Im trying to find the telephone number for Kenwood tech support I believe in California..my dvd changer is making the most awful grinding noise and my door wont open..Im trying to do a search..but cant find the numbers. Can somebody help me please

Originally posted by Clingpeach
Im trying to find the telephone number for Kenwood tech support I believe in California..my dvd changer is making the most awful grinding noise and my door wont open..Im trying to do a search..but cant find the numbers. Can somebody help me please Info and vcard here (http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?s=&postid=3403992&highlight=vcard#post3403992).

I'd just take the screws out and take the cover off. Remove offending disk and put it back together.

I've had to go through this procedure a few times myself. Very easy to do and should only take 10 to 15 minutes (there are a lot of screws!).

Ken

Thanks guys I already tried that and took out all my DVD's but......could not get the door to budge and...on disc flip without anything in there..there is a loud grinding noise. Im off to the shipper today

that happened to me when i took the unreadable disc problem to the end. i lived with it for a very long time and one day it just gave up the ghost exactly the way you described it.

Slocko I had been having unreadable disc problems as well.. So what happened did you get it back in good condition.. is everything with it good.

yep. the unit works better than the second unit I bought new.

What do you think this means?

http://www.twice.com/article/CA413437.html?display=Search+Results&text=kenwood

Kenwood VP says Sovereign product line will be refreshed in 2005

Well, that would suggest better news than I'd expected. However, if Kenwood is still reading this thread, let me please suggest:

Make new DVD changers that are backward compatible with existing changers and existing Entre units. Do not, I repeat, Do not, require everyone to go out and buy a whole new Tuxedo.

Nick :cool:

if my dvd collection is not in digital format by next year, i will shoot myself. i gotta get it done.

May I suggest a slightly different tone:

Make new DVD changers that are backward compatible with existing changers and existing Entre units. Do not, I repeat, Do not believe for one moment that your install base will even consider buying a whole new Tuxedo.

In case it's not obvious, the Big Difference between 2001 and 2005: HTPC viability.

Also, don't forget to offer HD and software upgrades for Entre 1.0 units. We'll buy them.


Originally posted by Nick Satullo
Well, that would suggest better news than I'd expected. However, if Kenwood is still reading this thread, let me please suggest:

Make new DVD changers that are backward compatible with existing changers and existing Entre units. Do not, I repeat, Do not, require everyone to go out and buy a whole new Tuxedo.

Nick :cool:

I wonder if Kenwood is biding its time on a digital interface for SACD or DVD-A.

Hopefully, they'll release it with either an upgradeability feature, or some standard will have been established. I keep hearing about HDMI as a possible solution, but I've heard the same about firewire.

No matter the high quality of the changer, I'd prefer that the decoding and digital processing for any medium take place in my Lexicon, not in the changer. But it is most encouraging to read them making these type of statements in press releases.

Nick :cool:

If they do introduce a new entre, hopefully it will be able to stream from the network. Every device under the sun can do that now.

A new entre would be the only think I would consider buying. I am very anxious to phase out my changers.

Originally posted by slocko
If they do introduce a new entre, hopefully it will be able to stream from the network. Every device under the sun can do that now.

A new entre would be the only think I would consider buying. I am very anxious to phase out my changers.

What do you do with hundreds of DVDs, though? ;)

Nick :cool:

What do you do with hundreds of DVDs, though?
Hmm, load them on a rack mountable HTPC with 1Tb (1024 Gb) storage? At 4 Gb per thats about 200 or so without expanding with external storage.

Nick, I thought you knew that DVD cases are an architectural feature :)

Add nice oak bookshelves to display the collection and you have a great HT room :)

I think this whole thing is headed for a paradigm shift. I have really slowed down the dvd purchases and now I am only buying big blockbusters that looked like I would enjoy or that had very good special effects. Everything else is netflix and now HD-Tivo.

With the announcement that netflix is aiming to deliver movies over broadband I am now eagerly awaiting to see how they implement that.

If Tivo survives, maybe they can partner with netflix to give us something special.

In my case, the only reasons to buy a dvd were:

1) For the kids. They can watch a dvd mulitple times with no problems.
2) Big blockbuster worth owning.
3) To add to the collection so your guests would have a wide variety to select from.

One and two are still valid, but I am looking to netflix or tivo to take care of number 3.

Originally posted by Nick Satullo
What do you do with hundreds of DVDs, though? ;)

Nick :cool:

Originally posted by slocko
<snip>With the announcement that netflix is aiming to deliver movies over broadband I am now eagerly awaiting to see how they implement that.<snip>One and two are still valid, but I am looking to netflix or tivo to take care of number 3. I have to check out that announcement but it is VERY hard to believe technically that this can be done with at least DVD quality. None-the-less, I do have 4 CAT5 lines running to my HT. OK, 1 for a phone and 1 for the Entre <grin> but that leaves 2 open!

Originally posted by radarblip
Better than DVD quality HDTV Video-on-Demand (VoD) is coming sooner than some might think.

Comcast Interactive Capital Increases Investment in Broadbus (http://home.businesswire.com/portal/site/google/index.jsp?ndmViewId=news_view&newsId=20040503005061&newsLang=en) is just one of many steps in that direction.

As a loyal and contented NetFlix user, I would prefer to order my HDTV Digital Cable delivered movies using a Netflix Internet website. IMHO, it is as much about familiar interfaces and branding as it is about the hardware.

Currently, I prefer the HDTV cable movie over my best DVDs. All I need is more selection and convenience and I can dispense with the DVD disc altogether.

BTW, I wanted a Sony or Kenwood mega-changer until I started researching the issues involved.

I decided to store my DVD collection in the black CaseLogic cabinets. Each is about the size of a AV component and holds 600+ discs in an easy to browse format.

The dimensions are 16"x14"x6 1/2" wdh with three sliding drawers for the discs in ProLogic sleeves ala a library card file. CaseLogic claims the capacity is 200 but I find 600 to be more typical. I have three cases stacked in my entertainment unit.

This gives me easy and quick access to 1800 movies within seconds.

It is easier than picking up a remote and searching through a menu. Still I am slowly coming to realize that Netflix requires zero maintenance and actually helps me select and get excited about movies I might not otherwise choose. The 13,000+ selection is great too.

Connect that to cable's Vod and I can stack my DVD player with the VHS player and 8-track in the basement junk pile.

Maybe I am dreaming but that seems doable to me and coming soon...



I believe they were talking about streaming programming over the Internet. Not something that relies on your cable TV service for delivery. When you consider the average bit rate for a DVD and the average download rates made possible by a broadband Internet connection, it seems hard to believe this could work.

Does anyone have a recommendation for an HPNA Bridge to use with the Entre'. I have a friend that is looking into getting and Entre/5900 combo with the option of adding an Axcess down the road. I have the NetGear PE102 BUT it has been discontinued :( .

Any suggestions ???

Thanks in advance for your help !!

Originally posted by m s jaxjag
Does anyone have a recommendation for an HPNA Bridge to use with the Entre'. I have a friend that is looking into getting and Entre/5900 combo with the option of adding an Axcess down the road. I have the NetGear PE102 BUT it has been discontinued :( .Any suggestions ??? Thanks in advance for your help !! I used the "Search this thread" option at the top of this page. I used HPNA. I found this post (Linksys HPRO200 ) (http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?s=&postid=3556688&highlight=HPNA#post3556688) and looked in that general area of post. That may give you a good start.

Scott -

Thanks for the info. I had already found this unit. But as the link says it really is a HPNA to Ethernet router. I was hoping for a pure bridge (like the Netgear unit) to keep the cost down.

But from my research it looks like Linksys may be on only vendor still making HPNA gear.

Thanks again for your help !!

Originally posted by K_Thompson
I believe they were talking about streaming programming over the Internet. Not something that relies on your cable TV service for delivery. When you consider the average bit rate for a DVD and the average download rates made possible by a broadband Internet connection, it seems hard to believe this could work. Yes, I was responding to the "netflix is aiming to deliver movies over broadband" remark. The comcast link was interesting, however. Thanks.

I still *love* my Sovereign setup (new graphics for interface and updating DVD info via DVDEdit). I'm *still* picky about what movies I buy because I never was really the type to watch a movie over and over again. Some titles I do though...or enough time between them. I don't seem to [mind] altruistically watch them again if the guest want to see them, however.

If you think of netflix streaming not as a realtime stream but as an alternate delivery method then I think it might work really well. You set it up on a computer somewhere on your network and give it 40 Gigs or so to work with and tell it how much bandwidth it can use. Then it starts downloading the next few movies in your queue, only letting you actually view the ones you are authorized to view. After you watch a movie and "return" it the next movie in your queue would be unlocked which very likely would already be cached. Really DVDs aren't that big, and if you compare the time to download it with the time it takes to send it to you in the mail I'd say downloading is way faster.

-apnar

Originally posted by apnar
If you think of netflix streaming not as a realtime stream but as an alternate delivery method then I think it might work really well.<snip> Bingo! I've been in discussion about that before. Pretty cool concept. Who cares if it takes all night and there could be a governor to limit the download speed to meet ISP limitations/requirements.

Imagine a HT device with a harddisk and a menu that allowed you to select movies broken down by Genre, etc, from it as if you had all the DVDs in, say, a changer(s). Wait this is just like Tivo, Replay, Entre on steroids, etc... :rolleyes:

Originally posted by ScottF200
I still *love* my Sovereign setup (new graphics for interface and updating DVD info via DVDEdit). I'm *still* picky about what movies I buy because I never was really the type to watch a movie over and over again. Some titles I do though...or enough time between them. I don't seem to altruistically watch them again if the guest want to see them, however.

Ditto, and mad props to Kenwood and everyone here for helping make the Sovereign setup a remarkable addition to the home theater experience.

The Entre is amazing, and it's unfortunate that we couldn't further 'extend' its features to streaming. I had to buy a Play@TV device to stream videos, photos, and extraneous MP3 files from my PC to my system. Sigh -- another box. And I had to buy a ReplayTV to PVR. Sigh -- another box.

Of all of the devices, I'd choose the Entre has my main media hub if it could perform all of those functions. Let's see what Kenwood delivers next year in the Entre II.

I've got a little problem, if anyone can help me out I would appreciate it... My Entre no longer shows the "MP3" group at the top of the guide screen. It has been replaced by"WAVs" and now has only ghosts in it. When I say "ghosts" I mean when you try to make a selection NA/NA is all that is shown for all selections. Slocko, I know you had a bunch of ghost mp3's, did you ever get them fixed? If so how did you do it??? Thanks Very Much. I can always rely on everyone here....

Danny, check the technical thread and search for the word ghosts. it should pull up the steps necessary.

You do need ftp enabled.

Slocko, You are the man, The entre is back to its old self after the MP3 index rebuild, the ghosts are gone. Thank You!! Byn the way I know you purchased a spare drive for the Entre. What was the make and model number, I want to pick one up, just in case.........

Sorry I've been on a hiatus. It cool to hear that there might be an Entre 2. Regarding the streaming of movies via the internet, I tried it on my WinXP Media Center PC, its ok but not great. I think the highest bit rate was 700kb/s. The service I tried was www.CinemaNow.com. I heard you can also download the movie, inorder to improve the quality, as opposed to streaming in realtime. I'm pretty excited about WinXP MCE, I am working on a control module my DVD changers. Anyone have the serial control specs? MCE coupled with the Xbox Extender that will be coming out later this year will make this platform much much cooler. My 2 cents.

Originally posted by DannyFresh
Slocko, You are the man, The entre is back to its old self after the MP3 index rebuild, the ghosts are gone. Thank You!! Byn the way I know you purchased a spare drive for the Entre. What was the make and model number, I want to pick one up, just in case......... See a new "FAQ" / links post (http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?postid=3761126#post3761126) I'm starting. Guys please give me an outline and then some content. List pointing at post, etc.

Here is something interesting for the future:

http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2003/03/0318_030318_internet.html

Hollywood's vision of online
Jack Valenti says the idea that Hollywood is full of Luddites is "foolish." In an interview with The Hollywood Reporter, the president of the Motion Picture Association of America said, "There are many terrifically smart people in the movie business who have vision and know where the industry is going." One place is the Internet, he said. The California Institute of Technology has FAST, "where a movie can be downloaded in 5 seconds," Valenti said. "That's the stuff that will be in the marketplace in 18 months to 2 years." He predicted consumers will eventually be able to choose from "thousands and thousands of movies for download ... at (their) choice of time and genre, that is available at a price set by the consumer, not the distributor. That's the grand strategy."


Originally posted by ScottF200
Yes, I was responding to the "netflix is aiming to deliver movies over broadband" remark. The comcast link was interesting, however. Thanks.

I still *love* my Sovereign setup (new graphics for interface and updating DVD info via DVDEdit). I'm *still* picky about what movies I buy because I never was really the type to watch a movie over and over again. Some titles I do though...or enough time between them. I don't seem to [mind] altruistically watch them again if the guest want to see them, however.

Here is the model number. ST320410A

I set up an automatic search on ebay that emails me whenever one of these hits ebay.


Originally posted by DannyFresh
Slocko, You are the man, The entre is back to its old self after the MP3 index rebuild, the ghosts are gone. Thank You!! Byn the way I know you purchased a spare drive for the Entre. What was the make and model number, I want to pick one up, just in case.........

Don't ever believe even 75% of what Jack Valenti says! When it comes to, how you can or will be able to view movies at home in the future. Unless of course he says something about how they will have total control of how everything is done, charged, and paid for. Because that's what they are ultimately aiming for.

Originally posted by slocko
Here is the model number. ST320410A
I set up an automatic search on ebay that emails me whenever one of these hits ebay. I wasn't clear in my previous post to him...I put this and the backup links in the "FAQ" post mentioned above.

I totally agree which is why I looked up the technology.

Originally posted by Johnla
Don't ever believe even 75% of what Jack Valenti says! When it comes to, how you can or will be able to view movies at home in the future. Unless of course he says something about how they will have total control of how everything is done, charged, and paid for. Because that's what they are ultimately aiming for.

Originally posted by ScottF200
I wasn't clear in my previous post to him...I put this and the backup links in the "FAQ" post mentioned above.

Scott, I did understand your previous post. Thank You to you also....:D

I have been a happy owner of a DV-5050 for a few years now. A few months ago I aquired an Entre, and the other day a DV-5900. (The DV-5900 was a display model, literally! The sides are made of plexiglass.)

I am planning on setting them up as follows:

Entre -> DV-5900 -> DV-5050

I plan to use a Prono remote with the setup.

I need the remote to bring up the DVD selection menu on the Entre and when they select a movie instantly jump to the controls for it.

The issue I have is, how will the remote know which changer to control? Does the Entre take all the DVD commands and route them to the proper changer? How exactly would this work?

Thanks.

--Tzvi

Interesting problem.

Mostly, you'll be OK. But the big gotcha is that the Entre does not pass the navigational (left,right,up,down, select) commands via the serial interface.

So....you're going to likely need to have 2 visually identical screens setup depending on the DVD you're playing. Maybe you can put CDs in one changer and DVDs in another?

Maybe the changers themselves pass the navigational controls between themselves? This I don't know, because I only have 1 changer (and an Entre, and a Pronto-like remote).


Originally posted by Tzvi
I have been a happy owner of a DV-5050 for a few years now. A few months ago I aquired an Entre, and the other day a DV-5900. (The DV-5900 was a display model, literally! The sides are made of plexiglass.)

I am planning on setting them up as follows:

Entre -> DV-5900 -> DV-5050

I plan to use a Prono remote with the setup.

I need the remote to bring up the DVD selection menu on the Entre and when they select a movie instantly jump to the controls for it.

The issue I have is, how will the remote know which changer to control? Does the Entre take all the DVD commands and route them to the proper changer? How exactly would this work?

Thanks.

--Tzvi

the entre shuts down the player that is not active once you select a disc.

Originally posted by Tzvi
<snip>(The DV-5900 was a display model, literally! The sides are made of plexiglass.)<snip> I saw this the other day in google image searching: http://shows.soundstagelive.com/shows/avtour2001/pics_sept9/kenwood_sovereign_400disc_d.jpg

I have two 5900Ms and it seems to just magically work and understand the commands. The big blue horizontal light switches between them when you pick a DVD from one of them via the Entre. Then the remote talks to the "live" one (what slocko was refering to). They both understand the power button tho. Or if you are manually hitting buttons they swap. I've had some strange problems on occasion with them switching via manually hitting buttons. If this happens I turn them both to standby and then back on.

Thanks guys, that is exactly the info I needed.

Oh, and Scott, the picture you have is exactly what I got. It makes for an interesting conversation piece.

Originally posted by slocko
if my dvd collection is not in digital format by next year, i will shoot myself. i gotta get it done. I just got my Connected Guide to the Digital Home (aka Audio Video Interiors) magazine - May/June 2004. Various articles on "Media Servers".

been gone a while. are the sirius internet stations no longer available to those of us with entres? thanks

Originally posted by amargiot
been gone a while. are the sirius internet stations no longer available to those of us with entres? thanks I've had trouble getting them on my Axcess then could not do it directly from the Entre today. I then did a update of the internet radio stations thru the menu and the Sirius group disappeared!!! (normally it was the 2nd one I believe...not alphabetical but put up 'front' to make it more visuable/used by the design team). I don't know the situation. Just saw this before I came to work.

i just did the "radio station" update and still did not get the sirius stations. maybe we are no longer getting them for free. this would not be good.

Originally posted by amargiot
i just did the "radio station" update and still did not get the sirius stations. maybe we are no longer getting them for free. this would not be good. Well we have gone through the 'sky is falling stage before' so let's e-mail and/or call and see what answers we all get (ie. may be different answers).

Hi all ive had to reposition all my racks and am putting them together. My entre is not seeing my Kenwood DVD 5900 changer. Its connected via serial port and ive set the back switch to main. What am i doing wrong here. Please help

Adele, try disconnecting the serial cable between the entre and changer. Next reboot your Entre, then reconnect the serial cable. Hopefully this will correct the problem.:)

Thanks Adam...turned out to be a bad serial cable

Has anyone been successful upgrading the hard disk in the Entre to a larger disk i.e 40GB 80GB 120GB ???????

I also noticed the same issue on my Fireball.

hm

Originally posted by ScottF200
Well we have gone through the 'sky is falling stage before' so let's e-mail and/or call and see what answers we all get (ie. may be different answers).

I was able to upgrade my 20GB Entre to 120GB. It was working, although I did have some weird issues. I've been reading through all the posts in this thread and the Technical Issues thread and I originally thought my upgrade was what was causing some of the weird issues with Media Manager, but I think I was wrong. I think my upgrade did work and I'm spending the next few days trying to repeat the process and at the same time saving my Movies database (trying to remove equipment from my rack to make room for new toys). I'm not sure what will happen, but I'll post here with the results. It's not that difficult, if you have some Unix experience.

I'm trying to figure out a way to get the music from my Fireball onto my Entre, but I don't think it's doable (at least not by me). Although the Fireball's xml files are similar, getting 100+GB of music from one unit to the other and then making changes to all of the xml files, would be a nightmare.

If someone could figure out how to mount a NFS directory or an SMB share, there might be a way to force the Entre to recognize files that are not locally stored (the way Fireballs already do). Although I believe they use their own proprietary protocol to do it.

hm

Originally posted by tm1221
Has anyone been successful upgrading the hard disk in the Entre to a larger disk i.e 40GB 80GB 120GB ???????

Welcome back Heroildo!

We tried to get in touch with you a while back to try and work out the upgrade of the entre, but i think we emailed the wrong address.

Hopefully NiteOwl and you can work together and see if it can be done.

Upgrading the drive will definteley add life to my entre.

Please let us know what the upgrade process was. If I can make my HD 120 or 200MB, I could burn hundreds of CDs to HQ MP3, and really make listning to my favorite CDs much quicker, and free up lots of space for new CDs!

I can't wait to hear the details...



Originally posted by hmatos
I was able to upgrade my 20GB Entre to 120GB. It was working, although I did have some weird issues. I've been reading through all the posts in this thread and the Technical Issues thread and I originally thought my upgrade was what was causing some of the weird issues with Media Manager, but I think I was wrong. I think my upgrade did work and I'm spending the next few days trying to repeat the process and at the same time saving my Movies database (trying to remove equipment from my rack to make room for new toys). I'm not sure what will happen, but I'll post here with the results. It's not that difficult, if you have some Unix experience.

Nope, never got an email -- but I have noticed my email's been acting a little weird lately, moving things into "spam". Feel free to PM and I'll forward my email address again.

As for upgrading, I thought I'd be able to just modify some files and reinstall the software. It looks like the file I pointed you to a few months ago is incomplete. I'm able to partition the drive and the software update starts, but it doesn't seem to end.

I have another option, I'm looking to see whether or not I pull the partitions off the Entre and create my own install CD -- this might take a while.

Later,

hm

Originally posted by slocko
Welcome back Heroildo!

We tried to get in touch with you a while back to try and work out the upgrade of the entre, but i think we emailed the wrong address.

Hopefully NiteOwl and you can work together and see if it can be done.

Upgrading the drive will definteley add life to my entre.

Originally posted by ScottF200
Well we have gone through the 'sky is falling stage before' so let's e-mail and/or call and see what answers we all get (ie. may be different answers). I talked to Nick (support) today at the KW 800 number. They were told Sirius is no longer available on the Entre (option is to get the DT7000 or whatever).

I questioned if there was ever any official document that this was going to be for a limited time.
Answer: No - but there was no official document stating it was either.

I questioned if there was an official announcement/notification stating it was going away (ie. a few weeks/months ago).
Answer: No

He thought someone posted (ie. reference to this forum I assumed) that someone contacted Sirius and they said it was discontinued. (that sounds vaguely familiar from a year or so ago.
My Answer: It has come and gone several times but always came back after a new Entre download of internet radio.

The RFV 80's station is not that good (selection/playing of musing).

So that was my call. Others get the same answer? Wonder if we can / should send e-mails to Kenwood (management letting them know that the business practice of just dropping something without a notice is absurd customer service).

Scott, I got swamped and didnt call KW, but I agree with you. They should have let us know. Can you post the KW 800 number so we can call and kindly complain? Or maybe we need to do an email campaign. Hel*, I may even be willing to pay for the service. I agree, the RFV 80's is not near as good.

Originally posted by amargiot
Scott, I got swamped and didnt call KW, but I agree with you. They should have let us know. Can you post the KW 800 number so we can call and kindly complain? Or maybe we need to do an email campaign. Hel*, I may even be willing to pay for the service. I agree, the RFV 80's is not near as good.

From my past post...FAQ/common_links. I have the 800 number there.

BTW, I should be clear that Nick (support) was pretty polite about the whole think and I certainly got the impression they were not overjoyed that they (support) had to communicate this the users. I've talked to Nick (support) in the past he was a pretty good guy to work with. Just didn't want my previous comments to be misinterpreted.

See a new "FAQ" / links post (http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?postid=3761126#post3761126) I'm starting. Guys please give me an outline and then some content. List pointing at post, etc.

I emailed Sirius months ago and they responded they would not support it anymore.

But they continued to work and i thought we agreed that what we were gettting where the free streams that anyone can get with their pcs.

If kenwood had ever had a deal with Sirius, I think we would have had high quality streams, like what you get when you sign up for their service.

I think anyone can get the free streams. I think once in a while Sirius changes the locations and it takes a while for Openglobe to update their locations which we get when we update our stations.

That's my theory. So I think we will see them come back.





Originally posted by ScottF200
I talked to Nick (support) today at the KW 800 number. They were told Sirius is no longer available on the Entre (option is to get the DT7000 or whatever).

I questioned if there was ever any official document that this was going to be for a limited time.
Answer: No - but there was no official document stating it was either.

I questioned if there was an official announcement/notification stating it was going away (ie. a few weeks/months ago).
Answer: No

He thought someone posted (ie. reference to this forum I assumed) that someone contacted Sirius and they said it was discontinued. (that sounds vaguely familiar from a year or so ago.
My Answer: It has come and gone several times but always came back after a new Entre download of internet radio.

The RFV 80's station is not that good (selection/playing of musing).

So that was my call. Others get the same answer? Wonder if we can / should send e-mails to Kenwood (management letting them know that the business practice of just dropping something without a notice is absurd customer service).

slocko,

Quick question ... I couldn't tell by following the threads -- were you able to get rid of those ghost files that kept showing up in your Music Guide? If so, how?

hm

yep. got rid of those ghosts!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

check this post out:

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?postid=2810516#post2810516

Scott, can you add this post to your FAQ? It seems to be a common request.

Thanks.

Any of you guys use some sort of external bass management - like the Outlaw Audio ICBM - for DVD-Audio with your 5900? If so, what do you use and what are your opinions of it?

Ken

Anyone with a FireBall loose them. We are running the same basic system.

Originally posted by Carbo
Anyone with a FireBall loose them. We are running the same basic system. Not sure what your terse post means?


Slocko, I added that to the "quasi-FAQ (http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?postid=3761126#post3761126)"

The Fireball has Sirius channels(I think thats what I read before). And I think It gets its movie and music info from the same database as the Entre, so I was wondering if they had lost their Sirius?

New Entre Concerns:

Every Time I Put A CD Into Entre's Drawer, A Reeboot Process Begins. Anyone Have Any Idea Why???

My Fireball hasn't had Sirius for about 3 weeks.

Originally posted by Carbo
The Fireball has Sirius channels(I think thats what I read before). And I think It gets its movie and music info from the same database as the Entre, so I was wondering if they had lost their Sirius?

Updated internet radio stations and Sirius left the building.

I read somewher (be damned if I can find it again) that Escient had decided not to continue to partner with Sirius and as of April 1st would be discontinuing their streams, it sure would be nice if they would take them out of the guide. Derek did you lose them with your last update, I just rebooted my Fireball and they still show up in my menu.


Tom

Originally posted by b00bie
I read somewher (be damned if I can find it again) that Escient had decided not to continue to partner with Sirius and as of April 1st would be discontinuing their streams, it sure would be nice if they would take them out of the guide. Derek did you lose them with your last update, I just rebooted my Fireball and they still show up in my menu. Tom Unless I'm misunderstanding your question...

He "Updated internet radio stations" which is not the same as rebooting. It is a menu option to refresh your local setup.

Was where you read that on this thread or even on AVSForum. The real story is certainly confusing. I thought/guessed that Sirius gave OG a special url (with the temp "code" in the URL for their usage). I don't know if this was the same or different than the temp one you could get when you logged into Siruis using a "guest" setup. I was guessing it was originally different. Then when we lost Sirius months ago, I thought that OG just ended up using a normal "guest" code and not a special one. They then updated there "update internet radio stations" to fix all the Sirius stations a few different times.

Now if you go to the Sirius site it appears their guest get 3 days of music when before I thought it was a limited amount of time per session. So perhaps Sirus changed their method and then OG could not easily accomadate it...or their "deal" went sour. Just my opinion.

Yes, it was an "update internet radio stations" as opposed to a reboot.

Has anyone seen the new Kenwood Receivers? Anhyone heard of new Sovereign line coming out wwith the same features or that can be controlled via the Entre?

http://www.kenwoodusa.com/product/product_type.jsp?productTypeId=174

Greetings,
I know a lot of people on this forum have had their units repaired for the infamous "disc not recognized" error.

Going on my second (or is it third?) repair now. I was wondering if anyone
has found the "magic bullet" that actually fixes this problem once and for all? Or are we doomed to continually having to have these units repaired for this error.

Do people with "newer" units have this problem also????

BJBBJB

sometimes I am listening to audio get dropouts every 3 to 5 seconds. The only way to stop it is to turn off the unit and turn it back on, anyone familar with these dropouts?

Originally posted by Nick Satullo
This thread is now on its way to Ghost Town
Nick :cool:

Gasp . . . (cough, cough) . . . cobwebs all around. Who pronounced this thread dead?

Nick :cool:

Do you have a soveriegn reciever also? Does it happen on other sources? Is the audio dropout only when listening to the entre?

Fred

I usually get around one .5 second drop out per movie. Tried coax vs optical cable and it really didn't make a difference (maybe it lessened the number of times). It's completely random. You can't rewind back to the spot and hear it again.

It's like the VR-5700 lost it's hold on the signal. I think it's worse with DTS. I haven't tried setting the receiver to digital instead of auto. Some have suggested that might fix the problem.

For me, it's one more reason to abandon kenwood in the future.

The new player (not refurb) i bought months ago has showed the dreaded unreadable disc problem at least twice. It also has the loud grinding noise. It hasn't become an issue cause I loaded all the older movies on it, and we don't watch them much.

The old player that was repaired once by my local center in NJ has been flawless. Not one unreadable disc error and we constantly use it. I don't even clean the netflix dvds anymore. Just stick them right in. The only problem with the unit is that the display is getting dimmer and dimmer. But I will live with that.

So I think there are quite a few of us that will be staying away from Kenwood in the future.

off topic question.

should i use the THX option on the kenwood receiver even if my speakers are not thx certified?

I think the THX is only a EQ thing so it work just fine with or with out THX speakers. So if it sounds good to you I would use it. I think what it basically does is roll off the high ends. I personally don't like it and don't use it.

That is what I noticed which is why I stopped using it. I was thinking maybe you needed THX speakers to see the benifit.

Slocko,

The THX circuit does a few things but primarily the THX EQ and THX timbre matching. As mentioned above, the THX EQ rolls off the highs a bit under the assumption that in a smaller room, movies that used to be mixed for the much larger theatre room would sound too bright. Especially at high volume in a smaller room. Just to confirm, it will in fact work with any speakers....

This goes into much greater detail:


I have found myself using the THX Ultra 2 circuit (especially THX Ultra 2 which helps automatically detect a rear surround 7.1 mix) but with the EQ off. I am not sure if your receiver allows you to turn the EQ off or not.

BJBBJB

Originally posted by slocko
<snip>For me, it's one more reason to abandon kenwood in the future.
<snip>So I think there are quite a few of us that will be staying away from Kenwood in the future. Sell your Kenwood stuff and build one [the PC you've mentioned a few [dozen] times] then let us know how easy it was :rolleyes: . Don't be a hater ;)

Nick,

So what do you think about the DVDM100? Now that you have had it for a few months, have you come across any issues? My Entre has never stored MP3s reliably. It always corrupts them in time. The options that I bought it for never worked (ie. email and web surfing). Now that the Sirius stations are gone, internet radio holds no value for me. I am considering a DVDM100. I'd like to know what you think of it.

Sorry almost forgot to mention why I may switch the DVDM100... basically my Entre is hosed... after 14 months of owning this crap. There has never been more then 30 days of not having to fix something - be it unknown dvds or mp3s not playing. Recently it will not play MP3s at all. Since the problem is most likely the mp3 decoder, it doesn't decode internet radio either. It often sends the wrong DVD # to the changers. For example, if I ask it to play Changer 2, Disc 200... it might start playing Changer 2, Disc 199 or 201. Don't know if its the Entre or the changers starting to get misaligned. Some time is doesn't send a selection unless I try 2 or 3 times. What junk! I will most likely send it to Kenwood and then put it on eBay. No more Kenwood for me. I think I am going to go with Sony Changers. Any idea on this?

Expect a 5900 receiver, two 5050m changers, an axcess unit, an entre and powerlink remote to go on sale real soon.

I will happily wear the Kenwood H8R badge with dignity.

Since I misplaced my receipts I wonder if these bastards will charge me to fix this crap.

-Joe

The following escient page states :
[the dvdm100] streams over 120 iRadio stations, including 60 Sirius Satellite Radio stations

http://www.escient.com/fireballdvdm100.html

Does the DVDM100 still play Sirius? Or is Escient so lame that they don't bother updating their site.

It also states that it can Decode/playback of MP3s from 96 to 320kbps

What is it MP3 capacity? I thought there was no hard drive.

Sorry if these questions have already been asked.

-Joe

Originally posted by NiteOwl
Nick,

So what do you think about the DVDM100? Now that you have had it for a few months, have you come across any issues? My Entre has never stored MP3s reliably. It always corrupts them in time. The options that I bought it for never worked (ie. email and web surfing). Now that the Sirius stations are gone, internet radio holds no value for me. I am considering a DVDM100. I'd like to know what you think of it.

Sorry almost forgot to mention why I may switch the DVDM100... basically my Entre is hosed... after 14 months of owning this crap. There has never been more then 30 days of not having to fix something - be it unknown dvds or mp3s not playing. Recently it will not play MP3s at all. Since the problem is most likely the mp3 decoder, it doesn't decode internet radio either. It often sends the wrong DVD # to the changers. For example, if I ask it to play Changer 2, Disc 200... it might start playing Changer 2, Disc 199 or 201. Don't know if its the Entre or the changers starting to get misaligned. Some time is doesn't send a selection unless I try 2 or 3 times. What junk! I will most likely send it to Kenwood and then put it on eBay. No more Kenwood for me. I think I am going to go with Sony Changers. Any idea on this?

Expect a 5900 receiver, two 5050m changers, an axcess unit, an entre and powerlink remote to go on sale real soon.

I will happily wear the Kenwood H8R badge with dignity.

Since I misplaced my receipts I wonder if these bastards will charge me to fix this crap.

-Joe

Hey, Joe:

(Hello Hans, Scott, et al, too).

I'm very sorry to hear about your experience(s) with Kenwood. Maybe it's because I was one of the ringleaders of the anti-Sovereign Militia for the first two years that all--three Entres, seven changers--still generally work well. Of course, the eject button doesn't work on any of them, and, from time to time, I've gotten the unplayable (or non-playable) disc message, though it's never turned into the problem that it has for others. I wonder if that's because, from day one, I've had more than one changer. Just a thought.

The DVDM-100 "seems" more stable than the Entre, and it has not yet failed in any respect. However, I have not even bothered to use it for internet radio (to the point that I have no audio output connected from it, except the digital pass-through). It also has a neat menu option that is lacking in the Entre, wherein you can read the Menu as you would from the Entre, or you could convert it to a menu which is exclusively cover art, and you just scroll to the cover. Also, when you turn the DVDM-100 on and off, the same thing happens to the changer--a silly omission in the Entre.

Probably the biggest difference between the two is the separate RS-232 ports for each changer, and separate connections for component video and digital audio from each changer.

The Sony changer is very nice, and has not failed in any respect. Its carousel has considerably more "wiggle" to the DVD slots, but it has not once let me down, and to watch (and listen to) the Sony move things around, it does so much smoother than the Kenwood (no unseemly whirring or grinding as from the DV-5900M). Of course, the Sony changer actually needs the Escient more than the Kenwood does the Entre, because, believe it or not, the disc selection process on the DV-5900M is superior to the Sony's, but both are horrible. Each has dire need for the Escient-based user interface, which turns the ugly duckling to a swan.

Still, the Escient lacks the versatility of the Entre, unless you want to team it up with a Fireball unit (which I wouldn't hesitate to do if I wound up really needing those features), and offers less from a value standpoint.

While I recognize that you can't forgive components that break down with great frequency, I do know that I'd still be lost without my Sovereign system, and, frankly the only alternative to it is the Escient/Sony combination. After experiencing what is truly an elegant solution to mass storage of DVDs, I have been spoiled for anything less, and I'm betting that is true of anyone who's ever experienced the Sovereign system.

CEDIA is a few months away, and I would be interested in seeing what develops there. The utility of DVD changers can only have become more pronounced over the past three years since Kenwood first released the Sovereign series, although one would not know that by looking at the entrants into the mega-changer market. It's been a few months since I last looked, but the only ones I'm aware of that are "current" models are Sony and Pioneer (Kenwood doesn't count, since it's been discontinued), and it's a bit of a laugh to call those models current, since neither differ much at all from what they offered on a current basis four years ago. In the case of Pioneer, it's exactly what they offered four years ago. At least Sony has incorporated progressive scan.

I never used the Kenwood receiver or the remote, so I can't comment on those, but unless there is a universal changer that can't work with my Entre units, I'm probably still going to hang on to this setup for quite some time to come, primarily because there's nothing that offers the feature set that I've come to rely on so much. It's truly depressing to hear of so much bad luck that you've come across, because, especially for you, Joe, we continue to use the splendid utility you developed for us, DVDEdit (although it would be tempting to send you off to DVDM-100 land to provide an equally good solution there).

I would wait until at least September (CEDIA) before making any real plans to discard things and, if you can really hold out, wait until CES in January 2005. If you wait those out and there's still nothing, then you won't kick yourself if you invest one way, and the newest latest and greatest system gets unveiled, and you're stuck with a brand new discontinued product.

Joe, you've got PM.

Nick :cool:

Nite Owl

I to gave up on the Entre, I guess I have a less adventurous spirit than the guys who continue on with theirs. I have a DVDM-100, I have had it for several months and have three Kenwood changers attached to it, I have had a few small problems with it but overall it is a great unit, it manages my 1100 DVD's just great, I also picked up a used fireball 120 and although more of an monetary investment than the Entre the combination works great together. The Escient products no longer support the Sirius stations. What the website refers to for MP3s is, if you have a Fireball music server on your network also, the DVDM-100 will allow you to stream MP3s from the server to it, this gives you a single interface for all of your movies and MP3s, presently Escient supports up to five fireballs on a network but the DVDM can only access one of them, you can have two different MP3s being accessed at the same time so if you had separate zones in your system you could use the DVDM to provide music in one and the Fireball itself could provide different music in another. I wouldn't sell those 5050's if I were you the DVDM does all of the control of the changers itself, all are individually connected as Main and it does the switching, it does not rely on Kenwoods daisy chaining and so far has worked flawlessly, I get what I select every time. The real shame in this whole thing is that the Entre was a great idea, if Kenwood had put 1/10th of the effort that you guys did into this thing it could have been a fantastic product


Tom

Not a hater. I have less to complain about than some of you here. But I abandoned Kenwood mentally.

Now I just need my body to catch up :)

Inertia is what keeps me going with the kenwood equipment. I honestly don't have the drive right now to make the time to get PC solution going like Mike did. Like an idiot I bought all the pc components almost a year ago. They are just sitting there in boxes in the basement. Not one, but two expensive HTPC cases (I figured i would return the one I didn't like, ha!!!!!)

Now with the addition of HD-Tivo I am watching more movies there than from the entre. I just wish they had more movies.

I agree with Nick, for now I am stuck with the Kenwood solution.

But the point I was making is that Kenwood has not created any loyalty to their product. Most of us are here because there is really no alternative at this price point that doesn't require messing with a HTPC. The minute something appears, bye bye Kenwood forever!!!!!

Originally posted by ScottF200
Sell your Kenwood stuff and build one [the PC you've mentioned a few [dozen] times] then let us know how easy it was :rolleyes: . Don't be a hater ;)

My saga with the DV-5900M has lasted 6 months, and still a busted player!

Jan 04 unit failed to read disk, sent to CA for repair and upgrade. Got the unit back and it worked for about 90 days. Failed with no video output.

April 04 sent the unit back for repair, was quoted $400, when I complained that I had just had it repaired they sent me a refurbed unit. This took about 4 weeks to resolve.

May 04 received the refurbed unit, it worked for 15 min before failing for no video output. Unit sent back to CA.

June 24 04, received replacement refurb unit. Loaded 300 DVD's and let the Entree do it's thing. It made it through 125 before getting jammed up. Pulled the cover and noticed that the discs hit the interior wall of the carousel as they spin around. Also notice that the disks hit the slot in the carousel that feeds the DVD drive, so back it will go again. I will insist that they send me a new unit if possible but I am not sure if they still have any left.

Some time in May I went out and got a Sony 777es changer thinking that it may be possible to connect it to the entree. I read the other posts that state Sony changer control is possible before ver 2 of the software. I did a factory reset and got back to ver 1. something but no luck.

Is there anyone that's truly been successful connecting the Sony to the entree? I was thinking that the Sony RS232 connector might be pinned differently with TXD and RXD reversed compared to the Kenwood.

Any sugestions???????????????????

Is there a better place to send the unit to that the CA repair center?

If you are under warranty on the changer, i have had good results with the denville authorized center in NJ.

if not, you can ask for an estimate.

Nick,

Great advice... I will try to hold out. I have to wait and see what Kenwood says about the repairs anyway. I called their support people. They stated the Entres are covered for 2 years. BUT you need the receipt to prove the date of purchase. If it costs are high, I may just cut my loses there an then. With what I have heard of the DVDM100... it does exactly what I want. All I want is a DVD coverart navigation menu for the kids. If I can use a cheap generic remote (like the Entres) the better. From what I hear, the DVDM100 takes the coverart navigate beyond what the Entre offers. So maybe you will get DVDedit on the DVDM100 Nick. :)

I'm starting my shopping today. If anyone knows of a good deal on the DVDM100 please let me know.

-Joe

Joe:

The store where you purchased the Entre might have a record of the purchase. If you used a credit card, your past statement might suffice.

Here's a DVDM-100, new, apparently from a dealer. Note that he is "asking" $1,550, which suggests he'll take less.

http://cgi.audiogon.com/cgi-bin/wtb.pl?homevdeo&1092276873

The wholesale price on these is $1200. MSRP is $1,999.00.

I'd also keep checking eBay. What might be intriguing to some, who've taken the plunge for the DVDM-100, are the frequent deals on Fireballs that are found on eBay.

By the way, when the DVDM-100 was released, Escient indicated that it would support Sony, Kenwood, and Pioneer Elite (the DV-F07), although there was some upgrade necessary on the Pioneer that needed to get done. Does anyone know if the Pioneer player was ever upgraded? (I'm betting it wasn't. I can't think of anyone that would buy a DV-F07, which is the only one of the three that does not have progressive scan).

Nick :cool:

b00bie,

When you use the DVDM-100 with the Kenwoods and the players turn on, do they still start to play the last loaded disk? I'd heard that they might not when under serial control.

I can understand the frustration with the changers and how that would leave a bad taste in ones mouth. My Mech 13 error seems to return on occasion (last week) but I've just recently, like so many others, started leaving my changers on. If I'd have some of the problems people had with changers I'd probably be a little more less satisfied...I admit.

I only have 2 changers and the Entre. The Entre has worked for exactly what I bought it for. A menu system for my changer(s). I don't listen to MP3s a lot from it and only via the Axcess.

I'm actually quite happy/satisfied with the Entre and changers. I now have:

- PC editable movie info (Joe) [reliable new DVD lookup via OG (pretty good now]
- slicker graphics (Fred)
- custom signage instead of ads (Kevin)
- font changing (Fred/Joe? then Kevin)
- multi-changers support (Nick)
- option to have 120G of MP3s storage (HM) [may rerip favs had hi-bit rate now that my HT is done and I have a listening room]

Sometimes people can just never be satisified and see the glass as always half empty....then try to convince others it is half empty instead of they way others see it -- half full.

(Before I forget yet again in the FAQ we really need to give credit to Nick for the multi-changer support!)

(shame on some of you old timers for not helping out with the FAQ <grin/frown>)

Joe, you have done considerable QA abuse to your Entre...so I'm not overly surprised you have problems. Perhaps you reloaded the software when upgrading drives but if not certainly I'd put the 20g back and try the latest software from scratch.

Slocko, shut the TV/Tivo off ... that helps get other projects done :rolleyes: [I know this from personal experience]

As someone with minimal technical problems, I am also quite satisfied with my Sovereign setup. Like Scott, I'm sure I would be much less satisfied if my changer didn't work or my Entre didn't work. But mine do, and when they work, they work very well.

Even though I am downright frustrated with small bugs that really bother me, the big picture is that this is still a stellar user interface to my ever-growing media library.

Because of the Entre and 5900M, I listen to music much more often than I used to. This, for me, is the Killer App. The Sovereign system breaks down barriers to enjoying music. And listening to music makes me happy.

Therefore, the Sovereign system enables my happiness. What's not to love about that?

Slocko, don't listen to Scott- NEVER turn off the Tivo.

I am with Scott on this! It’s nice to hear not everyone is down on Sovereign.

I was first introduced to the Entré and changer configuration over a year ago when I was asked to integrate it into a clients home theater. I was very impressed and at that time not familiar with Escient products. The whole idea of a jukebox with a GUI for music, movies and iRadio is truly innovative.
I have been around the bleeding edge of Audio/Video for almost ten years now and my job is to make the stuff work even when it doesn't. I am used to the trials and tribulations that we all have faced with these products. I do agree that there are no excuses for product failures, however with any new technology there will be bugs. It is very unfortunate that Kenwood/Openglobe/Escient has not made efforts to actively communicate with this forum to better the Kenwood product. As with all product lines they will replace the current product with something better. We can only hope that there will be an upgrade policy when the new products hit the market.

As for me and my Sovereign I have:

- Upgraded the Hard Drive to 120g.
- Made the GUI easier to look at.
- Opened FTP full time.
- Enabled 2-way Ethernet control (see the Escient API for capabilities)
- Through Crestron modified the communication between the receiver and Entré for zone2 support.
- Encoded all my CD's so I can listen to my own music station all the time (the Entré)
- and best of all had lots of fun learning how this thing works and making it better.

By the way I never turn off my Kenwood gear!

I will continue to use the setup and may replace some functionality with a HTPC, but it will always be a useful product in my house.
Thanks to everyone for their input and forum support. I would still be running OEM default without you all!

One little side note, I have installed between 15 and 20 Sovereign systems into clients and friends houses and they are running their default setups without any trouble that I am aware of.

For those truly dissatisfied I wish the best of luck to all of you in your new endeavors, keep us posted.

Fred

Once again, my only point is that Kenwood has screwed up enough that their reputation is tarnished enough that the good things, like the entre, will not be enough to have their brand viewed favorably. Once my changers die and are out of warranty, I will switch to Escient and Sony.

By the way, Entre playlists have a limit to the number of songs. Very strange since it's just a text file. No logical reason to limit the size of it since in terms of bytes it must be miniscule. Only thing I can think of is that they load every song on the playlist into memory.

My HD-Tivo is now my most beloved posession.

Scott,

Define "QA abuse" You sound like Kenwood tech support now. I never expected to hear that from you. I feel a little hurt...

Given the client/server architecture, all "QA abuse" (as you call it) happened on the client side. Also remember that I stated that my MP3s stopped playing a few weeks ago. To be exact, it was over Memorial Day weekend when I noticed it. I haven't even touched the DVDedit code in over 6 months. I haven't even added any new DVDs in more than 5 months. Even so, DVDedit uses built in commands. I do not ask anyone to first mod their Entre to get the app to work. Another thing, if a file would have been changed for whatever reason, I would have expected the factory rebuild or hd swap to have fixed that. It is clear that it is hardware failure. Judging by everyone's complaints, it is evident that most, if not all, Kenwood equipment is prone to fail. I bought my Entre 14 months ago, from day one I had issues. Given the three OS upgrades since I bought my Entre, I think the evidence speaks for itself. My mistake was fixing and/or living with these issues. I should have returned this crap and be done with it. This is clearly ****** merchandise beyond any shadow of a doubt.

Will I ever buy Kenwood bs again? Not a chance. Just look at the way this corporation has treated us. No notice to the expiring Sirius stations - come one open your eyes. I am ashamed at anyone defending this company and its equipment.

Bottomline, why buy anything from a company that doesn't have the smart to negotiate a contract with subcontractors?! The only reason we are in the mess, is due to Kenwood's inability to negotiate with Escient/OpenGlobe. I am sure they put themselves in a position where they were getting pimped by Escient. If Kenwood needed an issue addressed, well Escient wouldn't do it without more $$$. It was more cost effective to just leave all problems as is and screw the customer.

My 2 cents...

Originally posted by NiteOwl
Scott, Define "QA abuse" You sound like Kenwood tech support now. I never expected to hear that from you. I feel a little hurt...<snip>Will I ever buy Kenwood bs again? Not a chance. Just look at the way this corporation has treated us. <snip> Joe, ...wait...back the truck up. There was a misunderstanding of what I meant. I did not mean ANYTHING negative toward you when I said "QA abuse". Surely I wrote the wrong words.

What I meant was that you tested that "media manager" aspect of it WAY way beyond what they (dev) and QA people did. That was a good thing. As a software developer I WISH my QA people did such hard testing. [also the Media Manager (unstable for most) is not a good comparison because you are editing DVD info and KW/OG don't even offically support that by any application ... thus we don't know how well that was tested by them and if at all.]

Also your testing was done by trial and error in many cases so that means you relied on it having resiliency code built in to protect itself from your trials. This takes a bit of fore thought when developing to anticipate and I'm not sure the Entre OS/software had the most rigorous testing.

My point is that your testing could have easily confused their software and caused it to corrupt something. Most of us other users would never run into those scenario using MM (only I use that it seems) or using the normal Entre interface.

I sincerely apologize that my comment was misunderstood. I did not mean to offend you. I'm a little hurt that you thought I was being negative in that way :(. I worked with you a fair bit beta testing and all. I have CONSIDERable respect for what you did with DVDEdit and it has made many many peoples tolerate the lack of the Entre's interface for editing.

No notice to the expiring Sirius stations - come on open your eyes. I am ashamed at anyone defending this company and its equipment.Actually that does/did pi$$ me off because I liked those stations. How they end that with us does annoy me...you are right about that for sure! Thanks for bringing that up :) I have quite a few 80's CDs so those MP3s will have to satisfy me for now. (playing some Night Ranger right now).

Frankly, I was surprised we got it in the first place. I would have really expected it to be a documented/declared trial for the 1st year and then some means of paying for it. I suspect that was too hard to figure or to add to the Entre's (and Escients) product (ie. license checking, etc).

I think it was OG that screwed that up and not Kenwood (KW is partially to blame but their hands were tied...they probably hoped we would complain to OG because they had no pull).

I understand everyones view point...I just think that OVERALL I'm still very satisfied with my purchase and for the reason I purchased it. I clearly have had my moments (getting Axcess "server not responding" frequently now that moved my equip in my real HT, BTW).

Cheers my friends. I've had a lot of fun in the past couple years on this thread talking with you guys through our trials and tribulations and will continue.

Scott,

I can't speak to what QA process was involved... Frankly, I believe you are right the functions that I call probably were not QA'd. Then again, the functions I call are generic, they are utilized for music and radio station editting. All I do is pass different parameters. But then again, it makes you wonder if any QA was even done. I don't want to continue being negative, so I will leave it at that.

Bottomline, the functions that I call where already there. All I did was make use of them. I believe the ability to edit the movies was most likely intended for release. Like Email and Web browsing, it was probably a business decision to drop it... Another smart business decision from the good folks at Kenwood. Lets see, its is muc

I have a great deal of respect for everyone on this forum. If it wasn't for that, I would not have even attempted to develop all the apps I wrote for the Entre. Let alone release it for free. It is the Kenwood -> OpenGlobe -> Escient relationship that I have a problem with. The end result of that fruitful relationship was us getting screwed in any manner possible. Kenwood is ultimately to blame. My frustration is with Kenwood, not the users on this forum. Openglobe and Escient where just executing business decisions. Kenwood probably just didn't want to throw more money at it. I do not blame Escient or Openglobe... I have high respect for what was developed (specially the unrelease functionality.)

-NiteOwl

For the first year and a half of this thread, I often received messages and PMs to the effect that I should just shut up about the multi-changer support. At the time, I probably was the only one with two changers. While many recognized that they would need it eventually, it wasn't a high priority.

At the same time, there were other issues. The inability of the DV-5900M to digitally pass a 96/24 signal; the lack of a DVD-Audio database, despite the language in the Entre manual that there would be one; the difficulties with Media Manager, which I have to believe has been abandoned by anyone that ever tried using it; the eject button on the changers; the grinding noises; the problems with ghost MP3s. These, to the best of my knowledge, all remain on the "needs fixing list." Yet we know they will never be fixed, not on these units.

Kenwood solved the multichanger support problem, but those who have been around know the type of "prodding" it eventually took to do that. Through Joe, and, earlier, Scott, the problem of controlling the Entre on disc lookups got solved, and that was huge. Then the products were discontinued, and we're waiting to see if Kenwood indeed releases a Next Generation, although the press release did give it a semblance of credibility.

Now, the Sirius Internet radio has been killed (by the way, does anyone get any internet radio?).

Depending on the reasons people bought their Sovereign units, there is certainly room enough for displeasure (just look at the list). Here's where I have to say that the system still functions very well for the primary reason I purchased it: As a super-cool glitzy interface for DVDs, and, now, CDs as well. It still doesn't do all the things on the list, and I'm sure there's an even longer list. But it does the things I'm most concerned about it doing.

No one can be faulted for having been fed up by Kenwood, but I would remind my friends on this thread (as well as remind myself) something I have learned in my travails: Always leave room in your stomach for your own words, as one day you may have to eat them.

To those who gravitated to changers, as opposed to one-disc players, you did so for a reason: Lots of discs. That problem is not going to go away, it's only gotten worse. So we need to remind ourselves of the limited offerings that have been available. Ask yourself what type of disc management system you would have without the Entre. And then ask yourself if that's what you want to migrate to, because, other than the Sony/Escient--which is essentially the same thing--there is no other game in town.

If Kenwood releases a next generation, I suspect that each of us will, at least, be tempted. That temptation may be too much to overcome if there is still the wasteland of "competition" that exists for this type of product. The conclusion may be that we will wind up purchasing another round of Kenwood products. It won't be because it was our first choice; it will be for the same reasons we bought Kenwood this time: They were the only ones offering what we wanted.

There is still much good about the system, and, for me, it is still good for the primary reason I purchased it, i.e., changer management and user interface. However, that is not to say that the criticisms are not valid, only that, despite those problems, it still weighs in positively for me.

Nick :cool:

Originally posted by NiteOwl
Scott, I can't speak to what QA process was involved... Frankly, I believe you are right the functions that I call probably were not QA'd. Then again, the functions I call are generic, they are utilized for music and radio station editting. All I do is pass different parameters. But then again, it makes you wonder if any QA was even done. <snip> I was initially confused by your iradio station remarks but as I understand it...

DVDEdit and Media Manager downloads and uploads the information in the same manner (UDP packet with "commands" in them and whole or pieces of XML (depending on size)). The Entre validates the XML changes from a temp directory/partition and updates the internal proprietary OG database. The validation is what still stops DVDEdit updates sometimes because it kicks out "strange" ASCII characters (certain quote chars, etc).

I think :

Media Manager:
- MP3 - download and uploads
- Iradio - download only (populates Micrsoft Access DB)

DVDEdit
- DVD info - downloads and uploads

[edit] Considering how few people can actually reliable use Media Manager (I may be only one in the world) I wonder if they did a lot of testing of it. Perhaps just when it (Entre) was sitting on their desk next to their PC vs home lan. But that is another issue...[edit/]

Originally posted by Nick Satullo
<snip>No one can be faulted for having been fed up by Kenwood, but I would remind my friends on this thread (as well as remind myself) something I have learned in my travails: Always leave room in your stomach for your own words, as one day you may have to eat them.
<snip>
There is still much good about the system, and, for me, it is still good for the primary reason I purchased it, i.e., changer management and user interface. However, that is not to say that the criticisms are not valid, only that, despite those problems, it still weighs in positively for me. Nick :cool: Well put and a good reminder (eat words and our own reasons/uses for purchase). If I have more/some changers problems my glass may indeed look half empty. :)

(Nick some of my radio stations work. Adding my own normally does not...I get a famous "stopped" message when trying to play them. )

I think Nick is referring to the disastified people eating their words later. Okay, maybe specifically myself :D

By the way, I don't see Kenwood creating a better product than what Escient has for dvd management.

My feeling is that kenwood is going to concentrate on building a better changer for the Escient product, and then build an entre that can read vob, photos, and mp3s from the network. But of course, that arena is already crowded with many products. So they might just kill a sovereign entre, and just introduce a low end device to compete in the wireless arena.

Funny how a jump start on the market equated to nill.

This will be my last rant about Kenwood. I don't want the focus of the thread to change.

Scott, is the way to get rid of the banner ads in the FAQ? I checked it but for some reason I just dont see it. I'd like to do that when I get my Entre back.

I'm going through withdrawal symptoms not having the Entre. It sucks having to use the little lcd window to find a movie. LOL

Scott,

Can you put the link to the Sovereign FAQ in your sig?

Nick,

How soon you forget. I have had two changers and one entre since day one (ok maybe day 2), and for a while was also very vocal. However, I NEVER received a Kenwood Jacket (or even a mug). I guess my points have all expired. Almost forgot, I did receive a cd, just can't remember what I did with it.

So far, after several repairs and one replacement, my two changers seem to be working just fine. I won't say they are working just now, because I don't want to jinx the setup.

I am even waiting for the prices to drop even further (maybe target will carry them someday) to add a third. What is very scary is that I don't think these puppies will be "blu-ray" compatible so we all may want to wait another year to upgrade to the next best thing.

To all those that complain about the sucky Kenwoods, yes, they do suck for the price paid (50% less than escient) but they are far better than Pioneer's junk and far more advanced (at an earlier stage) than Sony. Anytime you buy cutting edge, you should anticipate getting cut, some products will fall by the wayside, others will become mainstream, but all of it will become obsolete within two years.

That being said, I am happy to have been part of this forum and reading all the "hacking" that you all have done.

Originally posted by NiteOwl
<snip>Scott, is the way to get rid of the banner ads in the FAQ? I checked it but for some reason I just dont see it. I'd like to do that when I get my Entre back. <snip> I'm going through withdrawal symptoms not having the Entre. It sucks having to use the little lcd window to find a movie. LOL It's not in the FAQ because we have been a little gun shy about such things...not that I think they really made money from advertising. [As memory serves me] Robert gets credit for determining how to remove the ads but I think he used "transparent" GIFs. However, from work krichter1 did he thinks the Entre does not displays GIFs so they errored and caused nothing to display (essential "working"). krichter1 used JPGs and they displayed OK.

Note that krichter1 also found that the JPGs needed to be < 40k

Replace the existing JPGs here:

7.0.5\Database\Ad\MovieAds\Images\ad[1-5].jpg
7.0.5\Database\Ad\MusicAds\Images\ad[1-5].jpg
7.0.5\Database\Ad\RadioAds\Images\ad[1-5].jpg

Check your original XML files in the above directories to see if they point to GIFs or JPGs. Point them to JPGs if they currently point to GIFs. Your existing ad[1-5].* files should show the right width-x-height.

[Robert, correct me or let me know if you want a code name put above]

Stickman/Jason's FAQ (http://homepage.mac.com/jbryer/sovereignfaq.html) has a link to the one I have in a post so just keep a favorite link to it. Jason and I need to figure something out for organizing a FAQ. ie. TOC and sections, etc. I'm sure he is short on time like I am so it won't be too fast.

zinja,

you are absolutely right... i couldn't agree with you more.

Originally posted by zinja
<snip>What is very scary is that I don't think these puppies will be "blu-ray" compatible so we all may want to wait another year to upgrade to the next best thing.<snip> For others not in the know (like myself) http://www.blu-ray.com/faq/

No blue-ray or hd-dvd collection for me. I learned my lesson and learned it well. HD-Tivo and Netflix will be enough for me. I probably won't buy a HD-DVD/Blue-Ray/WMP9 HD player until netflix or Blockbuster supports any of those formats.

I think the only reason I ever collected dvds was because it was all so new. I am the kind of person that finds it hard to watch something a 2nd time, especially when there are so many movies I haven't watched before.

So I am actually thinking of a paradigm shift and shrink my dvd collection. Just keep the animation stuff for the kids and that easily fits into one changer.

Anyone want to buy a bunch of dvds? :)

Originally posted by ScottF200
[Robert, correct me or let me know if you want a code name put above] I don't know what you mean by a code name, but I did create transparent gifs to make the ads go away. The size is 424x40. I've attached one to this message. I seem to remember that I was able to create gifs that displayed, but I only did static ones as I don't have software to create animated gifs. As to the rest of the interface, I had once intended to do some extensive customization, but some time in January, I got distracted and never got back to it. If I have some spare time, I might go through the themes I worked on and write up a list of the file names and sizes needed to create one's own interface.

As an aside, I feel Joe's pain and I don't think that any of us haven't wanted to chuck our Sovereign systems out a window at one time or another. My main frustration with it, OG's once miserable hit rate, has now been much improved. I suspect that they had to do better because buyers of the very expensive Escient unit would complain loudly if it worked as badly as it did for us. I am frankly surprised that no one here has mentioned the three things that I think are really at play here: (1) the Entre was essentially an alpha version of the DVDM-100, with all the limitations that alpha units have. (2) Escient is no longer an independent company but is owned by DNNA, the owners of Denon, Marantz, McIntosh, ReplayTV and Rio Audio. While Escient and Kenwood were never in competition with other (Escient being marketed to the integrator market and Kenwood to the consumer audio market), DNNA and Kenwood are direct competitors. Kenwood clearly had no ability or interest in making improvements to their units. I'd guess that now, even if the interest were there, getting Escient to continue to development for them would be unlikely. (3) There is no question that the 5900M is by far the most sophisticated changer on the market today (as nice as the Sony is, it doesn't have DDCi or disk flip). But I think that the main reason that no other companies have come up with DVD changers is that they fill an awkward niche: too expensive for the mainstream consumer and too mid-fi seeming for the videophile. I have only limited interest in the DVDM-100, because I don't think that it adds much to the Entre for what it costs even though I only use the Entre as a DVD controller. But if I had an opportunity to buy a high-end changer I would. And I think that a second reason that we haven't seen more changers is that more R&D energy at many companies is currently being devoted to developing hard disk based systems instead of changers, and that all the manufacturers are wary of the spectre of VOD as broadband gets more penetration into homes.

For what it's worth, I've had my first changer for over two years and my Entre and VR-5900 for about 22 months now and have yet to have any significant problems with them other than the loss of DHCP with the 2.0.0.8 upgrade. Media Manager works OK for updating CD art and titles (it fails to syncronize maybe one of ten attempts). Thanks to the efforts of those on the forum, all my DVDs (including those I made myself) have cover art and descriptions, and I'll shortly have all my CDs on the drive (500+) at 320kbps with room to spare.

While Kenwood's support of the line hasn't been world-class, the Sovereign system has provided me with a hell of a lot of enjoyment in both watching/listening time and tweaking time over the last couple of years. I don't regret the purchases at all, and have no plans to replace it in the near future.

Many thanks to all in the forum here who have shared their tools/techniques/programs for getting the most out of the system.

Mike

so is the concensus that the hard drive upgrade is stable so far?

no spontaneous reboots?

Originally posted by rbienstock
I don't know what you mean by a code name, but I did create transparent gifs to make the ads go away. <snip> I just meant if you didn't want your name explicitly mentioned as the ad removal pioneer that I would reference you indirectly but wanted to give you some deserved credit. That ended up being a pretty cool "enhancement" to the interface!

My Drive upgrade has been flawless. Almost 5 days of constant encoding and then well over a week non-stop of playing on Random Group without any reboots or heat problems.

Thanks Again HMATOS!!!

Oh buy the way I did have some animated *.gifs running instead of the ads for awhile. I am not sure if they will still work but I'll try and let you all know.

Fred

Originally posted by rbienstock
<snip> The size is 424x40. <snip> Note that krichter1 also found that the JPGs needed to be < 40k. Perhaps same limitation for GIFs if they shown to be working.

(I added this to the above post so that it could be referenced later as a one stop shop).

I've added the banner add to the FAQ at http://homepage.mac.com/jbryer/sovereignfaq.html
Also, I would like to give credit where credit is due. Who discovered the banner replacement?

Unfortunately my iDisc is currently down, so if you don't see it right away hopefully it will upload by the end of the day.

Originally posted by stickman
I've added the banner add to the FAQ at http://homepage.mac.com/jbryer/sovereignfaq.html
Also, I would like to give credit where credit is due. Who discovered the banner replacement? In the above post (http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?postid=3992584#post3992584) I gave Robert/rbienstock the initial credit and Kevin/krichter1 credit for follow up JPG work. GIFs working (animated or not) is still an outstanding question.

I don't think there is an original post from Robert as this was communicated via some misc e-mail exchanges.

Originally posted by stickman
I've added the banner add to the FAQ at http://homepage.mac.com/jbryer/sovereignfaq.html
Also, I would like to give credit where credit is due. Who discovered the banner replacement?Unfortunately my iDisc is currently down, so if you don't see it right away hopefully it will upload by the end of the day. Jason, please also add the font information from this post in the tech thread (http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?postid=3969314#post3969314).

My drive upgrade is also working flawlessly. I've pumped about 350 albums worth of MP3s in on CD-ROM and watched half a dozen movies over the last month with no reboots or problems. Had a fair amount of good music listening time as well. Cover art update with Media Manager and DVD-edit have also worked fine over this time.

Mike

I've recently upgraded my HD to 120GB, but about 100 cover art items in my prior configuration weren't picked up in the OpenGlobe scan.

All of the cover art, however, is on my HD in the media manager directory structure. However, MM isn't playing nice, and isn't uploading the cover art (or at least it doesn't seem to be).

So... when I FTP to my Entre, I get to the 7.0.5//Database/Music/Covers directory... but then I see s0-s9 directories, with s0-s9 subdirs.

Where would I bulk upload my CD cover art to?

Any info appreciated.

Originally posted by JonDeutsch
I've recently upgraded my HD to 120GB, but about 100 cover art items in my prior configuration weren't picked up in the OpenGlobe scan.

All of the cover art, however, is on my HD in the media manager directory structure. However, MM isn't playing nice, and isn't uploading the cover art (or at least it doesn't seem to be).

So... when I FTP to my Entre, I get to the 7.0.5//Database/Music/Covers directory... but then I see s0-s9 directories, with s0-s9 subdirs.

Where would I bulk upload my CD cover art to?

Any info appreciated.

Scott would be the best to answer this, but, as I recall, when you see the s0 through s9 subdirectories, you don't load them into any of them. There are a number of files outside of those directories, and you just load them into that general area. Then you need to manually select cover art with the Entre.

Nick :cool:

Originally posted by JonDeutsch
<snip>All of the cover art, however, is on my HD in the media manager directory structure. However, MM isn't playing nice, and isn't uploading the cover art (or at least it doesn't seem to be).

So... when I FTP to my Entre, I get to the 7.0.5//Database/Music/Covers directory... but then I see s0-s9 directories, with s0-s9 subdirs.

Where would I bulk upload my CD cover art to?<snip> If it is like movies then:

7.0.5/Database/Music/Covers

See this post (http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?postid=2795496#post2795496). Try one and then see if it shows up when you try to select it from the Entre's menus.

Mkellyvich, glad so see someone else who has had success with MM.

Nick, we were answering at the same time. (BTW, it has a heart (the thread <g>))

Jason, please add to FAQ. Thanks!

Scott,

I've been putting the images in the s0/s0 subdirectory. Is that not necessary?

I've made the additions and changed the FTP cover art answer to include music cover art.

It appears my iDisk problem has been fixed. Here's the URL http://homepage.mac.com/jbryer/sovereignfaq.html

Jason

Originally posted by ScottF200
If it is like movies then:

7.0.5/Database/Music/Covers

See this post (http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?postid=2795496#post2795496). Try one and then see if it shows up when you try to select it from the Entre's menus.

Mkellyvich, glad so see someone else who has had success with MM.

Nick, we were answering at the same time. (BTW, it has a heart (the thread <g>))

Jason, please add to FAQ. Thanks!

Thanks guys, and thanks for adding this to the FAQ. I uploaded 2 items to the "root" (covers) directory, and they did appear in the list. However, I must admit that I'm nervous about adding tens of these to the "root" when the Entre seems to like placing them in seemingly-random subdirs. Any idea why it does this?

Scott, do you pronounce your last name like "FAQ"? :)

Originally posted by JonDeutsch
Thanks guys, and thanks for adding this to the FAQ. I uploaded 2 items to the "root" (covers) directory, and they did appear in the list. However, I must admit that I'm nervous about adding tens of these to the "root" when the Entre seems to like placing them in seemingly-random subdirs. Any idea why it does this? Scott, do you pronounce your last name like "FAQ"? :) Various theories on why it randomly puts them in the s#/s# sub directories but no doubt some hashing algorithm is used. DOS used to have limits of files per directory. Perhaps something along that lines (limits) or it is some efficiency thing (can write to multiple at once or something).

In any event in the post I referenced above is this text:

7.0.5/Database/Music/Covers <-- this is where MM puts cover art

So if MM does it then I concluded it is an expected location.

P.S. My name is pronounced like "folk" in French but in the USA we pronounce it the German way "f-ou-k". When I went to school in AZ half the people saw it on my car license plate and thought it was pronounced Fau-que...and politely gave me the bird! The other half said ... cool license ... how'd you get away with that!

Hey guys a few tidbits.

I have been trying to use the animated .gif's i used to have instead of ads and they do not seem to work anymore. I seem to remember that shortly after we had figured out how to modify the ads there was some sort of ad update that replaced all my ads, i think that must have been when the gif's stopped working. I will test some more this weekend and let you all know.

I saw a post earlier about the changers eject button not functioning....
Mine seems to work fairly well. I turn the dial to a disc that I want to eject, press eject the door opens and then the disc is pushed forward allowing me to remove it. Does this not work on all changers? I only have one changer could this be a factor?

Fred

Originally posted by fz1234
I saw a post earlier about the changers eject button not functioning....
Mine seems to work fairly well. I turn the dial to a disc that I want to eject, press eject the door opens and then the disc is pushed forward allowing me to remove it. Does this not work on all changers? I only have one changer could this be a factor?

Fred

Most of our changers stopped or have never performed that 1/4 inch "push" of the disc so your fingertips could grab it easier. We hear the sound of the motor trying to push it out, but nothing happens. You need to go in and grab it at the same level as the rest of the discs.

It's not the end of the world, because in theory, you're not really removing discs all that often anyway.

It's not that you have one changer... it's that you have the one changer (that works)! :)

The eject should work on all machines, both of mine work most of the time. If it is not working at all, it may be because of a small spring that gets dislocated. There are numerous postings about the problem and the fix. but, unless you dont mind taking the unit apart, or sending it back to Kenwood to fix (unload all your discs, store them for weeks or months, load them back in and have the unit search them all again) it really does not seem to be worth getting bent out of shape if does not work.

Originally posted by JonDeutsch
<snip>It's not that you have one changer... it's that you have the one changer (that works)! :) I'm a lucky one (two)...as both my changers ejects work. Of course, when I bought the 2nd one I required the seller to check to make sure it worked before I would buy it <grin>. I guess I don't really need it, like was stated, because for the rental slots there is room to grab the DVD.

How about keeping a pair of tweezers close by the machine. At hardware stores they sell the rubbery dip you can put the handles of your tools in and the tweezers end could be dipped in that. Anyway lot of post on this subject. I recall ones from Slock and one in particular from Robert about when he got his changer upgraded and they didn't fix his eject dispite his best efforts to warn/get/push/prod them to do it!

The eject on both of my changers has worked fine, both before and after sending them out for the upgrade.

Mike

All three of mine work. One had to be sent in for the fix--twice (the first time they ignored the problem and fixed other problems).

My old one which was repaired and the spring glued, works fine.

The newer changer worked when new, but stopped working after a month. Spring must have come loose.

So, I'm about to embark on burning my 300+ CD library to my new 120GB Entre.

I'm at a crossroads, however, and I wanted to gather some other opinions before I proceed:

As I shared earlier, the mass-rip strategy (changer->Entre HD) failed because there is a bug in the software that clips the first 1/2 second or so of each track. Plus, the quality (even at 320kbps) was not on par with the original CD (at 320kbps, it should be).

So, I just experiemented with plopping a CD into the Entre drive and doing a non-real-time rip. In a nutshell, it worked (no clipping), and it sounded perfect. However, it just dawned on me that when playing it back, I was likely playing back the WAV file because the Entre compresses the files off-line. So, I may need to go back to assess the compression quality when I'm back from vacation.

Anyway... I have been given some advice here to actually do my ripping on my PC. The advantages are: 1) you have a non-entre backup of your MP3s, and 2) you get to choose your encoder. I guess that I can fit 4-5 CDs on a CD-RW and just have the entre copy the files to its harddrive.

The disadvantage in going the PC route is time and free hard drive space: I would need to rip to the PC harddrive, ensure the CDDB data is correctly coded, and then burn a bunch of CDs to a CD-RW, then copy it to the Entre. I would also have to go buy a 120GB HD to store the files on the HD (ie., the backup drive). With 300+ CDs, this sounds like a lot of time.

I wonder if anyone here knows (or can find out) what MP3 encoding algorythm the Entre uses to burn in-house. And I wonder how much better encoders get on the PC?

I'm only going to do this once, and it's a big project, so I'm OK putting a lot of thought up-front into my strategy. :)

Any advice or information, as always, would be appreciated.

Hi all -- I am sure this has been posted before, but after searching three times, i still can't find it. I just received 2 more changers (5900s) from Jamal. I want to check whether they have the upgrades or not, but can't remember what I need to check for...if anyone could direct me to the relevant post, or repeat it here i would be very grateful. Thanks very much!

Originally posted by msb212
Hi all -- I am sure this has been posted before, but after searching three times, i still can't find it. I just received 2 more changers (5900s) from Jamal. I want to check whether they have the upgrades or not, but can't remember what I need to check for...if anyone could direct me to the relevant post, or repeat it here i would be very grateful. Thanks very much! See "How do I check what firmware version I have in my DV5900M or DV5050?" here: http://homepage.mac.com/jbryer/sovereignfaq.html .

Not having found a more appropriate location for this question, I hope you guys don't mind me sticking my non-Entre question into the middle of your discussion. I know this is the best "place" to reach other DV-5900M changer owners, so I sure hope one of you erudite and scholarly gentlemen will have some insight into my problem

I've had two DV-5900M changers, one of which had a whacky video crashing problem that was only resolved by Kenwood sending me a new unit. The new unit, however, is incapable of fully working with the NetNamerDV software. Here is the situation...

If I load 175 discs (all CDs, no DVDs) the NetNamer software will function correctly: The SW will start up, I can click the "Read All Discs" menu item and select the discs I want to update and all is good. If I put just one more disc in the changer (for a total of 176 discs), the NetNamer software will start with errors (something like "The changer data could not be read") and the "Read All Discs" menu item is grayed out (!) and the "Control" section of the software won't respond either!

My original player (which, in case you are wondering, started to exhibit it's funky video crashing after the multi-changer support upgrade--that's a whole different story in itself) had no problems with NetNamer (even with 300 CDs and ~75 DVDs). Point being, 1. I know that my installation of the SW is good, 2. my computer (ThinkPad w/ Win2K) hardware is good, and 3. I know the right way to use the NetNamer software and how it should work. It just will not behave properly when I have more than 175 discs in the changer. (I do not have an Entre.)

I've tried calling tech support, I took it in to the service dept. of the store where I bought it and they sent it back to Kenwood, and they did not fix the problem. At the moment I'm fighting with Kenwood to either fix it or send me yet another unit. In the meantime I thought I would ping you guys and see if any of you has seen this problem. (I used the forum search function but couldn't come up with anything.)

Any comments, ideas or even sympathy would be greatly appreciated!

Thanks in advance.

-Mike

Well, you have my sympathy.

My advice is to setup an ebay search for the entre and have it email you. You might get lucky and find one real cheap.

There is simply no comparison between using netnamer and using the entre. I also started out using netnamer but when my changer died, I switched to the entre.

I disconnected the usb serial adapter and only Houdini knows what I did with it, otherwise I would have reconnected and checked for you to see if I have the same issue.

I also was a NetNamer/5900M GUI guy for about a year, but then found an Entre for $480 and jumped on it. I have never looked back. The Entre is light-years better than the 5900M GUI. In fact, at that price, there's nothing in even remote comparison.

I recall my NetNamer working with over 175 discs, though I also recall it not being supported under XP. Try uninstalling NetNamer and re-installing it (clearing any potentially corrupt data files on your PC).

Originally posted by ScottF200
See "How do I check what firmware version I have in my DV5900M or DV5050?" here: http://homepage.mac.com/jbryer/sovereignfaq.html .

Thanks. The good news is that the two changers I just received are v.3 !

Interestingly, the eject on both sort of works. (which is better than my first one!) I can see the disc move, but can't really say it ejects -- maybe an 1/8th of an inch. I only tried it with a single dvd loaded, so perhaps when fully loaded it will work better? right now it sort of pushes the disc up and to the side.

Here's hoping I made the right call sticking with this funky system. I am about to install a full sovereign lineup (entre, 5900M, VR-5900 receiver) in our vacation home/rental property. The ida is by using all three components perhaps it can become user friendly enough for a guest to operate it, but I know that's probably wishful thinking. Anyone with any tips on integrating the VR5900 receiver with the chnager/entre combo is much appreciated.

Indeed, my first 5900M worked just dandy with NetNamer (and 300+ discs) too. In fact, it worked dandy all the way around--even the disc eject worked! :D

I was so pleased I started shopping around for a second unit, which prompted me to have my first unit upgraded. Since the upgrade, however, I've had nothing but problems!

I have reinstalled the software--countless times. I've even re-downloaded it from Kenwood--countless times--just to make sure I have a totally clean copy. I've even tried the SW on two other computers and a half-a-dozen different serial cables to no avail.

It's gotta be something funky with the changer.

Y'know, another anomaly I'm facing: If I have the door open and am looking at, say, disc 150, if I spin the disc select knob to, say, disc 100, the stocker tray will actually go to, say, disc 175, and THEN spin back around to disc, say, 90 and then VERY slowly sneak up on position 100. Very strange--like it doesn't know where it is, or where it should go. Ever seen that?!

I must be cursed...what's this raincloud doing over my head...???

-Mike

JonDeutsch,

I have been slowly putting music on my 120gb Entre drive using CD-RWs and I find it to work very well. Every so often the cover art doesn't come through, so in those cases I just let the Entre search for the cover art (since all the tag info was ok).

Here's my recommendation, buy an external hard drive (I got a 120gb one several months ago for about $80) and rip your music to it. I use iTunes on my PowerBook to do my ripping. I find the quality of the rips to be very good and is practically flawless in looking up the album info. For cover art there are two approaches that I've used. One is to simply search for the cover using google or amazon and drag it into iTunes (with the songs highlighted). The second is find an AppleScript (there are several) to automate the process. The ones I've used just search amazon. The con here is this will only work with the Mac version of iTunes.

Doing it this way allows me to have my music available when I'm away from on either my laptop or iPod. Last year I did was got a spindle and brought my CDs to work to rip. If it was a day that I was just sitting at my desk anyways I could rip 40 or so a day. Two weeks later I had my entire music collection on my laptop. The ripping process on a computer is going to be way faster then the Entre. Now I usually just drop a CD-RW full of music in the Entre and go do something else (can take as much as 20 minutes to rip a CD).

Hope this helps,
Jason

Originally posted by JonDeutsch
So, I'm about to embark on burning my 300+ CD library to my new 120GB Entre.

I'm at a crossroads, however, and I wanted to gather some other opinions before I proceed:

As I shared earlier, the mass-rip strategy (changer->Entre HD) failed because there is a bug in the software that clips the first 1/2 second or so of each track. Plus, the quality (even at 320kbps) was not on par with the original CD (at 320kbps, it should be).

So, I just experiemented with plopping a CD into the Entre drive and doing a non-real-time rip. In a nutshell, it worked (no clipping), and it sounded perfect. However, it just dawned on me that when playing it back, I was likely playing back the WAV file because the Entre compresses the files off-line. So, I may need to go back to assess the compression quality when I'm back from vacation.

Anyway... I have been given some advice here to actually do my ripping on my PC. The advantages are: 1) you have a non-entre backup of your MP3s, and 2) you get to choose your encoder. I guess that I can fit 4-5 CDs on a CD-RW and just have the entre copy the files to its harddrive.

The disadvantage in going the PC route is time and free hard drive space: I would need to rip to the PC harddrive, ensure the CDDB data is correctly coded, and then burn a bunch of CDs to a CD-RW, then copy it to the Entre. I would also have to go buy a 120GB HD to store the files on the HD (ie., the backup drive). With 300+ CDs, this sounds like a lot of time.

I wonder if anyone here knows (or can find out) what MP3 encoding algorythm the Entre uses to burn in-house. And I wonder how much better encoders get on the PC?

I'm only going to do this once, and it's a big project, so I'm OK putting a lot of thought up-front into my strategy. :)

Any advice or information, as always, would be appreciated.

I ripped about 400 cds to my computer by doing it in between commercials or whatever I was doing that didn't require my focus 100 percent.

If I was watching a show, instead of fast forwarding past commericials, I would go and pop a cd in and rip it.

If I was on my way to the backyard, I would stop by the computer, pop in a cd and rip and continue on my merry way.

What I did, was not worry about the tags and coverart at the beginning if the cddb lookup failed. I would just put in a title that would help me remember the album.

Then when I was done with all the ripping, I went back and started fixing the ones that had missing information. Once again, it's something you can do in between doing other things.

oh, by the way before that, I had almost filled the entre using the same technique, but then the drive crashed and I lost everything.

that is why the 2nd time around, i burned to the pc and once i upgrade the drive, i will use the cd-rw approach to transfer to the entre.

MountainMike,

Have you tried using NetNamer to look up a range of 50 or so discs at a time? Before I got my Entre I had a similar problem when using NetNamer - I filled the changer just about all the way (about 380 at that time) and tried to do the "lookup all" function. Didn't work. After a call or two to Kenwood tech support one of the guys indicated NetNamer had a bug that wouldn't allow it to look up more than 50 discs without errors. I was able to look up all the discs in the changer in increments of 50 without further problems.

As mentioned by others, the Entre is a huge improvement in user interface and disc identification. I haven't regretted the purchase at all...

Hope this helps,

Mike

can someone email me Jamal's information, I need to get one more 5900m to complete the hat trick (also how much is he charging?)

Mkellyvich,

Were you able to have all 380 discs loaded at the same time, click the "Read All Discs" button, then just choose the first 50 discs in the list (leaving the other 330 unchecked)?

Therein lies the problem: If I have more than 175 discs loaded, I can't even click the "Read All Discs" button--it's grayed out! I'd be okay doing as you suggested, but I think I'd only be able to do 175 discs. Because as soon as I put in that 176th disc, the software wouldn't let me click the Read All Discs button and choose the next 50 discs. Weird, huh?!

I'm heading to the mountains this afternoon, I'll kick off a reading session when I leave and let it churn through the first 50 discs. Then I'll see if I can get the changer and software to recognize 225 discs. (As the first 50 will be out of the way, and maybe it will recognize 175 discs starting at the back of the 50 it already recognized and inventoried.) Who knows, it might work.

Thanks for the info.

-Mike

Originally posted by Mkellyvich

Have you tried using NetNamer to look up a range of 50 or so discs at a time? Before I got my Entre I had a similar problem when using NetNamer - I filled the changer just about all the way (about 380 at that time) and tried to do the "lookup all" function. Didn't work. After a call or two to Kenwood tech support one of the guys indicated NetNamer had a bug that wouldn't allow it to look up more than 50 discs without errors. I was able to look up all the discs in the changer in increments of 50 without further problems.

well guess what.

My dv-5900m has died :(. It started one day when I was getting audio dropouts, no big deal as all I did was turn off the player and turn it back on. then a few weeks later one of my DVD's got jammed in the drive.then I had to remove the 5900m case to get the DVD jam out. After that it would randomly get the bad disc error and jam on occasion!. Now the next day every disc just sits there and trys to goto reading and doesn't read, flips over, can't read and moves to the next disc!

So basically my dvd player does not read any disc anymore, jams up a lot and has audio drop outs.

What should I tell the kenwood tech when I send the unit in.

Nothing really. Just write on the copy of the invoice that it won't play any dvds. Welcome to the club!

I never thought of audio drop outs as a function of the dvd player, but you never know.

Originally posted by proudx
<snip>What should I tell the kenwood tech when I send the unit in. I'd consider telling them every detail. If they were on the edge about sending you a different one or trying to repair yours that may put them over the edge and send you a new (refurb) one.

The same thing happened to one of my 5900's -- it's an easy fix and it is a known issue. I got it back within a week or so.

hm

Originally posted by proudx
well guess what.

My dv-5900m has died :(. It started one day when I was getting audio dropouts, no big deal as all I did was turn off the player and turn it back on. then a few weeks later one of my DVD's got jammed in the drive.then I had to remove the 5900m case to get the DVD jam out. After that it would randomly get the bad disc error and jam on occasion!. Now the next day every disc just sits there and trys to goto reading and doesn't read, flips over, can't read and moves to the next disc!

So basically my dvd player does not read any disc anymore, jams up a lot and has audio drop outs.

What should I tell the kenwood tech when I send the unit in.

Originally posted by zinja
can someone email me Jamal's information, I need to get one more 5900m to complete the hat trick (also how much is he charging?)

Do a search on ebay for the 5900M. You'll see his listing under "audio video outlet". Use the link there to contact him. He's listing the 5900M for $600. That's less than he charged me when I bought one from him earlier this year. At that price, I'm also thinking about picking up a third unit.

Ken

So, just started installing a new sovereign system (purchased through Jamal on Ebay) including VR5900, DVD5900M and Entre. Was testing it all out last night, and whoa, discs can't be read. Arrgh. THis morning, decided to try again. Now, some discs play fine -- both cds and dvds. But Pirates of the Carribean, brand new, cannot be read. It works in another (much older) player, so it does not appear to tbe the disc. Wondering what to do -- is my changer faulty, or is there a setting for dual layer dvd I don't know about? Help, PLEASE! I need to install this entire system today, and don't know whether to send back this changer for a new one, or if I am just missing something obvious...?

Thanks for any and all advice and thoughts.

Originally posted by msb212
So, just started installing a new sovereign system (purchased through Jamal on Ebay) including VR5900, DVD5900M and Entre. Was testing it all out last night, and whoa, discs can't be read. Arrgh. THis morning, decided to try again. Now, some discs play fine -- both cds and dvds. But Pirates of the Carribean, brand new, cannot be read. It works in another (much older) player, so it does not appear to tbe the disc. Wondering what to do -- is my changer faulty, or is there a setting for dual layer dvd I don't know about? Help, PLEASE! I need to install this entire system today, and don't know whether to send back this changer for a new one, or if I am just missing something obvious...?

Thanks for any and all advice and thoughts.

Is the Entre looking up your discs? I'm assuming that you have an internet connection, and that you have downloaded the last software update for Entre before starting out.

If not, go back to square one.

The unreadable disc thing has happened to me sporadically on several of my changers. It preceded the major upgrades and updates, and it's still here (permanently, I'm sure). I would concentrate on assuring myself that the Entre was correctly looking things up, and then see if the unreadable disc problem continues.

There is no special setting for dual layered discs. However, the latest update will have the changer improved on layer changes.

Nick :cool:

return it. if you can't read more than one disc the changer is well on its way to dying.

I haven't yet set up the Entre -- was test driving the plasma using the dvd changer prior to the install when it wouldn't read the disc. So no upgrades/firmware etc have yet happened - is it possible that that will solve the issue? I will be able to test that solution in a few hours. I hadn't considered a firmware update on the changer via the entre -- didn't realise that was possible. Or have I msunderstood?

Thanks.

there is an FAQ somewhere in this thread you can search for that will tell you if the changers have their firmgrade upgraded or not. they can only be upgraded via Kenwood since it also involves hardware modifications.

the entre gets upgraded via the internet.

i don't recall any problems watching the pirates of the caribbean.

my advice return it. if the changer can't play several discs and then later it can, the changer is defective. several of us have gone through these symptoms. the changer will get worse and worse until it can't play anything at all.

for what it is worth, my changer that was repaired for that problem, has worked flawlessly for about a year now.

Originally posted by msb212
I haven't yet set up the Entre -- was test driving the plasma using the dvd changer prior to the install when it wouldn't read the disc. So no upgrades/firmware etc have yet happened - is it possible that that will solve the issue? I will be able to test that solution in a few hours. I hadn't considered a firmware update on the changer via the entre -- didn't realise that was possible. Or have I msunderstood? Thanks. Return it as it is a bad sign and you have 30 days from Jamal as I recall. I'm sure you don't want to deal with the renters of your million dollar rental home (from your other threads).

Recording MP3s from internet radio....perhaps a reason to upgrade to 120G?

http://www.audioxtract.com/?a=68011&PROMO=321News0709

Features:
-Receive, play and record internet radio stations
-Record now and listen later
-Search the web for stations by genre
-Add stations manually
-Create a Favorites List
-Record internet radio on your PC as MP3 files
-Split a recording into individual tracks
-Name artist and song title automatically
-Create an endless MP3 library
-Manage all your recordings in a music library
-Load music on your MP3 player
-Burn MP3s to an audio CD
-Set up automatic scheduling
-Record multiple streams at the same time
-Avoid duplicate song recording

P.S. From a newsletter I get. If only I'd known about the Sirius thing...

That all sounds right. I guess I will have to return it. Jamal already agreed to replace it, so all good there. Just a pain to have to deal with it. Thanks for the help and advice. Much appreciated!

msb212,

The faq is located at http://homepage.mac.com/jbryer/sovereignfaq.html.

Jason

I noticed that several users are using the Phillips iPronto with their Entre. I have been having problems getting my iPronot to learn all the Entre IR codes and was wondering if someone was willing to share their ICF file. I looked at Remote Central and could only find one configuration for a TSU7000 but not all the codes were listed.

Thanks

well my victory dance was too soon.

when i configured my axcess, i didn't bother to check ethernet connectivity on the entre.

now that i did, i have the same exact problem i had with dynamic configuration. the axcess has binded with the entre and entre is now incapable of talking to the outside world.

does anyone know what DHCP client id field is for on the entre's primary and secondary connection screens?

i asked this before but i forget if anyone answered. does any have this combination. entre, axcess, hpna bridge, and dsl?

So, in addition to the (probably) faulty changer, the Entre I tried to hook up doesn't seem to work either. Oddly, it's the same problemI initially had with the first Entre I bought, but that one magically fixed itself. THis one hasn't.

What is happening is that when I plug in the unit, I get a flashing standby light and nothing else. No picture, no ability to turn on the machine. I have tried unplugging and waiting then replugging, I have tried different outlets, I have tried connecting everything, and diswconnecting everything in every variation. I left it flashing all night hoping it would restore itself.

The only thing that Ihave so far not been able to connect is an internet connection to the unit - I don't know if this could be the problem, but I don't think it is. Has anyone found a fix for this situation? At the moment, it looks like I will be sending Jamal both the changer and the Entre for replacement. As always, thoughts and advice are much appreciated...

Have you tried the basic reset without the usb connector plugged in?

? What do you mean by basic reset? I have unplugged everything, and then unplugged the unit to no avail... I have also held the power button in for 20 secs...is there another type of reset?

Originally posted by msb212
? What do you mean by basic reset? I have unplugged everything, and then unplugged the unit to no avail... I have also held the power button in for 20 secs...is there another type of reset?

You have a usb port on the rear of the Entre (there are two). You will eventually plug in your usb/ethernet adapter into one of those ports (I use the top one, but have used the bottom as well). This will be necessary for you to access the internet from your Entre.

What he's referring to is that, when you first get your Entre, and before you've done any of the setup for it, you obviously have to be able to turn it on and get into the setup menu. However, many of us have sat and watched the blinking light, blink, blink, forever . . .

What was figured out awhile back is that you need to unplug the cable leading to your adapter, then do the power cycle reboot (holding the power button down until it reboots). If, at the start of that process, your cable is unplugged, it will eventually stay static. If the cable is plugged in, you'll watch it blink forever.

That's what he's talking about.

Nick :cool:

Originally posted by Nick Satullo
You have a usb port on the rear of the Entre (there are two). You will eventually plug in your usb/ethernet adapter into one of those ports (I use the top one, but have used the bottom as well). This will be necessary for you to access the internet from your Entre.

What he's referring to is that, when you first get your Entre, and before you've done any of the setup for it, you obviously have to be able to turn it on and get into the setup menu. However, many of us have sat and watched the blinking light, blink, blink, forever . . .

What was figured out awhile back is that you need to unplug the cable leading to your adapter, then do the power cycle reboot (holding the power button down until it reboots). If, at the start of that process, your cable is unplugged, it will eventually stay static. If the cable is plugged in, you'll watch it blink forever.

That's what he's talking about.

Nick :cool:

Got it. Rigtht now, the Entre is not plugged into anything at all -- just the power plug to the wall. Still blinking. I will go and try holding in the power button again -- how long do I hold it in? When I press it now, I hear the hard drive (I think) try to start, then nothing. This happens each time I press power, as though it's trying to startup, but then can't and shuts down...

msb1212,

See the FAQ pages for monitoring the console. Hook up a PC to the entre and watch its boot progress. It should tell you what the failure is. Once you know this it will be easier to diagnose and repair.

FZ

Unfortunately that's not an option where I am -- have a laptop, but cable, etc. Arrgh.

And now I can't even seem to get anything working in Zone B through the receiver (VR5900) .

Anyone with any experience setting up a second zone with this receiver? Mine seems to have nothing coming through the Zone B pre-outs...

msb212,
Do you mean no video, audio or both? Remember you must have a composite video link throughout the system for zone B.

Originally posted by Adam Mrotek
msb212,
Do you mean no video, audio or both? Remember you must have a composite video link throughout the system for zone B.

Well, I have it working...sort of. I am only dealing with audio sicne zone B is outdoor speakers. Inputs from sources other then the 5900M play fine. If I play a cd on the changer, however, it sounds terrible - big distortion. Much more than the difference from digital to analog. Also, I am not sure where I connect the analog cables between the receiver and the changer -- I have digital input going to DVD, but there is only a 5.1 ch analog input from DVD on the receiver...do I use the front r+l jacks, or a different input entirely -- I had tried it in the CD input and that was where it sounded terrible...

Thanks for the adivce. As a result, I went and bought MusicMatch and unlimited upgrades. Not cheap software, but I figured worth the investment.

However, I've come across my first issue... maybe someone can help me resolve this:

MusicMatch seems to burn the files in alphabetical order. Even though the MP3s have track #s, the Entre doesn't seem to recognize them, and assembles the tracks in each disc in the order they are burned on the CD-RW MP3 disc.

What setting in Musicmatch do I need to set to get the burning process to order the songs in such a way that the Entre will read them in correctly?

The Entre did put all the songs in the right album, however, just not in the right order.

Any info greatly appreciated.

Oh, and 1 more issue: Even though I associated album art to a few discs that the database didn't find, the Entre didn't pick up that art.

Thanks again...

Originally posted by stickman
JonDeutsch,

I have been slowly putting music on my 120gb Entre drive using CD-RWs and I find it to work very well. Every so often the cover art doesn't come through, so in those cases I just let the Entre search for the cover art (since all the tag info was ok).

Here's my recommendation, buy an external hard drive (I got a 120gb one several months ago for about $80) and rip your music to it. I use iTunes on my PowerBook to do my ripping. I find the quality of the rips to be very good and is practically flawless in looking up the album info. For cover art there are two approaches that I've used. One is to simply search for the cover using google or amazon and drag it into iTunes (with the songs highlighted). The second is find an AppleScript (there are several) to automate the process. The ones I've used just search amazon. The con here is this will only work with the Mac version of iTunes.

Doing it this way allows me to have my music available when I'm away from on either my laptop or iPod. Last year I did was got a spindle and brought my CDs to work to rip. If it was a day that I was just sitting at my desk anyways I could rip 40 or so a day. Two weeks later I had my entire music collection on my laptop. The ripping process on a computer is going to be way faster then the Entre. Now I usually just drop a CD-RW full of music in the Entre and go do something else (can take as much as 20 minutes to rip a CD).

Hope this helps,
Jason

Quick update: I kind of solved my own problem (even though it's kind of a hack and I'd rather the Entre pick up the ID3 track # for sorting).

I adjusted the settings of MusicMatch to start with track # instead of song title. This ensures that MusicMatch burns the tracks in track order on the CD-RW, which is what the Entre seems to use for track ordering (weird!).

If anyone knows how I can get the Entre to order by ID3 track #, that would obviously be ideal. Otherwise, I'll continue to name my tracks with track # first.



Originally posted by JonDeutsch
Thanks for the adivce. As a result, I went and bought MusicMatch and unlimited upgrades. Not cheap software, but I figured worth the investment.

However, I've come across my first issue... maybe someone can help me resolve this:

MusicMatch seems to burn the files in alphabetical order. Even though the MP3s have track #s, the Entre doesn't seem to recognize them, and assembles the tracks in each disc in the order they are burned on the CD-RW MP3 disc.

What setting in Musicmatch do I need to set to get the burning process to order the songs in such a way that the Entre will read them in correctly?

The Entre did put all the songs in the right album, however, just not in the right order.

Any info greatly appreciated.

Oh, and 1 more issue: Even though I associated album art to a few discs that the database didn't find, the Entre didn't pick up that art.

Thanks again...

Still no Entre. I've tried everything. #^$%#*@!

Jon,

How are you sending the MP3's to your entre? Because the Media Manager was such a bundle of crap, I would "perfect" the ID tags on the MP3's and then burn them to CD's. When the entre would rip the MP3's from the CD, it got the cover art as well (Musicmatch burns this info on the CD).

Derek,

Yeah, I followed your advice and burn them on a CD-RW. The problem was that the Entre was reading them in in Alpha order, not album order. As a result, while the albums did come over, cover-art and all, the tracks within an album were in alpha order, not track order.

I can clearly see that MusicMatch writes the Track # in the mp3 meta-data, but it seems as though the Entre doesn't read that field, or is expecting the field somewhere else. I couldn't find anyway to alter how MusicMatch writes the track # into the metadata, so I just changed the filename structure to start with track #. That seemed to do the trick. I hope it works for all my CDs.

Sure. I don't really have that problem cause I rip the singles that I want and rarely do more than one or two tracks from the same album. Have you seen the MASS rename capabilities that will let you change all their names to include whatever info you want, including track number, at the same time?

Yup, that's exactly what I did. In addition, I changed the default save format of the files, so moving forward, they'll all be named track-first and remove the need to mass-rename in the future.

Not a bad app. I hope I made the right decision to buy the "unlimited future versions" option for $40.

Originally posted by DerekFSU
Sure. I don't really have that problem cause I rip the singles that I want and rarely do more than one or two tracks from the same album. Have you seen the MASS rename capabilities that will let you change all their names to include whatever info you want, including track number, at the same time?

I believe in the FAQ there is something about what version of ID3 tags the Entre recognizes. It's either 1.1 or 2.0.

I am not sure, but I think that Musicmatch lets you save them in an older format.

Did you also buy the Platinum Radio? I use that feature a lot. Too bad the entre can't read their streams.

Music match also supports UnP (I think that is the name) which I think means it can be a server for UnP devices. Don't know if there are any yet.

Usually your problem is fixed by disconnecting the USB ethernet adapter and rebooting. Since you don't have one, my guess is your drive is bad. Usually the drive crashes and it can't find the OS and it ejects the cd tray so you can put in a cd with the OS.

You haven't said if yours is ejecting the cd tray.

If it isn't, then it might be loading enough of the OS to not eject the tray.

Like someone said, only by connecting the entre to a computer via the serial port, will you be able to see where it's failing.

Originally posted by msb212
Still no Entre. I've tried everything. #^$%#*@!

Thanks slocko...I'll have to check musicmatch again to see how I can force it save to the ID3 format the Entre recognizes. The Entre seems to recognize everything else except the track #, though. So, I'm not sure what's up there.

I did not buy the Platinum Radio, because I am addicted to the Entre's iRadio... I much rather listen to radio via my stereo than my computer's speakers.

As it turns out, I *do* have a UPnP device! It's a Play@TV (http://playattv.com). Unfortunately, it does not stream radio (at least, not yet). It focuses on music, video, and photos. It's very nice for the money. I got it to fill in the PC streaming gaps that the Entre is missing. I'm not quite sure how it would use the MusicMatch uPnP server. Maybe I'll just enable it and see what happens...


Originally posted by slocko
I believe in the FAQ there is something about what version of ID3 tags the Entre recognizes. It's either 1.1 or 2.0.

I am not sure, but I think that Musicmatch lets you save them in an older format.

Did you also buy the Platinum Radio? I use that feature a lot. Too bad the entre can't read their streams.

Music match also supports UnP (I think that is the name) which I think means it can be a server for UnP devices. Don't know if there are any yet.

I think at the least you should be able to play your musicmatch lists on your Play@TV. Not sure about the radio streams though.

You will have to leave your computer on all the time though I imagine since it's more like a server.

The musicmatch radio has a nice feature where you can look up an artist and play all his music on demand. Not all artists are available yet.

Now this is interesting! I spoke this morning with KW tech support, and they sent me to a website where I downloaded the firmware upgrade to a cd -- which I then was able to put directly into the entre and boot off the cd! Te firmware is updating as we speak. Of note is that the website (wich is an escient site) had lots of other goodies in the directory, including updates for Sony changers and others...

the kenwood techs read this forum, so they might have picked up -+the cd information from this forum :)

That is a good sign, since the software needs to write to your hard drive. So your drive might not be the problem.

Well, so much for miracles. Entered the cd, and voila, the firmware is updated to 2.0.0.8a The disc ejects, the screen says to reboot, and back to flashing light. No boot up. I am at a loss. Been on hold with Kenwood for 15minutes. ARRRGGGGHHHHH!

I take it back. All of a sudden, it booted! hallelujah!

what was the website?

Now, sadly, the entre is no longer working. It had booted, but hung up on the internet connection screen, so I rebooted, and now have the flashing light hell again. THis time, the drawer opened, which I have read here seems to mean hard drive failure, so it may be defective. I reloaded the update cd and it booted from that and reinstalled the pgrade, so who knows. I am going to send it back unless it begins to work tonight. But It's not looking good.

!2 hours of this nonsense. I am losing my mind. Entre finally booted. I tried connecting via a belkin 5050 to both a linksys wireless ethernet bridge, as well as directly to the modem. Never got past the authenticating screen. Next I tried dialup. Got to "connected to network". Then after nothing happening for 10 minutes, disconnecting comes up, and freezes. Finally disconnects, then reconnects. Again, nothing happens. I just do not get it. Any thoughts? Thanks.

Just return it. It is acting to funny to even bother keeping at this point. Something is wrong and even if you get it up and running you never know when it will **** the bed and cost you what ever is stored.

The Entre is pretty much easy to use and your is giving you to many head aches. Save yourself the trouble down the road and get another one now.

Agreed. have deleted my posts...

The saga ends. I am shipping back to jamal both the Entre and the changer, in favor of new units. Jaml has been a perfect gentleman about the situation, and with some luck, the new units will work right away. Thanks to all who offered advice, esp.Garbo, who turned my head around and told me to simply return the units. Amen.

Your better off. Most of the problems most of us have had is with the changer.

I think the Entre has worked good from the start. It was missing some promised features but the other than that it work good. And now that they added those features, I don't think any of us have complaints about the Entre.

Am I missing something.. What new features have they added.. Is it a firmware upgrade or a software upgrade

The biggest feature they added was multiple changer support. However, this was a promised feature that they latter added in a firmware upgrade (to both the changer and entre). Note that the only way to upgrade the changer though is to send it in.

-Jason

Originally posted by Clingpeach
Am I missing something.. What new features have they added.. Is it a firmware upgrade or a software upgrade

Oh ok Stickman thanks for the answer.. Yes I did that upgrade..I thought they had come out with something subsequent to that

i continue to troubleshoot my axcess/entre/hpna bridge problems.

it seems that having the axcess use automatic vs. manual makes no difference. once the axcess connects to the entre, the hpna bridge loses connection. i don't think dsl has anything to do with it.

next step is to search for a different brand hpna bridge.

Jamal is selling Entres on ebay now? All I've seen listed from him are the 5900M changers. How much is he asking?

Ken

I haven't been able to find my problem listed here, but maybe someone has had it and can help me. I bought 3 5900's from Jamal earlier this year. I got the first one loaded and within the first few days of owning it, I had a disc jam. The mechanism that puts the disc back into the carousel was making a horrible grinding noise.

I opened the player and was able to take care of the jam. However, the player still seemed to think that it needed to put a disc back into the carousel and kept attempting to do so. I also kept making that horrible grinding noise. I reset the player and unplugged it overnight, I even put a disc back into the mechanism hoping that by having a disc to put into the carousel would help. No good. I couldn't make the player stop unsuccessfully trying to eject a disc while making that horrible noise. So, I sent that player back to Jamal for a replacement.

Two weeks ago, the exact same thing happened to the replacement player. This time I took it into a local authorized repair shop. The repair was only $80 and needed no new parts. The repair description just said "Disassembled, realigned, lubricated and tested.

As soon as I put it back into my system, the exact same thing happend with one of the other players. I brought that one to the shop on Saturday and today they returned it to me saying the same thing was wrong. They did the same "Disassembled, realigned, lubricated and tested" repair.

I can't believe that I'm the only one that has had this problem (especially since it had happened to 3 different players). With the cover off, when I look what's going on while the machine is trying to eject the disc, it looks like one gear is turning, but a rubber belt that turns another gear is not spinning properly on that gear. My guess is that the fix for this is extremely simple and there is no reason for me to continue spending $80 a pop if it happens again in the future.

Has anyone else had this problem and do you know what needs to be done to fix it?

found an interesting problem with my vr-5700.

with thx processing on i get a tearing sound on the right rear surround speaker. another person reported the same thing with the vr-5050.

just wanted to post an fyi since i know a lot of us here have kenwood receivers and it might surface in the future.

msb212,

Check your PM.

very interesting post:

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?postid=4056943#post4056943

sorry for the OT post, but since this will eventually impact us, thought it very interesting.

I have just moved to an ethernet based home network and had assumed that I had to get an HPNA-ethernet adapter to connect the Entre. From scattered comments in this thread I get the sense that the USB ports can be used instead. Is that correct? Do I need to download software?

Bill,

I've seen this. I sent it into Kenwood (still under waranty) and seems to work fine now. Not sure what they did but when I took the cover off I saw the same thing you described.

-Jason

Originally posted by Bill Broderick
I haven't been able to find my problem listed here, but maybe someone has had it and can help me. I bought 3 5900's from Jamal earlier this year. I got the first one loaded and within the first few days of owning it, I had a disc jam. The mechanism that puts the disc back into the carousel was making a horrible grinding noise.

I opened the player and was able to take care of the jam. However, the player still seemed to think that it needed to put a disc back into the carousel and kept attempting to do so. I also kept making that horrible grinding noise. I reset the player and unplugged it overnight, I even put a disc back into the mechanism hoping that by having a disc to put into the carousel would help. No good. I couldn't make the player stop unsuccessfully trying to eject a disc while making that horrible noise. So, I sent that player back to Jamal for a replacement.

Two weeks ago, the exact same thing happened to the replacement player. This time I took it into a local authorized repair shop. The repair was only $80 and needed no new parts. The repair description just said "Disassembled, realigned, lubricated and tested.

As soon as I put it back into my system, the exact same thing happend with one of the other players. I brought that one to the shop on Saturday and today they returned it to me saying the same thing was wrong. They did the same "Disassembled, realigned, lubricated and tested" repair.

I can't believe that I'm the only one that has had this problem (especially since it had happened to 3 different players). With the cover off, when I look what's going on while the machine is trying to eject the disc, it looks like one gear is turning, but a rubber belt that turns another gear is not spinning properly on that gear. My guess is that the fix for this is extremely simple and there is no reason for me to continue spending $80 a pop if it happens again in the future.

Has anyone else had this problem and do you know what needs to be done to fix it?

Originally posted by JNelson
I have just moved to an ethernet based home network and had assumed that I had to get an HPNA-ethernet adapter to connect the Entre. From scattered comments in this thread I get the sense that the USB ports can be used instead. Is that correct? Do I need to download software?


To use ethernet, you would need one of the USB to ethernet adapters that is compatible with the Entre.

To use HPNA you would just plug the Entre directly to the phone line and then connect your network to the phone line with a HPNA bridge or similar like item.

The Entre has HPNA built in, but needs an additional usb to ethernet adapter. I have had better luck since switching over to HPNA. Th USB to ethernet was a little buggy for me and used to loose its connection for some reason.

Do you know which usb-ethernet adapters work with entre? Is it on KW website?

Originally posted by JNelson
Do you know which usb-ethernet adapters work with entre? Is it on KW website?

The main non-KW FAQ is here: http://homepage.mac.com/jbryer/sovereignfaq.html

It is missing a couple links from the other one I was starting which was here: http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?postid=3761126#post3761126

Stickman, Can you add these you your FAQ please? Feel free to give the links a better/more_accurate description:

KW page: Compatible accessories; manuals; connection tips and install (http://www.kenwoodusa.com/group_info.jsp?categoryTypeId=130&productId=2358&productTypeId=147)

KW page: outdated FAQ (http://www.kenwoodusa.com/group_info.jsp?categoryTypeId=110&productTypeId=147&productId=2358)

Thanks!

From postings in this thread Hmato has found a way to upgrade to 120 gig drive on the Entre. The details for this are lacking in his post describing the upgrade. I have attempted to contact him by Email but have had no response. Others apparently succeeded in upgrading also. Could someone please email the details in how this was done. canoejohn@bellsouth.net

Done. http://homepage.mac.com/jbryer/sovereignfaq.html


Originally posted by ScottF200
The main non-KW FAQ is here: http://homepage.mac.com/jbryer/sovereignfaq.html

It is missing a couple links from the other one I was starting which was here: http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?postid=3761126#post3761126

Stickman, Can you add these you your FAQ please? Feel free to give the links a better/more_accurate description:

KW page: Compatible accessories; manuals; connection tips and install (http://www.kenwoodusa.com/group_info.jsp?categoryTypeId=130&productId=2358&productTypeId=147)

KW page: outdated FAQ (http://www.kenwoodusa.com/group_info.jsp?categoryTypeId=110&productTypeId=147&productId=2358)

Hi all,

Having (FINALLY!) gotten my setup working at the vacation home (though still not perfect, of course) I seem to have caught upgrade fever. I have a number of questions. First, I have followed with great interest how excited everyone seems to get over the picture delivered by the Bravo D1 and other DVI output dvd players. Since I had thought that the 5900/Entre combo was the be-all and end-all (at least until we can store dvds digitally on hard drives the way Entre lets us with cds) I am now wondering whether I am giving up PQ for convenience. I choose onvenience most probably, but it occurred to me that there may be yet a better mousetrap.

I have been looking at the IScan HD scaler, and the SDI modification with is possible. I also see that JVB has an SDI mod available for the 5900M. WOndering if anyone has tried this combo, and if so, how much better is the picture? I am going to upgrade my projector shortly, and expect that it will be able to handle DVI input.

THoughts?

Any one here interested in a Kenwood 5900m changer let me know. I am going to sell one of my three changers. I was/am going to put it on ebay but I figured I would give everyone here a chance first. I'd like to get $400. for it. It is like new and is in perfect working condition.

My reason for this is, the other two I have still have about 200 slots open and I am never going to fill these in between now and HD DVD. So my intention is to fill the rest of these in and then by then hopefully make the switch to HD DVD. The 3rd changer would be a waste for me. Anyway, anyone interested send me a PM.

I was wondering why I recieved so many replies to my above post. I apologize but I meant to post $400.

I realy want to apologize cause I hate doing this, but even at $400 it is still a good deal. I'm sorry once again.

Hey Carbo,
The forum for auctioning is called E-BAY! Just kidding :D

So no one has an SDI mod? Or a thought about it?

Adam, LOL, I know, when I saw that I had posted that 3 instead of 4, I hated having to fix it. I knew I was looking to get hamered. All in good fun though(and the price is not going to move from that).

Shoot, I still woulda paid more. Send me your PayPal!

SOLD! to a lucky fellow member of are small but elite group.

I am wondering if anyone uses a second monitor to view the Entre's guide without having to use the main monitor (in my case a front projection/screen system) -- sometimes I want to view the music selections without having to bring down the screen, etc. Alternatively, anyone found a remote touchpanel capable of displaying the Entre interface and controlling it from there? I saw mention of someone using something from Elan (who have announced a partnership with Kenwood) and they now have a Wireless version that looks incredible, but it's $3500, which seem excessive for my purposes..

I'd love to hear how others are using this system in this respect...and which monitors they use...I am looking for a 7-9 inch lcd I think.

thanks!

I use a Samsung 17" LCD monitor (170MP, which has a TV tuner and composite/s-video inputs) as my monitor for the Entre. It sits on the subwoofer near the TV and is easily readable from across the room.

I have the DV-5900M's s-video connected to the Entre with the Entre's s-video out connected to the LCD monitor. The monitor power is plugged into the VR-5900's (reciever's) switched AC output, so when I hit power on the Entre, Receiver, and monitor all come up together. If I'm listening to music I never even turn on the HDTV. With the LCD there is no worry about burn-in, and when listening to DVD-Audio there is no need to turn on the 57" TV just to see the DVD menus.

Another benefit is eliminating one set of component cables between the receiver and the Entre (since you no longer need to pass the component signal through the Entre).

I've been running the setup like this for more than a year now and find it very practical, plus it is nice to be able to surf through the Entre menus, edit movie/CD info, or create playlists while having some nice HDTV running on the big TV. There is also a good wow factor when you have the movie jacket up on the LCD while the movie is playing. If I ever upgrade to a front projector I will definitely keep it set up this way.

I've been playing with the idea of getting a 7 or 9 inch LCD and building it into a box together with the PowerTouch remote, with both hardwired for the IR, power, and video signals. Seems like that would make for a nice little control console on the end table next to my seat, and could probably be done for around $200.

My other thought has been to get a multichannel stereo video modulator so I can send the Entre GUI to all the other TVs (which already get Dish via a stereo modulator and have IR control capability back to the gear rack through Powermids).

Now if only there was a way to defeat the automatic pass-through command the Entre issues when starting a DVD...

Mike

That sounds very cool -- but does it mean that you have no GUI on the main screen? Or have i understood it wrong...does the Entre allow multiple outputs? Been a while since I even looked to see how my system is connected, lol...

I don't do the GUI on the main screen, but there is no reason you couldn't have it on both. Since the Entre's component, composite, and s-video are all simultaneously active, you could have up to three screens displaying the GUI at once!

Mike

I have been playiing around with many different options for controlling the Entre. Here is what I have found so far:

The Zone 2 composite video output is always active along with the main s-video, composite and component outputs. This opens alot of possiblities. There is only one on screen GUI so they will track together of course.

I use TCP/IP to control the Entre. Currently I accomplish this using a Crestron processor with ethernet. Elan, AMX or a PC could also accomplish this. The TCP/IP type control pulls all CD, MP3, DVD, and radio data and allows the user to search, view and select titles. This control is available on TCP/IP port 226. I did have some trouble getting this port open initailly but once its open its a wonderful control option. See the attached screen shot.

There is also a TCP/IP option for coordinate control via a touchscreen. For example the Video based GUI from the Entre is on a monitor with a touchscreen and the user can touch the title or function and it will be selected. I have yet to fully test this however I have been told that it works very well.

I also have heard a rumor the Netmate makes a USB to rs-232 adapter that will add an additional non TCP/IP control port to accomplish the above functionality.

I have posted about some of these control options previously along with links to the protocol guide.

Fz

I wish I knew how to program well enough to take advantage of this functionality. I can see a slick web-based app (hosted locally) that could really provide some awesome navigation functionality... all available thru a "custom" homepage that you could invoke by clicking on the OpenGlobe option on our Entre remotes!

Here's to hoping someone has the ability+inclination+time...

Originally posted by fz1234
I have been playiing around with many different options for controlling the Entre. Here is what I have found so far:

The Zone 2 composite video output is always active along with the main s-video, composite and component outputs. This opens alot of possiblities. There is only one on screen GUI so they will track together of course.

I use TCP/IP to control the Entre. Currently I accomplish this using a Crestron processor with ethernet. Elan, AMX or a PC could also accomplish this. The TCP/IP type control pulls all CD, MP3, DVD, and radio data and allows the user to search, view and select titles. This control is available on TCP/IP port 226. I did have some trouble getting this port open initailly but once its open its a wonderful control option. See the attached screen shot.

There is also a TCP/IP option for coordinate control via a touchscreen. For example the Video based GUI from the Entre is on a monitor with a touchscreen and the user can touch the title or function and it will be selected. I have yet to fully test this however I have been told that it works very well.

I also have heard a rumor the Netmate makes a USB to rs-232 adapter that will add an additional non TCP/IP control port to accomplish the above functionality.

I have posted about some of these control options previously along with links to the protocol guide.

Fz

Originally posted by fz1234
I have been playiing around with many different options for controlling the Entre. Here is what I have found so far:

The Zone 2 composite video output is always active along with the main s-video, composite and component outputs. This opens alot of possiblities. There is only one on screen GUI so they will track together of course.

I use TCP/IP to control the Entre. Currently I accomplish this using a Crestron processor with ethernet. Elan, AMX or a PC could also accomplish this. The TCP/IP type control pulls all CD, MP3, DVD, and radio data and allows the user to search, view and select titles. This control is available on TCP/IP port 226. I did have some trouble getting this port open initailly but once its open its a wonderful control option. See the attached screen shot.

There is also a TCP/IP option for coordinate control via a touchscreen. For example the Video based GUI from the Entre is on a monitor with a touchscreen and the user can touch the title or function and it will be selected. I have yet to fully test this however I have been told that it works very well.

I also have heard a rumor the Netmate makes a USB to rs-232 adapter that will add an additional non TCP/IP control port to accomplish the above functionality.

I have posted about some of these control options previously along with links to the protocol guide.

Fz
This sounds fantastic! Even though i am not sure exactly what you are talking about (lol!). TCP/IP cpontrol -- how does this work? What do I need to o to test it? This all sounds like exactly what I am looking for! There are a number of cheap (ish) touchscreen lcd's available out there (beyond Escients $1500 controller) that I would love to try to hook up...how does one access the port you describe? Does it need to run through a computer or is the Entre enough?

Well, just when I thought i was safe...the system I installed in our vacation home in Palm Desert appears to have gone bad. Just got a call from someone staying there who says that the changer (which was already swapped out once by Jamal for the same issue) is giving the "unable to read this type of disc error" on all dvds. It was working beautifully last weekend. I have read that there is a fairly simple fix for this done by the svc center -- is this true? It's all a bit troubling since I biught the units from Jamal and don'thave a warranty card...any thoughts? I assume the changer is bad (again!)

I guess this is why the line was discontinued. So frustrating, since when it works, nothing compares...

Well, I must be the unluckiest person alive. After finding that the changer at my vacation home had gone bad I decided I had better open up the box from Jamal to test the additional one I bought (to be daisy'd with the home unit I have that is almost full). It is also unwilling to play any discs. I have emailed Jamal and hope he will continue to be a gentleman about this. Though I am worried to simply swap it out again -- he is zero for three on the changers.

Has anyone determined what the actual problem is when this error/malfunction occurs? What is it exactly that the repair people do?

ARRRGGGGHHHH!

The installer doesn't download from Joe's geocities website. Can someone zip me a copy of it, and email to nicksatullo@msn.com

Thanks,

Nick :cool:

Originally posted by Nick Satullo
The installer doesn't download from Joe's geocities website. Can someone zip me a copy of it, and email to nicksatullo@msn.com

Thanks,

Nick :cool:

Several have been sent. Thanks for the installer, but . . .

I was running 3.0, which may have been a beta version that had been working. With either 2.2 or 2.4, I'm getting a runtime error with my Movies Entre.

Do any of the beta testers have anything beyond 2.4?

Thanks,

Nick :cool:

Nick, The latest I had was 2.4. I would have liked to test out 3.0 as the 2.4 version worked only for a few days before the runtime errors started in my case.....

Nick, I also get the runtime error with DVDedit. I first started seeing it after I upgraded to a 120g drive. I don't really need it at this time so I have not worried about is too much.

jonDeutsch and msb1212,

If you are at all familiar with hyperterminal, testing the two-way communication protocol is quite easy. If you would like to play around with it send me a PM and I will be happy to get you started. It is not as hard as it sounds, the command structure is very simple.

I will be taking a class starting this week on VB.net and hope to pick it up quickly so that I can create a pc based app that will accomplish what I currently do with Crestron. i shall keep you posted.

fz1234,have
Is it true that Crestron, AMX, Elan,etc. offer modules for the Entre? The reason I ask is because Escient told me there are no modules for the Entre.
obviously from your screenshot this appears to be untrue unless your screenshot was for Escient products. This is exciting if it will work with the Entre. My questions for you are:
1.Which system offers the most functionality? I have a friend who can give me a good deal on the VIA and other Elan products.
2. Can a system such as the ipronto be prgrammed for the Entre?

fz1234,

Good steer on the 2nd composite output (marked "for future use" on my Entre). I swapped the LCD monitor to that output and now no longer have to worry about hitting pass-through after selecting DVDs to keep the Entre GUI on the screen.

Now I'm thinking about that touchscreen interface...

Mike

Me too!

I set up a test last night to verify the coordinate functionality of the Entre. Sure enough it works like a charm. You simply touch the album you want to play and its just as if you arrowed down and hit select. Once on the player screen a touch of a track will switch tracks. There are a few things that need to be worked out though. I had to add buttons on the touch screen to get back to the guide. This may be a challenge if trying to integrate just a touch overlay. I used a crestron touchscreen so adding buttons over the video was easy to accomplish. Tonight I am going to start to play with my new VB.net knowledge and see what I can create.

Off to work I go, updates to come!!!

Go FZ! You're the man!

FZ,

Does your interface have other pages where one can access the menu/editing/setup functions? And how does one enter alphanumeric characters for navigation?

Hey all there is a Netmate USB-Ethernet adapter on ebay if anyone needs one....


rbienstock,

The image attached shows a page that is a combo of IR and IP Commands. This duplicates the remote plus a few extras.

Originally posted by Nick Satullo
Several have been sent. Thanks for the installer, but . . .

I was running 3.0, which may have been a beta version that had been working. With either 2.2 or 2.4, I'm getting a runtime error with my Movies Entre.

Do any of the beta testers have anything beyond 2.4?

Thanks,

Nick :cool:

Thanks to everyone for their help. Slocko, thanks for keeping V. 3.0 and sending it along.

Alas, with any version, I'm getting the runtime error "9." What's a little interesting is that I have multiple Entres (3). DVDedit syncs fine with the two that have limited DVD storage in them, but, to the Grand-Daddy (the Entre with three changers and almost 1,000 DVDs), the error pops up as the packets are loading. Then it just blanks out.

Joe, any ideas?

Nick :cool:

[QUOTE]Originally posted by Adam Mrotek
[B]fz1234,have
Is it true that Crestron, AMX, Elan,etc. offer modules for the Entre? The reason I ask is because Escient told me there are no modules for the Entre.
obviously from your screenshot this appears to be untrue unless your screenshot was for Escient products. This is exciting if it will work with the Entre. My questions for you are:
1.Which system offers the most functionality? I have a friend who can give me a good deal on the VIA and other Elan products.


I'm using an Elan VIA Touchscreen with transparent overlays which have been programmed to allow me to scroll up, down, left, right across the Entre listing screen. The Entre listing screen is fed to the VIA via S-Video from the Entre to the VIA control screen.

When I find a DVD/CD to play, I can touch the screen to automatically begin play (or with CD's move to specific music tracks). I can toggle between the VIA genertaed screen and the Entre screen by using the video toggle feature on the VIA.

Unfortunately I am not very technical, but I could possibly get you in contact with the technician who programmed my VIA and he could possibly work with you to copy the command protocol etc...

Originally posted by Nick Satullo
<snip>Alas, with any version, I'm getting the runtime error "9." What's a little interesting is that I have multiple Entres (3). DVDedit syncs fine with the two that have limited DVD storage in them, but, to the Grand-Daddy (the Entre with three changers and almost 1,000 DVDs), the error pops up as the packets are loading. Then it just blanks out.

Joe, any ideas?

Nick :cool: Nick, Kevin pointed out this in thread: http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?s=&postid=3647247&highlight=kevin#post3647247

He also has that many DVDs and I think talked to Jose about the internal array limit that appears to be in DVDEdit. Seems like 1209 would have been a good limit <grin>

Nick,

Have you tried to delete the *.xml files in the DVDedit folder and restart the application?

Flavorguy,
It sounds to me like you have had to adapt the VIA to work with the entre's GUI using transparent overlays. Since the Kenwood Sovereign system is advertised as a partner with Elan shouldn't they have down-loadable software (modules) which will enable the VIA to work with the Entre's GUI. Also is your VIA generated screen the same as the screenshots from FZ in postings #5491 and 5476? Did the VIA generated screen require any development or did it work right away?

Originally posted by fz1234
The image attached shows a page that is a combo of IR and IP Commands. This duplicates the remote plus a few extras.
That's very cool. I assume that if you hit the keyboard button, you get a keyboard layout on teh touchpanel? That too would be great, especially if you get things like the shortcut features of the function keys.

Originally posted by Nick Satullo
Alas, with any version, I'm getting the runtime error "9." What's a little interesting is that I have multiple Entres (3). DVDedit syncs fine with the two that have limited DVD storage in them, but, to the Grand-Daddy (the Entre with three changers and almost 1,000 DVDs), the error pops up as the packets are loading. Then it just blanks out.

DVD Edit works very erratically for me too, and I went through a few periods where it would never work at all. Here are a few possibly helpful suggestions: First, reboot your Entre and be sure that the FTP port is open. Second, if you have a firewall like ZoneAlarm, turn it off. Third, be sure to delete all of the old xml files before you run it -- do this every time. Last, keep running and deleting over and over again, and try alternating to different versions. Eventually, it will take.

FWIW, this problem is also machine specific: I have three computers on my network where it won't work, and one where it works like a charm.

I ran some test the other night to see which DVDedit versions worked and which ones did not. Ever since my Entre has been extreamly sluggish. It intermittantly locks up and Updates when switching between Movies, and Music can take as long as 5 minutes. Does anyone have any Ideas?