XMS-888 - Mpeg4 - Firmware?

[andw]

Hi LAZ, the only DVD's I have had problems with (2 I think) were rentals, and also had problems playing on 2 computers. One of them was a new release, and had no obvious physical problems with it. Took it back, and got it swapped over, and the replacement played fine.
It's pretty weird...

[andw]

the picture in that link doesnt look right the left side of the picture is higher is that your TV or the player ?
Hadn't noticed that before, it's fine on my regular TV (widescreen), only hooked up the 34cm to get a shot on a 4:3 a few weeks ago.
It could be the angle the camera took the shot at, as this (http://home.swiftdsl.com.au/~wweb/DSC00828.JPG) also looks wrong (left higher), and yet it looks fine on the TV.
(BTW, that shot shows the aspect / zoom problem on 16:9 screens)
setting the player to NTSC first makes the edges of the picture go to the edges of the screen, and also larger top-bottom.
Take a disc in to Strathfield, and try it in store would be the best bet.

[andw]

AndW,
That wouldn't be a frame from a season 3 episode of 24 per chance.

davidf, I have absolutely no idea what you could be talking about.
I just had a file with random data in it (obviously from pressing random keys on the keyboard), and lo and behold that was what the player showed... :dD

[antec]

... I personally don't want to see too many more firmwares done before it is considered to be finished, hopefully that will be no more than two firmwares away. At the moment I see the main issues being low bitrate audio and zooming of non standard sizes to fit the generic 16:9 and 4:3 formats correctly, anything else that can be sorted beyond this I would consider a bonus...

I dont mean to be direct, but this sounds like a cop-out! :mad:

Every software engineer knows that there are many revisions and testing phases of code before it even comes close to be finalised. jok11n, it sounds like you are putting your marketing priorities before those of product quality and customer satisfaction. I am guessing you are another store manager?

I ask everyone to recosider their purchase. "Would you have purchased this product if the storeperson had disclosed the inherent bugs within this product?" If you answer no, then I propose that you return the XMS888 and wait for a real player (from another retailer) that has no bugs. I cant say that I have ever purchased any other product that had any firmware bugs in it. Would you use a microwave that only half cooked your food?

So, lets wait for the firmwares. When they stop flowing, I will be the first to recosider ownership of this product. Lets not say any more about these unpleasantries for now...

[jokiin]

I dont mean to be direct, but this sounds like a cop-out! :mad:

Every software engineer knows that there are many revisions and testing phases of code before it even comes close to be finalised. jok11n, it sounds like you are putting your marketing priorities before those of product quality and customer satisfaction. I am guessing you are another store manager?

I ask everyone to recosider their purchase. "Would you have purchased this product if the storeperson had disclosed the inherent bugs within this product?" If you answer no, then I propose that you return the XMS888 and wait for a real player (from another retailer) that has no bugs. I cant say that I have ever purchased any other product that had any firmware bugs in it. Would you use a microwave that only half cooked your food?

So, lets wait for the firmwares. When they stop flowing, I will be the first to recosider ownership of this product. Lets not say any more about these unpleasantries for now...

No I am not a store manager, and it is not a cop out. Getting these firmwares done is time consuming, most of what I have had to do has been done on my own time, every effort is being made to get these issues sorted. Plenty of people have stated that some of the things that they want are purely wishlist and it may be just that, I don't know if some of the things that people are wanting are even achievable with this player however I still recognise that there is a need for it to do the basic things correctly which is why I have been involved in sorting it out. My reasons for being involved are purely product quality and customer satisfaction, there is no benefit to me whatsoever due the sale of these players.

As to purchasing something else, unfortunately this format is still very new for standalone players and all have them have had issues. I have tested a new Divx certified player that is due to be released soon which also had problems with low bit rate audio, the reality is that not all of the niggles are sorted yet but it is being worked on.

[andw]

I think a DVD / Mpeg-4 player is more likely to have possible problems than something like a microwave.
Comparing them more to a PC, might be closer, and PC's quite often come out with bugs in the firmware that have to be updated, which is one of the reasons they make the BIOS able to be upgraded.
There are a huge number of variables in a device of this type, codecs, player software, etc. etc., and I believe that is why most, if not all players are having some problems at the moment. (even the new Philips 'name brand' one has some issues that are being worked on)
I am looking forward to the update as much as the next person, and I understand it is taking a litle while. (hopefully not too much longer)
I would prefer an all encompassing update, as in my opinion, we may only get one shot at this.
I don't know the manufacturers track record like jok11n might, and so I would prefer as much as possible done on this next update. (although they have given us one update so far, and there is another one on it's way, so I'm probably being a bit overly pessimistic)

[Guest]

Sorry for being a guest but I have kept an eye on this forum.

I think, the real problem for all current mpeg4 player is that the standard is so lousy and manufacturers are having diffulties to accomodate all the variaties introduced by different party (xvid, divx, etc).

If you look back at mpeg1 (such as VCD), the requrement is firmed, i.e: video HAS to be 352 x 288/240 (25/30 fps) with 1150 kbps and audio must be 224 Kbps/44.1 Khz MP2 format. Other non-compiance exist such as XCD but it is not a main stream.

The same standard is in place for MPEG2 namely SVCD (480 x 576/480) and DVD (720 x 576/480).

And now look at again the divx and xvid (as the main stream of Mpeg4 variant). You can make the video virtually to any size / bitrate and use any audio codec you pleased (MP3, MP2, ogg, ac3, AAC, etc) in which PC does not have problem to play them all (multi codec support). But how would the mpeg4 hardware player will be able to to play this with its limited hardware and software capabilities (typical: 1MB ROM / 32-64 MB RAM and 100-300 processor speed) ?

[jokiin]

Sorry for being a guest but I have kept an eye on this forum.

I think, the real problem for all current mpeg4 player is that the standard is so lousy and manufacturers are having diffulties to accomodate all the variaties introduced by different party (xvid, divx, etc).

If you look back at mpeg1 (such as VCD), the requrement is firmed, i.e: video HAS to be 352 x 288/240 (25/30 fps) with 1150 kbps and audio must be 224 Kbps/44.1 Khz MP2 format. Other non-compiance exist such as XCD but it is not a main stream.

The same standard is in place for MPEG2 namely SVCD (480 x 576/480) and DVD (720 x 576/480).

And now look at again the divx and xvid (as the main stream of Mpeg4 variant). You can make the video virtually to any size / bitrate and use any audio codec you pleased (MP3, MP2, ogg, ac3, AAC, etc) in which PC does not have problem to play them all (multi codec support). But how would the mpeg4 hardware player will be able to to play this with its limited hardware and software capabilities (typical: 1MB ROM / 32-64 MB RAM and 100-300 processor speed) ?

Nicely summed up

[Guest]

I have register as Bxwrapper but still have not received the activation file. So, please pardon me logging in as a guest.

I just bought a new player branded as Elekta EDIVX-730 (same chipset ESS Vibratto II, ES6688FA) which I believe is the clone of XMS-888 model and probably come from the same manufacturer.

I am curious, please can anybody confirm what is the make and model number of DVD loader and motherboard in XMS-888 player ?

Mine has the following loder details:

Brand: Fuss Audio
Model: LN9951
JONG DEH ELECTRONIC FACTORY

And the motherboard:

Model: RM0351
P/N: 171.M-5186-2
Ver: A
SCH:5186-2(A)
DATA:2003-11-26TH (This must be very new batch from China !)
DESAY A&V TECHNOLOGY

All features are the same with XMS-888:
6 RCAs for 5.1 DTS out
Coax and Optical SPDIF
S-Video
CVBS
Component Video
+ 1 Mic input and volume control (additional analog board exists but no Karaoke menu)
ML and MR inputs do not exist.

I may be able to post one or two pictures if you are interested (do I need to host the file somewhere else or I can attached it here ?)

Regards,
Bxwrapper

[jokiin]

I have register as Bxwrapper but still have not received the activation file. So, please pardon me logging in as a guest.

I just bought a new player branded as Elekta EDIVX-730 (same chipset ESS Vibratto II, ES6688FA) which I believe is the clone of XMS-888 model and probably come from the same manufacturer.

I am curious, please can anybody confirm what is the make and model number of DVD loader and motherboard in XMS-888 player ?

Mine has the following loder details:

Brand: Fuss Audio
Model: LN9951
Jong Deh Electronic Factory.

And the motherboard:

Model: RM0351
P/N: 171.M-5186-2
Ver: A
SCH:5186-2(A)
DATA:2003-11-26TH (This must be very new batch from China !)

All features are the same with XMS-888:
6 RCAs for 5.1 DTS out
Coax and Optical SPDIF
S-Video
CVBS
Component Video
+ 1 Mic input and volume control (additional analog board exists but no Karaoke menu)
ML and MR inputs do not exist.

I may be able to post one or two pictures if you are interested (do I need to host the file somewhere else or I can attached it here ?)

Regards,
Bxwrapper

Maybe have a look at andw's site at the internal shots and see if there is a similarity www.xms-888.tk Most info on your player is Russian, do you have a link from any English sites. Your player is not from the same manufacturer from what I can work out but it may use components from the same supplier. If you email me some pics of the player I can tell you if it matches anything else from their range.

[andw]

Maybe have a look at andw's site at the internal shots and see if there is a similarity www.xms-888.tk Most info on your player is Russian, do you have a link from any English sites. Your player is not from the same manufacturer from what I can work out but it may use components from the same supplier. If you email me some pics of the player I can tell you if it matches anything else from their range.
Yes, its up on the website, or go directly to the photo of the mainboard http://home.swiftdsl.com.au/~wweb/xms888/mainboard.JPG
or go to www.xms-888.tk select 'Photos', and then 'main board - close up'
Main board type / version sounds different.

[tfj63]

just a question or 2 for the region change it dont work on mine i have done firmware upgrade


with surround sound i have the DSEactive 5.1 home theatre speaker system
but not all work conections are input front L centre rear L
front R woffer rear R
but connections on the xms bit different

[andw]

The setup menu's surround sound test menu is not working at the moment.
You must follow the region change instructions exactly, and press the correct keys, or it will not bring up the menu.
See http://home.swiftdsl.com.au/~wweb/xms888/multireg.htm

[jokiin]

just a question or 2 for the region change it dont work on mine i have done firmware upgrade


with surround sound i have the DSEactive 5.1 home theatre speaker system
but not all work conections are input front L centre rear L
front R woffer rear R
but connections on the xms bit different


Make sure that you are using the correct buttons when doing the region change http://home.swiftdsl.com.au/~wweb/xms888/multireg.htm if you have a disc in the drive try removing it when you do this. There are corresponding outputs to match your inputs, can you be more specific as to what the problem is with your surround sound setup?

[bwg]

Ok, pepito, you may have both problems, or either (mono and low bitrate)
I have two problems to report,
1.) no audio on low audio bitrate avi (56kbps stereo - mp3). see http://home.swiftdsl.com.au/~wweb/xms888/noaudio.JPG .
With this, there is no audio at all (video plays fine), if you use the graphic equaliser to 'visualise' the audio, there is the occaional small movement, but for the most part it stays flat. (seems to be the typical low bitrate / no audio that has been reported by others before).
2.) On a high video bitrate avi file (2034 kbps) I lose all controls. The file plays ok, but there is suddenly no working controls as far as 'goto', skip forward / back, fastforward / back, the 'hand' comes up.
(stop, play, pause all continue to work)
see http://home.swiftdsl.com.au/~wweb/xms888/nocontrols.JPG .
This exhibits the same symptoms as I have had when burning a disc at 48x, however, I have now burnt the disc twice at 12x, and the exact same problem occurs.

I bought an 888 a week ago, and I'm very impressed. I have spent the last week trawling through this thread - and little else :) - whew!
Plenty of great info in here...thanks to everyone for their input, it has helped me quite a lot.

Anyway, re the low bitrate / no audio problem - I haven't encountered it yet. I tried a couple of files that I thought may give me a problem after having read some of the posts in here, but they both played flawlessly. Details from G-Spot are as follows:

File 1:
Video - DivX 5.0, bitrate 1050kb/s, 25 FPS, length 28m32s
Audio - 0x0055(MP3) ID'd as MPEG-1 Layer 3, bitrate 64 kb/s (64/ch x 1 ch) CBR (MONO), Frequency 48000 Hz

File 2:
Video - XviD, bitrate 867kb/s, 25 FPS, length 25m41s
Audio - 0x0055(MP3) ID'd as MPEG-1 Layer 3, bitrate 77 kb/s (77/ch x 1 ch) VBR (MONO), Frequency 48000 Hz

I noticed that someone in here (not sure who, sorry!) was having problems with mp3 audio encoded @ 56 kb/s, but I'm not sure what the frequency was...could there be a problem with lower frequencies? (<44100Hz), or maybe a problem somewhere between 64 and 56 kb/s bitrate.

Anyway, hopefully all this will be academic when firmare 1.2 arrives! ;)

[andw]

I don't really see that the waiting time has been unacceptable, .....
At the moment I see the main issues being low bitrate audio and zooming of non standard sizes to fit the generic 16:9 and 4:3 formats correctly, anything else that can be sorted beyond this I would consider a bonus.
....
I'd love a bonus of .srt subtitle support :)

[ajh]

I got R1 Bad Boys II from Ebay, which is apparantly one of those new protection enhanced region coded disks (is that how you say it ? I can never remember the terminology).

I put it in my XMS 8800 (not 888) and it played without a problem. I would say that any other XMS model, including the 888 will play these types of disk's as well.

Just thought I would pass this on to you all........


Cheers,

[jokiin]

I'd love a bonus of .srt subtitle support :)

I will be trying to get this, although I think it's pretty much an enthusiast type thing. The majority of people actually complain about subtitles and don't want them.

[jokiin]

I got R1 Bad Boys II from Ebay, which is apparantly one of those new protection enhanced region coded disks (is that how you say it ? I can never remember the terminology).

I put it in my XMS 8800 (not 888) and it played without a problem. I would say that any other XMS model, including the 888 will play these types of disk's as well.

Just thought I would pass this on to you all........


Cheers,

Most of the all zone players don't have a problem with RCE discs these days.

[ajh]

Most of the all zone players don't have a problem with RCE discs these days.

No worries - if in fact most zone players will play RCE disks, then all that time, research and money that the companies put into producing the RCE coding has been a complete waste.

:dD