BD370/390 LG Blu-ray player Master/Owners thread - Page 60

5.1, manual p.17.

That's a terrible idea: more and more blu-rays come with hi-def audio and such setup is going to distort the sound. If your receiver can't make up for missing back speakers on analog inputs, use the izub's solution: connect both 7.1 and some digital (opt/coax).

I'm now a new owner. I just placed an order for one this morning, wish me luck (unless I don't need any)?

I will definitely wish you luck although you probably don't need it. This player has so many features and abilities that there are bound to be more glitches here and there than a "plays BD only" player. And they keep adding new features, it seems. So, even if there is an occasional frustration with one of the many features, there are so many others that will work flawlessly that it will still be a good investment. And, you have found the best place to work out any issues that do arise!

So it says PCM 7.1ch for Dolby TrueHD. Am I to assume it will ouput 7.1 even for 5.1 movies or is that the maximum it will output? Its not very clear.

Has anyone confirmed this with their player?

Whatever you call 5.1 movies (usually DVDs) are encoded with DTS or Dolby Digital. Dolby TrueHD, Dolby Digital Plus, DTS-HD are all hi-def audio standards and used in Blu-Ray discs.

I think I noticed the same (or similar) problem. The built-in speaker test on the BD390 would only play the left and right speakers ... when it highlighted the rear surround speakers I never heard the test tone through them. But when I play DVDs or anything with surround, it seems to work fine.

My guess is that the speaker test may only work right if you're using the analog speaker pre-amp level outputs on the back of the BD390. I don't use those and am only using the "coax" digital audio connection to my receiver ... which seems to work just fine with real source material using the BD390's DTS setting.

I have a 4.1 speaker set up, by the way. I don't miss or need a center channel since L+R seems to "fill" the middle just fine. I never understood why there was a need for a center speaker. Good for the speaker industry though, I suppose.

Unfortunately, I don't have a nice sound system. I just have my player connected directly to my TV over HDMI, and the sound comes directly from my TV.

I call 5.1 movies a movie that is encoded with a 5.1 audio track, whether it be a DVD or a bluray. My question would be pertanent for both DVDs and blurays since most are only 5.1. HD audio or not.

what is the speed of the ethernet port on the BD390?

is it 10, 100, or 1g?

100 - Fast Ethernet.

That's not true. I use Handbrake to rip DVDs to the .mp4 file format (h.264/AAC) and they play perfectly on the BD390.

I created a custom preset in Handbrake called "BD390 - MP4 HQ" to do exactly that. When I select this preset, I do have to manually set the filename to .mp4 (from .m4v, for some reason the file suffix is not sticky), and it outputs a great quality .mp4 file that I can then play on the BD390. I prefer using the .mp4 file format on the Mac since QT will play them (but will not play .mkv files - unless I'm missing something. VLC, Plex and Miro play .mkv files on the Mac, though).

Now that the BD390 has CIFS/SMB capabilities from the update a couple weeks ago, I don't understand why anyone would use a DLNA server like Twonky. As far as I can tell, it does not transcode incompatible files/codecs (like .wmv, .mov). Perhaps you have a PS3, too, so it's useful for that (I use MediaLink for the PS3)? If not, then just sharing your media files on the Mac using System Preferences > Sharing > File Sharing provides the capability to play compatible files on the BD390.

I'd recommend you use the File > Get Info menu to determine the actual codecs used within your .mp4 files. I'd bet the codecs are not compatible with the BD390. You could transcode them to another codec to solve the problem. It's not the .mp4 file format (container) but the codecs that the video and audio are encoded in that's likely your issue.

I hope that helps you and other Mac & BD390 users.
Doug

Well, let's see.
What about playing music by artist or album? Or playlist?
What about album art and an information about a song, e.g., a songwriter, a composer,..., in a native language, even if it's not Latin-based.
What about backgroung music, e.g., fado, while watching photo slideshow from Portugal.
What about streams from channels of Playon, which are not on any of your computers.

Doug--
You are a genius, thanks so much.... didn't realize that CIFS/SMB update was part of the package last week, so indeed, no need for Twonky now.. alas, he will be missed.

Indeed, I misspoke: the BD390 IS able to play mp4 files BUT NOT m4a files... have you found this to be the case, Doug? I am still not able to play any of my iTunes library without converting it to mp3 format.. nor will it play any of my .mov files... But what it does play, it plays quite well.

does it play back, trye hd or dts hd master audio via hdmi to your receiver

All true, for sure... absolutely could make a compelling argument for trying to wire up AppleTV alongside the BD390, but alas, AppleTV has issues of its own that need to be addressed before I can bite that bullet (720p, I'm looking at you!) ... Doug's advice gave me exactly what I want without any other software/shareware hassles... now if I can just iron out my file formatting curveballs, I should be in good shape...

I haven't tried Vista yet... BUT... Apparently in Windows XP, you MUST be using Simple File Sharing...

Control Panel -> Folder Options -> View tab... scroll down, and make sure there is a check in the box for Use Simple File Sharing.

I had mine set to use the "classic file sharing and security interface" which is how things are done in Windows 2000, and on XP machines connected to a domain.

For the differences see -> http://support.microsoft.com/kb/304040

As soon as I switched back to Simple... and shared the folder, it showed up on the BD390. When I selected it, I was prompted for a user id and password, as well as the option to have the BD390 remember it.

I wonder if Vista's two choices of sharing either Public Folders vs Any Folder has a similar impact? See also -> http://windowshelp.microsoft.com/Win...e86151033.mspx which makes it sound like Vista's "public folders" is like using "Simple" in XP, and Vista's Any Folder is like using "Classic" in XP.

Not the case on my setup, I have two computers on my network, running XP Pro, and have full file sharing enabled (not simple) and the BD390 can see all the network shares on both computers.

It works beautifully!

Now if they only supported WMV and ISO files I'd call the BD390 perfect.

Hmm...

3 XP Pro PC's on my home network... each with Simple sharing turned of. Each can see the shares on the others, yet the BD390 only shows the computer names, and doesn't see the folders.

Turn ON Simple Sharing.. and the BD390 can see the shares.



Not sure why.

As far as wmv files are concerned -- this could easily be done on a new firmware.

But the ISO is a different situation -- an ISO is an image file for burning to a media such as a DVD disk --- best you use software such as PowerDVD and extract from the iso the files for your movie ; this is what happens when you burn to a disk . --- Your movie will then be in VTS format (Audio + Video and Subtitles) and it will be played by the BD-390.

ISO are images - containers to permit sending over the internet ; they wrap together all the data of a collection needed to be burned on a media. The burning software does the extraction and puts on the media the data contained in the ISO.

Have a great day

All very good points for using a DLNA server with the BD390. Thanks. I use the BD390 primarily for movies so hadn't really considered these features.

I generally use the AppleTV for music, podcasts and Boxee, but can see that those DLNA capabilities can fill a gap on the BD390.

Just a geek, thanks.

You're correct, the BD390 doesn't play m4a, m4v or m4p files from iTunes (with or without DRM). I think converting iTunes files to .mp3 (audio) and .mp4 (video) is probably the best option (short of AppleTV).

My audio library is almost entirely in mp3 format, and I use the AppleTV for music, podcasts, trailers, photos, Boxee, etc. in the living room, so the iTunes m4a, m4v, m4p files that I haven't converted aren't much of an issue for me.

The format I don't understand why the BD390 can't always play is AAC. Page 48 in the manual says not all AAC files are compatible, but it's not clear to me why. I have very few AAC audio files (0 with DRM), but none of mine are visible/playable on the BD390. Anyone know why this format is not consistently playable? Evolving file format standards?

I don't want you to.

That's why I constantly complain about LG's claim that 390's DLNA certified. It's beyond me how they got certification after testing with one server only (Nero). They promised us BMW or Mercedes, but we're given Trabant or Yugo. It'll get us from A to B (eventually), but how comfortable and how fast.

On the other hand, the 390's ability to play Blu-rays and DVDs is irreproachable
Isn't this its main purpose after all?

nope! lol. we want ps3 replacement with better options. cheaper price may be. you know still it wont play games.

Without PS3 Media Server, the PS3 is junk for DNLA. Don't kid yourselves.

Is there any way to setup a CIFS share for a WHS box (HP Mediamsart EX485 server)?

Thanks, I've created ISO's from DVD's I play a lot. I have an MVIX media player, and it plays them like DVD's with menu support. That's what I'm looking for so I can keep the DVD's menus and everything that goes with it (DVD extras, audio options etc.).

I don't want to have to convert them again and store another copy.

As far as I can see, a DVD is a DVD, whether in the tray or in ISO format on a hard disk.

And these are legal copies, I still have the disks stored in the cupboard.

Try enabling the guest account.

Has anyone been able to play files with HD audio(Dolby TrueHD or DTS-MA) off the network or the USB port?

I agree! junk that plays games lol