Also, here's the correct update path for new LinkTheaters:

07-60
08-31

Right now the stepstone firmware is used for troubleshooting. However, it may be required for an update to 09-13. 09-13's update process will likely be:

07-60
06-45
09-13

To those who haven't tried to 03_LTI.bin interface updater, I personally think it looks more attractive. The update takes only seconds and does NOT reset your settings to factory defaults.

Brian,

Great to see you posting!

I just got off the phone with tech support trying to reach Sergio. He and I have been missing each other for over a month now. Hopefully he has a moment to speak with me today.

I'm still experiencing the MP3 static issue (wirelessly). In August, I posted a reply to you concerning my wired experiment but never saw a reply. I'm sure you're busy these days. Anyway, my temp. wired connection solved the static problem but would prefer to have a fix wirelessly. My 60 year home will be a bear to wire.

Also, before suggesting signal strength as the culprit, I am receiving excellent strength at the LT. Also, DivxHD files play wirelessly without latency. I'm confident signal is not the problem.

Several months ago you mentioned something to do with the default slideshow causing static issues. Is this still the case?

Hope to hear from you soon. If you would like me to re-post my earlier questions / experiment results please PM or post to this reply.

Thanks,
Jim
<><

Oh I forgot ...

I'm running the latest beta firmware with new interface (Nice!) and 1.4 software.

Those with the 9.13 Firmware?

Am I right in saying that it doesn't play older divx/xvids very well whereas 8.31 and 8.32 were fine.

Apparently older divxs on 9.13 cause the display to smear i.e one scene smears its content into the next and some won't play at all.

This isn't a problem on 8.32 !

Anybody else experience this !, personally I haven't as I don't have 9.13.

Shaz

Also, here's the correct update path for new LinkTheaters:

07-60
08-31

Right now the stepstone firmware is used for troubleshooting. However, it may be required for an update to 09-13. 09-13's update process will likely be:

07-60
06-45
09-13

This is very interesting. I have a newer unit (1 mo) and I didn't start with the 07-60 firmware upgrade. I went from 5-31 to 8-31. Does this mean that the firmware didn't take? Or if it works, that I actually am OK.

Please clarify someone....

Chris

2) Does anyone have that overscan bmp/jpg that is used for showing the relative overscan of a display. Our firmware engineers are working to fix this problem and I explained this tool and they think it would be very beneficial to them. Please email me if you have it, send me a PM if you don't have my email.http://www.tigerdave.com/test_patterns.htm

I would recommend that you use all of these test patterns with each of your output formats. It seems the issue is scaling of the image, not necessarily overscan, per se.

Xesdeeni

I keep getting server busy errors and when I hit the back key I have to retype all of my text. Thus, I'll try and answer everyone's questions tonight, I can't spend any more time dealing with the Server Busy Message. I've resorted to copying and pasting my previous messages 10+ times to get it to go through. Unfortunately I always I forget to copy/paste the first time and find myself rewriting everything which is frustrating.

UPDATE:


4) PC software version 1.5 software is currently being developed. It will fix a lot of the navigation quirks, as well as offer true dynamic folder updating. Example: If files are added to a folder that the LinkTheater is displaying, you can now refresh that folder and show the new contents. Before you would have to exit the app and restart it on the PC. In addition, the media service plug-in integration has been improved. This software should be out relatively soon.

.

Brian, are there going to be any updates to the linux server software?

Thanks,
--Mark

UPDATE:
4) PC software version 1.5 software is currently being developed. It will fix a lot of the navigation quirks, as well as offer true dynamic folder updating. Example: If files are added to a folder that the LinkTheater is displaying, you can now refresh that folder and show the new contents. Before you would have to exit the app and restart it on the PC. In addition, the media service plug-in integration has been improved. This software should be out relatively soon.


Brian,

I'm having a serious problem with the PC server software on a particular PC that noone else seems to have reported. I've opened up a topic on the Buffalo support forum with title 'PC server ... resource not available' with a description of the details. Please look at this - I'm stumped. I have two PC's, one works, one doesn't. Both 10/100 linked.

If you'd like me to instead post the info here, let me know.

BRIANV,

Brian I would like to know if the Linkstation handles playlists and how you do it if it does. If it can't I would like to know as well, so I can finally set-up my music correctly either way......

Awaiting your reply,

V-man

This is very interesting. I have a newer unit (1 mo) and I didn't start with the 07-60 firmware upgrade. I went from 5-31 to 8-31. Does this mean that the firmware didn't take? Or if it works, that I actually am OK.

Please clarify someone....

Chris


If it took you are okay. You might want check the first tab on the setup page, at the bottom there should be text and the version number will be down there as well.. :)

Hope this helps,

V-man

Updated firmware yesterday to new release using "Update" menu option of the LT itself - worked nicely. It fixed DVD 5.1 playback (used to play just crackling sound - now I am getting 5.1 discrete channels).

Still have couple issues.

1. Tried to play a 4:3 SVCD on my 16:9 TV - it always expands to fill entire screen no matter what video zoom says. (I am in 1080i mode).

2. Selecting "Radio Stations" from Internet menu still says "Unable to connect to the Internet" even though the browsing works. And trying to play a Windows Media ASX playlist, containg link to a radio station prompts error message "There is no song in the library".

3. Not a bug, but more like a feature request - will it be possible to stream Internet TV stations to play them on LT?

UPDATE:

5) To the users who are commenting about the PAL support... Currently we can only offer NTSC to PAL conversion like we're offering in some of our later firmwares. Unfortunately this doesn't offer true PAL support like some of you may want. However, I can offer you the EU/PAL beta firmwares to try out. Their firmwares mirror the North American firmwares except they have true PAL outputs. I can create a new update page that specifically has the PAL release and provide it to you as an update. The latest PAL/EU firmware is currently mirrored off of the 08-31 firmware. Please let me know if this is something you'd like to try.

Brian, can you (or someone) please post which specific firmware does the best job of NTSC to PAL conversion for US BLT's? Has the stuttering step-like motion seen in the stock 5-31 firmware been eliminated or at least minimized in later beta firmware releases? I've read through this forum searching for the answer to this question, and regarding this particular issue I've read contradictory information. Some say this functionality was last enabled in the 06-45 firmware. Others say it was still enabled in the 07-60 firmware. No one seems to comment on how well this was improved (if at all) compared to the stock firmware. Also, is it true that the NTSC to PAL conversion was eliminated entirely after the 07-60 firmware for US BLT's?

I recently inherited a large collection of PAL DVD's from a deceased relative overseas (I'm in the US) and although I can view them with the stock firmware I find the "stuttering" motion very annoying. Considering my situation what is the best firmware for me to upgrade to? Incidentally I signed up at the Verenkoff site several days ago but have not received a reply so can anyone tell me what firmware's are available there?

Thanks in advance...
--
Wirelezz

BrianV,

I notice the software deletes the files in the cache upon opening the program. It would be better if it deleted them upon closing down too, so all the disk space wasn't wasted in between uses. This can be a lot of space.

Also, it would be nice if you could assign a different scratch drive for the cache. I and many other people keep their C: drive on a smaller partition just for programs and a lot of space can be eaten up by the cache.

any word on when we can see the LT become nero or divx6 certified? i would love to move my compressed files to nero that includes chapter support or start including chapters in divx6 files if LT can handle it after being certified for new divx version.

thanks,

I just upgraded to 9-13 firmware, and now my photo slide shows have black bars on all 4 sides. Is this normal? Is there a way to change that? I liked the previous set up better, the pictures were zoomed in to fill the whole screen.

Also, my second issue. My Aliens VOB that I ripped onto my harddrive doesn't play correctly on the LT. It is a) not stretched correctly, it's an anamorphic movie but is playing full screen on my 4:3 TV with distored images. and b) Now it plays too fast with the new 9-13 firmware. It plays fine on my computer.

Any help would be great.
Thanks,
Dave

Brian, can you (or someone) please post which specific firmware does the best job of NTSC to PAL conversion for US BLT's? Has the stuttering step-like motion seen in the stock 5-31 firmware been eliminated or at least minimized in later beta firmware releases? I've read through this forum searching for the answer to this question, and regarding this particular issue I've read contradictory information. Some say this functionality was last enabled in the 06-45 firmware. Others say it was still enabled in the 07-60 firmware. No one seems to comment on how well this was improved (if at all) compared to the stock firmware. Also, is it true that the NTSC to PAL conversion was eliminated entirely after the 07-60 firmware for US BLT's?

I recently inherited a large collection of PAL DVD's from a deceased relative overseas (I'm in the US) and although I can view them with the stock firmware I find the "stuttering" motion very annoying. Considering my situation what is the best firmware for me to upgrade to? Incidentally I signed up at the Verenkoff site several days ago but have not received a reply so can anyone tell me what firmware's are available there?

Thanks in advance...
--
Wirelezz


I live in Europe and own an US BLT and was also experiencing the "stuttering"-problem playing PAL DVD's. Upgrading with the euro 08.32 firmware found at the Australian site fixed this problem.

Stefan

Ok, is there somewhere i can download the beta firmware other than waiting for the email, which seems to eb taking forever.

I live in Europe and own an US BLT and was also experiencing the "stuttering"-problem playing PAL DVD's. Upgrading with the euro 08.32 firmware found at the Australian site fixed this problem.

Stefan

mrterry,

Thanks for your input. However, if you live in Europe, isn't it safe to assume you must be viewing your DVD's on a 50Hz PAL TV? If this is true then you must be taking advantage of the true PAL output offered by the euro 08.32 firmware, and not the PAL to NTSC conversion for viewing PAL DVD's on a US NTSC TV.

Please correct me if I'm wrong...

--
Wirelezz

Question for Brian...
Is there anyway to apply the 08-31 firmware update (.bin file) straight to the player (via CD tray) without the use of a PC & the PC Software? I'm using the LinkTheater as a "standalone" player, so it's not connected to my PC.

The best way to do it is this. If you have a USB flash card or any other USB drive of some kind. You can copy the "html" and the "bin" file from Brian. Edit the html and remove any domain information like, href="http://www.myspace.com/folder/file.bin"

all you need is href="file.bin" whatever the filename is. Copy both the html and the bin file to the USB device. Then take the device and plug it in to the front of your LinkTheater. You should have access to the html page, and you can update it from there.....
V-man

I have a copy of the eu08.32 .bin file on my hard drive, but I'm having trouble with the LT "seeing" it (I have the LT v.1.4 software installed on my PC). I've created an HTML file with a link pointing to the .bin file (href="file.bin") and I've created a bookmark to the HTML file. The LT displays the HTML page I've created with the link to the .bin file but when click on the link the LT displays a "Page can't be found" error message.

I also have a USB thumb drive and I've basically tried the same thing and get the same "Page can't be found" error message.

Could some knowledgable member of this forum post a step by step tutorial on how to flash the LT with a .bin file residing on a hard drive or on a USB thumb drive? An example of the correct HTML code? I'm sure this would be helpful to many who visit this forum.

Thanks in advance...
--
Wirelezz

I have a copy of the eu08.32 .bin file on my hard drive, but I'm having trouble with the LT "seeing" it (I have the LT v.1.4 software installed on my PC). I've created an HTML file with a link pointing to the .bin file (href="file.bin") and I've created a bookmark to the HTML file. The LT displays the HTML page I've created with the link to the .bin file but when click on the link the LT displays a "Page can't be found" error message.

I also have a USB thumb drive and I've basically tried the same thing and get the same "Page can't be found" error message.

Could some knowledgable member of this forum post a step by step tutorial on how to flash the LT with a .bin file residing on a hard drive or on a USB thumb drive? An example of the correct HTML code? I'm sure this would be helpful to many who visit this forum.

Thanks in advance...
--
Wirelezz

In your HTML file you need to make sure that "update" is within your HTML tag. I don't know if you need the "tvid" tag, but you might as well keep it in anyways...



<a href="file.bin" tvid="1" update> This should allow the LT to Update </a>



Hope this helps,

V-man

I have a copy of the eu08.32 .bin file on my hard drive, but I'm having trouble with the LT "seeing" it (I have the LT v.1.4 software installed on my PC). I've created an HTML file with a link pointing to the .bin file (href="file.bin") and I've created a bookmark to the HTML file. The LT displays the HTML page I've created with the link to the .bin file but when click on the link the LT displays a "Page can't be found" error message.
--
Wirelezz

Funny (and frustrating). I have a similar issue when I attempt to open an .html file on my server PC's drive. I get the "Page can't be found" before the .html file is even opened. I have even tried creating very simple test .html code with no embedded links and the problem still occurs. The .html pages will display from the same bookmarks, if attempted from IE on the PC, so the bookmarks are valid. I have been wasting an incredible amount of time trying to troubleshoot this, thinking it may be due to a firewall or some other configuration issue.

And the only reason I even attempted to do this is that for some reason my LT will no longer open the update pages on Brian's server. When I click on any of the IE "favorite" bookmarks to Brian's firmware update pages the LT screen flashes briefly but the page is not displayed. If I click on any other link to a page on the internet, the page will display properly. The problem just occurs with Brian's update pages.

Anyone know what is going on with either of these issues?

[edit to clarify that my problem is not identical to Wirelezz's]

Any eta on when buffalo will get support for matroska and ogg media containers?

Also, when will it get full xvid support?

In your HTML file you need to make sure that "update" is within your HTML tag. I don't know if you need the "tvid" tag, but you might as well keep it in anyways...

<a href="file.bin" tvid="1" update> This should allow the LT to Update </a>

V-man

V-man, Thanks for the HTML code, you definitely have put me on the right track. Thanks so much for the info!

The html code worked like a dream, but not in the way you might think. I never could make the LT "see" the .bin file from the embedded link in my html file directly from the PC hard drive (wish I knew why!), so I chose a different way to do this:

I uploaded (FTP'd) my html file and the eu8.32 .bin file to one of my websites, and set a bookmark to the appropriate URL and flashed my LT from there. Seems like the LT is much happier connecting to the internet rather than to my LAN... Go Figure! So I went from the stock 05.03 firmware to the eu8.32 firmware... the upgrade went like clockwork, and the settings page confirms that the LT is now running the eu8.32 firmware.

My US LT now plays PAL format DVD's smooth as silk!! No more "stuttering" step like motion. The problems with the remote seem to be fixed as well... this is great!!

Thanks to all for you input... it's really been appreciated!

--
Wirelezz

Funny (and frustrating). I have a similar issue when I attempt to open an .html file on my server PC's drive. I get the "Page can't be found" before the .html file is even opened. I have even tried creating very simple test .html code with no embedded links and the problem still occurs. The .html pages will display from the same bookmarks, if attempted from IE on the PC, so the bookmarks are valid. I have been wasting an incredible amount of time trying to troubleshoot this, thinking it may be due to a firewall or some other configuration issue.

[edit to clarify that my problem is not identical to Wirelezz's]

John,

I'm sure this will not help your situation, but you might find this interesting:

When I was trying to figure out a way to access the .bin file from my PC's hard drive, I could never display the html file I created if I used the bookmark with Firefox's browser (Firefox is my preference and is what I always use when I'm surfing the net). However if I changed the LT media software to use I.E. instead of Firefox, and created a bookmark in I.E. then the LT would display my .html file directly from my PC. But I could never get the embedded link to the .bin file on my hard drive to work, even using V-man's code (however I did get it to work when I FTP'd the .html file to one of my websites and accessed it from there, see my post above).

So as far as the LT displaying the .html file directly from the PC, Firefox wouldn't work, I.E. would. Go figure...

--
Wirelezz

John,

I'm sure this will not help your situation, but you might find this interesting:

When I was trying to figure out a way to access the .bin file from my PC's hard drive, I could never display the html file I created if I used the bookmark with Firefox's browser (Firefox is my preference and is what I always use when I'm surfing the net). However if I changed the LT media software to use I.E. instead of Firefox, and created a bookmark in I.E. then the LT would display my .html file directly from my PC. But I could never get the embedded link to the .bin file on my hard drive to work, even using V-man's code (however I did get it to work when I FTP'd the .html file to one of my websites and accessed it from there, see my post above).

So as far as the LT displaying the .html file directly from the PC, Firefox wouldn't work, I.E. would. Go figure...


Firefox. Oh Firefox. Wherefore art thou Firefox? I too use Firefox as my primary browser. However, I have yet to get any version of Buffalo's PC server software from 1.0 up to 1.4 to recognize that I have Firefox on my machine. I have even experimented with this on a second PC with no better results.

Earlier in this thread I asked if anyone else was having this problem (At least one person is.) and also if someone who is getting the Buffalo software to recognize Firefox could share their Windows Registry settings, in case there is a registry key that the Buffalo install program is failing to create that I could add manually. Maybe you could check your machine's registry, as apparently no other Firefox user has found the time to do so.

My earlier Firefox query is post #115 in this thread.

Firefox. Oh Firefox. Wherefore art thou Firefox? I too use Firefox as my primary browser. However, I have yet to get any version of Buffalo's PC server software from 1.0 up to 1.4 to recognize that I have Firefox on my machine. I have even experimented with this on a second PC with no better results.

Earlier in this thread I asked if anyone else was having this problem (At least one person is.) and also if someone who is getting the Buffalo software to recognize Firefox could share their Windows Registry settings, in case there is a registry key that the Buffalo install program is failing to create that I could add manually. Maybe you could check your machine's registry, as apparently no other Firefox user has found the time to do so.

My earlier Firefox query is post #115 in this thread.

John,

You seem to be missing an entry in the registry called "Browser."

A search on my machine running the LT media software v.1.4 reveals no less than 30 registry entries located in

1] HKEY_CURRENT_USER
2] HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE
3] HKEY_USERS.

I found the following in HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Syabas Technology\LinkTheater

and the same thing in

HKEY_USERS\S-1-5-21-2025429265-1580436667-1060284298-1000\Software\Syabas Technology\LinkTheater

(note the second entry "Browser"='firefox"):

[HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Syabas Technology\LinkTheater]
"AudioPath"="C%FE%FF%00%3A%00%5CDocuments+and+Settings%FE%FF%00%5CWindy+R idge%FE
%FF%00%5CMy+Documents%FE%FF%00%5CMy+Music"
"Browser"="firefox"
"Control"=""
"EnableUPnPAV"="true"
"Language"="English"
"MusicWFEnable"="false"
"PhotoWFEnable"="false"
"RemoveVideoAfterConvert"="false"
"ScanPlaylist"="false"
"ScanSong"="false"
"Theme"="linktheater"
"UseiTunes"="false"
"VideoConversionInterval"="1"
"VideoPath"="C%FE%FF%00%3A%00%5CDocuments+and+Settings%FE%FF%00%5CWindy+R idge%FE%
FF%00%5CMy+Documents%FE%FF%00%5CMy+Videos"
"VideoWFEnable"="false"

This is on my laptop running Win2000, I haven't checked on my Win XP workstation to see if they are the same.

I hope this helps...
--
Frank

I tried to solve this on my own, but after 2 weeks, I give up. Ever since changing ISP's (now using DirecWay satellite) I can't get into the application web site. I get as far as entering the username and password, it tries for several seconds to load the next page, then says the page is not found. I've tried the latest rev's of IE and Firefox, and the results are the same. I have no idea what else to try. No problem downloading beta firmware. :(

Can anyone get region 1 dvd's to play with the 8-32 euro firmware? I couldn't. That's not good in the usa...

John,

You seem to be missing an entry in the registry called "Browser."
...
I hope this helps...
--
Frank


Thanks Frank. It does indeed help, but only a little. :confused:

If I add that entry to my primary user key, it results in the Firefox option being selected in the Buffalo software. :) However, even though it is selected, the Firefox option is still "grayed out", meaning that it cannot be reselected if I manually switch to the IE setting. For some reason the Buffalo software is still "convinced" that I should not be able to select Firefox. More importantly when I attempt to view the Firefox bookmarks from the LT, I get only an error message: "There is no file in this folder." I am beginning to suspect that on my machines Firefox is installed in a location (C:\Program Files\Mozilla Firefox) that is not where the Syabas programmers expect it to be. My Foxfire bookmarks.html file is located in C:\Documents and Settings\[User]\Application Data\Mozilla\Firefox\Profiles\default.9jr.

Or perhaps there is some Windows XP user conflict or confusion, even though I installed both applications under the same user with admin privileges.

If it is not too much trouble. could you please do me another favor and check where Firefox and its bookmarks are installed on your machine? And also please check the registry Local Machine area and see if you have any entries in addition to what I have below. It looks like that is where the Link Theater installation information is stored.

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Syabas Technology\LinkTheater]
"InstallPath"="C:\\Program Files\\LinkTheater"
"AudioExtPath"="C:\\Program Files\\LinkTheater\\webapps\\ROOT\\xml\\music.xml"
"VideoExtPath"="C:\\Program Files\\LinkTheater\\webapps\\ROOT\\xml\\video.xml"
"PhotoFrameXml"="C:\\Program Files\\LinkTheater\\webapps\\ROOT\\application\\photo\\xml\\ frame.xml"
"DefaultFrame"="beach"
"LanguageXml"="C:\\Program Files\\LinkTheater\\webapps\\ROOT\\xml\\index.xml"
"ControlCS"="true"
"FirmwareUpdateURL"=""
"DefaultLanguage"="English"

[edited to include location of Firefox bookmarks.html]

Can anyone get region 1 dvd's to play with the 8-32 euro firmware? I couldn't. That's not good in the usa...

elmatson,

After flashing the US LT to the 8-32 euro firmware, the region code is automatically reset to region 2 (Europe). You need to make your LT region free:

From the Login (Home) Page:

1. Press the 'Slow' button on the remote control.
2. Enter 2960 on the Remote.
3. Select region, '0' which is region free but you can also select '1-6' for
specific regions if you have special protected DVD's (RCE)

Hope this helps,
--
Wirelezz

Thanks Frank. It does indeed help, but only a little. :confused:

If it is not too much trouble. could you please do me another favor and check where Firefox and its bookmarks are installed on your machine? And also please check the registry Local Machine area and see if you have any entries in addition to what I have below. It looks like that is where the Link Theater installation information is stored.

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Syabas Technology\LinkTheater]
"InstallPath"="C:\\Program Files\\LinkTheater"
"AudioExtPath"="C:\\Program Files\\LinkTheater\\webapps\\ROOT\\xml\\music.xml"
"VideoExtPath"="C:\\Program Files\\LinkTheater\\webapps\\ROOT\\xml\\video.xml"
"PhotoFrameXml"="C:\\Program Files\\LinkTheater\\webapps\\ROOT\\application\\photo\\xml\\ frame.xml"
"DefaultFrame"="beach"
"LanguageXml"="C:\\Program Files\\LinkTheater\\webapps\\ROOT\\xml\\index.xml"
"ControlCS"="true"
"FirmwareUpdateURL"=""
"DefaultLanguage"="English"


Hey John,

The [HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Syabas Technology\LinkTheater] registry entries on my machines are identical to yours.


I am beginning to suspect that on my machines Firefox is installed in a location (C:\Program Files\Mozilla Firefox) that is not where the Syabas programmersp expect it to be. My Foxfire bookmarks.html file is located in C:\Documents and Settings\[User]\Application Data\Mozilla\Firefox\Profiles\default.9jr.


I would think that the 'C' drive is exactly where the Syabas programmers would expect to find it. My Firefox Bookmarks install path is essentially the same as yours:

C:\DocumentsandSettings\[UserName]\ApplicationData\Mozilla\Firefox\Profiles\fnr5gb4h.default

The " \fnr5gb4h.default" is different from you however.


Or perhaps there is some Windows XP user conflict or confusion, even though I installed both applications under the same user with admin privileges.


I've always run my machines as administrator because I've had so many headaches in regards to permissions & user conflicts with some of the apps I run if I don't. I know, I know, I've heard all the arguments concerning security and why one shouldn't run as administrator, but I'm on the internet with a private static IP behind my WISP's (wireless internet provider) firewall, also behind my router's firewall, and also behind a Netgear hardware firewall w/ stateful packet inspection (so much better than NAT), and also a software firewall running on my machines (4 layers of protection plus a good AV app), all my ports are closed & "stealthed." I feel I'm pretty much invisible on the internet so I don't worry about running as administrator.

That being said, have you checked permissions in both your install directories (Firefox & LinkTheater) and also in the registry? (grant permission to "Everyone"). Possibly a problem there in regards to a user conflict? Have you done a complete uninstall of the LT media software? By that I mean uninstall the app from control panel "Add/Remove Programs" then manually delete the Link Theater directory and also delete every related registry entry before re-installing? You might try installing the LT software from your administrator account as opposed to your user account with administrator privileges.

Be sure to let us know how this turns out...

--
Frank

My Firefox Bookmarks install path is essentially the same as yours:

C:\DocumentsandSettings\[UserName]\ApplicationData\Mozilla\Firefox\Profiles\fnr5gb4h.default

The " \fnr5gb4h.default" is different from you however.
Yes. "\default.9jr" I wonder why the folder name convention appears to be reversed?


I've always run my machines as administrator...

Yes. I do the same thing. I did not intend to imply that I had a complicated user structure. I have only two users and they are both administrators. I run under the primary one exclusively. (I only set up the second one as a failsafe to allow admistrator access to the OS in the event that the first user becomes corrupted.) All my software is installed under the primary administrator user. I am using XP Home Edition SP 2 and all of my C drive is shared to the network (Like you I am behind good hardware and software firewalls).

That being said, have you checked permissions in both your install directories (Firefox & LinkTheater) and also in the registry? (grant permission to "Everyone"). Possibly a problem there in regards to a user conflict?
Yes. All are shared.

Have you done a complete uninstall of the LT media software? By that I mean uninstall the app from control panel "Add/Remove Programs" then manually delete the Link Theater directory and also delete every related registry entry before re-installing?
Yes.

You might try installing the LT software from your administrator account as opposed to your user account with administrator privileges.

Yes. Already did it this way. I just tried a complete uninstall/reinstall of LinkTheater anyway, including clearing the registry and the result is the same. The Firefox option is greyed out and unselectable.

Thanks for the suggestions though. I welcome any other advice you (or anyone else) might have to get my LinkTheater software to recognize that I have Firefox.

Hi, couple of things. First, I signed up for the beta program email list weeks ago and have heard nothing. Can anyone point me to a website that contains different .bin files I can load on my BLT? Second, since I upgraded to firmware version 07-60-050609-02-LTI-240-000 using the auto update in setup, my pictures in slide shows aren't as nicely sized as they were with my previous firmware. I've played with the PC side server settings (using LinkTheater v1.4), and get the following results: "Fit to Screen" - images are 555x416 and there are black bars on all 4 sides of my 4:3 TV, "Full Screen" - images are 624x416 and distorted, black bars are smaller, "Actual Size" - images are 1024x768 and zoomed in, no black bars. I never checked the actual resolution, but I'm certain my previous firmware was much closer to 720x480 when set to Fit to Screen, as there were no black bars. I want to revert back to my old firmware, but there is no option to do that from the Update screen, hence my first request, a website with bin files so I can roll back.
Thanks,
Dave

1. I was doing some reading about this nice device and in one review I found that Max File system size on USB HD cannot be more that 30GB. Is this right?
I know that windows XP is limiting creating Fat32 partition to 32GB, but by 100GB USB drive is formatted to 1 100GB Fat32 partition form Windows ME host and my Windows XP and Mac can use entire partition just fine. So will LT see 100GB Fat32
partition if i connect my USB HD to it?

2. I was trying to find any reviews about using Link Theater with Mac OSX and didn't find any. How good is LT server software (plug-in) for Mac OSX? Anyone can share experience using LT with MacOS as host computer? Bad or good will be appritated.

Thanks, and happy Friday!

1. I was doing some reading about this nice device and in one review I found that Max File system size on USB HD cannot be more that 30GB. Is this right?
I know that windows XP is limiting creating Fat32 partition to 32GB, but by 100GB USB drive is formatted to 1 100GB Fat32 partition form Windows ME host and my Windows XP and Mac can use entire partition just fine. So will LT see 100GB Fat32
partition if i connect my USB HD to it?

2. I was trying to find any reviews about using Link Theater with Mac OSX and didn't find any. How good is LT server software (plug-in) for Mac OSX? Anyone can share experience using LT with MacOS as host computer? Bad or good will be appritated.

Thanks, and happy Friday!

I have a 60GB fat32 drive hooked to mine now. Not sure where you read about 32GB in winxp, but this same drive works fine in winxp. It has a 50GB and a 10GB partition on it.

I have a 60GB fat32 drive hooked to mine now. Not sure where you read about 32GB in winxp, but this same drive works fine in winxp. It has a 50GB and a 10GB partition on it.


if your drive formatted as Fat32 EXT?



1. I was doing some reading about this nice device and in one review I found that Max File system size on USB HD cannot be more that 30GB. Is this right?
I know that windows XP is limiting creating Fat32 partition to 32GB, but by 100GB USB drive is formatted to 1 100GB Fat32 partition form Windows ME host and my Windows XP and Mac can use entire partition just fine. So will LT see 100GB Fat32
partition if i connect my USB HD to it?

2. I was trying to find any reviews about using Link Theater with Mac OSX and didn't find any. How good is LT server software (plug-in) for Mac OSX? Anyone can share experience using LT with MacOS as host computer? Bad or good will be appritated.

Thanks, and happy Friday.

If that is the case, then that might be your solution for allowing larger than 32GB hard drives. Just a note, I am using the Linkstation as my media server, and it is a single 120gb partition formatted using Fat32 ext. Normally windows does not read any EXT formats but there are drivers everywhere that extend that function. As far as Mac, I would have to imagine it would as it is more Linux friendly. :)

V-man

if your drive formatted as Fat32 EXT?

V-man

No it is simply formatted Fat32, I have never heard of the limitation you are talking about nor have I ever had such a problem. My wife also has a 40GB external USB drive also Fat32 also works fine with XP. Are you saying this is a USB problem? because I have 250GB Fat32 drives Internal to my XP machine that are also fine.

My 100GB Fat32 partition is working fine with my XP also. But last time when i had clean HD and was trying to format it to100GB one Fat32 partition - XP wont let me do it. So i used Win98 to Format it and than XP was working fine with that disk already formatted.
What made me confused - is this review on amazon where the guy is telling that his LT wasn't recognising big Fat32 partitions more than 32GB. But i guess he was wrong and my 100GB Fat32 parition will be hadled fine with LT.
Thans for clarifying.
P.S. sory this forum does not me to insert URLs - i have less than 5 posts. So i can't provise url to review page on amazon - but it's easy to find. just search for PC-P3LWG/DVD and click on user reviews.

>What made me confused - is this review on amazon where the guy is telling that his LT wasn't recognising big Fat32 partitions more than 32GB.

Yeah....its a XP inspired myth that drives me nuts that so called experts don't even check the M$ knowledge base article that explains it.

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/314463/EN-US/

The fact that any large fat32 partition is wasteful, gives awful perforance, is insecure and prone to being easily trashed and is generally pants is another matter. The again so called Windows New Technology File System aint much better :)

Shaz

Powered by "Windows (NT) New Technology Technology" :)

Is anyone else having an issue with DVD playback where the DVD will suddenly speed up for about 1/2 a second then resume normal speed? I saw it tonight on Lord of the Rings: Return of the King about 4 times over an hour time period.

I believe that Brian V. said that the upcoming code upgrade resolves some issues with DVD playback. I sure hope that this issue will be fixed by it.

jpe

Is anyone else having an issue with DVD playback where the DVD will suddenly speed up for about 1/2 a second then resume normal speed? I saw it tonight on Lord of the Rings: Return of the King about 4 times over an hour time period.

I believe that Brian V. said that the upcoming code upgrade resolves some issues with DVD playback. I sure hope that this issue will be fixed by it.

jpe
Probably the same problems in LP2
http://www.iodata.com/usa/forum/showthread.php?t=116
and in Snazio sz1350
http://www.mpeg-playcenter.com/modules.php?name=Forums&file=viewtopic&t=5861

Probably the same problems in LP2
http://www.iodata.com/usa/forum/showthread.php?t=116
and in Snazio sz1350
http://www.mpeg-playcenter.com/modules.php?name=Forums&file=viewtopic&t=5861

TUFU, thanks for the links. The difference in the problem that I'm seeing is that the speeding forward or momentary fast forward is occuring with DVD playback, not a ripped DVD movie.

Again, I hope that a new version of code is imminent from Buffalo....

jpe

Hi Guys,

Sorry to bump in, I have posted similar questions in other thread, but that thread seems to be dead.

I am looking for a Linux version of the Link Theater software, can anyone direct me where to obtain one? I am running only Linux at home, and kind of stuck, please help!!

I live in Australia, and my BLT is a PAL unit with Firmware 8.32 out of the box, is this the same firmware as the EU version? I tried to sign up as Beta tester on Buffalo website, but was rejected because I chose "Other" as other country than Europe, should I sign up again using Europe as the country option?

Regards,

K

kusanagi: You want wizd. sorry, I can't post a link to it, you will have to google for it

I'm not sure if anyone has posted this yet...

The problem with the Link Theater playing MP3's with static during the first few seconds has driven me nuts since I bought the unit. I have tried every piece of firmware to resolve this issue, but the only thing that worked was using a wired connection to my network. This was not an acceptable solution. A couple of days ago, I decided to try Microsoft's Media Connect software to see how it compared to the Link Theater Server software. The static is gone!!! I can finally play mp3's without cringing at the beginning of each song.
Hopefully, Buffalo will release a new version of their software that fixes the problem, but until they do, there's an alternative.

Hope this helps...

I'm not sure if anyone has posted this yet...

The problem with the Link Theater playing MP3's with static during the first few seconds has driven me nuts since I bought the unit. I have tried every piece of firmware to resolve this issue, but the only thing that worked was using a wired connection to my network. This was not an acceptable solution. A couple of days ago, I decided to try Microsoft's Media Connect software to see how it compared to the Link Theater Server software. The static is gone!!! I can finally play mp3's without cringing at the beginning of each song.
Hopefully, Buffalo will release a new version of their software that fixes the problem, but until they do, there's an alternative.

Hope this helps...

This is very interesting information. I have the same complaint and no firmware upgrade has helped me either. So does Media Connect work with BLT with no issues? Do you just install it and it sees the device automatically?

Chris

I'm not sure if anyone has posted this yet...

The problem with the Link Theater playing MP3's with static during the first few seconds has driven me nuts since I bought the unit. I have tried every piece of firmware to resolve this issue, but the only thing that worked was using a wired connection to my network. This was not an acceptable solution. A couple of days ago, I decided to try Microsoft's Media Connect software to see how it compared to the Link Theater Server software. The static is gone!!! I can finally play mp3's without cringing at the beginning of each song.
Hopefully, Buffalo will release a new version of their software that fixes the problem, but until they do, there's an alternative.

Hope this helps...


That is really good to know.... There is another "hack" alternative as well. These messages were posted at buffalo's forums.... This is for wireless as it seems that most wired LTs now work fine. :)


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

Try this,

The reason that the MP3 shutters is that PCAST sends information about the MP3, and then right after that it starts to send the JPG information that displays on the screen at the same time.

This should work with yours as well. I am using a LinkStation, and I renamed the file to a bak or something. Try renaming all the jpg files in the folder to .bak or something.

it should be under the folder "SLIDE" on your PC. If there are no pictures to load, it should play better...

It would be interesting to know if it works,

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


Turning off all other computers on my wireless LAN halved the stutter.
Giving the Linktheatre the top shelf of my AV system seemed to help a little, but renaming the slide.jpg files so it skips them did the trick. The first track in any folder will stutter for a couple of seconds (maybe it attempts to pick up the missing .jpg files?) but all the other tracks play perfectly.

A big thanks!

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

v-man

This is very interesting information. I have the same complaint and no firmware upgrade has helped me either. So does Media Connect work with BLT with no issues? Do you just install it and it sees the device automatically?

Chris

This would be great--I'm also looking for alternatives for the media server software. Wizd does work as well, but I would like to try some others. Does Media Connect support video, pictures, etc.?

These messages were posted at buffalo's forums....

What is the link for the Buffalo forums? I haven't found them.

Thanks

Chris

What is the link for the Buffalo forums? I haven't found them.

Thanks

Chris

Offical Support Forums
----------------------------

US = This one.

EU/ROTW = http://www.mpeg-playcenter.com

General Buffalo Products = http://www.buffaloforums.com

Firmware Beta Signups
-----------------------------

US http://www.verenkoff.com

EU/ROTW http://www.buffalo-technology.com/support/lt-beta.php

Unoffical Support
---------------------
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/bltowners

http://www.szweda.com/myblt

Shaz

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

Xesdeeni

Sorry folks. My "source" on the DivX giveaway was apparently a day behind. Although I saw the screen saying I could download it for free when I went, I never got the code via e-mail. And now they've update the screen to say the giveaway was yesterday. Sorry.

Xesdeeni

Brian V, your dedication to the LT and it's owners is obvious. Thank You!
I updated my firmware to the lates beta version (8.31). Also updated the software to 1.4. I began to have problems playing DivX6 files. Buffering loop, Buffering to 100% then start over again and again (I let it do it for about 10 minutes, never stopped).

I then went back to the RUN UPDATE (06-45-050422-02-LTI-254-000.bin) and now I can not use my LT!! It now scrolls the log in screen quickly across my TV. I can barley read it. I don't know what to do now.

Any help would be appreciated.

Brian V, your dedication to the LT and it's owners is obvious. Thank You!
I updated my firmware to the lates beta version (8.31). Also updated the software to 1.4. I began to have problems playing DivX6 files. Buffering loop, Buffering to 100% then start over again and again (I let it do it for about 10 minutes, never stopped).

I then went back to the RUN UPDATE (06-45-050422-02-LTI-254-000.bin) and now I can not use my LT!! It now scrolls the log in screen quickly across my TV. I can barley read it. I don't know what to do now.

Any help would be appreciated.

You might need to press "TV MODE" on the remote, then press "ENTER" It should cycle through all the modes that the LT is capable of.

V-man

Brian V, your dedication to the LT and it's owners is obvious. Thank You!
I updated my firmware to the lates beta version (8.31). Also updated the software to 1.4. I began to have problems playing DivX6 files. Buffering loop, Buffering to 100% then start over again and again (I let it do it for about 10 minutes, never stopped).

I then went back to the RUN UPDATE (06-45-050422-02-LTI-254-000.bin) and now I can not use my LT!! It now scrolls the log in screen quickly across my TV. I can barley read it. I don't know what to do now.

Any help would be appreciated.

I had the exact same thing happen to me. v-man is correct about how to fix it. It is set to PAL.

I will try that, thanks to both of you! Have either of you experienced the buffering problem I described while trying to start a DivX movie?

I had the exact same thing happen to me. v-man is correct about how to fix it. It is set to PAL.


Thanks, you were both right on!

I've run into this problem on a few different VOB files I've created from my DVD collection; the aspect ratio is not being respected. They are anamorphic widescreen DVDs being shown on a 4:3 TV. What I end up with is a full screen image (and hence distored). I'm running 8-31 firmware with 1.3 PC software. I have 4:3 Letterbox selected under the DVD setup menu, and I've tried all 3 different Zoom settings, and they all look the same on these problematic VOBs. If I play the DVD in the LinkTheater, the aspect ratio is fine. Anyone else run into any issues like this? Any solutions?
Thanks,
Dave

I am thinking of buying a LT but need a little more info before I pick one UP.

1. Does the unit play back protected WMV files using the windows connect software?
2. Does LT play multichannel audio in a WMV file; if yes does it convert it to DD on the fly before passing it on or does it down mix the signal?
3. Does LT firmware (beta or other wise) support Divx6 menus and chapter structure?

Thanks in Advance.

I am thinking of buying a LT but need a little more info before I pick one UP.

1. Does the unit play back protected WMV files using the windows connect software?
2. Does LT play multichannel audio in a WMV file; if yes does it convert it to DD on the fly before passing it on or does it down mix the signal?
3. Does LT firmware (beta or other wise) support Divx6 menus and chapter structure?

Thanks in Advance.

I can only answer #3 for you. I don't beleive it supports Divx6 at all. I had trouble after I updated Divx from 5 to 6. It wouldn't play any of my Divx6 files at all. Had to go back to 5.

Brian,

Any news on the latest firmware? Will it address the wireless Mp3 static issue?

Thanks,
Jim

Yes. Additional fixes are past due by now.

I'm still using 8.31 and recently noted a couple more issues.

1. Intermittent speed-up and frame jitters with commercial DVD playback. This has been noted here by others.

2. LT froze and had to be rebooted during playback of a commercial music CD. This was actually the first time I had tried to play a music CD with mine. Of course when I tried to duplicate the problem it played through the same song without any problem.

I'm still using 8.31 and recently noted a couple more issues.

1. Intermittent speed-up and frame jitters with commercial DVD playback. This has been noted here by others.

2. LT froze and had to be rebooted during playback of a commercial music CD. This was actually the first time I had tried to play a music CD with mine. Of course when I tried to duplicate the problem it played through the same song without any problem.
I haven't tried a music CD in it either, but I'll add my encounter with the intermittent 1/2 sec speed up with a commercial DVD, in this case: Led Zeppelin: How the West Was Won Disc 1 in a few spots. All occurrences came after a pause and restart, not that that should matter.

Yes. Additional fixes are past due by now.

I'm still using 8.31 and recently noted a couple more issues.

1. Intermittent speed-up and frame jitters with commercial DVD playback. This has been noted here by others.

2. LT froze and had to be rebooted during playback of a commercial music CD. This was actually the first time I had tried to play a music CD with mine. Of course when I tried to duplicate the problem it played through the same song without any problem.

Yes, Brian V had mentioned that they were just about to release new firmware around 2-3 weeks ago, but it has been very quiet since then. I too am seeing many speed ups and jitters with commercial DVD playback.

jpe

Yes, Brian V had mentioned that they were just about to release new firmware around 2-3 weeks ago, but it has been very quiet since then.

Brian was referring to the 9-13 beta, which has been around for awhile and which folks on the Yahoo Board (http://groups.yahoo.com/group/bltowners/messages) have reported to actually be more trouble prone then the 8-31. Hopefully something better is in the works. I feel sorry for the "regular" BLT owners who are not even aware of these betas. Unless I've missed something there has only been one official non-beta firmware upgrade since I purchased my BLT over 6 months ago. ie. Almost no bug fixes have actually trickled out to the typical customer.

Just thought i would add my voice to current issues with LT, not sure if they have been mentioned before.

First I'm running latest beta firmware + 1.4.

Two main issues 1. music playback - a couple of time recently when using the play all function on an album the first couple are played fine but then skips through each file in turn without playing it (no message given)

Second problem is for video. I have just installed a new 300gb disk just for films. Copied all my films across and chaged the directory in the server, but player tells me there are no fims in the folder. Went to server sotware and looked at the list of films there, all were showing but SOME were in RED and some in black. Never looked from the server before so can't say if this is new or not.

Anybody have any thoughts?

Second problem is for video. I have just installed a new 300gb disk just for films. Copied all my films across and chaged the directory in the server, but player tells me there are no fims in the folder. Went to server sotware and looked at the list of films there, all were showing but SOME were in RED and some in black. Never looked from the server before so can't say if this is new or not.

Anybody have any thoughts?Did you restart the server software? I seem to recall this needs to be done for all versions up to 1.4, but a fix is in the works for 1.5 such that a refresh in the LT will suffice.


HTH.

That is really good to know.... There is another "hack" alternative as well. These messages were posted at buffalo's forums.... This is for wireless as it seems that most wired LTs now work fine. :)


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

Try this,

The reason that the MP3 shutters is that PCAST sends information about the MP3, and then right after that it starts to send the JPG information that displays on the screen at the same time.

This should work with yours as well. I am using a LinkStation, and I renamed the file to a bak or something. Try renaming all the jpg files in the folder to .bak or something.

it should be under the folder "SLIDE" on your PC. If there are no pictures to load, it should play better...

It would be interesting to know if it works,

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


Turning off all other computers on my wireless LAN halved the stutter.
Giving the Linktheatre the top shelf of my AV system seemed to help a little, but renaming the slide.jpg files so it skips them did the trick. The first track in any folder will stutter for a couple of seconds (maybe it attempts to pick up the missing .jpg files?) but all the other tracks play perfectly.

A big thanks!

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

v-man



V-Man,


I read your post and tried the slide fix and Windows Media Connect with mixed results. Thanks for the tip!

Here's what's happening now ...
When playing individual mp3 files the static disappears! Yeah! However, when I select "Play All" the static returns. Argh! I do notice when selecting "Play All" the song title and track number (slide?) also shows at the top of the screen (and bottom) whereas when I select mp3's individually only the song info shows at the bottom and plays without static.

The playlist / play all slide has to be the problem don't you think? Is this firmware or software generated / related?

Do you think I have missed renaming a .jpg file somewhere? I renamed all the .jpg's in the slide folder for both Linktheater folders. That really seemed to help! Do you know what file controls the "play all" song / track display? I'm sure if I could rename and disable this file my static would disappear for good.


For the record...
First, let me say AVS Forum, BLT(old forum) and Yahoo BLT Groups have been incredible! The advice and tips I've gleened has been extremely beneficial- not only for learning how to "tweak" the BLT - but other tech stuff too. Thanks! I truly appreciate everyone's assistance, input and for putting up with my nagging static issue the past five months ... I want it fixed as bad as you!

However, after five frustrating month's and very little response or assistance from Buffalo, I will say this is my last attempt to fix the static issue. If someone has an idea on which file to "tweak" - please post. If not, then I will attempt the next firmware upgrade (this weekend???) with fingers crossed. However, if that doesn't do the trick then I am left with no alternative but to request a refund.

Thanks again for your help!

Jim
<><

Brian was referring to the 9-13 beta, which has been around for awhile and which folks on the Yahoo Board (http://groups.yahoo.com/group/bltowners/messages) have reported to actually be more trouble prone then the 8-31. Hopefully something better is in the works. I feel sorry for the "regular" BLT owners who are not even aware of these betas. Unless I've missed something there has only been one official non-beta firmware upgrade since I purchased my BLT over 6 months ago. ie. Almost no bug fixes have actually trickled out to the typical customer.

Hmm, I'm on the mailing list for the upgrades, but I never heard that the 9-13 beta was finally released. I have an email dated 9/8 from Brian saying that they had the 9-13 beta ready, but couldn't release it until the European version was complete. I hope that it's the European version that has been released....

jpe

Firefox. Oh Firefox. Wherefore art thou Firefox? I too use Firefox as my primary browser. However, I have yet to get any version of Buffalo's PC server software from 1.0 up to 1.4 to recognize that I have Firefox on my machine. I have even experimented with this on a second PC with no better results.

Earlier in this thread I asked if anyone else was having this problem (At least one person is.) and also if someone who is getting the Buffalo software to recognize Firefox could share their Windows Registry settings, in case there is a registry key that the Buffalo install program is failing to create that I could add manually. Maybe you could check your machine's registry, as apparently no other Firefox user has found the time to do so.

My earlier Firefox query is post #115 in this thread.


John, I've been having the exact same problem since I installed the BLT software. My registry does look exactly like yours...I've tried everything mentionned in this forum without any results.
Come on, we're just dealing with a freaking computer, they must be a solution...
John, any luck since your last post??

Brian V PLEASE HELP!!!!!

LOIC

John, I've been having the exact same problem since I installed the BLT software. My registry does look exactly like yours...I've tried everything mentionned in this forum without any results.
Come on, we're just dealing with a freaking computer, they must be a solution...
John, any luck since your last post??

Nope. I suspect there is a bug in the BLT installer that only manifests itself on certain machines. But I have no idea if Buffalo or Syabas are even working on the problem.

Hmm, I'm on the mailing list for the upgrades, but I never heard that the 9-13 beta was finally released. I have an email dated 9/8 from Brian saying that they had the 9-13 beta ready, but couldn't release it until the European version was complete. I hope that it's the European version that has been released....

Instead of hmmming, why don't you follow up the link I posted? :rolleyes:

Just because Brian hasn't "released" 9-13 does not mean that it has not been leaked elsewhere. If you do a little snooping you may find that it is actually accessible on Brian's site. But based on the feedback I mentioned, I doubt it is worth the trouble. (Which may be why Brian has not announced it's availability.) A post yesterday on Yahoo bltowners (http://groups.yahoo.com/group/bltowners/) indicates that 10-42 will be released shortly. Possibly the US version will be 10-41, but that is just an assumption on my part.

Instead of hmmming, why don't you follow up the link I posted? :rolleyes:

Just because Brian hasn't "released" 9-13 does not mean that it has not been leaked elsewhere. If you do a little snooping you may find that it is actually accessible on Brian's site. But based on the feedback I mentioned, I doubt it is worth the trouble. (Which may be why Brian has not announced it's availability.) A post yesterday on Yahoo bltowners (http://groups.yahoo.com/group/bltowners/) indicates that 10-42 will be released shortly. Possibly the US version will be 10-41, but that is just an assumption on my part.

Actually, after I finished "hmmming" I did just that and checked out the comments onthe board as well. It sounds like it was a stroke of dumb luck that I had not heard about the code upgrade due to the issues that it caused. Ignorance is sometimes bliss....

It was good to see a more active board for the BLT, I had tried a few others without much success.

jpe

V-Man,


I read your post and tried the slide fix and Windows Media Connect with mixed results. Thanks for the tip!

Here's what's happening now ...
When playing individual mp3 files the static disappears! Yeah! However, when I select "Play All" the static returns. Argh! I do notice when selecting "Play All" the song title and track number (slide?) also shows at the top of the screen (and bottom) whereas when I select mp3's individually only the song info shows at the bottom and plays without static.

The playlist / play all slide has to be the problem don't you think? Is this firmware or software generated / related?

Do you think I have missed renaming a .jpg file somewhere? I renamed all the .jpg's in the slide folder for both Linktheater folders. That really seemed to help! Do you know what file controls the "play all" song / track display? I'm sure if I could rename and disable this file my static would disappear for good.
<><

Unfortunately,

I don't think there is a file for that on the server, the text that displays is generated from the LinkTheater itself. I have heard that even though you rename the files, it still tries to find them and that may cause the static as well. Hopefully the new firmware that should be coming will tweak the wireless MP3's even better. :)

PS. You are running wirelessly right?

v-man

John, I've been having the exact same problem since I installed the BLT software. My registry does look exactly like yours...I've tried everything mentionned in this forum without any results.
Come on, we're just dealing with a freaking computer, they must be a solution...
John, any luck since your last post??

Brian V PLEASE HELP!!!!!

LOIC


ok guys there is a simple solution to this proble. I had the same issue. Apparently the LT software is looking for a folder ending with ".default" as the profile folder. Apparenty on some machines Firefox default folder is "default.". I easily made the LT see my bookmarks by renaming the folder(whatever it is called) under "C:\Documents and Settings\USER\Application Data\Mozilla\Firefox\Profiles" to USER.default and then editing profiles.in the profiles folder to point to that renamed folder. Once that is done the software will recognise it and the lT will work.


hope this helps you guys.

ok guys there is a simple solution to this proble. I had the same issue. Apparently the LT software is looking for a folder ending with ".default" as the profile folder. Apparenty on some machines Firefox default folder is "default.". I easily made the LT see my bookmarks by renaming the folder(whatever it is called) under "C:\Documents and Settings\USER\Application Data\Mozilla\Firefox\Profiles" to USER.default and then editing profiles.in the profiles folder to point to that renamed folder. Once that is done the software will recognise it and the lT will work.
Thanks, but after trying this several times. I was unable to get Firefox to load properly. Apparently Firefox could not find it's profile after I renamed the profile folder, even though I edited profiles.ini (which I found in C:\Documents and Settings\USER\Application Data\Mozilla\Firefox\ ) to point to the new name.

Original profiles.ini

[General]
StartWithLastProfile=1

[Profile0]
Name=default
IsRelative=1
Path=Profiles/default.9jr

Edited profiles.ini


[General]
StartWithLastProfile=1

[Profile0]
Name=default
IsRelative=1
Path=Profiles/MYUSERNAME.default

I also tried this profiles.ini


[General]
StartWithLastProfile=1

[Profile0]
Name=MYUSERNAME
IsRelative=1
Path=Profiles/MYUSERNAME.default

Finally, since my user name includes my middle initial and ".", I tried substituting a simpler name just in case Firefox has trouble with "."s embedded in folder names. In every case Firefox loaded without any of the profile info. i.e., no home page, no book marks, history, etc.

What am I missing?

well it looks right, I added the USER.default as an example, it should not matter what it is called. I actually made mine with just my first name. The only thing I can think of is do you have spaces in the name? I know when the name did not match what was in profiles.ini it would fail and ask me to create a new one. Thats another approach you could take. Simpley create a new profile and change the path to be "user.default" then copy your data into it after it's created the folder. Sorry not sure what the issue is you are having. I had the exact same issue you did and this fixed it first pass.

well it looks right, I added the USER.default as an example, it should not matter what it is called. I actually made mine with just my first name. The only thing I can think of is do you have spaces in the name? I know when the name did not match what was in profiles.ini it would fail and ask me to create a new one. Thats another approach you could take. Simpley create a new profile and change the path to be "user.default" then copy your data into it after it's created the folder. Sorry not sure what the issue is you are having. I had the exact same issue you did and this fixed it first pass.

I tested without spaces. My failure mode did not include any prompts, Firefox simply loaded without any profile info, a blank slate, so to speak. I'll try the new profile approach when I have a little more time. Thanks for sharing your results. It just seems that I have been having more than my share of grief for some reason.

They don't work. .pls files are interpreted as Internet radio or somesuch and will not play, and .m3u lists are not recognized at all. The latter is most unfortunate, as the LT will actually play them, could it detect them.

A less than ideal work around is to create playlists for files on the TeraStation using a PC running the PC server software, and then play them via the PC. This defeats the purpose of the TeraStation being able to serve up media so one's PC need not run 24/7 or be turned on just to play some mp3s.

Brian V, any chance the PCast software on the TeraStation will be updated to include the features in the PC server software?

Unfortunately,

I don't think there is a file for that on the server, the text that displays is generated from the LinkTheater itself. I have heard that even though you rename the files, it still tries to find them and that may cause the static as well. Hopefully the new firmware that should be coming will tweak the wireless MP3's even better. :)

PS. You are running wirelessly right?

v-man


V,

Thanks for the reply.

I experience static on every track whether I'm running wired or wireless. I've had my LT since May and have upgraded the firmware with each release. Currently I'm running 8-32? (latest US release) and 1.4 SW.

I did receive an RMA today from Buffalo but I'm not too optimistic that a new unit will help. I too think it's the firmware.

The only reason I'm considering trying a new unit is because I've read other's posts that, after upgrading to various firmware upgrades, their units no longer experienced the static issue.

Do you think it's possible my unit is retaining certain files (odd) or a setting that each subsequent firmware upgrade is missing / not overwriting? I know that sounds like a stretch (it really does to me too) but at this point I'm forced to reach.

Buffalo Tech Support nor BrianV has provided a reasonable explanation or if / when a possible fix is coming. Maybe they are stumped too? Or maybe it has been fixed and my unit is just a lemon?

Anyone else here experiencing Mp3 static? If so, please state if you're running wired / wireless. And if you found a solution that's working ... PLEASE POST IT HERE.

Thanks,
Jim
<><

My server PC is in the basement beneath my TV so running wired is convenient. I only use music as background with slideshows but I have never had the problem with the beginnings of songs. Does it do it to you in slideshow mode?

My server PC is in the basement beneath my TV so running wired is convenient. I only use music as background with slideshows but I have never had the problem with the beginnings of songs. Does it do it to you in slideshow mode?


Dennis,

I've not tried it in slideshow mode. I will try it tomorrow and let you know. Thanks for the idea.

Would you try selecting "Play All" (complete album) and let me know if you get static too. Thanks

Jim
<><

Dennis,

I've not tried it in slideshow mode. I will try it tomorrow and let you know. Thanks for the idea.

Would you try selecting "Play All" (complete album) and let me know if you get static too. Thanks

Jim
<><

I get no static in any mode. "Play all" works fine.

I get no static in any mode. "Play all" works fine.


Thanks Dennis.

That is too weird! I may have a defective unit? I received the RMA yesterday. Back it goes...

Thanks again!

Jim
<><

well it looks right, I added the USER.default as an example, it should not matter what it is called... another approach you could take. Simply create a new profile and change the path to be "user.default" then copy your data into it after it's created the folder. Sorry not sure what the issue is you are having. I had the exact same issue you did and this fixed it first pass.
After several hours of experimenting I finally have this sorted out. I found that even though I had successfully created a new USER.default profile, Firefox would only run properly if I left the original profile folder and subfolders intact under the original profile name. By process of elimination I found that the Firefox extensions I had installed were the source of the problem. A file pointer within Firefox was pointing to the extensions subfolder under the original profile, and if that subfolder did not exist Firefox would not load completely. After uninstalling the extensions from Firefox I was able to completely remove all traces of the original profile subfolder. Firefox would then run fine with only the new profile available and the extensions could be reinstalled.

The bottom line is that either of gottahavit's approaches will work, but only if you first uninstall any Firefox extensions. (It could be that not all extensions are coded this way. Obviously better programming practice would point to the actual profile folder in use by Firefox rather than hardcode the name of the current profile at the time the extension is installed.)

Many thanks to Gottahavit. Thanks for nothing to Buffalo for the lack of support on this issue.

...While I am complaining about Buffalo's weak commitment to software development I need to mention that after recently buying a Gigabit LinkStation to use as a media server for my LinkTheater I have found the same sort of issue of inadequate scaling of photos for HD display that existed with the PC server software prior to release 1.4.

A response was posted yesterday at the Yahoo BLTownersgroup by Buffalo's European Marketing Manager to the effect that: At the current time Buffalo will not be providing any fixes for HD photo display via the LinkStation or Terastation because such a fix would overtax the resources of these devices, making data transmission unreliable. Exact quote deleted, because posting it violated the policy of the cited group.Based on how my LinkStation already streams and scales various sized images I have tested, I find this argument about resources and reliability to be very hard to swallow. It is a very weak excuse, where a solution is what is called for. All that is needed is programming logic to correct the size of the image that is already being downscaled. It simply needs to be the appropriate "HD" size, which is no larger than some image files that LinkStation already streams at full size.

Since my LinkStation demonstrably has the processing power to downscale large images and the bandwidth capability to stream images of "HD" size, the excuse offered makes no sense to me. I sincerely hope that Buffalo will make a real commitment to getting it's software to the level it should be at. The effort still falls short of realizing the potential of the hardware. At this rate, the software won't even catch up before the next generation of hardware is released.

[edited to remove unapproved direct quote in violation of policy at Yahoo bltowners]

After several hours of experimenting I finally have this sorted out. I found that even though I had successfully created a new USER.default profile, Firefox would only run properly if I left the original profile folder and subfolders intact under the original profile name. By process of elimination I found that the Firefox extensions I had installed were the source of the problem. A file pointer within Firefox was pointing to the extensions subfolder under the original profile, and if that subfolder did not exist Firefox would not load completely. After uninstalling the extensions from Firefox I was able to completely remove all traces of the original profile subfolder. Firefox would then run fine with only the new profile available and the extensions could be reinstalled.

The bottom line is that either of gottahavit's approaches will work, but only if you first uninstall any Firefox extensions. (It could be that not all extensions are coded this way. Obviously better programming practice would point to the actual profile folder in use by Firefox rather than hardcode the name of the current profile at the time the extension is installed.)

Many thanks to Gottahavit. Thanks for nothing to Buffalo for the lack of support on this issue.


GREAT WORK JOHN!
I CAN CONFIRM YOUR FINDING!
HOWEVER, I DID NOT GOT FOR IT YET AS I HAVE SO MANY EXTENSIONS INSTALLED AND I DON'T WANT TO HAVE TO RECONFIGURE EACH OF THEM.
I'M STILL LOOKING FOR A WAY TO SAVE EACH EXTENSION PROFILE...

GREAT WORK JOHN!
I CAN CONFIRM YOUR FINDING!
HOWEVER, I DID NOT GOT FOR IT YET AS I HAVE SO MANY EXTENSIONS INSTALLED AND I DON'T WANT TO HAVE TO RECONFIGURE EACH OF THEM.
I'M STILL LOOKING FOR A WAY TO SAVE EACH EXTENSION PROFILE...
It is possible that somewhere within Firefox there is an extension configuration file or files containing the pointers to the extension location. If you could find such a file you may be able to manually change it to point to your new USER.default profile. Good luck.

Since any help from Buffalo with automatic downscaling of photo images on the LinkStation or TeraStation for streaming to the LT for HDTV is unlikely to be forthcoming, I found it necessary to spend some time manually processing image files to allow my LinkStation to properly serve my HD display.

I found a slick little freeware batch photo resizer utility (http://www.rw-designer.com/picture-resize) that makes this process pretty easy. The author even modified it for me (overnight!) to make it capable of automatically handling both landscape and portrait aspect images.

How to:
Download Picture Resizer at the referenced link.
Copy the downloaded file PhotoResize400.exe to the Windows Desktop.
Rename the desktop copy to PhotoResizeH1080.exe (or PhotoResizeH720.exe, depending on your HDTV display resolution).
Drag any folder containing photo image .jpgs to the PhotoResize icon on your desktop.


The program will process all of the .jpg files in your folder and create new files with a height of 1080 lines and -1080 added to the file name. These new files can then be moved to your LinkStation or TeraStation.

The only thing lacking is the ability to automatically output the rescaled files to a new folder. However, the author has stated that he will add this capability! No doubt there are other resizing utilities out there that already could do all this and more, but this one is free, and so small and simple to setup and use that I recommend anyone with this requirement give it a try.

Just wondering,

Your wired network to the LT is just a Cat 5 cable? I originally ran "wired" through the electrical outlet. It only had a rating of 14Mbs, you really need 100mbs or better to run without static. Are you running a server, or are you heavily using your network?

Those are the only things I can think of that would cause static on a wired system with the new Firmware, and a good working LT.... :)

V-man


V,

Thanks for the reply.

I experience static on every track whether I'm running wired or wireless. I've had my LT since May and have upgraded the firmware with each release. Currently I'm running 8-32? (latest US release) and 1.4 SW.

I did receive an RMA today from Buffalo but I'm not too optimistic that a new unit will help. I too think it's the firmware.

The only reason I'm considering trying a new unit is because I've read other's posts that, after upgrading to various firmware upgrades, their units no longer experienced the static issue.

Do you think it's possible my unit is retaining certain files (odd) or a setting that each subsequent firmware upgrade is missing / not overwriting? I know that sounds like a stretch (it really does to me too) but at this point I'm forced to reach.

Buffalo Tech Support nor BrianV has provided a reasonable explanation or if / when a possible fix is coming. Maybe they are stumped too? Or maybe it has been fixed and my unit is just a lemon?

Anyone else here experiencing Mp3 static? If so, please state if you're running wired / wireless. And if you found a solution that's working ... PLEASE POST IT HERE.

Thanks,
Jim
<><

Hi folks,

I just bought this player last Friday and am reasonably happy with it so far.
Just installed the 08-31 beta formware but I'm still not getting the 2 channel
wmvHD audio I thought this version gets me. Just to make sure I disconnected
the digital audio connection and has only the analog stereo connected.
From the LT DVD setup I picked the "stereo audio" instead of "5.1 DD".
I still get no sound. What am I doing wrong here ?

I'm still using 8.31 and recently noted a couple more issues.
...
2. LT froze and had to be rebooted during playback of a commercial music CD. This was actually the first time I had tried to play a music CD with mine. Of course when I tried to duplicate the problem it played through the same song without any problem.
Perhaps this has already been addressed in the upcoming release 10.xx, but just in case it has not, I want to confirm that this problem with freeze ups during commercial music CD playback occurs regularly. My earlier experience was not a fluke. I hope that Brian or someone from Buffalo is still visiting here to take bug reports on good ol' 8.31.

This thing is a piece of crap. You get static at the beginning of every song, it regular freezes up and it does not play half of the extensions that it claims to. You are all too forgiving. I basically bought a $350 DVD player. I hope that someone from Buffalo is reading this and does something about it. If not, I will do my best to persuade every person that I come in contact with to STAY AWAY from this and all other Buffalo products.

This thing is a piece of crap. You get static at the beginning of every song, it regular freezes up and it does not play half of the extensions that it claims to. You are all too forgiving. I basically bought a $350 DVD player. I hope that someone from Buffalo is reading this and does something about it. If not, I will do my best to persuade every person that I come in contact with to STAY AWAY from this and all other Buffalo products.

Are you using wireless or wired? I think most of the problems are occurring because of wireless setups. They keep pushing these devices as wireless, but the wireless feature isn't yet up to par.

I bought my BLT from Japan, and it's the model without Wireless. The firmwares I've downloaded and installed automatically via internet (from Buffalo Japan, I believe) are buggy as h***, and the player refuses to recognize .ts extension - even when I'm streaming HD footage from Buffalo's own TeraStation.

Worst bug I've bumped into has to be the one I call "you'd better remember to remove the disc before powering down"... While testing the player compatibility, I left a UDF/Joliet DVD-ROM with a few .ts files on it in the DVD drive, and turned the unit off. Turning the power back on after that would have the player "taste" the disc and then turn itself off. No amount of fooling around with the power and eject buttons helped. In the end, I had to open up the cover and the drive itself, so I could remove the disc manually from the drive.

Anyone know if it's possible to install US or European firmwares into the Japanese model? PAL support would be nice, as would english language menus :)

edit: Got some very valuable help from a certain person, and am now running the latest English-language firmware in the player. Menus are all in English now, which is nice. Wish I could do the same to the Japanese-only remote control ;) From what testing I've done since the firmware upgrade, the player works much more smoothly and more reliably now. Too bad Buffalo TeraStation still refuses to list .ts files, even with the latest (1.13) firmware.

OK I have my box on the latest firmware. I am currently on wireless but will likely return to wired for better video loading performance (search etc).

I get static at the start of each mp3 when I use the play button to play more than one file (a directory content or m3u file). Most m3u files/directories give this problem. Some do not. I have not as yet established the difference.

If I choose to play only one mp3 file (using the select button), the machine plays perfectly.

I do not use the supplied server software but use wizd on linux instead.
If I do use the supplied server software (not tried since the last upgrade) then it gives the same static problem.

A new version of the firmware is now available to those on the beta list.. 10-79. I created a new thread so we could discuss how it works for you. I just installed it last night so I don't have anything to report yet....


new 10-79 thread......

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?p=6422406#post6422406

I need some help. I am an owner of the LT in the USA. I want to buy a DVD collection that is only available in PAL format.

Does the LT support PAL to NTSC conversion? I know about the region code that will need to be fixed but that doesn't solve the conversion, does it??

Someone told me to get the EURO firmware but I am signed up on Brian's list to get the North American firmware updates. If I need the EURO firmware, how would I get it?

I hope that the LT does the conversion on North American version. My TV needs a NTSC signal.

Please help!

I just bought a LT over many other network media players after hearing what it supported and played AND the great reviews. I am very disapointed in what I got though. Not that all of the problems I'm experiancing could be the LT's fault though. I could be wrong??

Any backup copies of DVDs or VOB rips of DVDs play VERY ERRATICALLY. DVD backups will play fine for 30-40 min. than will either lock up or start "stuttering". Trying to fast forward them will work sometimes, but most will usually just keep stuttering. These DVD backups have played in my 6 year old SONY player and my $35 el-cheapo Cyber@home player fine. Another reason I got the LT was for the DVD player, is it THAT cheap?

My DVD rips that are large single VOB files will play anywhere between 5-50 minutes before suddenly fast forwarding erratically until I hit the fast forward button myself and then STOP and it will calm down. These DVD backups and VOB files were ripped with CloneDVD2 and have worked great on many other DVD players and computers. I've seen this problem on this forum before but NO ONE responded to it.

If I can't get this thing to behave like I'd like, unfortunantly I'll have to return it and look for another solution. I bere Pinnical makes an excellent one, minus the DVD player.

I have two Windows XP SP1 computers that I am using as servers. They are Althalon XP 2500s with at least 512MB of DDR2 3200 RAM. Plenty of hard drive space and such. I am using CAT5e wiring to the box, not the wireless option. I have updated to the latest server software and the latest firmware for the LT that Buffalo will allow the device to download. I've signed up for the beta versions but havn't heard anything regarding access yet.

[QUOTE=PV05]
Any backup copies of DVDs or VOB rips of DVDs play VERY ERRATICALLY. DVD backups will play fine for 30-40 min.

Not sure if ure using the player or streaming but if its streaming, ensure that your network link is running properly with the same duplex be it half or full at speed of 100Mbit.

I've had issues with streaming where the Switch is "Jabbering" ie not sure what speed it should be. I resolved this by changing my switch ports to 100 full at both ends of you are not using a switch that does this, Set the PC end to 100 full. and the auto of switch should follow the PC.

Shaz

PS the Pinnacle Showcenter 200 box uses similar firmware to the BLT, basically its a Sigma/Syabas 8620 clone . The only difference between them is the server software which is Pinnacles own, and not suprisingly works fine with the BLT too.

I subscribed as a beta-tester twice already with no reply. Can you please check out your request queue to add me in? I'm tired of the old firmware and would be glad to try something new.

I subscribed as a beta-tester twice already with no reply. Can you please check out your request queue to add me in? I'm tired of the old firmware and would be glad to try something new.

Buffalo usually sends out a new firmware every two months. The last one was October 25. They tend to come on a Friday. BrianV sends the emails to the beta testers at that time.

Hopefully it will not be much longer and some improvements will be made. It is frustratingly slow.

Buffalo usually sends out a new firmware every two months. The last one was October 25. They tend to come on a Friday. BrianV sends the emails to the beta testers at that time.

Hopefully it will not be much longer and some improvements will be made. It is frustratingly slow.

I also have put in for the Beta testing but have not had word as yet.

I have been asking Buffalo around the world the following questions but I seem to get the answers : "Ask Uniden in Australia" or "The issues will be addressed in Firmware upgrades but we are unsure when."

Here are the questions:

"Just requiring an answer on a few questions please.
1.) I am having Sync problems between Video and audio on DVD's (not burnt DVD's the bought ones) in which I have to pause the DVD to get it back in sync. and also the drive seems to fast forward or skip forward a couple of seconds every so often.
2.) Are there Patches/updates for codecs available for the machine?
eg. I have downloaded some WMV HD files from the microsoft website, they
look great but no sound. The audio is WMA PRO (which allows up to 5.1
audio). Most HD files will be using high quality audio codecs such as ac3 (which
the link theater already caters for) or for the WMV HD , WMA PRO (WMA
Professional)* for them, which the link theater does not play.
3.) Is there a way to 'Re-Skin' the media player? eg. Can you change the
look by changing the background images etc?
4.) Is there anybody or anyway I can give input/suggestions on firmware
updates functionality wise?
5.) Will you in future be able to utilise the DivX 6 codec"

Does anyone else have the same problem with the DVD player?
Does anyone know the answers to some/all of these questions?

Thanks :-)

I will try my best for absent buff reps everywhere.

>1.) I am having Sync problems between Video and audio on DVD's (not burnt DVD's the bought ones) in which I have to pause the DVD to get it back in sync. and also the drive seems to fast forward or skip forward a couple of seconds every so often.

I have raised this with buffalo eu (Craig, who will be seeing Syabas over this CES week) and will answer us all back asap.

>2.) Are there Patches/updates for codecs available for the machine?
The patches/updates are available built in to the firmware upgrade process, latest for US is 10.79 and 10.80 for EU, Both are available from the Beta list, as for Autoupdates, I believe the highest you can go with the US is 7.60 correct me if im wrong and 8.32 with the EU firmware. Progress is dependant on what firmware you are already on.

>eg. I have downloaded some WMV HD files from the microsoft website, they
look great but no sound. The audio is WMA PRO (which allows up to 5.1
audio).

WMA Pro is only available via the Analogue outputs on all firmwares albeit a test version for digital tha has not been released to beta yet 11.63. If you are running digital try and see what the analogue output gives.

>3.) Is there a way to 'Re-Skin' the media player?

Yes, although Buffalo have only release one media res and high res skin themselves the H&B DNX-8620's Server software (which is free to download from the H&B website and is in all tense and purposes the same software as the BLT, Snazio etc has 4 different skin types, if you wish to skin your own www.mpcclub.com has a tutorial for doing this and some sample skins, (Again for the snazio) but will work perfectly well with the BLT.

>4.) Is there anybody or anyway I can give input/suggestions on firmware
updates functionality wise?

Yes, you already have by posting here and there is www.mpcclub.com , there is also the groups.yahoo.com/group/bltowners and several other websites where the you can suggest ideas and bltowners or buffalo might take a look.

>5.) Will you in future be able to utilise the DivX 6 codec"

You already can, the BLT and most players work quite well with the Divx 6 codec, what is missing is the Menus and extra funtionality, sadly I don't think any 8620 driven box will see this functionality this side of the 8622 or 8630 chipsets. The codecs are written by Sigma designs and as such are tied into the chipsets etc.

>Does anyone else have the same problem with the DVD player?

You are not the only one. Several users have reported this.


Shaz

BLTOwners Group Listowner

Thanks for the response, much appreciated. :-)

I will check out the sites you recommend also!

I have put in late last year to be on the beta testing for LinkTheater Test-Software/Firmware (verenkoff page) but have had no reply, I don't know if I have not been accepted (as I am in Australia).

I would like to try the beta sw/firmware can anybody supply me with the latest?

(or is that not allowed?)

Thanks

Hi

The firmware update needs a very solid wifi single to avoid timeouts downloading the image so I only just got around to updating the firmware to the official release (a lot of hassle getting it near the router as I don't have a long patch lead). Firmware should be installable via a PC for people who don't have the Buffalo set-up near a router with a net connection....

I would also like to try the latest firmware, if anyone could PM me a link that would be great!

If ID3 tags still aren't properly supported in the latest "official" firmware (not had time to check) and it still lists tracks alphabetically (why?), the following free prog will rename files to Track# - Track Title assuming you have track numbers in the tags. It renamed 4,500 files in about four minutes, great prog, just make sure you select the ID3 v2 radio button and do not use it on untagged files:

Won't let me post a link, so just google "JJ MP3 Renamer".

Once done, the Buffalo is finally usable for music, assuming it's hard-wired in....

No improvement to MP3 playback with the latest official firmware, MP3 static (according to my brother, it's like "The Grinch"!) no matter how solid the WiFi signal (it's just less protracted), at the beginning of every track even if play-all is selected. Would it be so hard to buffer a track before trying to play?? I mean, really? The Kiss DP1500 player didn't have this problem (nor did it display album art, but I fail to see how the two issues are actually related, sounds like an excuse... and you would think a player that displayed album art would get the basics right, like track numbers.)

Few questions.

Was there any "beta" testing of the actual product before it began shipping? ;)

Brian suggested somewhere in the thread that the remote control performance had been "improved". It is definitely not a firmware issue, so I assume the remotes themselves have been fixed. Can we get replacement remotes? It isn't right that people should have to purchase learning remotes (few if any URC seem to have Lite-ON setup codes) in order to operate equipment this expensive. Anyone had any issues programming a learning remote from the supplied controller?

Great system overall, despite the dumbfounding MP3 issues and the dreaded remote.

Brian suggested somewhere in the thread that the remote control performance had been "improved". It is definitely not a firmware issue, so I assume the remotes themselves have been fixed. Can we get replacement remotes?
Actually, I'm pretty sure this *was* a firmware fix, since I only have the original remote, and response time improved dramatically after whichever beta firmware was supposed to have improved it (8.31/8.32; guessing). Still good with the 10.x betas.

Speaking of betas .... breath-not-held, I suppose, but another would be nice.

HTH.

I was wondering just now after making that statement.... hmm maybe it is firmware... I seem to get good runs when it works well at any distance. Most of the time it works flawlessly if it's an inch or so in front of the panel (which led me to suspect it was the control itself).... but not always.

The EU Firmware that installs via Setup/Update has not fixed it. Buffalo sent me links to various sites to try find a set-up code for my URC when I asked recently, they didn't mention anything about the problems possibly being firmware related, though I suspect you may be right and I'm wrong there....

Neophytes aren't going to buy a product like this so it is bewildering that Buffalo don't make firmware betas available to all customers via the website, considering the profound impact on usability. Even netgear trusts its customers with beta firmware....

[that said, it took a few minutes staring in disbelief at a black screen while contemplating the warranty before I realised that the TV output mode had been reset by the firmware update :rolleyes: ]

What is the latest firmware and can it play recorded HDTV files (.ts or .tp)?

I went the firmware site and signed up, but didn't receive anything.

I have also signed up at the Beta site twice. But have never received any reply. What does one have to do, to get on the beta list?

The best thing to do to keep up to speed on the latest firmware updates is to forget about registering for them and simply join the Yahoo BLT Owners group at:

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/bltowners/

They really seem to have their fingers on the pulse :)

Hi first time poster.


Bought a buff media player other day, upgraded from divx player and netgears music player.

i have everything set up and working.

i have 1 slight problem, when i play video content from my choosen folder/hard drive, i get stuttering every so often, happens on every film.

if anyone has any ideas i would be greatful.


Thxs

I recommend anyone looking for the beta to go to the Yahoo group. Unfortunately, I cannot actively release new firmwares to the North American market because I need to be sensitive to other Buffalo groups who may not have that firmware available.

Example: Buffalo US releases a new version of firmware, and a customer in Australia wants that same version. It takes a while for Australia to develop that firmware, and in the mean time Australian customers feel they're being treated unfairly.

On another note, we're working on making a stable release available via the traditional update method soon.

-Brian

Actually, I'm pretty sure this *was* a firmware fix, since I only have the original remote, and response time improved dramatically after whichever beta firmware was supposed to have improved it (8.31/8.32; guessing). Still good with the 10.x betas.

Speaking of betas .... breath-not-held, I suppose, but another would be nice.

HTH.

No new remotes have been created. The firmware fixes address the issue by improving the software that controls the IR receiver in the unit itself. Despite what people think, the remote control itself is not the cause of the problems, it was the IR received in the actual unit. The software that runs that controller had a tendency to freeze during some video playback (since it had a low processor priority).

Anyone have a quick fix for the reason my Bookmark link in Services is missing? My other services are showing up no problem.

Anyone have a quick fix for the reason my Bookmark link in Services is missing? My other services are showing up no problem.

I'd try reinstalling version 1.6 and possibly going into your 'My Documents' area and deleting the LinkTheater Library folder. Doing this may force you to reinstall your services so proceed with caution.

Thanks Brian, it did the trick!

Now it's time to see if my audio synch issues on burned DVD's is working OK now.

I have been searching for how to install firmware on the Buffalo LinkTheater but have come up empty. Please tell me how to do this or post a link.


After reading all of the posts I found the answer...

Sorry, I haven't been following this thread and may have missed something. Two questions please:
1, Any word when an update to the OSX software will be available? The latest update I can find is V1.1 which unfortunately won't run on my Intel iMac.

2. What is the latest firmware update? I went to the Brian's site, but couldn't find any recent updates. As it stands now, the Linktheater doesn't work very well as a DVD player. My $60 Philips DVD player will play DVD's that lock up the Linktheater. This combined with the inability to stream videos from the Mac makes the Linktheater pretty much a doorstop for now.

I have been using the BLT mostly to play divx videos from a windows home server running at 1.9GHz. Recently I have had problems with the video buffering, stopping and starting again but the audio works just fine. What could be the issue here? The videos play just fine at two different computers.

Thanks

I have been using the BLT mostly to play divx videos from a windows home server running at 1.9GHz. Recently I have had problems with the video buffering, stopping and starting again but the audio works just fine. What could be the issue here? The videos play just fine at two different computers.

Thanks

Is your BLT running wireless?

Can anyone help me??? I have accidently upgrade Pinnacle show center to Link theater firm ware. Now my Buffalo is not responding. Thanks

Greetings,

I have Japanese mpg files. I cannot read the file names. Do you think I need to put the Japanese firmware on my BLT? If so, how I can receive the firmware?

According to the Japanese Buffalo site, there is a "21-09-070118-05-LTI-232-000" file available. Do you know anything about it?

Thank you!

Brian,
I just bought the BLT and just love it. It has the best sound quality among all existing streamers. But its user interface needs a few fixes
1. We cannot browse the directories without stopping the song being played. Most other players have the same issue. But Ziova recently released a player that fixes this problem.
2. If we select a song to play inside a directory, the player stops playing after the current song is finished. May be there could be an option to continue playing other songs either randomly or sequentially along with a repeat option.
3. Playlist support would be very good.
Is there plans to fix these things in any future firmware releases?
Thanks

I need a little help getting my BLT working properly. The firmare updates have been a little confusing; if done in the wrong order nothing works. Any help on the proper sequence would help. I have already returned one player; only to be plagued by the same problems.

Here are some isues I'm dealing with:

Slide show play back of photos. Every thing is working fine and then without any apparent reason the whole thing just locks up. I'll select shuffle, because slide show doesn't work, and nothing. The screen goes black and the BLT does nothing. I'll attempt to restart the player to no avail. I just have to wait till the player feels like working, party is over at this point.

Video play back? forget it. All I get is unknown codec. How do you fix that?

Rhapsody works in an odd sort of way, none of the images from the plug in work. in fact none of the plug ins work. And yes I followed the directions. And also, in the middle of play back the unit just locks up and needs to be restarted.

The web feature on this unit is almost worthless, except a few things. Navigation is next to impossible. Would love to see a better interface and the ability to acess online content, like videos, through the browser.

Well I'm starting to sound like a complainer. all I'm trying to do is to get this thing working properly. Customer service is of no help, so I'm surfing the net trying to find help before I throw this thing in the trash and get something better.

Any help would be much appreciated.

This thread is massive and yes all the updates are confusing.

Can we please have a post from someone on what the current status of the firmware is overall? What works properly now and what still has serious issues if any?

Here is a link to the updates you need, just transfer it to a usb stick and update.

http://www.megaupload.com/?d=1SQZUE5D

They've made something simple seem complicated and difficult, it took me hours to feel confident in exactly how to do this properly. It's one of those things where if you weren't apart of it at the beginning you can almost forget about coming on board months or years later. Also only use the Interface fix if you have black bar problems or strange font issues, I think, not that it would hurt anything if you did it anyways.

I am waiting for this player in the mail. Also I do own a XBMC and it will be interesting to compare. I just don't feel like dealing with the xbmc anymore and it is limited to wires only and no remote. Of course I could spend money on those two things and almost come up to the cost of this thing too...

I like to separate my devices, that and I hear the sigma chip does up conversion better than my box. Also my xbox is very big and bulky and would be a tight fit for where I want it. I think it was having output problems anyways last time I tried using, at least the composite. I haven't used its component for 6 months.

I can't believe this... all that time wasted...

I just got mine in today and it was already fully up to date!! Go Buffalo... too bad

glitchbit, thank you VERY much for that firmware.rar - I think it saved me a lot of time.

Here is a link to the updates you need, just transfer it to a usb stick and update.
I could use some additional information, actually. I unrarred all files to a usb stick, inserted that into LinkTheater, navigated to the stick and ran index.html. No matter which firmware I select, the player reports a "Load File Error" and "Unable to load the requested Web site address (URL)". My player's fw is currently 08-32.

hmm... I am sorry about that, as I did not have the player when I compiled so it has gone untested by me.

However I do have the player now and I will be testing out the japanese 21.09 firmware tomorrow, as it is late here.

I don't know how it could have been mis linked as the html file is in the same directory with all the firmwares. But I will try it out myself tomorrow and will repost it then.

^^ Thank you, glitchbit!

Does seem confusing. I live in Japan so I just updated to the latest official, which was 070129 if memory serves me right. And it is bad. It crashes all the time now, especially if you pause. The screensaver comes on, and there is no way to unpause. In fact, it lets me browse the files even though it still thinks its paused. If you try to play another file, the whole thing hangs and you have to power off/on. There is no way to recover the from paused-screensaver without power off/on.

I wish I could go back to the firmware before, perhaps firmware.rar will let me do that. But I wonder if there is a difference between my JPN model, and the (only one?) USA model.

I emailed Buffalo, in Japanese, but they just said they couldn't reproduce it, and I can't go back a firmware.

I've got two LinkTheaters, one from Japan, the other from Europe. I'm 100% certain both can access the internet, but when I use their built-in firmware update feature, both say that they are up-to-date. And both have really old firmware in them. I certainly hope glitchbit finds the time to lend a helping hand soonish. :)

Where I find the current firmware for the European pal version?

thx
Michael

vvv,buffalo-technology,com\files\linktheater\index.htm

i haven´t got the permission to insert the correct url,
so replace vvv with
the "," with "."
the "\" with "/"

here you can find european firmware files for the blt.
- link this page to your favorites (i.e internet-explorer -> firmwarepage)
- with your blt select-> service -> web bookmark -> firmwarepage
- now you can select the file you want to update

!! you have to update one file after the other, you can´t from 8.32 to 13.82 in one step !!

A few things and help needed.

My linktheater has issues.

1. it locks up durring DVD playback and due to this I have kept a second DVD player connected. I need the space and hate having 2 DVD players!

2. In the menu while connected to my NAS drive I can play songs only in one directory and can not point to a directory and have it play all mp3s in that directory and subdirectories. For instance if I point to dinner music folder which has no songs but subdirectories with songs by different artists I can't play all the artists. I can open one folder of one artist and that's it. Why can't I point to a directory and click shuffle play and have it randomly play from all te subdirectories?
3. I rip DVDs to the NAS drive but they don't all play correctly?
4. My buttons in the menus don't line up right.

regards,

john

I tried to update my LinkTheater from a USB stick. Spent an hour reading that Yahoo Groups mailing list and editing html files. No go, LinkTheater kept giving an error message and refused to do an update from a USB stick. I'd appreciate it if anyone who got it to work would tell me how they did it.

The PC LinkThearter server uses port 8000. That conflicts with my HP JetDirect Admin server.
I can configure PC LinkTheater to use another port, but how do I get the LinkTheater to
send requests to my new port selection?

I tried 192.168.1.99:8001 and 192.168.1.99 8001 neither worked?

Pete

Greetings,

I have Japanese mpg files. I cannot read the file names. Do you think I need to put the Japanese firmware on my BLT? If so, how I can receive the firmware?

According to the Japanese Buffalo site, there is a "21-09-070118-05-LTI-232-000" file available. Do you know anything about it?

Thank you!

Brian,

Thank you for putting the 21-09-070118-05-LTI-232-000 file on your firmware page. I can read Japanese file names now.

I updated to the latest 1382 firware, and it was not stable, and then tried the japanese 2109 firmware, and it honestly is even worse. It consistently stutters (wired network) when playing your average tv show rip in xvid, dvd playback happens as well, and if you pause it for any length of time the whole box crashes.

Does anyone have any ideas? I would love to just go back to my original firmware at this point 0760 as it was very stable and I had very little issues with it. I can't seem to figure out how to roll it back however...

Can't you just browse back to Brian's page and load the old firmware again?

I can't believe this... all that time wasted...

I just got mine in today and it was already fully up to date!! Go Buffalo... too bad


Hey, thanks for telling us. I just got mine in, and I'm always inclined to try something first, with the firmware that's shipped, before I try any tweaking. Now I know that could be the right inclination here.

Despite the troubles people have had, I think this will sit proudly among my Tivo units doing its unique job.

pteittinen , I tried the USB update from glitchbit's link. the index.html needs to be edited to allow LT to recognize the command. It seems to require the "RUN UPDATE (xxxx)" format.

Change the index.html to the following

<a href="07-60-050609-02-LTI-240-000.bin" tvid="1" update="">RUN UPDATE (07-60-050609-02-LTI-240-000.bin)</a><br>
<a href="08-31-050711-02-LTI-240-000.bin" tvid="1" update="">RUN UPDATE (08-31-050711-02-LTI-240-000.bin)</a><br>
<a href="09-13-050815-02-LTI-240-000.bin" tvid="1" update="">RUN UPDATE (09-13-050815-02-LTI-240-000.bin)</a><br>
<a href="10-79-051019-03-LTI-240-000.bin" tvid="1" update="">RUN UPDATE (10-79-051019-03-LTI-240-000.bin)</a><br>
<a href="11-63-051214-03-LTI-240-000.bin" tvid="1" update="">RUN UPDATE (11-63-051214-03-LTI-240-000.bin)</a><br>
<a href="12-77-060218-03-LTI-240-000.bin" tvid="1" update="">RUN UPDATE (12-77-060218-03-LTI-240-000.bin)</a><br>
<a href="13-82-060509-03-LTI-240-000.bin" tvid="1" update="">RUN UPDATE (13-82-060509-03-LTI-240-000.bin)</a><br>
<a href="13-82-060703-03-LTI-240-000.bin" tvid="1" update="">RUN UPDATE (13-82-060703-03-LTI-240-000.bin)</a><br>



I did the mistake of directly installing the latest (top) link in verenkoff's link. The playback over network for DVD rip files is still very choppy, Not sure if I will keep this
until or invest in something else at the moment :(

Just wondering.. can LT can support multilanguage fonts for subtitles?

I'm trying to see if LT can displace Korean subtitles..
Thanx.

:)

Brian,

Thank you for putting the 21-09-070118-05-LTI-232-000 file on your firmware page. I can read Japanese file names now.

I have had no end of trouble with 21-09-070118-05-LTI-232-000. If I pause a xvid or similar, and let it be paused until the screensaver comes on, I can not get the unit back. Only power off / on, which get it to work again.

Buffalo just said they couldn't reproduce it, so it can't be a problem.

Does this not happen for anyone else?

Hello,

I have purchased Buffalo Linktheater Wireless A&G and am quite disappointed with the lack of some functionality and the firmware is really unstable. Are there any firmware upgrades available?

The most annoying things are incorrect pan & scan for wide-screen movies, lack of subtitle support, freezing of the unit and interference of the Buffalo remote with my Philips flat-screen.

I've tried to contact Buffalo with my questions and received answers a month later that "yes, we are aware of those issues - will let our R&D know" or "we were not aware of such issues, thank you for bringing them up".

There is a newer firmware than the one that lundman mentions at http://www.verenkoff.com/update.html it fixes the problem with the crashing screensaver and it's in English.

I don't know about the subtitle support, I was able to get .srt files to work, and on DVDs, but in all honesty I don't use them that much.

The freezes I've experienced I attribute to wireless interference, and I'm having to RMA my unit because it freezes after 1:24 on all movies, but overall I'm happy with it.

The main drags (assuming the 1:24 problem is fixed with a new unit) are sometimes the menus don't work on DVDs and wireless is ultimately useless because of the poor handling of interference. It works 90% of the time flawlessly playing divx from my NAS, but the other 10% is enough to hook up a cable.

Hey Guys,

I just got the linktheater a few weeks ago and did an update last night. Is there someplace where I can get a noobs guide to the device? Trying to read through the 14 pages in this thread is making my head spin a bit, trying to keep track of problems and solutions.

I have my device on a wireless-g network (I am hoping to run cables to wire it). I updated it last night to the latest software (through the player not the PC).

I have general questions that don't seem like they would fit into this thread, so I don't want to derail. Is there another place for noob questions?

Thanks,
Krs

Hi BrianV (et al). I haven't updated my firmware in some time, and I'm currently running 12-77. I see that 21-10, released on 9/10/2007 is available through the player.

Is it safe for me to perform this update directly from the player, or do I need to apply some stepstone updates first - and if so which ones?

Thanks

I see that 21-10, released on 9/10/2007 is available through the player. Is it safe for me to perform this update directly from the player, or do I need to apply some stepstone updates first - and if so which ones?
Thanks

So, I just bought the PC-PL3WG/DVD "pre-owned" from Fry's on a lark since it was such a good price. Since I have wired ethernet in my TV cab, I've hooked it up that way. I used the interface to find and install that update, and it all appears to have gone smoothly.

So, I just bought the PC-PL3WG/DVD "pre-owned" from Fry's on a lark since it was such a good price. Since I have wired ethernet in my TV cab, I've hooked it up that way. I used the interface to find and install that update, and it all appears to have gone smoothly.

Thanks for your feedback. I'm leary of proceeding without a definitive answer since I've already hosed up a firmware upgrade once. Had a HECK of a time correcting it when the display was all jumbled. I just got into the yahoo group forum so I'll look for the answer there. Good luck with your new LinkStation!!

You can update to 22.10 through the setup/update menu on the LT itself. No stepstone updates are required. Buffalo just made 22.10 a final revision. No longer in beta.

So, I just bought the PC-PL3WG/DVD "pre-owned" from Fry's on a lark since it was such a good price. Since I have wired ethernet in my TV cab, I've hooked it up that way. I used the interface to find and install that update, and it all appears to have gone smoothly.


Hmmm..I got my Link Theater a few weeks ago and the player can see the 21-10 update but when I go to update it after a few seconds of trying I get "this page not available" or something similar to '404' error. It's hooked up via wired and since it can see the update and has an IP address I'm guessing I am doing something wrong? I am not a noob to updating firmwares but this is the first networked player I've ever had but it seems pretty straight forward and for $89 @ Fry's I wasn't gonna let this one pass me by ;) I signed up for the Yahoo group but haven't been let in yet but I'm not interested in beta FW just the new, and probably last, 21-10 FW.




It sucks my first post here is a 'problem' post but I just wanna get this player updated so I can move on. I ripped my first BluRay disc, Alien Vs. Predator, and did a CBR 1 pass 10mb/s XviD-HD 1080p(1920x832) rip (came out to ~8.1GB) and it looks awesome on my old analogue Mitsu 1080i HDTV via component so yeah, I'm psyched :) If anybody could tell me what I'm doing wrong so I could get past this minor hiccup that would be great. Thanks.


UPDATE:

I tried the update again and it worked this time but now there seems that the small white bar on the top of the login page, in HD Mode, has a flicker to it that wasn't there before. I retested my AVP BluRay rip and there seems to be slight flicker on white text with black background :( I'm not happy. Not sure what I'm gonna do now. Probably too late to return it now. People weren't kidding about firmwares updates easily breaking this thing. I didn't have any problems to begin with now I have one. Great. Just what I need. Is there any way to revert back to my previous firmware????

UPDATE #2

I called Fry's and I was one day over my 30 day grace period for returns but they where cool and let me exchange it for another one. That one will have the same firmware that this one came with and I'm not even gonna hook it up to the LAN for now cause I prefer DVD's. The player was doing AWESOME and and doing EVERYTHING I need it to do (SD DVD @ 480p and XviD-HD 1080p @ 10mb/s + AC3). I read that Brian said it could take XviD+DTS and will have to test this maybe with my next BluRay rip which will be Shooter ;)

Was Linktheater Wireless A&G (the player without the DVD drive) even released in the USA and Japan? I am finding it's not at all supported by Buffalo and cannot find any software updates for it.

Does anyone know the discrete power on and power off remote control commands for the LinkTheater DVD? I have an MX-700 Home Theater Master remote, but Buffalo isn't one of the vendors their software knows about. TIA

Hello,
The most annoying things are incorrect pan & scan for wide-screen movies, lack of subtitle support, freezing of the unit and interference of the Buffalo remote with my Philips flat-screen.

I've tried to contact Buffalo with my questions and received answers a month later that "yes, we are aware of those issues - will let our R&D know" or "we were not aware of such issues, thank you for bringing them up".

I purchased A&G this summer, in Ireland. And I have same problems. The most annoying is of course freezing. The music playing support is just horrible too. And the support service could not tell me anything useful - just the same "go away, we don't care"-style stuff. Any perspectives on the software update in foreseeble future? Even beta would be fine (because what I see now looks more like pre-alpha quality software).

smorgasbord: I have a Harmony remote and I've found nothing to indicate there is a discrete on and off command, only power toggle.

svu: I would rate the chance of another firmware update as a snowball's chance in hell. If you join the yahoo blt-owners group, the maintainer of the that list has page that has all the firmware on it so you can experiment.

svu: I would rate the chance of another firmware update as a snowball's chance in hell. If you join the yahoo blt-owners group, the maintainer of the that list has page that has all the firmware on it so you can experiment.

Thanks, I will try. But I fail to understand why they do not support the hardware they are selling. The current firmware is of very questionable quality.

Thanks, I will try. But I fail to understand why they do not support the hardware they are selling. The current firmware is of very questionable quality.


Because Buffalo was bought by Linksys recently, and Linksys got rid of a lot of Buffalos' staff but then again I'm pretty drunk right now so what do I know :D

Thanks, I will try. But I fail to understand why they do not support the hardware they are selling. The current firmware is of very questionable quality.

Well it's an older device, and while it never quite worked correctly for some things (DVD playback, Music, wireless disruptions) it works well for others (Divx/xvid playback).

All these video component companies were hoping to be the next iPod, but they give up pretty quick when their sales slow down. To Buffalo's credit, they did do a fair amount patching, but my feeling is their quality control is low, and there are a number of features they just gave up on.

Unfortunately the market for these products is pretty small at the moment. The big players tend to make crappy products and the smaller players don't have enough resources to do it right.

Help,

I've done a lot of reading and am so confused. I upgraded the firmware to 21.10 and the video is shrunk very badly. I would like to get back to firmware 13.82 but can figure out how to. I have the 13.82 firmware to apply it but can't figure out how to. I've read a few post of changing an html file.

If someone can give me some explicit step by step instruction I would be very greatful.

Edit:

It seams I need a copy of brians HTML page. I saw a couple of examples of how to modify it but I guess without his HTML page I'm screwed. Can someone give me a copy or sample of his page.

I just want to update what I've done so far

What I've done is create a web page and on the page created a link to the file as follows

href=13-82-060703-03-LTI-240-000.bin "tvid=1" "update" (Not including the ") Then copy the file and htm file to my thumb drive and when I run it I get a file not found or not of proper type.

Hey guys,

I have a PAL link theater with the latest PAL firmware:
21-10-070823-03-LTI-264-000
03 LTI
v1a
D2S6
(updated from update menu)

I am unable to play DVD's from any region, all streaming content is fine.

Any ideas?


...mcbeech

Did you try the region free hack? I believe it's slow - 2 - 9 - 6 - 0 when on the home screen, but google it to be sure.

I got a Buffalo Linktheater (Wireless A&G / non-DVD / EU) model a week or two back now and have to say while it's great when it works, on many files the sound is out of sync. I hoped a firmware update would fix this but my box tells me there's none available.

I tolerate this in two sets of files (one set 25fps DivX3 LM one 23.976fps XviD, all files 40-90 min long) because they only get a little out of sync then the video will freeze for a split-second whereupon it resyncs. This is repeated throughout both each file in both sets.

I have other files where the audio sync seems fine, including other 23.976fps files.

The sets that aren't synced play fine on the PC, however I noticed that both are AC3 audio, while the synced sets seem to be MP3. I'm going to try converting them from AC3 to MP3 overnight and see if it makes a difference. Will report back tomorrow.

My main gripe though (the above, like I said, is fairly minor) is with the BBC Iplayer files. They can be shared through Windows Media Player but the Linktheater doesn't seem to like playing them. The video starts off very slowly and grinds to a halt while the system becomes unresponsive. At the same time the audio comes across at more or less normal speed.

These are bigger bitrates than my other files (3ish compared to about 1.5) and while I'm not convinced bandwidth is the problem (signal is excellent), it is one theory. The others are:
* video format is WMV, not AVI
* files are DRMd (as stated above, this shouldn't be an issue and indeed they do play, just not to a point where they're watchable).
* bandwidth

Breaking the DRM to test if its that causing the problems doesn't seem to be an option, which means converting to AVI isn't an option either. Maybe time to break out the old network cables.

Question......

I have 3 PC-PL3WG/DVD Link Theatres, 2 I own here in the USA, and one I sent to my in-laws in Australia. Its working great down there for DVDs, etc. but I sent them an external USB hard drive with a ton of video content from here and they can't seem to get it to work.

I think that the mistake I made was to format the 250GB hard drive I sent them as NTFS. Can anyone here tell me the drive format requirement of a PC-PL3WG/DVD with an external USB hard drive? Does it have to be formatted as FAT32 EXT or will NTFS work ok? The unit they have is relatively new but I'm not sure of the firmware version.

Thanks in advance for any help.

Vlad

Question......

I have 3 PC-PL3WG/DVD Link Theatres, 2 I own here in the USA, and one I sent to my in-laws in Australia. Its working great down there for DVDs, etc. but I sent them an external USB hard drive with a ton of video content from here and they can't seem to get it to work.

I think that the mistake I made was to format the 250GB hard drive I sent them as NTFS. Can anyone here tell me the drive format requirement of a PC-PL3WG/DVD with an external USB hard drive? Does it have to be formatted as FAT32 EXT or will NTFS work ok? The unit they have is relatively new but I'm not sure of the firmware version.

Thanks in advance for any help.

Vlad

Can't say I've tried it myself, but almost certainly it would need to be FAT32. Most non-Windows devices like the Linktheater don't do NTFS natively.

Can't say I've tried it myself, but almost certainly it would need to be FAT32. Most non-Windows devices like the Linktheater don't do NTFS natively.

That's what I thought. So here's what I did, but it still isn't working. I took a 200GB hard drive I had and put it in a USB enclosure. Then using some utility software from HP, I formatted it FAT32 EXT and it is showing up as a drive with about 180GB of free space on my PC.

I then took the enclosure and a USB cable over to my Link Theatre and started it all up. The Link Theatre shows a USB indicator on the front panel when the device is inserted, so it recognizes a USB device. When I start it up, at the Login screen I get what I can best describe as an 'overlay' of text stating 'USB Hub', which eventually disappears but never shows up a device or media source. I still see the DVD player (No disk), my network server, and that's it.

My father-in-law in Australia received a Link Theatre that we sent them along with a big hard drive of content there, and he is complaining of exactly the same behavior. When the USB enclosure is plugged into the LT, he gets the USB Hub message, but then nothing after that. Since I've now been able to duplicate the entire behavior here myself, there is definitely something not right.

My theory was that it was due to NTFS vs FAT32 drive formatting, but since I'm testing with FAT32 and he's testing with NTFS, I don't think that is the issue. I also had him insert a USB Thumb Drive in there to see if it sees a device for that, and he got exactly the same behavior.

Anybody have a suggestion as to what might be going on here?

Thanks
Vlad

That's what I thought. So here's what I did, but it still isn't working. I took a 200GB hard drive I had and put it in a USB enclosure. Then using some utility software from HP, I formatted it FAT32 EXT and it is showing up as a drive with about 180GB of free space on my PC.

I then took the enclosure and a USB cable over to my Link Theatre and started it all up. The Link Theatre shows a USB indicator on the front panel when the device is inserted, so it recognizes a USB device. When I start it up, at the Login screen I get what I can best describe as an 'overlay' of text stating 'USB Hub', which eventually disappears but never shows up a device or media source. I still see the DVD player (No disk), my network server, and that's it.

My father-in-law in Australia received a Link Theatre that we sent them along with a big hard drive of content there, and he is complaining of exactly the same behavior. When the USB enclosure is plugged into the LT, he gets the USB Hub message, but then nothing after that. Since I've now been able to duplicate the entire behavior here myself, there is definitely something not right.

My theory was that it was due to NTFS vs FAT32 drive formatting, but since I'm testing with FAT32 and he's testing with NTFS, I don't think that is the issue. I also had him insert a USB Thumb Drive in there to see if it sees a device for that, and he got exactly the same behavior.

Anybody have a suggestion as to what might be going on here?

Thanks
Vlad

I can't say for sure whats going on but I can tell you that the USB drive must be formated in fat32 with no bigger then 32GB partitions. The linktheater is not ntfs compatable. You can try formating it in ext3 which is a format that linex recognizes. What is strange is that it is not recognizing the thumb drive.

Another solution which is a bit costly but works very well is to use a linkstation NAS. You can attach a USB drive to that and format it in EXT3. Then the linktheater will access that via a network connection. I use this method and it works very well. Another plus is you can store your media on that and never have to turn on a PC. The media is always available. In the US this unit costs about $250.00.

I can't say for sure whats going on but I can tell you that the USB drive must be formated in fat32 with no bigger then 32GB partitions. The linktheater is not ntfs compatable. You can try formating it in ext3 which is a format that linex recognizes. What is strange is that it is not recognizing the thumb drive.

I'm thinking this is strange also. It doesn't seem to want to recognize ANY device attached to the USB port, although it recognizes that SOMETHING is attached to the USB port. The fact that this is consistent on multiple Link Theatres made me think it was a firmware version bug or something like that.

As for FAT32 EXT, since the 32GB is an artificial limitation placed on FAT32 by Microsoft to push users to use NTFS, which they then don't license out easily for others to use anyway, and FAT32 EXT should be able to handle a 8TB partition, why is it that the LT can only deal with the limitations imposed by a traditional FAT32 file system? 32GB is the FAT32 standard limit, but not the limit of FAT32 EXT. Is it possible we are talking about FAT32 limitations here for the LT only?

Another solution which is a bit costly but works very well is to use a linkstation NAS. You can attach a USB drive to that and format it in EXT3. Then the linktheater will access that via a network connection. I use this method and it works very well. Another plus is you can store your media on that and never have to turn on a PC. The media is always available. In the US this unit costs about $250.00.

That's not a bad idea actually. But since they already have a hard drive, what I really need is a NAS that has its own UPnP server in it so that the LT can see it, but doesn't include its own hard drive (basically what I need is a NAS hub that can handle USB2 connections to external drives). I checked on the Buffalo specs, but it would seem that they are NAS systems with their own hard drives included which would be redundant for what I need here. Do you know of any NAS units that are basically network hubs for USB2 devices (that ideally support NTFS formatted hard drives)?

Vlad

Hey guys,

I have a PAL link theater with the latest PAL firmware:
21-10-070823-03-LTI-264-000
03 LTI
v1a
D2S6
(updated from update menu)

I am unable to play DVD's from any region, all streaming content is fine.

Any ideas?


...mcbeech


How did you get this to install the update?

I have had no luck using the USB stick.

Does anyone know where the firmware revisions are archived these days for NTSC playback ? I've got an old version of LinkTheatre and would like to update it to something a bit more recent.

Thanks in advance

There is a newer firmware than the one that lundman mentions at http://www.verenkoff.com/update.html it fixes the problem with the crashing screensaver and it's in English.


Is this link still valid? I keep getting a 'server taking too long to respond' error.

Originally Posted by sanderant
There is a newer firmware than the one that lundman mentions at http://www.verenkoff.com/update.html it fixes the problem with the crashing screensaver and it's in English.

Is this link still valid? I keep getting a 'server taking too long to respond' error.

I wonder if he still works for Buffalo... anyway, I'm looking at the Buffalo site, Downloads page for the BLT w/DVD Player and there are no .bin files listed! WTF? There is an Installation CD (84 MB) dated 2008 that might have the firmware therein. It's an ISO image, btw.

A better bet is Shaz's Yahoo! group for the BLT. Pretty sure (s)he maintains a page from which you can get the various firmwares. It's worth joining if you still use your BLT. This link should get you there, or close:

http://tech.groups.yahoo.com/group/bltowners/

HTH.

A better bet is Shaz's Yahoo! group for the BLT. Pretty sure (s)he maintains a page from which you can get the various firmwares. It's worth joining if you still use your BLT. This link should get you there, or close:

http://tech.groups.yahoo.com/group/bltowners/

HTH.
Still no joy. Apparently 'shazzah99' no longer maintains the website (www.shazza.ath.cx) that is supposed to have the firmware revisions. I tried to send her an Email, but that didn't work either. Where have you been getting your firmware updates from?

Still no joy. Apparently 'shazzah99' no longer maintains the website (www.shazza.ath.cx) that is supposed to have the firmware revisions. I tried to send her an Email, but that didn't work either. Where have you been getting your firmware updates from?
I got the last one from Verenkoff's site. I did a little digging through Shaz's Yahoo! board and found this:

http://shazza.ath.cx/firmware/indexupdate.html

which does link to just about every version. I tried the most recent US one and it's coming in, so the link seems to be good for now. Good luck.

Yes, Verenkoff left Buffalo a while back. Shazz has the all the drivers on her site, but she doesn't gaurantee it will be up forever so get it while it's hot! :)

Does anyone have some of the last remaining firmware?

I think one of my BLTs ( i have 2) has a corrupted LAN driver and even if i manually add the IP config, it still wont connect to anything.

Thanks in advance.

edit: i found this page with a heap of fw to use.
http://downloads.buffalo.nas-central.org/Users/itimpi/LinkTheater/

Now i just have to remember how to load the new fw onto it!

Anyone recall?