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.


Firmware updates are downloaded from the internet using the configuration menus.

The company I work for - DNA People's Legal Services, Inc. - supplies Legal aid to the Navajo and Hopi Nation in Arizona and New Mexico.

At the present we are running public service video's using IOData AvelLink player and networked harddrive. in our main office as a test case.

This is want we want to do:
supply all our offices with players and network drives
push video's to each hard drive once per week.

What we need to be able to do from our main office in Window Rock
access the hard drives. This is already possible using the internet
access and control the players. Navigate to the video folder and PLAY ALL. This is not yet possible

What is needed is a limited firmware modification. I contacted IODATA sales department by email. No response, yet. (There is no phone number)
DNA People's legal Services is willing to pay for a firmware modification that makes our needs possible

thank you

Hans Swets
videographer
DNA People's Legal Services, Inc.
Window Rock, AZ
USA

I would like to push video and music myself to the IOData player. Instead, you must pull the video and music using the IOData player.

I use a projector/screen setup. I don't want to turn it on just to listen to MP3s from my computer.

I would like to push video and music myself to the IOData player. Instead, you must pull the video and music using the IOData player.

I use a projector/screen setup. I don't want to turn it on just to listen to MP3s from my computer.

Since the Linkplayer is now a standalone UPNP player this is getting a little closer. The big problem is the lack of a display on the player for navigation. Take a look at this thread

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=568427

At this time this is more a "proof of concept" and is not yet fully functional for the Linkplayer. You use the Pocket PC as a display to select and push music to the UPNP player. The Philips remote mentioned in the thread could also possibly work. There may even be other control programs for UPNP players floating around.

I'm waiting on my LP2 to come in, and debating my courage to try the filter mod. I am a fairly lousy hand with a solder iron :(. Anyone got any suggestions for practice material to try and get the hang of what I need to do before I tackle the real thing? I suppose I could just get an old curcuit board or something.

In all honesty, I would not recommend soldering off the inductors or capacitors until you have pretty stong experience. It is not as difficult as placing the components and soldering but you do need to have practice in getting the right amount of heat down without tearing away the fragile copper clad tracings.

Anyone willing to do it for me for a price? ;)

I have a new LP2. I have had it go real dark on the video component output twice now.
I have gotten it back to normal, but, not sure what is causing yet. Anyone else see this?

Dave

I have a new LP2. I have had it go real dark on the video component output twice now.
I have gotten it back to normal, but, not sure what is causing yet. Anyone else see this?

Dave

My unit is over 8 months old now and started showing this problem on the last firmware upgrade. I have to shut off the power and cycle a couple times to get the video output to be correct.

My unit is over 8 months old now and started showing this problem on the last firmware upgrade. I have to shut off the power and cycle a couple times to get the video output to be correct.

Mine has this problem as well as of the last firmware. It is in the wrong video mode. I assume the video is either being sent to the S-Video or the RCA video out connector and not the D4 (component) connector. If I cycle the TV Mode, I can get it back to the D4 480P mode that I want.

Looks like a new bug was released in the new f/w.

dave

I also went back to the old f/w and it now works okay again.

Dave

I haven't seen the problems described above with the new f/w, although I did notice something else: During AVI playback, hitting left arrow no longer goes back 1% in the file; it rather jumps a few % ahead. This is very annoying, especially because RW is too coarse and also goes forward (therefore potentially spoiling) before going back.

Anyone else notice this?

awhile back I read some post's that discribed doing the filter removal and made the picture sharper but I have done searches and can not find anything. Maybe it was on another site that I read it so if anyone has a address I would very much appreciate it.

thank's

Try searching "filter mod" in this thread

MP

awhile back I read some post's that discribed doing the filter removal and made the picture sharper but I have done searches and can not find anything. Maybe it was on another site that I read it so if anyone has a address I would very much appreciate it.

thank's

Or do I have to buy I-O Data's UHDL 160GB-300GB Network Hard Drives?

Do their drives come with any special software?

How upgradeable are their drives--are they easy to open cases?

If any network drive will work---recommendations? Especially important is easy upgradeability for when the inevitable terabyte drives of the future are released. :)

Will it support my internet radio stations? (.pls file format)
How about wireless USB printing?

I would love to be able shutdown my PC once in a while :p

TIM

I am looking for a single solution for both HD upconverting of DVDs and watching mpeg 4 files on my HDTV. So originally I had been looking at the OPPO Digital OPDV971H, then I came across the LP2 which made me hesitate on purchasing the OPPO player.

I love the fact that the LP2 is networked so I could just just watch the files stored on another PC in the house and not have to burn them to a disc first. Also I could use it to play .TS files from my MyHD card as well, another great bonus.

Unfortunately the LP2 is not a multi-region player. I have quite a few DVDs that I have purchased from other regions and would love to have a single upconversion solution for playing all my DVDs. Is there any chance that a future firmware upgrade will provide this functionality? I imagine it must be fairly easy/inexpensive to implement, since even the cheapest players on the market by cyberhome, apex, etc all seem to be multi-region/region free.

Or is multi-region support not being added for some sort of legal reason? If this is the case, then how are other companies getting around this?

Thanks

Don't forget other HD capable players such as the: -

Buffalo High Definition Wireless Media Player (http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=495915)

Snazio SZ-1350 Net DVD Cinema HD network player (http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=573406)

Quartek WHD500-V9 wifi usb 2.0 DVI (http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=560620)

Zensonic new Sigma based dvd player (http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=482136)

Plus some others.....


Cheers

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

I have my linkplayer in 1080i mode, and it definitely shows some overscan. On my setup when compared to the live broadcast, the linkplayer is cutting off about 1" on the left & right sides (on a 42" Toshiba RPCRT)

The odd thing is that the overscan isn't consistent on all sides of the screen. When I run the INHD HDTV setup loop the overscan test shows the 5% line just barely visible on the bottom of the screen, but no lines are visible on the top or sides. If I switch the AR to 'square pixel" it squeezes the pic vertically so that I can see both top & bottom 5% lines, but the sides are still well off the screen. This indicates the not only is the overscan set much too high, but the screen isn't centered either. Has anyone else noticed this abnormality?

I'm almost certain that my tv's overscan is set to a reasonable level (everything live OTA looks fine), but with the linkplayer everything appears to be stretched out, and I think the PQ also suffers because of it. This is also a bit of an annoyance when watching 2.35:1 movies, as the AR tends to look a bit off due to the stretching (image is too tall and sides are missing). It actually looks quite similar to watching stuff on my HTPC in 1920x1080i mode, which exhibits some of the same stretching/softness due to the overscan (when I run my HTPC in 1776x1000 everything looks sharp as a tack).

I'm thinking that if I could just get this thing to fit my screen it would look even better...

I've seen this overscan complaint for a very long time. But there is absolutely no excuse for this type of problem! The SMPTE specifications are very clear about the timing of the analog HD signals. If the Sigma Designs chip conforms, then there should be absolutely no difference between this device and any other that conforms.

Xesdeeni

Personally, I think this "overscan" problem may not have anything to do with compliance to SMPTE HD signal specs. I bet it has more to do with how Linkplayer is scaling the content. For example, all the various scaling modes (Full Screen, Actual Size, Square Pixel, etc..) appear as if they are changing the overscan. The picture dimensions change with the scale and more or less content becomes visible at the borders. But I would be very surprised if the actual output scanning specs are changed at all when changing the scale. (i.e. when set to 1080i output, the Linkplayer will output 1080i "standard" SMPTE signal regardless of which scale mode is selected.)

It is, nonetheless, a real problem. It appears as if the LinkPlayer scale-modes are a little messed up, sometimes causing mis-centered images, and cutting off the sides, etc. Also, inaccurate scaling makes it difficult to achieve "pixel-perfect" alignment on fixed-pixel (LCD, plasma, digital projectors, etc.) displays.

The best solution would be to allow user-modification of the scale and offset. This was done very nicely on the Roku HD1000. You could even counter-balance the overscan built into your display if you wanted to see all the content right out to the edges. I wish Linkplayer would provide a way to adjust this.

You may be right that the scaling is to blame, but there is still no excuse for this. The specifications (SMPTE 274M for 1080i and SMPTE 296M for 720p) include the timing for each line, including the active region, as well as for which lines are active. It doesn't matter if you are scaling a postage stamp size video for output, you still must maintain the active video within these constraints. It's as if they have a picture frame of a known size (the output timing) and then can't seem to blow a photo up to fit it exactly.

Xesdeeni

Xesdeeni: I agree with you completely. There is no excuse.

The SMPTE provides a spec for sending EXACTLY 1920x1080 active pixels. If IODATA cannot seem to properly scale/fit the 1920x1080 content pixels (from HD .ts file, for example) so that they match up, then there is obviously a problem.

Trouble is, IODATA will claim that they abide by the spec, because technically, from a signal-timing perspective, they do. They are sending the correct number of scan-lines, the proper number of "active" pixels per line, etc. It is just that the composition of the "active" pixels is wrong. Due to scaling, it sometimes is padded with black borders, or contains a re-scaled sub-sampling of a portion of the original content. i.e. they are populating the "active" pixels with the wrong pixels.

IODATA needs to fix this.

The entire issue regarding "over-scan" will never be an easy one to resolve. Some set-top box manufacturers provide an adjustment option on their devices, most don't.... But more often than not it's the display devices (CRT TV's, front and rear projectors etc), that are poorly aligned.

The sad fact is, if you are connecting via RF, composite, s-video or component you will encounter over-scan!

Now, just so you can determine what you are missing, I've generated some (video only) 480P MPEG-4 "test card" samples for you. Which I've muxed into the .AVI and .MP4 containers!

One of the samples has been encoded at 720x480 with 16:9 DAR signalling (like you'll find on a DVD). The other sample has been encoded at 854x480, with square pixels....

Now... I don't have any problems playing any of the samples with my Sigma Xcard and ADS Media-Link. But I'm only able to play the 720x480 .AVI with my Pioneer DV575A. Hopefully, this player will be able to play them all, as should every other device fitted with Sigma's EM8620L chip-set.

Anyway here (http://homepage.ntlworld.com/seemoredigital/AV_Setup_Test_Files/NTSC_480p_Test_Cards.7z) are the samples.


Cheers

My RP CRT TV definitely has overscan. That's not IOData's problem. But if the image has more overscan as played on the LinkPlayer2 than any other input, then that IS their (and Sigma Designs' by proxy) problem.

Also, if they are showing a 1920 x 1080 source and not showing all the pixels in the active area of a line, then by definition they would be in violation of the specification, given that the pixel sampling rate is specified as well. So if you only show 1880 pixels, then your pixel rate is 1880/1920ths of the correct one. Losing lines is probably a bit more complicated, since scaling lines is not exactly the same as resampling (as is the case for scaling pixels). But it's still a problem with a fairly straightforward solution (assuming there isn't some catastrophic Sigma Designs chip bug).

Xesdeeni

Typically you could easily loose anything between 5-7% horizontally and 7-9% vertically.... Regardless of whether your source contains 720x480 pixels, 720x576 pixels, 1280x720 pixels, 1920x1080/88 pixels or whatever!

The only real way you can obtain an image without over-scan is by connecting via VGA, DVI-A/D or HDMI.


Cheers

My RP CRT TV definitely has overscan. That's not IOData's problem. But if the image has more overscan as played on the LinkPlayer2 than any other input, then that IS their (and Sigma Designs' by proxy) problem.

That was kind of my point. I know my tv set has some overscan, but I've watched the same HD TS file both OTA from my STB, and through the linkplayer, and the linkplayer shows a great deal more overscan. It's as if the image has been blown up, which tends to reduce the perceived resolution.

And should the player also be showing different amounts of overscan on different sides of the set? I get huge overscan on the top and sides, but not so much at the bottom. It's almost as if the entire image has shifted up a few inches. I made this observation (as stated in my previous post) using the HDTV tuneup loop from INHD which includes an overscan chart. I'll try and snap a few photos tonight if anyones interested in it :)

I can't see that the over-scan issue will have anything to do with Sigma.....

It's far more likely to be the result of poor quality control/setting-up by the manufacturer prior to dispatch and the "next to useless" TV output scaling options offered by the Syabas GUI software!


Cheers

I've had my player for a month now and I've read all about the HD content being soft and the filter mode that can be done. The problem I have with this player is not so much HD content but with my normal dvd's. The picture is so blurry and I first notice tonight after I put in a DVD I just made from my FX1 Video camera and it looked blurry so I hooked up my old DVD player and sure enough it's sharp and clear.I haven't heard to much about DVD"s being blurry so mayb I'm doing something wrong or this player is bad. If anyone has any suggestions I would appreciare it.

Thank's

Typically you could easily loose anything between 5-7% horizontally and 7-9% vertically.... Regardless of whether your source contains 720x480 pixels, 720x576 pixels, 1280x720 pixels, 1920x1080/88 pixels or whatever!

The only real way you can obtain an image without over-scan is by connecting via VGA, DVI-A/D or HDMI.


Cheers

Surely "overscan" in it's purest sense is entirely a function of the display - and how the input video is mapped onto the screen surface. If the scans start outside the visible screen area (as is commonly the case with domestic direct-view CRTs) you get overscan. If the scans start inside the visible screen area you don't (as is the case with underscanned broadcast monitors)

There IS also the issue of what happens when you scale input video from non-native formats, and whether you incorporate scaling to simulate overscan on some input formats when the actual display technology doesn't suffer from it, but this is surely not really overscan - but more an "overscan simulation"?

Surely "overscan" in it's purest sense is entirely a function of the display - and how the input video is mapped onto the screen surface. One would like to think so... And hope so!

When I play my PAL 720x576 anamorphic test card on my players/devices and run the video output thru' the same DSS amp and to the same component inputs on my TV, the position of the test card is identical....

However, after recently providing an NTSC 720x480 anamorphic test card for people to try with their (NTSC) devices, I got a bit of a shock..... As there did not seem to be much consistency in the positioning.

One guy sent me an e-mail with photo's of how my test card appeared on his TV after being run from several devices, and it was all over the place!

Like you, I'm of the assumption that the bulk of these over-scan issues has got to be caused by dodgy scaling/timing..... Indeed, anybody who has fiddled about with the HDTV output options on a Sigma Xcard (which are accessible via the registry), soon becomes aware that if the timing is off by just a slight amount, the position of the picture on your TV screen can be out by miles!

Plus, I have to say.... I really don't like to see the phrases "Actual Size" "Fit To Screen" and "Full Screen" (aka: the Zoom options), offered on some of these players.... It's not a very imaginative solution in my opinion :(


Cheers

I love the fact that the LP2 is networked so I could just just watch the files stored on another PC in the house and not have to burn them to a disc first. Also I could use it to play .TS files from my MyHD card as well, another great bonus.

This is how I use mine. Then just delete the ts files when I am done watching them


Unfortunately the LP2 is not a multi-region player.

No problem playing PAL disks I have on mine...

A simple question for you LP2 owners out there.

When watching a TS file, the player creates bookmark file so that you can continue to watch from where you left off. How do you bypass this? Let's say you started watching and want to watch again later from the beginning - how?

Thanks

Okay, I worked for 4 months on a video for my wifes 50th birthday. So, we had a big party here today and I went to play my Verbatim DVD+R DL disc in the player and it DID NOT PLAY!! The circle just keeps spinning around. I freaked!! Luckily I had an old lower quality working copy on a DVD+rw that I used, but boy did it ruin the event. If I take this Verbatim media it plays fine in my DVD computer player, and it plays fine in my Sony DVD players. So, I was shocked to find this compatibility issue!! I have tried the latest and one back f/w and no change. So, anyone have this problemo?

Thanks

Dave

Hi, im a new I-O data player owner and I have some questions.. I havent been able to use the player yet due to my new TV not being here yet, but I can already tell the drive needs to be upgraded, it does a poor job of just opening. But, my REAL question that I dont see an answer for in this massive post is this...Does the player play WM9 DVD's or can it only stream WM9 files from your PC? If not, what kind of WM9 files can it stream, files with DRM or files without DRM? Thanks!

Hi PExeter,

In all seriousness, all your questions have been asked and answered many times before....

Personally speaking I think the SnaZio SZ1350 player would have been a better choice... that is until the Zensonic Z500 is launched. As they are both better suited for HD WMV with WMA Pro audio ;)


Cheers

Thanks for all the information here, awesome.

I can not seem to stream WMV HD content (trailers off MSFT site) WITH Audio. I am only getting video. I heard Audio was coming but I have not seen anything yet.

Any updates on this?

Is there any hack for the DVI-out (Jap. version) so that the player will output standard DVD-video through it?
Anyone?
Very disturbing that they have chosen not to implement HDCP and that the only way to output DVD-video is to play .VOB-files from the computer.

Anyone?

What is the best workflow to get iMovie HD files (from a HD camera or photo's) into the LP2? I've been trying iMovie HD - Toast 7 then export as Divx HD, but would be interested in hearing other HD options.

Mark

A simple question for you LP2 owners out there.
When watching a TS file, the player creates bookmark file so that you can continue to watch from where you left off. How do you bypass this? Let's say you started watching and want to watch again later from the beginning - how?
Thanks

I was trying to figure out the same thing last night, but with no success. Best I could do was physically deleting the bookmark file from the computer...

Is there any hack for the DVI-out (Jap. version) so that the player will output standard DVD-video through it?
Anyone?
Very disturbing that they have chosen not to implement HDCP and that the only way to output DVD-video is to play .VOB-files from the computer.

Anyone?

Check the other thread, I think they mentioned something about it on page 5 or 6.

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=459759&page=4&pp=30

Is there any hack for the DVI-out (Jap. version) so that the player will output standard DVD-video through it?
Anyone?
Very disturbing that they have chosen not to implement HDCP and that the only way to output DVD-video is to play .VOB-files from the computer.

Anyone?

HDCP is available in this model (supposed to start selling in next month or so):
http://www.iodata.com/usa/products/products.php?cat=HNP&sc=AVELK&ts=2&tsc=&sc=AVELK&pId=SRDVD-100U

Thanks for all the information here, awesome.

I can not seem to stream WMV HD content (trailers off MSFT site) WITH Audio. I am only getting video. I heard Audio was coming but I have not seen anything yet.

Any updates on this?

If you are using the newest firmware then the WMA PRO sound is being downmixed and put out on the analog lines. For now you need to hook up both digital and analog audio to your receiver to watch WMV+WMA PRO.

Eventually the WMA Digital will be output on the Digital outs again (it was a few versions back briefly) but you will need a WMA audio capable receiver (such as newer Pioneers) to use it digitally.

Is there such a thing as 6 channel PCM over digital?

Xesdeeni

What is the best workflow to get iMovie HD files (from a HD camera or photo's) into the LP2? I've been trying iMovie HD - Toast 7 then export as Divx HD, but would be interested in hearing other HD options.

Mark

Mark, I'd be curious to know what your transcode time is from source (720p HD-DV??) to HD-DivX for an hour of video? What's your hardware & OS version?

The answer to this question might depend on whether you have a Dual 2.7 G5 versus an iMac G4 and what you are trying to accomplish. If you want to spend the least amount of time doing the conversion, perhaps going to MPEG2-PS or TS might be ok. But if you want optimal compression for long-term storage and playback to AVLP2, DivX might be the best solution.

I am also curious how reliable Toast 7 is with DivX conversions. To my knowledge Toast 7 is the only DivX 6.0 encoder for OS X yet. It's reported to have reliability problems (http://www.macintouch.com/toast7review.html) in other areas.

You can also encode to HD-DivX directly from iMovieHD (via "share..." menu) using the 5.2.1. DivX codec. Available for free at: http://www.divx.com/divx/mac/ (for those of us who don't own Toast...) There is also a "Pro" version that is supposed to yield better results, but I didn't want to spend the $19 for it.

I also tried the iMovie "built-in" MPEG4 codec (WITHOUT H.264, of course), but it was horrible. Unwatchable in fact. DivX 5.2.1 produced very clean output, as long as you set the bitrate high enough (I think I used around 5-8MBps...)

I see no one answered my question several posts back, so I am going to ask it again - hoping that someone knows the quick answer.

When you stop a TS file from playing the player writes bookmark file to the server -

1) Is there a way to turn this off?
2) Is there a way to override it and return to the beginning of the film when playing?

Thanks

Peter S. In 5 months of using the Linkplayer I can honestly say that I have never noticed any of my .ts files being bookmarked. My soultion has been to fall asleep during the program and not waking up until it has finished. Probably not much help. But it is the truth.

MacHound and Potus - yes, MPEG4 is not adequate and the Toast way takes at least overnight (i.e. more than 2 hours) for a 15 min movie (!!!!) on my MDD 2x1.42Ghz / 2GB ram. I guess it may be the Year of HD, but it will take much longer than a year to sort the encoding issues (indeed, not to mention H.264!).

Thanks for the replies, I'll try the Divx 5.2.1. codec.

Mark

Thanks for the replies, I'll try the Divx 5.2.1. codec.

Toast 7 kept crashing - so did Divx 5.2.1. Pro until I deleted the imovie prefs file. Now Divx works like a charm. Still a 1 pass encoding of a 15 min slideshow in Divx-HD took 200 min !

Take care,

Mark

Don't forget other HD capable players such as the: -

Buffalo High Definition Wireless Media Player (http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=495915)

Snazio SZ-1350 Net DVD Cinema HD network player (http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=573406)

Quartek WHD500-V9 wifi usb 2.0 DVI (http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=560620)

Zensonic new Sigma based dvd player (http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=482136)

OPPO Digital OPDV971H

Plus some others.....


Cheers

Now I'm even more confused... :eek:

I am looking for a player with the following abilities

* Multiregion/Region Free (PAL & NTSC)
* Play divx files (ideally over a network, but from a burnt disc is fine)
* Upconvert any DVD and/or divx to 720p (over HDMI, DVI or Component)
* Play .ts files captured from my myHD card
* Play other sorts of media files, like mp3 and wmv and photos

Can anyone recommend which player might accomplish all of my goals?
As far as I can tell, it looks like none of these currently support multiple regions. :confused:


Any help/guidance would be appreciated.

Hi thedvdguy,

Actually I wrote: -Don't forget other HD capable players such as the: -

Buffalo High Definition Wireless Media Player (http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=495915)

Snazio SZ-1350 Net DVD Cinema HD network player (http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=573406)

Quartek WHD500-V9 wifi usb 2.0 DVI (http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=560620)

Zensonic new Sigma based dvd player (http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=482136) [Zensonic Z500]

Plus some others.....I made no mention of the OPPO Digital OPDV971H because this player can't decode high-def content, it can only up-scale std-def to high-def ;)


Cheers

Hi thedvdguy,

Actually I wrote: -I made no mention of the OPPO Digital OPDV971H because this player can't decode high-def content, it can only up-scale std-def to high-def ;)


Cheers

Sorry, I added it there because it was in my original message since its one of the ones I'm looking at.

You can also encode to HD-DivX directly from iMovieHD (via "share..." menu) using the 5.2.1. DivX codec. Available for free at: http://www.divx.com/divx/mac/.
You may notice the disclaimer at the top of this link which states: "DivX 5 does not support Mac OS X 10.4 or QuickTime 7. We are working with Apple to resolve several compatibility issues."


MacHound and Potus - yes, MPEG4 is not adequate and the Toast way takes at least overnight (i.e. more than 2 hours) for a 15 min movie (!!!!) on my MDD 2x1.42Ghz / 2GB ram.
Ouch! Have you tried transcoding to MPEG2-TS or PS? You can do that right in VLC's "Open" dialog box. It runs pretty fast for other transcodes. MPEG-2 is not as tight a compression as H.264 or DivX, but for single-view use it might be acceptable. Unfortunately I can't say it works with HD-DV files for sure since I don't have any of those to try. it might be worth a look.

I've read allot about the HD picture being soft but I have not heard much talk about DVD playback being soft also. I think I read one post someone else having the same problem on the I-O Data web site but thats about it. The question I have is for those people who did the filter hack did it help on the Dvd playback also? Any info would be appreciated.

Thank's

Thanks PAUL_PDX.

I just bought a Denon AVR 5803. It won't be hooked up for a while (months) but will this get the job done?

You may notice the disclaimer at the top of this link which states: "DivX 5 does not support Mac OS X 10.4 or QuickTime 7. We are working with Apple to resolve several compatibility issues."

After the long encoding (still 1-pass) I'm actually quite happy with the quality in VLC. Q7 playback is halting, seems to take much more CPU capacity. Am still waiting for my own LP2 to try on my 110' projection screen - the performance on my Mac is only for testing, it's the final result on the screen that counts for me.

I'll try the MPEG2 way tonight.

Best,

M

I am up to my ears in players.. The first one was DOA, the second one wont read DVD+r's and the 3rd one chews disks!!!!

IOData has been nice to keep shipping replacements, but they all have problems which IO data refuses to address on their forum..

1)
Wont play DVD+R disks. Many people have reported that the linkplayer is SUPER finicky on playing most brands of DVD+R's... Anything made with DVDxCopy locks up 1/2 thru the movie... IOData says something about being a non-closed movie???

2)
The transport sucks! Even IOData on the forum admits their transport stinks, but hasent done anything about it??

3)
Scratches the hell out of disks... I (and others) have lost many DVD's as the drive starts clicking and scratches the disk..

Any clues on the above????

Thx!!

Scott

Most people report hit and miss on DVD R+. I suspect it comes down to your DVD authoring software, or your burning software. Do you know if it supports packet writting or write all at once. I believe disks that are burned with packet writting do not do well in the player. As far as DVDXCopy, well your on your own there, I would try a different program that was suggested in reply to one of your posts in another forum. IOData will not have much sympathy for you if you keep on blasting them in public forums. It sounds like you already have a player that plays all of your DVD R+ backups, why don't you just use it and get your money back from IOData?

JRad

Most people report hit and miss on DVD R+. I suspect it comes down to your DVD authoring software, or your burning software. Do you know if it supports packet writting or write all at once. I believe disks that are burned with packet writting do not do well in the player. As far as DVDXCopy, well your on your own there, I would try a different program that was suggested in reply to one of your posts in another forum. IOData will not have much sympathy for you if you keep on blasting them in public forums. It sounds like you already have a player that plays all of your DVD R+ backups, why don't you just use it and get your money back from IOData?

JRad
JRad,
I cant get IOData to acknowledge the problem, as they state on all the lit it does DVD+R! They wont do tech support and just send me more units! I would be happy if they would just refund my money!

Blasting them is the only way to get them to respond! If you READ the posts on the other forum, every IOData answer always skirts the problem. In a post they even say "we are aware our transports and not that good"???

jamsys,
I would suggest that you e-mail Jack Akita directly, he is a good man and I'm sure he will do everything in his power to help you out. info@iodata.com

JRad

I use DVD+RW disks all the time on the player and they work fine.

I use DVD+RW disks all the time on the player and they work fine.

Brian,

It's DVD+R's that is the problem...

Scott

It will not do DVD+R DL. I am going to try and return since what good is it
when I would be forced to have two player.

Dave

Brian,

It's DVD+R's that is the problem...

Scott
Hmm, I would have thought that if DVD+RWs work the the DVD+Rs would too. Have you tried +RWs too?

Hmm, I would have thought that if DVD+RWs work the the DVD+Rs would too. Have you tried +RWs too?


Yup DVD+RW's work fine. The problem is with the +R's.... Not just me but many people have problems. There are only 1 or two obscure brands that will work...

IOData refuses to comment on this of course...

Yup DVD+RW's work fine. The problem is with the +R's.... Not just me but many people have problems. There are only 1 or two obscure brands that will work...

IOData refuses to comment on this of course...

EOS loaders... *Sigh*

Anyone get DTS-CD's working on the IOData? I purchased one the other day... The IOData thinks it's PCM and sends it to my Denon AVR-3805 and I get the nice high-pitched white-noise sound coming out of my speakers.

Edit: I had to use my trusty OLD Toshiba SD-6200 to play back the DTS-CD's. :)

Anyone get DTS-CD's working on the IOData? I purchased one the other day... The IOData thinks it's PCM and sends it to my Denon AVR-3805 and I get the nice high-pitched white-noise sound coming out of my speakers.

Edit: I had to use my trusty OLD Toshiba SD-6200 to play back the DTS-CD's. :)By any chance does the player offer a volume adjustment... and does it adjust the output level of the white noise?

If so, try adjusting the output volume level, one step at a time... leaving a five second gap between each adjustment. With any luck your amp might spring into life.....


Cheers

By any chance does the player offer a volume adjustment... and does it adjust the output level of the white noise?

If so, try adjusting the output volume level, one step at a time... leaving a five second gap between each adjustment. With any luck your amp might spring into life.....


Cheers

SMD,

Duh. I didn't think about that. I'll try it out when I get home. Thanks!

EOS loaders... *Sigh*


EOS Loaders???

IODATA answered over on their forums about drive / disk compatibility today with a pointer to their FAQ.

That reminded me of something that might explain why some of us work great and some don't.

--The LP2 requires closed disks and preferably ones burnt as disk at once or track at once (one recording session).

-- If files are larger than 2GB on the DVD they must be UDF not ISO.

(and on Kermee's subject they do say they don't support DTS audio or DVD audio disks)

(all from http://www.iodata.com/usa/products/AVLP2_FAQ.php)

IODATA answered over on their forums about drive / disk compatibility today with a pointer to their FAQ.

That reminded me of something that might explain why some of us work great and some don't.

--The LP2 requires closed disks and preferably ones burnt as disk at once or track at once (one recording session).

-- If files are larger than 2GB on the DVD they must be UDF not ISO.

(all from http://www.iodata.com/usa/products/AVLP2_FAQ.php)

Question (pm me if you cant ans it on the forum)

Does DVDxCopy close the DVD and is this the problem????

Can I tell if the DVD is closed with Nero?

Thx

Scott

Question (pm me if you cant ans it on the forum)

Does DVDxCopy close the DVD and is this the problem????

Can I tell if the DVD is closed with Nero?

Thx

Scott


nero disk information (under menu Recorders, Disk Info on Nero 6 at least) should be able to tell you the type of disk.

I can't overemphasize the benefits of doing this mod.
OMG!!!! I just did the filter mod (described on page 13 of this thread) after learning about it a week or two ago. OMG!!! The picture difference is INCREDIBLE. I first noticed it on the menus, where the text is sharp, sharp, SHARP! And watching HD videos is like a whole new experience! There's so much more detail the player was filtering out before. And the colors seem richer too; I don't know if that is from the increased detail or affected by removing the filter too. Standard definition content (upconverted) is noticeably improved, as is regular DVD playback (some asked that question recently). EVERYTHING looks so much better! Thank you so much Dahester!

I'm viewing in 1080i on an old Toshiba 40H80 16:9 set (about 4 years old). It doesn't support 720p so I can't comment on that but the 1080i is fabulous.

I took the cover off, and spent some time making sure I correctly identified L65 and C202, primarily by identifying every component around them to make sure I got the labelling straight. I then pushed a fine screwdriver against the side of the components and pressed the solder wand on the solder pads. My cheap 7w/30w iron from Radio Shack wasn't hot enough at the 7w setting, so I pressed the 30w button for a few seconds and then it was hot enough to melt the solder. Unfortunately :) my use of the small screwdriver caused both components to fly off into neverland somewhere. I don't mind because there is no way I would ever go back!

After removing the two, I used a short piece of wire from a resistor I had lying around and soldered inbetween L65, and reconnected the AVLP2.

WOW. I *can't believe* they sell this unit with that filter in place! I didn't bother removing the other two; I don't what chroma problem is anyway. But the newfound DETAIL is amazing.

Huge thanks to you dahester!!!!! :D

~michelle

I humbly beg forgiveness, for I have seen this question answered before, but I cannot seem to find where...

I'm running Tiger on a MDD 2x1.42Ghz @ 2GB.

Which TCP port(s) must I open in my firewall to allow the player to recognize the server software? If I take the firewall down everything works like a charm. For security purposes I must shut the door and I only want to allow a tiny peephole for my Linkplayer.

Many thanks as ever.

Mark

nero disk information (under menu Recorders, Disk Info on Nero 6 at least) should be able to tell you the type of disk.


It tells me UDF/ISO 9660 Mode 1
Book Type DVD+R

How do I tell if it is closed or now??

Thx for the reply!

I can't overemphasize the benefits of doing this mod.

I am interested in doing this mod, but I don't have an HDTV yet. I do record HD channels which are downconverted to 480I and then burned to a dvd and then transferred to the PC and then played with the LinkPlayer. I have noticed that when I play the recording back, it is not as sharp as the original recording (at times blurry). I am wondering about 2 things.

1. Will this mod affect SD play back at 480I?

2. Is the softness of playback due to the downconversion from HD to SD, or because of the filters?

Any insight would be appreciated.

Thanks,
JRad

Well here's a direct link to modification in question: -

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?p=5776863&&#post5776863

It tells me UDF/ISO 9660 Mode 1
Book Type DVD+R

How do I tell if it is closed or now??

Thx for the reply!Given that this player is fitted with an EPO DP-306D loader... he following might make for interesting reading: -

http://img386.imageshack.us/img386/4858/epodp306dloader5ez.png


Cheers

Given that this player is fitted with an EPO DP-306D loader... he following might make for interesting reading: -


Cheers

Hi,

Seen this before on the IOData forum, but still wont read DVD+R. There is only 1 brand of media it will read (as stated on the Forum) and it is a Chinese import :confused:

Hi,

Seen this before on the IOData forum, but still wont read DVD+R. There is only 1 brand of media it will read (as stated on the Forum) and it is a Chinese import :confused:Exactly..... None of the DVD+ media boxes are checked :eek:


Cheers

Exactly..... None of the DVD+ media boxes are checked :eek:


Cheers

Oops! My Bad, I read it wrong :) :D

Originally Posted by SeeMoreDigital
Given that this player is fitted with an EPO DP-306D loader... he following might make for interesting reading: -

I saw that too, I don't know how accurate it is, Im pretty sure the EPO will not read DVD Ram.

JRad

Given that this player is fitted with an EPO DP-306D loader... he following might make for interesting reading: -
[Cheers

Strange, EPO web-site says that DP- 306D does read +R/W media.

One thing, though, warries me: Data Transfer Rate for DVD-ROMs (2x on inside tracks and 4x on outside track). I assume, speed would be even slower for +/-R media.
Any scratch would on a disk affect high-bitrate HD playback from the media.

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.

dahester,

If it's not too much trouble, would you please markup the attached image with the appropriate inductors and capacitors circled and labeled.

Thanks

Anyone have a working DVD+R DL disc they have made? If so, Can I buy a copy. I need to look at a working DVD DL structure to see what I am doing wrong.

Thanks

Dave

Videohelp.com just posted this remote region-free hack (http://www.videohelp.com/dvdhacks.php?select=I-O+Data+AVeL+LinkPlayer2+AVLP2%2FDVDLA) for the AVLP2/DVDA. Anyone here know about it and tried it out?

- Press [SLOW] on your remote control.
- Press [4]
- Press [6]
- Press [4]
- Press [6]
- Press [0] (Region Free)

Not being region-free is the one thing holding me back from a purchase (I have lots of Region2 DVDs).

How do you (or make sure) the disk is closed??? (using nero)

The below is from IOData

This product does not support DVD-R/+R which has not been closed and is recordable additional data. If you record your files on DVD-R/+R and play it on this product, please close the disc.

I am able to read (some but not all ) from my Philips DVD+R 8x media. Used dvdshrink and nero to copy/burn dvd.

MightyTribble - That region free hack works fine! I recently used it on a DVD from overseas & it works great!

dahester,

If it's not too much trouble, would you please markup the attached image with the appropriate inductors and capacitors circled and labeled.

ThanksI'll reply for him, having just done the mod last week. In the picture you posted, L65 is the larger rectangular component directly below the 'L65' label. C202 is the smaller rectangular component directly to the right of L65, and has 'C202' label 90 deg to the right of the component. (C202 has 'C109' directly below it, but it's own label is to the right). When you remove these two, you'll have to solder a wire across the L65 gap.

For those wanting to remove the other two optional filters, it should be fairly obvious which are the remaining inductor/capacitor pairs. One pair is the two components above, the final are the two components to the right of C202.

I'll reply for him, having just done the mod last week. In the picture you posted, L65 is the larger rectangular component directly below the 'L65' label. C202 is the smaller rectangular component directly to the right of L65, and has 'C202' label 90 deg to the right of the component. (C202 has 'C109' directly below it, but it's own label is to the right). When you remove these two, you'll have to solder a wire across the L65 gap.

For those wanting to remove the other two optional filters, it should be fairly obvious which are the remaining inductor/capacitor pairs. One pair is the two components above, the final are the two components to the right of C202. Does this help: -

http://img45.imageshack.us/img45/2325/circuitlayout3fp.th.png (http://img45.imageshack.us/my.php?image=circuitlayout3fp.png)


Cheers

Thanks for the help catware and SeeMoreDigital. Here is my marked up image...

Region Free hack seems to work.

However, can't play the R2 PAL discs. They play (I guess) though the sound is choppy and there is no picture. Assuming this has more to do with PAL than with Region Coding.

Ok, got it to work perfectly. However, the Region Hack is defeated once you turn off the player. Is there a way to get it to stick?

Thanks

Thanks for the help catware and SeeMoreDigital. Here is my marked up image...

That's great, thanks for the images!

Does anyone possibly have one of the finsihed project? I just want to be sure I know where to place the patch wire after the two components have been removed.

Those are great pics guys! Shouldn't be any question now for people which components are which :) Sorry, I'm not able to take a picture of the finished product 'cause my digital camera is dead and I haven't bought a new one yet. But when you actually desolder L65 (or the other two inductors) it should be evident where the little wire should go to replace them. Like I said I used a little piece of wire from a resistor; I bent the end of the wire 90 deg, soldered it in place, and clipped off the rest. It doesn't take much wire to bridge the gap but I wasn't able to do it with solder alone.

Anyone having MP3 sound clipping issues for the first few seconds of each song when using "Play All" in a folder of MP3 songs? When I play one song at a time I do not have this issue. Guessing it's firmware related.

DVD+R Disks
I burned a DVD+R and by default it was not multisession using Nero. It worked fine on the LP2. This was 25 center GQ disk from Frys. However it was data disk with Divx files and not a DVD Video disk.

Any fix for this? In case it matters (I suppose it is related) I am using the digital output and for some (but not all) ts files I have to go forward a little bit and then rewind to get sound started.

That's great, thanks for the images!

Does anyone possibly have one of the finsihed project? I just want to be sure I know where to place the patch wire after the two components have been removed.


Here is an image my effective yet piss poor short of L65...

Here is an image my effective yet piss poor short of L65...

Thanks scousens. I'm doing it this weekend.

Adam

Does this help: -

http://img45.imageshack.us/img45/2325/circuitlayout3fp.th.png (http://img45.imageshack.us/my.php?image=circuitlayout3fp.png)


Cheers

Thanks for taking care of this (I've been away for several days). Glad to see that others are enjoying the benefits of a sharper picture with a little help from the soldering iron. My IO-Data player gets a lot of use in the home theater now. Hopefully the release of the upcoming JVC player will be another step forward in quailty.

Anyone having MP3 sound clipping issues for the first few seconds of each song when using "Play All" in a folder of MP3 songs? When I play one song at a time I do not have this issue. Guessing it's firmware related.

Finally Ruben @ IOData admitted that it is a confirmed problem reading DVD+R's...

They said that there may be a patch sometime in the future, but there is no date..

I am sending mine back for a refund...

I-O DATA AVLP2/G-2 streams HD, DRM video from PC to TV (http://www.engadget.com/entry/1234000863059802/)

Couldn't find more info (it doesn't look like there's more to this than the existing LP2), but would welcome thoughts.

Mark

I-O DATA AVLP2/G-2 streams HD, DRM video from PC to TV (http://www.engadget.com/entry/1234000863059802/)

Couldn't find more info (it doesn't look like there's more to this than the existing LP2), but would welcome thoughts.

Mark

The Japanese page says the existing models can be upgraded to have the same software features.

This is basically a sleeker version of their diskless wireless LinkPlayer2 with DVI and D4 but no DVD drive. They mention DRM over and over and they mention AR2 (aspect ratio 2 for better retaining of aspect).

I do love Babelfish translations- "Tongue Connected" = "DVI."

"NEW model "AVLP2/DVDG-2 ", "AVLP2/DVDLJ-2" and "AVLP2/G-2" which load Advanced Capability more and more appearance. Such as can tongue connected function of the television personal computer and television playback correspondence of the contents which could be played back so far with only the personal computer, delightful function is quantity, ill-smelling it is. Power raised with the "AVeL link player", foam/home network changes compared to large more comfortably.


* AVLP2/DVDG, AVLP2/DVDLJ and AVLP2/G, the same function as the up-to-date model is actualized by the fact that you renew the firmware. "

Here is an image my effective yet piss poor short of L65...

That's great, thanks!

I was thinking that something would need to be done to replace the missing c202 component, but I see all that's necessary is to bridge the gap left by l65.

Now I just have to try and find the old soldering iron :D

That new linkplayer is cute, but if it's 'ill smelling' then I'm probably going to pass :)
Would have been nice to save a couple bucks on the useless dvd drive though....

I am returning mine also, but because it will not read DL media for DVD's.

Dave

Is the LinkPlayer2 a UPnP client or is the LinkServer a UPnP client?

That is, can the LP2 use a UPnP server w/o the LinkServer?

Thanks,
LB

I am returning mine also, but because it will not read DL media for DVD's.

DaveInteresting.... Can you be more specific Dave?


Cheers

That's great, thanks!

I was thinking that something would need to be done to replace the missing c202 component, but I see all that's necessary is to bridge the gap left by l65.

Would have been nice to save a couple bucks on the useless dvd drive though....
Yes, I can see how dahester's instructions on page 13 would cause you confusion:

1. Take off the lid.
2. Desolder inductor L65 and capacitor C202.
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.

There's nothing wrong with the stock dvd loader in my model. It plays dvds just fine. I would hardly describe it as 'useless.'

DVD+R Disks
I burned a DVD+R and by default it was not multisession using Nero. It worked fine on the LP2. This was 25 center GQ disk from Frys. However it was data disk with Divx files and not a DVD Video disk.
Maybe someone can answer this for me: For people having problems with the EPO drive reading DVD+R and DVD DL media, why not replace with a drive that supports those media? The Lite-On mod a lot of people have done, doesn't support DVD+R media either. Why pick that one? Is there only a certain type of drive that can be used? :confused:

Yes, I can see how dahester's instructions on page 13 would cause you confusion:

The instructions were very explicit, but I just found it odd that you could remove the other component without putting something in it's place. I don't have any experience with circuit boards so I apologize for my ignorance :). Luckily my buddy is an electrical engineer, and has agreed to help me through the mod :D

As for the stock loader, it might be fine for playing retail dvd's, but I bought this unit for it's HD playback capabilities, and that loader isn't up to the task of reading my high bitrate recordings. So in my case it is practically useless, and I just end up mapping my computer DVD-ROM drive to the linkplayer.

I knew about this limitation from the start so I'm not really complaining, I just wish they had released the driveless version earlier.

As for the stock loader, it might be fine for playing retail dvd's, but I bought this unit for it's HD playback capabilities, and that loader isn't up to the task of reading my high bitrate recordings. So in my case it is practically useless, and I just end up mapping my computer DVD-ROM drive to the linkplayer.

So why are you burning DVDs at all? Why not just serve the streams over the network? That is what this player is good at...HDTV streams over ethernet...and that is all I use it for...

Z

So in my case it is practically useless, and I just end up mapping my computer DVD-ROM drive to the linkplayer.

SP - One of the limitations of the LP2 is that you would normally not be able to push data.

If you map the computer's DVD player to the LP, would you be able to push?

Thx

M

So why are you burning DVDs at all? Why not just serve the streams over the network?

Well when I can get hard drives for $0.15/gig then I'll happily stop burning DVD's, but right now it's the only cost effective storage solution. I do serve the streams over the network, but that involves a 15 minute process of copying files to the server, so if the stock drive was a bit better I could have avoided the extra step...

SP - One of the limitations of the LP2 is that you would normally not be able to push data.

If you map the computer's DVD player to the LP, would you be able to push?


No, I don't think this 'pushes' the data either. I set it up the same as any other directory in wizd, but the path is just the drive letter of my DVD drive. So I think the player is still 'pulling' the data, but it's worked the few times I've tried it.

Only trouble is that I usually just burn the multiple output files from the myhd card (which the linkplayer won't playback seamlessly), so end up having to copy most stuff over to hdd anyway. :p

For those who are still confused...

http://img360.imageshack.us/img360/3844/beforeafter1dpb1ob.jpg


EDITED: To show C202 removed


Cheers

Well when I can get hard drives for $0.15/gig then I'll happily stop burning DVD's, but right now it's the only cost effective storage solution. I do serve the streams over the network, but that involves a 15 minute process of copying files to the server, so if the stock drive was a bit better I could have avoided the extra step...True, BUT for completeness sake I just want to say a few words about this.

According to Pricewatch.com, a 250GB HDD can be bought for $88 shipped. So that equates to about $0.35/gig. You can buy an external docking port for around $25 and easily plug multiple drives in and out when you want to switch libraries.

Dual layer DVDs are still around $4 each. This equates to $0.50/gig.

You also need to factor in space loss due to not completely filling the DVD+-R media. And failed burnings. In fact the difference in cost savings is less significant than initally seems. There's also the inconvenience and time lost due to burning on DVD media. If a whole movie doesn't fit on one disc you'll either have to recompress or get up and swap the discs in the loader (or spend time copying back to a hard drive before viewing).

Thanks for this thread. I was actually debating about buying DVD Dual Layer, recompressing video files, and burning large files onto them. Feature length HD content is 12-16GB. I'd have to recompress the media just to fit in 8.5GB, or span multiple discs. Now I see it's more cost effective to just buy multiple 250GB hard drives and plug them into a docking port. And pretty close in cost to burning on DVD+-R media (certainly more painless).

True, BUT for completeness sake I just want to say a few words about this.

According to Pricewatch.com, a 250GB HDD can be bought for $88 shipped. So that equates to about $0.35/gig. You can buy an external docking port for around $25 and easily plug multiple drives in and out when you want to switch libraries.



I pretty much came to the same conclusions as you, but, what is a "docking port", and where can I get one for $25??

Thanks.

- Frank

I pretty much came to the same conclusions as you, but, what is a "docking port", and where can I get one for $25??They're called 'enclosures'. You can also find them on pricewatch.com for $25. Here's an example: http://www.supergooddeal.com/ProductDetails.asp?ProductCode=ME-705U2&Click=1

It's not quite as easy as loading a dvd, but you can leave the cover off the enclosure and swap the IDE and power cables from the back of the drive, and plug the device into the computer (or front of AVLP2) via USB, which is plenty fast for streaming even HD content. So you don't have to take the cover off your computer and mess around with cables inside or BIOS settings when you want to swap drives. I *thought* I saw an enclosure at my local computer store where you can just slide the drive in and out and the cables make their own connections in the back (like an actual docking port), but now that I think about it I may be mistaken as there is a lot of force to plug the power and IDE cables in...

Oh, OK. I know about these enclosures. I thought you meant something a little more elaborate, that would accomodate multiple drives at once, or some slicker hot-swapping.

I guess you could buy one enclosure for each drive to make it a little more convenient, and maybe even use a USB2.0 hub to get them all online at once. But this drives the average $/GB up a bit...

Appreciatte the info, though...

Yep... I'm slowly moving my hard-drives (and DVD drives/burners) out of my PC and into external enclosures!

Over here in the UK it's possible to pick up combined USB2 and FireWire enclosures for as little as £30.00, similar to this one: -

http://www.maplin.co.uk/images/Full/44727i0.jpg

I currently have two external HDD's and one external DVD Burner connected to my PC via a (non powered) USB2 hub.... and everything works perfectly :)


Cheers

I am on the fence on getting this player. Now that there is a region-free hack, I think it has everything I could possibly want. Anyone know what the advantages are of the new srdvd-100U over the current US LinkPlayer (besides the DVI port)?

It says it will be available in September 2005, but I can't seem to find anywhere to purchase it.

I am on the fence on getting this player. Now that there is a region-free hack, I think it has everything I could possibly want. Anyone know what the advantages are of the new srdvd-100U over the current US LinkPlayer (besides the DVI port)?

It says it will be available in September 2005, but I can't seem to find anywhere to purchase it.Well for those who require DVI, maybe they should consider looking at the SnaZio SZ1350 also....

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=573406


Cheers

Anybody else have this problem? It used to lock up (I thought) at the very end of MyHD-split files. But now I have reconfigured MyHD to make one big file. And it STILL seems to hang every so often. When it does, it usually just freezes on a frame, and becomes unresponsive to remote commands. You have to hard-restart it by powering off/on using the physical button on the front panel.

My wizd server is running on a 1.8GHz Dell 4500. But I doubt it's a server problem.

Anyone else seeing this?

Yep... I'm slowly moving my hard-drives (and DVD drives/burners) out of my PC and into external enclosures!

Do you think a HD in such an enclosure requires a fan?

I used an external enclosure briefly. I thought I was smart to order one with a fan...until I heard how loud it was.

LB

Do you think a HD in such an enclosure requires a fan?Both my enclosures are passively ventilated and work fine :)


Cheers

Well, I finally got around to doing the filter mod today, and I must say even at 480i I notice a difference. I have some HD recordings that have been recorded to DVD and then streamed to the LinkPlayer. It is amazing. Now they have the crispness, sharpness and that "live" look of the original recording, something that they didn't have before, which always bothered me. I would like to personally thank dahester and the others for turning me on to such a great mod! Can't wait to actually get an HDTV to really see the benefits! (Just have to talk the wife into it)

JRad

Is there a work around for getting a large library of MP3's to work with Linkplayer2?

I can get the USB to work with smaller HDD's but once I exceed a certain number of MP3's the LP2 hangs up and doesn't even respond to the eject command. This is also true when networked to a PC (except it doesn't "hang"). I tried both pointing to a directory and using the Itunes library. They all work ok until the file count gets too high. Is there a way to create several links on LP2 with less content so it won't hang?

Thanks

Well, I finally got around to doing the filter mod today, and I must say even at 480i I notice a difference. I have some HD recordings that have been recorded to DVD and then streamed to the LinkPlayer. It is amazing. Now they have the crispness, sharpness and that "live" look of the original recording, something that they didn't have before, which always bothered me. I would like to personally thank dahester and the others for turning me on to such a great mod! Can't wait to actually get an HDTV to really see the benefits! (Just have to talk the wife into it)

JRad
Thanks for the update, JRad. I am on the verge of making this mod for use with my Fujitsu 42 inch plasma EDTV. My current image quality is pretty good but I'm tempted by what everyone is writing. You didn't notice any of the interference lines some people were reporting a few weeks ago, did you?

A quick "mod" question.

In SeeMoreDigital's post showing the BEFORE and AFTER pics, the C202 part is not removed. Is this required or not? What is the difference?

Thanks

In SeeMoreDigital's post showing the BEFORE and AFTER pics, the C202 part is not removed. Is this required or not? What is the difference?

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?p=5806347&&#post5806347

Thanks for the update, JRad. I am on the verge of making this mod for use with my Fujitsu 42 inch plasma EDTV. My current image quality is pretty good but I'm tempted by what everyone is writing. You didn't notice any of the interference lines some people were reporting a few weeks ago, did you?

No, I did not notice any. But I am only using it a 480i, hopefully it won't be an issue after I upgrade to HD. One thing I would recommend is a magnifying glass, those components are very small. Make sure you have a very fine tip on your soldering iron! Let us know how/if it improves your PQ.

JRad

Machound,
I don't know if you saw my post on the IOdata site about the Lite On DVD drive. Circuit City still has the model that is used on their online store. Try this link.

http://www.circuitcity.com/ssm/Lite-On-Internal-DVD-ROM-Drive-SOHD-167T-/sem/rpsm/oid/95004/rpem/ccd/productDetail.do

JRad

Well, I finally got around to doing the filter mod today, and I must say even at 480i I notice a difference. I have some HD recordings that have been recorded to DVD and then streamed to the LinkPlayer. It is amazing. Now they have the crispness, sharpness and that "live" look of the original recording, something that they didn't have before, which always bothered me. I would like to personally thank dahester and the others for turning me on to such a great mod!


Another big thank you from me. I just did the mod yesterday, and am very happy with the improvement in picture quality. I have a few Tonight Show HD recordings, and on the stock linkplayer they just looked dull and blurry. After removing those two tiny components the picture now looks much closer to what's coming through live on the cable box.

Now all I have to do is find a few more projects for this new soldering iron. http://www.altbinarieshdtv.com/phpBB2/images/smiles/lol.gif

Machound,
I don't know if you saw my post on the IOdata site about the Lite On DVD drive. Circuit City still has the model that is used on their online store. Try this link.

Thank, JRad. I picked up the second-from-last Lite-On 167T at my local CC last night. I plugged it in but without the region code designation it refused to play most of my DVDs. I just assigning region 1 via Device Manager on my office PC (Win2K) a few minutes ago, which should allow me to complete this mod tonight or tomorrow.

For anyone thinking about doing Kermee's loader mod (http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?p=5009061&&#post5009061) you'd better do it soon. Those Lite-On 167T's are getting really hard to find. When they're gone, they're gone!

I also did the filter mod last night. In addition to a magnifying glass and sharp-tipped solder iron I would recommend a decent quality solder sucker -- the kind that has a spring loaded thumb trigger action. I would not advise leaving the circuit board screwed into the LP2's metal box. Removing all the screws only takes a few minutes and it gives you better access to the two components you're removing. With screws removed you can angle the circuit board up over the back of the LP2 case without unplugging any cables from the board.

I was initially disappointed after making the filter mod. Upon firing up my LP2 I saw jaggies all over my screen on every diagonal line. However changing the video output setting on the LP2 from 480i to 1080i fixed the issue. Now everything is smooth again and oh-so-clear! Just as you described it's like looking through a window to another world.

I have not watched any 480i content yet so I hope going from 480i --> 1080i --> 480i doesn't degrade the PQ too much. It would be a pain to change the LP2's output settings every time I switch between HD and SD content. Fortunately my Fujitsu plasma has an excellent scaler. It's pretty forgiving with whatever I throw at it. Still, this might be the worm in the apple for EDTV owners.

ADDENDUM:

No problem viewing 480i content with the LP2 set at 1080i output. Prior to doing the filter mod, having the LP2 output a 1080i signal slightly degraded the image quality on my EDTV and I had better results keeping it at 480i. Now there's no degradation at 1080i even for 480i content.

Thanks again for encouraging me to do the mods. This is like adding a video turbo-charger to my LP2.

Now all I have to do is find a few more projects for this new soldering iron. http://www.altbinarieshdtv.com/phpBB2/images/smiles/lol.gifWhy not try making your own leads/cables!

You'll also need some fluxed solder and a cheapo test meter ;)


Cheers

I set my video output on my LinkPlayer2 to PAL by mistake and am having a heck of a time re-setting it to NTSC. I can access the menu but can't seem to get the right combination of remote keys to do the trick. If someone could give me the right sequence I would be very grateful. Here is what I know that gets me close:

Setup
Down
Down
Down
Enter

At that point I think I am in the video output selection. But I'm stuck at that point. I need to set to NTSC and save or perhaps reset the Factory Default - but I would need help there too.

Thanks in advance to anyone who can help. I'm pretty sure that I'm running either the lastest firmware or maybe one back. At least up through June.

I set my video output on my LinkPlayer2 to PAL by mistake and am having a heck of a time re-setting it to NTSC. I can access the menu but can't seem to get the right combination of remote keys to do the trick. If someone could give me the right sequence I would be very grateful. Here is what I know that gets me close:

Setup
Down
Down
Down
Enter

At that point I think I am in the video output selection. But I'm stuck at that point. I need to set to NTSC and save or perhaps reset the Factory Default - but I would need help there too.

Thanks in advance to anyone who can help. I'm pretty sure that I'm running either the lastest firmware or maybe one back. At least up through June.

I know it is not good form to reply to your own post but I solved the problem the old fashioned way: I (finally) read the manual

You can cycle throught the outputs via the TV MODE button. That gets you back to NTSC composite and then you just go into the setup menu and make it permanent.

It will not do DVD+R DL. I am going to try and return since what good is it
when I would be forced to have two player.

Dave

I burned a DVD+R DL and it played perfectly on the LP. It was Fuji from Best Buy.

Videohelp.com just posted this remote region-free hack (http://www.videohelp.com/dvdhacks.php?select=I-O+Data+AVeL+LinkPlayer2+AVLP2%2FDVDLA) for the AVLP2/DVDA. Anyone here know about it and tried it out?

- Press [SLOW] on your remote control.
- Press [4]
- Press [6]
- Press [4]
- Press [6]
- Press [0] (Region Free)

Not being region-free is the one thing holding me back from a purchase (I have lots of Region2 DVDs).

This code doesn't work. The remote has TWO "slow" buttons on it, and neither one seems to make this hack work. Bummer. Just hooked it up too. On the positive side, it DOES appear to up-convert your files to HD (420P, 720P and 1080i) very nicely!

Ok, got it to work perfectly. However, the Region Hack is defeated once you turn off the player. Is there a way to get it to stick?

Thanks


Peter what version of firmware are you running? It sounds like some people can't get this hack to work? You have a US machine right (not one from Japan)?

I performed the filter modification, just removing the L65 inductor and the C202 capacitor, and the results are dramatic on my Fujitsu plasma display. The only unnverving part of performing this microsurgery was that the removed parts went flying and I never found them. But with the assistance of the magnifying glass, I assured myself that they were, in fact, removed, and not sitting elsewhere on the board.

Thanks Dahester for a great mod.

This code doesn't work. The remote has TWO "slow" buttons on it, and neither one seems to make this hack work. Bummer. Just hooked it up too. On the positive side, it DOES appear to up-convert your files to HD (420P, 720P and 1080i) very nicely!

The important part was in TUFUs original post on how to do it:
http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?p=6164181&&#post6164181

SLOW is not correct SLOW BACK is the key.

Ron, was your DVD DL a DVD format, or just a data format? Meaning, what does play perfectly mean?

Dave

Ron, was your DVD DL a DVD format, or just a data format? Meaning, what does play perfectly mean?

Dave

Dave:
It's just a standard Fujifilm DVD+R DL 2.4x. Since what I recorded to it, transport streams or Xvid files are considered data files, I suppose it would be considered a data disk.

I will qualify my comments by adding that I've changed the loader to the Liteon DVD reader, as many others have on this thread. If you're still using the stock factory loader, that may be the reason why I'm not having any difficulty with DL disks.

The issue I have is with DVD authoring. So, if I author to a single layer DVD, it plays fine.
But, if I author to the DL media, it will not play.

This is why I ask, has anyone authored a DL DVD and have it work. Just standard WMV files as an example, or jpegs I assume work.

Dave

Another thumbs up for the component filter removal mod. :)

It's especially convenient when the EE at your company volunteers to do the de-soldering for you. He had that capacitor and inductor off in a minute flat. Tack on one additional minute for soldering on a microscopic piece of wire... made it seem like child's play.

I use the IO-data supplied d4-component adapter straight to a Denon 3803. A 30 foot component cable attaches to a VGA adapter and then into an InFocus X1 projector.

With this setup the improvement is immediately obvious. Everything is sharper, including the menus. A very minute amount of noise in the form of diagonal lines can be seen if you get your head within 5 feet of the screen. With a 6 foot screen and a couch 15 feet away, no noise is visible during actual viewing.

In short, the filter removal drastically improved the picture quality. Much thanks!

Hi,
I received my unit yesterday afternoon; spent a couple of time flashing the firmware to the latest version; and finally moded (LC filter on Y channel) the dman thing
To see pics : (well I put it on my website, and they don't want me to post URLs so email me for it!)
or try
compuproapm net / pmb / avlp2mod
I'm in electrical engineering and I'm quite used to solerding/desoldering; but this is quite small surface mount!

First thoughts:
This mod is _essential_;
Browsing through network dirs/files is somewhat unstable / not that intuitive
(cannot directly browse a dir, have to select "pages" of files...) I might have been spoiled
by the XBox's media center which is a marvel compared to this thing (but I'll give it to you: it doesn't play (at least fluently) HD content;
It doesn't play fluently a Sony HDTV demo I downloaded on torrentspy (MPEG2 19mbps); that a computer could (I'll admit it wasn't a 299$ machine though)

I also have a problem with some XviD files (I download Bleach episodes and try to watch it; but it seems there aren't enough keyframes or wathver; all black all along...) (which play remarquably well on the xbox...)

But still; this machine is quite impressing and I soon won't be able to live without it

I had similar playback issues until I went to an all wired network. Updated firmware and a wired connection have eliminated all playback and menu hang issues.

Quick note for everyone out there: Make sure you keep running firmware updates until no new ones are found. I had to do around ten of them.

Just a reminder that a lot of XviD files out there do not conform to ASP, advanced simple profile. Anything that is far outside of the ASP profile (e.g. 3-point GMC, multiple-consecutive B-Frames) will not play properly on the IOData.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Advanced_Simple_Profile

Actually 3-warp-point GMC does conform to the ASP standard.

I think it would be more accurate to say the main reason why 3-warp-point is not supported in hardware is because this particular GMC implementation does not conform to DivX's certification... and DivX managed to get manufacturers to use their "limited" certified standard (which only allows for 1-warp-point GMC) before anybody really understood what MPEG-4 was truly capable of offering!

With DivX certified devices hitting the market place first, we end-users were starved of some real cool MPEG-4 innovations in hardware for quite some time... such as, multiple b-frames, Qpel, 3-warp-point GMC, anamorphic signalling, MPEG matrices.... Not to mention the MP4 container

And lets not forget because of DivX's refusal to support the MP4 container, they ended up forcing "packed bit-stream" on us so they could get their "single" b-frame implementation to work in AVI.... What a confusing shame!


Cheers

About every third of fourth time I turn my player on some of the video is washed out (maybe red domintated?) It goes away if I power off and restart.

Is this a software issue that is being worked on or might I have a bad player that should be returned?

Actually 3-warp-point GMC does conform to the ASP standard.

I think it would be more accurate to say the main reason why 3-warp-point is not supported in hardware is because this particular GMC implementation does not conform to DivX's certification... and DivX managed to get manufacturers to use their "limited" certified standard (which only allows for 1-warp-point GMC) before anybody really understood what MPEG-4 was truly capable of offering!

With DivX certified devices hitting the market place first, we end-users were starved of some real cool MPEG-4 innovations in hardware for quite some time... such as, multiple b-frames, Qpel, 3-warp-point GMC, anamorphic signalling, MPEG matrices.... Not to mention the MP4 container

And lets not forget because of DivX's refusal to support the MP4 container, they ended up forcing "packed bit-stream" on us so they could get their "single" b-frame implementation to work in AVI.... What a confusing shame!
Whoa, that's a lot of jargon for one post. What the heck is a Qpel, 3-warp-point GMC or multiple b-frames? I suppose I could spend a couple hours Googling all this stuff but if it's relevant to the mixed audience here perhaps you could explain.

RalphArch-

Mine does that as well, I think only since the latest update... so I hope it is a SW problem...

Z

RalphArch-

Mine does that as well, I think only since the latest update... so I hope it is a SW problem...

Z

They know about it and say they have it fixed in the upcoming firmware they are testing -- there is a easy workaround -- it only happens at cold boots (boots from the power button not power ons from the remote).

To fix it shut off usning the remote and then turn back on after a few seconds.

If others were like me I never use the power button on the unit so I only saw this after power failures.

I find 480P the best resulution for watching sd content on my hd tv. Will the filter mod improve 480P. 1080i is ok for sd but the quality does not seem to be any better. Would I notice much difference at 480P?

Whoa, that's a lot of jargon for one post. What the heck is a Qpel, 3-warp-point GMC or multiple b-frames? I suppose I could spend a couple hours Googling all this stuff but if it's relevant to the mixed audience here perhaps you could explain.A good place to start learning about MPEG-4 ASP (Advanced Simple Profile) implementations is to look here (http://forum.doom9.org/showthread.php?p=461587#post461587) on Doom9....


Cheers

In honor of their 5th anniversary, DivX.com is giving away their DivX Pro Create Bundle for free for today only. Check out http://www.divx.com/anniversaryoffer/.

Xesdeeni

As of 10:45 A.M. PDT---GONE ! ! !

Come back in five years!

In honor of their 5th anniversary, DivX.com is giving away their DivX Pro Create Bundle for free for today only. Check out http://www.divx.com/anniversaryoffer/.

Xesdeeni

Has anyone received their serial number yet to activate?

As of 10:45 A.M. PDT---GONE ! ! !

Come back in five years!

Their one day was 9 to 5 Western Euro Daylight Time -- they really don't want to reward US customers very badly...

Yeah, although I saw the screen saying I could download it for free, I never got the code via e-mail. And now they've update the screen to say the giveaway was yesterday. Sorry.

Xesdeeni

A fellow Doom9 forum member has just reported the following: -A friend of mine got this answer from DivX:

"Dear DivX User,

We apologize for any delay in receiving your FREE serial number. Our mail servers have been working like CRAZY this past 24 hours to handle all of you guys Smile

Don't worry, you will get your email with a serial number, but it is just taking a little bit longer. It could take up to 2 days before your receive your serial number. So please be patient and give us until beginning next week before you come to our Support Team for a serial number Smile

Enjoy!

DivX Team"

I find 480P the best resulution for watching sd content on my hd tv. Will the filter mod improve 480P. 1080i is ok for sd but the quality does not seem to be any better. Would I notice much difference at 480P?
I'm not sure I can directly address your question since I have an EDTV, not an HDTV. There's some improvement for 480i content but not as much as with 1080i content.

One unintended downside of making the filter mod is that, at least with my 42 inch EDTV Fujitsu plasma, I no longer have all the scaling options my TV used to provide. Previously, when my LP2 was set to output video at 480i the TV offered resizing at Normal, Wide1, Wide2, Zoom1, and Zoom2. Following the mod, I must set the LP2 preferences to output all video at 1080i in order to minimize the stair-step interference pattern that becomes so distracting on diagonal lines when the LP2 ouptuts at 480i. As a consequence my TV now only offers the two options of Wide or Zoom, meaning I have no way to preserve the 4:3 aspect ratio for many shows. All the 4:3 content looks stretched on my 16:9 screen.

I'm not so frustrated with it that I want to reinstall the compononents. But I wish someone would have mentioned this issue previously... or maybe it's just my TV that's affected and not anyone else's. Just a heads-up for anyone with an EDTV considering this mod.

...
I'm not so frustrated with it that I want to reinstall the compononents. But I wish someone would have mentioned this issue previously... or maybe it's just my TV that's affected and not anyone else's. Just a heads-up for anyone with an EDTV considering this mod.

Dahester had stated that he thought the filters might be optimized for SD resolutions in this post:
http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?p=5781530&&#post5781530
so that probably explains why SD got worse after the mod instead of better.

Really interested in one of these players but i was wondering if it plays PAL divx and PAL dvd's?

Or do i have to mod out the drive?

Dahester had stated that he thought the filters might be optimized for SD resolutions...I almost bought one of these and then got a ShowCenter SC200 instead--it, too, is just a little bit "soft" w/HD sources. But it's scaling capability is outstanding--I'm very impressed w/PQ from other-than-hd stuff.

I wonder if this kind of thing (filters) might be part of Sigma's reference design.

This post was orinally posted by Kieth Jack of Sigma Designs:

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.

Hopfully this answers you question :) .

JRad

I'm not sure I can directly address your question since I have an EDTV, not an HDTV. There's some improvement for 480i content but not as much as with 1080i content.

One unintended downside of making the filter mod is that, at least with my 42 inch EDTV Fujitsu plasma, I no longer have all the scaling options my TV used to provide. Previously, when my LP2 was set to output video at 480i the TV offered resizing at Normal, Wide1, Wide2, Zoom1, and Zoom2. Following the mod, I must set the LP2 preferences to output all video at 1080i in order to minimize the stair-step interference pattern that becomes so distracting on diagonal lines when the LP2 ouptuts at 480i. As a consequence my TV now only offers the two options of Wide or Zoom, meaning I have no way to preserve the 4:3 aspect ratio for many shows. All the 4:3 content looks stretched on my 16:9 screen.

I'm not so frustrated with it that I want to reinstall the compononents. But I wish someone would have mentioned this issue previously... or maybe it's just my TV that's affected and not anyone else's. Just a heads-up for anyone with an EDTV considering this mod.

Do you feel the PQ of the upscaled 480i is superior to 480p. There was a time I set everything to 1080i but after some testing I found the 480p clearer. I do like the ability to fill the whole screen w/o much overscan of the picture.

I guess my question to everyone whom has tested this mod is does the mod help the upscaling feature of this player. I would think an upscaled frame would contain as many pixels as regular HD just not the level of detail. If this was true the then the bandwith to to transmit it would be simular and passably affected? I don't record HD TV so if that is the only media that will se a benefit I will wait on the mod. 480p from an xvid is very nice on this player quality wise!

This post was orinally posted by Kieth Jack of Sigma Designs... Hopfully this answers you question :) .Excellent, thanks JRad!

Can anyone confirm that the region-free hack works on the US version of this player?
Recently several people have said that they were having some trouble getting it to work.

Can anyone confirm that the region-free hack works on the US version of this player?
Recently several people have said that they were having some trouble getting it to work.

I tried this region free mod on the US player. I did not see anything on the screen when performing the actions but when I put in my region 6 dvd's from Hong Kong from when I lived there, they worked and they didn't before. Call me nuts but I tried about 4 more discs and they all worked.

Is there a setting to do this that I am missing?

A small PITA to change the extension name for every file I want to watch with the player instead of MyHD or Theatertek or VLC. If these players recognize either a tp or a ts seems like this player ought to be able to as well.

Is there a setting to do this that I am missing?

A small PITA to change the extension name for every file I want to watch with the player instead of MyHD or Theatertek or VLC. If these players recognize either a tp or a ts seems like this player ought to be able to as well.
My understanding is it's the server software that's picky about extensions, not the LP2 itself. If you use wizd to stream your content I've read you can edit the source files to include whichever extension you prefer. Using FlipFlop's last published wizd, I've not found that it likes either .tp or .ts. AFter changing the extension to .mpg everything works fine.

Do you feel the PQ of the upscaled 480i is superior to 480p. There was a time I set everything to 1080i but after some testing I found the 480p clearer. I do like the ability to fill the whole screen w/o much overscan of the picture. Not really. This mod helps 1080i content quite a bit, but as I wrote above it has good and not-so-good effects for 480i content. I'm not so disappointed that I want to reinstall the components. I just wanted other EDTV owners to be aware of the potential downside before doing the filter mod.

Is there a setting to do this that I am missing?

A small PITA to change the extension name for every file I want to watch with the player instead of MyHD or Theatertek or VLC. If these players recognize either a tp or a ts seems like this player ought to be able to as well.
What is your actual problem? Are you saying the files won't play or won't show up at all? If they won't show up, the extension needs to be added to the .xml file that tells the server which files are acceptable. I have found that renaming .ts files to .mpg causes them to not play on the LP2. Setting them back to .ts and they work fine again. I use the Momitsu server software.

My understanding is it's the server software that's picky about extensions, not the LP2 itself. If you use wizd to stream your content I've read you can edit the source files to include whichever extension you prefer. Using FlipFlop's last published wizd, I've not found that it likes either .tp or .ts. AFter changing the extension to .mpg everything works fine.

Hadn't thought about that but seems like for me it would be a step backwards as every works now with the supplied server if I rename to ts; and going to mpg could be problemmatic for use with MyHD or tt2 etc.

lazy question - if its working otherwise, are there big advantages to going to 3rd party server software approaches?

What is your actual problem? Are you saying the files won't play or won't show up at all? If they won't show up, the extension needs to be added to the .xml file that tells the server which files are acceptable. I have found that renaming .ts files to .mpg causes them to not play on the LP2. Setting them back to .ts and they work fine again. I use the Momitsu server software.

yes - that sounds like my problem. The tp files play fine once I rename to ts extension (and don't show up at all if file ext is .tp. So I just need to locate that .xml file and add the .tp extension.

Edit - looked but couldn't find - anyone know the file to modify for the Avel linkserver?

yes - that sounds like my problem. The tp files play fine once I rename to ts extension (and don't show up at all if file ext is .tp. So I just need to locate that .xml file and add the .tp extension.

Edit - looked but couldn't find - anyone know the file to modify for the Avel linkserver?
try this, just sub TP for TS

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

Thanks - I followed directions and that got the tp files visible on the linkplayer.

Unfortunately the files didn't play. A short clip I just took using MyHD from ABC's "Commander in Chier" returned a message of Encrypted mpeg file

The set of timeshift files just don't play at all but they show up.

Guess I will just rename all the extensions and delete the lines from the xml files as I found a simple utility that will simplify it for me.

One thing that was kind of surprising in all those lists in the three files I changes ts never showed up as an extension, with a lot of other extensions listed, They (ts files) must be covered in another fashion by the server software.

I have a fusion HD card and I find that unmodified .tp's won't play on the LP2, but if I use MPEG2Repair (I'd post the URL but I've not posted enough) on them, they play perfectly.

I have a fusion HD card and I find that unmodified .tp's won't play on the LP2, but if I use MPEG2Repair (I'd post the URL but I've not posted enough) on them, they play perfectly.


My TP files play fine (they are from MyHD card)- its just that I have to rename them. With the latest changes to the server xml files mentioned above they do not play directly. But simply changing the file extension works for me.

A lot of the time I do process the files with H2 to strip commercials and that adds the ts extension

Anyone having MP3 sound clipping issues for the first few seconds of each song when using "Play All" in a folder of MP3 songs? When I play one song at a time I do not have this issue. Guessing it's firmware related.

I have this issue when I use 192K for the compression but it happens with every song unless I hit stop, then play on the same song. I've sent something in to IO Data but they have not responded. Unfortunately I have a big portion of my music compressed at 192k so it sounds terrible for the first couple seconds of each song.

Feedback in case others are reading above

I posted in IODATA forum and it was pointed out that advance server would allow playback of tp files directly

the following line needs to be inserted into the file server-config.xml media types video section (located in documents and settings iodata applications:

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

Works fine -

Now I can watch a MyHD tp file as it is being recorded!

:) All right I did it. The instructions in this thread are adequate for the process. The objects are tiny and that is not an understatement. One thing I did different was to cut a small piece of resistor wire and tin it with some soder. Once it cooled I positioned it on the board and heated it to get a quick and easy connection. The only mode I felt was adversely affected was the 480i D4 mode. All others were at least as good but I felt the details were more pronounced. 1080i was clearer with upscaled dvd. I can not test 720P so I can not speak to that resolution. For a no cost upgrade to the system it is a must have. I will download some true 1080i to test and report the results. But I belive the upscaled dvd is clearer also and that is reason enough to do the mod in my oppinion. The part are tiny so be prepared for that issue if you attempt the operation yourself. I am now sorry I set on the sideline so long. Better safe than sorry!

Feedback in case others are reading above

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

Works fine -

Now I can watch a MyHD tp file as it is being recorded!

It still won't work for me. I have that above line right after the media file ext for ts. My directory still won't show any tp files.

This is the way those two lines are reading, right from the config file.

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

Any thoughts?

Make sure you are using advanced server (version 2.2.99)

also I have the latest firmware (got a recent on yesterday right before setting this up)

here is the path to the file in question:

C:\Documents and Settings\Ralph Architzel\Application Data\I-O DATA DEVICE,INC\AVeL Link Advanced Server\server-config.xml

and the whole video section:

<mediaType typeId="video">
<mediaFile extension=".asf" transcode="yes"/>
<mediaFile extension=".avi" transcode="no"/>
<mediaFile extension=".dat"/>
<mediaFile extension=".divx" fake=".avi"/>
<mediaFile extension=".hnl" fake=".mpg" resumable="yes"/>
<mediaFile extension=".m1v"/>
<mediaFile extension=".m2p" fake=".mpg" resumable="yes"/>
<mediaFile extension=".m2v"/>
<mediaFile extension=".m4v"/>
<mediaFile extension=".mov" transcode="yes"/>
<mediaFile extension=".mp4"/>
<mediaFile extension=".mpe" fake=".mpg" resumable="yes"/>
<mediaFile extension=".mpeg" resumable="yes"/>
<mediaFile extension=".mpg" resumable="yes"/>
<mediaFile extension=".rmp4"/>
<mediaFile extension=".vob" fake=".mpg" resumable="yes"/>
<mediaFile extension=".vro" fake=".mpg"/>
<mediaFile extension=".wmv" transcode="yes"/>
<mediaFile extension=".xvid" fake=".avi"/>
<mediaFile extension=".div" fake=".avi"/>
<mediaFile extension=".vg2" transcode="yes"/>
<mediaFile extension=".ty" transcode="yes"/>
<mediaFile extension=".ts"/>
<mediaFile extension=".tp" fake=".ts" resumable="yes"/>
<mediaFile extension=".trp"/>
<mediaFile extension=".m2t"/>
<mediaFile extension=".mkv"/>
<mediaFile extension=".ogm"/>

and the only one I changed is adding the same one you did in the same location?

So I don't know what to say except maybe you have a different source of tp files?

Seems like if that was the case you would still see the files they just might not play.

Like I mentioned my files played fine in the regular server with just renaming. Can you see the files if you rename the extension and do they play ok?

Here is the Advanced server setup page (http://www.iodata.com/usa/products/AVLP2_Setup4.php) I was directed to for setting up (look under function 3). Needed to open a new port as well for the advanced server

the advanced server setup page I linked above also notes at the bottom that the watdh function is not working. I am only using teh watch function - not the playlist so maybe that is a mistake on their page

Ralph:
I think I know what I did wrong. I made the change in the config file under the program file directory, not the user configuration. By you telling me exactly the path you used allowed me to figure that out.

Unfortunately, I won't be able to test it out tonight, as we're watching the baseball game now. But I'll try it out tomorrow, and post my results here.

Thanks again for giving me explicit information as to how it worked for you.

I finally got it to recognize the TP file extension. But I have a different kind of problem when trying to play an open file. While playing, it will abruptly end and go on to the next file in the directory. I suppose this might have something to do with the the buffer size. Maybe I shouldn't start playing the file until there is a substantial amount already recorded onto the open file.

Ralph, have you had the problem I've described above? How much do you usually have recorded from MyHD before you start to play it on the LP?

Wish list :

Time search - VERY important !

Has this still not been implemented? If I start watching a 2 hour xvid and power off at the 1 1/2 hour mark, will this player require me to fast-forward through 90 minutes of material? Even my crappy Philips DVP642 has time-search!

.......I have a different kind of problem when trying to play an open file. While playing, it will abruptly end and go on to the next file in the directory......
Ralph, have you had the problem I've described above? How much do you usually have recorded from MyHD before you start to play it on the LP?

I only got this set up two days ago - before that it would only play renamed tp files (to ts). So my initial reply was based on watching a sample HD show for a couple minutes.

Since then I tried this on only one "live" - MyHD recording - Ghost Wisperers on Friday. While watching that show it stopped abruptly twice in the hour I was watching.

Since I don't use a playlist I just had a blank screen - but I could easily reclick on the in process recording on my "Watch" directory and quickly get to the approximate same point.

Perhaps I was premature in saying this worked on live MyHD recording - since it looks like it won't always play through smoothly while the file is being modified

Hopefully same situation doesn't exist for file playback of non-open tp files. I haven't seen that yet but have only watched a little bit here and there so far.

Hopefully same situation doesn't exist for file playback of non-open tp files. I haven't seen that yet but have only watched a little bit here and there so far.

I have no reason to expect that completed TP files won't play just fine, since now that the LP recognizes them, they are just like TS files.

I guess we need to experiment some more to determine the reliability of streaming open files to the LP, as well as recovery "tricks" if they do end abruptly. I experimented with the Tenn/Ga game yesterday on CBS, and that is where I experienced the abrupt stoppage.

That brings me to another point. I did the filter mod and I was trying to do an A/B comparison of the HD football game streamed from MyHD to the LP vs. through my normal HD source. I still feel that the LPs video is not as sharp and crisp as other decoders. Hopefully, someone will come up with some further "do it ourself" modifications to improve the picture sharpness on the LP.

One problem I noticed with transport streams is that they may often contain more than one audio track and those files usually would not play on the Linkplayer. However reprocessing them with VideoReDo or HDTV2MPEG would solve the problem.

One problem I noticed with transport streams is that they may often contain more than one audio track and those files usually would not play on the Linkplayer. However reprocessing them with VideoReDo or HDTV2MPEG would solve the problem.

When I record using MyHd I normally use QAM in a single subchannel recording mode. To test out above I changed to OTA and recorded a segment of the Banquet 400 on NBC and deseleced single channel. In our area this is multicast with a weather radar map and separate audio for the weather channel

It recordered fine (and I was able to watch it (HD stream) live for a while with LP (but did not go a long time to try to discern the stopping problem noted above.) Checking out the file afterwards with H2, it had six PIDS - an audio and video for both the HD stream (Race) and SD stream (weather) and a null and a PSIP set., I did not process the file in any way just looked at it.

After stopping the file will play back the HD or subchannel fine with MyHD, but when I play it with LP2 I can only play back the HD stream. It did play back fine for the five or six minute segment I recorded. I don't know how to test a stream with two audios for a single channel - not sure our stations do that. Anyone know how to get the LP to play the alternate stream? None of the remote buttons did that for me.

I guess for me its back to single channel recording to save space.


(EDIT - I also tried this with some QAM channels but not in single channel recording mode - Network or my hardware couldn't keep up and the audio broke up. I tried with two different QAM channels that were each carrying two different network's HD streams. Althouth the MyHD could playback either stream on either file the LP2 only played back one - but with much audio dropout and reduced speed to catch the video (no pixelization - it just played back the stream it selected slower to catch the video but the audio broke up). Watvhinh live or playback result was the same.

Has this still not been implemented? If I start watching a 2 hour xvid and power off at the 1 1/2 hour mark, will this player require me to fast-forward through 90 minutes of material? Even my crappy Philips DVP642 has time-search!
No, you don't have to fast forward through 90 minutes of material. You can just use 'jump to %', but since you can't directly input a percentage, just press the 'right' button 75 times to get to 75%.

I wish IO Data would work on the basics of getting a decent DVD player before implementing stupid features like web radio and stuff. Heck, my AVLP2 can't even navigate through the menus of LotR:RotK (extended version). It completely locks up.

At least they finally added showing the time to network files. Although it only shows an accurate time on .ts files maybe 20-30% of the time.

I removed the remaining LC filters on the Pr and Pb channels, and now the results are truly remarkable...

-Dylan
Hey Dylan,

Can you confirm in the picture I've attached that I have marked the correct components that need to be removed. And that the L65,L66 and L67 sockets all need to be 'jumped'.

Thanks,
Jason.

Hey Dylan,

Can you confirm in the picture I've attached that I have marked the correct components that need to be removed. And that the L65,L66 and L67 sockets all need to be 'jumped'.Have you not seen this (revised) post

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?p=6235072&&#post6235072


Cheers

Have you not seen this (revised) post

Cheers
Nope. Thats exaclty what I wanted to know. ;)

Thanks,
Jason.

I performed the filter mod by removing L65 and C109, and I did notice that the video softness has improved. However, as compared with other decoders, I still feel the video is soft.

I'm wondering if there is anyone else who performed the L65 & C109 mod, viewed the video, and then removed the remaining inductors and capacitors and noticed even further improvement in sharpness?

I'm considering buying this player, so I can get upconverted video on my BenQ 6100 projector, as well as play networked media files.

Apparently, a $50 rebate for the player is ending today.

http://www.iodata.com/usa/news/culture.php?ts=20&tsc=23&newsID=81

So I wanted to make a decision as to whether or not to take the plunge. This player has been out for a while, and I've been scanning this board for updates.

I understand that owners of this player want to continue working with it, modding it, etc. But for those who've yet to take the plunge, are there any relevant competitors out? So many players are out that seem to play DivX files...

How is the Windows Media Pro functionality?

I performed the filter mod by removing L65 and C109, and I did notice that the video softness has improved. However, as compared with other decoders, I still feel the video is soft.

I'm wondering if there is anyone else who performed the L65 & C109 mod, viewed the video, and then removed the remaining inductors and capacitors and noticed even further improvement in sharpness?I too am wondering this.

Removing the L65 and C109 capacitors made a masive improvement when watching things on my projection screen. Yet the picture is still a bit blurry. Can anyone else comment on the removal of the remaining 4 inductors and capacitors? These components are small, really small, so working on them is a bit frightening. Is it worth my player going under the knife again?

Does this player have internal, picture manipulating settings: brightness, contrast, sharpness, tint, gamma, etc?

Update:

The filter mod and monitor calibration (manuel convergence + DVD essentials) makes the difference. After that I was shocked with the level of detail that was reveled. I am very pleased with with the player at this point. The intermittent dvd9 problem and the overscan are the biggest issues I am seeing. Hopefully the red screen and then you have to power off can be corrected next bios upgrade.

Is it possible that the overscan could also be contributing to the soft picture? And if so, is this something that can be adjusted with another firmware update?

Can anyone confirm this region free procedure -
http://www.videohelp.com/dvdhacks.php?select=I-O+Data+AVeL+LinkPlayer2+AVLP2%2FDVDLA

TIA

That procedure is wrong.

Press:

BACK SLOW
4
6
4
6

Then 0 to set to Region 0

I have this as a Macro on my Pronto as you need to enter it each session. Works well.

I'm considering buying this player, so I can get upconverted video on my BenQ 6100 projector, as well as play networked media files.

Apparently, a $50 rebate for the player is ending today.

So I wanted to make a decision as to whether or not to take the plunge. This player has been out for a while, and I've been scanning this board for updates.

I understand that owners of this player want to continue working with it, modding it, etc. But for those who've yet to take the plunge, are there any relevant competitors out? So many players are out that seem to play DivX files...

How is the Windows Media Pro functionality?

I'm in the same boat as this guy! Should I take the plunge?

I have a ton of MPG files on my PC. I would love to be able to play them from the living room over this unit. My question is, can I do this without doing any DivX conversion?

I'd like to catch the special while its still available.

BobB

I too am wondering this.

Removing the L65 and C109 capacitors made a masive improvement when watching things on my projection screen. Yet the picture is still a bit blurry. Can anyone else comment on the removal of the remaining 4 inductors and capacitors? These components are small, really small, so working on them is a bit frightening. Is it worth my player going under the knife again?

Yes, as I posted earlier here:
http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?p=5776863&&#post5776863

Desolder L67, C200, L66, and C201, and replace the inductors with shorts.

I've done this and it does provide a noticeable improvement to the picture. It gets rid of a chroma delay problem that happens when you only desolder L65 and C109 on the Y channel.

Hey Dylan,

Can you confirm in the picture I've attached that I have marked the correct components that need to be removed. And that the L65,L66 and L67 sockets all need to be 'jumped'.

Thanks,
Jason.

Yes, the components you have highlighted in red are the ones to remove.

Yes, the components you have highlighted in red are the ones to remove.

Thanks for the reply. I've already popped of the components, literally.. they popped off. ;) I applied too much pressure while applying the heat and the side opposite the heat just let go. So I lost one of the components in my kitchen somewhere, and well no going back so I tossed out the rest of them. :p

The result, menus have noticeable improvement in overall readability due to increased sharpness. Again like others have said there does seem to be more improvement in the 720p output compared to the 1080i. I haven't had time to really put in a movie and study but I can confirm that there is an improvement in what I've seen.

I am also noticing more edge enhancement effects. Could that be because the effect was blurred before and therefore not as noticeable? I have the edge enhancement turned completely off in my projector, so this must be done by the LP unit itself. Mainly only seen on the menu text though, don't know if its applied to any of the other images.

I hope there is never a reason to want back those filters cause that's not gonna happen here. :rolleyes: Naaa, I'm happy with it as it is... wait... I'm never satisfied... everything can always be made to run at 110%.

Forever DIYer
Jason.

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.

I came to this party a bit late, but I would still like to toss out some advice. If you're removing the YPrPb filter components (caps & chokes), you'll do yourself a favor buying a roll of solder-wick from your local Rat Shack. This will wick up the solder on the component pads pretty handily (the Rat Shack stuff is actually one of the better solder wicks around).

Once cleaned up, the components should come free with heating only. Never use force -- that's where you tear the traces.

If you do tear a trace, you can fix it with 30ga wire, also available at the Rat Shack. Follow the track back a ways, use an Xacto to scrape off the solder mask, and you can solder a wire to it. This is probably a level or two higher on the soldering proficiency scale, though, so you're better off not screwing it up in the first place.

I haven't moded my Linkplayer yet, but I probably will. I might mess with some alternate filters, optimizing for 1080i. If I get that ambitious, I'll post results (and DigiKey part numbers).

-Dave

Typically you could easily loose anything between 5-7% horizontally and 7-9% vertically.... Regardless of whether your source contains 720x480 pixels, 720x576 pixels, 1280x720 pixels, 1920x1080/88 pixels or whatever!

The only real way you can obtain an image without over-scan is by connecting via VGA, DVI-A/D or HDMI.


Actually, at least from the display's prespective (eg, isolated from any attempt at the Linkplayer or other device to tweak overscan for you), overscan has absolutely nothing to do with the interface. The whole point of overscan is dealing with the aging of CRTs over time, as well as the consumer mass production issues in TVs over the years. If you have an analog display (eg, anything CRT based), you technically have to deal with overscan. Modern displays often have controls to adjust this; certainly, computer monitors do. Most TVs do, too, though sometimes the actual controls have been back-panel things, or even controls you have to tweak on the PCB.

For digital displays, there are no overscan issues... from digital signals. From the analog, of course, they are digitizing an analog signal.

Anyone get DTS-CD's working on the IOData? I purchased one the other day... The IOData thinks it's PCM and sends it to my Denon AVR-3805 and I get the nice high-pitched white-noise sound coming out of my speakers.

Edit: I had to use my trusty OLD Toshiba SD-6200 to play back the DTS-CD's. :)

I have complained about this. DTS CDs don't work, and I think I know why.

Basically, in the real world of big company, mass market DVD players (which, in the early days, defined the entire set of DVD players) the player did nothing for the difital out but send whatever bitstream was around/selected to the digital outs. The DTS people observed this, built the DTS CD, and voila! The players magically sent the bitstream out the digital port, just as they did with CD -- no specific knowledge of the bitstream was needed (much the way networks work; you don't know the payload, you don't try to know the payload). Sony (well. Sonic Foundry at the time) has a program that lets you build a 5.1 AC3 CD in much the same way. DTS apparently got a patent on this, though, so while Sony's thing is legal, you would need to license that patent to make an AC3 CD... which is why this never went commercial.

Now enter our friend the Linkplayer. This puppy is smart. For example, it can (based on settings) decode your AC3 and produce a corresponding stereo output, right there on the player. Ok, most players do this, though only for the analog out -- we get an option. And this is actually pretty useful, with the advent of new formats, like WMA9 and AAC, which didn't even exist when my Sony amp was built. Thing is, the Linkplayer is nice enough to offer PCM digital streams of many (not all) of the formats it knows, as well as analog. They even do the 4-level volume control, which is clearly a software thing (which is why it works over digital, unless you're playing, say, a DTS DVD or perhaps some other more advanced formats).

So, back to the CD. You play a CD, and out comes the bitstream. Not knowing about DTS CDs, I guess, the Linkplayer simply takes that bitstream, assumes it's PCM, and runs it through the volume control and other digital processing it does, then pipes it out your S/PDIF or optical output. And that, I believe, is what kills DTS CDs. If they just left well enough alone (or even obeyed the basic intent of the AC-3/Stereo software switch) and just passed on the bitstream, I think DTS CDs would play fine.

IODATA answered over on their forums about drive / disk compatibility today with a pointer to their FAQ.

That reminded me of something that might explain why some of us work great and some don't.

--The LP2 requires closed disks and preferably ones burnt as disk at once or track at once (one recording session).

-- If files are larger than 2GB on the DVD they must be UDF not ISO.

(and on Kermee's subject they do say they don't support DTS audio or DVD audio disks))

Disc-at-once was originally the requirement of all CD players; shouldn't be a problem with anyone doing normal (rather than PC) mastering.

The 2GB limit is an ISO limit, not a Linkplayer limit. I'm glad they added full UDF support.

They don't support DVD Audio -- that's a whole different set of specs, including different encryption. Oddly, though, pretty much all DVD Audio discs also have DVD Video versions of the album, many with DTS tracks that play just dandy on the Linkplayer. They don't currently support DTS CDs, but it's only due to bad software ideas, not any hardware limitation in the player.

How do you (or make sure) the disk is closed??? (using nero)

The below is from IOData

This product does not support DVD-R/+R which has not been closed and is recordable additional data. If you record your files on DVD-R/+R and play it on this product, please close the disc.

If you make a real DVD-Video compliant disc on +/-R, it is by definition a closed disc. However, folks here messing around with computer stuff on DVD might miss this, being used to computers (PC & Mac). This is an STB... a smart one, but don't expect all of the latitude of a PC.

I have had success with +R (single layer) discs on the Linkplayer, no issues. I have also had one brand of DVD-R fail (Samsung), which was previously pretty good on other system compatibility. It only happened once, so I'm not ready to trash this machine's reputation just yet.

Technically, DVD-RWs might also need to be finalized to play. DVD+RWs are, essentially, always finalized... there shouldn't be the need for an explicit "close" on them.

-Dave

Is there a work around for getting a large library of MP3's to work with Linkplayer2?

I can get the USB to work with smaller HDD's but once I exceed a certain number of MP3's the LP2 hangs up and doesn't even respond to the eject command. This is also true when networked to a PC (except it doesn't "hang"). I tried both pointing to a directory and using the Itunes library. They all work ok until the file count gets too high. Is there a way to create several links on LP2 with less content so it won't hang?

Thanks

Hmmm.... I have about 9,000 MP3s and over 3,500 AACs on my networked drive, and I actually find the Linkplayer browser to be more effective on these than, say, the Photo browser (which totally crashes on my photo directory, and has trouble displaying most of my digital photos).

I'm storing things in the traditional directory trees: artist/album/song. I have just under 400 such directories in the MP3 subdir, and other than having a bit of trouble finding what I'm after (each page has so few listings -- the lowly TiVo Series 2 sitting on the shelf below the Linkplayer has a dramatically more functional browser), it all hangs together.

-Dave

I'm in electrical engineering and I'm quite used to solerding/desoldering; but this is quite small surface mount!

Haven't done it yet, but from the photos, I would guess the inductors are 0805, the caps 0603 -- pretty standard stuff these days... unless you're making cellphones or other ultra-tiny stuff (0402 and 0201 chip resistor/caps... I have a project likely going to 0402 soon, I've been hand-building 0603 stuff on and off for the last three years -- life as chief engineer at a small startup company).


Browsing through network dirs/files is somewhat unstable / not that intuitive
(cannot directly browse a dir, have to select "pages" of files...) I might have been spoiled by the XBox's media center which is a marvel compared to this thing

The "pages" thing seems to be extending the DVD metaphore. Not bad in the trivial case, but when you have hundreds of top-level items, it just doesn't play. The "computer" view, used on TiVo and I would guess the XBox Media Center, is the right solution here. I would even accept today's page-based interface if they were efficient about screen real-estate, and could fit dozens of choices per screen.


It doesn't play fluently a Sony HDTV demo I downloaded on torrentspy (MPEG2 19mbps); that a computer could (I'll admit it wasn't a 299$ machine though)

It's not as format-flexible as a computer, but damn good. I did a 19.4Mb/s version of a photo slideshow (rendered originally to DVD) just yesterday, and it played fine, or at least until the server crashed (oops). I did a WMV9 version which was less fine: it played, but the Linkplayer didn't adjust for the default 1440x1080i aspect ratio that MS is defining as "1080i/p" by default, and it didn't play audio (I have since suspected it was playing WMAPro out via analog, which I don't yet have hooked up). I'm trying WMV9 again with a real 1080 spec (well, actually 1080/24p, better for photo slideshows than rendering directly to 1080i).

On the overall, I like the player. It has issues, but I've been at the bleeding edge of computer audio/video since the 80s, and this is fairly mild, overall. As we used to say at Commodore, you can tell the Pioneers by the arrows in their backs. So I get a few more for my collection here, but it's already a proven-useful tool.

-Dave

I found the apparent Windows Media defaults a bit wonky (these were presets in Vegas, but they seem to track much of the on-line stuff) -- Microsoft seems to be pushing 1440x1080 30p/60i as their preferred format for HD WMV9. I guess modern PCs are a bit weak for full-spec 1080?

Anyway, I rendered my same video (based on HD content rendered from digital still photos) in WMV9 at 1920x1080, 24p (well, NTSCfilm-rez 23.97), with WMA rather than WMAPro (the audio was from 16-bit 48kHz and MP3 CD rips, no need for 24-bit here). The Linkplayer handled this spectacularly over the network.

This is rendered VBR, with an eye toward DVD use: 10Mb/s peak. You pay for this, however... the 12-or-so-minute video is still rendering, after 10hr. 12min on my Athlon XP 2500+ system (you can actually play an in-progress rendering, at least if the rendering app is doing its file locking nicely). If you're just dealing with networked streams, you only care about CBR anyway, and it's much faster. But I'm looking for HD content distribution, and I think it's right here. Yeah, gotta test the DVD playback before blessing it entirely....

-Dave

Had to have my wife help me as even with reading glasses couldn't make out the tiny parts easily. Thanks to all for the pix and hints. I tried hazydave's suggestion on the solder wick (?) - bought a desoldering braid and 24 gauge plain wire at Radio Shack (the 30 gauge was insulated) and used it on the others after I had brute forced the L65 and C109 parts with a larger wire and no braid. A magnifying glass came in handy for me - especially for finding one of the popped caps and for removing a loose solder piece

Kind of messy with the soldering splatter as you can see in attached final result - and for others who aren't that proficient with electronics I will point out that removing the circuit board to get to the backside (after fussying from the front for 1/2 hour) won't do you any good as these are surface mounted pieces

My images are improved from previous now as well - but since I was messy could almost recommend that others may want to consider removing the board and having someone more proficient do the actual removal and soldering (even though it worked for me) -

IThat brings me to another point. I did the filter mod and I was trying to do an A/B comparison of the HD football game streamed from MyHD to the LP vs. through my normal HD source. I still feel that the LPs video is not as sharp and crisp as other decoders. Hopefully, someone will come up with some further "do it ourself" modifications to improve the picture sharpness on the LP.

I am quite happy after the mod (I did all six pieces) but do see what you are saying with MyHD compared directly to LP2. My current setup is with an RCA direct view that only resolves 930 or so vertical lines.

Attached are some up close and cropped screen shots of nearly same frames from an episode of Rome, with LP2 at 1080i and MyHD at 1440*1080i. My camera work is not great but you can see the MyHD is a little sharper still, but not something I would care about at normal viewing distance. (ignore the fact that my color/brightness settings are different in these shots)

Actual MyHD screen capture (1440x1080i in this case) (deleted)

Can LP2 capture frames?

Had to have my wife help me as even with reading glasses couldn't make out the tiny parts easily. Thanks to all for the pix and hints. I tried hazydave's suggestion on the solder wick (?) - bought a desoldering braid and 24 gauge plain wire at Radio Shack (the 30 gauge was insulated) and used it on the others after I had brute forced the L65 and C109 parts with a larger wire and no braid. A magnifying glass came in handy for me - especially for finding one of the popped caps and for removing a loose solder piece

Kind of messy with the soldering splatter as you can see in attached final result - and for others who aren't that proficient with electronics I will point out that removing the circuit board to get to the backside (after fussying from the front for 1/2 hour) won't do you any good as these are surface mounted pieces

My images are improved from previous now as well - but since I was messy could almost recommend that others may want to consider removing the board and having someone more proficient do the actual removal and soldering (even though it worked for me) -

Very good job Ralph. This weekend, I think I will remove the remaining inductors and capacitors. From everything I've read here, it does make somewhat of a difference.

Congratulations on finding the removed parts and solder splatter. When I removed just the first inductor and capacitor, I never did find those parts. Was using a magnifying glass, a good light, and of course, glasses. They flew somewhere. Perhaps when I perform the remaining mod, I'll be lucky enough to find the removed parts. Wow, are they small!

Thanks Dave,
I meant by "I'm in electircal engineering" that I'm still studying in, and will finish in two years; but it's ok. We haven't played with much SMT so that's why I find thos qui te small !

How is the LP2 doing with the picture transitions ? Because with my high bitrate videos that are VBR, it only hangs on high-changing detailed frames (probably when there are more key frames than anything else); but the rest goes fluently. (I don't think 19mbit is the mean bitrate value though, it's probably the maximum.)

I'd suspect it would die under a 19mbit CBR file. Haven't tried it yet though.

Have you successfully been able to convert a 1920x1080i MPEG-2 file (not ts, i don't quite know the difference, but still , i've got 3 hdtv demos that are like that) - directly to WMV9 with Encoder 9 ? Here it justs doesn't work; I had success converting it first to DivX HD 1920x1080i at 16mbits (which is somewhat very crappy), and then into WMV9 8mbits (with absolutely no quality loss compared to the DivX 16mbit); but it takes time and a lot of quality loss...which goes against my principles.

Also,
when I'm browsing my pictures, it only displays them in 720x480 (whilst in D4 1080i mode); is it a normal limitation or have I got some settings wrong ?

Thanks and have fun !

djbono

I haven't moded my Linkplayer yet, but I probably will. I might mess with some alternate filters, optimizing for 1080i. If I get that ambitious, I'll post results (and DigiKey part numbers).

-Dave

These filters are just before the output, yes? So could the replacement filters be added outside the box, like in a D4 connector hood? It would save messing with the board again and you could have different filters for the S-Video and composite outs.

Someone could make a bunch of these and sell them to the rest of us.

LB

Has anyone, who has tinkered with the inductor/capacitor mod, also considered the merit of using the "better quality" JVC D4 to component cable? I'm just wondering how much improvement in picture sharpness and quality there might be with a different cable.

I'm still going to perform the remaining mod over this weekend and would hope that I can see additional improvement in the video sharpness.

There has been much talk here about the LP2's "overscan problem", so I decided to test it out with some test patterns that I made. I have test patterns in 1920x1080, 1280x720 and 856x480 as DivX-encoded .avi files. When I play them through LP2 and display on my projector I measure NO overscan. ZERO. Nada. ZIP.

Every bit of the original image, right out to the very edge, gets displayed on my projector. And I even tested all the various LP2 output modes (1080i, 720p, 480p, etc..) There is NO overscan with any of them.

Now, of course, when I display through my Sony HD-capable TV, I can measure about 5% overscan all around. But that's coming from the set, not LP2.

So what's all the fuss about overscan?

There has been much talk here about the LP2's "overscan problem", so I decided to test it out with some test patterns that I made. I have test patterns in 1920x1080, 1280x720 and 856x480 as DivX-encoded .avi files. When I play them through LP2 and display on my projector I measure NO overscan. ZERO. Nada. ZIP.

So what's all the fuss about overscan?Did you try any of my samples?


Cheers

No. I can't imagine there would be any problem with them, though. I think I generated my samples the same way you did yours. Just duplicate a 1920x1080 .jpg file and run the frames through JPGAvi, right? (repeat process for other sizes...) I can post the sample .avi, if you like. (assuming I can find somewhere to host it...)

Okay....

Try this 16.9 1280x720 Over-Scan Test in AVI (http://82.2.167.237/Uploaded_Files/AVS_Forum_files/16.9_1280x720_Over-Scan_Test_in_AVI.zip)

And this 16.9 1920x1080 Over-Scan Test in AVI (http://82.2.167.237/Uploaded_Files/AVS_Forum_files/16.9_1920x1080_Over-Scan_Test_in_AVI.zip)


Cheers

Ok, I tried these patterns. I get 0% overscan on top and bottom, and about 0.1% overscan on the sides. And I'll bet this miniscule amount of overscan is NOT the LP2's fault.. I'm having some problems with my LP2, but overscan is NOT one of them.

Well it's good to know that the LP2, itself, is not puking out images with over-scan!

By-the-way, which LP2 TV output settings did you try.... and are there any differences between them?


Cheers

I just subjected my LP to microsurgery, one more time, to remove the remaining inductors and capacitors. I'm pleased to report that the surgery was a success.

Wow!!! The removal of L66, L67 along with C200 and C201, made a big difference as compared with just the removal of L65 and C109, which I did a few weeks ago. And yes, I did put jumpers across the areas where the inductors were removed.

I had an initial scare when I initially tested the LPs improved video. The colors were way off and I observed that the blue was gone. Finally, after having a slight bit of nervousness, I found that the blue wire from the component cable was not seated well in the crappy D4 to component adaptor.

The menus and the video are extremely sharp now. I wouldn't call it equal to the video of MyHD, but closer and significantly better than before the mod.

That leads me to the question I posted earlier. Has anyone noticed any further improvement by replacing the cheap D4 to component adaptor with JVCs D4 to component cable?

That leads me to the question I posted earlier. Has anyone noticed any further improvement by replacing the cheap D4 to component adaptor with JVCs D4 to component cable?I seem to remember reading (in one of the AVLP2 threads) that, yes, this was the case!

Lets hope IO-DATA drop this awful D4 connection on future players/devices ;)

Because of Ron's post earlier today, I desoldered the remaining two inductor/capacitor pairs on my AVLP2. As he noted, I too see a marked improvement in picture quality. The colors are more intense and more precise -- even less blurriness than with the first pair removed. IMO the mod isn't complete unless all three pairs are removed and the inductor pads jumpered.

Thank you so much to dahester (again) and also to everyone who went before and posted how amazing the picture is improved with this modification! I am viewing at 1080i on a 40" Toshiba 40H80 RPTV.

I also noted in doing this mod, that there is a protective film covering the faceplate. For 10 months my player sat with this film blurring the faceplate! Beneath the film is a nice mirrored surface and the AVLP2 looks sleek and modern without it. -- (in case anyone like me never knew that there is a film that should be peeled off :) )

Last Friday, I also finished removing the remaining inductors and capacitors. I fired up the AVLP2 and did not really notice too much of a difference on my sd tv. Saturday I purchased a 50" RP LCD tv and started testing. I set the Linkplayer to HD browser mode and to 720p in the setup screen. As I began streaming back files, I noticed the colors were not as bright and at times images were blurry. I was quite dissapointed to say the least. I tried every resolution and every mode on the tv and Linkplayer, and was still dissapointed. Today, I was messing around and took the Linkplayer out of HD browser mode and set it to 480p in the setup screen. Right away I noticed a great improvement, colors were vivid and no blurriness. It looks great at all resolutions. Correct me if I am wrong, but I thought the setup of HD browser was just so the server screen and other menus fit better on higher resolution tv's. I was also under the understanding that what ever resolution you set it to in the setup screen was the resolution that it would default to when turned on. So my question to all of you, is why would it make a difference in playback? I am quite pleased now. What a world of difference.

JRad

I ordered one for 35$ from I-data as I wasn't sure it came with one - does anyone know - i really dont need two :)

I just ordered one and happened to come across a post about the factory loader in some instances emitting a crunching noise and subsequently scratching your brand new dvd.

I'm getting kinda scared and am wondering:
1. If I should replace the loader with the LiteOn 167T?
2. If I do keep the factory loader, what firmware and settings should I use?

I will be using this machine to primarily do the following:
1. Play rented DVD's while upconverting via D4>Component>Sony XBR960 @ 1080i.
2. Play archived Mpeg2 TS recordings on DVD-R's.
3. Play Mpeg2 TS recordings on my PC's Hard Drive.

I've already had a bad experience with a Toshiba 5970 DVD player which upconverts to 1080i. It sometimes would not even play brand new DVD's. Toshiba finally is replacing it with a brand new 4980.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

I ordered one for 35$ from I-data as I wasn't sure it came with one - does anyone know - i really dont need two :)

Yeah, they started including it a while ago, at least mine came with it.

David

Well it's good to know that the LP2, itself, is not puking out images with over-scan!

By-the-way, which LP2 TV output settings did you try.... and are there any differences between them?


Cheers


I tryed the overscan test and it was terrable. Dont remember the results but both sides was off the scale. If I adjust the tv then the regular programming is off and not even centered. In 480p mode it was mutch better. I guess I will just live with it. Would be very nice if there was some adjustments.

I tryed the overscan test and it was terrable. Dont remember the results but both sides was off the scale. If I adjust the tv then the regular programming is off and not even centered. In 480p mode it was mutch better. I guess I will just live with it. Would be very nice if there was some adjustments.

What display device are you using? Your display is undoubtedly the cause of the cropping, because LP2 appears to be sending out the correct signal, with ALL image lines intact. When you say "regular programming", what are you referring to? Is it HDTV?

There ARE other products that provide adjustments to counterbalance overscan in your display. (Like Roku HD1000, for example) But I believe these work by shrinking the actual content a little, then adding black bars around the edges to make up the difference. The actual signal characteristics (number of scan-lines, etc.) remains constant. It would be a nice bonus if LP2 had this feature, but I think it is a minor issue. They have other problems to fix first.

I'm wondering what scale you're referring to that you can't measure? As potus posted my AVLP2 also sends out the entire frame, at least in 1080i mode that I view at.

Folks, I don't think these people having overscan issues are just making this up. There are too many for this to be just the TV's fault. Plus, several have indicated the same image with other video devices doesn't have the same issues.

I don't know what the problem actually is, but let me make one suggestion.

Is it possible that the sync polarity is inverted? I thought of this when several people have noted that the image isn't just overscanned, but shifted. I know that on some video signals I've worked with, the sync polarity can get inverted and the monitor/TV will screw up. In some monitors, they handle this without any problems. But others see the wrong edge. Depending on which edge they are expecting, and the sync polarity, this can shift the image up, down, left, or right. I some cases, the image can be stretched, or the monitor can fail to sync at all.

I believe the HD analog signal has a tri-level sync, so this might not even be a reasonable possibility. But I strongly suspect there is something wrong that just affects some TVs. However, there is a standard. And if anyone can capture the signal itself, it should be possible to verify if it's correct or not.

Xesdeeni

When testing the AVLP2 for over-scan it's important to select and compare as many of the players output modes as possible!

Ideally they should all appear to be similarly sized and positioned.....

As some of you know I'm testing Zensonic's Z500 player, which is currently hooked up to a high-def capable display via componant. And while the images I see do contain over-scan, it's the same for all modes ;)


Cheers

I don't think anyone is implying that people are "making things up" with regard to overscan issues. I am sure that people who are experiencing problems really ARE experiencing problems. But the question is whether the fault is LP2s. I suspect it is NOT. But that is just my hunch.

You are right that we really won't know unless someone takes a hard look at the actual signal characteristics, and determines if it matches with the "standard". But consider this: say you are right about something like inverted sync. OK, let's "fix" that. Probable result: All those displays that used to NOT work are now working. But all those that used to WORK are now NOT working. Is it really "fixed"?

In other words, it is entirely possible that the LP2 output signal already IS "standard", and these problems are ALL due to the displays. It is still very early technology, and I would bet that there are lots of variations in implementations. Some have got it right, some have got it wrong. It is possible that Linkplayer got it wrong. It remains to be seen. But they are certainly NOT omitting any picture information from the signal. If they got it wrong, it has to do with some subtle timing/sync issue in the analog component signal.

I don't think anyone is implying that people are "making things up" with regard to overscan issues. I am sure that people who are experiencing problems really ARE experiencing problems. But the question is whether the fault is LP2s. I suspect it is NOT. But that is just my hunch. I do however think there may be "issues" with the players Syabas middle-ware!

My ADS Media-Link runs this middle-ware and when I play an 854x480 test card and select the different output modes, the image looks to be cropped/shifted to the right, on some modes...... If you look below, you can see this for yourselves: -

Component NTSC: -

http://img426.imageshack.us/img426/1498/componentntsc0hy.jpg


HDTV Component 480p: -

http://img435.imageshack.us/img435/1284/hdtvcomponent480p6tn.jpg


HDTV Component 720p: -

http://img435.imageshack.us/img435/6523/hdtvcomponent720p3ri.jpg


HDTV Component 1080i: -

http://img444.imageshack.us/img444/4885/hdtvcomponent1080i8jx.jpg



By contrast, when you set the Z500 to "480p60" mode (HDTV Component 480p) you see this: -

http://img185.imageshack.us/img185/2642/z5009oq.jpg


Like I said previously, the over-scan is still present.... but the image has not been cropped/shifted to the right!

Please also bear in mind, this is the forth or fifth time I've carried out such a test with devices sporting Syabas middle-ware (but it is the first time I've taken some pictures).... and they all did the same!

So I can only assume I-O DATA's AVLP2, Buffalo's LinkPlayer and SnaZio's 1350 all do the same too!


EDIT: Here are some samples, you can try with your player: -

NTSC 854x480 with square pixels in AVI (http://82.2.167.237/Uploaded_Files/AVS_Forum_files/NTSC_854x480_with_square_pixels_in_AVI.zip)

PAL 1024x576 with square pixels in AVI (http://82.2.167.237/Uploaded_Files/AVS_Forum_files/PAL_1024x576_with_square_pixels_in_AVI.zip)



Cheers