XMS-888 - Mpeg4 - Firmware?

[rholden]

divx files with pcm audio tracks display properly on my player but have no sound. graphic equaliser shows "audio" being played.

one of three asf files works

this one plays (reported by Avicodec as )
Video : 200 Mb, 460 Kbps, 10.2 fps, res. 320*240 (4:3), MP43 = Microsoft MPEG-4 Video Codec V3, Supported
Audio : 27 Mb, 64 Kbps, 44100 Hz, 2 chan., 0x161 = Windows Media Audio V2, Supported

this one does'nt

Video : 200 Mb, 234 Kbps, 9.754 fps, res. 312*228 (4:3), MP43 = Microsoft MPEG-4 Video Codec V3, Supported
Audio : 13.69 Mb, 16 Kbps, 16000 Hz, 1 chan., 0x161 = Windows Media Audio V2, Supported

avi's with audio encoded greater than 192 kbps play with no sound


A self endulgent feature I would give my eye teeth for is an intro scan that played 30 -60 seconds of an avi then moved onto to the next clip.

automatic scaling of jpg slide show seems to happen with new upgrade

[GeeJay]

Thanks for the info re 8cm disks...I kinda thought the small DVD-Rs would work anyway. As the DVD cam is a gift for she who must be obeyed, I should get a chance to try the DVD ram in the 888 tomorrow. I'll post the results. The cam was the reason I just got an LG4040b at the Sutherland fair....it read/burns DVD-RAM....

[jokiin]

I would be surprised if the dvd-ram is playable, I haven't seen any players that will play it yet, except perhaps for the Panasonic recorder that uses dvd-ram. DVD ram uses a different file structure, In winxp you can use a dvd-ram disc, right click and format then use it like a hard drive, no software required at all. Given that you have the LG burner (I've got the same one) though you could easily transfer your movies to dvd-rw and view them in the 888

[andw]

Hi jok11n, are the Strathfield stores aware of the upgrades yet.
I was just in the new Rockingham WA store, and the girl there didn't seem to know anything about it. Considering the store I bought it from was my first point of contact, if they don't already know, it might be worth sending them all an email or something.

[jokiin]

They don't, only because the firmware hasn't been finalised as yet, it's still a work in progress as such. Once it is all stores will get an upgrade disc, anyone that has caled about issues is given the firmware though.

[andw]

ahhh - that makes sense, better to give them a fully fixed one, than a partially fixed one.
Have the factory hinted at any time frame? (I realize it's still early days)

[S|L3NC3|2]

anyone has any idea of having basic subtitle (srt) support?

[andw]

I've tried .srt's, they don't work in the current version of the firmware.
Hopefully in the next release?!?

[jokiin]

ahhh - that makes sense, better to give them a fully fixed one, than a partially fixed one.
Have the factory hinted at any time frame? (I realize it's still early days)
No time frame at the moment, the next fix should involve better audio compatability which will take a bit of time due to the amount of variations available. The more I look into this the more I think part of the problem is the very loose standards of mpeg-4

I had the chance to look at a new mpeg-4 DVD player this week that will be available in around a months time, this one has received Divx certification and it still had issues with some of the audio tracks, that's why I have concerns over the standard itself. The supplier of this unit is looking at the firmware before it hits the shelves, so hopefully what appears to be a very good unit will be even better by the time it hits the shelves.

If anyone has can recommend a good encoder to create some Divx files I'd like to create various files at different bit rates etc to use for testing purposes so that I can evaluate these players and firmware fixes fairly and without doubts over the integrity of the files themselves. Some of the files that I have tried that I have had issues in these players are no better in Windows Media Player (with the correct codecs) either. I have noticed that some of the files that have audio issues have Microsoft audio codecs, not sure if this is an issue though, perhaps licensing related knowing what Microsoft is like.

[fluffydog]

Reading through this thread (phew) it looks like this might now be a good player to get.

I have an old Pioneer 535 dvd player (cost me $600!)

Can somebody comment on whether the video quality while watching DVD on the XMS player be as good as my Pioneer player?

I'm thinking that even if the divx/xvid feature of the XMS player doesnt live up to my expectations at least I can replace my Pioneer player.

[andw]

-fluffydog - haven't had a Pioneer, but the picture quality on my standard widesceen TV is fantastic. It also has progressive scan output if you have a high definition TV.

-jok11n, I have found that DVDx (freeware) is good for encoding (calls external encoding codecs for divx / Xvid). Easy to configure etc.
Having said that, I have not had an issue with anything I have encoded with that (except zooming / aspect ratio), so maybe it's not a good one to use if you need something that doesn't play.
Xvid codec seems to encode about 3.5x quicker (18fps) on my computer than divX (5fps), quality comes out fantastic with either, so I just use the Xvid codec.
Also, you can't view bmp picture files, not sure if this is really a necessity though (not for me, maybe for others?)
p.s. Happy Christmas to all...

[fluffydog]

Thanks Andw,

that's good enough for me then, reckon I'm off to buy one now :)

assuming Strathfield (Melbourne) are open late today :confused:

[antec]

Finally made it to the end of this thread!

Did the flash upgrade and it worked a treat. Fixed the counter problem and the freezing of the player on eject.

There are still some issues that I have with the player:

1) DivX movies with mp3pro compression work only sometimes. The decoder in the player seems to be only mp3v1 and noise (pops, squeaks and distortion) is introduced when playing the pro files. What is the official word on this? (the manufacutrers of the mp3 standard say that mp3 decoders should be able to play mp3pro files as they are backwardly compatible).

2) The screensaver failed to opreate while playing, or after playing mp3 soungs. Would be good if there was a manual way to start the screensaver (assuming its more than just a blank screen!).

3) The mp3 player will only play files in one directory. The user MUST manually select a different directory if they want more songs. This is a REAL pain at parties. My JVC car mp3 player will automatically traverse the entire directory structure in search of songs to play (this is how it should be).

4) there is no visualisation while playing music. I thought the screensaver would come in here, but it doesnt. What a let down!!! Any chance on getting something coded in to the firmware.

5) I have one movie with differing bitrates for video/audio (94kbps video/96kbps audio). With this, I get the video and audio out of synch by 2 secs. Its ok on the PC though! Can this be fixed by reading the file header properly, or is this a hardware issue?

6) The title button doesnt work for divX.

7) With the tray open and CD in the tray, the Eject, play and enter keys all do the same thing! They select the file to be played. In my mind, the play button should play the first available track automatically and bypass the file browser.

8) The standby mode does not seem to turn off the unit's fog lights (the 6 red leds). Is this normal? Is there a way to turn them off (besides unplugging, or power off). Are these lights software controlled or are my wire snippers going to get a showing?

9) the version number does not show in the version menu. It seems that the programmer has used the string "ver" in place of the variable $ver. Might want to check syntax in that bit of code.

Some of these points are not critical, but raise them now or forever hold your peace. After all, when the programmers get going on another project, chances are that the 888 will be put in the back corner. All in all, seems to be a useful product, but will be interresting to see what surfaces in the next 6 months in the way of competition.

Oh, and Santa says that it was a bit overpriced.

[The Man]

I have purchased this DVD player from Brisbane Car Sound for the MPEG4 but it wont let me play back the CD's. When i was setting it up, i don't know what i pressed but I had it working, but now when I try to play one(Xvid or DivX) I get to the menu that says Root Root and the label of the movie with the windows logo next to it. When I try to play that, the screen turns black and the 0:00:00 comes on the tv, the little CD on the DVD players LCD turns but nothing happens and returns to the menu after about 10 seconds. Does anyone know what I am doing wrong here?

[jokiin]

I have purchased this DVD player from Brisbane Car Sound for the MPEG4 but it wont let me play back the CD's. When i was setting it up, i don't know what i pressed but I had it working, but now when I try to play one(Xvid or DivX) I get to the menu that says Root Root and the label of the movie with the windows logo next to it. When I try to play that, the screen turns black and the 0:00:00 comes on the tv, the little CD on the DVD players LCD turns but nothing happens and returns to the menu after about 10 seconds. Does anyone know what I am doing wrong here?


Have you done the firmware upgrade yet?

[The Man]

Hi, no i havent, I would have thought it would have played without an update? also, the files are names like Movie.avi, is that alright with the .avi extension? I will flash it now.

[jokiin]

File name is no problem, there have been some problems with some avi's the new firmware fixes quite a lot of issues. Read through the whole thread and you'll see what I mean, and the info required to update your player to the latest firmware.

[The Man]

Thank you, i will read through the whole thing and flash the firmware now and check if it fixes my problems.

[davidf]

A new problem that wasn't there before the upgrade. If I zoom tp 1.5x on DVD's ( which I do for some wide screen dvd's ) the playback becomes very jerky.

Seems that some of the amendments to improve mp4 playback have had detrimental affects on DVD playback.

[The Man]

I tried to flash it, it said erase then writing then it powered down, then i started it back up and took the cd out striaght away. I put the MPEG4 movie in and now it does the same except this time instead of saying done, it says disc error. I tried a DVD and it plays fine so i suspect the flash went ok, but the AVI's wont play. :(