Originally posted by Flip221
Good Day,

Has anyone else that has been running the beta LT software been experiencing occasional lock-ups at the Home screen of the LT interface? It seems that after I use the LT for a while and then return to the Home screen, I am unable to re-connect to the default server without power cycling the LT. I get an error message in red text on a white background saying (among other things) that the LT can not connect.

I'm not complaining (as I chose to run the beta software) but am curious if I'm the only one experiencing this issue.

The other thing I have noticed is that after I've used the LT for a while, a "house" icon appears inside the icon for my default media server on the Home screen of the LT interface. The system only appears to lock-up when the "house" icon is present. Any ideas?

Also: does anyone know of a way to get back to the "Videos/Music/Photos" page rather than going back to the Home screen?

Thanks all,
Kirt

I get the house, and no lockups....You can use the back arrow key to cycle back through the places you have been instead of jumping all the way back with the home key....

Weird...There are posts missing!!!!!!
I wonder what happened to them.....???

Originally posted by kxtra
Which subtitles are supported?
".srt", ".ssa", ".sub" or ".smi"

Thanks
Chan

.srt files are supported. Not sure about the others.

Originally posted by qrazy
Weird...There are posts missing!!!!!!
I wonder what happened to them.....???

Don't worry qrazy, I made a post Friday night and then deleted it Saturday. Basically, it was just some dumb rant about BrianV telling us we can't use Buffalo tech support because participants of this forum have more knowledge.

It wasn't a negative post or anything, I was trying to be humorous but later just decided it was too dumb.

:)

Originally posted by BrianV
The sigma chip is rated around 12 Mbps, so 38 Mbps files are just too much for today's technology.

thanks bryan, figured so. have any recommendations on how to store/encode high definition video that's over 2 gigs on the LT? mpeg2 gets way too big, so i'd like to do this mpeg4 somehow.

thanks,

Originally posted by mrstormy
Don't worry qrazy, I made a post Friday night and then deleted it Saturday. Basically, it was just some dumb rant about BrianV telling us we can't use Buffalo tech support because participants of this forum have more knowledge.

It wasn't a negative post or anything, I was trying to be humorous but later just decided it was too dumb.

:)

OK...I didn't think it was dumb....Basically it was you realizing that we are all techno-nerds :) (Yourself included). Nothing wrong with that :)

Originally posted by musicnyman
thanks bryan, figured so. have any recommendations on how to store/encode high definition video that's over 2 gigs on the LT? mpeg2 gets way too big, so i'd like to do this mpeg4 somehow.

thanks,

You could convert it to DivxHD.....Use just a little compression...

have any recommendations on how to store/encode high definition video that's over 2 gigs on the LT
Are you sure avi has a 2GB size limit? Im pretty sure that I have a few xvids that are over 2GB and play just fine. I typically set autoGK to encode at 100% quality so its not unusual for them to go over 2GB.

ok, i guess i should have tried... lemme try and get back to you. i'm used to the 2 gig limitation on the pinnacle showcenter, but i thought it was the AVI limitation itself, and not the player.

thanks guys.

Originally posted by Scribble
Are you sure avi has a 2GB size limit? Im pretty sure that I have a few xvids that are over 2GB and play just fine. I typically set autoGK to encode at 100% quality so its not unusual for them to go over 2GB.

I tried the AutoGK to encode a HD .ts file (about 3.5GB and 30 minutes long)....using 80% quality and fixed size of 1920. It takes forever to encode! Using P4 2.4G and 1G Ram. I gave up halfway and aborted......Is there any other tool that can encode faster? Or I set something wrong? I want to preserve the HD as much as possible.
Thanks!

Originally posted by clasher
I tried the AutoGK to encode a HD .ts file (about 3.5GB and 30 minutes long)....using 80% quality and fixed size of 1920. It takes forever to encode! Using P4 2.4G and 1G Ram. I gave up halfway and aborted......Is there any other tool that can encode faster? Or I set something wrong? I want to preserve the HD as much as possible.
Thanks!

i have a fast computer, and it takes me about 6-8 hours to encode a high definition movie. because you're trying to encode so much more data/resolution, it takes a while. a 720x480 movie takes me about 2-3 hours, 2 pass, and high definition can take 2-4 times as long. you're not going to find any software that can do this faster for you. just a LOT of data to encode.

move is one hour long and 1920x1080

Originally posted by musicnyman
i have a fast computer, and it takes me about 6-8 hours to encode a high definition movie. because you're trying to encode so much more data/resolution, it takes a while. a 720x480 movie takes me about 2-3 hours, 2 pass, and high definition can take 2-4 times as long. you're not going to find any software that can do this faster for you. just a LOT of data to encode.

move is one hour long and 1920x1080

Thanks musicnyman.
How's the quality after encoding compared to the original .ts?

Originally posted by clasher
Thanks musicnyman.
How's the quality after encoding compared to the original .ts?

well, i do two encodes:

1) resized to 1280 instead of 1900 and sticked to 2 gig size. quality is still amazing. compressibility at about 50% 2 pass.
2) kept at 1920 resolution and 7 gig file size. quality is amazing. but i think i'll stick to 2 gig since it saves space, even though i lose resolution.

Originally posted by musicnyman
well, i do two encodes:

1) resized to 1280 instead of 1900 and sticked to 2 gig size. quality is still amazing. compressibility at about 50% 2 pass.
2) kept at 1920 resolution and 7 gig file size. quality is amazing. but i think i'll stick to 2 gig since it saves space, even though i lose resolution.

Thanks so much! I'll start encoding before I sleep tonight, and it will be done next morning. Ha ha.

If I have 2 computers on the network besides LT, will LT recognize files from both computers? For example if I want to create a playlist of songs....with 1st song from computer A, and 2nd song from computer B...etc., will that work?
I'll have to install the pc software in both computers I guess?
Thanks.

This weekend I have decided to test LT wireless connection performance (I was connected with wired LAN since I bought this unit month ago), I have configured LT for wireless LAN access and after reboot it connected to my network without any problem. I started playing with it to see if I can notice any difference between wired and wireless mode. And sure enough, I run into BIG surprise:

As I have reported earlier on this thread, LT has a problem to play my home videos (from DV and VHS camcorders) encoded with 48KHz. Video would display fine, but no sound. When I re-encoded some of them to 44.1KHz unit played them without any problem. Here is the BIG surprise: all those videos played fine when LT was configured to use wireless mode. Just to be sure, I have switched LT back to wired mode and problem came back. I went back and forth between wired and wireless mode 5 times, and every time my home videos played fine in wireless mode but not in wired mode.

The only conclusion I have that LT have some timing issues, since wired mode will stream videos faster then in wireless mode.

Also, we all know about cracking noise at the beginning of each song, but I think it’s far less in wired mode than in wireless. Maybe it’s just a coincidence.

Brian, any thoughts on my discovery?

David

As I have reported earlier on this thread, I have big collection of digital pictures. Most of then are 5MB (2560x1920), that I take with my Sony Cybershot-F717. The problem that I have discovered that PC server converts them to 640x480 before sending them to LT. I have downloaded latest beta (thanks Brian) and spend time to experimenting with different image sizes. I have discovered that PC server software performs following:

- If original image is 2048x1532 and smaller, PC server will do no conversion and them as is to LT.
- If original image is bigger than 2048x1532, PC server beta (1.1) will convert it to 960x720 or 1280x960 before sending it to LT. Original PC server software (1.0) will always convert it to 640x480.
- When 5MB images displayed form DVD+RW disk directly, LT converts them to 1280x960 size.

The LT unit itself uses 720p domain to render it internally and then upscales it to 1080i This was reported by Brian and should be fixed in the next firmware release.

So if I can think out loud here, I am asking myself following:

- 3MB resolution is thing of the past, today’s consumer cameras have 5MB and more (my camera is 3 years old already). What is the thinking behind scaling down bigger images to 640x480 or 960x720?
- If you must scale it down, why not to 2048x1532 resolution and let player to decide how to handle it.
- If I using 4MB or bigger digital camera, what Buffalo expects me to do, scale down my images under 3MB? Let's be real here.

Brian, any way image handling can be improved in the feature software/firmware releases?

Thanks,
David

Originally posted by clasher
If I have 2 computers on the network besides LT, will LT recognize files from both computers? For example if I want to create a playlist of songs....with 1st song from computer A, and 2nd song from computer B...etc., will that work?
I'll have to install the pc software in both computers I guess?
Thanks.

Clasher,

Yes, it will recognize different computers on the network. I have 2 computers hooked up to mine. It will show them on the login screen and you just have to login to that computer. It uses the name of the computer on the network.

You can't see the folders on both computers at the same time though. You have to login to one of the computers at a time.

Yes, you do have to install the software on both machines, and just configure whatever folders you want to show up in LinkTheater.

Terry

Has anyone had any luck with the TwonkyVision server on Linux talking to the LT? I have the 'trial' version and while it runs and is recognized, as soon as I pick it on the home screen the server exits w/o an error message.

I hate having to keep my desktop running just to talk to the LT.

I noticed the LT's server is all java, has anyone tried just running the class files directly on a linux JVM (like the Sun or IBM one)?

-Eric

Thanks mrtbig, I got the idea now.
And dkeller, maybe the reason why the pics are resized is to match your display resolution, so that it's pixel to pixel. But don't understand why only resize pics bigger than 2048x1532.

Originally posted by qrazy
Instead of hacking up the mVisto thing, you could just get a Tivx and put your own drive in it...Both cases though as you mentioned have no network ability....

P.S. Eric, check your PM's....I answered your PM to me and added several others...You still haven't read them.... :)


Eric, you still haven't checked your PM's.....

Originally posted by clasher
And dkeller, maybe the reason why the pics are resized is to match your display resolution, so that it's pixel to pixel. But don't understand why only resize pics bigger than 2048x1532.

LT specs states that it supports images upto 2048x1532 resolution. But why you would downsize larger images so much?

David

i have some big problems so far, and don't know if i should return the LT for a replacement, bryan, you can determine this if you want:

- when playing an mp4 file. it plays 2 seconds and then freezes the whole player. only thing i can do is power it off and power it back on. this happens on some divx HD files as well. sometimes they play, and then sometimes they freeze, leaving me no choice but to power it off and on.
- when playing a real DVD, when i hit next to go to the next chapter, no sound. i have to power it off and on again to get sound back. if i don't skip chapters and just play the dvd, it's fine. very disturbing though.
- when playing high bandwidth files, again, remote seems unresponsive and i can't do anything. almost like it's overloaded and won't let me do anything but power off and on.

Originally posted by clasher
Thanks so much! I'll start encoding before I sleep tonight, and it will be done next morning. Ha ha.

by the way clasher, WMVHD takes about double as long as DIVX or XVID encode... i just tried the same .ts source with same resolution/bitrate as the DIVX/XVID encodes, and it took almost double as long to encode.

Originally posted by Ericv13
Has anyone had any luck with the TwonkyVision server on Linux talking to the LT? I have the 'trial' version and while it runs and is recognized, as soon as I pick it on the home screen the server exits w/o an error message.

I hate having to keep my desktop running just to talk to the LT.

I noticed the LT's server is all java, has anyone tried just running the class files directly on a linux JVM (like the Sun or IBM one)?

-Eric

Hey Eric,

I installed this over the weekend and it worked fine. The interface was terrible. However, I'm not sure if the LT displays all UPNP servers the same or it is twonkyvision.

- Justin

Originally posted by themojo
Hey Eric,

I installed this over the weekend and it worked fine. The interface was terrible. However, I'm not sure if the LT displays all UPNP servers the same or it is twonkyvision.

- Justin

It seems to have been a transient problem. After restarting a couple of time it stayed up and served media just fine (much faster then the Buffalo s/w which has to run on windows, thru samba, to get to the machine with all disk space). I kinda like the config interface (edit a text file with vi) :).

The LT s/w at 1.1 still won't display my photos either, I have about 18K photos in a few hundred sub directories, when I hit the photo's link on the LT it just blinks and goes back to the main menu.

I got mine a few days ago and it's working fine so far. I've tried playing several differrent video file formats and only ran into one old WMV it wouldn't play. It also plays my DVD-R blanks made on the computer just fine.

As a DVD player I've already found it lacking in features than the 2.5 year old unit it replaced. Here's some things my older DVD player does, that I wish the BLT did.

1. Play/FF 1.5 speed with sound.
2. Reverse Slow motion.
3. Instant 10 second replay.

Instant replay is a big one for me. BLT even has the perfect button for it already; "RETURN" which appears not to even be used in DVD playback.

I also wish it could RW/FF while paused, but that's usability, and I suppose I'll get used to that over time.

Originally posted by Leo Valiant

Instant replay is a big one for me. BLT even has the perfect button for it already; "RETURN" which appears not to even be used in DVD playback.


I miss that sorely, esp since the reverse play at 1x is fairly broken on xvid and vob files. I got very used to the 30 forward/10 back skip keys on an old PVR (DishNet 721), its a very convient way to navigate compared to watching video stream by and having to figure out when to hit 'play' given the lag in the remote and the rew/ff system.

Originally posted by dkeller
The only conclusion I have that LT have some timing issues, since wired mode will stream videos faster then in wireless mode.

Couldn't wired be slower than wireless if you have an old hub attached? By old I mean 10BaseT hubs that they were still selling just a few years ago.

BrianV,

It looks like linktheater-server.exe is writing to the hard drive (data.lck file) every 10 seconds even when the unit is powered off. Is this normal? What's it doing with this 1KB file?

Originally posted by Flip221
Good Day,

Has anyone else that has been running the beta LT software been experiencing occasional lock-ups at the Home screen of the LT interface? It seems that after I use the LT for a while and then return to the Home screen, I am unable to re-connect to the default server without power cycling the LT. I get an error message in red text on a white background saying (among other things) that the LT can not connect.

I'm not complaining (as I chose to run the beta software) but am curious if I'm the only one experiencing this issue.

The other thing I have noticed is that after I've used the LT for a while, a "house" icon appears inside the icon for my default media server on the Home screen of the LT interface. The system only appears to lock-up when the "house" icon is present. Any ideas?

Also: does anyone know of a way to get back to the "Videos/Music/Photos" page rather than going back to the Home screen?

Thanks all,
Kirt

I haven't seen it lockup and we just moved that version to 'final status'. The home icon just shows the last server you connected to.

I will have a new version (1.2) next week, I will post here when it is ready.

Originally posted by Stevenage
Brian,
did you mean to leave a reply?

Steven


Re: Overscan

quote:Originally posted by Stevenage
My player seems to overscan a lot. In 480i it is close, 480p is acceptable but 1080i is just too much. Is there any thing I can do to fix this without having my tv recalibrated?

I don't get any overscan on 1080 and if I do it's microscopic. Does anyone else have overscan problems on 1920x1080 images?

Originally posted by LexyGS4ever
.srt files are supported. Not sure about the others.

Subtitles Supported = MicroDVD, SubRip, Sub Station Alpha, Sami [.sub, .srt, .ssa, .smi], which are text based subtitles and cover about 94-96 % of subtiltes out there. We cannot support other subtitles because they are graphic based and require too much memory.

Originally posted by mrstormy
Don't worry qrazy, I made a post Friday night and then deleted it Saturday. Basically, it was just some dumb rant about BrianV telling us we can't use Buffalo tech support because participants of this forum have more knowledge.

It wasn't a negative post or anything, I was trying to be humorous but later just decided it was too dumb.

:)

Originally posted by musicnyman
thanks bryan, figured so. have any recommendations on how to store/encode high definition video that's over 2 gigs on the LT? mpeg2 gets way too big, so i'd like to do this mpeg4 somehow.

thanks,

Like the others said, DivX HD or WMV HD! They can offer stunning quality at rates far less than 12 mbps.

Originally posted by dkeller
This weekend I have decided to test LT wireless connection performance (I was connected with wired LAN since I bought this unit month ago), I have configured LT for wireless LAN access and after reboot it connected to my network without any problem. I started playing with it to see if I can notice any difference between wired and wireless mode. And sure enough, I run into BIG surprise:

As I have reported earlier on this thread, LT has a problem to play my home videos (from DV and VHS camcorders) encoded with 48KHz. Video would display fine, but no sound. When I re-encoded some of them to 44.1KHz unit played them without any problem. Here is the BIG surprise: all those videos played fine when LT was configured to use wireless mode. Just to be sure, I have switched LT back to wired mode and problem came back. I went back and forth between wired and wireless mode 5 times, and every time my home videos played fine in wireless mode but not in wired mode.

The only conclusion I have that LT have some timing issues, since wired mode will stream videos faster then in wireless mode.

Also, we all know about cracking noise at the beginning of each song, but I think it’s far less in wired mode than in wireless. Maybe it’s just a coincidence.

Brian, any thoughts on my discovery?

David

Very interesting. I reported this directly to our engineers. I'll post whatever I hear back on the forum.

Originally posted by dkeller
As I have reported earlier on this thread, I have big collection of digital pictures. Most of then are 5MB (2560x1920), that I take with my Sony Cybershot-F717. The problem that I have discovered that PC server converts them to 640x480 before sending them to LT. I have downloaded latest beta (thanks Brian) and spend time to experimenting with different image sizes. I have discovered that PC server software performs following:

- If original image is 2048x1532 and smaller, PC server will do no conversion and them as is to LT.
- If original image is bigger than 2048x1532, PC server beta (1.1) will convert it to 960x720 or 1280x960 before sending it to LT. Original PC server software (1.0) will always convert it to 640x480.
- When 5MB images displayed form DVD+RW disk directly, LT converts them to 1280x960 size.

The LT unit itself uses 720p domain to render it internally and then upscales it to 1080i This was reported by Brian and should be fixed in the next firmware release.

So if I can think out loud here, I am asking myself following:

- 3MB resolution is thing of the past, today’s consumer cameras have 5MB and more (my camera is 3 years old already). What is the thinking behind scaling down bigger images to 640x480 or 960x720?
- If you must scale it down, why not to 2048x1532 resolution and let player to decide how to handle it.
- If I using 4MB or bigger digital camera, what Buffalo expects me to do, scale down my images under 3MB? Let's be real here.

Brian, any way image handling can be improved in the feature software/firmware releases?

Thanks,
David

The PC Software appears to do some rescaling because it has the processor power to do so. Interestingly, if you play a file off of a USB drive, CD-ROM, or off of LinkStation or TeraStation it does not resize it. Right now we're trying to determine how we want the PC Software to handle this whole thing.

Originally posted by musicnyman
i have some big problems so far, and don't know if i should return the LT for a replacement, bryan, you can determine this if you want:

- when playing an mp4 file. it plays 2 seconds and then freezes the whole player. only thing i can do is power it off and power it back on. this happens on some divx HD files as well. sometimes they play, and then sometimes they freeze, leaving me no choice but to power it off and on.
- when playing a real DVD, when i hit next to go to the next chapter, no sound. i have to power it off and on again to get sound back. if i don't skip chapters and just play the dvd, it's fine. very disturbing though.
- when playing high bandwidth files, again, remote seems unresponsive and i can't do anything. almost like it's overloaded and won't let me do anything but power off and on.

The only problem that I see is the remote unresponsiveness, but it just happens at very random intervals. Bigger or smaller files don't seem to increase or decrease the probability. It happens very rarely for me.

I haven't had any chapter select problems, does this happen on all of your DVD's? Is it a problem with your sound receiver or is the sound receiver NOT receiving a signal at all?

Does anyone else have mp4 problems, I rarely use mp4?

Originally posted by themojo
Hey Eric,

I installed this over the weekend and it worked fine. The interface was terrible. However, I'm not sure if the LT displays all UPNP servers the same or it is twonkyvision.

- Justin

It'll list Upnp servers, but unless their webserver uses our implementation requirements it won't work properly.

For instance, links to content have to be in proper syntax for our player to read them.

Originally posted by Ericv13
It seems to have been a transient problem. After restarting a couple of time it stayed up and served media just fine (much faster then the Buffalo s/w which has to run on windows, thru samba, to get to the machine with all disk space). I kinda like the config interface (edit a text file with vi) :).

The LT s/w at 1.1 still won't display my photos either, I have about 18K photos in a few hundred sub directories, when I hit the photo's link on the LT it just blinks and goes back to the main menu.

We've tested up to 10,000 photos with no problems. Can you move the files around and get 20 to work, 50 to work, 100 to work, etc. Where does it break?

Originally posted by Leo Valiant
BrianV,

It looks like linktheater-server.exe is writing to the hard drive (data.lck file) every 10 seconds even when the unit is powered off. Is this normal? What's it doing with this 1KB file?

I'll look into it.

Originally posted by BrianV
I don't get any overscan on 1080 and if I do it's microscopic. Does anyone else have overscan problems on 1920x1080 images?

I already mentioned that I do. I have to push the down arrow twice (in zoom on mode) to get the whole picture. This is a big chunk of the picture.

One last minor quibble, can more priority be given to opening the door when the open button is pushed. I find myself standing there with a disc in my hand waiting what seems like forever for the door to open.

Originally posted by BrianV
I don't get any overscan on 1080 and if I do it's microscopic. Does anyone else have overscan problems on 1920x1080 images? Can somebody test for over-scan using this "video only" 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) file?

I'm wondering how much difference there will be with the over-scan, when the same file is burned and spun on a disc and played over the network?


Originally posted by BrianV
Does anyone else have mp4 problems, I rarely use mp4? Shame on you!


Cheers

Does anyone know if the server software can be ported to a device like the Linksys NSLU2 that runs linux and has a fairly extensive development community. Someone got Twonkyvision up and running (http://www.batbox.org/nslu2-linux.html) so I don't know if that is going to stream to the Linkstation or not. I know the Linkstation and Terrastation both have this capability, but has anyone figured out a way to get the server software running on something other than a PC. This seems to be a pretty big feature request. I understand the need for product integration to drive sales of storage solutions, but a seperate solution would/could drive improved sales of the unit.

As an interesting aside, the author in the link above notes that he just finished reviewing a Network DVD player and that he had success with it. I am keepnig my fingers crossed that he is talking about the Buffalo Linktheater since it sounds like he likes the device and has good things to say about it...

A note to BrianV. I highly recomend that you get Jim Buzbee (who reviews these devices for TomsNetworking.com) a demo hardware unit for his review (in case he's not talking about the Buffalo Network DVD Player). This guy single-handedly got one of the most active development communities started for the Linksys NSLU2 device and has gained a lot of respect amongst the general community of network media players. At least he has in my book; he's sharp. Anyway, if he isn't already reviewing this unit I would get one in his hands ASAP.

Drew

Originally posted by BrianV
We've tested up to 10,000 photos with no problems. Can you move the files around and get 20 to work, 50 to work, 100 to work, etc. Where does it break?

After a lot of running between office and theater :) I have 2 data points but no good answer:

1) the 'blink back to main menu' happens when there is an index.html file in the photo directory. These photos are on a web server and I just pointed the media server at the share with the web pages and jpgs on it. If I remove that top level index.html file it:

2) trying to read all the files and display them I get a white screen error saying the web site is not reachable. If I look on the PC's app under 'photo' it takes a very long time before anything is displayed (perhaps 2 mins) at which point I can browse the photos fine. I suspect the white screen is really a 'timeout' since it is not waiting anywhere near 2 mins (more like 30 secs).

I can do the binary search again to try to figure out if some dirs of files are cause the long delay if this doesn't lead you to the issue (too short a timeout somewhere?).

-Eric

Hey SeeMore,

I tried your test. Great test patern BTW! I could not get the BLT to play the VCD I burned it to. I did take pictures of the patern on my TV. My TV only displays 480i, 480p and 1080i.

480i
http://springvinmoto.com/pics/480i.jpg

480p
http://springvinmoto.com/pics/480p.jpg

1080i
http://springvinmoto.com/pics/1080i.jpg

Needless to say I am bummed.

Steven

Originally posted by SeeMoreDigital
Can somebody test for over-scan using this "video only" 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) file?

I'm wondering how much difference there will be with the over-scan, when the same file is burned and spun on a disc and played over the network?


Shame on you!


Cheers

Originally posted by BrianV
I haven't seen it lockup and we just moved that version to 'final status'. The home icon just shows the last server you connected to.

I will have a new version (1.2) next week, I will post here when it is ready.

Awesome! I'm looking forward to the new software. Any hints as to what has changed? :)

Regarding the issues I posted about the LT locking up with the "House" icon, I believe the issue was my fault. I had recently run new Cat5e to my primary PC (running the LT software), and I had 2 wires swapped in the cat 5 plug. It took me FOREVER to figure out what i had wrong because things worked fine sometimes, and others not. Upon system restart, my PC was stealing the IP from my one of my routers, and nothing on the network could "see" my PC.

Anyway, thanks for the support!

P.S. I know Rhapsody has some big announcement planned for tomorrow including naming some additional supported devices... Could the LT be Rhapsody ready?!?!?
;)

Originally posted by BrianV
The only problem that I see is the remote unresponsiveness, but it just happens at very random intervals. Bigger or smaller files don't seem to increase or decrease the probability. It happens very rarely for me.

I haven't had any chapter select problems, does this happen on all of your DVD's? Is it a problem with your sound receiver or is the sound receiver NOT receiving a signal at all?

Does anyone else have mp4 problems, I rarely use mp4?

I have not been able to get mp4's playing either. By the way, does anyone know when the Terastation softeare for the Link Theather will be available?

Originally posted by BrianV
Subtitles Supported = MicroDVD, SubRip, Sub Station Alpha, Sami [.sub, .srt, .ssa, .smi], which are text based subtitles and cover about 94-96 % of subtiltes out there. We cannot support other subtitles because they are graphic based and require too much memory.

Which languages are supported?

Thanks you.
Chan

Originally posted by Lupe
I have not been able to get mp4's playing either.... I'm sorry to say if I had one of these players and was unable to play my collection of .MP4 "back-up" encodes I would be very disappointed indeed...

Mpeg4 is not just about video. It offer far more than this.... And for those who are not familiar with the Mpeg4 (ISO 14496) Standard, here's some detailed information from one of our moderators over on the Doom9 Forum
Originally posted by bond
What is MPEG-4?

MPEG-4 (ISO 14496) is a broad Open Standard developed by the Moving Picture Experts Group (MPEG), a working group of the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) which also did the well known MPEG-1 (MP3, VCD) and MPEG-2 (DVD, SVCD) Standards, standardizing all sorts of audio/video compression formats and much more
By its nature the MPEG-4 Standard doesnt aim at standardizing one potential product (eg something comparable to DVD) but covers a broad range of Sub-Standards, which Product Providers can choose from to follow, according to what they need for their product

The MPEG-4 Standard, as mentioned, is divided into many different sub-standards, where for us users on Doom9 the following parts might be of major interest:
- ISO 14496-1 (Systems) (http://forum.doom9.org/showthread.php?s=&threadid=73022#post461586), Animation/Interactivity (like DVD Menus)
- ISO 14496-2 (Video) (http://forum.doom9.org/showthread.php?s=&threadid=73022#post461587), e.g. Advanced Simple Profile (ASP), as followed by XviD, DivX5, 3ivx...
- ISO 14496-3 (Audio) (http://forum.doom9.org/showthread.php?s=&threadid=73022#post461588), Advanced Audio Coding (AAC)
- ISO 14496-10 (Video) (http://forum.doom9.org/showthread.php?s=&threadid=73022#post461589), Advanced Video Coding (AVC), also known as H.264
- ISO 14496-14 (Container) (http://forum.doom9.org/showthread.php?s=&threadid=62723), MP4 container format (uses the .mp4 extension)
- ISO 14496-17 (Subtitles) (http://forum.doom9.org/showthread.php?s=&threadid=62723), MPEG-4 Timed Text subtitle format

As you can see, the.MP4 container is listed under ISO 14496-14


Cheers

Hi Stevenage....
I have the same TV set :)
:)

Originally posted by Leo Valiant
Couldn't wired be slower than wireless if you have an old hub attached? By old I mean 10BaseT hubs that they were still selling just a few years ago.

I know this for fact. I originally had an old 10BT hub right in front of the LT and movies would stutter. Wireless worked fine. I then removed the hub and all was well. :)

Originally posted by Leo Valiant
BrianV,

It looks like linktheater-server.exe is writing to the hard drive (data.lck file) every 10 seconds even when the unit is powered off. Is this normal? What's it doing with this 1KB file?

Yeah what gives? My norton anti-virus worm protection box pop's up every few minutes with a worm message cause the LT is trying to write to the PC.

Hi Stevenage,

Thanks for posting the photo's... So you don't have an 720p mode then?

Originally posted by Stevenage
... I could not get the BLT to play the VCD I burned it to....
From what you wrote I'm assuming you played the files over your network and not from a disc....

When burning the Mpeg4 files to say, a CD-RW disc, there is no need to convert them to VCD (as this will convert them to Mpeg1). All you have to do is drag and drop the files to disc... in exactly the same way you would when backing up .jpg's, .bmp's, .doc's, .xml's etc...


Cheers

Originally posted by SeeMoreDigital
I'm sorry to say if I had one of these players and was unable to play my collection of .MP4 "back-up" encodes I would be very disappointed indeed...

Mpeg4 is not just about video. It offer far more than this.... And for those who are not familiar with the Mpeg4 (ISO 14496) Standard, here's some detailed information from one of our moderators over on the Doom9 Forum


As you can see, the.MP4 container is listed under ISO 14496-14


Cheers

one of the main reasons why i bought the LT :(

bryan, any news on when this player would be nero digital certified? that might help....

SMD, his set does not do 720P, you are correct....It is the fabled F38310....

Originally posted by qrazy
SMD, his set does not do 720P, you are correct....It is the fabled F38310....

i have a samsung 61" DLP HD TV. i'll give it a shot on both the network and also on a disc and let you know my results.

Originally posted by qrazy
SMD, his set does not do 720P, you are correct....It is the fabled F38310.... Hi qrazy,

Does the TV not handle 720p in general or just the 720p output from the Buffalo player?

Or is it because the 720p encode I generated was at 25fps and not 50fps or even 60fps?

Does any body know what frequencies are supported for 720p (ie: 50Hz, 59.94Hz, 60Hz etc)?

Originally posted by musicnyman
i have a samsung 61" DLP HD TV. i'll give it a shot on both the network and also on a disc and let you know my results. Thanks


Cheers

If it's a slightly older set it probably doesn't handle 720P in general...my 18 month old 55" Philips won't do 720p either, just 480p,i and 1080i

hmmm, now i'm confused. i tried doing 3 encodes using nero re-encode 2:

- h263 quantizer half pixel
- mpeg quantizer half pixel
- simple profile

they all work fine. i'll have to pin down why the last mp4 file didn't work, which i'm pretty sure was a nero digital file as well.

only big difference between these 3 and the last one is the size. the last one was about 700 megs and these were 2 minute 40 meg files.

Originally posted by musicnyman
hmmm, now i'm confused. i tried doing 3 encodes using nero re-encode 2:

- h263 quantizer half pixel
- mpeg quantizer half pixel
- simple profile

they all work fine. i'll have to pin down why the last mp4 file didn't work, which i'm pretty sure was a nero digital file as well.

only big difference between these 3 and the last one is the size. the last one was about 700 megs and these were 2 minute 40 meg files.

i see what happened. there are two optins in nero recode 2. stereo which is normal mp3 i assume, and ac3. nero uses AAC for this right and doesn't keep original ac3 track. so i tried the same encode using Ac3 channel and freezes... so it's probably hanging on AAC audio. using stereo channel works fine on LT.

GMC is definitely not supported. which i knew, just figured i'd try it. QPEL works fine.

I ran the test via the cd drive with nearly the same results as network play. And no, my TV doesn't do 720 on the inputs. But I have yet to see an HDTV with a better picture.:D

Steven

Originally posted by SeeMoreDigital
Hi Stevenage,

Thanks for posting the photo's... So you don't have an 720p mode then?


From what you wrote I'm assuming you played the files over your network and not from a disc....

When burning the Mpeg4 files to say, a CD-RW disc, there is no need to convert them to VCD (as this will convert them to Mpeg1). All you have to do is drag and drop the files to disc... in exactly the same way you would when backing up .jpg's, .bmp's, .doc's, .xml's etc...


Cheers :D

Originally posted by fhall1
If it's a slightly older set it probably doesn't handle 720P in general...my 18 month old 55" Philips won't do 720p either, just 480p,i and 1080i

SMD,
Yep, my particular set is over 4 years old. It will not play 720P. But it does 1080i like it's nobody's business :)

Originally posted by musicnyman
i see what happened. there are two optins in nero recode 2. stereo which is normal mp3 i assume, and ac3. nero uses AAC for this right and doesn't keep original ac3 track. so i tried the same encode using Ac3 channel and freezes... so it's probably hanging on AAC audio. using stereo channel works fine on LT. Yep... that "sounds" like it would be your problem!

Recode2 gives you the option of generating 2 channel or 6 channel AAC-LC audio streams (from an 6Ch AC3 stream). But sadly, it sounds like the player "borks" when you use 6Ch AAC-LC - in much the same way it borks at 6Ch WMA Pro streams....

And thinking about it, it might even bork when presented with 2Ch or 6Ch AAC-HE streams - Because Sigma's chip-set does not support AAC-HE.

And by-the-way, JohnV (from the NeroDigital Team) has recently confirmed that MPEG Matrices encoding is broken!


Cheers

Originally posted by qrazy
...Yep, my particular set is over 4 years old. It will not play 720P. But it does 1080i like it's nobody's business :) As a matter of interest. How many vertical lines of resolution does your TV natively support... Is it 525... Or is it a true high-def CRT TV?


Cheers

Originally posted by SeeMoreDigital
Yep... that "sounds" like it would be your problem!

Recode2 gives you the option of generating 2 channel or 6 channel AAC-LC audio streams (from an 6Ch AC3 stream). But sadly, it sounds like the player "borks" when you use 6Ch AAC-LC - in much the same way it borks at 6Ch WMA Pro streams....

And thinking about it, it might even bork when presented with 2Ch or 6Ch AAC-HE streams - Because Sigma's chip-set does not support AAC-HE.

And by-the-way, JohnV (from the NeroDigital Team) has recently confirmed that MPEG Matrices encoding is broken!


Cheers

makes perfect sense. thanks,

the 6 channel, you think that's a limitation of the sigma chip or maybe buffalo tech can include this in the firmware somehow? would be nice to be able to play 6 channel nero digital mp4 files.. probably be part of the nero digital certification process i assume...

about the mpeg quantizer. thanks... i don't usually use it anyway, i like H.263 so i'll stick what that...

Originally posted by dkeller
As I have reported earlier on this thread, I have big collection of digital pictures. Most of then are 5MB (2560x1920), that I take with my Sony Cybershot-F717. The problem that I have discovered that PC server converts them to 640x480 before sending them to LT. I have downloaded latest beta (thanks Brian) and spend time to experimenting with different image sizes. I have discovered that PC server software performs following:

- If original image is 2048x1532 and smaller, PC server will do no conversion and them as is to LT.
- If original image is bigger than 2048x1532, PC server beta (1.1) will convert it to 960x720 or 1280x960 before sending it to LT. Original PC server software (1.0) will always convert it to 640x480.
- When 5MB images displayed form DVD+RW disk directly, LT converts them to 1280x960 size.

The LT unit itself uses 720p domain to render it internally and then upscales it to 1080i This was reported by Brian and should be fixed in the next firmware release.

So if I can think out loud here, I am asking myself following:

- 3MB resolution is thing of the past, today’s consumer cameras have 5MB and more (my camera is 3 years old already). What is the thinking behind scaling down bigger images to 640x480 or 960x720?
- If you must scale it down, why not to 2048x1532 resolution and let player to decide how to handle it.
- If I using 4MB or bigger digital camera, what Buffalo expects me to do, scale down my images under 3MB? Let's be real here.

Brian, any way image handling can be improved in the feature software/firmware releases?

Thanks,
David

The size in MB of the file doesn't matter, it's the pixel size that counts. The maximum size the current setup can handle is 4256x2848

If the file is larger than 2MB it downconverts it slightly so memory handling is better and performance is better. There's no real notable difference in quality due to the quality of the HD screens.

In summary, the LinkTheater can handle true 6MP file sizes right now.

Originally posted by Leo Valiant
BrianV,

It looks like linktheater-server.exe is writing to the hard drive (data.lck file) every 10 seconds even when the unit is powered off. Is this normal? What's it doing with this 1KB file?
The file is used by HSQLDB, a lightweight java database engine that prevents two processes from simultaneously opening the database file. The file should be deleted upon a successful exit of the PC Software.
We are using this DB to store image info so that the software and server share the same set of data and do not do redundunt thumbnail conversion.

Originally posted by musicnyman
.... the 6 channel, you think that's a limitation of the sigma chip or maybe buffalo tech can include this in the firmware somehow? would be nice to be able to play 6 channel nero digital mp4 files.. probably be part of the nero digital certification process i assume... The chip-set is able to support 6Ch AAC-LC audio and also 6Ch WMA audio (aka: WMA9 Pro).... It's just getting such audio out of a player that only has 2No RCA/phono's and does not offer AC3 transcoding, that's the problem ;)


Cheers

Originally posted by dennismullen
I already mentioned that I do. I have to push the down arrow twice (in zoom on mode) to get the whole picture. This is a big chunk of the picture.

One last minor quibble, can more priority be given to opening the door when the open button is pushed. I find myself standing there with a disc in my hand waiting what seems like forever for the door to open.

I don't know how much we can push the priority up on that. It should open very quickly if the device is idle. Otherwise it takes the backseat to other more intensive applications. I'll ask about it, but I don't see this as a very critical usage issue.

Originally posted by drew138
Does anyone know if the server software can be ported to a device like the Linksys NSLU2 that runs linux and has a fairly extensive development community. Someone got Twonkyvision up and running (http://www.batbox.org/nslu2-linux.html) so I don't know if that is going to stream to the Linkstation or not. I know the Linkstation and Terrastation both have this capability, but has anyone figured out a way to get the server software running on something other than a PC. This seems to be a pretty big feature request. I understand the need for product integration to drive sales of storage solutions, but a seperate solution would/could drive improved sales of the unit.

As an interesting aside, the author in the link above notes that he just finished reviewing a Network DVD player and that he had success with it. I am keepnig my fingers crossed that he is talking about the Buffalo Linktheater since it sounds like he likes the device and has good things to say about it...

A note to BrianV. I highly recomend that you get Jim Buzbee (who reviews these devices for TomsNetworking.com) a demo hardware unit for his review (in case he's not talking about the Buffalo Network DVD Player). This guy single-handedly got one of the most active development communities started for the Linksys NSLU2 device and has gained a lot of respect amongst the general community of network media players. At least he has in my book; he's sharp. Anyway, if he isn't already reviewing this unit I would get one in his hands ASAP.

Drew

Jim Buzbee just finished his review today, it's being reviewed right now by editors and will be posted soon. I haven't seen it yet so I don't know how it will be.

We will be releasing an implementation guide so people can program servers to interact with the LinkTheater. I have all of the syntax now. If someone really needs it, then PM me, otherwise wait until I get one that has Buffalo logos on it and all the fluffy info.

Originally posted by Ericv13
After a lot of running between office and theater :) I have 2 data points but no good answer:

1) the 'blink back to main menu' happens when there is an index.html file in the photo directory. These photos are on a web server and I just pointed the media server at the share with the web pages and jpgs on it. If I remove that top level index.html file it:

2) trying to read all the files and display them I get a white screen error saying the web site is not reachable. If I look on the PC's app under 'photo' it takes a very long time before anything is displayed (perhaps 2 mins) at which point I can browse the photos fine. I suspect the white screen is really a 'timeout' since it is not waiting anywhere near 2 mins (more like 30 secs).

I can do the binary search again to try to figure out if some dirs of files are cause the long delay if this doesn't lead you to the issue (too short a timeout somewhere?).

-Eric

I'll report this to the engineers. Since it is a web server I'm sure it's trying to do something with that index.html file which is throwing it off.

I think you're right about the timeout. The problem is the parsing of thumbnails. I know LinkTheater has been tested to work with 10,000 mp3s, but the making and parsing of thumbnails is a chore for this thing. I'd like to see an option that allows you to switch between list (performance oriented), and thumbnails (more attractive).

Originally posted by Stevenage
Hey SeeMore,

I tried your test. Great test patern BTW! I could not get the BLT to play the VCD I burned it to. I did take pictures of the patern on my TV. My TV only displays 480i, 480p and 1080i.

480i
http://springvinmoto.com/pics/480i.jpg

480p
http://springvinmoto.com/pics/480p.jpg

1080i
http://springvinmoto.com/pics/1080i.jpg

Needless to say I am bummed.

Steven

I'll send this to the engineers and get their feedback on it ASAP.

Originally posted by BrianV
The size in MB of the file doesn't matter, it's the pixel size that counts. The maximum size the current setup can handle is 4256x2848

If the file is larger than 2MB it downconverts it slightly so memory handling is better and performance is better. There's no real notable difference in quality due to the quality of the HD screens.

In summary, the LinkTheater can handle true 6MP file sizes right now.
This is very good news!!!

You right Brian, when I said 5MB, I actually meant 5 magapixels. And if I count correctly 4256x2848 is 12MP (megapixels).

But I still don't understand why PC software downsizes images from 2560x1920 to 960x720 or 1280x960 if LT can handle much larger resolutions? The same thing happens to images played directly on LT from DVD+RW disk, they resized to 1280x960.

Glad to here that Buffalo aware of this issue and will provide solution in feature release (hope sooner than later)

David

Originally posted by Flip221
Awesome! I'm looking forward to the new software. Any hints as to what has changed? :)

Regarding the issues I posted about the LT locking up with the "House" icon, I believe the issue was my fault. I had recently run new Cat5e to my primary PC (running the LT software), and I had 2 wires swapped in the cat 5 plug. It took me FOREVER to figure out what i had wrong because things worked fine sometimes, and others not. Upon system restart, my PC was stealing the IP from my one of my routers, and nothing on the network could "see" my PC.

Anyway, thanks for the support!

P.S. I know Rhapsody has some big announcement planned for tomorrow including naming some additional supported devices... Could the LT be Rhapsody ready?!?!?
;)

We do have rhapsody support we just need to finalize the firmware that supports the rhap:// protocol. The new software just has minor skin improvements and better rhapsody support.

Originally posted by BrianV
I'll send this to the engineers and get their feedback on it ASAP.

at 1080i, i'm seeing the same problem as well. it's cutting off the video in full screen mode. actual size seems ok, and fit to screen is cut off as well.

Originally posted by Lupe
I have not been able to get mp4's playing either. By the way, does anyone know when the Terastation softeare for the Link Theather will be available?

PM me for TeraStation LinkTheater support. I have the firmware.

Originally posted by musicnyman
one of the main reasons why i bought the LT :(

bryan, any news on when this player would be nero digital certified? that might help....

I heard from a Japanese peer that they're working on acquiring the certification. I'll try and get ahold of someone over there and figure out where that sits.

Originally posted by dkeller
This is very good news!!!

You right Brian, when I said 5MB, I actually meant 5 magapixels. And if I count correctly 4256x2848 is 12MP (megapixels).

But I still don't understand why PC software downsizes images from 2560x1920 to 960x720 or 1280x960 if LT can handle much larger resolutions? The same thing happens to images played directly on LT from DVD+RW disk, they resized to 1280x960.

Glad to here that Buffalo aware of this issue and will provide solution in feature release (hope sooner than later)

David

Right now it's just for performance reasons. The software uses a java client to downsize the file to 2MB so the LinkTheater can receive it faster and display it quicker. The engineers felt that there wasn't a noticable quality difference when downsizing the image; I'll make sure they re-visit that or offer an advanced toggle to overwrite that feature.

Originally posted by BrianV
I heard from a Japanese peer that they're working on acquiring the certification. I'll try and get ahold of someone over there and figure out where that sits.

nice! thanks, this would be a biggie for me... along with .divx (fusion) firmware upgrade as well. but i think .divx is still in beta mode, so probably a while off. chapter support in .mp4 movies would be great...closer to playing dvds on my linktheater :)

by the way, i encoded a whole movie in nero digital .mp4 stereo format and it plays fine. of course, it does not support chapters yet, but once you guys are nero certified, that should be supported right? i'll test 6 channel in the future when you guys are ready.

thanks bryan!

Originally posted by musicnyman
i'll test 6 channel in the future when you guys are ready... Even with NeroDigital Certification, it unlikely the Buffalo player will support 6Ch AAC-LC... not unless some form of transcoding to AC3 and/or down-mixing to 2Ch is offered :(


Cheers

Originally posted by SeeMoreDigital
Even with NeroDigital Certification, it unlikely the Buffalo player will support 6Ch AAC-LC... not unless some form of transcoding to AC3 and/or down-mixing to 2Ch is offered :(


Cheers

can i ask a stupid question? :(

i can do normal ac3 6 channel now in divx and xvid. how is that diffrent from nero 6 channel? i have digital out on my LT and can play ac3 fine.

Originally posted by SeeMoreDigital
As a matter of interest. How many vertical lines of resolution does your TV natively support... Is it 525... Or is it a true high-def CRT TV?


Cheers

RCA states that the screen is measured at a 0.78mm center dot pitch and is capable of 1280 horizontal x 1080 vertical lines of resolution (or 2,000,000 pixels)

by the way, these .mp4 nero digital encodes are coming out very nice. i've done 5 movies so far today, and i think the quality is a little better than DIVX or XVID. no glitches in the movie, no stuttering in pan scenes, and encoding takes half the time. 2 pass in recode 2 takes about one hour while it takes about 3 hours in autogk for DIVX or XVID.

nice....

only problem now is to find a batch process for recode. does anyone know of one? sorry, i know this is not the forum to talk about this, but it's kinda related :)

Originally posted by SeeMoreDigital
Compression wise... what the Mpeg4 video codec offers over the Mpeg2 video codec... the AAC-LC audio codec does the same over the AC3 audio codec!

And the AAC-HE (high efficiency) codec offers even more compressibility over AAC-LC (low complexity).

The .MP4 container does not natively support the inclusion of .AC3 audio streams. However, it is possible because the .MP4 container allows the use of "private streams" (Apple Lossless audio in .MP4 is a private stream).

As you know, your LT player can output AC3 audio signals (and DTS audio signals), via an S/P-DIF (either optical and/or electrical) connection to your DSS (Digital Surround Sound) amplifier for "on-board" decoding.

But here's the thing... although it's technically possible to pass AAC audio signals via an S/P-DIF connection to an DSS amp, there aren't any amps capable of decoding the streams. Well... to be honest, there were two amps but they were discontinued :eek:


Cheers

makes sense, thanks

Originally posted by musicnyman
...i can do normal ac3 6 channel now in divx and xvid. how is that diffrent from nero 6 channel? i have digital out on my LT and can play ac3 fine. Compression wise... what the Mpeg4 video codec offers over the Mpeg2 video codec... the AAC-LC audio codec does the same over the AC3 audio codec!

And the AAC-HE (high efficiency) codec offers even more compressibility over the AAC-LC (low complexity) codec.

As you know, your LT player can output AC3 audio signals (and DTS audio signals), via an S/P-DIF (either optical and/or electrical) connection to your DSS (Digital Surround Sound) amplifier for "on-board" decoding.

But here's the thing... although it's technically possible to pass AAC audio signals via an S/P-DIF connection to an DSS amp, there aren't any amps capable of decoding the streams. Well... to be honest, there were two amps but they were discontinued :eek:

And lastly, just in-cse your were wondering... the .MP4 container does not natively support the inclusion of .AC3 audio streams. However, it is possible because the .MP4 container allows the use of "private streams" (Apple Lossless audio in .MP4 is a private stream).


Cheers

Originally posted by BrianV
Jim Buzbee just finished his review today, it's being reviewed right now by editors and will be posted soon. I haven't seen it yet so I don't know how it will be.

We will be releasing an implementation guide so people can program servers to interact with the LinkTheater. I have all of the syntax now. If someone really needs it, then PM me, otherwise wait until I get one that has Buffalo logos on it and all the fluffy info.

Thanks Brian. The latest I heard was a Thursday posting. Jim's website indicated that it went well... (see above link for a preview).

Looking forward to the review. Good luck!

Drew

Can someone please tell me if there are any analog video outputs on this thing?
I will be upgrading my television soon, and although extremely lame, I only have composite inputs on it (or coax)...

Originally posted by Mr. Electric Wiz
Can someone please tell me if there are any analog video outputs on this thing?
I will be upgrading my television soon, and although extremely lame, I only have composite inputs on it (or coax)... Yes, the player comes complete with composite, s-video and D4 (component) video analogue outputs.


Cheers

Looks like I'll be ordering one then, but definately not before they sort out the 2 second pause between VOB's and glitchy MP3 playback...
Has anyone heard anything about either of these issues being fixed, I know we're waiting on a firmware update right?

You can work aroudn the VOB skip for now by ripping to a single VOB file...Buy now, and get the fixes as they release the firmware..... :)

Originally posted by qrazy
You can work aroudn the VOB skip for now by ripping to a single VOB file...Buy now, and get the fixes as they release the firmware..... :)

"If" they release these changes to the firmware...
Do I sound Pessimistic?;)
And the ripping to a single VOB, I don't want to re encode all my ripped DVD's. It would be a major PITA.

Originally posted by Mr. Electric Wiz
Looks like I'll be ordering one then, but definately not before they sort out the 2 second pause between VOB's and glitchy MP3 playback...
Has anyone heard anything about either of these issues being fixed, I know we're waiting on a firmware update right? Personally speaking, although it may be possible to reduce the current 2 second delay... I don't think it will ever become perfectly seamless ;)


Cheers

Originally posted by SeeMoreDigital
Personally speaking, although it may be possible to reduce the current 2 second delay... I don't think it will ever become perfectly seamless ;)


Cheers

this is a very common problem on a lot of network players including pinnacle and dlink. no one has gotten a fix for this yet. i don't think it's an easy thing... i also see problems where audio tracks doesn't default to the same audio track when you play the real dvd. so i prefer converting the dvds anyway to mp4 or divx/xvid so i have full control.

Originally posted by BrianV
I know LinkTheater has been tested to work with 10,000 mp3s, but the making and parsing of thumbnails is a chore for this thing. I'd like to see an option that allows you to switch between list (performance oriented), and thumbnails (more attractive).

Is it possible for the PC server software to generate (and store) the thumbnails ahead of time for any files in the correct directory tree? Rather then on the fly when they are needed? I'm running on an old 500MHz PC with Windows 98 and it's pretty slow generating them on the fly.

Originally posted by SeeMoreDigital
Personally speaking, although it may be possible to reduce the current 2 second delay... I don't think it will ever become perfectly seamless ;)


FlipFlop hosts the Wizd server that completely remove the gap between VOBs. It even supports chapters. It works quite well with the Linktheater. Check here:

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

It's far from true IFO play, but it allows you to watch a movie without interruptions.

Originally posted by Tmd720
FlipFlop hosts the Wizd server that completely remove the gap between VOBs. It even supports chapters. It works quite well with the Linktheater. Check here:

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

It's far from true IFO play, but it allows you to watch a movie without interruptions. This looks like a very interesting development and hats-off to FlipFlop for bringing it to us...

One would assume that if FlipFlop's Wizd server software can seamlessly link .VOB files together then it should be possible for the players default server software to be upgraded do the same....

By-the-way... can someone remind me of the reason why .IFO file (and .ISO file) navigation has not been included in the first place?


Cheers

Originally posted by petefoss
Is it possible for the PC server software to generate (and store) the thumbnails ahead of time for any files in the correct directory tree? Rather then on the fly when they are needed? I'm running on an old 500MHz PC with Windows 98 and it's pretty slow generating them on the fly.

I suppose that's an option, but it would likely steal a lot of processor power to do this.

I did give the software engineers the idea about making a thumbnail and list version and they do plan on incorporating that into the software for the exact reasons I stated before. They said it will take some work and time but that will be the solution offered in the future. Once that feature is implemented, a photo watch folder can also be added.

Brian,
Do you have any idea if these VOB, and MP3 "glitches" will be sorted out with a future firmware release?

Originally posted by Mr. Electric Wiz
Brian,
Do you have any idea if these VOB, and MP3 "glitches" will be sorted out with a future firmware release?

looks like VOB file playing is the most popular format on this forum :) i would love to be able to have LT parse the IFO files to at least keep chapters intact so you can hit next to go to the next chapter when playing VOB files as well. i guess you would have to write the same software something like Cyberlink Powerdvd would use to play dvds on your hard drive with menus and chatpers... big project i'm sure...but a big win for a lot of users!

Yeah baby, that's what I'm talkin' about...

and i'm sure SMD can back me up on this one. the majority of network players out there do not do IFO parsing and can only play the VOB files with no extra features including no chapter support. right now, i don't know of any network player that can play an ISO or set of IFO and VOB files like a normal DVD would on a real DVD/dvd player, except for a real computer of course that's hooked up to you TV, but i'm just talking about stand-alones. so if buffalo tech were to do this, they would be ahead of the game..

when i was part of the pinnacle forum when i had my pinnacle, and also my dlink, the biggest request was IFO parsing as well. to be able to just copy your DVD to the hard drive, and make it play like a real dvd. so i know the need is great out there for this. hurry! :)

both pinnacle and dlink said it was possible, but a big project. and finally they just dropped it completely.

but again, i know it's not a quick thing, so i'm looking forward to nero digital certification for chapter support in that for now. i've already converted 20 of my movies to mp4 nero digital format and play fine, but without chapters. so as soon as LT becomes nero digital certified, i'll have my chapters. :)

Originally posted by musicnyman
right now, i don't know of any network player that can play an ISO or set of IFO and VOB files like a normal DVD would on a real DVD/dvd player.

Like SMD said use WIZD with VIDEO_TS folders for your DVDs. - I've been using it for over a month with my LinkPlayer2 and I tried it on my LT before returning it.

You can chapter forward and play without gaps. You can still ff and rew as well.

You probably will need to encode new backups. To make backups that work really well with WIZD make backups with IFOs which contain only the AC3 of the language you normally listen to and have only one subtitle if you use them or want it available. (to make backups more dificult many current DVDs shuffle the order of the languages at each vob or each cell and if you have more than one autio track you may find you have English on chapt 1 and french on chapt 2 and so on :( ).

If you have a foreign movie where you want the original language as well make a second backup with just that language.

Originally posted by Paul_PDX
Like SMD said use WIZD with VIDEO_TS folders for your DVDs. - I've been using it for over a month with my LinkPlayer2 and I tried it on my LT before returning it.

You can chapter forward and play without gaps. You can still ff and rew as well.

You probably will need to encode new backups. To make backups that work really well with WIZD make backups with IFOs which contain only the AC3 of the language you normally listen to and have only one subtitle if you use them or want it available. (to make backups more dificult many current DVDs shuffle the order of the languages at each vob or each cell and if you have more than one autio track you may find you have English on chapt 1 and french on chapt 2 and so on :( ).

If you have a foreign movie where you want the original language as well make a second backup with just that language.

i will definitely try this out tonight... thanks guys. i dont' mind re-doing some of my dvds if this works out well.

Originally posted by Paul_PDX
You probably will need to encode new backups. To make backups that work really well with WIZD make backups with IFOs which contain only the AC3 of the language you normally listen to and have only one subtitle if you use them or want it available. (to make backups more dificult many current DVDs shuffle the order of the languages at each vob or each cell and if you have more than one autio track you may find you have English on chapt 1 and french on chapt 2 and so on :( ). What would be cool too, is if this player allowed playback of Mpeg2 video in .MP4 together with multiple AAC audio and subtitle tracks... And chapters of course ;)


Cheers

I am pretty sure they have an active wizd forum in the link that was provided here earlier by Tallrussian for the Avel player. I think it was on the IODATA forums I saw it....Let me look...

Ah yes...here it is:
http://www.iodata.com/usa/forum/showthread.php?t=127

I hadn't tried it yet though... :)

Just a reminder, 2 weeks ago this thread was impossible to follow, I setup a forum for BLT users. BrianV will be supporting both places, but imho this thread is just crazy trying to follow. The BLT is far to complex to summarize it into a single thread.

www.my-blt.com

As I posted on the forum, I have no motives other than I own one of these too, and want easy to find info, I'm not collecting email addresses, I'm not spamming you with banner ad's making money off traffic. It's simply something I setup to help me, and the rest of us here get the most out of the BLT.

Originally posted by qrazy
I am pretty sure they have an active wizd forum in the link that was provided here earlier by Tallrussian for the Avel player. I think it was on the IODATA forums I saw it....Let me look...

Ah yes...here it is:
...

I hadn't tried it yet though... :)

Since I-O-DATA might not be thrilled with very many LT discussions on their forum you might be better to use this thread here on avsforum for WIZD and LT discussions.

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

FlipFlop is in this thread more often and it is more active ...

Originally posted by Powie
Just a reminder, 2 weeks ago this thread was impossible to follow, I setup a forum for BLT users. BrianV will be supporting both places, but imho this thread is just crazy trying to follow. The BLT is far to complex to summarize it into a single thread.

www.my-blt.com

As I posted on the forum, I have no motives other than I own one of these too, and want easy to find info, I'm not collecting email addresses, I'm not spamming you with banner ad's making money off traffic. It's simply something I setup to help me, and the rest of us here get the most out of the BLT.

As one who is also trying/hoping for a dedicated forum I want add a few cents.

I think a good community and support network is a win/win for both the company selling products and the users of those products. This is particularly true of more sophisticated items like the BLT and the more sophisticated early adopters/power users that drive initial sales and development. I think Brian has been quite perceptive and realized the value of us. In any event my point is that to provide effective support to each other and better allow Brian to answer our questions we need to move beyond this one AVS thread.

We need a better organized place for tracking issues, answering questions, and providing support rather than this single AVS thread that is rapidly becoming a nightmare (for Brian more than anyone I suspect). It is extremely hard to track the many different issues in such a disorganized and unwieldy single thread format. I really think the BLT community needs to use my-blt.com or something like it. The consolidation of user/enthusiast support and announcements at the BLT site would benefit everyone.

Another advantage of a better venue is new sales; which, face it, is the only thing that will provide Buffalo the incentive to further invest in this product and Brian's salary. In terms of word of mouth advertising, first impression, and general image it would be a vast improvement. I have been referring people to this AVS thread and the BLT forum but the former, at over 40 pages and ~800 posts, is really getting impossible to swallow or make sense of as
a newcomer. Further it looks a little more impressive to have an entire user community/support site rather than the thread from hell.

We that's probably more than a few cents but keep the change. :D

I have run "Overscan pattern" from my Avia DVD with LT set to 1080i mode. It shows 7% overscan on top and 4% at the bottom. Good player should not have more than 3% on either side. My TV only supports 1080i, so I couldn't test 720p. Here is the picture of the test pattern:

http://www.mndc.com/test/overscan2.jpg

David

Originally posted by Daryle Tilroe
As one who is also trying/hoping for a dedicated forum I want add a few cents.

I think a good community and support network is a win/win for both the company selling products and the users of those products. This is particularly true of more sophisticated items like the BLT and the more sophisticated early adopters/power users that drive initial sales and development. I think Brian has been quite perceptive and realized the value of us. In any event my point is that to provide effective support to each other and better allow Brian to answer our questions we need to move beyond this one AVS thread.

We need a better organized place for tracking issues, answering questions, and providing support rather than this single AVS thread that is rapidly becoming a nightmare (for Brian more than anyone I suspect). It is extremely hard to track the many different issues in such a disorganized and unwieldy single thread format. I really think the BLT community needs to use my-blt.com or something like it. The consolidation of user/enthusiast support and announcements at the BLT site would benefit everyone.

Another advantage of a better venue is new sales; which, face it, is the only thing that will provide Buffalo the incentive to further invest in this product and Brian's salary. In terms of word of mouth advertising, first impression, and general image it would be a vast improvement. I have been referring people to this AVS thread and the BLT forum but the former, at over 40 pages and ~800 posts, is really getting impossible to swallow or make sense of as
a newcomer. Further it looks a little more impressive to have an entire user community/support site rather than the thread from hell.

We that's probably more than a few cents but keep the change. :D


There are two ways to get folks to use www.my-blt.com

Get a sticky put at the beginning of this thread referring all interested parties to www.my-blt.com

and

If Brian endorses www.my-blt.com, he can answer questions here by asking folks to post their questions on www.my-blt.com to get his answer. If he continues to post answers here (bless him), there is not much incentive to use www.my-blt.com. I know about www.my-blt.com and have registered but it's a hard habit to break coming to this thread and checking the posts. There needs to be momentum built on www.my-blt.com and Brian can drive that, imho.

Also, www.my-blt.com will need to keep a very robust and up to date FAQ. In the event the site ceases to exist for whatever reason, although the threads may be lost, the FAQ can be easily moved to a new location.

Yes?

Originally posted by dkeller
I have run "Overscan pattern" from my Avia DVD with LT set to 1080i mode. It shows 7% overscan on top and 4% at the bottom. Good player should not have more than 3% on either side. My TV only supports 1080i, so I couldn't test 720p. Here is the picture of the test pattern:
Hi David,

Ideally, the level of over-scan at the top and bottom of the image should be equal/identical.

I think I will generate and post my own 1920x1080 over-scan test card for you guys to try.... if you don't mind trying this?


Cheers

As with my previous 1280x720 Over-scan test file.... I wonder if some of you guys can oblige my interest by testing the following: 16.9 1920x1080 Over-Scan Test (http://82.2.167.237/Uploaded_Files/AVS_Forum_files/16.9_1920x1080_Over-Scan_Test_in_AVI.zip) file too?

If you can, please check to see if there are any differences in over-scan area, when the same file is (burned and) spun on a disc, or played over the network?

Also... please remember to "turn off" any/all forms of up-scaling and over-scan correction options your player and/or display may have.

It looks like some of you may have already used Avia's excellent Digital Video Essentials (or other similar test disc's) with your equipment. However, please remember, these DVD's only offer std-def "anamorphic" test samples. And not true high-def "square pixel" test samples... which mine are....

Anyway... enjoy!


Cheers

Originally posted by Paul_PDX
Since I-O-DATA might not be thrilled with very many LT discussions on their forum you might be better to use this thread here on avsforum for WIZD and LT discussions.

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

FlipFlop is in this thread more often and it is more active ...

Sorry, I wasn't implying we should take over their thread with BLT talk. I was just showing it, so others would have another source to maybe read from. It is close enough to our BLT, that alot of the stuff they discuss is the same. Someones question might already be answered. Case in point when Tallrussian pointed me to those threads to find out about VideoRedo. That helped me immensley....

Thats all...
Ciao...

Originally posted by dkeller
I have run "Overscan pattern" from my Avia DVD with LT set to 1080i mode. It shows 7% overscan on top and 4% at the bottom. Good player should not have more than 3% on either side. My TV only supports 1080i, so I couldn't test 720p. Here is the picture of the test pattern:

http://www.mndc.com/test/overscan2.jpg

David

what tv mode was this in when you took this? full screen? fit to screen? or actual size?

Originally posted by musicnyman
what tv mode was this in when you took this? full screen? fit to screen? or actual size?

Good question! I think it's "fit to screen", since it's the default one. I will retest tonight.

David

Tom's has their review posted.

http://www.tomsnetworking.com/Reviews-198-ProdID-LINKTHEATER-1.php

Originally posted by qrazy
Sorry, I wasn't implying we should take over their thread with BLT talk. I was just showing it, so others would have another source to maybe read from. It is close enough to our BLT, that alot of the stuff they discuss is the same. Someones question might already be answered. Case in point when Tallrussian pointed me to those threads to find out about VideoRedo. That helped me immensley....

Thats all...
Ciao...

I initially thought that most of my "freezing problems" were do to the wireless connection, but after using VideoRedo they seem to have disappear. This was a great find. Thanks

Originally posted by jhnlngn
Tom's has their review posted.

http://www.tomsnetworking.com/Reviews-198-ProdID-LINKTHEATER-1.php

I'd say its a good review overall; although I wish'd he would have dove deeper in his "under the covers" section to root out more details related to the firmware and underlying OS on the device.

Here is hoping more folks with that skill set will continue to dig deeper.

Drew

Originally posted by BrianV
Ok, I work for BuffaloTech and just found this post so let me help out.

-It doesn't have DVI or HDMI.
-It does upconvert everything EXCEPT DVD playback to 720p/1080i. We don't do DVD upconversion because of the component video issues with upconverting DVD playback, it's limited to 480p pscan.
-The no sound issue with WMV-HD has to do with the WMA9 Pro audio codec, your version of firmware doesn't support it. We're still beta-testing a unit with WMA9 Pro support. If you can find WMV-HDs with regular WMA9 audio it will work fine.

D4 connector is a Japanese connector, this product has been out in Japan for a while.

Any other questions, let me know.

BrianV,

Hi, I have a newbie questions. Will the LT ever allow for upconverting of DVD playback? I know it does not now but might it be in development. I realize you might have answered this already but didn't find it. Apologies in advance if you've already answered. Thanks.

Originally posted by jhnlngn
Tom's has their review posted.

http://www.tomsnetworking.com/Reviews-198-ProdID-LINKTHEATER-1.php

Now only if they can send one of these to Kris Deering to be reviewed by for the Secrets DVD Benchmark.

I noticed in the review that this player cannot upconvert copyrighted dvd (understandable). However, it says that it will only play copyrighted dvd at 480i. Is that correct? It won't even play copyrighted dvd progressive at 480p?

Originally posted by funnymoney
BrianV,

Hi, I have a newbie questions. Will the LT ever allow for upconverting of DVD playback? I know it does not now but might it be in development. I realize you might have answered this already but didn't find it. Apologies in advance if you've already answered. Thanks.

Brian did answer this question. The answer was NO.

Not because of any technical difficulty. He stated that the player is capable of doing this. But because of industry restrictions that prevent DVD player manufacturers from enabling the capability. So the only way this capability may be enabled is by us users via a firmware hack. I hope that someone here will rise to the challenge.:)

Originally posted by jhnlngn
Tom's has their review posted.
http://www.tomsnetworking.com/Reviews-198-ProdID-LINKTHEATER-1.php
Review Excerpt
Along with Web browsing, the Internet section also has a menu for Internet radio. Unfortunately, in my case, I couldn't get it to work. I'd always get an error indicating "Could not connect to the Internet" even though the box obviously could connect for browsing the web and using Internet Radio stations through the Music sub-menu.

Browsing this forum discussing the LinkTheater revealed this is a problem that others have had as well. It works for some, but not for others. One suggestion of turning off the Windows firewall had no effect for me. I asked Buffalo about the problem and an engineer responded that they don't see the problem in their lab, but they have seen the reports and are looking into it. But in the end, it wasn't a big deal since I could access the radio stations through the Music section.

More confirmation that this is not a problem related to the Windows XP SP2 firewall as BrianV previously suggested. I would like to know if the problem may be related to using Mozilla Firefox on the server.

Originally posted by Mr. Electric Wiz
Brian,
Do you have any idea if these VOB, and MP3 "glitches" will be sorted out with a future firmware release?

The mp3 glitch will definitely be fixed soon. The VOB thing is a feature request more than a bug fix so I can't give a date at this point.

I am extremely disappointed in finding our beta software posted on IODATA's site:

http://www.iodata.com/usa/forum/showthread.php?t=262

That link is to my personal server not to Buffalo's, and it was given out in PM's to keep it private. I know I didn't tell anyone to give it out, but c'mon don't give it out to our competitors, use some common sense.

I've tried to help out here, but this is disrespectful to me and to Buffalo Technology.

I will no longer be passing out beta versions of software and plug-ins due to this, and I have shut down the web server I was using to distribute this content. I am sorry it had to end this way.

Originally posted by Ja Phule
Now only if they can send one of these to Kris Deering to be reviewed by for the Secrets DVD Benchmark.

I noticed in the review that this player cannot upconvert copyrighted dvd (understandable). However, it says that it will only play copyrighted dvd at 480i. Is that correct? It won't even play copyrighted dvd progressive at 480p?

This was a mistake, it does play in 480p. I emailed Jim to fix that.

Originally posted by Pennhaven
More confirmation that this is not a problem related to the Windows XP SP2 firewall as BrianV previously suggested. I would like to know if the problem may be related to using Mozilla Firefox on the server.

The new software fixes this.

Originally posted by BrianV
I am extremely disappointed in finding our beta software posted on IODATA's site:

http://www.iodata.com/usa/forum/showthread.php?t=262

That link is to my personal server not to Buffalo's, and it was given out in PM's to keep it private. I know I didn't tell anyone to give it out, but c'mon don't give it out to our competitors, use some common sense.

I've tried to help out here, but this is disrespectful to me and to Buffalo Technology.

I will no longer be passing out beta versions of software and plug-ins due to this, and I have shut down the web server I was using to distribute this content. I am sorry it had to end this way.


Way to go JRAD..... :(

Originally posted by BrianV
The new software fixes this.

so what's the latest version of the software that we can download currently? 1.1? since beta stuff has been taken down...can't believe he did that...

Originally posted by BrianV
The new software fixes this.
Yes. I just found that it does thanks. I have also been traveling and was unable to download the 1.1 beta until today. (Just in time - it seems.) It fixes the internet radio connectivity glitch. However it still does not recognize that I have Firefox installed for bookmark synchronization.

Originally posted by BrianV
I am extremely disappointed in finding our beta software posted on IODATA's site:

http://www.iodata.com/usa/forum/showthread.php?t=262

That link is to my personal server not to Buffalo's, and it was given out in PM's to keep it private. I know I didn't tell anyone to give it out, but c'mon don't give it out to our competitors, use some common sense.

I've tried to help out here, but this is disrespectful to me and to Buffalo Technology.

I will no longer be passing out beta versions of software and plug-ins due to this, and I have shut down the web server I was using to distribute this content. I am sorry it had to end this way.


WOW....You are not hte only one EXTREMELY DISAPPOINTED!!!!!! What in the heck made JRad think it was ok to post that!!!!! How did he get it??? Did you send it to him Brian???? That is just unbelievable to me....I don't blame you Brian, you gotta do what you gotta do....

I appreciate everything you have done Brian, apparently not everyone sees it that way....

Thanks again....


EDIT:
You know, this really pisses me off!!!! It's was more than obvious he didn't wan't the whole world to have it, or he would have posted a link to it himself!!!!!!!

Originally posted by BrianV
I am extremely disappointed in finding our beta software posted on IODATA's site:
...
I've tried to help out here, but this is disrespectful to me and to Buffalo Technology.

I will no longer be passing out beta versions of software and plug-ins due to this, and I have shut down the web server I was using to distribute this content. I am sorry it had to end this way.

I agree that one person has dissed you. It should have been clear that by communicating the link via PM you did not want to make it public. But I really hope that you will reconsider the "remedy". You have a very good thing going here from a customer relations standpoint and it would be too bad if one person's lack of sense ruins it for the rest of us. I hope that you can reconsider your position. Maybe there is a compromise that will still protect Buffalo's interests while still maximizing support to your customers. In this case it appears to me that any damage that results will be because the competitor will see the details of software features a little sooner than otherwise. Just how damaging that is remains to be seen.

Originally posted by SeeMoreDigital
As with my previous 1280x720 Over-scan test file.... I wonder if some of you guys can oblige my interest by testing the following: 16.9 1920x1080 Over-Scan Test (http://82.2.167.237/Uploaded_Files/AVS_Forum_files/16.9_1920x1080_Over-Scan_Test_in_AVI.zip) file too?

If you can, please check to see if there are any differences in over-scan area, when the same file is (burned and) spun on a disc, or played over the network?

Also... please remember to "turn off" any/all forms of up-scaling and over-scan correction options your player and/or display may have.

It looks like some of you may have already used Avia's excellent Digital Video Essentials (or other similar test disc's) with your equipment. However, please remember, these DVD's only offer std-def "anamorphic" test samples. And not true high-def "square pixel" test samples... which mine are....

Anyway... enjoy!




Cheers

Ok...I ran your file via the network, it it looked really good...I will try and post pics when I can. I had it set to actual size and any amount it was off (TINY BIT) was probably more from my TV than the BLT. I then burned the file to a CDR, and played it from the DVD drive...It looked EXACTLY the same!!

Ok here are the pics SMD.... :)

First pic played over network:

http://home.comcast.net/~syn-qrazy/public/1080inetwork.jpg

Next is played with the DVD player:

http://home.comcast.net/~syn-qrazy/public/1080idvd.jpg


:)

Did anyone download the Mac software for the player? I just received my player today and when I went to the site Brian provided, it was gone. I understand why it happened, I was hoping someone could help me obtain the software.

Thanks,

hm

Originally posted by Powie
Just a reminder, 2 weeks ago this thread was impossible to follow, I setup a forum for BLT users. BrianV will be supporting both places, but imho this thread is just crazy trying to follow. The BLT is far to complex to summarize it into a single thread.

www.my-blt.com

As I posted on the forum, I have no motives other than I own one of these too, and want easy to find info, I'm not collecting email addresses, I'm not spamming you with banner ad's making money off traffic. It's simply something I setup to help me, and the rest of us here get the most out of the BLT.

I almost didn't register when your forum banned all of @yahoo.com, but took a stab with my gmail account and it was accepted.

some more woes with mp4 files :( sometimes the mp4 files play and sometimes they don't. the counter on the movie ticks along but there is no audio or video playing. then i power it off and back on, and it works fine. doesn't make sense :( the LT gets unresponsive when playing xvid/divx files as well where sometimes the only button on the remote that's responsive is power off. even aftering pointing it at the LT at very close range.

so i tried to update the software to 1.1 on my pc. i know it has nothing to do with the firmware on the hardware player at all, but figured i'd try. didn't help at all, but checked out the new features you added... kewl...

also tried the podcasts out... when i tried to stop one of them, it was unresponsive and wouldn't stop at all. only thing that worked on the remote was power off. replacing batteries didn't help. and power button always works every time, but other buttons don't, which is weird.

i'm wondering if i'm the only one and if i should get a return to see if this helps...

Originally posted by BrianV
I am extremely disappointed in finding our beta software posted on IODATA's site:

http://www.iodata.com/usa/forum/showthread.php?t=262

That link is to my personal server not to Buffalo's, and it was given out in PM's to keep it private. I know I didn't tell anyone to give it out, but c'mon don't give it out to our competitors, use some common sense.

I've tried to help out here, but this is disrespectful to me and to Buffalo Technology.

I will no longer be passing out beta versions of software and plug-ins due to this, and I have shut down the web server I was using to distribute this content. I am sorry it had to end this way.

There's always one who ruins it for everyone else. I feel like I'm in elementary school again. The most disappointing for me is that I never PM BrianV for the beta page.

BrianV.....I hope you don't get a bad taste in your mouth and give up on us. I'm very sorry for the negative experience.

Originally posted by musicnyman
by the way, these .mp4 nero digital encodes are coming out very nice. i've done 5 movies so far today, and i think the quality is a little better than DIVX or XVID. no glitches in the movie, no stuttering in pan scenes, and encoding takes half the time. 2 pass in recode 2 takes about one hour while it takes about 3 hours in autogk for DIVX or XVID.

nice....

only problem now is to find a batch process for recode. does anyone know of one? sorry, i know this is not the forum to talk about this, but it's kinda related :)

Sorry for the off topic question. I ripped all my kids DVDs into one large VOB file. I was thinking about trying Nero Recode, but it is looking for the rest of the VOB files. Is there any way to get it to work with one large file or do I need to pull out the original DVD to do this? Is it even worth doing?

Originally posted by chrixx
Sorry for the off topic question. I ripped all my kids DVDs into one large VOB file. I was thinking about trying Nero Recode, but it is looking for the rest of the VOB files. Is there any way to get it to work with one large file or do I need to pull out the original DVD to do this? Is it even worth doing?

i've done it before, should work fine. if not , try nerovision xpress instead of recode... don't use "main movie" part of recode2, use the "multiple dvd/titles" part of recode2.

lemme know how it goes and if you need more help. i'll try this tomorrow to make sure, but i'm pretty sure i've done it before. it's better to copy the dvd in file mode so nero can parse the IFO file for more accurate encoding. to be safe, and if possible, i would re-copy the dvds.

I would like to apologize for my for my post on the Linkplayer forum. I was not trying to be malicious and did not realize that it would become such an issue. In my defense, the link was posted on this very forum on or around April 18th. This forum is where I found it. BrianV, I would like to especially apologize to you, please do not let my lack of judgement ruin it for all of your great customers. I admire the time and effort you put into this forum, and hope you continue to do so. It is no secret that the Momitsu, the AvelLink, and the Linktheater software are interchangeable, each player will run the others software. Momitsu's and the Linkserver software can be downloaded off of there respective web sites. I like to try different front ends for the player that I have, I am sure most of you do too, or there would be less talk about Flip Flops great Wizd program, or other third party programs that are available. Once again, I am truely sorry if I pissed anybody off, that was not my intention.

Sincerely,
JRad

Originally posted by Pennhaven
Brian did answer this question. The answer was NO.

Not because of any technical difficulty. He stated that the player is capable of doing this. But because of industry restrictions that prevent DVD player manufacturers from enabling the capability. So the only way this capability may be enabled is by us users via a firmware hack. I hope that someone here will rise to the challenge.:)

Pennhaven or BrianV,

If this is the case how come other DVD players can upconvert?

Samsung DVD-HD841
Zenith DVB318

I know they are not networkable but they can do dvd playback upconversion.

Please take it easy on me, I'm just a newbie with stupid questions. I just like to know why and also obviously praying for a firmware hack.:D

BrianV,

BTW, thank you posting such useful information and I am sorry someone had to ruin the ride for everyone else. I've only recently joined the forum but I hope you continue to be a wonderful source of informaiton for everyone.

Originally posted by JRad
In my defense, the link was posted on this very forum on or around April 18th. This forum is where I found it.

This is a good point. JRad was not the first one to publicly post the Link (http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?postid=5494616#post5494616) .

Instead of moving the discussions of BLT to another server and have some people looking in only one site why not just get a forum right here at AVSforum which would be only for BLT topics?

Right now this thread is located in:
AVS Forum > Digital Video & Audio Devices and Gaming > Digital Media Servers

Perhaps we request a new forum:
AVS Forum > Digital Video & Audio Devices and Gaming > Buffalo LinkTheater

With almost 900 posts for this one thread it sure shows that there is enough interest to get our own forum here for BLT and I hope the owners of this great site think so, too.

I don't know what the procedure is to request a new forum but maybe someone could PM or email the moderator and ask for a forum just for BLT? The moderator is listed on the top left of this page: Moderated by: David Bott

One more reason to do this is that this site is usually the first place a newbie would come to find the answers to their questions. IMHO, searching only one site for AV questions is better than having specific sites that you must search separately for AV related questions.

Powie, I'm not knocking you for creating your site. We all believe this thread is a nightmare to follow and that there is a need for a better solution. I thank you for creating http://www.my-blt.com and putting together the FAQ. It sure looks like you put in a lot of time getting it setup. But I'd vote for keeping it on AVSForum if we can get them to create a forum for BLT.

What do you guys think? Should we petition for a new forum here? Anyone requested this before?

Originally posted by chrixx
Sorry for the off topic question. I ripped all my kids DVDs into one large VOB file. I was thinking about trying Nero Recode, but it is looking for the rest of the VOB files. Is there any way to get it to work with one large file or do I need to pull out the original DVD to do this? Is it even worth doing? Yes.... when you start up Recode2, select this option: -

http://img244.echo.cx/img244/7581/recode20ns.gif

... Navigate to and "Import" your long .VOB file


Cheers

Originally posted by qrazy
Ok...I ran your file via the network, it it looked really good...I will try and post pics when I can. I had it set to actual size and any amount it was off (TINY BIT) was probably more from my TV than the BLT. I then burned the file to a CDR, and played it from the DVD drive...It looked EXACTLY the same!! Thanks qrazy....

Wow... it looks like you are missing quite a bit of the image.

Along the vertical axis, it appears between 45 - 55 pixels are being lost (ie: 4 - 5%) at the top and bottom - which is about normal.

But along the horizontal axis, it appears something like 115 - 120 pixels are being lost (ie: over 6%) at the left and right - which is far more than I would have expected.

Personally, I would have expected around 45 - 65 pixels to have been lost to over-scan (ie: 2.5 - 3.5%), at the left and right.

Is this what everybody else is seeing too?


Cheers

Originally posted by Barley
Instead of moving the discussions of BLT to another server and have some people looking in only one site why not just get a forum right here at AVSforum which would be only for BLT topics?

Right now this thread is located in:
AVS Forum > Digital Video & Audio Devices and Gaming > Digital Media Servers

Perhaps we request a new forum:
AVS Forum > Digital Video & Audio Devices and Gaming > Buffalo LinkTheater

Well.... if you want my spin on the subject. I reckon all threads about these "high-def" players (built around Sigma's EM8620L chip-set), should have gone in this section: -

http://img249.echo.cx/img249/8633/avsforum7zi.gif

And that the Forum section title be re-named to: "HDTV Recorders, Players and Media Streaming Devices"


Just my 2 cents ;)

Originally posted by Daryle Tilroe
This is a good point. JRad was not the first one to publicly post the Link (http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?postid=5494616#post5494616) .

I apologize to JRad.....I am also impressed by your standup apology and explanation. It's weird, because I have read every post in this thread at least once, and I don't remember that one by MrtBig. I would have thought one of us would have realized that was there long ago.... :(
Again, thanks JRad for your post!

Originally posted by SeeMoreDigital
Thanks qrazy....

Wow... it looks like you are missing quite a bit of the image.

Along the vertical axis, it appears between 45 - 55 pixels are being lost (ie: 4 - 5%) at the top and bottom - which is about normal.

But along the horizontal axis, it appears something like 115 - 120 pixels are being lost (ie: over 6%) at the left and right - which is far more than I would have expected.

Personally, I would have expected around 45 - 65 pixels to have been lost to over-scan (ie: 2.5 - 3.5%), at the left and right.

Is this what everybody else is seeing too?


Cheers

I would be interested in others testing this file as well. I am fairly certain, my TV model is known for having an above average amount of overscan (lots of people have used internal menu commands to adjust it). I believe the overscan is there to help hide the barrel rolling effect this TV is known for. THats why it was the largest 16:9 CRT directview set ever built, and it's not made anymore. What I did like about your pattern, was it showed me having some overscan, it is centered really well, which to me is as important as losing a little off the edges. My TV has a tilt adjustment, which your pattern allowed me tweak better than I had been able to with some of the other test DVD's I have...Dunno why, but I was off a few clicks, maybe the kids did it :) :)

Anyway, I hope I helped.....

Originally posted by qrazy
Ok here are the pics SMD.... :)

First pic played over network:

Next is played with the DVD player:


:)

i did the same test in "fit to screen". and they both look exactly the same over the network. 16:9 does not stretch. looks the same as the 4:3 one.

Originally posted by qrazy
I apologize to JRad.....I am also impressed by your standup apology and explanation. It's weird, because I have read every post in this thread at least once, and I don't remember that one by MrtBig. I would have thought one of us would have realized that was there long ago.... :(
Again, thanks JRad for your post!

JRAD, thanks for standing up to the issue. You make some good points. I do think maybe Brian could have explicity stated the beta was on a one-to-one basis via personal message and to NOT post link or file.

Anyway, let's get back to the discussion.. :)

Originally posted by qrazy
I would be interested in others testing this file as well. I am fairly certain, my TV model is known for having an above average amount of overscan (lots of people have used internal menu commands to adjust it). I believe the overscan is there to help hide the barrel rolling effect this TV is known for. THats why it was the largest 16:9 CRT directview set ever built, and it's not made anymore. What I did like about your pattern, was it showed me having some overscan, it is centered really well, which to me is as important as losing a little off the edges. My TV has a tilt adjustment, which your pattern allowed me tweak better than I had been able to with some of the other test DVD's I have...Dunno why, but I was off a few clicks, maybe the kids did it :) :)

Anyway, I hope I helped..... Agreed... I think it would be interesting for others here to test the, 1280x720 and 1920x1080 "Over-Scan" encodes with their own set-ups...

Anyway, here are the links to the encodes again: -

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) "video only" file.

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) "video only" file.

If you can, please check to see if there are any differences in over-scan area, when the same file is (burned and) spun on a disc, or played over the network?

Also... please remember to "turn off" any/all forms of up-scaling and over-scan correction options your player and/or display may have.


Cheers

Originally posted by JRad
I would like to apologize for my for my post on the Linkplayer forum. I was not trying to be malicious and did not realize that it would become such an issue. In my defense, the link was posted on this very forum on or around April 18th. This forum is where I found it. BrianV, I would like to especially apologize to you, please do not let my lack of judgement ruin it for all of your great customers. I admire the time and effort you put into this forum, and hope you continue to do so. It is no secret that the Momitsu, the AvelLink, and the Linktheater software are interchangeable, each player will run the others software. Momitsu's and the Linkserver software can be downloaded off of there respective web sites. I like to try different front ends for the player that I have, I am sure most of you do too, or there would be less talk about Flip Flops great Wizd program, or other third party programs that are available. Once again, I am truely sorry if I pissed anybody off, that was not my intention.

Sincerely,
JRad

Thanks for the apology, I will put the beta stuff back up today but will try and think of a little better way to make sure it doesn't totally get out. Everyone knows the Momitsu, Linkplayer, and LinkTheater are similar, so software is one area we can slightly differentiate.

None the less, I realize I over-reacted a little, and I appreciate the apology.

Originally posted by funnymoney
Pennhaven or BrianV,

If this is the case how come other DVD players can upconvert?

Samsung DVD-HD841
Zenith DVB318

I know they are not networkable but they can do dvd playback upconversion.

Please take it easy on me, I'm just a newbie with stupid questions. I just like to know why and also obviously praying for a firmware hack.:D

BrianV,

BTW, thank you posting such useful information and I am sorry someone had to ruin the ride for everyone else. I've only recently joined the forum but I hope you continue to be a wonderful source of informaiton for everyone.

Both of those products only upconvert over DVI-HDCP or HDMI (digital interfaces). They won't upconvert over analog. Since the LinkTheater doesn't have a digital video interface it cannot upconvert.

Originally posted by BrianV
Thanks for the apology, I will put the beta stuff back up today but will try and think of a little better way to make sure it doesn't totally get out. Everyone knows the Momitsu, Linkplayer, and LinkTheater are similar, so software is one area we can slightly differentiate.

None the less, I realize I over-reacted a little, and I appreciate the apology.

You could make it so the site won't allow referal links .. I forget the technical term but basically you restrict where it can be linked from. Or simply pw protect it and release to registered users on the BLT forum setup by a user here. There is no foolproof method but just make it so that it can't be linked to on a competitors site.

Originally posted by Barley
What do you guys think? Should we petition for a new forum here? Anyone requested this before?

Well I'm not stuck on my-BLT.com as the only solution. A dedicated forum here would be another alternative; although it would only give one level of organization rather than two. Still better than a single thread. I don't see the resistance to a new site though. Many products have dedicated forums for support, enthusiasts, etc.

Has anyone had an issue with subtitles turning themselves on during playback from the DVD drive? I was watching a DVD last night and I noticed that the subtitles would come on by themselves.

hm

Originally posted by SeeMoreDigital
Yes.... when you start up Recode2, select this option: -

http://img244.echo.cx/img244/7581/recode20ns.gif

... Navigate to and "Import" your long .VOB file


Cheers

For some reason, I am missing the last two options (the Digital ones) when bringing up Nero Recode 2. What am I missing?

Originally posted by chrixx
For some reason, I am missing the last two options (the Digital ones) when bringing up Nero Recode 2. What am I missing? It sounds as though you need to re-install/upgrade Nero's "Update-Package 2".... The newest version can be found here: -

http://www.nero.com/en/nero-up.php


Cheers

Originally posted by SeeMoreDigital
It sounds as though you need to re-install/upgrade Nero's "Update-Package 2".... The newest version can be found here: -

http://www.nero.com/en/nero-up.php


Cheers

also, you have to be sure you have the license for the nero codec. i had that problem as well and upgraded the license to include the nero digital codec/plugin, then it showed up fine.

Originally posted by BrianV
Thanks for the apology, I will put the beta stuff back up today but will try and think of a little better way to make sure it doesn't totally get out. Everyone knows the Momitsu, Linkplayer, and LinkTheater are similar, so software is one area we can slightly differentiate.

None the less, I realize I over-reacted a little, and I appreciate the apology.

Brian, I don't think you over reacted. You are here for all the right reasons and your continued support is appreceiated by all. Perhaps a better solution for distributoin would be to collect an e-mail list of LT owners and e-mail the versions direct to the interested users with a 'disclaimer' rather than maintain them on a server. Besides, I think everyone gets the idea now that posting links on competing product sites is a bad thing. ;)

Thanks

Drew

PS: I vote to keep this forum/thread alive and kicking. For those who aren't aware, you can clink a link that will show the entire thread in a single text view that you can easily search and query. I use it all the time for catching up on threads that I haven't followed from the start...
http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/printthread.php?s=&threadid=495915&perpage=1000

You have to click the link at the top for show printable version, then click a link for show all messages on one page.

Originally posted by BrianV
Everyone knows the Momitsu, Linkplayer, and LinkTheater are similar, so software is one area we can slightly differentiate.

Don't forget the other *BIG* way you can and are differentiating yourselves: *YOU*. Giving support and listening to feedback from early adopters and encouraging the growth of a community is an important competitive advantage.

Originally posted by BrianV
Both of those products only upconvert over DVI-HDCP or HDMI (digital interfaces). They won't upconvert over analog. Since the LinkTheater doesn't have a digital video interface it cannot upconvert.

BrianV,

You are the best. I knew there must have been a reason. Thank you again.

I came here from the link in the TomsNetworking review of the BLT and I just finished reading all 40+ pages of this thread.

I felt compelled to post to compliment BrianV on his active participation. This factor alone has made me start pushing the wife about getting the LinkTheater.

Awesome job BrianV. If I knew your bosses email I'd write him to tell him about what a great job you're doing for your company.

Hello all,

I just logged in and read about the link and really I had forgotten that I posted it?

I am very sorry to all and have sent BrianV a private message as well.

I didn't know this was a problem as it was never communicated that we couldn't share the new software.

BrianV even said when he was away if current owners could help him he would appreciate it.

I did not do this anywhere else and had no malicious intent.

I sure don't want to mess this forum or BrianV up because it is absolutely fantastic!

Again, SORRY and it will not happen again and I will get more specific instructions in the future.

Thanks,

Terry

Originally posted by Thermopyle
I came here from the link in the TomsNetworking review of the BLT and I just finished reading all 40+ pages of this thread.

I felt compelled to post to compliment BrianV on his active participation. This factor alone has made me start pushing the wife about getting the LinkTheater.

Awesome job BrianV. If I knew your bosses email I'd write him to tell him about what a great job you're doing for your company.

i second that...most companies dont' have an active spokesperson/tech support dedicated like we do bryan....and i've tried many of them...some of them have forums, but don't respond back for days or weeks. bryan is active as much as he possibly can be. one of the main reasons why i bought the LT and sticking with it.

I third that. I just bought the LinkTheater yesterday. I've been stumbling over similar devices for over two years now. It's because of BrianV's involvement I decided to purchase this unit. Nothing's perfect and if a company is willing to listen to customers and make reasonable revisions to their products, that is all I can ask for. I am continually perplexed at how few do. Kudos BrianV, you've been doing a great job, and I am fully confident in my purchase because of your involvement. I can't wait to try it out!

Originally posted by hmatos
Has anyone had an issue with subtitles turning themselves on during playback from the DVD drive? I was watching a DVD last night and I noticed that the subtitles would come on by themselves.

hm

Can anyone else let me know if this is true. I don't watch a lot of DVDs so I might not be the best test candidate, but I've never seen a sub turn on in the middle of playback.

Originally posted by Daryle Tilroe
Well I'm not stuck on my-BLT.com as the only solution. A dedicated forum here would be another alternative; although it would only give one level of organization rather than two. Still better than a single thread. I don't see the resistance to a new site though. Many products have dedicated forums for support, enthusiasts, etc.

Everyone, I am replying actively on my-blt.com so if you want to post over there, I will reply. For right now I will participate in both AVS and my-blt.com. I won't force anyone to move; it's your decision.

Originally posted by Thermopyle
I came here from the link in the TomsNetworking review of the BLT and I just finished reading all 40+ pages of this thread.

I felt compelled to post to compliment BrianV on his active participation. This factor alone has made me start pushing the wife about getting the LinkTheater.

Awesome job BrianV. If I knew your bosses email I'd write him to tell him about what a great job you're doing for your company.

Thanks, for me the reward is making the product better. I am a user just like you guys are, and if I didn't work in the industry or for Buffalo I'd likely own the LinkTheater. In that case I'd be just like you guys. I'm just as anxious to get things fixed as you guys are.

Originally posted by mrtbig
Hello all,

I just logged in and read about the link and really I had forgotten that I posted it?

I am very sorry to all and have sent BrianV a private message as well.

I didn't know this was a problem as it was never communicated that we couldn't share the new software.

BrianV even said when he was away if current owners could help him he would appreciate it.

I did not do this anywhere else and had no malicious intent.

I sure don't want to mess this forum or BrianV up because it is absolutely fantastic!

Again, SORRY and it will not happen again and I will get more specific instructions in the future.

Thanks,

Terry
I didn't make it clear enough; my fault. I did ask for help, and in fact I wouldn't mind if anyone PM'd a member here with the information. I just didn't want the link posted directly on the internet for search-bots to find, and I really wouldn't want to see it on a competitors web site. I'm over it right now; thanks to everyone for understanding!

Originally posted by drew138
Brian, I don't think you over reacted. You are here for all the right reasons and your continued support is appreceiated by all. Perhaps a better solution for distributoin would be to collect an e-mail list of LT owners and e-mail the versions direct to the interested users with a 'disclaimer' rather than maintain them on a server. Besides, I think everyone gets the idea now that posting links on competing product sites is a bad thing. ;)

Thanks

Drew

PS: I vote to keep this forum/thread alive and kicking. For those who aren't aware, you can clink a link that will show the entire thread in a single text view that you can easily search and query. I use it all the time for catching up on threads that I haven't followed from the start...
http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/printthread.php?s=&threadid=495915&perpage=1000

You have to click the link at the top for show printable version, then click a link for show all messages on one page.

This is a GREAT idea. I think I will setup some mail list next week and keep you guys informed of new software that way. It beats the daylights out of responding to 50+ PM's everytime I release something.

On Monday I will setup an html form for you guys to register/fill out.

Thanks for the excellent idea!

Thanks again to everyone who has purchased our product and provided invaluable feedback. I'm excited to get this player's kinks worked out and to start with a great platform for our next product.

BrianV,

Thanks for your help with the Mac software!

I may have an actual problem with the player itself, both issues happened while watching different discs on different days.

While watching 24: Season 3, Disc 4 -- midway thru the 3rd chapter, the subtitles started to turn themselves on and off.

While watching 24: Season 3, Disc 5 -- midway thru the 3rd chapter, the "INVALID" message started showing up on the screen.

The only thing I can imagine, is that it might have something to do with the amount of time the DVD is playing? I thought it was odd that it happened at about the same point on both discs.


hm

Folks, I see some references to a firmware for the PC side of the LinkTheather. Where can I get it? I don't see it posted on the we site. Also anyone having issues using net radio. I keep getting the message can not connect. I am able to get to the internet for the browser.

Thanks

this is a great forum as well. less confusing since posts are seperated into categories.. feature requests, general chat, help, installation, etc...

everyone give it a shot and see what you think. i'm going to start posting on that from now on as well as this one.

thanks powie!

Hello there!

I'm new there, have came from Tom's hardware. I think this is great forum an so as the player. Before I buy it, I wanted to know, if there's going out the second version of BLT? If yes, when it will come out and what will be included in that?

Although this is wery good player (almoust ideal :D ), some things could be improved, like a HDMI and/or DVI connector to get better picture quality with LCD TV and to upscale DVDs. I would be in heaven if BLT would do that too :)

Thanks before

Based on the comments on this forum and Brian support, I ordered a BLT from Buy.com last week.
I unpacked the unit and did all the connections just to realize that the remote control was NOT working…You can imagine my disappointment!!
I was not even able to try the unit….I checked, using my programmable remote (MX-800), that the BLT remote was actually sending commands, so I guess that the issue is within the unit itself….Anyway, I returned the unit and I’m currently waiting for a replacement…Does anybody experienced the same problem before?

Does anyone know if this player will eventually support WPA-PSK encryption support ? Thanks.

Does anyone know if this player will eventually support WPA-PSK encryption support ? Thanks

Based on Brian's answer to my comments way back it's maybe, but definitely this is not a high priority. Not even above average. On other side, after review on Tom's side by Jim Buzbee, he might reset his priorities.

In mean time you might look at Zensonic Z500. It already has HDMI (which means upconversion also), supports WPA, closer to Sigma Designs's reference design (I consider this a huge plus), supports DVD-Audio, has controls on a unit itself and text display.

I believe iodata is going to release a dvi version of the linkplayer2 that will have wireless also (its already available in japan).

Does anyone know if there's been any reviews by Home Cinema/HiFi type magazines or web sites? I think the reviews I've seen so far have been by computer oriented websites. I'd be interested to know how the BLT stacks up against the likes of Denon, Pioneer, Sony etc from a video and audio point of view.

Thanks

I'm trying to test VOB file playback with a good sample of discs in my collection and I'm running into a problem with some discs -- I was hoping someone with experience in backing up discs would be able to provide the answer.

I have a disc that I'm trying to backup to one VOB; no compression. I know I can do this with Title Extraction in MacTheRipper or Authoring in DVDShrink. The problem is the audio track that I want is not the "default" audio track (Pro Logic is the default). Is there any way to just keep the audio track that I want? MACTheRipper created two files (audio & video separate), I'm not sure what the next step would be to turn that back into something that the BLT could process. I've tried DVDShrink, but for some reason, I'm not getting the track I want when it does the re-author.

Any help would be appreciated!

Example, Disc - The 6th Day

Main Feature, Title 1
1. Pro Logic Audio, Audio 1
2. AC3 , Audio 2 English 6 CH
3. Pro Logic Audio *Another Language*
4. AC3 , Audio 4 English 6 CH *Commentary*


Thanks!
hm

Personally speaking... all I would use is DVD Decrypter to do as you want.

Set it to "IFO I" mode. And under the "Tools" tab go to "Settings" and then the "IFO Mode" tab: -

http://img204.echo.cx/img204/796/dvddecrypterifotab6ku.gif


And via the "Stream Processing" tab, select/de-select the audio and sub-title tracks you need: -

http://img185.echo.cx/img185/5787/dvddecrytperstreamprocessing0n.gif


Cheers

Originally posted by ptsenter

In mean time you might look at Zensonic Z500. It already has HDMI (which means upconversion also), supports WPA, closer to Sigma Designs's reference design (I consider this a huge plus), supports DVD-Audio, has controls on a unit itself and text display.

Tough to look at since it's not supposed to be released until June....but the specs seem enough to make it a real competitor for the LT.

It would seem that one of the biggest feature requests on the board would be for the seamless playback of ripped DVDs. To date, there have been a series of discussions and approaches to getting the best DVD rip playback with the BLT. There doesn't seem to be a consistent viewpoint on how to best achieve seamless DVD playback (short of pure IFO/ISO/ parsing).

If we assume that the IFO issues will not be resolved due to licensing issues with the DVD consortium, what are the specific feature requirements that are within the developers grasps for DVD rip playback???

-DVD Cover Art
-HD quality on digital playback (upconversion)
-Chapter skipping
-Sub titles?
others.?

I think we need to get organized around a reasonable solution so that we can direct Buffalo toward developing a solution that will best accommodate the needs of this group. Perhaps this is a discussion better suited for the my-blt.com forum.

Also, it would be great if everyone could come to a majority agreement on the optimal format for storing ripped DVDs for BLT playback. Given the time constraints of ripping and encoding the DVDs I wonder if there is a service similar to the CD ripping services that you can pay a small fee to have them rip/encode your DVD to a preferred format? I doubt it. Just curious.

Anyway, thoughts?

Drew

Try Handbrake or OXEs for ripping your DVD's with a MAC. Both can be found at www.macupdate.com

Steven

Originally posted by hmatos
I'm trying to test VOB file playback with a good sample of discs in my collection and I'm running into a problem with some discs -- I was hoping someone with experience in backing up discs would be able to provide the answer.

I have a disc that I'm trying to backup to one VOB; no compression. I know I can do this with Title Extraction in MacTheRipper or Authoring in DVDShrink. The problem is the audio track that I want is not the "default" audio track (Pro Logic is the default). Is there any way to just keep the audio track that I want? MACTheRipper created two files (audio & video separate), I'm not sure what the next step would be to turn that back into something that the BLT could process. I've tried DVDShrink, but for some reason, I'm not getting the track I want when it does the re-author.

Any help would be appreciated!

Example, Disc - The 6th Day

Main Feature, Title 1
1. Pro Logic Audio, Audio 1
2. AC3 , Audio 2 English 6 CH
3. Pro Logic Audio *Another Language*
4. AC3 , Audio 4 English 6 CH *Commentary*


Thanks!
hm

Originally posted by drew138
It would seem that one of the biggest feature requests on the board would be for the seamless playback of ripped DVDs. To date, there have been a series of discussions and approaches to getting the best DVD rip playback with the BLT. There doesn't seem to be a consistent viewpoint on how to best achieve seamless DVD playback (short of pure IFO/ISO/ parsing).

If we assume that the IFO issues will not be resolved due to licensing issues with the DVD consortium, what are the specific feature requirements that are within the developers grasps for DVD rip playback???

-DVD Cover Art
-HD quality on digital playback (upconversion)
-Chapter skipping
-Sub titles?
others.?

I think we need to get organized around a reasonable solution so that we can direct Buffalo toward developing a solution that will best accommodate the needs of this group. Perhaps this is a discussion better suited for the my-blt.com forum.

Also, it would be great if everyone could come to a majority agreement on the optimal format for storing ripped DVDs for BLT playback. Given the time constraints of ripping and encoding the DVDs I wonder if there is a service similar to the CD ripping services that you can pay a small fee to have them rip/encode your DVD to a preferred format? I doubt it. Just curious.

Anyway, thoughts?

Drew

i think that about covers it. thanks!

Originally posted by LV Tehnoman
Hello there!

I'm new there, have came from Tom's hardware. I think this is great forum an so as the player. Before I buy it, I wanted to know, if there's going out the second version of BLT? If yes, when it will come out and what will be included in that?

Although this is wery good player (almoust ideal :D ), some things could be improved, like a HDMI and/or DVI connector to get better picture quality with LCD TV and to upscale DVDs. I would be in heaven if BLT would do that too :)

Thanks before

There are no plans for a release of second version at this point. I mean, there's no expected product or date set. We will have a successor product eventually, likely sometime next year.

Originally posted by ilkevinli
Does anyone know if this player will eventually support WPA-PSK encryption support ? Thanks.

The wireless chipset supports AES so it is possible to support it. Being that other players on the market are supporting WPA, I will let the engineers know that WPA support is heavily desired.

Future pre-software releases will be handled via a mailing list. Please fill out the online form at http://www.verenkoff.com

Your LT's serial number is required to register. I realize this might be a headache for some of you as the S/N is on the back of the unit, but if you want to be added to the email list, then you need to input your serial number; please DO NOT complain or whine about this requirement. If it's too much work for you to read the serial number, then don't bother registering.

Thanks much,
Brian

What about if I don't have the player? How can I read the sn of a product I don't own??? wahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh, whine, whine, whine!!!!!!!! ;D

slocko, you wouldn't have any need to test out beta software if you don't have the product. I will still be here to answer and pre-sales questions anyone may have. This mailing list is for the distribution of test/beta software, not for direct communication like this forum.

Hey Guys:

I have some HDTV TV Showsthat are divx and when I go to play them on my link theater I select the zoom button and say fit to screen. But it seems like it is zooming in to far.

I have a Widescreen TV but when I select fit to screen it does not seem to be taking that into account. Is there a way to manually adjust the zoom on the Link Theater. I have tried to use all the different TV modes 480i, 480p, 720p and 1080i and I get the same over zoom on the video.

I have tried to send a message to there tech support and gotten no reply. Any Help would be appreciated.

Dennis

Originally posted by BrianV
slocko, you wouldn't have any need to test out beta software if you don't have the product. I will still be here to answer and pre-sales questions anyone may have. This mailing list is for the distribution of test/beta software, not for direct communication like this forum.

I believe he was joking :)

I have a question for people in here. I've read most of the pages in this thread and I think I have a good understanding of what this product is. Still, I am a current extremely unsatisfied owner of Prismiq. Clearly this device is a generation or two ahead of Prismiq, but what concerns me is the future support of this product, frequency of updates....etc etc. These are the exact items that made me boot my Prismiq out of the window. At this point its pretty much a choice between Iodata's LinkPlayer and Buffalo's LinkTheater. Buffalo's device clearly has some advantages, i.e. integrated wireless, but it seems that iodata is a bit more prompt with firmware updates and fixes. Seeing how both players use the same chip, I would assume that the performance is very similar. Any comments on this? Also, I appeciate Brian's effors to support the player and reply to people's questions and comments, but why is this being done on an unofficial or a semi-official basis?

Originally posted by BrianV
It'll list Upnp servers, but unless their webserver uses our implementation requirements it won't work properly.

For instance, links to content have to be in proper syntax for our player to read them.

Will Nero Certification allow you to use Nero UPnP service? Just a thought.

Yes I was kidding. The one eyed winkey icon didn't translate.

:) :)

Originally posted by golovast
At this point its pretty much a choice between Iodata's LinkPlayer and Buffalo's LinkTheater. Buffalo's device clearly has some advantages, i.e. integrated wireless, but it seems that iodata is a bit more prompt with firmware updates and fixes. Seeing how both players use the same chip, I would assume that the performance is very similar. Any comments on this?

I am also very interested in the answer to this question. I have a LinkPlayer coming tomorrow but will need 4-5 more in the next month or so (for friends and family) and want to make sure I get the better product. Since the differentiation is in the software, perhaps Brian can comment on what those specific differences are.

There is also a separete thread on this topic...

Ross

Does this unit playback video created with nero recode in nero digital format?

Thanks,
Dr.Woo!

Originally posted by DrWoo
Does this unit playback video created with nero recode in nero digital format?

Thanks,
Dr.Woo!

yes. but without chapter support until LT becomes nero digital certified which they're working on.

i have 40 movies in .mp4 nero digital format and i can play them fine. i actually like the quality and smoothness of the video over divx/xvid files.

Originally posted by chrixx
Will Nero Certification allow you to use Nero UPnP service? Just a thought.

this service should work ok. i'll try this out later tonight and let you know. has anyone else tried it?

Originally posted by DrWoo
Does this unit playback video created with nero recode in nero digital format? Yes... but remember NeroDigital's Recode2 offers "Mpeg4/SP/ASP (Std) profile" encoding and "Mpeg4/AVC profile" encoding. But this player (and other players fitted with the same chip-set) can't play Mpeg4/AVC in hardware!

Plus, because the player is not NeroDigital certified, you will not be able to select chapters, subtitles and audio tracks!

Cheers

Originally posted by SeeMoreDigital
Yes... but remember NeroDigital's Recode2 offers "Mpeg4/SP/ASP (Std) profile" encoding and "Mpeg4/AVC profile" encoding. But this player (and other players fitted with the same chip-set) can't play Mpeg4/AVC in hardware!

Plus, because the player is not NeroDigital certified, you will not be able to select chapters, subtitles and audio tracks!

Cheers

correct. and only 2 channel stereo audio. and LE not HE audio compression. i use ASP and works fine.

Hi musicnyman,

I've been testing a new .MP4 muxer today... which is great at creating chapter points. You can even name the chapters too!

Here's an example of what you can see via a software player: -

http://img95.echo.cx/img95/9194/chapternamingandnumbering6iz.png


Cheers

BrianV,

I've noticed a few things while using the Mac version of the software and thought I'd pass them along. I'm using a Denon AVR5800, Infocus 4805, and an iMac G4 with external Firewire drives; my DVDs are stored with no compression in one VOB file and my MP3's are at 320 CBR. The iMac and BLT are plugged into the same switch (not wireless 10/100 network).

1. when pressing fast forward, rewind, or pause while playing a movie, the sound does not always sync back up. Sometimes, I'll get no sound and I have to keep pressing the ffwd/rew/play keys until the sound comes back. I've noticed that with Disney movies, the sound will actually play at twice the speed after a ffwd/rew.

2. loud static/popping at the beginning of the first song in a playlist during playback.

3. the Music button does not always work -- sometimes I get a web page error or worse, I'll get a white screen.

4. is there any way to make the software install itself in the preferences pane with the option for automatic startup? I can work around this, but it would be nice for it to work like the Tivo Desktop software.


I've tried not to include the issues already reported, but the thread is so long, I'm sure I've missed something.

Other than these issues, I'm haven't noticed anything major.

btw, will the SDK allow us to create our own web pages for displaying the information. For example, I'd like my Video section to display a list with DVD cover art.

hm

Originally posted by SeeMoreDigital
Hi musicnyman,

I've been testing a new .MP4 muxer today... which is great at creating chapter points. You can even name the chapters too!

Here's an example of what you can see via a software player: -

http://img95.echo.cx/img95/9194/chapternamingandnumbering6iz.png


Cheers

so you're going to share the software link with me so i can check it out? :)

thanks SMD

hmatos,
How does the buffalo perform on the 4805 in general? Have you tried any DVD tests on it like if it passes blacker than black or any chroma errors? TIA.

Ja Phule,

It looks as good to me as the Sovereign DV-5900M's that I currently own. As for the tests you mention, how do I perform them? I'd be happy to run through them for you. Are these tests available on the AVIA disc?

hm

Originally posted by Ja Phule
hmatos,
How does the buffalo perform on the 4805 in general? Have you tried any DVD tests on it like if it passes blacker than black or any chroma errors? TIA.

Originally posted by hmatos
Ja Phule,

It looks as good to me as the Sovereign DV-5900M's that I currently own. As for the tests you mention, how do I perform them? I'd be happy to run through them for you. Are these tests available on the AVIA disc?

hm

Hehe, there's just too many to test. The easiest way to test Blacker than Black is with a THX disc. When you do the brightness test, can you see the backdrop behind the thx logo? I would really like to see how the buffalo would fair in the "Secrets" DVD benchmark. With AVIA, you could also test pixel cropping. There's a few others in the link below.

Here are the list of tests and how they were performed.
http://www.hometheaterhifi.com/volume_10_1/dvd-benchmark-guide-to-progressive-scan-shootout-1-2003.html

If you feel like trying any of them, feel free to post the results.

Originally posted by SeeMoreDigital
Agreed... I think it would be interesting for others here to test the, 1280x720 and 1920x1080 "Over-Scan" encodes with their own set-ups...


Here's the results on my 65" MITS rear projection running in 1080i via component inputs. Lot's of overscan from what I can see. I see similar results with images and I think I've got it on my OTA HD receiver.

Originally posted by petefoss
Here's the results on my 65" MITS rear projection running in 1080i via component inputs. Lot's of overscan from what I can see. I see similar results with images and I think I've got it on my OTA HD receiver.

Looks pretty similar to the ones I posted at 1080i....

Originally posted by officiousintermeddler
I am also very interested in the answer to this question. I have a LinkPlayer coming tomorrow but will need 4-5 more in the next month or so (for friends and family) and want to make sure I get the better product. Since the differentiation is in the software, perhaps Brian can comment on what those specific differences are.

There is also a separete thread on this topic...

Ross

For anyone interested in the thread comparing the Buffalo Link Theater vs. the I-O Data Linkplayer 2...


http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?s=&threadid=534482&perpage=20&pagenumber=1

Originally posted by chrixx
Will Nero Certification allow you to use Nero UPnP service? Just a thought.

I doubt it, it will add support for their chapter support and features of raw video/audio playback.

Originally posted by officiousintermeddler
I am also very interested in the answer to this question. I have a LinkPlayer coming tomorrow but will need 4-5 more in the next month or so (for friends and family) and want to make sure I get the better product. Since the differentiation is in the software, perhaps Brian can comment on what those specific differences are.

There is also a separete thread on this topic...

Ross

There's has been out a little longer, but we're just as committed if not more to make our consumer's happy.

Originally posted by hmatos
BrianV,

I've noticed a few things while using the Mac version of the software and thought I'd pass them along. I'm using a Denon AVR5800, Infocus 4805, and an iMac G4 with external Firewire drives; my DVDs are stored with no compression in one VOB file and my MP3's are at 320 CBR. The iMac and BLT are plugged into the same switch (not wireless 10/100 network).

1. when pressing fast forward, rewind, or pause while playing a movie, the sound does not always sync back up. Sometimes, I'll get no sound and I have to keep pressing the ffwd/rew/play keys until the sound comes back. I've noticed that with Disney movies, the sound will actually play at twice the speed after a ffwd/rew.

2. loud static/popping at the beginning of the first song in a playlist during playback.

3. the Music button does not always work -- sometimes I get a web page error or worse, I'll get a white screen.

4. is there any way to make the software install itself in the preferences pane with the option for automatic startup? I can work around this, but it would be nice for it to work like the Tivo Desktop software.


I've tried not to include the issues already reported, but the thread is so long, I'm sure I've missed something.

Other than these issues, I'm haven't noticed anything major.

btw, will the SDK allow us to create our own web pages for displaying the information. For example, I'd like my Video section to display a list with DVD cover art.

hm

1. I'll look into it on a Mac, I don't have any sync problems using the PC sofware or LinkStation software.

2. We know about this issue, it will be addressed in a LinkTheater firmware update. It's not just Mac software specific.

3. Do you have a lot of music in there? How good is your network connection?

4. The PC guys have asked for this as well, I'll pass it along to our engineers.

Originally posted by petefoss
Here's the results on my 65" MITS rear projection running in 1080i via component inputs. Lot's of overscan from what I can see. I see similar results with images and I think I've got it on my OTA HD receiver.

I've reported this 1080i overscan issue.

I'm traveling this week, so I may not be quite as active in the next few days.

A lot of people have registered for the mailing list. I plan on sending out an intro email on Friday.

BrianV,

I have about 15k tracks in my music library (approx 100+GB) and the network connection is as good as it's going to get ;) -- the Mac and BLT are right next to each and connected into the same Linksys 10/100 Switch.

I suppose it might have something to do with the drives being connected via Firewire (1394a), but I'd have to turn things upside down to use a machine where I could install the drives internally. Let me know if they're not able to duplicate the problem.

Thanks again!

hm

Originally posted by BrianV
1. I'll look into it on a Mac, I don't have any sync problems using the PC sofware or LinkStation software.

2. We know about this issue, it will be addressed in a LinkTheater firmware update. It's not just Mac software specific.

3. Do you have a lot of music in there? How good is your network connection?

4. The PC guys have asked for this as well, I'll pass it along to our engineers. ;)

Originally posted by petefoss
Here's the results on my 65" MITS rear projection running in 1080i via component inputs. Lot's of overscan from what I can see. I see similar results with images and I think I've got it on my OTA HD receiver. Thanks Pete,

Happily, I looks as though BrianV is looking into this issue....


But I have to ask, does this player offer the more conventional video output "TV Screen" settings, such as: - 4:3 (Letter Box) 4:3 (Pan & Scan) 16:9 (Wide) for all video stream types (ie: non DVD's)?

Or, are only the following settings offered for non DVD types of video streams: - Fit to Screen Full Screen Actual Size

Cheers

Originally posted by SeeMoreDigital
Thanks Pete,

Happily, I looks as though BrianV is looking into this issue....


But I have to ask, does this player offer the more conventional video output "TV Screen" settings, such as: - 4:3 (Letter Box) 4:3 (Pan & Scan) 16:9 (Wide) for all video stream types (ie: non DVD's)?

Or, are only the following settings offered for non DVD types of video streams: - Fit to Screen Full Screen Actual Size

Cheers

For non DVD types you get the latter (Fit, Full, or Actual)

Originally posted by chrixx
For non DVD types you get the latter (Fit, Full, or Actual) Hmm!

Thanks for the confirmation... Perhaps, correctly displaying non DVD types of content would be a lot more straight forward if the conventional DVD player method was followed for all stream types.... as it is with my Sigma Xcard. And many Mpeg4/DVD stand-alone players!


Cheers

Originally posted by BrianV
I've reported this 1080i overscan issue.

Is it possible to test the TV directly? I'd like to see how much overscan I have on my OTA receiver also. Since they use the same input port on the TV via my Denon amp they are not independent.

Hi Brian,

I am a new Linktheater user and so far things are going quite smoothly (besides the usual problems that everybody else is reporting like no audio on WMV-HD).

However, I am having an issue and I'd like to know if I'm the only one:

When I choose the Update tab, my player puts "Checking for firmware updates" and does nothing. Pressing OK on the remote brings the dots (like it is doing something) briefly and nothing happens.

Is this because there are no firmware updates, or is it a problem with my connection?

Are there any firmware updates at all? You mention having some betas for people to try, but to be frank, I don't have a clue about how I would be able to install those, as I could not find anything in the manual...

Anyway, I love the product, and you provide some of the best technical support I have seen so far!

Thanks,

-Diego

Originally posted by dkaplan
Hi Brian,

I am a new Linktheater user and so far things are going quite smoothly (besides the usual problems that everybody else is reporting like no audio on WMV-HD).

However, I am having an issue and I'd like to know if I'm the only one:

When I choose the Update tab, my player puts "Checking for firmware updates" and does nothing. Pressing OK on the remote brings the dots (like it is doing something) briefly and nothing happens.

Is this because there are no firmware updates, or is it a problem with my connection?

Are there any firmware updates at all? You mention having some betas for people to try, but to be frank, I don't have a clue about how I would be able to install those, as I could not find anything in the manual...

Anyway, I love the product, and you provide some of the best technical support I have seen so far!

Thanks,

-Diego

This may sound like a stupid question, but here goes. When you click on the update option, are you selecting down to the "check for firmware update" and clicking OK? There has been 1 firmware upgrade thus far.

hey bryan,

i know you're traveling, but when you get to this, can you give us an ETA on nero certification? i know it probably takes a while to get done, but can't wait for this :)

found out the pinnacle 200 is not going to support nero digital mp4 files at all. so i'm happy i went with LT instead of pinnacle.

thanks,

This may sound like a stupid question, but here goes. When you click on the update option, are you selecting down to the "check for firmware update" and clicking OK? There has been 1 firmware upgrade thus far.

I am at work, but I'll try when I get home. Gosh, being a UI developer myself, I would feel utterly stupid if that was my problem!:)

Thanks, I'll post an update as soon as I get a chance to try...

-Diego

Originally posted by dkaplan
I am at work, but I'll try when I get home. Gosh, being a UI developer myself, I would feel utterly stupid if that was my problem!:)

Thanks, I'll post an update as soon as I get a chance to try...

-Diego

it is a little confusing. i looked for this as well when i first got the LT and took a while to realize i had to hit the down arrow to click on "check for firmware updates".

Originally posted by SeeMoreDigital
Yes... but remember NeroDigital's Recode2 offers "Mpeg4/SP/ASP (Std) profile" encoding and "Mpeg4/AVC profile" encoding. But this player (and other players fitted with the same chip-set) can't play Mpeg4/AVC in hardware!

Plus, because the player is not NeroDigital certified, you will not be able to select chapters, subtitles and audio tracks!

Cheers

Does it only currently support 2-channel audio playback or will it do playback in DTS or DD?

Originally posted by DrWoo
Does it only currently support 2-channel audio playback or will it do playback in DTS or DD? If you are refering to encodes generated using Recode2 then - no!

Because Recode2 follows the Mpeg4 ISO 14496 standard, it places its encoded video and audio streams within the .MP4 container and not the .AVI container.

And the .MP4 container does not generically support AC3 or DTS audio streams!


Cheers

Hi, It's me again ;)

I think that up-conversion is VERY important thing. In Tom's Hardware review there was tested many 26" LCD TVs. And once again there were some problems with pixel interpolation, like all LCD have. One solution that they suggested was to place near the TV a PC and let the DVD player soft (e. g. Power DVD) to do the hard work. And the results was clearly better than just playing DVD disk through DVD player. These test were made only for DVDs, but that's not the point.

And because of that my question:

Can BLT can do the up-conversion as good as the PC does? Or maybe better?

I really don't know the upscaling technology, but one thing is clear to me - if I buy HD player, I buy HDTV too (most likely - LCD TV), and when I have spent about 4000$ for TV, I really want to get out of it the best :D

Thanks before.

Originally posted by SeeMoreDigital
If you are refering to encodes generated using Recode2 then - no!

Because Recode2 follows the Mpeg4 ISO 14496 standard, it places its encoded video and audio streams within the .MP4 container and not the .AVI container.

And the .MP4 container does not generically support AC3 or DTS audio streams!


Cheers

correct. and if you decide to use nero recode2, make sure you use LE audio and not HE audio. HE audio is not supported either.

this is what i use currently and works fine on the LT:

2 channel stereo
192kps
LE

Originally posted by musicnyman
correct. and if you decide to use nero recode2, make sure you use LE audio and not HE audio. HE audio is not supported either.

this is what i use currently and works fine on the LT:

2 channel stereo
192kps
LE

Recorde has a 5.1 option for sound, will it work?

This may sound like a stupid question, but here goes. When you click on the update option, are you selecting down to the "check for firmware update" and clicking OK? There has been 1 firmware upgrade thus far.

That was it. I was able to update the firmware! Thanks.

However, I seem to have lost the connection with my computer now. Hopefully I will be able to fix that later today... :confused:

-Diego

Has anyone tried to use tthe Ovislink MU-5000FS NAS file server to the BLT? It is similar to the Linksys NSLU2 in that you can add up to 2 usb drives. However, unlike the Linksys it can be a FAT32 formatted drive instead on EXT3, thus you can plug those drives directly to a windows PC via USB. This would allow you to plug the usb drive directly into the BLT if you wanted a faster transfer rate (ie HD movies) instead of going through CAT5, or keep it on CAT5 for other applications.

Should all NAS devices work with the BLT or only limited ones?

What about NDAS devices like Netdisk Smartdisk that normally requires a software loaded on the computer side?

Originally posted by hmatos
BrianV,

I have about 15k tracks in my music library (approx 100+GB) and the network connection is as good as it's going to get ;) -- the Mac and BLT are right next to each and connected into the same Linksys 10/100 Switch.

I suppose it might have something to do with the drives being connected via Firewire (1394a), but I'd have to turn things upside down to use a machine where I could install the drives internally. Let me know if they're not able to duplicate the problem.

Thanks again!

hm

;)

We've tested it with 10,000 files, but there are other users using 15,000 (at least on the PC Software). The white page coming up is evident that it's timing out. This is because the Mac itself needs time to parse all of the ID3 information and if it can't do it in enough time the LinkTheater gets timed out. How fast is the machine? Try slimming down the directory slightly for now.

Originally posted by petefoss
Is it possible to test the TV directly? I'd like to see how much overscan I have on my OTA receiver also. Since they use the same input port on the TV via my Denon amp they are not independent.

I don't know of a way to test OTA overscan unless you can get a TV station to send down an overscan image. Sorry..

Originally posted by dkaplan
Hi Brian,

I am a new Linktheater user and so far things are going quite smoothly (besides the usual problems that everybody else is reporting like no audio on WMV-HD).

However, I am having an issue and I'd like to know if I'm the only one:

When I choose the Update tab, my player puts "Checking for firmware updates" and does nothing. Pressing OK on the remote brings the dots (like it is doing something) briefly and nothing happens.

Is this because there are no firmware updates, or is it a problem with my connection?

Are there any firmware updates at all? You mention having some betas for people to try, but to be frank, I don't have a clue about how I would be able to install those, as I could not find anything in the manual...

Anyway, I love the product, and you provide some of the best technical support I have seen so far!

Thanks,

-Diego

Definitely make sure you click the link that says, "Check for update". There should be one firmware posted there. It's also possible that the update server was temporarily down when you tried before.

Originally posted by dkaplan
I am at work, but I'll try when I get home. Gosh, being a UI developer myself, I would feel utterly stupid if that was my problem!:)

Thanks, I'll post an update as soon as I get a chance to try...

-Diego

Yeah it does seem a bit awkward but it should work for you.

Originally posted by LV Tehnoman
Hi, It's me again ;)

I think that up-conversion is VERY important thing. In Tom's Hardware review there was tested many 26" LCD TVs. And once again there were some problems with pixel interpolation, like all LCD have. One solution that they suggested was to place near the TV a PC and let the DVD player soft (e. g. Power DVD) to do the hard work. And the results was clearly better than just playing DVD disk through DVD player. These test were made only for DVDs, but that's not the point.

And because of that my question:

Can BLT can do the up-conversion as good as the PC does? Or maybe better?

I really don't know the upscaling technology, but one thing is clear to me - if I buy HD player, I buy HDTV too (most likely - LCD TV), and when I have spent about 4000$ for TV, I really want to get out of it the best :D

Thanks before.

I think the upconversion looks pretty good and if you read some of the earlier comments, other users of this forum have said the same thing.

Originally posted by petefoss
Is it possible to test the TV directly? I'd like to see how much overscan I have on my OTA receiver also. Since they use the same input port on the TV via my Denon amp they are not independent. Not unless you have access to an "signal/test pattern generator".

After correctly setting up your display with an "signal/test pattern generator" you will then be able to determine how far out your other equipment (including OTA receiver) is. However, very few devices (DVD players, Digital TV boxes etc) offer over-scan adjustment :(


Cheers

Originally posted by Issac
Recorde has a 5.1 option for sound, will it work?

no. only 2 channel works for me on the LT. look at SDM's post earlier back about why more than 2 channels is not supported along with HE audio. only LE 2 channel audio is supported right now.

From what I have read, with a good graphics card, you can get amazing upscaling in a pc. In some cases the pc equals dedicated scalers costing thousands. Of course it requires playing around with drivers and configurations on the pc.

So I doubt that up-conversion can be as good as a PC.

Originally posted by LV Tehnoman


Can BLT can do the up-conversion as good as the PC does? Or maybe better?


Thanks before.

Thats's good! Actually very good :D

What Sigma chip is used in BLT?

Have a nice day ;)

Originally posted by LV Tehnoman
What Sigma chip is used in BLT?

Have a nice day ;)

EM8620L
http://www.sigmadesigns.com/products/em8620Lseries.htm

Hi

I've found that Sigma designs has released SMP8630 series. The main difference I see is that this processor is a little bit faster than EM8620L (300 Mhz MIPS + 200 Mhz secure vs 200Mhz ARM) and secure, DVD-Audio support and something better with sound.

Further information can be found on Sigma designs home page (I was not able to post link....)

I wonder what it means? Is it meaning that this processor will be able to handle higher video bitrates? And what means "secure" processor? Does anybody knows is there a product with this chip? Or maybe there will be?

Thanks :rolleyes:

for anyone who's interested and use autogk to convert their dvds to divx or xvid... version 2.08 beta is out and support for sigma chip included in the xvid bundle. i'm going to try this out with some xvid encodes. all this does is just make sure bandwidth peaks are limited to the capabilities of the sigma chip.

Version 2.08 beta is out

Release newsAgain a few small bugfixes and enhancements. Change log:

- standalone compatibility options moved from the installer to the hidden options
- new XviD VFW dll packaged for MTK/Sigma chipset support (use only bundled version of XviD to be able to use that option)
- force deinterlace and IVTC options are made mutually exclusive on hidden options window
- fixed "adjust subs" in cases when AR is manually overridden
- external input subs in AVI mode are displayed during preview now
- DGIndex is updated to version 1.3.0 final
- fixed bug when encoding of hybrid/telecined AVI input sources was oversized

http://autogk.net

Originally posted by LV Tehnoman
Hi

I've found that Sigma designs has released SMP8630 series. The main difference I see is that this processor is a little bit faster than EM8620L (300 Mhz MIPS + 200 Mhz secure vs 200Mhz ARM) and secure, DVD-Audio support and something better with sound.

Further information can be found on Sigma designs home page (I was not able to post link....)

I wonder what it means? Is it meaning that this processor will be able to handle higher video bitrates? And what means "secure" processor? Does anybody knows is there a product with this chip? Or maybe there will be?

Thanks :rolleyes: If you do a forum search you will find that this chip-set has been discussed quite a few times. Along with it's revised product code names ie: EM8622L & EM8624L

There are no players with these chip-set as yet... I guess player/device manufacturers are waiting to see how the the Blu-Ray -v- HD-DVD situation pans out. Not to mention the adoption of Mpeg4/AVC HDTV in Europe :(


Cheers

I fired up the BLT today and after resolving some minor patch panel snafus, the BLT came right up and was able to get to photos, mp3's and the mpegs that I have been recording with my Radeon 9000 All-in-wonder in great anticipation of this day.

Video playback is solid, FF worked well with the 1x, 2x, 3x options, some funky rewind activity that I haven't played too much with yet. I haven't yet updated firmware, so I may be missing some fixes here. No lengthy DVD playback yet, just a quick look at one.

So far, it looks really good. WAF not too high; she is already saying that I'm going to be the only one to be able to operate it (I told her that I'm sure our 10 & 11 year old sons could give her a hand!)

jpe