Anthem D2/D2v/AVM50/AVM50v/ARC1 tweaking guide - Page 157

I can't reinstall the firmare (1.11 or 1.11g).

Message from 1.11 Installer: "cannot connet to oki..."
Message from 1.11g Installer: "cannot switch to 115000 kbs"

Nine months of good working.. and now a hardware failure after a firmware upgrade???!!!! is't possible??

P.S.: today, no answers from my friend Nick...

Bob has been here longer than I have but I have
read the thread from beginning to end - because
when I started it was shorter [GRIN]!

I agree with Bob - Yours is the first heat problem
we have heard about.

That makes a whole lot of sense to me. Thanks for the clarification.

Yes, I'm afraid it is. But let's not jump to that conclusion quite yet.

Turn off the D2 using the power switch on the back panel. Turn off all your source devices and your display. Disconnect everything except the power cord and the serial cord (to your computer) from the D2.

Turn on the D2 using the rear power switch, and attempt to power it up using the buttons on the front panel. If it powers up, go to Setup / Save and Restore Settings and attempt to do a Reload Factory Defaults using the front panel display.

If it doesn't power up properly, turn it off once again using the rear power switch, wait a few seconds, and then turn it back on again at the rear power switch. Do NOT try to power up the D2 at this point. The software install program can turn its power on and off as needed.

Now check that the serial cable is properly attached to the back of the D2 and to your computer. Re-boot your computer. All of this is an attempt to get things into a known state. Now try running the V1.11g firmware install again.

If that fails again, then the next step is to try it with a different computer -- preferably a different computer with a real serial port as opposed to a USB to Serial adapter for example.

If you are able to re-install V1.11g, then the first thing you should do after the intall -- even before hooking things back up to the D2 again -- is to power up the D2 and go into Setup / Save and Restore Settings and Reload Factory Defaults using the front panel display. You will have to re-enter your settings manually, but again we are trying to eliminate any possible bad settings that might now be in the D2.

Before you have finished with that, Nick may be back to you with additional suggestions.

I hope this works for you, but unfortunately it is possible for a failed firmware install to leave the unit in a state where you might not be able to reset it yourself.
--Bob

I've mentioned before that I believe M&K's S-150P (powered) speaker, while very expensive ($2,300 per speaker), is the best the HT speaker ever made. They are so dynamic, detailed and revealing that you actually hear the difference between high end audio products.

The difference between the preamp in a high end receiver and the D1/D2 is a great example of the quality difference they can reveal. Details and dynamic sound that can't be heard with other speakers. With a HT system, that's what you want. Sorry they appear to be gone.


http://www.mksound.com/

Big thank you to Bob Pariseau and drhankz! With your help I was able to "pre-try" many of the exercises that Nick would have had me do and I was able to explain all of that to Nick. The result was a relatively short conversation with Nick, one more "try this", and a short call to report back and arrange for a replacement unit to be sent to my dealer (who is literally 5 minutes away).

Thanks Bob.

But.. no way.. it's impossible to recover the firmware..

I wait an answer from Nick.

AGAIN - we wish you better luck with unit #2 - but
at least you learned - Anthem Stands behind their
products.

I hope the Anthem support in Europe is the same as in USA and Canada..

Is the firmware upgrade disaster covered by warranty?

I have followed the correct procedure of manual (with real serial cable)...

I'm sure Anthem will take care of you. We've yet to hear of a case where Anthem has not been totally supportive of their D2 and AVM-50 customers.

I'm afraid the big nuisance here will be the shipping delay.
--Bob

Nick emailed me a flash eraser... and i have restored the 1.11 firmware!!

Tomorrow i try to make a new setup of my D2.

Woo hoo! This is a new tool I was not aware they could get to customers in trouble!

That's great news! Now we are only left with figuring out what went wrong with your original V1.11g install.
--Bob

Excellent. I'm still waiting on Nick on some Tivo S3 issues 11g may resolve.

As an EE using FPGA's, probably long before Anthem DARED to.
I knew this kind of functionality was available. It was up to
Anthem to make it available.

YIPPEE for Anthem.

Bad news...

After D2 setup, the inputs are ok (i read the correct value in front panel) but no HDMI output (no signal in my tv).

i checked the HDMI output connector and.... two pins are damaged!!

I have installed 1.11g, and still have the handshake issue.

One thing I recently noticed, but am still watching very carefully....It appears the handshake is lost only when a 480i program is selected from the S3 menu, or when changing channels, and a 480i program is displayed.

Over the last week and about 15-20 handshake issues, so far, all have been with 480i material.

I posted this issue on the Tivo community forums. One person with a D2 has the same issue, and a search yielded an AVM 50 owner with the same problem.

So, I am only aware of four people with our combination, but all have the same issue.

Please keep me posted if you learn of any fix, and I will do the same.

Mark

I have attempted installing 1.11g and it seems to have done something to my D2.
It failed the first time after almost completion and now my D2 is "dead" - I cannot get it to power up at all.
I have tried reinstalling 1.11c which was working fine but when the installer starts it fails in the initial EEPROM flash update.
Any ideas anyone?
Does someone have this "flash eraser" they could share?
/\\/\\

Yatchaks,

I have the issue as well with my Series 3 and D2. I guess I am so used to it happening when I switch between an HD broadcast and an SD broadcast that I just am almost numb to it. The flickering and weirdness lasts a couple seconds then it displays properly...usually. Though I have also had times when the sync is lost entirely, and I have to either switch inputs on the D2, then switch back, or powercycle the D2 entirely.

I'd like to see this remedied for sure. I am running 1.10 right now, though it sounds like 1.11g will not resolve it either.

-Brian

You can email Nick of Anthem Support..

I have but unfortunately it is the weekend.
I am travelling on business all next week and my wife is officially going to kill me! No home theatre...
/\\/\\

Perhaps cobracalde can e-mail you his file?

You certainly don't want your wife to remind you what you spent on your non-working gear.

Mark

Mark,

I guess in my hubris I thought I was beyond this. The update of Tivo S3 software might have triggered something. Still waiting to get 11g, but if it doesn't help, probably fine with e.

Did you try f, it was a disaster for me (mainly on Toshiba XA2 vs Tivo, but problems there too?

Hopefully we'll get better. Did you direct the Tivo community folks here?

Thanks,
Tim

Brian,

Misery loves company (unfortunately). I have been reporting issues to Nick so hopefully it's on the list. Did you folks notice anything different before and after the Tivo update?

Tim

Picked up my D2 today, hooked it up and have taken it for a spin. I replaced my Pio 49txi receiver and Classe 100 amp (for L/R speakers) with the D2 and Arcam P1000. So far I'm most impressed with the improvement in SQ, but that would be a given. I just did seat of the pants speaker distance and no SPL meter yet. As for video I'm mildly disappointed that the D2 does not filter the ICP from my Oppo 970. On DVE in the 1.33:1 test patterns, 2nd Snell and Wilcox pattern there are 2 triangles, 1 red, 1 blue, in the left middle of screen. You don't have to look close to see they aren't smooth edged. From what I understand this is caused by the ICP at 480i from the Oppo. With 480p from the Oppo these triangles are perfect. Someone earlier mention the D2 filters ICP but I don't see it. Hopefully I'm missing something in the setup. I looked, but didn't see anything obvious. Supposedly the ICP from the Oppo is not as bad as some players and I couldn't find anything in the Oppo 970 thread that more recent firmware has improved the ICP situation. All that being said, I don't know how noticeable it is with real world viewing. I watched part of a movie, TFE of course , and it looks great. I've learned not to trust my memory, however there were more than a few times that I thought things looked "cleaner" and seemed to have a tad more depth. This was sending 480p out to my Fujitsu P50 plasma.

larry

Larry, the color filtering you are looking for is in the Video Source Adjust menu. While viewing the Oppo press and hold the "7" key on the Anthem remote to bring up that menu.

Look towards the bottom of the "Picture" panel in that menu for the "Chroma Bug" item.

While you are in that menu, check to be sure Film Mode = AUTO is also set for your DVD input.

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For folks who don't know, ICP is a color defect inherent in the way standard DVDs are encoded. It is not a processing error in the DVD player so much as an artifact due to faulty design of the DVD encoding scheme itself. [It is distinct from CUE, which *IS* a player processing mistake.] Tackling ICP involves filtering (softening) the color signal to reduce the artifacts. Some players do this by default, others don't. Some allow you to turn the filtering on by user control.

The Anthem has a filter in case you are using a player that doesn't do it for you. You don't want to filter things twice, so leave it in the default, OFF, setting unless you decide you need it (and prefer it) because your player may already be doing this itself. You should only ever need it for DVD playback.

Some folks prefer to watch DVDs with this filtering off anyway. Mostly it depends on how sensitive you are to the artifacts ICP produces.

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Also, I don't know which series P50 you are using, but my 30 series P50 just DOTES on 1360x768p from the Anthem. It's the bee's knees.
--Bob

Nick sent me the 1.11g and it fixes the PS3 video mode/purple screen issues I mentioned before. Nick told me they have reproduced the 24p problem and are looking at a fix -- he said there is nothing in 1.11g that would fix this.

Tim,

I didn't notice any difference with the Tivo/D2 syncing issue before vs. after the Tivo upgrade. The Series 3 has always behaved the way it is behaving now with the D2 in my experience. Gotta love HDMI sometimes, right? :-)

Hopefully, Anthem will fix this soon. In the meantime, I've got a new Amazon Unbox movie downloaded to the Series 3 that I need to watch!

Cheers,
Brian

Drat!

Folks you have to be extra careful with HDMI plugs and sockets. It is also the case that a damaged plug, moved from socket to socket (in an effort to find a socket that works) can damage one socket after another.

COBRACALDE, my guess is that your HDMI connection was damaged back when your original V1.11g video output finally failed completely. Nick may be able to give you some guidance on whether the damage is something you can correct yourself with some fine probes and a steady hand.
--Bob

Not pointing fingers of course, but this is probably a good time to remind people to carefully follow the instructions in the firmware installation kit.

In particular, there must be no live HDMI connection -- either input or output -- during the Anthem firmware installation. Be advised that some source and display devices keep their HDMI sockets live even when they appear to be powered off. To be sure, source and display devices should be disconnected from wall power. Alternatively, you can pull the HDMI plug at either end of the cable to make sure the cable connection can't be live.

Also note that the Anthem should be powered down using the rear panel power switch, and source and display devices should ALSO be powered down, before removing or attaching any cables to the Anthem. The Anthem sits at the center of a lot of other equipment and it is important to make sure there are no transient voltages that get passed when cables are removed or connected.

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The Anthem firmware installation process is supposed to preserve settings, but if something goes wrong you may find yourself having to re-enter settings.

It is wise to write down all settings you can't simply remember. Both the Setup menu and Video Source Adjust menu settings should be noted, along with any of the various "temporary" audio settings you like to use via the remote.

The Setup Editor can and should be used to save a copy of the Setup menu settings to a PC file. Always use the most recent version of Setup Editor.

Starting with V1.11g, the Live Video Settings Editor can be used to save a copy of the Video Source Adjust menu settings for all inputs to a PC file.

If you take this advice to save settings to a PC file, another step might help reduce the chances for problems. PRIOR to doing the new firmware install, go in to Setup / Save and Restore Settings and do a Load Factory Defaults.

Then, after completing the new firmware install, AGAIN go into Setup / Save and Restore Settting and do a Load Factory Defaults -- which of course will now be the defaults for the new version of firmware.

[NOTE: The Front Panel display will be used for this since you likely won't have a TV picture to view the Setup menu yet.]

Then reload your individual settings either manually or from the PC files.

Finally, scan through all the menus and look for cases where your settings did not get reloaded as expected. Depending upon the versions you are moving between, there may be some unexpected settings that you will need to correct manually.
--Bob

Hi,
I have stored the settings however the D2 has absolutely no power.
I am not sure what I am being told here...I have had an AVM2, AVM20 and now the D2 and have never encountered this type of issue in the past. Nothing was powered up - HDMI or otherwise.
I cannot load any settings as the unit is completely "dead".
/\\/\\