My VANTAGE HD has ARRIVED!!!!! - Page 53

Hello.

I use 135 firmware.

Connection is as follow :

Toshiba HD player ( E1 ) -- digital optical fiber out to vantageHD , digital coax out from vantageHD to my receiver .

Audio works very well.

I suggest that you try with the digital optical fiber of your toshiba HD. May be an issue with coax input of vantage hd ?

regards
alex_t

Hi.

I use toshiba HD-E1 and its optical fiber output to vantage HD.

Vantage HD with 135 firmware works fine. . I have not tested with 135B.

regards

I connected my PS3 optical out to the vantageHD and use digital coax out from vantageHD . Both PS3 and Toshiba also have this problem . Sometimes no sound , sometimes ok . If no sound , I need to stop the player and on again . If unlucky , need few attempts to get back the sound . Very frustating since we know toshiba HD player is slow . I do not have this problem before , only on all 1.3 versions.

But did you install an intermediate step (1.2.4) and do a reset (with all HDMIs disconnected) and check for correct operation before leaping all the way to 1.3.5b? Even after loading 1.3.5b you must still do another reset with all the HDMIs removed. I know it's a PITA but I wouldn't suggest it if I didn't think it would help. The reset re-initalises the unit via it's bootloader and makes sure that any new features are accounted for and all parameters have somewhere to be saved. Without doing this then is it possible to have the Vantage confused about what parameter refers to what setting!!! 1.1.4 to 1.3.5b really is along way to go in one step and is very likely to lead to problems, I know - I've seen it for myself. (Badly Kept Secret:- if the 2nd digit of the firmware version changes, this will tell you if there was a major core change - if so, then only leap 1 major change ahead at a time {1.1.x to 1.2.x to 1.3.x} to avoid potential problems)



No, what is your display capable of? if it's 1920 x 1080 native then give it 1920 x 1080. At 720 or 768 lines it is trying to sync to something but I've no idea why it isn't stable. Were you running 1920 x 1080 previously? or 1366 x 768? or what?



Custom output is there to allow you to create a set of custom output timings if your display doesn't recognise or sync to the standards such as 720p etc. It's aimed at legacy displays with unusual timings but feel free to play if you think it will help, remember that if you set output timings your display doesn't recognise you can always get back to 640 x 480 output from the front panel (press & hold menu button then press the centre of the navi-key circle)


Did you establish if the unit is set as HDMI receiver or repeater? DO look in the ? menu for the setting regarding HDMI audio input. THIS AFFECTS THE VIDEO AS WELL AS THE AUDIO as it defines whose EDID gets used by the source - the displays or the Vantages. If set to "set by display" then Vantage is configured as HDMI repeater and passes the display EDID data back down the chain to the source, if set to any other option then Vantage is set to be HDMI receiver and sends its own EDID data back to the source. After making a change to this setting, be sure to hotplug any HDMI inputs and outputs to re-initialise the HDMI EDIDs along the chain. Even better, if you can, make changes to this setting only when HDMIs are disconnected.


There really are major differences in the way the newer firmware versions handle HDMI. The HDMI regime is far more robust now than in older firmware versions, HDCP works correctly and there are more elements of control available to the Vantage user. It is almost certainly an issue of set-up, not failure.


Cheers,



Zax

Trancethereal, any update on your problems?

Zax

Does anyone of you guys have connected some game console to the Vantage HD? I use the XBox 360.

The delay of the Vantage HD makes gaming impossible in many games.

I think, that the implementation of just taking the 1080i Signal of the XBox 360 or any other gaming device and make the output 1080p without some calculations (only fitting the two half pictures to one picture) could not be this complicated.

So I have to connect the XBox 360 to the Vantage HD for watching HD-DVD and then for gameing, putting it to the KDS55-A2000 directly. The KDS55-A2000 has some game-mode implemented.

Maybe Calibre would implement it, if there are enough customers, which want to have this mode.

Kind regards
Johannes

Just got back my Vantage after updating to new board and extra HDMI board. Have not been able to try the 24 or 48 Hz. output yet but otherwise functioning superbly with no fan noise thank god.

Bill

CrazyJoe73, I have commented on the lack of game mode a couple of times. I have resorted to connecting the 360 directly to the projector. Please contact Calibre support and give them your opinion on this, maybe they'll eventually listen.

Btw, you should use either 720p or 1080p from the 360.

Double post!

Regarding "game mode" or low latency mode. There is now such a mode built into the Realta core code (after a lot of waiting!) but the end image (in our opinion) is pretty awful when using it. It is unlikley that this core code implementation will be improved so we have to find another way to do this. It is "on the list" but not a high priority right now, other things take prescedence I'm afraid so you will have to be patient.

Any of you know of another Realta based VP running "game mode"?

Even so I'd want it. Both xbox360 and PS3 can output 720p and 1080p, so no deinterlacing and no scaling required for the VantageHD. Wii and PS2 can output 480p, so only scaling needed.

I'd gladly accept low quality scaling for older consoles as long as I can connect everything to the VantageHD. As it is now I have to not only use the VantageHD as a switcher, but the AV receiver AND the projector as well. It's a major hassle. Please!

I would also appreciate a game mode even with a degraded picture. I've taken my 360 upstairs to use my 32 inch lcd rather than my HD2K and 140 inch screen because I'm getting my ass beat online.

I agree 100% with TorAtle. Even if the quality is not very good, having the option of running everything through the Vantage is really quite important, and right now that can't be done. And the low quality scaling is probably not worse than my TV's, anyway. Right now, I have the game consoles plugged directly into the TV -- this *greatly* lowers the WAF for the Vantage.

I have removed the original text in this post because I have learned that opening the Vantage-HD and installing a non-approved fan invalidates your Calibre warranty. I apologize to anyone who may have lost their remaining warranty because of my post.

I will delete all of my other posts that refer to this post and request that other posts that refer to it also be deleted.

Jim Walker

Wow, you have been busy Jim!

At the risk of sounding defensive I have a couple of points to add/clarify.

1. You don't need to cool the memory. From the thermal testing we did during the design this just isn't needed. It adds nothing to the processing efficiency or performance.

2. Thanks for bringing the lack of heatsink compound to our attention, QC don't look under every heatsink - this just adds time & cost (which none of us want!). It's not relevant to HD2 or upgrades anyway as the new fanless heatsink has it's own thermal contact pad so we don't have to use messy compound.

3. Yes the original fan/heatsink assembly was more than sufficient to cool the processor.

4. We moved from a 12V fan to a 5V fan (with a more robust bearing) over a year ago. The majority of main boards will therefore only have 5V connectors fitted. If you fit a 12V fan to the 5V header then it will not work well enough to cool the chip properly and it will constantly go into overheat mode (the two flashing Red LEDs). Therefore be sure to only use a 12V fan if you have a 12V header!

5. We increased the overheat cut-off point in the firmware because we could. When we introduced it, it was deliberately set a little on the conservative side and with a large margin of safety which has been reduced slightly now.

6 And finally, we often find that when people have been supplied a replacement fan by us (and then complain that it has gone noisy again after only a short period) that the screws holding it to the heatsink are not fully tight after re-fitting and allow it to rattle. It worth checking they are fully tight, especially if you have the replacement 5V fan supplied by us and fitted it yourself. We don't have any issues when they stay attached to each other and we fit them here, only when they have to be separated for retro-fit in the field.


Cheers,


Zax

Dear Jim Walker,
Thanks for taking the time to post your fan replacement/upgrade experiences and
opinions. I thought it was very interesting.
I was thinking about adding a fan to the back of my Vantage HD to encourage hot
air to exit the case. Did you consider this in addition to the Zalman fan?
Do you know if there is a spare 5v or 12v source on the board that could be used to power such a fan?
Regards,
Mitch Murray

Hi Mitch,

Regardless of the mainboard version there are 3 5V headers available adjacent to PL8 (assuming you are already using PL8 for a fan, so 4 in total!). Only the earliest boards have a 12V header.

http://www.calibreuk.co.uk/documents...structions.pdf

Cheers,


Zax

in my opinion 1 fan is enough or better....too much!

after the heatsink mod, the VHD runs in a perfect way, without failure and NOISE.

I encourage everyone who wants to make shut the VHD up to install the heatsink like the one I chose.

no fan=no noise

Sorry Zax - I was out of town on business

(I appologize, I should have chimed in to let you know earlier).


Since I've been back... I did exactly as you instructed (progression below).


1-Downgraded back to 1.14c (using the latest upgrader software) - hdmi cable removed - factory reset.
.... VGA at 1080p works, HDMI does not. I even did the hdmi audio trick.

2-upgrade to 1.24 - hdmi cable removed - factory reset.
.... VGA at 1080p works, HDMI does not. Did hdmi audio trick - no help

3-upgrade to 1.35 - hdmi cable removed - factory reset.
.... VGA at 1080p works, HDMI does not. Did hdmi audio trick - no help

I can not seem to get HDMI to work at this point since the firmware update to 1.35. I am at a loss as to what happened, as everything else appears to function correctly.


Again - it is odd that if I set the resolution on the vantage to 1280x720, I can get a quick flash of a picture via HDMI (erratic and it will hold a second or two and then flash to a blank screen, then show the screen again and repeat with no consistency).

This would suggest my TV behaves *better* at this resolution than the 1920x1080. Granted, not ideal, but it did produce *some* results contrary to 1920x1080. Surely this would hint at some timing anomalies?

Understand at this point, I have not configured or defined the inputs for any of my sources yet. I am only using the generated menu from the Vantage to determine if I get a picture via VGA or HDMI.

I can understand that 1.14c to 1.35 was a big step (from your perspective), but I looked at all notes prior and did not see any pre-requisites that alerted me to have an interim update prior. It might have been there and I over looked it - at least it wasn't obvious. Had I known, I would not have done so intentionally.

My hope is that there is a some way to use the custom resolution option to see if we can narrow this down or determine a root cause.

Hopefully, you might have better insight or an approach to get me functioning.

At the moment, I am stuck using VGA. I upgraded the firmware to the current in anticipation of getting a new HD-DVD player... but this has derailed that plan at the moment.

I head back out of town again on Monday for business.

Thanks,

Hi Trancethereal.

It seems that you used the latest updater software to perform these 3 steps. I think it is not the good way.

Try the following, all hdmi cable are unplugged. At each time you have to uninstall the previous updater software before to install the new.

1. Factory reset + Downgraded back to 1.14c with 114C setup (exe file) + factory reset

2. Factory reset + upgrade to 1.2.4 with setup_1-2-4A.exe + factory reset

3. Factory reset + upgrade to 1.3.5 with setup_135.exe + factory reset

regards
alex_t

Has anybody tried the Vantage HD2 (or the upgraded HD1) outputting 24/48 Hz with a 24p input source?
It would be good to get feedbacks how it works.

Thanks,
Zsolt

Nobody ?

And what are the available video filters and enhancement options with a 24p input ?

Thanks

Regards
alex_t

There is new FW version downloadable from Calibre FW upgrade page.

http://www.calibreuk.com/firmware_update.php

Vantage-HD Firmware Version 1.3.5C


This is a small revision over 1.3.5B with input mode additions and fixes:

WXGA 60Hz 1280x768 fixed. (HDMI & VGA inputs)
WXGA 60Hz 1280x800 added. (HDMI & VGA inputs)
WXGA+ 60Hz 1440x900 added. (HDMI & VGA inputs)
SXGA+ 60Hz 1680x1050 added. (HDMI Only)
720p 25Hz & 30Hz 1280x720 added. (HDMI Only)

In addition to the above fixes/additions the output mode SXGA+ 60Hz 1400x1050 has been changed to match standard VESA timings (previously used IBM timings which are now obsolete).
Known Issues

There are the following known issues in this release, which mainly apply to a Vantage HD with the HDMI 1.3 Expansion Board:

The EDID information supplied to a source connected to the HDMI daughterboard is still only to the HDMI 1.1 standard, so the features that are new in HDMI 1.3 will reported as being not available, even though there will, be some HDMI 1.3 feature support in future updates.
Sometimes, audio is lost when the main input is HDMI and an HDMI PIP is enabled which has no input connected (and switched on);
When at switch-on, if both main input and PIP input are from HDMI sources requiring HDCP authentication, the PIP channel may fail to authenticate properly and so keep trying.
Although an extremely rare occurrence with only some combinations of SVGA input source and HDMI daughterboard: when switching from a HDMI daughterboard input to the SVGA input you may find that the SVGA input fails to lock. This can be remedied by selecting a main-board HDMI input and then the SVGA.
SXGA75 and 1080p60 aren't available on the SVGA graphics input when a HDMI or SDI daughterboard is fitted.
.

**PLEASE NOTE**
Saving and restoring settings will only work on this update providing you have 1.3.5B installed earlier version will not restore your settings with this update

I recently started having an issue with my Vantage HD2 where it is randomly shutting off. Sometimes I can turn it back on and it will work fine but other times it continues to shutoff. I have my HD2 on an open shelf by itself with plenty of room for ventilation

T-smith,

It seems a heat related problem. Is the fan still working?

its an HD2 so there is no fan

Overheat detected does not cause shutdown. Both red LEDs flash alternately with no picture or sound, if HD2 works like HD.

no flashing Red LED's, the LEDs are the same just as they are when I shut the unit off

Something to try: Put a piece of opaque tape over the HD2's IR detector. If that fixes problem then it is caused by stray IR signal being misinterpreted by HD2. If it does not fix problem then cause is inside the HD2. If tape is positioned properly then HD2's remote will be ignored.

thanks, gonna give it a try