new EM8622 (which is pin compatible with the EM8620 in the LP2) adds VC-1 and MPEG-4.10 (H.264) Decoding capabilities.

Isn't VC-1 just another name for WMV9 that the LP2 already supports?

Should I care enough about H.264 to wait for machines with this chip?

So is there any way that this Sigma-based processor can zoom non-anamorphic DVD's to "anamorphic"?
This is something sorely missing from the player, as I have quite a few older DVD's that aren't enhanced for 16x9 tvs. Watching these discs gives me the "windowbox" effect (black all around a small image).

IO-DATA - is this something that can be added as a feature to the LinkPlayer via a firmware update?

Thanks!

-Ryan

So is there any way that this Sigma-based processor can zoom non-anamorphic DVD's to "anamorphic"?
This is something sorely missing from the player, as I have quite a few older DVD's that aren't enhanced for 16x9 tvs. Watching these discs gives me the "windowbox" effect (black all around a small image).

IO-DATA - is this something that can be added as a feature to the LinkPlayer via a firmware update?

Thanks!

-Ryan

If your set can do zooms of composite you set the output to 480i or 576i PAL if your TV can handle it you can use the zoom functions of your set for just those DVDs. Quality won't be quite as good having your set scale it as having the Player do it but with my Samsung (which has Faroujda FLI2xxx it does a pretty good job.

I would be nice if there were more zoom modes in the LP2 itself though for this situation.

(Note --- you have to hook up both component and svideo/video this way and you also need to toggle video output before you press play or start the DVD).

I read the vast majority of this thread and I have a few questions about how the player works with over the network. Without enabling transcoding in the server application,

1) Do 1080i HDTV transport files play at 1080i?

2) Do 19.4Mbit/sec (OTA HD) transport files play (specs say 12Mbit/sec max)?

3) How about xvid, divx avi, or WMV files with resolutions above 1280x720 do they play (specs just mention max bitrate)?

4) Can this play .ISO files containing a DVD image? how about PCM/DTS CD images?

5) Can this unit play flac or APE files?

6) How does it / can it handle .cue files?

7) Does it read/support ID3 tags (v1.1 or v2.x)?

8) Can this play WMV-HD DVDs like Step into Liquid, T2, or the IMAX discs (via .ISO over the network or the actual drive in the player)?

9) Is this digital bit perfect (for DTS CDs)?

I read the vast majority of this thread and I have a few questions about how the player works with over the network. Without enabling transcoding in the server application,

1) Do 1080i HDTV transport files play at 1080i?

2) Do 19.4Mbit/sec (OTA HD) transport files play (specs say 12Mbit/sec max)?

3) How about xvid, divx avi, or WMV files with resolutions above 1280x720 do they play (specs just mention max bitrate)?

4) Can this play .ISO files containing a DVD image? how about PCM/DTS CD images?

5) Can this unit play flac or APE files?

6) How does it / can it handle .cue files?

7) Does it read/support ID3 tags (v1.1 or v2.x)?

8) Can this play WMV-HD DVDs like Step into Liquid, T2, or the IMAX discs (via .ISO over the network or the actual drive in the player)?

9) Is this digital bit perfect (for DTS CDs)?

1) yes -- or you can play them at 720p, 480p, 576i, 480i.
2) yes -- where do you see specs saying 12mbit.
3) Up to 1080p -- many odd sizes play also 1280x1080, 1024x768 etc in WMV or DIVX or XVID -- 1080p MPEG2 can play also but I dont know how far above 19.2 mbit you would be able to push it.
4) No - or you can mount with Daemon Tools or Nero Image Drive and then play the VOBs (or VIDEO_TS IFO if you use third party WIZD server).
5) not sure -- I've seen yes for DTS dvds but someone said they had a DTS audio file playing. For PCM I believe the answer is yes.
6) No for FLAC or APE currently. They can transcode video on the fly which has windows media player codecs (they do this on XP server box). They have told us they will be looking int adding transcoding of Audio on the fly but we haven't seen this yet (just told us about 2 weeks ago).
7) Yes -- not sure which version (doesn't do WMA tags correctly yet).
8) No for T2 -- not sure of others (somone else answer this one). Definitely not in the built it drive at the present.
9) Not sure if it does DTS audio.

1) yes -- or you can play them at 720p, 480p, 576i, 480i.
2) yes -- where do you see specs saying 12mbit.
3) Up to 1080p -- many odd sizes play also 1280x1080, 1024x768 etc in WMV or DIVX or XVID -- 1080p MPEG2 can play also but I dont know how far above 19.2 mbit you would be able to push it.
4) No - or you can mount with Daemon Tools or Nero Image Drive and then play the VOBs (or VIDEO_TS IFO if you use third party WIZD server).
5) not sure -- I've seen yes for DTS dvds but someone said they had a DTS audio file playing. For PCM I believe the answer is yes.
6) No for FLAC or APE currently. They can transcode video on the fly which has windows media player codecs (they do this on XP server box). They have told us they will be looking int adding transcoding of Audio on the fly but we haven't seen this yet (just told us about 2 weeks ago).
7) Yes -- not sure which version (doesn't do WMA tags correctly yet).
8) No for T2 -- not sure of others (somone else answer this one). Definitely not in the built it drive at the present.
9) Not sure if it does DTS audio.
2) The 2 page spec sheet says 12Mbit max for network connections. ( http://www.iodata.com/catalogs/AVLP2DVDLA_Flyer200505.pdf )
4) Can it play a DVD over the network identically to if it were in the drive?

New questions:
Is the max bitrate for xvid really 1.5Mbit/sec? 1.5Mbit/sec is hardly suffient for HQ 720x480 let alone any HD.

Can it play H264 content, or does the Sigma EM8620L not support that?

2) The 2 page spec sheet says 12Mbit max for network connections. ( http://www.iodata.com/catalogs/AVLP2DVDLA_Flyer200505.pdf )
4) Can it play a DVD over the network identically to if it were in the drive?

New questions:
Is the max bitrate for xvid really 1.5Mbit/sec? 1.5Mbit/sec is hardly suffient for HQ 720x480 let alone any HD.

Can it play H264 content, or does the Sigma EM8620L not support that?

Thanks I've been looking for where they say that -- they must be hedging cause it sur works fine. I almost wonder if some of their table came from their SD unit (the AveLinkPlayer1) and they never updated it for the 8620L.

as to 4) -- no -- when you use their server you can just play vobs (with a two second pause between vobs) and very limited Audio, Sub selection. If you use IODATAs server software I recommend movie only rips (or rips for each program on a DVD with one digital audio track amd at most one subtitle).

However, using the open third party wizd server it uses the IFO files as well to find out each video stream on the disk and show each one with its total time -- (optionally hiding all short streams). Wizd also notes all of the chapter info in the IFOs so chapter forward and back can work. Wizd also can make the LP2 think the VOBs are all one big vob so the gaps between disappear.

In neither case do you have any graphic menus and support for special features like angle will not work.

Subtitles and audio tracks should be able to work but the encoding tricks that the movie industry do to confuse ripping software (such as vob 1 has audio 1 english and audio 2 french and vob 2 has audio 1 french and audio 2 english) can still result in confusing play when using multiple audio tracks and subs at vob changes). So even with Wizd I usually only keep one audio and subtitle track).
(But some foreign movies I backup twice -- once with Digital English with an English Sub and once with the Digital Native Language with an English Sub (I rarely would use a non-English subtitle).

Unfortunately nothing is easy in this game (not even a full HTPC)


One more thing -- H264 won't be posible until a future unannounced player -- this chipset dpoesn't have it.

Some questions. I just got my new I-O Data AVel LinkPlayer2 player and it works except the wmv9 file I made, I have no audio. So, I outputted from Ppro to wmv9 format. I left the audio settings alone. I am getting no audio out. If I put in a DVD, it works fine. But as soon as I hit play, the type of output, like PCM or ac3 goes off my recever. Now, I went back to PPro to see out output audio options there are, and it just the first 256k 2 channel.
I tried to change to the 5.1 mix, but I then get the upmixing error. Any ideas what I am messing up?

Also, can you make chapter type marks in a wmv9 file so you can skip along in the playing file like a DVD?

Thanks

Dave

I just recieved my LinkPlayer today and having a hard time connecting to my network. I have a Linsky Router in my bedroom and have it wired to my Living room where my Xbox and Big screen is at. So I went to best buy and the guy sold me a 5 port workgroup switch and he said to plug in the one cable coming from the router and then get two short cables and run it to your Xbox and Linkplayer. Well did all that but can not get connection. Now if I uplugged everything and just plug the cable in direct I get the connection. So if anyone has any suggestions I would appreciate it very much.

Thank's
Chad

Did you check to see of the Xbox works? Most likely, the problem is the connection between the router and the switch. The switch may have a special port to connect to the router, or a switch to control the mode of one of its ports. If not, you need a cable with pins 2 & 3 crossed.

Make sure your cable from Linky to Switch is connected to "Uplink" port on the Linky. Plug-in to port 1 of the switch (not Uplink if the switch has one).

I figured it out. Thank's all for the reply. The problem was I had the cable plugged into the slot right next to the uplink and all I had to do was move it over and Viola It works. Thank;s again for the help. Now I'm wondering if it would be worth it to do the filter hack,

Chad

I saw the question posted in this thread, but I didn't see any answers:

Does the Linkplayer have Discrete ON/OFF commands?

Thanks,

Matt

Not that I've seen. You may want to check the IOdata forums, as I haven't been there in a while.

Unfortunately nothing is easy in this game (not even a full HTPC)
How true you are with that point. I've been comtimplating pulling the trigger on this player but haven't yet b/c I'm not sure if it does what I want and I'm weary of the firmware upgrades. The HTPC route is great if your capable of working with the hardware/software, but if your a newbie forget it.

I'm a little weary of the last few firmware upgrades, for those that have them how does this player work as playing upscale DVDs? Has the playback improved? I'm also interested in playing HD Divx (off of torrents from downloading it) files off my PC. Does that still work well? Has the MP3 interface improved at all? That's not a priority, but I want it to be easy playing DVDs (and upscaling would be a plus through the components) and playing HD Divx files over the network. Any opinions with the latest upgrades?

I bought a Buffalo LT a few days ago and so far its been pretty good. I understand however, that the LinkPlayer2 has more support from IODATA and that the firmware is more mature. So, I've decided to swap the LT for the LinkPlayer2.

First, is this a good choice? Second, does the LinkPlayer support WMV-HD 5.1 sound via the coax output? Third, I can help but wonder, though, how soon a LinkPlayer3 is on the horizon. Is it too late to jump into this unit?

I saw the JVC unit, but that seems like a .5 increment rather than a full new version. I don't have an DVI or HDMI HD TV and my network is wired so it does very little for me. I'm looking for news about a new box using a new chip that potential supports new codecs like h.264 and is a little more mature than either the IODATA or the Buffalo. Does anyone have any news on this front?

I'm a little weary of the last few firmware upgrades, for those that have them how does this player work as playing upscale DVDs? Has the playback improved? I'm also interested in playing HD Divx (off of torrents from downloading it) files off my PC. Does that still work well? Has the MP3 interface improved at all? That's not a priority, but I want it to be easy playing DVDs (and upscaling would be a plus through the components) and playing HD Divx files over the network. Any opinions with the latest upgrades?

The DVD issues that people were having with newer disks seem to be cleared up as of the june firmwares. Some people are still complaining about the built in loaders quality but I haven't seen any issues in that regard. Upscaling is still working as of latest fw. I have had no issues with HD-xvids so I assume the HD DivX are the same -- you might go to the Iodata forum with that question though for more comments. For me the latest fw combined with WIZD is doing everything I want to do.

First, is this a good choice? Second, does the LinkPlayer support WMV-HD 5.1 sound via the coax output?


the WMV-HD soundtrack WMA PRO 6.1 on the coax (for receivers that know wma) was there briefly in May but is reported to be gone in the current firmware - currently it is output as two channel over analog. IODATA says the digital will be back in a future fw but didn't say when for sure.

Just a thought...

How hard would it be to convert wma-pro 5.1 audio to AC3? I KNOW you can mux DD 5.1 in an avi with WMV-HD video, so another solution to the WMV 5.1 "problem" would be to strip out the WMA pro, convert it to DD 5.1, and then mux the WMV-HD video together with the DD 5.1 audio into an avi container.. (using VirtualDub, or something...)

This should theoretically produce WMV-HD files with true 5.1 audio that would be playable on LinkPlayer...

Anyone try this? (this, of course, would probably not be an option with DRMed media. So perhaps it is of limited value..)

Hey Dylan;

Do you have access to the LP2 schematics ? I would like playing around further with filtering. I believe we could improve 1080i further, since it is still blurry even after removing the Inductors and capacitors close to the D4 connector. Like I said before, the improvement on 720p is amazing, on the other hand.

It might even be possible to add the DVI output by adding the missing DVI connector, ICs and other missing components. Have you considered that at all ?

Anyone want to try adding a DVI ?
I will offer up my unit for testing..

For me the latest fw combined with WIZD is doing everything I want to do.
Thanks for answering my questions, I appreciate it. Sorry though, what's WIZD?

Anybody else have an opinion on the MP3 interface? Has that changed at all?

Anyone want to try adding a DVI ?
I will offer up my unit for testing..

I would just wait until September for the JVC ProHD version of this player. There are potentially some serious problems with adding DVI.
1) The 24 bit RGB bus may not be active on the footprint for the DVI transmitter. A hack to the firmware would be required to enable the RGB port on the Sigma Designs part. Good luck with that.
2) Even if the RGB bus is active, it would probably be outputting in the YCbCr color space, since the video DACs on the U.S. model only output component HD. To make matters worse, the video ports on an I.C. like the Sigma Designs part can typically be configured for many different output formats, such as 4:2:2 YCbCr with embedded sync, etc. A typical DVI transmitter only accepts 4:4:4 RGB with separate H and V sync.

So my advice: save your money for two months, then buy the JVC. That's my plan.

A couple of "quick" questions that I know I could get the answers to if I had two hours to read everything. However, I know you all know the answers, so here it goes...

1) Is the player multi-region? Can I watch a PAL disc on an NTSC set?
2) Does the player handle TS files smoothly streaming on a wired network?
3) Does it handle WMA files properly - ie. does it support WMA Tags, does it support sorting by track number, etc.?
4) How is the picture quality on a JVC DiLA set - owners only please ;-)?
5) User interface? How good/bad?
6) Does it UPSCALE over the Component currently? There is conflicting information in the materials posted.

Thanks. I have a GoVideo 2730 currently, and have a lot of DirecTV material stored on a NAS in the basement which has UPnP support. Thinking of replacing it with this.

thanks for the reply dahester.
Have a hard drive full of ts files, and no way to get them to my projector
So I broke down and purchased the linkplayer2, which I will get today.
I will eBay it as soon as the ProHD is available....

I am considering purchasing a LP to playback .TS over my wired network. I have several USB 2.0 enclosures with NTFS formatted HDs. Many files > 10gig. It appears I-O-Data doesn't support NTFS via the USB port on the LP which I don't care about anyway but can I still playback these .TS files over my wired network if the USB HD enclosures are plugged into a PC and shared on the network?

Also, I have .VOB files on these USB drives that are >4gig and some DVDs were ripped with a 1gig limit, so 4 to 5 .VOB files for one DVD movie. Any pitfalls playing these back with the LP? I have read that folks use Video Redo to sew the .VOB files back together and some use the Quickscan feature in VRD to fix some of the problems with .VOB files. Any comments would be appreciated. aTdHvAaNnKcSe.

Sorry though, what's WIZD? Try HERE. (http://www.geocities.com/flipflop7146/wizd.html)

A couple of "quick" questions that I know I could get the answers to if I had two hours to read everything. However, I know you all know the answers, so here it goes...

1) Is the player multi-region? Can I watch a PAL disc on an NTSC set?
2) Does the player handle TS files smoothly streaming on a wired network?
3) Does it handle WMA files properly - ie. does it support WMA Tags, does it support sorting by track number, etc.?
4) How is the picture quality on a JVC DiLA set - owners only please ;-)?
5) User interface? How good/bad?
6) Does it UPSCALE over the Component currently? There is conflicting information in the materials posted.

Thanks. I have a GoVideo 2730 currently, and have a lot of DirecTV material stored on a NAS in the basement which has UPnP support. Thinking of replacing it with this.

1. No the player is region 1 only, Possibly if there is no region coding on it as the player does handle PAL much better these days. There is also the option of ripping to disk without region coding.

2. Yes

3. and 4. I have no idea.

5. Depends, I don't mind it. It is simple and gets the job done. I want to spend my time watching content not oohing at the interface. Others will disagree.

6. The official IO-Data answer is it displays a 720p or 1080i picture that only contains 480i worth of information. To me it means it upscales the picture.

I am considering purchasing a LP to playback .TS over my wired network. I have several USB 2.0 enclosures with NTFS formatted HDs. Many files > 10gig. It appears I-O-Data doesn't support NTFS via the USB port on the LP which I don't care about anyway but can I still playback these .TS files over my wired network if the USB HD enclosures are plugged into a PC and shared on the network?

They do not need to be shared on the network, they just need to be accessible by the PC running the server software.


Also, I have .VOB files on these USB drives that are >4gig and some DVDs were ripped with a 1gig limit, so 4 to 5 .VOB files for one DVD movie. Any pitfalls playing these back with the LP? I have read that folks use Video Redo to sew the .VOB files back together and some use the Quickscan feature in VRD to fix some of the problems with .VOB files. Any comments would be appreciated. aTdHvAaNnKcSe.

The problem with multiple VOB files is there is an annoying pause in between files when using the standard server software. Supposedly WIZD will stitch the VOBs together using the IFO files but I don't use mine to watch ripped DVDs so have not tried WIZD yet.

After some Googling I found this defintion on MP@HL:
http://www.timewarnercable.com/CustomerService/FAQ/TWCFaqs.ashx?faqID=986&MarketID=5&CatID=581

Quote: "This stands for main profile at high-level. This is the format used for high-definition digital channels. It supports resolutions up to 1920 x 1080i and data rates up to 19.25 Mbps. "

Now I am more confused than ever. Both he Snazio 1310/1350, IOData Linkplayer2 and Quartek WHD500-V9 network players are all based on the Sigma em8620L chip. This chip supports MP@HL according to the spec: http://www.sigmadesigns.com/products/em8620Lseries.htm. BUT - the specs on the players claims something else.

- IoData spec claims support for 12Mbs mpeg2 playbackk
- Snazio specs claims support for 15Mbs mpeg2 playback
- Quarterdek specs claims support for 12 mpeg2 playback

What, what , what? Why on earth do these players have a spec lower than what's supported by the chip?? Anyone??

I dunno why the specs are so low. Perhaps they are just being conservative? Maybe they can't guarantee server throughput at higher levels than that? Who knows.

But fact is, LP2 has no trouble playing 19Mbs .ts files. And someone here was even able to play less-compressed satellite feeds as well... So I have been ignoring the specs.

The hardware is more than just a video processor chip -- there is also a CPU and support chips for the network involved and the software in the firmware which needs to be efficient enough to keep the rest running well -- if any parts can't keep up it doesn't matter what the Sigma chip can do --

Heres what we know --
the IODATAs can keep up with 19.2MBPS video TS and MPEG2 streams.
the Pinnacle models can not keep up with bit rates over 15MBPS
There are mixed reports on the Buffalo and LiteON models (my last try wasn't successful) but they keep their forum private so we can't read what current readers say.
Snazi and Quartek and other Contel made boxes are still unknowns. (lets hope they have their own engineers like IODATA and unlike Buffalo)

the Pinnacle models can not keep up with bit rates over 15MBPS

Where do you have this info from? I think I have read in a forum somewhere that it plays 20Mbits files without problems.

Where do you have this info from? I think I have read in a forum somewhere that it plays 20Mbits files without problems.

From the Pinnacle forums -- its currently the top topic in the Showcenter 200 section... basically the news is some play some don't depends on data rate.

I love what this player can do but the remote is terrible. I hate to have to sit here and punch the buttons 5 times before it works so I bought the Harmony 659 because someone on the avel forum said it worked great so I received the remote yesterday and this remote don't work much better. Is there anything I can do to make the remote more responsive?Any help would be appreciated.

Thank's
Chad

Chad, I have the same problem with the remote.
I have programed the remote into my MX-500, and I have had to re-learn several of the commands. But it does seem once that are in there, are working..

Hey Paul_PDX, your projector is 720p right ?
When you play those 1080i ts files, do you set your LP2 to 720 or 1080i ?
My AE-700 does a good job of scaling, so I am not sure which does a better job

Hey Paul_PDX, your projector is 720p right ?
When you play those 1080i ts files, do you set your LP2 to 720 or 1080i ?
My AE-700 does a good job of scaling, so I am not sure which does a better job

I've tried both -- in general I wish there was an option to output native and do the scaling external but I currently use 720p so I don't have to switch back and forth and the LP2 does a pretty decent scaling (although with too much overscan)..

... and the LP2 does a pretty decent scaling (although with too much overscan)..
That is my number one peeve with the LP2. An adjustable zoom function is sorely needed.

After some Googling I found this defintion on MP@HL:
http://www.timewarnercable.com/CustomerService/FAQ/TWCFaqs.ashx?faqID=986&MarketID=5&CatID=581

Quote: "This stands for main profile at high-level. This is the format used for high-definition digital channels. It supports resolutions up to 1920 x 1080i and data rates up to 19.25 Mbps. "

Now I am more confused than ever. Both he Snazio 1310/1350, IOData Linkplayer2 and Quartek WHD500-V9 network players are all based on the Sigma em8620L chip. This chip supports MP@HL according to the spec: http://www.sigmadesigns.com/products/em8620Lseries.htm. BUT - the specs on the players claims something else.

- IoData spec claims support for 12Mbs mpeg2 playbackk
- Snazio specs claims support for 15Mbs mpeg2 playback
- Quarterdek specs claims support for 12 mpeg2 playback

What, what , what? Why on earth do these players have a spec lower than what's supported by the chip?? Anyone??

ErikX,

here is the full reference from Steve Mullen's excellent 2004 article on MPEG profiles and levels: http://videosystems.com/images/407VS_Sexpertise.pdf

Full article: http://videosystems.com/mag/video_profiles_levels/index.html

"Anamorphic" has the capability of providing higher resolutions than "Letterbox", especially when encoding wider than 4:3 frames.


For very basic editing you could use a tool called DGIndex. This application can now cope with .M2T files, it can even de-mux .M2T files to their raw streams!

Now you're asking..... high-def Mpeg2 (.M2T) files are much larger in file size than WMV9 or Mpeg4 files.

I have not worked out the expected min/max file sizes of an HDV 1080i or an 720p stream.... but I can tell you it's possible to store around 120 mins of HD Mpeg4 or WMV9 content on a single sided, single layer DVD~R/RW.


Cheers

Depends what's large for you. :) I shoot with HVR-Z1U and ~50 mins raw stream capture takes up only ~8 gigs. If I render it to DVCPro HD, that's over 40 gigs - but that's the only HD codec I can import into Avid too currently. ;)


h2ofun: you can import and edit m2t into Vegas, Premiere Pro or the best, Edius Pro.

I've tried both -- in general I wish there was an option to output native and do the scaling external but I currently use 720p so I don't have to switch back and forth and the LP2 does a pretty decent scaling (although with too much overscan)..

Thanks for the reply
My HDTivo is the same way, no native, so I leave it on 720p, so I know what you mean
On my projector it automaticly switches to 720p.
I think I am better of sending the 1080i to the projector, and let it rescale, then have the LP2 do the scaling..

Which there a way to switch back and forth bewteen 1080 & 720 so I could compare.

Regardless, I streamed iRobot that was in 1080i from my hd, and the picture was absolutly stunning!

First post ever, some questions.

I am thinking about buying the iodata Linkplayer2 (I have 2 D-Link DSM-320's). However, I have converted my DVD collection to Nero Digital MP4 using the "simple profile" which I believe is quicktime compatible. These video's play fine on the DSM-320. I want a combined DVD player and media centre. I also want a stable system that can load 10,000+ MP3's. Finally, I want some ability to get RSS feeds, which I believe the Linkplayer2 supports. I don't want to transcode video because I have a slow server (but it has large drives).

My question: Will the Linkplayer2 play Nero Digital MP4 files? If so, do they need to be encoded in any special way? Can the server software also play video off network drives (e.g. from a Linksys NSLU2)?

I don't want to buy the Linkplayer2 and have to re-encode my video library. Any other comparison between these two media players would be welcome.

Is anyone using the networked HDD from IO Data? I bought a UHDL-160U and all the instructions and help files that I have read just say to connect directly to the LP2. However, this is not working for me. When connecting to the player I use the a CAT5 cable from the player to the HDD - all I get is the two flashing LEDs on the front of the HDD itself. That's it, the player does not see it when connecting directly.

Any ideas, anyone? I sent two emails to tech support - no reply.

Thank you in advance,
brendan

First post ever, some questions.

I am thinking about buying the iodata Linkplayer2 (I have 2 D-Link DSM-320's). However, I have converted my DVD collection to Nero Digital MP4 using the "simple profile" which I believe is quicktime compatible. These video's play fine on the DSM-320. I want a combined DVD player and media centre. I also want a stable system that can load 10,000+ MP3's. Finally, I want some ability to get RSS feeds, which I believe the Linkplayer2 supports. I don't want to transcode video because I have a slow server (but it has large drives).

My question: Will the Linkplayer2 play Nero Digital MP4 files? If so, do they need to be encoded in any special way? Can the server software also play video off network drives (e.g. from a Linksys NSLU2)?

I don't want to buy the Linkplayer2 and have to re-encode my video library. Any other comparison between these two media players would be welcome.

As long as didn't use AVC in Nero Digital to encode the DVDs the LP2 will play them. AVC is not supported by the LP2.

Is anyone using the networked HDD from IO Data? I bought a UHDL-160U and all the instructions and help files that I have read just say to connect directly to the LP2. However, this is not working for me. When connecting to the player I use the a CAT5 cable from the player to the HDD - all I get is the two flashing LEDs on the front of the HDD itself. That's it, the player does not see it when connecting directly.

Any ideas, anyone? I sent two emails to tech support - no reply.

Thank you in advance,
brendan

You need to use a crossover cable to connect them directly.

I replied to you on the private message. Thank you.

Is anyone using the networked HDD from IO Data? I bought a UHDL-160U and all the instructions and help files that I have read just say to connect directly to the LP2. However, this is not working for me. When connecting to the player I use the a CAT5 cable from the player to the HDD - all I get is the two flashing LEDs on the front of the HDD itself. That's it, the player does not see it when connecting directly.

Any ideas, anyone? I sent two emails to tech support - no reply.

Thank you in advance,
brendan

We tried to play a couple of NERO Digital files before. And those free clips, downloaed on NERO web site, can work with LinkPlayer2. However, you might know, LP2 has not passed this NERO official certification, therefore, we cannot officially guarantee to say "yes" at this time. Thank you for understanding.

My question: Will the Linkplayer2 play Nero Digital MP4 files? If so, do they need to be encoded in any special way? Can the server software also play video off network drives (e.g. from a Linksys NSLU2)?

Dear All,

Do you know Plextor and I-O DATA special offer?
Now you can get both Plextor Convert X and I-O DATA LinkPlayer by $299 (Reg Price: $408 -> Special Price: $319 and $20 mail-in-rebate, then $109 off / 27% discount). This campaign will continue until Oct 10th 2005 in order to warm up DivX® MVWire Music Video Contest. We think even LP2 owner can think of this special deal as your 2nd machine or a great gift. Thank you for reading.

Dear Forum Master,

If AVS forum doesn't allow this type of advertizement, please delete this post. I just want to let everybody know this special limited-term deal. Also if you mind this comment, I might have to apologize for that. I wouldn't know such a policy.

I plan to buy a link player. But one thing I could not figure out is how to listen mp3 or wma type of audio source in surround format. Some of receivers does not support digital format and some of them support but they have limitation. :( In order to listen mp3 or wma in surround format, which receiver is good alternative for link player?

Dear emedwhat,

Thank you for thinking.
= MP3 =
I believe MP3 doesn't have 5.1ch audio yet even if it's a digital type. Also almost AV receiver can decode it (except some old receivers). Try to see IODATA forum.
= WMA =
WMA has 3 types. WMA1 is mono, WMA2 is stereo, and WMA Pro is included 5.1ch. The current firmware has one limitation for WMA Pro. Now you can decode it as 2ch analog, but can do as 5.1ch. Our future firmware can support full WMA Pro. The following outputs will be supported:
1. 2ch PCM downmix
2. 5ch WMA Pro digital (needs a specific receiver like Pioneer's)

I plan to buy a link player. But one thing I could not figure out is how to listen mp3 or wma type of audio source in surround format. Some of receivers does not support digital format and some of them support but they have limitation. :( In order to listen mp3 or wma in surround format, which receiver is good alternative for link player?

Thanks for your explanation.

The text below is from AVR 635 user manual. What I understood from the text AVR635 is capable to playback MP3 in surround. :confused:

MP3 Audio Playback
The AVR 635 is one of the few receivers equipped for
onboard decoding for the MP3 audio format used by
computers and portable audio devices. By offering
MP3 decoding, the AVR 635 is able to deliver precise
conversion of the digital signals to an analog output,
along with the benefits of listening to the MP3 audio
through the AVR 635’s high-current amplifier and the
speakers from your surround system, rather than the
smaller speakers and low-powered amplifiers typically
used with computers.

To take advantage of the AVR 635’s MP3 capabilities,
simply connect the S/P-DIF output of a computer’s
sound card or the S/P-DIF output of a portable digital
audio device to either the rear panel Digital Inputs
or the front-panel Digital InputsKM.
When the digital signal is available, the Lower
Display Line$will indicate that an MP3 bitstream
is present, and the audio will begin playing.

I love what this player can do but the remote is terrible. I hate to have to sit here and punch the buttons 5 times before it works so I bought the Harmony 659 because someone on the avel forum said it worked great so I received the remote yesterday and this remote don't work much better. Is there anything I can do to make the remote more responsive?Any help would be appreciated.

I have the Harmony 659 remote and it works much better for me than the included remote even at a distance of 10 meters. Occasionally the AVLP2 fails to turn on or off from the Harmony remote but it's much less frequent of an issue than with the original remote.

My only peeve with the Harmony is its default settings don't give you a command to eject a disk or do other specialized things that the AVeL remote allows. This is easy enough to fix through the Harmony web page but it takes some time to program in. Obviously not everybody will have the same idea of which buttons are essential and which are not. I would have thought an open/close DVD tray button would have been obvious. It's easy to fix. Just don't expect the Harmony remote to eliminate all need for the AVeL remote until you do some experimenting.

MacHound - I programmed my 659 for my LP2 and I have an "eject" button. I assigned my LP to a watch Movie activity incase that makes a difference. Other than that I have not performed any special programming.

Kelly

It's nice to know the 659 has worked well for you guys with this player. It would have been nice for them to put a eject button on the remote, but it's pretty easy programming it into the LCD display anyway.

How do you guys find the MP3 interface to be with this player? I don't listen to music that often, but every once in a while it would be nice to listen to some.

MacHound - I programmed my 659 for my LP2 and I have an "eject" button. I assigned my LP to a watch Movie activity incase that makes a difference. Other than that I have not performed any special programming.

Kelly

Yes, MacHound if you program the 659 to "Watch a Movie" with your LP2 then you will see an eject command show up in the Device LCD window. Make sure you hit the Device button then select "DVD". Then you will see the "eject" command. Strange, the Harmony doesn't have a button for eject.

I was disappointed in the range of the Harmony 659 or perhaps it is the result of the small receive angle of the LP2 IR receiver. I have my LP2 in a cabinet behind speaker cloth and the Harmony will not shoot through it. I had no problem with my MX-500 remote. Looks like I will have to get an IR extender.

New Firmware Aug 02 2005

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

Date: August 02, 2005
The latest Version: 08-83-050802-02-IOD-234-000
[ Update Info ]
- Improve network buffering performance
- Support 24bit wave audio file playback
- Fix the small size photo problem
- Display the elapse of playback time in VFD
- Display the playback file info (after hitting INFO button)

Is there a phone number one can call to order this from IOData? I do not like ordering via the web - the phone number on the web-site is to an irritating recording which dumps you to voicemal. I have left a message and have never heard back.

Also, do all units now come with the D4 to Female cable?

Thanks