BH200 firmware watch... - Page 7

Well, I just got the BD "For Your Eyes Only" and it doesn't play. Other than this one disc it's worked flawlessly.

I suppose, given how easy it is to change fw, I could burn-to-latest to watch the newest discs, and then burn it back again to April 2008, but that'd be a helluva thing to have to do very often wouldn't it.

I dunno, maybe someday I'll buy another BD player just for homemade discs, or get another BH200 and have one for these & one w/latest fw? Yuk.

Was there any update between April and the June?

Was there anything important that the June update accomplished that I should worry about getting rid of?

1. No.
2. Check out the Change log in the first post of the Mini-FAQ, in short No.

The 4:3 distortion stretch to 16:9 screen bothers me quite a bit. I hate it...

However what are the HDMI dropouts? I don't see any. What is the failure signature?

Is it really an issue for DD/DTS to go over LPCM? I bit stream everything.
LPCM -> LPCM doesn't work?

Ooops, wrong thread, sorry.

I just got one of these and tried to update the firmware. It appears the LG service page is down. Anyone else have this problem?

NM...seems to be working now.

Hey, all - so it's been awhile since I posted. I've been traveling a lot due to work and haven't had much time to sit and watch movies on my BH200, much less stay on top of firmware issues.

I was saddened to hear of LG's decision to not offer the BD-Live update. While I am one of the people that don't care too much about that functionality, I still think it's a bad decision on their part. My biggest concern though is this: if they aren't offering this update, what happens next? Are they going to abandon the BH200 all together? There are still some major bugs and disk issues that NEED fixing.

I just sent LG customer service the following via e-mail.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Hello,

I'm inquiring about a firmware update for the BH200 SuperBlu HD DVD/Blu-ray player. As per a previous LG press release, the BH200 was to support Blu-ray Profile 2.0 (BD-Live) with a future upgrade. However, based on what I'm reading from other users on the AVS Forum, that is no longer going to happen and instead a $75 rebate check is being offered.

I would like to confirm if 1.) the firmware update has, indeed, been cancelled and 2.) what I need to do to receive my rebate check for the inconvenience? I'd also like to know if there are plans to continue supporting the BH200 with firmware updates for disk incompatibility issues as well as other known bugs? Seeing as how the lack of BD-Live support is so disappointing, I certainly hope other basic firmwares upgrades will continue to be released, just as Toshiba continues to offer updates for their HD DVD players.

Thank you for your time. I look forward to hearing from you soon!
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

I'll let you know what I hear back from them.

-C.

Well-written e-mail. I'll be interested to see what they say.

Thanks Casey.

Does anyone know why the other thread has been locked?

I don't often post, but I've been following the issues regarding the BH200 closely.

I don't have a BH200, but I do own the BH100, and if they're dropping support for the 200, it pretty much goes without saying that support for the 100 will be dropped as well.

So far, it seems pretty clear to me that LG has no intention of upgrading the BH200 to handle BD-Live. However, what's unclear is whether they intend to fix playback issues such as what is occuring with the James Bond discs.

Last year, the first BD+ discs came out from Fox (Silver Surfer, Day After Tomorrow, etc.) and it took LG nearly a month to get out a firmware fix. Most of the other CE's were quicker in fixing the problem. One could argue that LG wanted to do it right rather than quickly. And I'll somewhat go along with that argument since the James Bond discs are the first ones that my BH100 has had a problem with since then.

However, I've seen no official word on whether LG intends to offer a firmware fix for the James Bond issue, either for the BH100 or the BH200. Last year, even though it took a month for the fix to show up, LG was very clear that a fix was coming for both machines.

I'm speculating a bit here, but I'm not overly confident that LG will be providing a firmware fix for the James Bond issue, as they've been quiet on the issue. What that means for me is that I have no idea whether or not current or future releases will work in my player. This is something that should concern not just us LG owners, but owners of Blu Ray players in general. At some point, nearly all CE's are going to want to drop support of discontinued models, as there's no money in firmware fixes.

At this point, I'm not overly hopeful that a firmware fix is forthcoming in regards to the James Bond issue, either for the 100 or the 200. I suspect I'll be out shopping for a new player relatively soon. And, trust me, if I do end up buying a new player it will not be the BD300.

I just watched Hulk last night, and it had audio drop out issues. How can LG get away with not even providing updates for Blu-Ray releases on a $900 player that is less than a year old?

I suspect that there's nothing in their contract with the BDA that requires LG to provide fixes for new releases on discontinued models, and as it stands LG considers the BH200 to be discontinued.

LG's attitude seems to be - "We aren't going to fix it, buy a BD300 instead!" Well, if I've got to go out and buy a new player, it isn't going to be a BD300!

I live in germany and the player didn´t come out here.... Isn´t it a thing of law? Did anybody ask an advocat in this matter? Several DVDs playable on the most player do not work on the BH200 - this is a not working product characteristic .....

Well, that's kind of the big question. LG receives no money for offering firmware updates to fix playback issues, mostly newer Blu Ray releases.

LG could argue, I suppose, that the BH100 and BH200 worked with all current releases when they were discontinued and that playback of newer Blu Ray discs is not guaranteed.

A great deal depends on the contract that LG signed with the BDA. If the BDA contract requires CE's and movie studios to provide legacy support for discontinued models, then LG will provide a firmware update for both the 100 and the 200 for the current James Bond playback issue along with any upcoming issues that may arise in the future.

However, I would be surprised if there is any such language about legacy support in the BDA contract. My best guess, once your CE abandons support of your model, you'll either be shopping for a new player or unable to watch some/all new releases in the future. One could call it "planned obsolecense."

The whole question is this, is LG dropping legacy support for the BH100/200? If they are, then current owners who are interested in new releases would be best off shopping for a new player. If they are going to continue to support their legacy machines, it would be helpful if they would come out and at least say so. The silence from LG on the whole issue of legacy support for BH100/200 has been deafening.

"At some point, nearly all CE's are going to want to drop support of discontinued models, as there's no money in firmware fixes." - The Doc

While there maybe no money in firmware fixes, there is money in creating brand loyalty. The first DVD player I purchased in 1999 still plays DVD's from 2008. I still upgraded to newer players because I wanted newer features - Denon DVD-1200 (progessive scan), Denon 1920 and 2910 (upconverting) and all these DVD players are still in use today. I purchased the BH 200 because I wanted an all in one stand alone solution eventhough I had a Toshiba A35 and PS3. Other manufacturers, Panasonic, Pioneer, and Sony are still releasing firmware for their G1 players.

Like others in this thread, I have felt it necessary to purchase an additional BD player, the Panasonic BD35. Besides being BD live ready, which IMHO currently adds no real value, it does not offer any additional features over the BH200 except Panasonics reputation for timely firmware updates.

That's what LG seems to be losing sight of. Apparently creating brand loyalty is not very high on LG's list of priorities.

I bet (for disc issues) the question that LG is asking themselves before issuing a 'fix' for a specific disc is:

1) Was the disc authored to BD specs or not?
If the disc wasn't authored to BD specs, they probably feel no reason to fix their player to play discs authored out of spec.

If the disc was authored to BD specs, then they will probably feel obliged to issue a 'fix' for their player.

So the question is, were the Bond (and other movies) issued to BD specs? If not, the studio should issue a replacement, if so, the CE manufacturer should issue a firmware update.

My 2 cents. If you caused the problem fix it. Period.

(There in lies the problem with BD, the 'spec' is a moving target)

Bond was due to an authoring error (a corrupted .jar file, I believe), so ultimately MGM should send out replacements...but you don't see that anything, do you? :-\\

FYI-got a reply today. No mention of firmware to correct disk errors.

-----------Reply to Customer Inquiry------------
Dear Scott, Thank you for your email regarding the LG BH200. LG has provided several software upgrades for the BH200 that enable powerful new functionality including BonusView and audio performance improvements. However, LG is not planning a firmware upgrade to activate BD Live functionality in the foreseeable future. As a consumer electronics leader, LG is committed to its customers and we are offering $75 cash back for any inconvenience this has caused. In order to receive your $75 check, please submit your name, address, daytime phone number, serial number and a copy of your sales receipt to: customerservice@lge.com ATTN: BH200 Rebate or fax to 256-774-8668 If you have other questions or concerns, please do not hesitate to contact us again either via email, or by calling our customer service division at 800-243-0000 at your convenience. Virginia Q. E-mail Administrator Customer Interactive Center LGEAI This communication is confidential, intended only for the named recipient(s) above and may contain trade secrets or other information that is exempt from disclosure under applicable law. Any use, dissemination, distribution or copying of this communication by anyone other than the named recipient(s) is strictly prohibited. If you have received this communication in error, please immediately notify us by calling 256-772-0623. Thank you.

I may use the money towards a PS3 or perhaps a Panasonic 55.

Now thait is settled, the issue of a general FW upgrade comes up. Did you read that letter to mean that no general firmware update will be forthcoming, or do you think that it was not addressed? thanks.

I've got 2 BH200's and from my testing it seems that unless the BH200 is connected to a HDMI v1.3 TV they exhibit sync probs. The unit in my games room is connected directly to a 2008 model Sony LCD TV and never play's up at all, everyhting works perfectly inc 24p.

The unit in my lounge connected to a HDMI v1.2 Marantz AVR -> a DVI-D (HDCP) Pioneer Plasma plays up on almost every disc. I will get at least 2 audio dropouts per movie and occasionally a video dropout as well.

I thought my lounge room unit (both Jan '08 units with latest FW & Driver) was the problem so I swapped them over and proved to myself that LG have not done their HDMI homework as the issues continued in the lounge and all was still perfect in the games room!!!

double post.

These continual reports of sync problems makes me want to put this player up on Ebay. What a lemon it has become. My player adequately functioned on the first sitting using my Onkyo receiver but who knows what the future holds.

I've played about 40 HD DVD's and 20-30 Blu-rays without a single video / audio drop out on my setup (BH200 -- Onkyo TX-SR605 -- Optoma HD72 projector).

I haven't bought the James Bond movies yet, however.

+1

BH200---> Onkyo TX-SR705---> Panasonic 50PZ800U

Execpt:

American Gangster Blu-ray, audio drop-outs on branching points.
Aliens DVD, audio drop-outs.

That's good...I'm just nervous about introducing new hardware (receivers namely) into the setup, as it seems to be somewhat hit or miss. Hopefully, the bad reports are related to nothing more than defective players.

Your right, sell your unit and try another player. Thanks for playing....