Netgear NeoTV 550 - Page 58

it's always the same. Neo is made to read HD briso or rip from a Nas. If you ask neo to make the coffee, it won't works. Neither other boxes.

A lot of bug reported here are not bug from Neo : Avatar BR does not work, it's known. If i play Avatar with my Dune, i have the same bug. Same for DVD 1/1.85, and same for gapless files which have gap...into the file. take time to use the box and to understand how it works.

Still its a bug with the current chipset/firmware/whatever = it's not supposed to behave that way in reality. Other players may have the same issues but that doesn't make it okay anyway. It's not a bug, it's a feature... is not an answer to everything.

No. Some DVD or BR does not work. The issue is with the disk, not the drive. I have 3 boxes, 2 dvd drive and 2 br drive. And i found issue, small or big, with some dvd or with some br, which are with all drives or boxes.

I have been testing this box for weeks. It is the best i ever had. So if you, after 5 minutes, you claim that it does not work, i don't understand.

My experience from dealing with a number of streamers in the past is that a lot of the faults people experience is never a problem for me - and I hope the same is the case with this player. Having a Server/NAS with good performance (my i/o is ~500MB/s r/w on Solaris...), using NFS, using good switches (HP managed Gigabit) has spared me a lot of problems in the past.

People stream from everything from crappy USB drives, unstable NAS devices, over wireless, and using crappy computers (often with torrents running). They also expect every single file made the last 15 years to be playable.

Now; there ARE a lot of things that isn't caused by this of course, but playing a 2 hour long movie requires that the backend is stable and has a lot of headroom.

So I'm remaining positive, and will give a fair review when I get the unit in a day or two. If anyone want to tell me how how to get into the Beta program (or invite me) just send me a PM

Good for you. If it works on my htpc and not on my Neo550 i consider it as problem. Anyway as you can see... im not the only one with problems. I don't what kind of files you guys have been testing for the last weeks, but apprently there are still problems.

Again, same issue, same answer : "My PC is able to do it, not the box..."

So why did you purchase a box ? and how much cost a box vs a PC ?

Please, be fair in your pros and cons.

So what, now I can't buy whatever I want?
If I can play a x264 mkv with DTS sound on my PC but no sound on my Neo550, is that to much of a problem for an ultimate media player?
If some x264 hangs the neo550 but not my PC... i don't think this being unfair.

+1

What are mkv files ? can you go in a store, buying a "mkv movie" ?

No, you can't. So you have build it, with a soft on your pc, probably free.

And you complain because your pc is able to play this and not the box.

And you pretend the box does not work. Could you be able to imagine the issue is on your side (i.e. the way you build your mkv) ?

This is just what i call unfair.

1. If I can get the same file (regardless of container) to work from my Tvix 6500 that is 3 years old and with a less powerful engine (hence the "upgrade" intention) and on the Qnap NMP-1000 (that is 18 months old) I actually expect a betatested NTV 550 to handle such simple things like move Subtitles up or down without distorting the aspect ratio.

2. If I can get the same file (regardless of container) to work from my Tvix 6500 and on the Qnap NMP-1000 I actually expect a betatested NTV 550 to not having artifacts if they do not appear on the older players (playing the same file).

That is not a comparison of pc vs mediaplayer or power of engine, it is comparing features that should be standard for most standard containers that the player claim to support.

The rest of my equipment consists of 1 Qnap 419p NAS and 1 Qnap 419p+ NAS, wired with cat6 and with gigabit switches (NTV shows speeds between 78-92 Mbps) and a Integra DTR 80.1 receiver and a Panasonic PT-AE4000 projector. I do not see that as crappy environment for the 550 to join...

This is all experienced with latest fw .266 for EU. Going from .234 to .266 made things better but it is a long way to be satisfied regarding Subtitle features and artifacts for a 135" 2.35:1 cinema setup.

/Mike

@dopus or @vsonerud
How did You get the 3.0.265 beta firmware

I think we have to remember that this is the internet, populated by "fan boys", shills, and it seems "inverted fan boys" (is that a term - if not I've just invented it). It is always a matter of keeping an open mind and recognising biased posts for what they are.

What is encouraging so far, is that we have not seen a plethora of people complaining about the same issues. This could indicate real problems.

The clincher for me will be how well Netgear respond to any real issues and how they handle ungoing firmware updates.

this is the most important: no one can give an answer now
Bye
Luca

I think the clue is in the origin of the 3 boxes you mention. I would be surprised if subtitle support was tested as thoroughly as the rest of the features given the Neo was developed in America (and presumably the majority of testing was done by Americans or at least "English" people). The other two boxes were developed in Asia where subtitles are much more common and therefore more likely to be tested as a matter of course.

I may be wrong of course but my theory makes perfect sense in my little world

a, b, c: You are right
d: You mean my problem with MOV-Files, not VOB-files, right?
You are wrong. MOV is mentioned in the specs:
netgear.com/home/products/hometheater/media-players/NTV550.aspx

And it is not a totally new container format. My O!Play is able to play them. Can't you understand the disappointment that you have, when you try to upgrade your media player, buy a newer one for a higher price and have to notice then, that many things work better with the old device?

Maybe you have to make your own frustrating experiences before you give a comment to someone's review...

Found two other bugs:
- When playing a music title and pressing FF, there's no display for the speed (2x, 4x...)
- When playing a folder with videos, you can't jump to the next videos using the "next" or "Prev" keys. They are out of function.

The DVD-ISOs the NeoTV doesn't play are all European PAL format with 4:3 aspect ratio. Maybe this information helps the developers.

And lastly:
dopus posted

"one thing that is bugging me. some bdbackups when you fast forward, pushing the button once gives 2x twice 4x..... problem is if i press play and then press fast forward again it continues with the next level. If my last fast forward was 4x it continues with 8x instead of starting at 2x again."

I can confirm this.

Oh please. Now you're just trying too hard . Mkv support is a requirement for any halfway decent streamer. It's been a fairly common ripping standard for several years. If the 550 fails to support them properly my order will be cancelled ASAP. Just that simple.

I went to Frys in Phoenix last night to see what was going on. The salesman in the computer department looked it up and said no stock and the units have been put on hold with no estimated release date. Not sure what that really means? I can not decide between this player or a new Dune?? I'm reading all the forums.

I fully agree, and that is the same conclusion that I came to, but if the aim of the product was only english native speaking people, why then release it in Europe before US?

I use the subtitles for hearing impaired family members and friends and like the dumb Swede I am, I actually thought that US beta testers tested for the same environment and not only for their own needs.

I still think that it can be one of the best players out there, so it is not all negative from me (and Bozzeta I think I can speak for), but both of us probably expected more "out-of-the-box" since it has been under beta testing for a long time now.

Cheers
Mike

Not everyone has the issue you are talking about. The last firm (EU) are 265 or 268. i dont' think there was a .266.

Can someone send me the newest firmware for the EU?

I supposed to get my NeoTV 550 in 2 hours, and would really like to try it today...


Batnun

.

I agree with you. But again, mkv is only a container and all users build their own from different movie files with different software tools. So, before to say it doesn't work, you should try to investigate a little further, to post the mediainfo to the forum (i know there is e a lot of video specialist around there that can release real good idea) in order to see what is about. I spent hours to convert different video files into mkv, with different tools, and you realy need to check the files characteristics when you face an issue, before returning the player.

I already know that the neo is better than the dune for mkv :with the dune, i have 22ms lipsync issue, not with neo. But with some other mkv, made from cam coder, i had a lipsync issue that was into the file.

I believe you can add RSS feeds from the web interface which is typically easier. Just open your browser and type in the IP address of your Neo. I'm not sure if this has been incorporated yet, but it was in the 9150 and should be eventually in the Neo. The goal of the devs was to make the web interface have the same functionality of the Neo GUI.

And yes, a USB keyboard is also supported. Several of the beta testers were using wireless usb keyboards.

anyone from netgear reading these?
I am in usa so we are last ....can I get mine early I want to bitch too
rofl

Glad to see somebody "get's it". The Neo is much better than the owner review made it out to be. Yes, there are still some bugs and some stability issues, but I'm confident the devs will get them ironed out.

As for VOB support, if you just rename them .mpg they will be detected and play just fine. If you have a DVD folder with VOB's and IFO's, you are fine then. It's jsust stand alone VOBs that don't work.

That may depend on what your previous streamer was. I had an 8000, 9150 and now the Neo. I've never looked back. Minus the built in hard drive and wireless (removed for cost measures I'm sure), the Neo is way better than the previous models. I'm a big Netgear fan, so maybe I'm biased.

I was thinking it should regardless of how long you watched it. Maybe that changed when they added "partially watched" and "fully watched" icons/feature. I know that 5 minutes is the threshold for the Neo to flag the movie as "partially watched". And 5 minutes from the end, is the threshold for the Neo to flag it as "fully watched".

There's no keyboard support in the current "stable" firmware. What do you want to do with a keyboard? There isn't a browser on the NeoTV...

I also want to test the beta firmware. Hope they release it soon.

Strange that mine was named the following if it does not exist:

NTV550_V3.0.266EU.ZIP and included is fw: 3.0.101123.266.EU.prod.img

Can some of you US beta testers test how the Subtitle movement affects aspect ratio? If it is only me that have the problem, then I have an non-compatible box and then I can not expect it to be fixed in a future fw-update and hence I have to use the return policy.

Test: In a mkv (preferably a 2.35:1 movie) with internal subtitles;

1. Activate subtitle
2. Change settings so that subtitle can be moved UP/DOWN by using PG-button.
3. Then try to move subtitle so nothing is in the black bar, and everything is within the "movie".

If this works for all that can test this, then I have some problem and not the box (but since it works on my other boxes, I still see it as a box problem).

Thanks to Christophe of HDland.fr we have the beta FW V3.0.268EU www. hdland .fr/ site/ temp/ Firmwares/ netgear/NTV550_V3.0.268EU.ZIP
more information here www. homecinema-fr.com/ forum/ viewtopic.php?f=1182&t=29949193&start=330

Regards