[gtoaster]

I just bought a refurbished Denon 3800 off of eCost for my GWIII. Since it was refurbished by Denon I'd expect it has the latest firmware (with the fix for CUE), but wanted to check since the manufactured date is Feb 2002. My current firmware versions are:


ESS 408

DRV 6067

ESS 6094

PANEL 6093


Do I have the latest firmware or should I request the latest firmware disk from Denon?

 

[pnichols]

gtoaster,


You may not have the latest firmware or laser assembly in your 3800.


Here's what's in my Feb 2002 build 3800:


ESS 6134 (after CUE update in about August of 2002)


PANEL 6093-2 (after CUE update in about August of 2002)


DRV 6193-4 (after Y/C Delay and laser update in about June of 2004)


Your DRV 6067 most likely indicates presence of the old laser assembly, as this is the same DRV number as what was indicated in mine after my CUE update firmware, but before my new laser assembly installation.


I have no idea what your "ESS 408" firmware readout is or means.


Unfortunately I did not record my firmware readings before my August 2002 firmware installation to eliminate the CUE, but your ESS 6094 and PANEL 6093 readinges have me concerned that maybe one or the other or both together - being lower numbers than mine - may mean your 3800 does not have the CUE update, in addition to your 3800 probably not having the new laser assembly.


Get all three things updated and you should love your 3800 (assuming you don't care about it not playing SACD) until and if HD-DVD players become bug-free, affordable, and reliable!!

 

[gtoaster]

Thanks Phil. You would have thought Denon would have replaced the laser assembly and updated the firmware if they refurbished the unit! Oh, well I guess I'll have to get it done. Is the laser assembly a free update or only if your unit experiences the skipping/overheating issues? Will Denon just send me the firmware update for the CUE bug if I request it?


The ESS 408 number threw me off too. Not sure why I get 2 ESS numbers. When I press "Play" and "Open/Close" buttons together and then press "Power", then press the "Display" button, I get ESS 408. Then when I press the "Menu" button multiple times, it scrolls through DRV, ESS, and PANEL. But the ESS here is different than the first one displayed.

 

[umr]

Here are some useful links on firmware for the 3800.

http://archive.avsforum.com/avs-vb/s...61#post1430261


I used firmware from here.

http://www.geocities.com/denon3800/


I can't believe they didn't fully repair a refurbished unit. That is a real shame.

 

[gtoaster]

Thanks for the links UMR. I'll update the firmware. So that firmware also turned your 3800 into a multi-region player? Do you know if the laser assembly update is free for any 3800 or only ones experiencing issues or only for units still under warranty? I'm in Canada so when I got the 3800 off of eCost, when it arrived it said I'd be voiding the 90 day warranty on a refurbished unit, but really wanted a 3800 based on your comments (which I respect your opinions) and other's comments of this player especially on a GW. I've tested a 2900 and really liked it, but decided to try to find a 3800 before buying a 2900. 3800's are hard to find used or refurbished and the price was right. I would have thought the laser assembly would have been updated since it was refurbished.

 

[umr]

Mine is mult-region. You will need to contact Denon about updates.