Micca EP950! - Page 17

Interesting the VC-1 and X-264 issue has come up....
..I have been saying all along that the source material may or may not contribute to the stutter as the source encoding is just the first step in getting the picture from the original source to your display....call it a snowball effect if you will....

Sparkfuzz...if you have percieved that my input on these matters is just to debunk what others are finding and trying to solve....you are mistaken...I just suspect that this problem has various causes.

I just realize that the whole process of playing any of these hi-def files is a complicated process...one misstep along the way can result in a picture that stutters....perhaps the Realtek chip was tested using VC-1 primarily. Maybe all thats required to fix it is an update to the codecs embedded in the Micca...that would be a quick and easy fix..It might even be as simple as too many b-frames being introduced in the X264 stream.....the PS3 would not play any file with more than 3 if I recall...

MPEG2 is allowed too. There are quite a few early discs that use MPEG2 (Big Fish is an example).

I sent my unit back to Amazon this morning.

I decided to go with a Dune Smart D1 because everyone says they "just work".

I wish Micca and especially Jack the best on resolving these Realtek chip beta test issues.

Quick update.

We've confirmed that the power-on issue is caused by a small IC on the board. Here's the analysis that was provided to me:

1. Not all ICs have this issue. About 15% of units are affected based on chip batch inventory records.
2. The ICs that does exhibit this issue will exhibit it consistently. To clarify: the ICs that exhibit this problem will manifest the turn-on problem even when new, the problem may not occur every time the product is turned on, but the problem will occur frequently. In other words, the problem will not develop over time. This gives us confidence that existing units that do not have this issue are not manufactured with an affected IC. The problem will also not worsen over time.
3. This problem cannot be corrected via bootcode or firmware update.

Here are our plans:
We've already been preparing for this to be a hardware issue, so the next manufacturing run of the players will be available in about 30 days. All affected players will receive a free exchange with one of the new players. When the replacement players are available, we will announce it here, and here are what we will do for the exchange:

1. The standard 1 year warranty of the player remains in effect, and warranty against the power-on issue will be extended to 2 years. Even though affected players will manifest the problem when new, we want to assure customers who are worried about their players developing the problem later on.

2. For any EP950 exhibiting the turn-on problem, we will provide a free exchange. The product fits into a USPS priority mail medium flat rate box, and we can either provide a pre-paid shipping lable, or provide the customer with a free Monoprice WiFi dongle as compensation.

3. Exchanges will take approximately 5-7 days to process once received by us.

So we should avoid ordering this unit from Amazon for the next 30 days? Will you be telling Amazon to return their current units back to the factory and wait for the next good shipment in the next 30 days?

I just purchased it this morning.
Should I just cancel it and wait for 30days?

Thanks

Only 15% of the players are affected, and Amazon provides completely free return/refund if you receive an affected unit.

We will be pulling Amazon inventory once the next production batch is ready so that we don't potentially co-mingle the inventory.

I won't recommend one way or the other, but buying a player now is completely risk free. The production for the next batch will be ready in about 30 days (end of March), and it will take about 2 weeks for the players to reach the US. I estimate the mid April for when the replacement units will be ready for actual shipping.

Hi Jack,

Thank you for your prompt reply.
I am looking forward to receiving it soon.

Thanks for keeping us updated on this situation. At least we know now what the problem was and we have a solution.

Hopefully, maybe in the next few weeks there could be some progress with the stuttering issue, so that by the time the new batch gets shipped, the player might be worth considering again.

I just opened mine today and noticed the power on problem right away which is what brought me here. I've owned dozens of Micca players for commercial purposes and while the hardware has been less than perfect the customer service has always been very very good.

I think the free exchange along with wifi dongle and warranty is a great idea and goes a long way in keeping customer loyalty.


Can anyone confirm if the constant SCAN & FIX when connecting an external HD to and from the EP950 and PC happening every single time is normal or part of the "bad batch" that has the power issues etc.?

Perhaps while in there looking at the stutter issue, they can find out if they intend to support AVCHD 2.0 3D from my Sony HDR-TD10 camcorder, which I sent in a test sample file for last year.

Are they going to be able to support playback of those files in 3D? Right now they only play in 2D.

Is there anyone besides me noticing the remote response issue? I have to wait now for at least 5 sec between remote button presses for the unit to responds. It cannot even do chapter/ff because of this wait in between.

I hope Micca is also working on the ghosting in 3D. This is a keeper for me, except for the two issues above.

That happened to me all the time with my Micca before I returned it. I'd like to know also why that was happening. That's definitely an issue that needs to be looked at.

Micca EP600(Realtek 1185) and EP950(Realtek 1186) both have this problem. I've repeatedly reported and requested for a fix since October of last year.
Whatever you do, do NOT perform "scan and fix" as recommended by your PC. Just ignore it for now.
I lost quite a few files on two occasions doing just that. There was nothing wrong with my hd.

"Scan and fix" along with the file corruption issue are major flaws that are not to be overlooked.

Okay, so I previously looked in this thread for exactly what the power on/off issue is and I could not find the details to what the symptoms are. I thought my player may be having this problem. If I press the power button to turn it on, my player turns on for a millisecond then turns off. If I press the power button lightly it will turn on no problem without turning off. If i do press it normal and it turns off right away, it usually takes 4 or 5 times to get it on. Once I get it on, there are no further problems. Is this the power issue???

The "Scan and Fix" issue is caused by the Linux OS on the player writing media library related files and folders on the drive. This action causes the fabled "dirty bit" to be set on the drive's file system. Windows XP ignores this dirty bit since it does not indicate that anything is wrong with the drive. However, Windows Vista/7 looks at this bit due to its ReadyBoost feature, which could result in file corruption if drives are disconnected without proper "ejection" first.

This is an existing item on our fix list.

With respect to file corruption - we strongly recommend that all firmware updates be done through the recovery mode. In fact, we may eliminate the firmware "update" link in the settings menu in the future and instruct all firmware updates to be done this way.

Jack, glad to hear you guys are tracking these issues down. Thanks very much for keeping us all informed. The power issue and the file corruption were two of the biggest problems with the unit, along with the stuttering issue. I'm really glad to see Micca addressing these problems and keeping us updated on things here.

AGREE AGREE AGREE. Even with all the bugs I will recommend Micca products just because of the customer service. Jack you have been nothing but helpful in these forums trying to get these problems fixed for the consumers.

About the power on/off issue, if that is the only symptom of the power problem I really cant justify sending it in to get replaced. Other that having to lightly press the power button to turn it on is their any other known symptoms of the power issue? Is it in my best interest to send it in?

I would think it would be in your best interest to send it in anyways so that way you know there won't be any new developments down the road due to the power issue. It's faulty so who knows? And if you decide later to sell the unit used, you would have a better chance of selling it if the power issue wasn't there. If it is, you would have to disclose it when selling it, since the person who buys it from you may not be so forgiving of it.

I agree with Eagle_2. If it was me personally, I would send it in to get it replaced.

Okay you convinced me... So now I gotta pick a date I may have some separation anxiety though... Okay so if I send it to Micca it will take 5-7 days from the day you guys get it. So I will have to be without if for a week and a half to 2 weeks. Sad. But my ears are my ears are finally happy...

Oh and just to vent to someone, INTERNAL HARD DRIVES ARE RIDICULOUSLY PRICED RIGHT NOW! I really want to put one in my EP950 but can't afford one. Supposedly its due to the flooding in Thailand where a majority of the hard drives are made. Seriously though, 200 dollars for 3TB drive????! more sad faces...

Not sure where you're from but if you have a Microcenter store near you, you can keep your eye on a refurbished drive. Myself, I would never trust a refurbished drive for anything important, but I've seen 500GB Western Digital SATA drives there for well under $50, so maybe that's an option for a temporary media drive (but make sure you keep backups on another drive).

But I agree, the price is insane right now on new drives. Keep your eye on Seagate GoFlex external enclosures. They can be found cheaper, and the 3TB model has one of their best internal drives installed in it - you just crack the case open and you've got a great 3 TB drive much cheaper than if you just bought that same drive. On Black Friday I got 2 of them for $99 each - a crazy deal in the middle of the hard drive fiasco.

So true, Sparkfuzz.....Its almost cheaper right now to get one of the great deals that are around on externals and just take it apart....

Just remember that you dont need a drive with fast seek time and a large cache to use with a player like the Micca.....Its just reading one file at a time, unlike in Windows where its reading dozens....

and eagle 2 beat me to it !!

Not all externals have a seal however, the Western Digital - My Book Essential 3TB External doesn't have one. Not a piece of cake to take apart but with a couple of credit cards for prying and some patience you can. Then you can put it back together without anyone suspecting a thing if there's issues.

Thank you everyone for the advice. Considering I spent almost $1000 on a my mancave a couple weeks ago I'm gonna have to pinch my pennies. I have a 3TB My Book, a 500GB passport and a 1TB internal in my computer at the time, ill just use them until I save enough to buy innards for my EP950. Hopefully the prices go down by then. Stuttering solution soon hopefully???

Do we need to register to have the unit replaced when the new ones become available? What's the process?