Guys, how long did Kenwood take to answer your upgrade request email?

Ken

3 days.

They sent me the DV-5900 and one of the DV-5050s today (and now I have to wait for the replacement Entre before I can do anything with this set).

However, they put the DV-5900 in a 5050 box. Neither of the boxes that were returned had serial numbers on them. I'll have to try the upgrade test on them, to see if they react in the same way the new upgraded changers did.

The woman I talked with about the Entre was great. All of a sudden, Kenwood is the model of customer service.

Nick :cool:

Yes those guys are helpful, even though it takes so long to go through the process. I still haven't received my tracking number, which means my new entre hasn't shipped yet. I think they received my unit on the 15th. So the 7-10 days they say, seems to be pretty accurate.

If someone doesn't mind, can they PM me the upgrade address. I want to print out my shipping label and get the box ready.

Thxs.

I sent the email request last night, and got the response tonight. They can't service me till the 29th. So I am sending mine ground, tomorrow in the am. Arranged for pickup from my house via the UPS website and printed the ups label from their website. Very easy.

Used my name and my phone number as the contact info since Kenwood didn't provide this info.

Originally posted by K_Thompson
Guys, how long did Kenwood take to answer your upgrade request email?

Ken

Well, I got mine back today. Of course, they didn't fix the no-eject problem, even though I sent them 4 or five e-mails about it, and also addressed it in a letter that I taped to the unit. Also, like Nick, they didn't return my carton, but used a 5050 box. They also didn't pack it with the usual styrofoam side pieces, but instead used pieces of broken styrofoam and inflatable air bags as packing material. At first, I thought that it was possible that the had used the normal styrofoam sides, and they had gotten broken in transit, but when I reassembled the pieces, there were only 1-1/2 sides (one side was broken into 4 pieces, the other side was broken in half, but only one half was enclosed.

None of my e-mails complaining about this were answered, of course.

On the plus side, on preliminary inspection, it works (i.e., it turns on and plays discs).

Here's the letter I just sent to Kenwood. I don't have too high hopes that they'll answer: This about the fifth message that I've sent without a reply. I don't understand why I you people refuse to acknowledge my letters.

Prior to sending in my changer, I pointed out that my changer had had a minor defect since the day that I bought it -- the discs do not get pushed out the way that they are supposed to when one ejects it. The selected disk is supposed to protrude about 1/8" when you push eject on it, but they don't on my changer. I was told that this is a known problem and a fairly easy fix and I asked whether it would be possible for you to repair this simultaneously with the upgrade. After the third e-mail asking this question, you wrote back saying "If your unit has a malfunction and requires a repair, it will still go through the evaluation process and then forwarded to our factory service center for the repair. After the repair is completed, it will then receive the upgrade." I enclosed a letter with the changer pointing out the problem and taped it to the unit. I then sent two more e-mails asking whether, once you received my unit, what happened during the evaluation process and whether the defect would be fixed. Neither of those were answered. Today, the unit was returned to me, and, of course, the defect was NOT fixed, contrary to your express promise that if the player required a repair and would be forwarded to your factory service center for repair. You can hardly claim to be unaware of the problem given the number of times I have communicated with you about it.

Moreover, I am appalled by the way that the unit was sent back to me. I returned the DV-5900M to you in my original carton with the original styrofoam side pieces intact. It was returned in a carton for a 5050, and, instead if being packed with styrofoam side pieces, it was packed with assorted pieces of broken styrofoam and inflatable plastic bags. At first I thought that it could at one time have had the proper side pieces but that they had disintegrated in transit, but that was not the case as the pieces could not be reassembled into complete side pieces. Fortunately, the way the broken pieces were stuffed into the box did hole the unit solidly during transit, and it does not appear that the unit was damaged in transit, although I have not yet had time to thoroughly put the unit through its paces.

Given that my many prior attempts at communication with you about this, I don't have much hope that you will answer this one either, but, just in case you decide that mollifying an irate customer who has access to many current and future Kenwood purchasers via the internet, I would very much like an explanation as to why my unit was not repaired and why it was packed so shoddily.

Hopefully yours,

Robert Bienstock

Not too long ago, a forum member tried to beat up on me because I questioned Kenwood's "support".


Hmmm...

Hi,

I am at a loss where to look for a comprehensive overview over the upgrade issue, so I hope someone takes the time to fill me in on the issues I'd like to know about, hoping that they might also be helpful for others:

I will be using only one changer so my questions circle around general usability and there have been some things I found very irritating:

- very long layer changes
- a lot of time needed to go from one DVD to another in the carousel
- the disc flipping often won't work properly
- start-up time for a lot of discs very long

Now I am aware that there is a new software and I have the impression I should be able to load it into my changer myself ? What version is it the newest ?

I have also read that there is an upgrade where I have to send my unit in, what is done by Kenwood in this upgrade ?

Can I get the problems I mentioned above fixed with the software-only upgrade or will I need the chip upgrade ?

Obviously I could also buy a unit, where all of this is already done - do the new chips have names, a serial or version number and what is the newest software number ?
Is there a list where I can find out which serial number of which model (5050/5700/5900/6050) I can safely buy and know that it has all the latest fixes and upgrades ?

Thanks

Oliver Klohs

I attempted to force a software update from Entre last night (via the Setup/Utilities menu). I got to the usual Warning screen telling me that it may take a while to run the update, but selecting the "Update" button doesn't seem to start the lookup. I have to choose "Cancel" in order to go back to the previous menu. It's as if the Select button on my remote wasn't working for the update option (but it does work everywhere else, so I think this is a software issue). My network/internet connection is fine. Is anyone else experiencing the same problem? This is the first time I've tried forcing a software lookup since version 2.0 downloaded.

--
Umberto B - Gardena, CA

Originally posted by uh2
Not too long ago, a forum member tried to beat up on me because I questioned Kenwood's "support". That wasn't just a forum member, it was was David Bott who runs this forum. David is truly a great guy, this forum is a great place, and David is an extremely helpful person. He has also, for some reason, taken upon himself the obligation to defend Kenwood from, what, I suppose, he feels is unfair criticism. And, to a degree, he was correct: you were complaining not about Kenwood's customer support, but about how the units worked and what they weren't upgrading, and David correctly pointed out that other than restoring the promised but not delivered multi-changer support, Kenwood had no real obligation to make any other improvements to the units. But they did, and David was quite correct that they went the extra mile in that regard, and I agree with him that they shouldn't be criticised for choosing to fix some things but not others when they weren't obligated to fix any.

All along, my criticisms of Kenwood haven't been directed at the product or the substance of the upgrade, but at their customer service (or lack thereof). And these issues are, almost by definition, subjective: I'm currently unhappy because they don't answer my e-mails. Now let's suppose, for the sake or argument, I'm one of those people who are impossible to please and just likes to complain for the sake of complaining (and I don't believe I am). Any normal business would, one would assume, either try to mollify me (i.e., write back and say something like "We're sorry you're unhappy, what can we do to help?"), politely stand their ground (i.e., write back and say something like "We're sorry you're unhappy, but there's nothing that we can do to help"), or get angry and write me off (i.e., write back and say something like "We're sorry you're unhappy, we've bent over backwards to help you, and you still aren't satisfied, there's nothing more that we do to help you, so we consider the matter closed"). They've done none of these things -- they simply ignore all my messages. They don't even send me back a message acknowledging that they got my message (i.e., writing back and saying something like "We got your message, but we're so busy processing upgrades that it will take us some time to address your issue, but we'll get back to you shortly"). Instead, all I get is silence.

What I really think is going on is that the customer service department has designated someone (probably a repair person) to be in charge of the upgrade process. When one calls customer service with a question about the upgrade process, they refuse to talk to you about it and say that all inquiries must be directed to the e-mail address, and the person who is at the e-mail address isn't a customer service person (who, in theory, is someone who wants to service customers) but a techincian (who, in theory, is someone who services equipment and isn't a "people person"). So, in effect, they have delegated an important element of customer service to someone who isn't really able to deliver it.

Originally posted by Oliver Klohs
<snip>
- very long layer changes
- a lot of time needed to go from one DVD to another in the carousel
- the disc flipping often won't work properly
- start-up time for a lot of discs very long
<snip> I 'think' 3 of the 4 will be addressed but you better respond quickly if you already have one (5900/5050) as the free offer expires soon.

I would suggest you read starting on page 89. That will include the PDF doc that David provided plus I quoted the Jan/Feb announcement on what the upgrade should contain. It will include the supposed serial number that was supposed to start the fix and debunk (prove false (not by Nicks fault) that serial number but a post will show you how to test the unit to see the "upgrade"/firmware numbers.

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?s=&threadid=95150&perpage=30&pagenumber=89

If you PM me, I can give you the name of a dealer who has or had new units in stock that are upgraded already. Good price too.

I verified that mine indeed had the new firmware. My new unit came with the eject mechanism disengaged and the carousel doesn't seem to be a perfect fit, so you get a grinding noise when it spins.

But these are problems with Kenwood Quality Control, not the vendor. The unit was brand new, sealed.

I don't know if it was kenwood or the shop, but the unit was shipped inside another box with tons of peanut styrofoam. Very well packaged. Even with all that padding, the spring that controls the eject mechanism popped out. I think the spring probably comes loose if the unit is being jarred in a vertical or upside position during transit.

So those of us lucky enough to have the box ship all the way in a horizontal position probably have working eject mechanisms :)




Originally posted by Oliver Klohs


Hi,

I am at a loss where to look for a comprehensive overview over the upgrade issue, so I hope someone takes the time to fill me in on the issues I'd like to know about, hoping that they might also be helpful for others:

I will be using only one changer so my questions circle around general usability and there have been some things I found very irritating:

- very long layer changes
- a lot of time needed to go from one DVD to another in the carousel
- the disc flipping often won't work properly
- start-up time for a lot of discs very long

Now I am aware that there is a new software and I have the impression I should be able to load it into my changer myself ? What version is it the newest ?

I have also read that there is an upgrade where I have to send my unit in, what is done by Kenwood in this upgrade ?

Can I get the problems I mentioned above fixed with the software-only upgrade or will I need the chip upgrade ?

Obviously I could also buy a unit, where all of this is already done - do the new chips have names, a serial or version number and what is the newest software number ?
Is there a list where I can find out which serial number of which model (5050/5700/5900/6050) I can safely buy and know that it has all the latest fixes and upgrades ?

Thanks

Oliver Klohs

Originally posted by rbienstock
<snip> And, to a degree, he was correct: you were complaining not about Kenwood's customer support, but about how the units worked and what they weren't upgrading, and David correctly pointed out that other than restoring the promised but not delivered multi-changer support, Kenwood had no real obligation to make any other improvements to the units.<snip> Actually he mentioned support in general as well. uh2 07-03-03 02:30 PM : My previous email is concerning more than just the Entre "upgrade"...it's dealing with Kenwood support as a whole. I ran across this when I was locating a starting point for Oliver. Robert, I really like your post. They are well thought and well written. I suspect, however, that uh2's disk flipping issue is probably more difficult to deal with (work around) than the disk eject issue which you are dealing with Kenwood about. That is probably was caused uh2's response. Just an observation. I do understand all the complaints here as I have had my share. :D Regards...

At this point, you have to be careful to buy your players from an authorized dealer. Kenwood probably stopped shipping players a while ago to their authorized dealers and is slowly replinishing their stock.

I don't know how unauthorized dealers get their stock, but i have to suspect they probably have a lot of old players still in their distribution pipeline.

With the shipping cost and whatever Kenwood will charge to fix the players after the 31st, it really is not going to be worth buying from an unauthorized dealer.

Hi Scott,

I did some reading as recommended and found out that the upgrades are not needed for single players according to Kenwood.
Does this mean that the problems I mentioned only were encountered in conjunction with the entre hub ?
I wouldn't think so as I have also heard them from customers with single players.

Also I would still need some numbers and designations as I will probably be buying a DVF-J 6050 which is the Germany version of this megachanger but I wouldn't be surprised to see that these units use very similar or even the same software so I want to have an upgraded unit, too if possible.

Slocko,
thanks for the offer, but see above - I will have to go for the 6050, especially with the risk of having to ship my unit back to Kenwood after receiving it.

Oliver Klohs

PM me on the 6050 issue. I own two.

The customer service department at Kenwood is very helpful and very knowledgeable as well, typically consumer electronics companies are not very proficient in actually understanding what they have built.

My concern was and will always be the lack of concrete statements from the powers that be at Kenwood.

If the promised upgrade is not available on the date you promised....step up and announce it officially with the same fanfare you used to promise the date with.

Explain the situation and I don't believe any reasonable person would complain or moan too much.....

I am very happy with the upgrade and the new functionality!

I am looking forward to DVD-Audio support and any new goodies Kenwood wants to throw our way! I am excited at the possibility of SACD.

It is a great product and a great company......They just should not go "Markinson" on us when they have no answer. (Fans of a "Few Good Men" will get that last comment:)

there is a new 5900m for sale at ebay for $700 with less than 2 hours to go. good bargain if it stays around that price.

Following up my post on page 150 describing my reinstallation issues, with the upgraded 5900M's the dreaded 'Can't play this kind of disk' followed by disk flip problem has not resolved over 3 days.

Net net, my second changer refuses to read any disk after seemingly working for 2 days.

Additionally, although on my return documentation I clearly stated that my eject and disk flip functions did not work, they were not repaired.

I called tech support, and they suggested that I return the unit for repair AGAIN!

After unloading 650+ DVD's and spending $150 to get new double boxes, packing material and shipping (which was discarded by KW and the units returned to me in 5050 boxes with bubble wrap) the thought of going though the process again has gotten me to the point of losing it!

I told tech support that that was unacceptable, they have to come up with a better, more customer friendly solution for me. Their solution was to transfer me to Customer Service, who also said all they could do was give me an RMA. No call tags, no advance exchange: all the things Dell and other PC vendors do for systems customers for systems which cost far less than a 5900M.

I am presently waiting for a call back from a KW Customer Service Supervisor (who is not working today!)

Having over $5,000 invested in Entre/5900's and waiting patiently for over a year to get multi changer support. I am feeling quite abused.

Has anyone out there ever found a solution to the 'cant play/disk flip' problem reported back in the page 20-30 range of this post?

Has anyone ever found an 'Empowered' person at KW customer service?

Does anyone know the phone number for their Legal Department?

Help!

Frustrated Fred.....

Originally posted by fredisdead69
After unloading 650+ DVD's and spending $150 to get new double boxes, packing material and shipping (which was discarded by KW and the units returned to me in 5050 boxes with bubble wrap) the thought of going though the process again has gotten me to the point of losing it!

Help!

Frustrated Fred.....

Now I'm worried. I took great care to ship my 5900 with the most protection possible. Wrapped in it's original foam bag, placed in it's original box with all foam in tact, then had it double boxed with 2 inches of peanuts all the way around. Now I hear several people report that all that care was for nothing. If mine is returned in as bad of shape as Fred and others described, there will be no way in hell I'll pay to send it back for repairs again! Sure, KW is doing this for free, but I don't see where that gives them the right to return them in such a sloppy fashion. I guess I'll just have to wait and see when/if it arrives next week, but my confidence is now shot.

Bob

Have you gone to www.kenwoodusa.com and the support page?

there is an option to search for service locations near a zip code.

you might get lucky and have an actual kenwood authorized service center near you. make sure it's a kenwood authorized center and not a mom and pop shop authorized to make kenwood repairs.

you can tell because the search returns the KACs at the top.

even if you don't find a KAC, you might call the shops listed ask and ask them if they stock parts.

i personally know that the flipping problem requires a part to be replaced inside the player. eventually your player will stop responding at all.

i have an KAC about an hour away from me. They stock parts and their turn around time is less than 5 days. i wish they had been doing my upgrades. i met the technician and he showed me the part he changed.

i did the same thing. i used the original box, styrofoam, and foam bag.

i wonder what is the big deal about saving the box and using it to send it back?

My units (3) were in perfect factory cartons, including original packing material. They also came back in different (ragged) boxes with broken styrofoam, bubble wrap and airpacks. There was much room for movement in all three boxes. Have not hooked up yet. Expect to see the dreaded eject spring problem, which I did not have before.

Easy to picture the process. The shipping and receiving department was not prepared for the numbers of units they received. I can see them just tossing empty boxes wherever they had the space. We're probably talking people who's goal in life was not necessarily to be a shipping clerk--not much motivation or pride. No excuse though. That's what supervisors and managers are for. Just another example of KW operations.

Originally posted by fredisdead69
<snip>Additionally, although on my return documentation I clearly stated that my eject and disk flip functions did not work, they were not repaired.

I called tech support, and they suggested that I return the unit for repair AGAIN!<snip> Between your post and Roberts (him going way way out of the way to make sure his eject button was fixed), no doubt any reader here can see why you guys are PISSED off (not drunk for those in other countries). Heck I'm pissed just listening to some of this. It is utterly baffling why Kenwood would take such a good thing ("free upgrade") and not handle these other known problems as well as take care in packaging the returns. I double boxed mine this morning and sent them back. Probably will be used for floor hockey.

Is it evil to think they are intentionally snubbing their noses at us for pushing so hard on this issue or is it one part of KW doing the right thing and other parts not giving a damn (upgrade center). Wouldn't you love to know how many changers were sent in to get fixed?!? Are they that overloaded...if so why not make the offer through the end of August so they could spread out the work. The answer to that is probably obvious - loss of $.

I'm curious to know how David's equipment was handled when he returned is since he obviously has contacts.

Originally posted by Oliver Klohs
Hi Scott,

I did some reading as recommended and found out that the upgrades are not needed for single players according to Kenwood.
Does this mean that the problems I mentioned only were encountered in conjunction with the entre hub ?
I wouldn't think so as I have also heard them from customers with single players.

Also I would still need some numbers and designations as I will probably be buying a DVF-J 6050 which is the Germany version of this megachanger but I wouldn't be surprised to see that these units use very similar or even the same software so I want to have an upgraded unit, too if possible.
<snip>

From that announcement by Brian of KW on Jan 9th, 2003.

...The program will also include upgrades for the Changers themselves. In addition to allowing for Daisy Chain control with Entre', layer change speed has been improved an astounding 58% and disc change time has been improved by 20%....

Perhaps when you said "not needed" you are refering to the "Entre v2.0 Software Upgrade Expands Capabilities" announcement where it says "...only necessary when multiple changers are being controlled by the Entre...". Most of us wrote that off as them trying to save money. David B even was 99% sure that the upgrade included what was promised in the Jan 9th announcement.

Re: numbers and designations
I would venture to guess that the method described by Nick on checking your firmware/component numbers would work for the 6050s? I'd contact KW if you are unsure. Contact them 3 times. If 2 answer match then go with that.:rolleyes:

Just received my upgraded unit -- not in the original box or packing I had sent it to them in. There is something rattling around the bottom under the carousel, probably the part that ejects the disk. I tried to get it out by taking off the cover, but the carousel needs to come off. Has anyone else had this problem or know how to easily get at it?

Jeff

oh man. so i guess most of these players are going to come back in this condition.

i didn't see any easy way to get to that location on my player.

OK, I have the two DVD 5900m's connected to entre. I have it doing a lookup on the DVD's in hopes of clearing out the memory for each slot before putting the DVD's back in. This should allieviate the problem of duplicate entries when the player cant read a disk. I have a mini stereo patch cord connecting the two players, since I could not find the original cords (some 1.5 years later). It seems to be working right now.

I am also connecting the entre directly to my wireless routher (4 ethernet ports) using the linsys ethernet adaptor. I tried using their ethernet bridge, but after 6 hours of trying (two with Linksys tech) we decided it was defective. PCMall is sending me a replacement. Meanwhile, does anyone know if the entre usb port supples power to the adaptor?

By the way, I sent my players in the original boxes, with original packing materials. I received back two 5900M boxes, but the packing material was different, one was the styrofoam, only all broken up, the other was just in bubble wrap. Oh well, at least so for I have seen any pieces laying around.

Well, I loaded up my changer last night and did a complete lookup without any problem. It could not find info on only two discs, much improved from previous look-ups. Although the eject mechanism doesn't work now, it otherwise seems to function okay. It reads the discs slightly faster.

The only concern I have is with the loose ejector part under the carousel. I hope that it doesn't jam the carousel in the future. I don't really need the eject function as I don't plan to take out any discs.

My dealer has a new unit which is not upgraded which he will sell to me for $850. I need to send it in for the upgrade. Of course, I'm concerned that it will come back damaged. I guess I have the same chance as buying a previously upgraded new unit as they are shipped just about the same way. (single box, UPS ground, to the dealers) He told me that the new upgraded units are being upgraded in California anyway and apparently are not coming from China that way.

I will call Kenwood this morning when they open to complain about their packing, however.

Jeff

The dealer I bought from is selling for $995 plus shipping and the one I bought was already upgraded.

Unless Kenwood has first class packaging facilities in California, I doubt they are fixing them there and shipping them out. My unit was sealed and packaged in only the way a new unit can.

I remember that kenwood stopped shipping these changers for a while, so i think they did their best to remove them from the distribution channels.

But I do agree, that there is a good chance the eject will not be working on any unit that is shipped, upgraded or not.

Anyway, PM me if you want the info on the dealer. I should tell the dealer to start cutting me a comission!!!! I am moving more 5900s than his sales team!!!!!

The eject works fine on all three of my upgraded changers even the poorly packaged one (I probably just jinxed myself) they are also noticeably quieter I haven't hooked them up to the Entre yet, perhaps I will get some time tonight. Nick you have been silent for a while now...how about an update...

Tom

Scott,

a layer change time that is improved by 58% sounds very good and I was very lucky that fellow forum member jsalsano also has recently upgraded 6050's which he will try out this weekend.

I will wait for his findings and then will start to contact Kenwood.
As I live in Germany I even doubt that there is anybody at Kenwood who knows of the things that are happening here with those megachangers, so I might refer to this thread only to never hear from them again ;)

Oliver Klohs

i think while nick was connecting his six changers they toppled over and crushed him :)

The leaning tower of Kenwood?

How are all you owners of multiple changers arranging them in your cabinets, racks, stands, etc...

I'd probably end up having to stack one on top of the other as I have no room left in my current setup, but I'm not so sure that would be a good idea.

Ken

I received my update appointment yesterday, so my changer gets shipped out today. It's going to be tough to get through two weeks without being able to watch any DVDs. Maybe Nick will loan me one of his changers.:)

Ken

I have the Entre and one changer on shelves in a nacel and the other two stacked on top of one another behind the wall in the theater room.


Tom

I would encourage any of you who haven't sent your units in to photograph them exactly as they're packed when you ship them.

Similarly, anyone who get units back in shoddy packaging should photograph *IN DETAIL* the state of the packaging as you open the box. You might even make a notation on the UPS (or whatever) shipping receipt that the packaging was sub-standard and unacceptable.

I sent my 5050 for upgrade and repair in its original carton, in its foam bag, with the foam pieces intact. That box was then packed inside another box with styrofoam peanuts (at a cost of almost $40 in packing materials and labor at the UPS Store). I wish I had photographed it before it left.

Oh, and for you guys who shipped units with repair instructions that weren't followed, I really recommend that you DEMAND that Kenwood pick up the shipping charges if they want it returned again.

re: shipping/boxing problems

This brings back a comment I made a while ago about how it's difficult for consumer electronics manufacturers to push up into the "prosumer" market effectively. Yes, "Sovereign" did the right thing via the upgrade program. But, unfortunately, "Kenwood" is botching up the "feel-good equity" they've established by giving people a poor "open box" experience. Something that higher-end retailers recognize as part of the transation.

Originally posted by jsalsano
My units (3) were in perfect factory cartons, including original packing material. They also came back in different (ragged) boxes with broken styrofoam, bubble wrap and airpacks. There was much room for movement in all three boxes. Have not hooked up yet. Expect to see the dreaded eject spring problem, which I did not have before.

Easy to picture the process. The shipping and receiving department was not prepared for the numbers of units they received. I can see them just tossing empty boxes wherever they had the space. We're probably talking people who's goal in life was not necessarily to be a shipping clerk--not much motivation or pride. No excuse though. That's what supervisors and managers are for. Just another example of KW operations.

Should have originally said "two" came back in ragged boxes. The third unit was found defective during the screening process. It arrived today and what a difference in packing. It was in the original box, with original packing in good condition AND was placed inside another shipping box twice the volume, filled with styrofoam--very well packed. Can't help wondering if this is a result of our feed back or just because it was handled by different people because it had to be repaired. The difference is night and day. I'd bet that if I tried to send back a unit in the same packing material Kenwood sent me my first two players they would have a fit. FWIW.

Re: Returned shipping

I loved the bold bullet point in the response e-mail to the upgrade e-mail I mailed in.

* Ship your changer to Kenwood via UPS with insurance. [italics in their e-mail]

For those that had thiers returned did they ship it back with insurance as well? If it came back with something not working is that because of shipping and would KW's insurance cover it...oh but what a pain that would be to deal with.

Originally posted by ScottF200
Re: Returned shipping

(...)

For those that had thiers returned did they ship it back with insurance as well? If it came back with something not working is that because of shipping and would KW's insurance cover it...oh but what a pain that would be to deal with.

I believe mine (5900) came back insured for $800.00. This amount was shown on the packing list outside the box received from Kenwood. Since the unit is working fine I've tossed the slip, but I am pretty sure about the 800 bucks, which seemed pretty low to me (I insured it for 1500 when I sent it to them.)

FYI, the rattling noise during disc reads / pauses is still there, but now that the unit is back inside my cabinet it appears to be a lot quieter than before. In fact, I can't hear the rattle if I close the cabinet's glass door, while the noise was clearly audible before I sent the unit in for the upgrade. Perhaps UPS fixed it... :D

--
Umberto B - Gardena, CA

PS: So I guess I am the only one with a problem updating the software manually with my Entre? Is your software update screen working fine?

All remains working fine . . . as for the eject button, you know, that has gone out intermittently . . . it apparently works on the two changers I have hooked up to the Entre. It also works on the DV-5900, which is not.

There have been times in the past when it just stopped working. Never really bothered me, but it has gone out. Working now, though.

The multichanger function really works well. I have used two Kenwood changers daisy chained together without an Entre, and the seamlessness this offers is really a great value . . . eliminates the switching on the changer remote from Main to Sub1 to Sub2 . . . does all that for you. And the disc change speed is really improved.

By the way, the bug on the 24/96 digital output is not fixed. The upgraded DV-5900 still drops out on 24/96 discs. However, it appears to work with the analog outputs (the DVD readout shows a 96k24b readout), and I've got the processor playing at analog bypass.

I'd like to ask everyone about their internal settings on the changers. For audio, although the manual allows you to choose PCM downconversion "On," if you're using a digital output, would there be any reason to turn it on if your processor can handle any output that the 5900 might send? I set mine for "off," and can't think of a good reason to do otherwise.

Also, I've formed a distinct preference for the 0 IRE setting in the video display. I run my changers from their interlaced outputs to a video processor, but the picture has more punch with the lower black level setting.

When you get to changer number two, you'll appreciate Entre more than you ever did. Too bad about the 24/96 thing, though.

Nick :cool:

Just went by a local dealer who is dropping the Kenwood line. They had a VR 5900 receiver $989, an Entre' for $498 and two DV5900m's for $550 ea. He said he would knock off $100 ea. on the changers for missing remotes! I don't know whether to be happy about the prices or sad considering what I paid for mine. I sure would like to have two more changers to add to my first. The Entre' and receiver prices are also hard to pass up although I don't know what I would do with 2 Entre's and 2 VR5900's for only 3 changers. Does anyone know if their is a purchase price at which Kenwood will not render service for the upgrade? I don't see how they couldn't , however, I seem to recall they would ask me what I paid for each component when I called support. Anyone have any thoughts on this?

Adam, my guess is that as long as it was an authorized dealer, Kenwood would be obligated to upgrade it, as long as you send it in before the end of the month. For instance, suppose your sister bought you one of the DVD mega changers as a birthday gift, I suspect Kenwood would upgrade it, but you did not pay anything for it. I don't think the price matters, after all you can always say you paid X amount for it, I don't see how they could prove you paid anything but what you tell them. And, they did not ask for proof of purchase etc.

For $498 I would pick up the entre as a "spare" in case the first craps out after warranty. Also who cares if the DVD megachangers don't have remotes. If you already own one DVD player and the entre, you don't need the extra remotes.

wow, that is a find. great prices. you can even sell them on ebay and make some extra cash.

Slocko, I thought they were an incredible buy also, or perhaps a bad sign for Kenwood products. In any event I don't think I can pass up at least the changers. And you know the VR5900 and Entre' are steals even being open boxes. I just wonder why Kenwood constantly wanted to know what my purchase prices were.

So I finally got my upgraded DV-5900M back from the upgrade. I was a little bit worried reading about all the horror stories about how the return has been handled for some of you. I am happy to say that my unit came back in the original box I shipped it in and the original box was actually in a much larger box for extra protection - i.e. it was double boxed even though I sent mine in the original box only... The changer looks fine, and works like a charm. The eject button is fully operational. The speed is greatly improved, the layer change seems to be almost eliminated on the few disks I have checked. So at this point I am very happy with the upgrade program from Kenwood!! Maybe they changed the packaging procedures after seeing some of the complaints on this forum!?!?

I am now just about to send in my second DV5900M for an upgrade for an appointment on 7/30. I am looking forward to test the multi changer support in a couple of weeks... I am now very excited about my system and I feel that this upgrade made all the difference in my perception of Kenwood. The ability to control up to 1209 DVD's with improved speed is really a fantastic package. From here on all future software enhancements for the Entre and Media Manager will be just gravy !

Good work Kenwood !!

Geez, my two dv5900's came back in the regular boxes, I did not get the outer box treatment. I guess i better call Kenwood and complain some more (tongue in cheek for those that can't read sarcasm). At the end of my day, I am pleased with Kenwood's method of upgrading. I wish i did not have to pay the $175 for shipping, but overall, think about it - turnaround time was about 10 days, upgrade was free, return shipping was free, upgrade included more than just the changer support. Of course I have not checked this morning to see what happened last night when I loaded 400 dvd in one chnager and 275 in the second changer. Hopefully nothing blew up while I slept and the entre/changers did their lookup.
Lets face facts their will be some "breakage" in shipping due to the shipping process itself. But the original boxes are the same ones that these units were shipped in from china (or where ever the heck they were made) so I can see why kenwood did not think it necessary to "double box" these beauties. As for getting back a ragged box, who really cares, my boxes are going right back to where they came from - the smelly, musty, damp, roach invested, termite ridden attic they came from.
I agree with Lars - Well done Kenwood!

Nick

I agree leave it "off", my receiver can handle a 96K stream so I don't see a need to downconvert.


Tom

Re: PDF Entre v2 differences

Has anyone use some tool to compare the old and new PDF documents? If they didnt' do major formatting changes then it would be a quick method of seeing what "changed". I didn't find a "revisions" section or a "what's new section" which is common place...geez.

http://www.get-digital.net/faq.html#delivery

if you send this company your entre and cd collection, they will burn them to mp3, copy them to the entre, and give you a copy on dvd media.

now that's pretty neat.

yipee!!!!!!! my entre will be delivered tomorrow. i can't wait.

Being the pessimist that I am, I can't help but wonder what would happen to my CD collection if this company went under before they could send my collection back to me? Maybe they should include the answer to this question in their faq.

Ken

I have the new Entre' software and was wondering if someone had ran accross something that I am looing for.

Is there anyway to force the Entre' to leave DVD's in the list even if they have been removed from the changer? I would like for the removed DVD's to show up differant (another color, icon etc) but still stay in list with the movie detail, slot # etc.

Thanks for any help !!

Uh Oh, I may have lost the "daisey chain" cable. Does anyone know if I can use a stereo mini cable, or what happens if I do use one, since I went ahead and used it. I am just not sure if it has any effect.

Zinja,

Nick says that a stereo mini-cable works fine. Mono will NOT work, though.

Thanks, i was wondering because i have two dv 5900m's and last night I put in 675 DVD's and did a full lookup. This a.m. only 67 dvds in each changer had been looked up. I have since done range lookups and that seems to be working, although out of 400 so far about 40 are "unknown"

What a day! went to pick up 2 bargain changers only to find out someone beat me to the punch! I wonder if my post had something to do with it. Seems that the dealer was able to find more at some other stores. If anyone else needs one I will supply his name and number after I confirm my second order.
When I got home my changer had arrived via UPS. Double boxed,peanuts, bubble-wrap, non-functioning eject button. Hooked it up and loaded it and its looking up all discs. Can't tell the difference in access time. Never got notification from Kenwood or tracking number, they received it 7-16. 8 days -- not bad but I would have waited another couple of days if they would have fixed my eject button like I asked. Have yet to see if they fixed the other problem-- Pixelation and freeze-ups following layer changes.

FWIW, mine came back today double-boxed. I haven't unpacked it yet because I was out late. I'll probably wait for the weekend. I will be royally pissed if the problems I reported (eject, glitching discs) weren't fixed, but I'm pleased with the turnaround time. My appointment was last Friday, and the changer is back less than a week later.

It is entirely possible that Kenwood may be fixing the eject problem, but that it's popping backout during transit.

They seem to have cut down on the read time. Unless you compare them side by side, you might not notice. It's only a few second difference, so it's not going to make a difference in your life :)

My guess is that any player that has to read so many formats is going to have to take some time reading the disc.

I'm glad that Kenwood has acted on the feedback we gave here and is packing the players better.

Thanks David.

Most of you are very lucky. My changer's upgrade date was 7/17, and Kenwood just notified me that my changer is in for repairs before the upgrade (I did mention I had the faulty eject, but everything else was perfect -- I hope they don't mess anything up!). So, I'm still waiting, with no return-date in sight.

Is anyone else having problems with DVD's pixellating and freezing up upon the layer-change. I have heard diagnosis' from a possible dusty laser to too much heat to the fact that they use only one laser for both cd's and dvd's. In any event this was not addressed during my upgrade. If the other two I order don;t have this problem I will use this one strictly for cd's.

1. Yesterday, I got a call from someone at Kenwood who said that she heard that I was unhappy about my upgrade, and asked how she could help. I explained that (a) there had been a few defects in my player that haddn't gotten fixed at the time of my repair, (b) that my player had been sent back in some pretty terrible packaging, and (c) I had sent a number of e-mails asking questions and none of them were answered. As to point (a), she offered me a call tag for shipping my player to the closest service center, or, if I preferred, I could ship it myself and they would reimburse me. I chose the latter. As to point (b), all they could say was that sometimes the owner's packaging gets damaged in transit and they have to replace it. As to why their replacement packaging was much worse than what I originally used, she had no answer, nor did she have any answer to point (c). She also didn't know why she was calling me, and could only say that her boss asked her to call me. So it was either caused by their deciding, finally, to reply to my many e-mails, or they are lurking here and decided that they had to act. I suspect the latter. And if that is so, and that person is reading this message, I'd highly recommend that he/she stop hiding and come forward. To the extent that there is any unhappiness here on anyone's part with Kenwood, there is nothing that a bit of forthright, open communication wouldn't instantly cure.

2. Given that I needed a second changer anyway, and needed some proper packaging to send my old changer back for the needed repairs, I decided to buy a new changer from the NY dealer that others here have used. It had a serial number lower than the number that Nick was given, but it was, in fact, an upgraded model, as when I gave it the secret handshake, it showed the required numbers. I also noticed that there is a somewhat simpler, and hopefully accurate way of assuring that a unit in a dealer's stock is an upgraded model: my new units box had "KV3" stamped in large letters on the sticker that has the serial number. I assume that V3 means the upgrade, and thus this is a way to identify an upgraded changer without actually opening the carton. I wonder if any of the others here who bought new, upgraded, changers have a similar stamp. By the way, if anyone is interested, the new changer is perfect, with no defects or bugs.

3. Prior to sending my old changer back, I did hook it up to the new changer and the Entre and the multi changer setup now works great and both changers are much faster. The addition of multi-changer support just brings the whole Sovereign up to a new level of coolness. Good job Kenwood.

4. Now that I have space for them, I've put my DVD-A discs back in. This is the first time I've used DVD-As with the Entre, because until now, I've been using my Marantz 8300 for my high-resolution playback. I know that DVD-A is not curretnly supported by Entre other than putting them in the movie section as "Unknown DVD Audio" discs, but i recall that someone here said that some DVD-As are in the OpenGlobe DB as ordinary DVDs, but none of mine, which are most of the big sellers, seemed to be there, unless there is some trick to finding them that I don't know of. Is there?

5. I note that many people here are getting their units back with much better packing than the early returns had. I think that that shows that Kenwood does, at least listen to complaints and act on them, even if they may not always communicate what they are doing. So again, kudos to kenwood.

your player may be defective. before mine was repaired, it would react very badly to dirty or scratched discs, no matter how minor the scuffs were.

after it was repaired, it has had no problems. one disc had a very bad bad scratch and the 5900 got along further than my pioneer. Previously my pioneer always played any disc the 5900 couldn't play.

if that player begins showing ureadable discs messages and begins flipping discs, that is a sure sign that it's breaking down.

Slocko,

thanks for the feedback!That is good to know that this is repairable.It is a little embarassing when this happens when I'm trying to show it off to friends and my wife looks at me and sarcastically says "How much did you pay for this thing?" or "It plays on the cheap one we got for our 5 year old daughter!"

Did we marry the same woman??????

I used to get those same comments :)

Unfortunately, at the beginning this problem is so random that you might have a hard time getting the repair people to believe you. I guess it depends where you send it. By now the techs might actually have gained experience with this problem. It requires replacing some internal $100 component.

Does anyone know why my DVD-A discs would not output in 5.1 through the digital output.....I know that they have the DD and DTS sound tracks and movies work great....simply curious.

Just a guess here but I think it has to do with the DVD audio only or DVD Video only settings in the changer, You may have to set it to the video only setting to get it to play the 5.1 version.


Tom

Mr. Integration:

DVD Audio output is restricted to the 6 channel analog outputs for 'copyright protection' so one can not make a pure digital copy.

As I recall the digital output is 'downsampled' and essentially gives you a stereo cd res output.

I have my 5900's 6 channel analog outs routed to my denon 5803 external analog multi channel input; and have to switch the receiver audio input to the external input for dvd-audio playback.

I know of no DVD audio capable player (except the new denon's with their proprietary D-Link) which will deliver DVD-Audio digital out to a receiver.

Mr Integration,
When I play DVD-A I have to set my reciever to analog to get all the channels or else I just get stereo.

Now I see what I was not AWED :eek: by a DVD-Audio disc I purchased, I do not have the 6 channel outs of my DV-5900M running into the 6 channel inputs of my Yamaha RX-3000. Based on this new info I know that I was listening to downsampled stereo. Since I mainly got the 5900 for DVD's I did not worry about it. BUT since I will be getting another 5050 or 5900 unit very soon I would like to look into more DVD-A discs.

Due to my entertainment center I will need about a 12' cable in order to connect the player to the reciever. Is there someone that makes a 6-channel cable kit?? Or should I just look into 3 high-quaility audio cable sets.

Thanks for the help !! Hope the cost is worth it ! :D

3 high-quaility audio cable sets. Gives you a LOT more choices, and prices, of cables that you can use.
And that's how I go with it, just for those two reasons. Choice and price.

Originally posted by rbienstock
4. Now that I have space for them, I've put my DVD-A discs back in. This is the first time I've used DVD-As with the Entre, because until now, I've been using my Marantz 8300 for my high-resolution playback. I know that DVD-A is not curretnly supported by Entre other than putting them in the movie section as "Unknown DVD Audio" discs, but i recall that someone here said that some DVD-As are in the OpenGlobe DB as ordinary DVDs, but none of mine, which are most of the big sellers, seemed to be there, unless there is some trick to finding them that I don't know of. Is there?



Me. It's hit and miss, and right now the Entre that would be hooked up to my DVD-Audio setup has been returned in a coffin to Kenwood, and I'm supposed to be getting a new one, so I have to go by memory.

First, after you get the Entre to identify it as a DVD-Audio disc, you'll have a list of "unknown DVD-Audios." Presumably, you know what DVD-As are in what slot, and then you have to go to the edit disc function, and look it up by title. The ones I recall having cover art were R.E.M., Deep Purple Machine Head, Fleetwood Mac Rumours, Alice Cooper, Barenaked Ladies Maroon, actually quite a few. Usually, what you're getting is something that happens to have been released on DVD as well, but, since Entre's already registered it as a DVD-A, you just download the cover art in the edit disc function.

What I began to do after awhile was substitute the "closest" cover art I could, even when the specific title wasn't available. For example, I think some ELP is available, though not Brain Salad Surgery. Rather than the generic cover art, however, I just downloaded whatever ELP cover art there was, but still kept the title intact. It's better than nothing.

By the way, while my DV-5900 was gone, I was using a Panasonic RP-91 to play DVD-A discs. It's got nothing over the Kenwood from the DVD-A analog outputs, and, if anything, the Kenwood beats it. Very limited comparison, though.

And, of course, you read my great news that the DAD 24/96 discs still don't pass the digital signal without a dropout, but will pass it intact (if you believe the readout on the Kenwood display) from the analog outputs. Of course, those discs have always been rarer than hen's teeth anyway, so it's really not a big deal to me.

Nick :cool:

i just read some where else that a guy got his 5900 back with the door jammed open and it came off when he tried to close it!!!! i think it was double boxed too. kenwood is replacing the unit.

Originally posted by m s jaxjag
Now I see what I was not AWED :eek: by a DVD-Audio disc I purchased, I do not have the 6 channel outs of my DV-5900M running into the 6 channel inputs of my Yamaha RX-3000. Based on this new info I know that I was listening to downsampled stereo. Since I mainly got the 5900 for DVD's I did not worry about it. BUT since I will be getting another 5050 or 5900 unit very soon I would like to look into more DVD-A discs.

Due to my entertainment center I will need about a 12' cable in order to connect the player to the reciever. Is there someone that makes a 6-channel cable kit?? Or should I just look into 3 high-quaility audio cable sets.

Thanks for the help !! Hope the cost is worth it ! :D

Okay, but you're still not out of the woods. Make sure in your setup menu that you set the DVD Video function to "off," or, when you put certain DVD-Audio discs in the player, the disc won't even give you the option to choose the MLP 5.1 track.

The reverse is true in some cases, i.e., when you set it to DVD-Video off (or, I guess, DVD-A "on") that some of the DVD options like the DTS track or the Dolby Digital 5.1 track won't even show themselves as available.

A good trick to learn is to press the "On Screen" button on the remote while a DVD-Audio disc is being played. Scroll down to the "sound" bar, and it will display what is being output. However, if you click on the display, it will show all the audio options that are available in that particular mode. You can then change them in midstream.

And, like someone said, make sure you not only choose the 5.1 MLP track on the player, but make sure you've changed your receiver or preamp to the 6 channel analog input, or you won't get the high-resoloution track, which is usually, but not always, the best on the disc.

And, unfortunately, you can do all this and still not be awed by the 5.1 high resolution track, as there's plenty of garbage out there. A lot of sparkling stuff, though, too.

Nick :cool:

Well, I got mine back today. I sent it out last Monday 3 day for a Thursday update, and it came back today 3 day ground... so that's what.. about 3 working days on their part? Not bad really.

Mine was double boxed, wrapped very tightly in some nice big bubble wrap. Not in an original carton, but both boxes were very well stuffed (the inside with bubble wrap, the outside with peanuts).

Hooked it up, checked the setup, and went to put in a disc... and the door wouldn't open, nor would the thing spin! ARGH! If I let it set, the front door would move in about 1 inch increments all the way in, like the sensor couldn't figure out where it was.

So, I left it for a few hours and went out with the wife, came back and still the problem. So I looked the case over, no security sticker, hmm.. took the lid off, gently pushed the door all the way shut, and viola. Works like a champ. The case cover went back on easy too. Think maybe it got jarred a little in transit (I've added a pic of the inside just in case someone was curious what it looks like).

So, first impressions... zero change with anything on the player itself. I haven't watched a movie, so can't comment on the layer change yet. But it's not faster, no different menus, still no screen saver, and autoplay still does it's annoying thing.

Oh well, guess it was too much to expect that anything for us non-Entre guys would get fixed.

Kenwood, if your lurking on this list, kudos on the change in packaging, bad show on the communication of what's in the update (vs. what the vice president of Kenwood USA promised was going to be in it of all people).

Crutchfield seems to have dropped most of their Kenwood products, didn't even have any listings for ANY stereo equipment in their new catalog. Disturbing trend.

(David, I accidentally hit new thread instead of reply to this one. It won't let me delete the old one, so if you or someone else that can would I'd appreciate. Sorry!)

on the new 5900s there is a plastic cover right over the center of the carousel. it looks like it's designed to keep dust out of center where the disc spins.

got my entre today. it looked brand new and it was sealed. everything inside looks brand new. but there were no manuals. just curious if kenwood has stopped shipping manuals, or if they actually have brand new entres that are unpacked in their warehouses.

still ships with version 1.0.0.10 i think it was. upgrading now.

The picture of the inside of the unit reminded me: I was very surprised to find out that the player rotates the entire DVD playback mechanism into a vertical orientation, loads the disc, then rotates horizontal to play.

I wonder: why does it do this? My Sony changers as well as Kenwood CD changers play the disc in vertical orientation and it works fine. It seems as if this adds significant time to the whole loading and unloading of the disc.

The entire mechanism also rotates all the way around 180 to play the other side of the disc (they unload, flip the mechanism, and then re-load).

On the Sony 860 changer, it's kind of neat how they flip. They slide the disc back out of the center, rotate the carousel all the way around back, and slide it in from the other side. Maybe it's a little slower, I dunno.

Anyway, any ideas why they only play horizontally?

Johnla & Nick S.

Johnla -

Thanks for the cable help. I think I will go with HQ audio cable kits for the 6 channel out.

Nick S. -

Thanks for the info on the DVD-A audio setup/stream selection. I have already got burned one time by having my changer in Audio only mode (I think you may have helped me out a few weeks back). I HOPE to be able to use my Pronto to do all of the mode switching for the changer and receiver in order to have the appropriate setup while playing DVD-A's.

Any opinion on the FORIENGER (sp?) - Forienger DVD-A (thier first album). I guess my age shows :D.

THANKS AGAIN for your help !!!

I watched a movie yesterday on the upgraded changer worked fine in the theater, but on "b" outputs I only get "effect" sound-- no dialog. As I recall I had this problem before until I changed one of the settings. Unfortunately I can't recall what it was. Anyone know?

Originally posted by Nick Satullo
And, of course, you read my great news that the DAD 24/96 discs still don't pass the digital signal without a dropout, but will pass it intact (if you believe the readout on the Kenwood display) from the analog outputs. Of course, those discs have always been rarer than hen's teeth anyway, so it's really not a big deal to me. The Classic Records DAD of Sam Phillips' "The Indescribable Wow" is, without a doubt, the nicest sounding disc I've ever heard on my system -- when the MC-12 gets to do its thing on 96/24 material, the result is just awesome. The DAD of Leon Russel's first album is great too, but the Sam Phillips disc (produced by her husband, T-Bone Burnett) is a much better recording.

Originally posted by JustMike
Anyway, any ideas why they only play horizontally? No idea, but I'd guess that it has something to do with the disk flip feature.

Ok gang FYI if you re lookup discs that do not list actors names.....you will get them 99% of the time.

I am down to a handful of discs that I cannot get on lookup or search

Does anyone know the proper syntax to to get:

Fast Times at Ridgemont high.

Led Zeppelin The Song Remains the Same

Batman and Robin



Or anything DVD-Audio???

I also was unable to find Batman & Robin. I tried everything,so I just copied the cover art for one of the other Batman movies.

Can you elaborate on what you mean by that?

I ended up with 30 unknown discs out of 400. They are almost the same number as before.

The strange thing I noticed is that if you try to do a lookup disc, or quick lookup, it doesn't read the disc at all. Why is that? It seems that once a disc read during the initial scan, it either remembers the charecteristic of the disc, or just ignores it from that point on.

I guess I can remove the disc, wait for it to be removed and reinsert it.

I have noticed that some of them seem to be discs that either have widescreen on one side, and full screen on the other side, or both on the same disc.

It can't find Monsters, Inc, on a lookup, but does with a search.

I can find "The Secret of NIMH (1982) in the open globe search, but I can't find it with a search.

Any other pointers on how to find a disc?

This is one part of the process where having the eject buttons helps a lot. It's hard to see which disc is the one you need to pull out. I have resorted to pulling it out and looking at the empty slot to make sure i have the right disc.



Originally posted by Mr. Integration
Ok gang FYI if you re lookup discs that do not list actors names.....you will get them 99% of the time.

I am down to a handful of discs that I cannot get on lookup or search

Does anyone know the proper syntax to to get:

Fast Times at Ridgemont high.

Led Zeppelin The Song Remains the Same

Batman and Robin



Or anything DVD-Audio???

Ihave about 680 loaded (into two players) and it listed about 50 as unknown - after doing manual search I got it down to about 10 "unknow" dvd's, which I filled in manually.

What is truley disconcerting is that there are about 50 DVD's that are in the second changer that are not even read (much less unknow). So if you have put say 500 DVd'd into your players, but the changer statistics says you have 480, you probably have 20 that the player cant read.

Strangely, most of the ones that I have pulled out have no smudges, dirt or anything that would keep it from being read. I will wait unitl I have pulled ther remaining 28 "unread" DVD's before trying to clean the DVD's to see if that is the problem. Otherwise, the DVD player may be just slightly out of alignment (surely hope not).

Any ideas?

P.S. - in the 1.75 years I have had this system, I have never been able to find "Batman and Robin" but try "Batman & Robin" maybe that can be found.

I tried that a while back -- didn't work then so I gave up and put Batman in.
Did I forget anyone with the contact number for those changers. I secured two more. I think he said there are 5 more out there, or there were this morning. If anyone else needs the info PM me.

Has anyone compiled a list of Internet radio stations that Entre CAN tune to yet? Playing around with it tonight, I was able to successfully add the following stations to my internet radios lineup.

Dance/House/Techno:
- http://di.fm/wma/djmixes.asx
- http://di.fm/wma/deephouse.asx
- http://di.fm/wma/eurodance.asx
- http://di.fm/wma/hardcore.asx
- http://di.fm/wma/hardhouse.asx
- http://di.fm/wma/hardtrance.asx
- http://di.fm/wma/trance.asx
- http://di.fm/wma/vocaltrance.asx

Classical:
- http://www.mostlyclassical.com/wma/classical.asx

Through my cable modem/HPNA bridge, they all transmit at 64 Kbps (twice as good as Sirius), so they sound great... Problem is, you can only listen to so much techno before you head explodes! :)

I tried tuning into other URL's more to my "liking" but, although the stations should work in theory (same .asx extensions as above), Entre cannot find them. I can't figure out why, since my desktop's Windows Media Player has no problem tuning to both the stations above and those that Entre says are "not available".

Do the above links work with your Entres? If they do, perhaps we could start putting together a directory of Entre-friendly Internet stations. Anyone with good links, please feel free to share.

--
Umberto B

Adam,

I've had the same problem with Fast Times - been trying to get a successful lookup on that disc for more than a year with no luck.

Mike

Anyone been able to look up the "Dog Day afternoon" movie?

The interesting and annoying part with this one is that the system do find the title when doing a manual search, but the movie that is being presented is not the correct one but instead "Golden Dreams"... I wonder if there is some sort of a mapping table in the OG database that is corrupted where the search string of Dog Day Afternoon is pointing to the Golden Dreams movie?? I would appreciate if one of you guys could try to do a search for Dog Day Afternoon to see if you can look it up or if you also end up getting the Golden Dreams move when doing the search.

I had the same problem with Dog Day Afternoon, I just gave up on it.

My current problem may be very bad. On about 1/3 of the discs I put in my second changer, it can not read them. Putting them into my first changer, no problem, they read fine. Has anyone had problems like this and are there any self aligning or laser correcting programs that can be run. I would hate to have to dismantle my entire system to pull the offending player out of the cabinet, unload 275 discs and ship the unit off, when I just got it back.

Thanks

Originally posted by Lars158
Anyone been able to look up the "Dog Day afternoon" movie?

Lars, indeed "Dreams of Gold" pops up when searching for Dog Day. Wishful thinking, but they are not inverted in the database (searching for Dreams of Gold returns the same cover, correct in this case.)

Has anyone reported any of these problem movie titles to Kenwood via their dedicated feedback form (http://www.kenwoodusa.com/email/feedback.jsp?emailsubject=dvdtitles)?

--
Umberto B

Doiwnload this .pdf file (http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/attachment.php?s=&postid=2386505) with the instructions. Better hurry though, Kenwood says they must receive your changer by July 31st to get the free upgrade.

--
Umberto B

To the OpenGlobe Data Service. In other words, just to see a list of what is out there, to help such searches out, or to avoid them altogether if the disc information or cover art isn't there.

Slocko, for those discs that, when you try to edit, the Entre seems stuck on the information that's already there, try removing the disc (I can hear you now, the eject button . . .) and make sure there's a disc lookup with no disc in the slot. I think that tells the Entre that it's an empty slot, and gives you the freedom to put it back in and edit, free of the information that Entre is stuck on.

(But now, rereading your post, I see that you knew that).

Nick :cool:

These streams also work at 64 Kbps on my Entre:

Rock / Heavy Metal (London, UK):
- http://totalrock.com/streams/TRLive64.asx

Jazz:
- http://di.fm/wma/di_jazz.asx

Salsa:
- http://di.fm/wma/salsastream.asx

--
Umberto B

did anyone have any success looking up "Beauty and the Beast"? Manual search only yields Belle's magical adventure.

thxs.

ps. most of the discs with problems seem to be dics that have both full/widescreen on one disc. very interesting.

Slocko, use the following search string : "Beauty and the Beast - Platinum". Give it a try... it worked for me.

slocko -

I also had trouble with Beauty & the Beast, but I DID get it to work. BUT since my changer is out west I cannot verify what came up.

I think is was somthing like:

Beauty and the Beast - Special Edition or Platinum Edition

GOOD LUCK !!!

Zinja, Umberto - thanks for the feedback on "Dog Day Afternoon". Since I now know this is a problem with the OG database (rather than just my system) I have submitted a ticket to Kenwood Support... I am not sure it's going to help, but at least it has now been reported.

Originally posted by slocko

ps. most of the discs with problems seem to be dics that have both full/widescreen on one disc. very interesting.

I remember David mentioning this way back when, when our Entres were only a few months old. The discs that were originally entered in the OG database that had a 4:3 presentation on them wouldn't get looked up, unless you looked it up title.

Now, even with the new trend toward releasing discs in separate widescreen or "full screen" editions, the disc gets looked up, but you might get the wrong notation (Spiderman, e.g., gets noted in Entre as the "Full Screen Edition" on Disc 1, even though I've got the Widescreen edition).

It's somewhere very early in this thread about the 4:3 discs.

Nick :cool:

We're being told by Kenwood that as soon as OG supports DVD-A that our DVD-A discs will be recognized properly in the "music" area of our Entre management system.

Does anyone have any ideas on how we can lobby OG to begin supporting DVD-A titles? I realize that it's probably pretty low on their list of things to do, but a little lobbying could possibly nudge it up a few slots on the developer tick list.

Any ideas for a coordinated approach to this?

can someone post their wireless keyboards that work? the one i found works for like 5 minutes and then dies.

i also tried a logitech with no luck.

thxs.

Slocko,

I tried the latest model of logitech keyboards partially because I talked to logitech's support and they told me all their drivers are the same and partially because I had to have it now. Of course it didn't work for more than a few minutes before the light on the wireless usb would go out. As I recall I think the light would stay on for a longer period if I didn't use the keyboard --- I think it may have had something to do with specific keystrokes when you go into the editing mode. After I took it back I bought the wireless logitech keyboard that kenwood recommends on their website. I believe the model # is 867090. Works like a charm!

"Beauty and the Beast -" worked. Thanks all for the idea. I had forgotten to try the dash.

Does anyone by any chance have the movie called "La Cucaracha". Can't find this and there really aren't that many combinations to try. It's a simple title.

I shipped my 5900m off last week and went to listen to some MP3's yesterday and found the "changer is disconnected" message. Since I don't want to freak the Entre' out which option should I choose in order to have the easiest time reconnecting the changer and putting the DVD's back in the same slots they were in?

Thanks for the help !!

a related question. if i unplug one changer and take all the dvds out and put them into another changer in the same order and connect the new changer, will the entre notice that the changer has been replaced?

I will do this with the entre off. We'll find out once I get my changer back.

Slocko,

I moved my collection as a slot-for-slot swap from my old changer to my new changer without confusing the Entre. Procedure was as follows: put the Entre in standby, power off the old changer, disconnect the serial cable from the old changer, power on both changers and open the doors on each, move each disc from the old changer to the same slot in the new changer, power off the changers, connect the serial cable to the new changer, then power on the new changer and take the Entre out of standby. Took about 30 minutes. I ran the new changer with the discs in it for about a week before unloading it and sending it in for the upgrade. No disc management problems, played several movies and several 100+ song CD playlists without incident.

I think I powered the Entre on when the changers were disconnected. I told it to keep the existing disc information when the changer disconnected message popped up.

All that said, I did tell the Entre to delete all discs when I disconnected the new changer. I did that because I intend to put the discs in in a different order once both changers are back from the upgrade (DVDs starting from slot 1 in changer 1, fill changer 2 with CDs and work down from 400 in changer 1 for the rest of the CDs - lets me keep DVDs and CDs separate and gives me plenty of room to add new DVDs without having to move CDs around).

Hope this helps,

Mike

thxs. that is what i was planning to do.

I shipped them a dead Entre last week, received on Thursday. They are behind in their receiving department, so, even though UPS might tell you they have it, the warehouse may not have communicated that fact yet to the office.

I called today and advised that I would be happy to pay the extra shipping costs if they could acknowledge receipt of the unit, and get me a unit by Friday. Thereafter, Jessica Branch (extremely nice, extremely helpful), left me a message that she had "blue-tagged" the unit for expedited shipping, this week, at Kenwood's cost.

Nick :cool:

Because of two Entres in the same room, I try to control them separately. Up until I received two of the new, upgraded changers, I've been able to do it. I use the Marantz version of the ProntoPro (the RC9200) which permits you to set frequencies in the remote to IR or RF.

Then, I set the extender blocks in the cabinet with each Entre--one to IR, the other to RF. Since each are in a cabinet, the RF converter would receive the RF signal, convert it to IR (in the cabinet), and send it to only that Entre. For that process, there is an RF extender block, which comes with the remote, which has four outputs. You then either run an emitter from each output and stick it on the front of the unit (which I hate to do), or you do what I've been doing--run a mini-pin cable from the extender, to the IR input on the rear of the Entre Hub.

For the pure IR extension--the "IR Entre"-- I've been using the Powermid receiver/transmitter, which operates similarly. It takes in the IR signal, converts it to RF, and then transmits the converted signal to an extender block in the cabinet. That unit then converts the signal back to IR, and you can either use the emitter, or, again, run a cable from the unit to the rear IR input (which is specifically called IR input on the Entre, and is called DVD Control on the rear of the changers).

For months, this worked fine. Now, since moving the changers around, and the Entre, the RF signal now activates everything. In other words, the Powermids, which are only supposed to be receiving IR signals, converting it to RF, then reconverting it to IR (then to the unit) are somehow transmitting the RF signal to those units that I don't want to send RF. I hope I don't have to go back to a straight IR extender (which requires you to stick the emitter on the front of the unit . . . which is sometimes hit and miss).

Anyone have any solutions? Only on forums like these could I get away with such a post.

Nick :cool:

Nick,

Does the RC-9200 let you select from multiple RF frequencies? If so, try changing the freq.

Mike

Originally posted by Mkellyvich
Nick,

Does the RC-9200 let you select from multiple RF frequencies? If so, try changing the freq.

Mike

Mike, thanks for the suggestion. Alas, I had tried that.

There's a channel and id selector, which is supposed to correspond to the same one you select on the extender box. I did try that, and no luck.

If I could find a true IR extender, which doesn't perform the RF/IR conversion, and which permits me to hardwire extender to the rear input of the Entre (and the changers), that would solve the problem. The closest I've been able to come is something called the Hot Link Pro, which gets me a straight IR extension, but then requires the emitters to be stuck on the front of the units. I simply want something that permits me to go to the input on the back plate of the unit.

If anyone knows of an applicable unit, that would be a great help.

Thanks,

Nick :cool:

Nick,

Another thought - is it possible your remote is now transmitting both IR and RF? Have you tried unplugging the Powermid IR receiver and attempting to operate the system? If you try this and can still operate both Entres via RF then you either have a cable crossed between the two switch blocks or your Powermid RF receiver is picking up the RF signal from your RC-9200 and transmitting the IR codes out.

Another thought would be to unplug each of the switchblocks one at a time from their respective signal sources and try controlling with both IR and RF to see which signal is getting through on which block.

Random ramblings from a life-long test engineer - hope they are of some use...

Mike

I had not tried either of those things Mike, and your statement about a crossed cable interests me, because it was only after swapping everything out that the problem arose.

The remote puts out both IR and RF, but it is supposed to be according to the setting per each device (it's programmable, so you assign IR or RF frequencies to each "device" which is the name for each piece of equipment that the remote controls).

I'm going to try these this weekend. Thanks for the time.

Nick :cool:

One can only hope that a customer who owns 2 entres and 6 changers get some special treatment :)

Since it's a good guess that Kenwood is actively reading these boards, what about putting together a list of enhancements we would like to see?


1) A way to backup the entre's database and settings.
2) For the entre to serve up music on the network. Many products are coming out that do this.
3) Make media manager work with DVDs. This can tie in with number one.
4) Remove the restrictions that keep you from upgrading the hard drive. If number 2 can be implemented, then this point may be moot.

Should we get a poll going?

Originally posted by Nick Satullo
I shipped them a dead Entre last week, received on Thursday. They are behind in their receiving department, so, even though UPS might tell you they have it, the warehouse may not have communicated that fact yet to the office.

I called today and advised that I would be happy to pay the extra shipping costs if they could acknowledge receipt of the unit, and get me a unit by Friday. Thereafter, Jessica Branch (extremely nice, extremely helpful), left me a message that she had "blue-tagged" the unit for expedited shipping, this week, at Kenwood's cost.

Nick :cool:

Has anyone found out what the cost of upgrading a DVD unit after July 31st.

I have 3 entre's and 4 DVD units, was holding off on buying more until Kenwood released updates. Now I want to buy 5 more units, but I am having a hard time finding units already updated at a fair price.

Thanks for any help in this matter.

Charles

How in the world can you have so many movies and music? I can see one entre for music, another one for movies. but a third one?

I sent you a private message on a dealer in NY who can ship you new upgraded units for $995 plus tax. At least as of two weeks ago that was the price.

How can I have so many entres...

I bought the first one plus two players when they first came out.

Then when I learned the entre would not control 3 as advertised kept an eye out for some real bargins on new entres. I picked up the other two for 400 each at a Tweeter store along with a 5 year warranty on all three.

I have 1800 dvds now and adding to the collection every week. Just planning ahead.

Thanks for the info..

Charles

holy cow batman. good for you.

I meant $995 plus shipping, not tax.

Nick,

I too was surprised to find out that the infra-red repeaters (powermids) I bought from radio shack also transmit RF signals from my logitech RF keyboard! I suppose this is logical since they are just different parts of the spectrum. Nice to be able to use the keyboard anywhere.

Don't know if this helps or not:

One method is to send Infrared signals to X-10's IR543 (120V) or IR7243 (230V). These are IR to PLC converters that receive IR codes and transmit them to the powerline using X-10's powerline protocol. There are limitations to this method as the IR543 and IR7243 work with a single housecode and do not support Preset and Extended Dim commands that are used by some of the scene capable lamp modules and switches. The IR543 and IR7243 respond to the X-10 IR protocol and many universal remotes include these codes in their database. The codes are also available in CCF hex format for use in programmable remotes that can utilize this format.

The IR543AH (120V) is a modified IR543 that can handle all 16 housecodes and does support Preset and Extended Dim commands. The IR543AH uses an extended proprietary version of X-10's IR protocol. These codes are only available in CCF hex format for programmable remotes like the Pronto, Marantz, Onkyo CHAD, Yamaha RAV-2000, or PDAs with AV remote control software that can utilize CCF.

Most of the IR methods (IR543AH is 120V only) will work worldwide but, like all IR, are limited to line of sight.

CodeGen™ is a freeware Windows utility that will generate the CCF hex format codes needed. For other systems that cannot use CCF, the codes are defined in this text file.


Infrared to RF
X-10 also uses RF transceivers such as the TM751, RR501, TM12, TM13, etc. that receive RF codes and transmit them to X-10's powerline protocol. In North America, these transceivers and RF remotes use 310MHz RF. In most locales outside of North America, the transceivers and RF remotes use 433.92MHz. The X-10RF protocol is quite different than they use for IR.

X-10 also makes some IR extenders (Powermids) which normally are sold in pairs. One module receives 40KHz IR and retransmits it as RF. The other half of the pair receives the RF and emits it as the original IR signal. In North America, the Powermids use 418MHz for RF; outside North America, they use 433.92MHz, the same frequency as is used by the TM12, TM13, etc.

Outside North America, programmable IR remotes like those listed earlier can be programmed to send the RF protocol codes as modulated IR to the IR2RF half of the Pyramid pair which repeats it as modulated 433.92MHz RF which will be understood by the TM12, TM13, etc.

In North America, the same thing can be achieved by building an IR2RF Converter that will convert the IR from the programmable remote into the 310MHz RF signal that can be understood by the TM751, RR501, etc. The converter is easy to build. Electric Dog Ventures stocks all of the components needed.

CodeGen™ is a freeware Windows utility that will generate the CCF hex format codes needed.

Wow, how do you follow a post like that. I must admit some of that jargon was a little over my head. Nice to know that there are some really knowledgable people on this site. Of course Kenwood could have made a real simple solution to this by allowing different addresses for each Entre' kinda like Directtv receivers do. But I suppose they never imagined one person would need more than one Entre'.

Originally posted by Adam Mrotek
<snip>But I suppose they never imagined one person would need more than one Entre'. The Axcesses allow you to pick which Entre you want so they did consider a multiple Entre house. Not sure, however, they considered them in the same room!

Still looking for a cost to upgrade players after July 31st. Does anyone have that info?

Originally posted by wagncv
Still looking for a cost to upgrade players after July 31st. Does anyone have that info? Does that mean KW won't tell you when you contacted them? Sorry if you said this in your previous post but I didn't recall it.

Does that mean KW won't tell you when you contacted them? Sorry if you said this in your previous post but I didn't recall it.

I have contact KW via e-mail with this exact question and still have not gotten any reply :confused: .

I have asked several times and have not received an email response. That is why I asked you guys. You all seem to be in the know.

Charles

Originally posted by wagncv
I have asked several times and have not received an email response. That is why I asked you guys. You all seem to be in the know.
Charles Perhaps you should tell them you have more hardware then "Nick". They may perk up then <hehehe>. Heck I'd call in person and rattle some cages. I think they are still trying to do a break even analysis, however. Perhaps they are tabulating the number of request before and shortly after the 31st date. Whatever they need to breakeven then they divide that by the potential late comers to determine a "per late comer" cost <grin>.

Unrelated: Talk to the neighbor a few minutes ago and he e-mailed them and they replied on the 28th and requested it be there on the 29th....doh! He declined is is trying to get another date. Perhaps the contracted "specialist" that are only there through the 31st. Who knows.

I'm a bit concerned...

My changer has been at Kenwood for 2 weeks now. So, I emailed them to see what was up. And, they said that my changer wasn't reading any discs, so it was in for repair.

I responded with a "yikes." -- My changer never, ever had a problem reading discs when it was in my house. I've read about other people's changers being sensitive, but I've never had that problem. Now, I'm kind of bummed, because who knows what happened to it in shipping, or while it was there.

The one issue my changer might have had is that it would periodically mistakenly slot discs into slots that already had CDs in it, but I'm fairly sure that was the Entre screwing up, not the changer. Can't be positive, though.

In any case, they're going to fix it, of course, but now I feel like I have damanged goods, when I used to have a generally nicely working changer. And... who knows how much longer they'll have it.

Originally posted by wagncv
Still looking for a cost to upgrade players after July 31st. Does anyone have that info?

I have never seen anyone post that information. I don't think anyone has inquired, at least not anyone that has posted.

Nick :cool:

I was told by Jill at Kenwood to look around mid-August for upgrade pricing.Also changers must arrive by 7/31 to be eligible for the free upgrade, even if you have an appointment.

Let me cry about this one on the forum's shoulder:

1) Changer door refuses to open and carousel does not move.
2) I send it to my area's service center in Virginia Beach (from Tallahassee) with a detailed note explaining the issue and that the eject button has never worked.
3) I receive changer back in 2 weeks with carousel working but not eject button. I mistakenly reload all DVD's and CD's without testing unit. Changer now refuses to play any DVD's and continuously flips them.
4) Firmware update has now been publicized so I try to send it to the CA location for repair and upgrade.
5) Virginia location is convinced that it was damaged in shipping and requires me to return it to their location via UPS.
6) UPS receives damaged in shipping notification from Kenwood and thus must inspect unit prior to returning it to Virginia. They pick it up 1 week after notification.
7) Shipping seems to be in order and unit is sent to Virginia. Virginia has unit for 2 weeks to again fix unit.
8) Virginia then ships to CA for firmware upgrade. CA notifies me that on initial test the unit fails to eject discs and also fails to play them. They will do both upgrade and repair.
9) I contact Virginia Kenwood service center and am told the following, "Well, they'll definitely fix it out there." No apologies, no explanation, no nothing.
10) Kenwood in CA has been rather detailed and timely with updates to me.
11) Still trying to find out who the boss is in VA so we can engage in a rational discourse.

Lesson learned- Send everything Kenwood to CA and nothing to the Redneck buffoons in VA. And for the politically correct folks, I am in Tallahassee so I can say Redneck if I want to.

Derek,

nice to know we're in it together--a kind of support group or are we Beta testers. I received my upgraded changer several days ago but they didn't fix the eject or the freezing problem on layer change.I called Kenwood and they assured me that they would have UPS pick it up sometime tues. (today). Last night I unloaded and boxed-up the changer, my wife stayed home and waited all day--- for nothing! No UPS driver ever showed up.

Can anyone say how these now daisy chain. Did they they do any hardware upgrades. Mine came back the same and it doesn't have any hardware changes. How does it know there is a second changer?

Originally posted by Carbo
Can anyone say how these now daisy chain. Did they they do any hardware upgrades. Mine came back the same and it doesn't have any hardware changes. How does it know there is a second changer?

You simply follow the instructions in the original DV-5900/DV-5050 for daisy chaining up to three changers together. Then the Entre is connected to the "Main" changer (of Main, Sub1, and Sub2) via the 232 connector, and the Entre recognizes the amount of changers attached, and gives a unified menu (1 to 400, 800, or 1200).

Just remember the extra cables you need when daisy-chaining the changers. Starting from the bottom in a three-chain setup, you go out from the Sub2 Unit, to the input on the Sub1 unit, then out from the Sub1 to the Main unit. Then you go out from the Main unit to the Entre, then out from the Entre into your A/V processor. Each one of these steps would include digital audio cables (coaxial for the inputs to the changers), component video cables, and, probably, s-video cables (unless you can get by on just component video cables).

Works really great. When you choose from the Entre, and move from a disc that is in one changer to a different changer, the change from, for example, Main to Sub1, is done in a flash. Disc change speed really has been improved, and, yes, so has the layer change.

All in all, this is getting close to being the product that David Bott said we had high hopes for, when he started this thread. It is one of the snazziest elements in all of home theater.

Nick :cool:

Thanks Nick, I was about to remove the post because I couldn't get it to see the sub1 and 2, but I guess I needed to power them down from the front switch for it to work. It seems to be reading the discs faster for the look ups.

If you go into the Entre Setup Menu, click on to "changer management." If the Entre is seeing the other units, it will indicate such in several places:

1. Changer Statistics
2. Lookup Range (asks you to click on which changer, and, if you have more than 1, it will say KDVD1, KDVD2, etc.)

Make sure the stereo mini pin cable is connected in the correct way from the Changer on Top (the bottom input) to the next one down (the top input)---speaking about the two inputs on the rear panel of the changers that accepts the changer link cables.

Finally, make sure you know about this link to test if the changer has in fact been upgraded. It's the one sure way. http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/printpost.php?postid=2440243

Nick :cool:

Jon

I had a similar thing occur, Kenwood called me and told me one of my changer (5900) was broken and was not repairable so they were sending me a new one, I had never had any problem with the unit before so I assumed something happened in shipping...BTW the "new" changer was a refurb but they also sent me an extended three year warranty for it.


Tom

Well, on July 17, Kenwood shipped back two of the three original units I'd sent in for upgrade, noting that the third unit needed a repair. Today I got notice that it had been shipped on the 25th, so we're talking about a lag of just over a week for those who also had their "upgrades" kept back for repair.

Nick :cool:

my appointment was for July 29th and I still haven't got back my changer. Darn Kenwood!!! :) They should upgrade it and send it here on a Lear Jet.

And now for something completely different--I think. I have 4 DVD's I recorded using a Philips recorder on to +R discs. I loaded into my 5050 and it read 1 without a hitch and plays back perfectly; 5050 said the other three were incorrect discs. What the hey?

I just got my 5050M back exactly 7 days after I shipped it and I was very impressed with the double box, peanuts and padding used by Kenwood. After hooking it back up I loaded a DVD-R disc and I was surprised that it was able to play it back. Before the upgrade none of my DVD-R discs played in my Kenwood. Did DVD-R support exist before the upgraded and I happened to have a malfunctioning unit or was it part of the upgrade?

Originally posted by slocko
my appointment was for July 29th and I still haven't got back my changer. Darn Kenwood!!! :) They should upgrade it and send it here on a Lear Jet.

My appointment was for the 23rd. I just got the e-mail that the upgrade was completed and given the tracking number a few minutes ago. It was sent Monday (28th) and will be here tomorrow (31st). Nothing was said about repairs as mine also made the grinding noise when the carousel spun. Go figure.

Bob

if my 5900 can play R+ that will be a bonus.

I'm curious now if any of you having just the 5900M see any performance increase after the upgrade? I've done the 3 finger salute, and have the latest updates from my upgrade. But I can't tell any difference in changer speed.

I still haven't had a chance to watch a movie end to end to verify the layer change so don't know about that one.

I also can't seem to get Netnamer to work under XP. Several selections on the menus cause it to crash. Anybody else have this problem?

the only way i could tell, was comparing a new changer side by side with an old one. they both loaded the disc at the same time, but the new changer read the disc for less time.

Slocko,

I've been successfully playing +RW and +R discs in my 5900M for the last year. No problems yet. Now if I could just get at least one of my changers back from the upgrade I'd be fine.

Mike

Originally posted by fireboy92k
I also can't seem to get Netnamer to work under XP. Several selections on the menus cause it to crash. Anybody else have this problem?

I am also having problems with NetNamer connecting to an upgraded 5900. I called Tech Support and was told to expect a call tomorrow after they test it out. I'll update the forum on what I hear.

BTW, JuKen's importer.exe sucessfully imports a previously exported XML file but halts after the first disc.

. . . works. My third new changer (and 2d 5900), and third upgraded changer arrived today. After verifying the secret handshake, I connected the new DV-5900 to the third of the movie chain. Ironically, it's the brand new 5900 that is the Sub2 changer (last).

As soon as the replaced Entre arrives, I'm then done, except for some remote control difficulties.

Nick :cool:

I can confirm that the 5900m plays dvd-r that I burned on the computer. Media from Meritline burned on a sony dru-500a.

Originally posted by Bob_422
My appointment was for the 23rd. I just got the e-mail that the upgrade was completed and given the tracking number a few minutes ago. It was sent Monday (28th) and will be here tomorrow (31st). Nothing was said about repairs as mine also made the grinding noise when the carousel spun. Go figure.

Bob

Thank you Bob...
My appointment was also for the 23rd, so I just checked my e-mail and there it was... shipped on the 28th and will be delivered on the 31st. Does anyone know if Kenwood ships it "signature required"?

Larry

Larry

Yes a signature is required


Tom

What is the warranty on the entre? I thought all the sovereign products were two years.

I just got a letter from kenwood saying they were giving me a warranty on my exchange till October 2003. Now that is very comical since the receipt they insisted I fax them a copy of said a purchase date of August 2002. So they shortened my warranty, unless it's not 2 years on the entre.

Response to asking what the cost of the upgrade would be after today....

Dear Charles Wagner,

This response is to acknowledge the receipt of your email. Once this information becomes available, we will email you back with the cost for upgrade. In the meantime, to verify if the DV-5900M or DV-5050M you are going to purchase is upgraded, make sure the serial numbers are above 30400400 and marked with a "3" on the bottom of their chassis.

Sincerely,

Kenwood USA Corporation

Originally posted by wagncv
Response to asking what the cost of the upgrade would be after today....

Dear Charles Wagner,

This response is to acknowledge the receipt of your email. Once this information becomes available, we will email you back with the cost for upgrade. In the meantime, to verify if the DV-5900M or DV-5050M you are going to purchase is upgraded, make sure the serial numbers are above 30400400 and marked with a "3" on the bottom of their chassis.

Sincerely,

Kenwood USA Corporation

And we already know that the serial number part is wrong. Two of my new changers, already upgraded, have lower numbers than that. It was because Kenwood had given me the same information that I called and wondered whether to even open up the boxes. When I did, that was when they gave me the test to verify.

You would think Kenwood would have picked this one up by now.

Nick :cool:

Originally posted by slocko
What is the warranty on the entre? I thought all the sovereign products were two years.

I just got a letter from kenwood saying they were giving me a warranty on my exchange till October 2003. Now that is very comical since the receipt they insisted I fax them a copy of said a purchase date of August 2002. So they shortened my warranty, unless it's not 2 years on the entre. When I registered my Entre on-line I got this: Thank you for registering your Kenwood Product
Your confirmation number is: Wxxxxxx
Your warranty has been extended for an additional 2 year(s)

You would think Kenwood would have planned all this out before hand.

Originally posted by wagncv
Response to asking what the cost of the upgrade would be after today....

Dear Charles Wagner,

This response is to acknowledge the receipt of your email. Once this information becomes available, we will email you back with the cost for upgrade. In the meantime, to verify if the DV-5900M or DV-5050M you are going to purchase is upgraded, make sure the serial numbers are above 30400400 and marked with a "3" on the bottom of their chassis.

Sincerely,

Kenwood USA Corporation

Thxs Scott. Time to give them a call.

Originally posted by ScottF200
When I registered my Entre on-line I got this:

dvd player came back today rattels like hell! door will not open! carasel will not turn! entre will not reset! KENWOOD YOU SU%&!!! Other than that everything is fine

Vaha, you have a bad case of Murphy's Law. Better hope Kenwood doesn't make you file a claim with UPS.

Do you have any kenwood authorized centers near you? You might be better off taking it in yourself.

Originally posted by OscrDGrch
I am also having problems with NetNamer connecting to an upgraded 5900. I called Tech Support and was told to expect a call tomorrow after they test it out. I'll update the forum on what I hear.

BTW, JuKen's importer.exe sucessfully imports a previously exported XML file but halts after the first disc.

Although NetNamer is still not working, I have fixed the problem with JuKen. When I exported my titles prior to shipping special characters line " & " and " ' " were not replaced with their HTML equivalents (&amp; and &apos;). It also halted on empty definitions (i.e. a list of empty track titles). After editing the XML document, it imported perfectly.

With regards to NetNamer, Kenwood Tech Suppot was able to get it to work with an upgraded unit. They recommended a clean reinstall but it didn't fix the problem. I let you know if I find a fix.

Vaha,

Had the same problem. Try this, put it on a big table, and take the top off. Then plug it in and see if it works. Mine did.

So I put it back together, back into the cabinent and it worked for a day and then quit again. So I repeated above again, and same thing (i.e. it worked with the lid off).

So I put the lid back on, and just lightly tightened the screws. Hasn't quit yet. My guess is that the screws are hitting something inside, but what I don't know.

If you want to not take the lid off, just try loosing the case screws. I know it sounds goofy, but mine is working fine now.

"dvd player came back today rattels like hell! door will not open! carasel will not turn! entre will not reset! KENWOOD YOU SU%&!!! Other than that everything is fine"

Before you make such a statment about Kenwood, you may want to consider SHIPPING. AS if Kenwood would send you a unit like that. Come on now.

I agree with David... It appears the units are sensitive to the shipment. I am sure they work fine before they are sent out.

So my updated changer came back today. I only have one but of course its nearly full. I hooked it up and guess what.. The entre is NOT DETECTING the changer. I called tech support they now want me to send it back to an authorised dealer. Im truly frustrated... does anyone have any suggestions
Its set to Main 1 at the back

Serial Cable Connected? I can say I forgot to hook up mine. ;) (I know dumb, but I did it.)

Thanks David.. no its definately hooked up. Ive just done a software update lets see what that brings

No that did not help. i have progressive scan selected is that correct??? does that make a difference at all.

AAARGH!

Went to the theater for the first time in a year or two today to see American Wedding. Good movie, lousy service, sticky floors, rude staff - now I remember why I love watching movies at home so much. Came back to find a delivery notice - missed the UPS guy and will now have to wait till Monday to get the first changer back. It's going to be a looooong weekend! :-)

Mike

i hope i am one of the lucky ones whose changer comes back intact.

Originally posted by David Bott
"dvd player came back today rattels like hell! door will not open! carasel will not turn! entre will not reset! KENWOOD YOU SU%&!!! Other than that everything is fine"

Before you make such a statment about Kenwood, you may want to consider SHIPPING. AS if Kenwood would send you a unit like that. Come on now.

David, I've defended Kenwood as much as anyone on here and that is essentially what they did to me. They returned my player and it would not play anything. They then "repaired" it again and sent it to CA for the upgrade where upon arrival it again did not play anything. So that makes them 0 for 2. Kenwood has now had my unit for almost 2 MONTHS and that ain't got nothin' to do with shipping. I really like their tech support but the repair, at least at the Virginia service center, definitely SU%&S!

progressive setting has no bearing on your problem.

if you go into the statistics page, do you see any data for the changer?

Originally posted by Clingpeach
No that did not help. i have progressive scan selected is that correct??? does that make a difference at all.

Derek,

Next time you have a problem let me know and I will give you the address of my Authorized Center. Shipping to NJ shouldn't add that much time to the process.

Originally posted by DerekFSU
David, I've defended Kenwood as much as anyone on here and that is essentially what they did to me. They returned my player and it would not play anything. They then "repaired" it again and sent it to CA for the upgrade where upon arrival it again did not play anything. So that makes them 0 for 2. Kenwood has now had my unit for almost 2 MONTHS and that ain't got nothin' to do with shipping. I really like their tech support but the repair, at least at the Virginia service center, definitely SU%&S!

Originally posted by David Bott
"dvd player came back today rattels like hell! door will not open! carasel will not turn! entre will not reset! KENWOOD YOU SU%&!!! Other than that everything is fine"

Before you make such a statment about Kenwood, you may want to consider SHIPPING. AS if Kenwood would send you a unit like that. Come on now. Vaha didn't actually mention how the unit was packed when he got it returned....but David, if you read a few pages back you'll see Kenwood was not exactly helping the "shipper" by their packaging. However, I do realize even the best of packaging won't help the worst of the shipping treatment.

Originally posted by Clingpeach
So my updated changer came back today. I only have one but of course its nearly full. I hooked it up and guess what.. The entre is NOT DETECTING the changer. I called tech support they now want me to send it back to an authorised dealer. Im truly frustrated... does anyone have any suggestions
Its set to Main 1 at the back

There are two of the RS232 ports on the Entre. You need to make sure you're connected to the bottom of the two.

Try this:

1. Turn off the Entre
2. Do a reset on your changer (press user file on the front, at the same time you turn the hard power button OFF; then turn the power button back ON)
3. After the changer resets, then turn the Entre back on. If you go into the setup menu for changer statistics, it will tell you whether the Entre detects the changer--but I had this type of problem recently, and that's how it got resolved.

Good luck.

Nick :cool:

My upgraded changer was waiting for me when I got home from work. Nice way to start the weekend! Now I just have to unpack it, set it up and load it. I'll report later on my findings.

Ken

My repaired DV-5050 was sent back, but not in its original box. Not even a DV-5050 box. Just a brown box. But it works.

It's all up. Two Entres, 6 changers. And I even solved my RF/IR problem (I think) just by moving the RF receiver deeper into the cabinet. All working pretty damn well.

My prediction: This is going to catch on. It will start right here, too.

Nick :cool:

I have 3 of my 4 changers back, and accept for the eject button on all three, everything worked great. Of course so did the forth changer when I sent it, but they said they have to repair because door did not open.

I am so pleased with how things are working!

charles

Nick and slocko tried both those with tech support no good. What i dont understand is that it left in perfect working order. I have a question?? Does any female 9 pin cord work. Im using the supplied kenwood 232 cord but was thinking of trying something else

Originally posted by ScottF200
Vaha didn't actually mention how the unit was packed when he got it returned....but David, if you read a few pages back you'll see Kenwood was not exactly helping the "shipper" by their packaging. However, I do realize even the best of packaging won't help the worst of the shipping treatment. The changer, which by the way is my second, was double boxed in the original box that I sent it in with the styrofoam. Also packed in the styrofoam peanuts. The first changer was sent to a service center in Cleveland ,set there for two months waiting on parts then they decided to send a new changer. Was on the phone today for better than an hour to try to get the entre to connect to the Internet but to no avail. Nick was very helpful and he did get the entre to reset. I had to go to work so we will continue Monday. I have no complaints about the service just the reliability of there products. What worries me is that my warranty will be up in two months. Than I'll have to pay for this all myself.

FYI. For those of you who are using Dvdlobby with Kenwood changers, Mario now has a beta plug-in that can control the changer directly from dvdlobby. I reloaded my upgraded changer and am using dvdlobby as a front end and it is pretty impressive I actually prefer it to the entre. Here is a link to the dvdlobby thread: http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?s=&postid=2498028#post2498028

pmohajer

Does it interface directly through a serial port or do you need an slinke ?



Tom

the plugin works through the serial port. ironically it came out about the same time as kenwood's solution.

if you have an htpc, dvdlobby is an excellent backup if you ever have to send your entre in for repair.

I assume you have to connect your computer with dvd lobby to the changer. So now i have taken my changer to a kenwood dealer and im absolutely frustrated that i had a perfect working changer before i sent it in for the upgrade. I dont know what couldve happened to make the Entre not recognise the changer

Originally posted by Clingpeach
I assume you have to connect your computer with dvd lobby to the changer. So now i have taken my changer to a kenwood dealer and im absolutely frustrated that i had a perfect working changer before i sent it in for the upgrade. I dont know what couldve happened to make the Entre not recognise the changer

Adele:

One last thought. You did set the daisy chain switch on the back to "Main," as opposed to sub1 or sub2. Only the main can connect to the Entre.

Nick :cool:

Yes Nick it was set to Main, triple checked that. Do you know anything about dvd lobby.. do you download it and connect the computer to the back of the 232 port on the changer??

yes. there is a little up front work, but once everything is set, it's not too bad. the integration has gotten better.

how do you know it's the changer and not the entre? do you have another changer to verify the entre is working?

your problem sounds almost like if you didn't have the switch on main. have you tried moving the switch back and forth, maybe there is a loose connection?

check out http://www.webpromotion.com/cinemar/ for more info on dvd lobby. the creator is very helpful and can answer all your questions.

or you can pm me and i will explain the basics to you.

Yes i tried moving the switch back and forth. its hard now for me to play around.. as i have already taken the changer back for repair. one of the things thats is bothering me now is even without the entre hooked up to the changer, in changer statistics on the entre its reporting no changer connected but that there are a total of 5 dvds. how do i do a hard reset of the entre. my manuals are in another room where someone is sleeping

Adele,

I had a similar problem and what worked for me was shutting the power down fromt the front power button on the changers. The remote power button and the power cord would not do it. I had to shut down the from the front.

i just did a manual shut down of the entre (as i say changer not in the house) changer statistics still say no changer attached but that there are 5 disks how do i get rid of that

im trying to restore factory defaults but i dont see such an item in the utilites information as per the instruction manual.. have they taken this option away

In the Setup Menu....type in 5555 to get to the menu you need. Warning...Going back to factory defaults THIS WILL WIPE ALL DATA. You will be back to a NEW ENTRE. I am in no way telling you to do this, just answering your question.

Originally posted by David Bott
In the Setup Menu....type in 5555 to get to the menu you need. Warning...Going back to factory defaults THIS WILL WIPE ALL DATA. You will be back to a NEW ENTRE. I am in no way telling you to do this, just answering your question.

If you don't have a lot of stuff stored on the hard drive, it's not a big deal. If you do, then you've lost everything.

However . . . make sure after you do the 5555 thing that you update the software. You don't want to start loading things with Version 1 of the Software.

Nick :cool:

i have NOTHING in there.. except my static ip address. i use this purely for dvd... i have an escient hooked up to a sony cd changer. im going to try in a couple of minutes. what do i have to lose???

Although I have never heard any difference whatsoever between coaxial digital cables and optical or toslink cables, I have generally tended to coaxial.

And, since I got my first changers before my first Entre arrived, I already had in place a long enough coaxial cable from Main Changer directly to my preamp/processor. Although I did run an optical cable from the Entre to my processor, I did not make a digital connection from Main Changer to the Entre. Hence, the only digital signal that could originate from the Entre would be digital material that started in the Entre, such as a single disc CD--which was virtually never done.

Never made any difference, since the changers fed their digital output to the preamp, and the Entre merely controlled them.

I tried today going the other route, i.e., running the coaxial digital output from Main Changer to the Entre, and then assuming that Entre would pass the signal via the toslink to the processor. I got no signal, and just reconnected things the way they were.

I've been too lazy to go to the manual, but did notice in the Entre Setup menu that there were "selections" for the analog "in" of the Entre, and selections for the digital "in" of the Entre, for both coaxial or toslink. Keep in mind that Entre has two digital inputs (one toslink, one coax), but only one digital output, i.e., a toslink output.

The choices that are presented are things like "changer," "cd," "dss," "ld," etc.--in other words for the analog or digital inputs of the Entre, you're supposed to assign something to each of them. I realized then that whatever sound I've ever gotten directly from the Entre has only been through its two channel analog outputs (the Lexicon OSD confirms it's an analog signal). This hasn't been an issue, since the only thing I've used the Entre for sonically has been an occasional listen to internet radio--moments, nothing more. My precious digital material got fed directly from the coaxial output of the Main Changer, and it was never convenient for me to think of doing otherwise.

By the way, I assume that internet radio can be passed via the digital output of the Entre, or perhaps I'm fussing over something that ultimately means nothing--to me, that is.

It is now convenient for me to try the other approach (and this all relates to a rat's nest of wires that are difficult to access from the rear panel of the Lexicon, when it is placed in a cabinet). In other words, I now want to run a coaxial output from the Main Changer to the Entre, and then have the Entre feed the digital signal to the Lexicon. I suppose a case could be made that it is better to stay direct from the DVD changer to the Lexicon, rather than place another intermediary in the path, but that is probably more theoretical than practical (in terms of hearing any difference).

The audio "input" options in the Entre setup menu are a bit confusing. Since I would be running changer-to-Entre, then Entre-to-Lexicon (and would maintain both a digital and analog output from the Entre to the Lexicon), that means there is a specific assignment that must be made for each of the "input" choices in the audio setup menu of the Entre. I recall reading that it was not quite intuitive, and my initial selection of "changer" didn't pan out. That is, the only sound that I can get from the Entre to the Lexicon is from the two channel analog outputs.

I may have only been, at all times (and certainly now) only receiving the analog signal from Entre, and that would only occur when I listened to radio; everything else was appropriately digital, because it bypassed the Entre.

But now I want to try the other route. For those who have utilized the full changer-to-Entre-to-receiver/processor path, what settings have you ascribed in the Entre setup menu.

By the way, this request is literally being made because if I can yank out of the Lexicon the coaxial cable that is fed from the DVD player, it makes access to my rear panel more palatable. If I succeed, and nevertheless detect a differnce, I'll just go back to the old way.

For ease of refernce, the settings I'm referring to in the Entre are accessed as follows:

1. Press setup on Entre remote
2. Press Audio & Video Settings
3. Press Audio Input Selection
4. Make choices, which are many for (1) analog audio/rec in; (2)
optical input; (3) coaxial input.

So, for those who have been down this road, which to choose? I recall someone posting a long time ago that this particular part of the setup was a little tricky. I'll get to the bottom of it with the manual, but, if anyone's got the quick and dirty, I'm interested.

Thanks, if you've extended me the courtesy of reading a long post designed to get the Cliff's Notes, rather than re-reading the manual.

Nick :cool:

In my "Music Entre," the changers will contain not only DVD-Audio discs, and CDs, but also standard DVDs that are music based. One such music based disc is Woodstock, the legendary Woodstock.

I've got a photo of the title from DVD Profiler, and the real name is something like "Woodstock, 3 Days of (peace and music, music and peace, whatever). However, any derivations of that name refuse to obtain the cover art, which I could swear was there before. Now, the closest thing I can get is a Woodstock Jazz Festival.

Any secrets on how to enter the name? Does anyone have the Woodstock cover art?

Thanks,

Nick :cool:

Nick,

First, I run my changer (only one so far as te second one is in for repair) through the Entre and from there into the MC-12. I have an optical connection between both the changer and the Entre and the Entre and the MC-12. I don't recall making any changes in setup on the Entre, and the Entre has always passed digital audio from the changer through to the MC-12. Note that the only thing that the Entre outputs in digital format is (1) passthrough output from the changer and (2) CDs played in the internal player. Everything else (MP3s and Internet Radio) is analog only.

I've never been able to get cover art on Woodstock either.

The Entre will NOT pass both an analog and digital signal through it, if you want to go digital you must disable the analog setting in the Audio menu. I have my setup like yours I feed the digital output from the Main changer directly to my Onkyo 989, I will never play a CD in the Entre so it really doesn't matter to me.


Tom

Originally posted by b00bie
The Entre will NOT pass both an analog and digital signal through it, if you want to go digital you must disable the analog setting in the Audio menu. I have my setup like yours I feed the digital output from the Main changer directly to my Onkyo 989, I will never play a CD in the Entre so it really doesn't matter to me.


Tom

Okay . . . but does that mean, like Robert said, that you can't get internet radio passed through digitally? Quite frankly I will never use the Entre as a CD player, so the ability to send digital signals from it directly for that purpose is of no sway; again, however, I'm on a mission of late, i.e., to clean up the many digital cables that plague the rear panel of my Lexicon MC-12B. I'm going to post something on the Lexicon Forum that will address the question of whether I can even be more radical, i.e., use an MSB Digital Director before the MC-12. I know it will work, but I'm not sure how bright it is.

Your post implies that if you disable the analog setting in the Entre, you will then get a digital feed, which would then at least apply to internet radio. Is that what you're saying?

Thanks, Tom.

Nick :cool:

I beleive it has to do with the signal that is passed through the Entre, if you disable the analog input you will pass a digital signal through the entre, but I believe that the mp3's and radio will still be output on the analog only.....

Ya gotta love Kenwood


Tom

So i did a reset of my entre and did a software update and now cannot check the dvd changer so will wait till it comes back. Why does (on manufacture reset) all those ridiculous mp3 files come up.. How do i get rid of them???

you have to go in to options and you will find a delete in there.

Nick,

Like Robert said, no matter what, the Entre will play Internet radio and MP3s through the analog ouputs only. I attached a picture of my Audio Input Selection screen. This sounds to me like they way you want yours setup, and it worked for me before the upgrade. My changer isn't back yet. Coax from Changer to Entre, Optical from Entre to my Pioneer 49TXi. You can have both analog and Digital audio connections from your changer to the Entre if you want. I do because any CD with MP3s on it only plays out the analog connection of the changer.

Bob

Originally posted by Bob_422
Nick,

Like Robert said, no matter what, the Entre will play Internet radio and MP3s through the analog ouputs only. I attached a picture of my Audio Input Selection screen. This sounds to me like they way you want yours setup, and it worked for me before the upgrade. My changer isn't back yet. Coax from Changer to Entre, Optical from Entre to my Pioneer 49TXi. You can have both analog and Digital audio connections from your changer to the Entre if you want. I do because any CD with MP3s on it only plays out the analog connection of the changer.

Bob

Thanks, Bob. That setting worked. It's a little weird the way the settings are phrased. I won't yet go analog out of the changer to the Entre, as I don't use MP3 discs--yet.

What's the setting to record something ripped to the hard drive, to a blank CD-R?

Thanks,

Nick :cool:

Originally posted by Nick Satullo
What's the setting to record something ripped to the hard drive, to a blank CD-R? It's on the Options menu in the Music section.

Nick,

You have several ways to make an audio CD. It all starts on page 89 of the "new" Entre manual v2. I haven't actually done this, but the procedure looks fairly straightforward. Maybe someone else has actually done it, and could say if it really works as easily as the manual describes.

Bob

It's not all that hard.You can may duplicate discs or make "Greatest Hit" cd's from your entire collection. Also is nice to make duplicates of your discs in case they are scratched. Procedure is easy once you learn it.

Anyone here have their entre connected to the internet through starband satellite system? And if so how did you make the connection from modem to entre? Thanks Dave

Hey guys,

I just got done testing a new Kenwood software plugin that allows for disc play via the serial port on the Kenwood changer via DVDLobby. It works great in my tests. You just look at your dvd profiles in DVDLobby and when you see the DVD you want you click the cover and it plays in the Kenwood changer. Mario, over at Cinemar is working on this for the Kenwood changer. If anyone is interested, I know he is still looking for testers and people interested in Kenwood changer support in DVDLobby. His website is cinemaronline.com .

Earcandy

Hey

Sounds like a step in the right direction, let me know when it supports multiple changers and I'll take a look at it, I have always been impressed with the look of Mario's interface.


Tom

After having the weekend to play with my upgraded changer, here's what I've found:

1. As reported by others, the unit came extremely well packed - bubble wrap, styrofoam, double boxed - the works. I didn't get a Kenwood 5900 or 5050 box, however. Just a plain brown box.

2. No apparent physical damage to the unit. It looks the same as when I sent it in. No rattles either. No apparent mechanical damage to the unit. Door opens and closes just fine, eject mechanism still works as always, carosel is smooth and quiet. Flawless playback of DVDs.

3. Improvements: Layer change has been nearly eliminated. If you blink when it happens, you'll miss it. Loading a disk seems slighlty faster. Changing between disks is noticeably faster. And it may be just me, but DVD menu navigation seems to be quicker as well. Since I don't have an Entre or a second changer (yet) I wasn't able to test the new multi-changer support.

All in all, well worth the $43 I paid in shipping and the eight days I was without my player. Well done Kenwood.

Ken

DVD +R/RW redux

I am still having problem getting my 5050 to play the majority of the discs I have recorded on DVD +R. Ratio is about 20%. Error message says "can't play this type of disc". I called KW support and Miguel said the 5050 and 5900 were not designed to play discs you record yourself and if it plays any I should consider myself lucky . Anybody have any ideas? I'm using Maxell blanks. Other brands perhaps?

I see that your karma with electronic devices continues :)

Originally posted by K_Thompson
After having the weekend to play with my upgraded changer, here's what I've found:

1. As reported by others, the unit came extremely well packed - bubble wrap, styrofoam, double boxed - the works. I didn't get a Kenwood 5900 or 5050 box, however. Just a plain brown box.

2. No apparent physical damage to the unit. It looks the same as when I sent it in. No rattles either. No apparent mechanical damage to the unit. Door opens and closes just fine, eject mechanism still works as always, carosel is smooth and quiet. Flawless playback of DVDs.

3. Improvements: Layer change has been nearly eliminated. If you blink when it happens, you'll miss it. Loading a disk seems slighlty faster. Changing between disks is noticeably faster. And it may be just me, but DVD menu navigation seems to be quicker as well. Since I don't have an Entre or a second changer (yet) I wasn't able to test the new multi-changer support.

All in all, well worth the $43 I paid in shipping and the eight days I was without my player. Well done Kenwood.

Ken

Originally posted by slocko
I see that your karma with electronic devices continues :)

Was there ever any doubt? :D

Ken

Originally posted by JNelson
DVD +R/RW redux

I am still having problem getting my 5050 to play the majority of the discs I have recorded on DVD +R. Ratio is about 20%. Error message says "can't play this type of disc". I called KW support and Miguel said the 5050 and 5900 were not designed to play discs you record yourself and if it plays any I should consider myself lucky . Anybody have any ideas? I'm using Maxell blanks. Other brands perhaps?

What are you using to record your discs?? Are you using an A/V device (Panasonic E50) or a PC with a DVD Recorder? If PC what software?

I have had very good luck (but now without lessons learned) with a couple of differant methods on my 5900. I have used exclusivly DVD-R for the maximum DVD player compatibility.

Feel free to PM if you want.

Well, after getting my first weekend with the player full open, all seems to be well. The initial problem with the door seem to have worked themselves out, I've now seen the layer change in action (or lack of action! Bravo on that one), and played around a little. It does appear that the load times ones a disc starts spinning are much better, though i don't have a way to measure and the onscreen interfaces seem to be a bit 'peppier'. I can't tell if the disc changes are faster, but mine doesn't seem to spin any faster than it did before.

So all in all, I'd pay the $75 bucks again for it. Thanks for the support Kenwood.

For future reference, here are my suggestions:

1. Be a little more forthcoming with your upgrade announcements upfront and the exact content of them. Having to get the information through a third party like David just doesn't do you justice. And I don't have a regular Kenwood service dealer within 200 miles, so it's not like a car where I take it in for regular maintenance.

2. Bravo on the upgraded shipping stuff, hopefully you've added that as a general lessons learned for all future stuff like this.

3. The way you win and keep high end customers is not just by the content of your product, but by the extreme customer care that goes with it. For the prices that the Soveriegn series is going for, a little bit on your end goes a long ways on ours.

Overall I'd consider myself a satisfied customer today.

A few questions about DVD lookups. I have just loaded about 200 of my 1800 dvds into my machines.

The look up rate is not bad. My question is: What options do I have to look at openglobe's database to see how the title is worded.

Has anyone figured out how to load DVD covers instead of having to you generic for the ones that are not found.

How long does it take for openglobe to update system for new releases?

Has anyone figured out a way to back up the info on the entre so you would not have to go through this again if it crashed.

Any word on what new features openglobe is working on for our systems.

Charles

Also any way to edit Stars info?

Is there a process in place to send openglobe a list of the dvds not found and does it do any good?

have the considered working with the folks at DVD profiler?

Another dumb question, if I can find the DVD listed in the on-line search at openglobe and I type in the title the same with date if included why does it not find the dvd?

Originally posted by wagncv
Another dumb question, if I can find the DVD listed in the on-line search at openglobe and I type in the title the same with date if included why does it not find the dvd?

And where is the online search at OpenGlobe? That's precisely what we need, i.e., an internet base that tells us in advance what they have there, so we don't make ten different attempts to crawl in the window.

Why, as I mentioned the other day, the only cover art for Woodstock has to do with a jazz festival conducted there about twenty years after the landmark event befuddles me. I'm reasonably certain that the Woodstock, 3 Days of Peace & Music DVD is more popular than any other derivation of Woodstock, but for the life of me I can't crack the code to show it.

It's also important for DVD-Audio. Believe it or not, there are some DVD-Audio discs on OpenGlobe, and are so-noted in their titles when you download them (Audio Disc, DVD Audio, variant expressions amounting to "this is not just a DVD-Video disc).

By the way, Kenwood, OpenGlobe, You really should start adding DVD-Audio discs to the data base. I mean, c'mon, you did tell us it would be there (it's in the Entre manual), but, more fundamentally, there's still such a paucity of titles in DVD-Audio that it would take two high-school girls, not even valedictorians, some slave-wage pay over a weekend or two to enter every title availabe.

I have two DV-5900s among my array of 6 changers, and can honestly say that DVD-Audio is the most important function those changers have for me. Now, I realize that my system is not the norm, as the entire Faroudja/DcDi thing is wasted on me (since I use the interlaced outputs to a Faroudja processor that gives me the same thing, only at 720p, with all the players).

But the point is that I do have a relatively high end system, and I have become the kind of evangelist that Kenwood needs: The one that can assure the other people with decent systems that there is a place for "Kenwood" in those systems. I realize that you know better, and I am aware that Kenwood is thought of much differently in Japan, but you've just got to realize that the name "Kenwood" connotes, at best, mid-fi in America, and there are people out there who wouldn't even bother looking at these products unless you get enough people like me and others on this board that can become living demonstrations of what the Entre/Changers offer to a high-end system, because, unfortunately, to many of the people that spend the money on these things, it is quite important that the components in their stack speak of "high end."

I can't tell you the quizzical look I get when another A/V aficionado asks me of what my system is comprised, and I say things like Aerial, Lexicon, Krell, Faroudja, Kenwood . . . and then comes the befuddled glance. I can explain (but more importantly, now that I've got set up what I want, I can demonstrate) how the Entre/Changers fit quite nicely into the most versatile and high end of systems, but it takes a certain level of experience and maturity, not normally posessed by the high-end crowd, to grasp that.

DVD-Audio is very much a welcome addition to the high end, the immediate problem being the scarcity of software. So that ought to make it easy for you folks. Get all the DVD-Audio discs out there and stick that information in that base. And then let us show off to others how entry of information for a DVD-A disc is as easy as a DVD or a CD. Because if not, why put it on the DV-5900 to begin with, and why articulate in the Entre manual that "when" the DVD-A database is up and running, those discs too can be connected.

C'mon, I want to start posting on other forums what others are missing. You've got to help me make it hurt.

Nick :cool:

The look up rate is not bad. My question is: What options do I have to look at openglobe's database to see how the title is worded.
XXXXXXXXXXXX
None that we are aware of. You can search openglobe from within the entre, but those results often don't match what the entre is requiring. Beauty and the Beast is a prime example.
**********
Has anyone figured out how to load DVD covers instead of having to you generic for the ones that are not found.
XXXXXXXXXXXX
Not possible so far. You can do this with cds with media manager, but not dvds.
****************
How long does it take for openglobe to update system for new releases?
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
I am not sure, but I think it's relatively quick.
*******************
Has anyone figured out a way to back up the info on the entre so you would not have to go through this again if it crashed.
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
you can pm hmatos, he found a way to backup the drive using linux. however, you can only restore to another entre drive. so you cannot use this method to increase storage space. also, i don't think it's a straightforward process.
*************************

there is an email address set up for people to email unknowns. Scott always answers this question, so I am sure he will be along any minute with the address :)

no mention has ever been made of them entering into any relationship with the dvdprofiler folks.

Originally posted by wagncv
Also any way to edit Stars info?

Is there a process in place to send openglobe a list of the dvds not found and does it do any good?

have the considered working with the folks at DVD profiler?

dvdtitles@kenwoodusa.com is where you send missing titles.

Originally posted by Nick Satullo
By the way, Kenwood, OpenGlobe, You really should start adding DVD-Audio discs to the data base. I mean, c'mon, you did tell us it would be there (it's in the Entre manual), but, more fundamentally, there's still such a paucity of titles in DVD-Audio that it would take two high-school girls, not even valedictorians, some slave-wage pay over a weekend or two to enter every title availabe.

C'mon, I want to start posting on other forums what others are missing. You've got to help me make it hurt.

Nick :cool:

Once the DVD-Audio database gets going and we can edit DVDs as easily as CDs with Media Manager, I think this system will be as complete as it could possibly be in it's current form.

In the next version of the changers, I would like to have DVI output (actually in and out for daisy chaining), i-Link in and out for DVD-A/SACD and of course the ability to play SACD. That's my wish list for the future. Right now KW has their foot on the necks of the competition pushing their faces in the mud. Why let them up for air? Keep pushing forward and adding what the people really want, not what you think they want.

Bob

P.S. Get rid of the auto-play at startup on future changers too. Some people don't mind it, but most of us hate it.

Nick,

So nicely said. I agree 100%.


Originally posted by Nick Satullo
And where is the online search at OpenGlobe? That's precisely what we need, i.e., an internet base that tells us in advance what they have there, so we don't make ten different attempts to crawl in the window.

Why, as I mentioned the other day, the only cover art for Woodstock has to do with a jazz festival conducted there about twenty years after the landmark event befuddles me. I'm reasonably certain that the Woodstock, 3 Days of Peace & Music DVD is more popular than any other derivation of Woodstock, but for the life of me I can't crack the code to show it.

It's also important for DVD-Audio. Believe it or not, there are some DVD-Audio discs on OpenGlobe, and are so-noted in their titles when you download them (Audio Disc, DVD Audio, variant expressions amounting to "this is not just a DVD-Video disc).

By the way, Kenwood, OpenGlobe, You really should start adding DVD-Audio discs to the data base. I mean, c'mon, you did tell us it would be there (it's in the Entre manual), but, more fundamentally, there's still such a paucity of titles in DVD-Audio that it would take two high-school girls, not even valedictorians, some slave-wage pay over a weekend or two to enter every title availabe.

I have two DV-5900s among my array of 6 changers, and can honestly say that DVD-Audio is the most important function those changers have for me. Now, I realize that my system is not the norm, as the entire Faroudja/DcDi thing is wasted on me (since I use the interlaced outputs to a Faroudja processor that gives me the same thing, only at 720p, with all the players).

But the point is that I do have a relatively high end system, and I have become the kind of evangelist that Kenwood needs: The one that can assure the other people with decent systems that there is a place for "Kenwood" in those systems. I realize that you know better, and I am aware that Kenwood is thought of much differently in Japan, but you've just got to realize that the name "Kenwood" connotes, at best, mid-fi in America, and there are people out there who wouldn't even bother looking at these products unless you get enough people like me and others on this board that can become living demonstrations of what the Entre/Changers offer to a high-end system, because, unfortunately, to many of the people that spend the money on these things, it is quite important that the components in their stack speak of "high end."

I can't tell you the quizzical look I get when another A/V aficionado asks me of what my system is comprised, and I say things like Aerial, Lexicon, Krell, Faroudja, Kenwood . . . and then comes the befuddled glance. I can explain (but more importantly, now that I've got set up what I want, I can demonstrate) how the Entre/Changers fit quite nicely into the most versatile and high end of systems, but it takes a certain level of experience and maturity, not normally posessed by the high-end crowd, to grasp that.

DVD-Audio is very much a welcome addition to the high end, the immediate problem being the scarcity of software. So that ought to make it easy for you folks. Get all the DVD-Audio discs out there and stick that information in that base. And then let us show off to others how entry of information for a DVD-A disc is as easy as a DVD or a CD. Because if not, why put it on the DV-5900 to begin with, and why articulate in the Entre manual that "when" the DVD-A database is up and running, those discs too can be connected.

C'mon, I want to start posting on other forums what others are missing. You've got to help me make it hurt.

Nick :cool:

I think the most important feature to add, is the ability to back up all the data. I can't imagine having to go through everything again a third time. Nick has 3 changers. It takes a lot of time to lookup unknowns and set up categories and I only had one changer.

In my opinion, I don't think it would be hard for the competition to leap frog kenwood and leave them in the dust. There doesn't seem to be a market for it at the pricepoint Kenwood is targeting. Kenwood is probably regretting gettting into this niche.

Personally, Kenwood is going to be a stop gap for me. I am going to slowly transition over to the all digital realm. I think the HTPC has the potential to evolve rapidly beyond what these giant corporate giants can offer us. From the threads I have been researching here at avs, it seems that the pc in the future will equal and surpass all the expensive audio gear and scalers. Some highly regarded people here at AVS are already using the pc as a preamp/preprocessor and scaler with good results. The reason is that a lot of what is currently done in hardware, can be done in software. The ever increasing cpu speeds make this possible.

I am not an audiophile, so DVD-Audio/SACD only interest me as a curiosity. My money and time are geared toward video. The impression I get from here at avs, is that most techo-savy people want this to fail. People want to manipulate their music and these formats carry too many restrictions. are kids that grow up with digital music going to want to buy these restricted formats as young adults?

Granted, right now there is a learning curve that has to be climbed to make your htpc into a slick video/audio machine integrated into your pronto, but that should get easier every year as the product become better integrated.

I will give kudos to kenwood for trying and finally delivering a system that can easily be used now, but I don't think the product will evolve beyond it's niche, and will easily be surpassed if any competitor jumps in at their pricepoint. My bet will be in Sony since they have experience delivering desirable products to the masses and intermediate market.

We will see. In a few months you might see me come on here and say that the HTPC is not ready for primetime and that kenwood is the best thing since slicebread :D

Originally posted by b00bie
Hey

Sounds like a step in the right direction, let me know when it supports multiple changers and I'll take a look at it, I have always been impressed with the look of Mario's interface.


I added hooks to handle multiple changers when I wrote the control but since I don't have a 2nd changer and also haven't gotten my 5900 updated yet I am unable to do much testing for multiple changers.

If you have multiple changers (w/upgrade) and are interested in testing the control then send me a PM and I can work with a few folks to get the multi-changer support working 100%.

MediaStorm

Originally posted by slocko
<snip> Scott always answers this question, so I am sure he will be along any minute with the address :) <snip> :p You have a good memory...I spit that out because someday I may get that same DVD and I want it looked up :) ....I see you rememered Ken's karma as well too I noticed. I've missed a page and a half of post. Anyone else have problems where the forum stops sending you e-mails telling you the threads been updated. I only fix it by unsubscribing and subscribing again. I think it may be David with a "little doll and pins". When I don't get e-mail after a couple days I get the shakes and realize what I've missed. <--hyperbole

I just got the changer back today and won't be able to test it out for a few days. Hope to have Ken's karma as mine was working great before I shipped it. Off camping if you can imagine...and NO I'm not taking the DV5900 in the camper! Ok, I confess I am taking a laptop with a DVD player...but it is for the kids <grin>.

Lot of good information as I scanned the latest updates. Looking forward to a long read. Ol' Nick has his thinking cap on now that all his room heaters are working and he's figuring out how to play with them more. Have a good one all.

well my karma didn't start too well. UPS came yesterday and today and both times my wife was in the backyard and didn't hear the door bell ring.

one more chance tomorrow!!! i cringe because I can imagine the UPS guy lugging the box all the way to my front door, only to get frustrated when no one answers. then throwing the box right back into the truck. imagine his anger when the same thing happens the next day :)

Got both changers back Monday, hooked 'em up and loaded them last night. Seems to work quite nicely, and the eject still works on both units. CD lookup was quite fast (about 180 discs an hour), only came up with 15 unknowns out of about 550 CDs, most of which are probably compilations I made that wouldn't show up in CDDB. The two changers alternated lookups (read disc in changer 1, then read disc in changer 2), but didn't seem to attempt to pre-load (didn't swap discs in changer 2 while 1 was reading or vice versa). Lookup actually went faster after the CDs in changer 1 completed and the unit was just sequentially reading discs in changer 2.

DVD lookup was fine as well, however, disc 2 of both Tron and Beauty and the Beast fail the lookup (Entre warns that they couldn't be read). Interesting thing is that they both play fine when manually selected using the DV-5900's controls. Wonder if they have some sort of DVD-ROM feature that might be confusing the Entre (both are Disney bonus discs). Will try moving them to different slots and/or to changer 2 this weekend to see if that makes any difference.

Haven't watched a movie yet so no feedback on layer change speed etc.

So far, so good.

Mike

slocko

Tell your wife to put a note on the door whenever she does that and your expecting a delivery. It works fine for me when I do that. The UPS guy is always willing to walk in back, rather than return the item to his truck, and then have do it all over again the next day. He will also deliver my packages to my neighbor, if I leave a note that tells him to do so.
That IS, something she should have done the next day, after the first delivery attempt by UPS failed!

Can some one point to a place I can buy some type of speaker wire connector or speaker wire already with the connectors that would fit on the speaker wire terminals on the back of the sovereign receiver? do those connectors have a special name?

i tried banana plugs, but they were much too thick to fit into those grooves.

sorry for the OT.

You’re absolutely right. Kenwood missed the mark on speaker connectors. It won’t accept banana, pin, or spade connectors. The poles are designed for bare wire. The best way to make a connection is to tin the ends of your speaker wires. Lightly twist then heat and apply solder. Once you do this, the wire ends will fit in the plastic slot and be secured adequately by the screw knob. Works for me.

thxs for the info. so you tried various types and none worked?

Yes and yes. Having done audio seriously for 25 years I have a collection of connectors of every type, even some odd ones I only found in Europe. If you have pin connectors that are malleable you can bend them to fit, but why bother? And most aren't that malleable; when you attempt to bend them to contour to the binding post they break. Securely tightening the binding posts (on tinned ends) is a very good connection and actually removes an interface (wire to connector) from the signal path. And yes, you can do it with bare wires, but tinning makes a much better connection.

I have never soldered before. Can I do this with something I buy at Radio Shack? What is tinning? Is tin something I buy to melt on the exposed wire?

I do know tin is a metal :)

Tinning is the act of adding solder (usually lead) to the wire ends. You can get everything at Radio Shack and they can help you. The following link is just one I found that describes the procedure.

http://www.vishay.com/company/brands/measurements-group/guide/tt/tt609/609f.htm

This one goes into much more detail but gives some illustrations.

http://www.tpub.com/neets/book4/12i.htm

Remember you use solder, either with a flux core or without depending on how you want to do it. It it has no flux core, you'll need to buy flux.

Any cheap soldering iron will do. Buy what you like.

okay. thxs. sounds more involved than I thought. will probably wait till a more solder inclined friend can help me.

Not hard.

PM me and maybe we can talk by phone. I did it. How hard can it be?

okay. once i buy the stuff I need, i might just take you up on your offer. thxs.

Originally posted by Johnla
slocko

Tell your wife to put a note on the door whenever she does that and your expecting a delivery. It works fine for me when I do that. The UPS guy is always willing to walk in back, rather than return the item to his truck, and then have do it all over again the next day. He will also deliver my packages to my neighbor, if I leave a note that tells him to do so.
That IS, something she should have done the next day, after the first delivery attempt by UPS failed!


Better yet, have them sent to my house. I'll make sure someone is around to wait for the UPS guy. :D

too late. delivered already. avs forum members are always so ready to help :D

Originally posted by slocko
Can some one point to a place I can buy some type of speaker wire connector or speaker wire already with the connectors that would fit on the speaker wire terminals on the back of the sovereign receiver? do those connectors have a special name?

i tried banana plugs, but they were much too thick to fit into those grooves.

sorry for the OT.

Maybe you guys are talking about something different but I have the VR-5090 receiver and have used simple banana plugs from Best Buy with no problems??

http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage.jsp?id=1051384702857&skuId=4118243&type=product

I've tried Monster and various other high-end banana plugs that DO NOT fit. I did not consider trying inexpensive ones, more out of ignorance than a desire to have high-end terminations. None of mine fit. I like your idea.
Just to be clear, where slocko talks about plastic grooves, I'm referring to them not fitting into the round opening in the center of the terminal screw. FWIW.