[Stevie C]

I hope the subject heading is not to harsh.


Its pretty busy over at the TT forum, so I might get some help & feedback here...


I think the beta program should have been far wider than it seems to have been. Even the gurus of AVS forum only had 2 days ahead of the release.


I have been a happy and contented user of TT 1.5 (P4 2G MP-mod Radeon, M-Audio revolution) nothing to difficult from hardware point of view XP SP2.



Its time for a compendium of TT 2.0 Bugs


I hope this can help the developers over there at TT.



1. Like others (although clearly not everybody) I have been having trouble trying to activate my TT 2. I am still trying to get it resolved via email.


2. First couple of loads program crashed completely. With the usual "do you want to send report to microsoft" type message.


3. I cannot via Audio selection tab, keep M-Audio as default sound card (SP/dif), Program keeps reverting back to direct sound option.

Hence I have no sound at all.


4. Resume function causes complete program crash when TT reloaded.


I think I'll jump back to 1.5 until things get sorted out a bit.


Steve

 

[Rushmore Grad]

It really makes you appreciate zoom player.


A lot cheaper

No bugs

Lots of updates

Trial version available

Greater functionality

 

[mjolson]

I had no problem with registration, but have 2 issues so far:


1) crashes 75% of the time on chapter forward

2) AR doesn't work correctly - I need to have TT display full screen 800x600, then my FP can scale to 800x450. Works like a charm in TT1.5 (just select 4:3), but can't get it to work in 2.0


Unfortunately, both of these problems make the product unuseable for me. I also have ZP, so I'll probably be using that until these bugs get worked out.

 

[mlbdude]

Right now it feels like it is in a beta state. If you don't mind paying to be in that beta it is worth it. I have faith the issues will be worked out.


I am going to purchase ZP Pro this weekend though. Will I go back to TT 2.0 later? Who knows.

 

[edwardr132]

I learned my lesson when I bought the "new" powerbuy Panamorph. No more being the first in line for untested "beta" products for me. I will now only purchase when the product has been pretty well tested and updated. I don't see TheaterTek in my HTPC for at least 3-6 months at best. TS file problems that people are having are a killer for me.

 

[edwardr132]

I can't seem to find a straight answer on this. Do the decoders that come with Theatertek 2 work flawlessly with Zoomplayer or not? That alone could swing my decision though.

 

[D1E]

I can attest that the new nVIDIA decoders do work perfectly with Zoom Player (I am using an ATI AIW 9700 Pro in my HTPC, by the way). In addition, the post processor is also detected, and seems to be working as well, in peaceful conjunction with ffdshow with no AR problems.


The new filters are beautiful. Besides the improved visual quality, they seem to be very efficient, as I am able to perform more simultaneous ffdshow post processing at higher resolutions than I could previously (although this could also be due to the fact that I performed a complete HTPC OS & software reload in anticipation of the release of TheaterTek 2.0; I did not want any problems stemming from old registry entries, etc). I no longer use Reclock, and both film and video sources are incredibly smooth - no stuttering at all.


In my humble opinion, the new filters are probably worth the price of admission - albeit, only if you already own or are willing to purchase Zoom Player. TheaterTek 2.0 seems to be far too unstable at this point to use as the actual playback software.

 

[BillJulyan]

I have been unable to get TheaterTek 2 to work properly with ffdshow. The AR is screwed up, so that, for example, a 16:9 DVD does not fill the width of my 16:9 display. I have been unable to correct it using the "edit aspect ratio" feature. If I don't use ffdshow, there is no AR problem, but I'm not satisfied with the picture quality without ffdshow.


I can use the nVidia decoders and post processor with ffdshow in ZoomPlayer. The picture quality with that combination is excellent. Too bad I couldn't just purchase the nVidia decoders. In my opinion, TheaterTek 2 is more trouble than it's worth.

 

[Jeraden]

They are working to fix it as thats the #1 complaint with it so far. So just hang in there.

 

[Chivs]

Actually it's fixed together the majority of other problems reported. We should have a patch available by end of week latest.

 

[Chuchuf]

I am really surprised at the instability that is being reported by some with TT2.0

My comments to Andrew are this is the most stable TT platform I have ever used. FF, FR, chapter skips forfard and back, play pause, stop and work without a crash. These were things that is I screwed with them in TT1.5 would eventually crash the application. I haven't been able to crash 2.0 at all.

I'm not running ffdshow so I cannot comment on what effects it may have and generally am running at resolutions higher than 720p so can't really comment on that either.

These systems that I am running on are P4P800 MB's with Intel 3.0 prescot CPU's and NVidia 5700 cards if that makes any difference.

Frankly except for a few minor bugs it plays DVD's and ripped DVD's perfectly, is very smooth with no indications of stuttering? Personally I really like the product.


Terry

 

[BillJulyan]

Quote:

Originally posted by Chivs Actually it's fixed together the majority of other problems reported. We should have a patch available by end of week latest.

Thanks for the info. I've been reading the TheaterTek forum and didn't see there that you had it fixed or that you had a patch coming out by the end of the week. [That info may be there, somewhere, but I couldn't find it.]

 

[antorsae]

Wouldn't it be better if it had been released clearly labelled as BETA?


My expierence: I upgraded from 1.5.X and:


- TT 2 crashes all time I start with error in pl2dec.dll

- TT 1.5.X now asks me to enter serial number so I cannot use it.


I will uninstall TT 1.5.X and reinstall TT 2 from scratch. I will report results.


Have fun!


Andres

 

[TruckChase!]

Quote:

Originally posted by Rushmore Grad It really makes you appreciate zoom player. A lot cheaper No bugs Lots of updates Trial version available Greater functionality

GAH Ok I'll bite.... I've been suppressing my opinion for too long, so I'll make one post. TheaterTek is FAR too expensive. I won't even look at it until it's

 

[Morbius]

Quote:

Originally posted by Stevie C 3. I cannot via Audio selection tab, keep M-Audio as default sound card (SP/dif), Program keeps reverting back to direct sound option. Hence I have no sound at all.

Steve,


You can still use your M-Audio S/PDIF passthru via the DirectSound API.


You need to define your M-Audio card as the DirectSound handler.


The TheaterTek "M-Audio" option is a special M-Audio only "driver" that has really been

deprecated since TT 1.5 - DirectSound is the preferred option even with M-Audio cards.


I've been using the DirectSound API with my M-Audio Audiophile 24/96 as an S/PDIF

passthru to my EAD processor ever since the release of TT 1.5 - and have had absolutely

no trouble with TT 2.0 [ as long as I disable ffdshow - which is the main problem ].

 

[DArthur]

For those people who continue to compare Zoom Player to Theater Tek, please remember that Theater Tek comes with decoders, Zoom does not.

IMHO,

Darryl

 

[Bob Sorel]

Quote:

Frankly except for a few minor bugs it plays DVD's and ripped DVD's perfectly, is very smooth with no indications of stuttering? Personally I really like the product.

I agree and have had the same experience. TT 2.0 worked right out of the box, took about 10 minutes to install, set up, and register, and since then I have been enjoying DVDs, time shifting and playback of MyHD .ts files, and playback of WMV9 HD material, all with improved PQ over any other software I have used.

Quote:

Wouldn't it be better if it had been released clearly labelled as BETA?

There's nothing beta about it. Just because you can't get it to work properly doesn't mean that it is beta. I installed it and have it running on two very different systems with no issues except for a couple of bugs (the .ts jump bug and ffdShow AR bug), and neither of these small problems gives the program a "beta" feel to it. It is extremely stable and dependable, and I have to yet to crash it even once.

Quote:

TheaterTek is FAR too expensive. I won't even look at it until it's

Now that's funny, and I needed a good laugh today. So you can buy ZP with the latest Nvidia 4.xx decoders for less than $30, right? Dream on...

 

[mjolson]

I agree - price is a non-issue. ZP+ similar codecs will probably end up being just as expensive as TT.


Even though I'll be using ZP until the TT patch comes out, I still have high hopes for TT2. The interface is nice and it has a lot of features I like. Those of us that are angry (myself included) have to realize that this software has only been out for 2 days! Hopefully the next week will bring good things...


The stability issue is a strange one. I have a very stable HTPC (been running 24/7 for months now) and I've never had a crash with TT1.5. Unfortunately, I just can't keep TT2 running. I went so far as to reinstall XP, SP2, and all of the latest hardware drivers - all to no avail. I really hope this changes - it's the only one that's really a killer for me.

 

[Stevie C]

Morbius


Thanks for the info on directsound with my MAudio card

I'll Try that.


I am still waiting on help from TT for problems with activation. It still refuses to accept the activation key.


Steve

 

[Stevie C]

Tried Moribus suggestion. Still no sound.


The program does not save the Direct sound- Maudio option. If I select it, exit the program and reload, it has reverted back to the direct sound option



Steve