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Official LG BD690/670/650/6xx Series Thread - Page 7

post #181 of 2199
3/26/11 at 7:37am
Well the anticipated March 25 update is here but no Hulu+ no Amazon VoD and no web browser.

But now LG Aps has installed it's icon in the quickbar fav aps section and I can't unseat it.

This seems like a script for a rage comic. LOLz
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post #182 of 2199
3/26/11 at 7:51am
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by 94z07 View Post

Well the anticipated March 25 update is here but no Hulu+ no Amazon VoD and no web browser.

But now LG Aps has installed it's icon in the quickbar fav aps section and I can't unseat it.

This seems like a script for a rage comic. LOLz

What is the new firmware version???
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post #183 of 2199
3/26/11 at 9:22am
How's the MKV support with these new players?

Is MPEG2, VC1 and DTS HDMA supported in MKVs?
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post #184 of 2199
3/26/11 at 4:43pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by 94z07 View Post

Well the anticipated March 25 update is here but no Hulu+ no Amazon VoD and no web browser.

But now LG Aps has installed it's icon in the quickbar fav aps section and I can't unseat it.

This seems like a script for a rage comic. LOLz

The only update in the last few weeks has been a driver update. The firmware update expected to add Amazon VOD has apparently has been delayed. Keep in mind that the dates discussed here are only estimates provided by Customer Service. Any software releases have the potential for delay. Better for them to spend the time to make sure the updates are working properly before they send them out.

As for the LG Aps being in the bar along the bottom, on my BD670 it's been like that since the day I got it. Not sure I understand the concern there, especially since the software doesn't allow anything to be added to the empty slots at this point.
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post #185 of 2199
3/27/11 at 1:29am
Quote:
Originally Posted by Krobar View Post

How's the MKV support with these new players?

Is MPEG2, VC1 and DTS HDMA supported in MKVs?

Regretfully, I don't have many MKV files to test myself so I cannot offer information based on actual experience here. That having been said, the manual for my player (BD670) does not list any lossless audio codecs (DTS-HD Master Audio, Dolby TrueHD or PCM) as a supported format for USB, disc or DLNA playback. It *does* list "VC-1 SM (WMV3)" as a supported video codec for disc, USB and DLNA playback. Based on the info in the manual, I would expect that these players will play back MKV files with MPEG2 or VC1 video and AC-3, MP3 or AAC audio but would not expect them to play back any lossless audio format (again, I haven't tested to confirm).

I recall reports from users of the last generation of LG players (BD5x0) which led me to believe that that the lossless audio formats were not supported in MKVs or any other container for streaming, USB or hard drive playback on those players. I have found that my BD570 will not play back .m2ts files with DTS-HD Master Audio or Dolby TrueHD, even though it will play similar files with AC-3 audio (the BD670 also wouldn't play those files - even the .m2ts 1080P files with AC-3. It should be noted that .m2ts is not listed by LG as a supported format in the manual for either player).

Obviously, the players have to be equipped to play all of these video and audio codecs to play back Blu-Ray discs, so these seem to be intentionally imposed restrictions. In general, LG seems to be trying to walk a fine line of offering greater media compatibility than the most other big name brands, while not completely opening it up to the point of allowing for easy playback of media copied directly from DVDs or Blu-Rays. There may be some sort of industry regulations designed to prevent piracy that are causing them to implement these restrictions. It is my understanding that the BD5x0 players at one point allowed the playback of .VOB files copied from DVDs, but that was disabled in a firmware update in June of last year. Users on this form reported that LG Support told them that this change was made due to "copyright restrictions."

Bottom line: even if the players *will* play back MKV files with DTS-HD MA now (which I don't think they will), I wouldn't think it safe to assume that that functionality would remain in place with future firmware updates.
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post #186 of 2199
3/27/11 at 2:13am
Quote:
Originally Posted by Vampidemic View Post

Regretfully, I don't have many MKV files to test myself so I cannot offer information based on actual experience here. That having been said, the manual for my player (BD670) does not list any lossless audio codecs (DTS-HD Master Audio, Dolby TrueHD or PCM) as a supported format for USB, disc or DLNA playback. It *does* list "VC-1 SM (WMV3)" as a supported video codec for disc, USB and DLNA playback. Based on the info in the manual, I would expect that these players will play back MKV files with MPEG2 or VC1 video and AC-3, MP3 or AAC audio but would not expect them to play back any lossless audio format (again, I haven't tested to confirm).

I recall reports from users of the last generation of LG players (BD5x0) which led me to believe that that the lossless audio formats were not supported in MKVs or any other container for streaming, USB or hard drive playback on those players. I have found that my BD570 will not play back .m2ts files with DTS-HD Master Audio or Dolby TrueHD, even though it will play similar files with AC-3 audio (the BD670 also wouldn't play those files - even the .m2ts 1080P files with AC-3. It should be noted that .m2ts is not listed by LG as a supported format in the manual for either player).

Obviously, the players have to be equipped to play all of these video and audio codecs to play back Blu-Ray discs, so these seem to be intentionally imposed restrictions. In general, LG seems to be trying to walk a fine line of offering greater media compatibility than the most other big name brands, while not completely opening it up to the point of allowing for easy playback of media copied directly from DVDs or Blu-Rays. There may be some sort of industry regulations designed to prevent piracy that are causing them to implement these restrictions. It is my understanding that the BD5x0 players at one point allowed the playback of .VOB files copied from DVDs, but that was disabled in a firmware update in June of last year. Users on this form reported that LG Support told them that this change was made due to "copyright restrictions."

Bottom line: even if the players *will* play back MKV files with DTS-HD MA now (which I don't think they will), I wouldn't think it safe to assume that that functionality would remain in place with future firmware updates.

Thanks for the reply, the video codec support sounds much better than the old BD5XX players.
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post #187 of 2199
3/27/11 at 3:48am
Quote:
Originally Posted by Vampidemic View Post

Regretfully, I don't have many MKV files to test myself so I cannot offer information based on actual experience here. That having been said, the manual for my player (BD670) does not list any lossless audio codecs (DTS-HD Master Audio, Dolby TrueHD or PCM) as a supported format for USB, disc or DLNA playback. It *does* list "VC-1 SM (WMV3)" as a supported video codec for disc, USB and DLNA playback. Based on the info in the manual, I would expect that these players will play back MKV files with MPEG2 or VC1 video and AC-3, MP3 or AAC audio but would not expect them to play back any lossless audio format (again, I haven't tested to confirm).

I recall reports from users of the last generation of LG players (BD5x0) which led me to believe that that the lossless audio formats were not supported in MKVs or any other container for streaming, USB or hard drive playback on those players. I have found that my BD570 will not play back .m2ts files with DTS-HD Master Audio or Dolby TrueHD, even though it will play similar files with AC-3 audio (the BD670 also wouldn't play those files - even the .m2ts 1080P files with AC-3. It should be noted that .m2ts is not listed by LG as a supported format in the manual for either player).

Obviously, the players have to be equipped to play all of these video and audio codecs to play back Blu-Ray discs, so these seem to be intentionally imposed restrictions. In general, LG seems to be trying to walk a fine line of offering greater media compatibility than the most other big name brands, while not completely opening it up to the point of allowing for easy playback of media copied directly from DVDs or Blu-Rays. There may be some sort of industry regulations designed to prevent piracy that are causing them to implement these restrictions. It is my understanding that the BD5x0 players at one point allowed the playback of .VOB files copied from DVDs, but that was disabled in a firmware update in June of last year. Users on this form reported that LG Support told them that this change was made due to "copyright restrictions."

Bottom line: even if the players *will* play back MKV files with DTS-HD MA now (which I don't think they will), I wouldn't think it safe to assume that that functionality would remain in place with future firmware updates.

Thanks for your very detailed reply. I would be interested to know if anyone has confirmed VC1 playback in mkv.
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post #188 of 2199
3/27/11 at 4:30am
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by Vampidemic View Post

The only update in the last few weeks has been a driver update. The firmware update expected to add Amazon VOD has apparently has been delayed. Keep in mind that the dates discussed here are only estimates provided by Customer Service. Any software releases have the potential for delay. Better for them to spend the time to make sure the updates are working properly before they send them out.

As for the LG Aps being in the bar along the bottom, on my BD670 it's been like that since the day I got it. Not sure I understand the concern there, especially since the software doesn't allow anything to be added to the empty slots at this point.

Is anyone else on firmware version v8.62.245.E for the BD670?? I would like to know if anyone has received this update by doing the "Others - Software - Update" process directly from the menus on the player. I did my update to v8.62.245.E via download to a flash drive from LG support and plugging the flash drive into the front usb port.

Basically, I am trying to find out if the LG programmers that control the network player updates via the "Others - Software - Update" menu selections ever set the necessary code/trigger to send v8.62.245.E out to the BD670 automatically and whether I am the only fool in the country who has installed it manually via flash drive.

My concern is that LG USA screwed up and should not have made v8.62.245.E available for download from their BD670 support site and that when the next firmware update is issued, the code/trigger will look for the presence of v8.62.221.E before it will fire out v8.62.xxx.x to my player. If this scenario evovles, I will never get the next update.
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post #189 of 2199
3/27/11 at 10:12am
Quote:
Originally Posted by jmolli

Is anyone else on firmware version v8.62.245.E for the BD670?? I would like to know if anyone has received this update by doing the "Others - Software - Update" process directly from the menus on the player. I did my update to v8.62.245.E via download to a flash drive from LG support and plugging the flash drive into the front usb port.

Basically, I am trying to find out if the LG programmers that control the network player updates via the "Others - Software - Update" menu selections ever set the necessary code/trigger to send v8.62.245.E out to the BD670 automatically and whether I am the only fool in the country who has installed it manually via flash drive.

My concern is that LG USA screwed up and should not have made v8.62.245.E available for download from their BD670 support site and that when the next firmware update is issued, the code/trigger will look for the presence of v8.62.221.E before it will fire out v8.62.xxx.x to my player. If this scenario evovles, I will never get the next update.
I'm running the same version. Can't recall if I updated via network or USB (have done both). Not sure why you're concerned jmoli. Seems to be the most stable version yet for me.
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post #190 of 2199
3/27/11 at 7:22pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Vampidemic View Post
The only update in the last few weeks has been a driver update. The firmware update expected to add Amazon VOD has apparently has been delayed. Keep in mind that the dates discussed here are only estimates provided by Customer Service. Any software releases have the potential for delay. Better for them to spend the time to make sure the updates are working properly before they send them out.

As for the LG Aps being in the bar along the bottom, on my BD670 it's been like that since the day I got it. Not sure I understand the concern there, especially since the software doesn't allow anything to be added to the empty slots at this point.

I got an update on March 25. I didn't qualify it as driver or firmware.

LG Aps on the bottom was not there from the begning. I can and I have added aps to the lower bar's empty slots. When this update added LG Aps it moved the one I had added over one slot to the right. This is totally redundant with the circled plus sign icon on the far right and provides no utility what-so-ever. Not sure why you can't add apps. User error?
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post #191 of 2199
3/28/11 at 3:57am
Thread Starter 
94Z07,

Can you post what your current firmware version is?

Thanks,

John
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post #192 of 2199
3/28/11 at 1:20pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by 94z07 View Post

I got an update on March 25. I didn't qualify it as driver or firmware.

LG Aps on the bottom was not there from the begning. I can and I have added aps to the lower bar's empty slots. When this update added LG Aps it moved the one I had added over one slot to the right. This is totally redundant with the circled plus sign icon on the far right and provides no utility what-so-ever. Not sure why you can't add apps. User error?

My mistake, I see what you are saying now. I had never tried to add any apps to that area previously. Based upon something I read in the forum and something LG support said was forthcoming, I made the incorrect assumption that hadn't been implemented yet. I now see that the green button on the LG Apps page allows you to "edit" the app configuration and move apps to one of the four slots.

I still maintain that I have been seeing the "LG Aps" in the bottom since the first day I used my player. It might not have been in the first build, but it was definitely there in the first update I downloaded. I suspect that either the factory issued firmware allowed you to populate that and/or that subsequent updates allowed you to overwrite that spot with a custom item and they've now taken that option away.

Even if the "+" icon and the "LG Apps" button take you to the same place now, it's possible that they want to reserve that space to split those features out separately in the future.
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post #193 of 2199
3/28/11 at 1:33pm
In previous posts, there has been discussion about the differences between the BD670 and BD690, the most obvious one being that the BD690 has a built in hard drive for storing media.

I saw a video on YouTube where LG Canada was promoting the BD690 and it said that it operated as a DLNA server and client. This leads me to assume that you could store media on the internal hard drive of a BD690 and play it back from other devices on your network, whether it be a BD670 or some other device that can connect to a DLNA server.

I would assume that a BD670 with an external hard drive connected to it cannot function as a DLNA server (though I have not tried). This could be one functional advantage of actually getting a BD690 as opposed to getting a BD670 and adding an external hard drive.
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post #194 of 2199
3/29/11 at 8:49am
Thread Starter 
Well according to SlashGear, the ST600 SmartTV upgrader will be available within the next few weeks at $129. As I said in an earlier post, buying an ST600 and a budget BD player like the BD630 might be a better option than buying the BD670. The ST600 has a browser in addition to all of the same web capabilities of the BD670.

http://www.slashgear.com/lg-smart-tv...ming-29143154/

What do you think??
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post #195 of 2199
3/29/11 at 8:57am
Quote:
Originally Posted by jmolli View Post

Well according to SlashGear, the ST600 SmartTV upgrader will be available within the next few weeks at $129. As I said in an earlier post, buying an ST600 and a budget BD player like the BD630 might be a better option than buying the BD670. The ST600 has a browser in addition to all of the same web capabilities of the BD670.

http://www.slashgear.com/lg-smart-tv...ming-29143154/

What do you think??

That's a pretty cool device. I know a lot of people who would find use in that.

As for it (priced at $129, can probably be gotten for around $100 on Amazon) being an alternative when combined with a a BD630 ($118 on Amazon)... I don't know. Right now, the BD670 can be gotten for $208 on Amazon.
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post #196 of 2199
3/29/11 at 2:37pm
Ha, love their detailed response, although no denial of Amazon....

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post #197 of 2199
3/29/11 at 2:38pm
Is anyone having a problem with DivX TV today? I keep getting an error when I try to open it.
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post #198 of 2199
3/29/11 at 4:26pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Empirical View Post

You may be able to get around MLB.tv blackouts via ip spoofing.

Okay, time to get serious on this since baseball season is about to start. Does anyone know if there's any way to spoof the player's IP address (BD650) so I can watch my local team's games via the player? I've found a lot of info online about how to get the games on my laptop going through a proxy server or VPN. But on the player, even if I can get a friend in another part of the country to set up a VPN server, it can't be as easy as just going to the connection settings and manually entering all the IP and DNS info associated w/the VPN, can it?

From the info I can see via LG product support, manual entry of the connection settings is only there for folks whose router doesn't automatically recognize the player. It doesn't seem like they had in mind that anyone would want to set up the player as a VPN client, so I assume it can't be done. Correct?
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post #199 of 2199
3/29/11 at 4:28pm
Does anyone here know how to use the remote for the LG 60pz550 to pull up the menus on a Blu Ray on the LG 650? My blu ray player is hidden behind the couch, and the HDMI CEC (Simplink) feature lets me turn it on by pointing the TV remote at the TV that is, obviously, in front of the couch, but I can't seem to figure out how to pull up the BD menus.

Also, intermittently, when I try to pause/FF/REW from the TV remote, the TV says that this feature is not currently available. Other times, it works great.

Does anyone have any suggestions?
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post #200 of 2199
3/29/11 at 4:44pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by ElJimador View Post

Okay, time to get serious on this since baseball season is about to start. Does anyone know if there's any way to spoof the player's IP address (BD650) so I can watch my local team's games via the player? I've found a lot of info online about how to get the games on my laptop going through a proxy server or VPN. But on the player, even if I can get a friend in another part of the country to set up a VPN server, it can't be as easy as just going to the connection settings and manually entering all the IP and DNS info associated w/the VPN, can it?

From the info I can see via LG product support, manual entry of the connection settings is only there for folks whose router doesn't automatically recognize the player. It doesn't seem like they had in mind that anyone would want to set up the player as a VPN client, so I assume it can't be done. Correct?

I can't personally help you with this. You may be able to find information online however

You could try using a proxy to connect to the internet
http://mlbtvblackout.blogspot.com/20...nd-bypass.html
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post #201 of 2199
3/29/11 at 4:45pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by mwecksell View Post

Does anyone here know how to use the remote for the LG 60pz550 to pull up the menus on a Blu Ray on the LG 650? My blu ray player is hidden behind the couch, and the HDMI CEC (Simplink) feature lets me turn it on by pointing the TV remote at the TV that is, obviously, in front of the couch, but I can't seem to figure out how to pull up the BD menus.

Also, intermittently, when I try to pause/FF/REW from the TV remote, the TV says that this feature is not currently available. Other times, it works great.

Does anyone have any suggestions?

An IR Repeater.
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post #202 of 2199
3/29/11 at 4:46pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by DeAd MiKe 187 View Post

Is anyone having a problem with DivX TV today? I keep getting an error when I try to open it.

I just checked it about 30 minutes ago. No problems. Still cant find anything worth watching. Pretty nice interface. Streamed a few programs, Yesterdays? news. Cnet stuff. All worked no stutters hiccups, or other issues.
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post #203 of 2199
3/29/11 at 5:39pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Empirical View Post

I just checked it about 30 minutes ago. No problems. Still cant find anything worth watching. Pretty nice interface. Streamed a few programs, Yesterdays? news. Cnet stuff. All worked no stutters hiccups, or other issues.

I updated to the .245.E firmware today and now it won't work. It gives me an "unknown error" after I click on it and it tries to load. I've even done a factory reset after updating. Weird.
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post #204 of 2199
3/29/11 at 6:43pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by mwecksell View Post

Does anyone here know how to use the remote for the LG 60pz550 to pull up the menus on a Blu Ray on the LG 650? My blu ray player is hidden behind the couch, and the HDMI CEC (Simplink) feature lets me turn it on by pointing the TV remote at the TV that is, obviously, in front of the couch, but I can't seem to figure out how to pull up the BD menus.

Also, intermittently, when I try to pause/FF/REW from the TV remote, the TV says that this feature is not currently available. Other times, it works great.

Does anyone have any suggestions?

As Empirical suggested, using an IR repeater, will enable you to use the BD player's native remote. I have no experience with your tv or it's remote, but I would only expect HDMI-CEC to give you basic transport functions. If you have an iOS or Android device you may also have the option of using LG's remote app, assuming your player is network connected and you have Wi-fi. The iPhone app for the Bd5x0 players will work with the BD6x0 players based on my experience with my BD670. It's harder to use than the bundled remote, but does give access to all player functions.
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post #205 of 2199
3/29/11 at 7:12pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by DeAd MiKe 187 View Post

I updated to the .245.E firmware today and now it won't work. It gives me an "unknown error" after I click on it and it tries to load. I've even done a factory reset after updating. Weird.

So, I've downgraded back to the ".211.E" firmware and DivX TV is working perfectly again. My player froze 2 times when I originally was upgrading to .245.E earlier today (it worked the third time), so maybe that had something to do with the DivX issue. Perhaps the update was corrupted or something like that. I'll try again tomorrow.
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post #206 of 2199
3/29/11 at 8:41pm
Can you use the DLNA feature of the BD690 to access and copy archived CD files (.wav lossless format) from the hard disk of a BD590 or from the hard disk of an Apple or PC computer to the BD690?

I have about 50GB of .wav CD files on my BD590 and don't want to go through the whole process of re-recording them from individual CDs to the BD690.
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post #207 of 2199
3/30/11 at 3:59am
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by DeAd MiKe 187 View Post

So, I've downgraded back to the ".211.E" firmware and DivX TV is working perfectly again. My player froze 2 times when I originally was upgrading to .245.E earlier today (it worked the third time), so maybe that had something to do with the DivX issue. Perhaps the update was corrupted or something like that. I'll try again tomorrow.

Dead Mike,

I've been on the 245.E firmware for about two weeks, no problems with it other than the Revision 3 App stopped working earlier this week. I had upgraded via download from the LG support site and used a flash drive to update the BD670. I had read in the manual that you couldn't downgrade firmware and had also sent a note to LG asking if it could be done and they said no. I guess they were wrong if you successfully went back to .211.E. Interesting, I may do that myself to see if the Rev3 App will work with that firmware.

John
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post #208 of 2199
3/30/11 at 4:13am
Quote:
Originally Posted by jmolli View Post

Dead Mike,

I've been on the 245.E firmware for about two weeks, no problems with it other than the Revision 3 App stopped working earlier this week. I had upgraded via download from the LG support site and used a flash drive to update the BD670. I had read in the manual that you couldn't downgrade firmware and had also sent a note to LG asking if it could be done and they said no. I guess they were wrong if you successfully went back to .211.E. Interesting, I may do that myself to see if the Rev3 App will work with that firmware.

John

Downgrading works. It works on the 2010 models, too. I don't know why LG support and their instructions say it doesn't work, but it most certainly does. Maybe they mean that you can't use the internet to downgrade. As long as you have a USB of the right firmware, you can downgrade all you want. I always make sure to keep as many different firmware as I can in the event that one firmware screws something up and I need to go back to the previous.
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post #209 of 2199
3/30/11 at 7:46am
I'm actively trying to avoid using an IR repeater. All I need out of Simplink is menu, play, pause, FF/RR. My sony TV/DVD units work quite well for this, but the new LG tv was so much cheaper, and so I wen't the simplink route.

I may just have to live without a "menu" button on the TV remote. So long as I can pause and FF/RW a film, the rest is gravy.

thank you all for your reply.
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post #210 of 2199
3/30/11 at 8:51am
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by DeAd MiKe 187 View Post

Downgrading works. It works on the 2010 models, too. I don't know why LG support and their instructions say it doesn't work, but it most certainly does. Maybe they mean that you can't use the internet to downgrade. As long as you have a USB of the right firmware, you can downgrade all you want. I always make sure to keep as many different firmware as I can in the event that one firmware screws something up and I need to go back to the previous.

Dead Mike,

Now that you are back to v211.E, I would be curious to know what happens if you try to upgrade firmware right from the BD670. Does it say that there is a firmware upgrade available or does it see v211.E and think that v211.E is the latest firmware??

Naturally, don't say "yes" to the upgrade if you want to stay with v211.E.

Thanks,

John
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