XMS-888 - Mpeg4 - Firmware?

[mikef]

jok11n, as u mentioned before that this dvd players went to different markers (not only australians one), do they sell them by the same name xms-888 ?
Is there some other brands which are actualy a clones of xms-888 ?

[jokiin]

Other countries get them but I have no idea what they call them though. The XMS branding is owned by Strathfield, in any other market it will have a different name. Even if they did it would not necessarily be the same anyway. When you order players you basically build them from minimum spec, and then add whatever feature you want, the unit price is started from bare bones basic two channel and then you spec it to whatever level you want, 5.1, digital out or whatever is all added to the basic cost until you arrive at the spec level you want, even the front panel is available in a number of different styles, this spec level difference may or may not have an effect on the firmware that is appropriate to each unit also.

[andw]

jok11n, any word as yet?

[jokiin]

I haven't got any feedback about the meeting that was held as yet. As soon as I do I will post here so that everyone is kept up to date on the progress.

[davidf]

As a DVD player minus the mpeg4 component is it worth $188 Or would I be better off buying a non mpeg4 player for around the same price?

Even foregoing MPEG4 there are features with the new chip technology in the XMS888 that make it worthwhile. The improvement in readability of discs is very obvious. The player itself is nothing special and seems to have been released using firmware that was designed for a DVD chipset of lesser capabilities, hopefully this will improve.

I was going to take the XMS888 back because of the MPEG4 issues it has, but the noticable difference in image sharpness, sound definition and ability to read all sorts of CD's/DVD's over better players that I own has made me reconsider.

[andw]

davidf: I was going to take the XMS888 back because of the MPEG4 issues it has, but the noticable difference in image sharpness, sound definition and ability to read all sorts of CD's/DVD's over better players that I own has made me reconsider.

I was quite happy with my old player (XMS-150), the only reason I got this one was for the MPEG-4 capability.
It does have an inbuilt surround sound decoder that the 150 didn't have, as well as optical and coax digital out. (the xms-150 only had coax) however, I don't use any of these features at the moment.
The only problems I had with discs on the 150 were cdrw's, I don't have a DVD burner, so that doesn't affect me either.
The 150 handled shuffling of mp3's better, but it does not have a display (minus point).
I really hope they get the problems sorted out, as if it wasn't for the Mpeg4 ability, I wouldn't have bought it, and if I needed just another DVD player (without Mpeg4), I would have spent a lot less money for the same functions. (My wife wanted karaoke, but Mpeg4 won out).
Looking forward to new firmware.

[andw]

Hi jok11n, I don't know how you would translate this into Chinese, but I had a thought about having a 16:9 avi / mpeg file play properly on a widescreen TV, and an example of how this can be demonstrated....
On a lot of computer based media players (my favourite is bsplayer http://www.bsplayer.org/ I'm sure other people have their favourites), you can change the aspect ratio of the playing file at the touch of a button.
e.g. on Bsplayer, you can toggle the aspect ratio between 'original', '16:9' and '4:3' by just pressing the 'a' key on the computer keyboard.
When you have a widescreen TV plugged into the TV out on your computer (if you have one), and you toggle the aspect ratio to '4:3' whilst playing back an avi file that is 16:9, then you end up with the correct aspect ratio on the widescreen tv. (as the tv then 'stretches' the image back out again, ala anamorphic widescreen, with most widescreen DVD's).
If they used as I have mentioned before the 'view' button on the remote to do this function (i.e. toggle between 'original', '16:9' and '4:3' aspect ratios) this would make things a lot easier. (also, if it stored the last format used, it would be even better).
When Bsplayer is in full screen mode, you can use the '+' and '-' keys on your keyboard to zoom the image in and out in small increments (whilst it is playing) until it fully fills the screen. Perhaps they could use the < and > keys on the remote control to accomplish this function also.
Just my thoughts and a working example of how they might accomplish these things.

[ironkiller]

Just an update I decided to go for the Philips DVD626K because ignoring Mpeg 4 capabilities it seemed like the better DVD player, a more solid build and imo picture quality was slightly better. I am missing the ability to burn Divx movies straight to the cd instead of having to decode it to vcd/svcd first because that takes a while.

[postal]

I think most of us are mainly interested in the mpeg4 capabilities of this player. I haven't even seen any other mpeg4 players out. I saw one a while ago on ebay and that was 400 something (it supported pretty much everything, including ogg vorbis :) ). but for $188 this is definately worth it, I am however concerned with all the bugs, but yeah, many of the "quirks" mentioned here would be great if they could be fixed. especially the OSD and aspect ratio problems. oh and the crashing. :).

so yeah, I'm eager to hear back about this meeting, alot of my friends are asking about the player, and there's no way I'm reccomending it in it's current state.

so yeah. cmmonnnnnnn firmware update :).

[wakeboardandy]

Yeah come on firmware.... Great player apart from the bugs...

[jokiin]

I should have another firmware available late tomorrow, just need to test it first make sure it installs ok etc and then I will post here to notify you guys when it is ready.

[davidf]

I should have another firmware available late tomorrow, just need to test it first make sure it installs ok etc and then I will post here to notify you guys when it is ready.


Next time you speak to the manufacturer could you ask them for an operational spec for the player in its current state. I think this would be great for testing purposes.

Things that would be good to know is how the player recognises files etc. i.e. what does it do if it sees .divx or .xvid. How does it deal with things like advanced simple profile(ASP).

Also does the player conform with the MP4 container specifications because if it does menu's/chapters etc become a reality with MPEG4 files.

[wakeboardandy]

Looking forward to that firmware Jok... The main thing is the OSD if that is fixed I think I will be happy... anything else would be a bonus.

[malcez]

jok11n

If it is not too much trouble I would agree with previous person, and ask for DETAILED specifications, for example:
- what form does the divx or xvid have to be in, to be playable (video/audio specs including bitrate), at current firmware not all audio streams play, but all my video streams play no prob
- what is the sequence during bootup drive seek - ie does it look for DVD first, then then go to bank30.rom, then go to mp3, then go to video files etc etc etc
- are there any types of disc media that the laser cannot read at all (eg CDR etc). i have had no problem with this so far.

I am still waiting to hear if anyone else can play the tmd and smr movies (~160mb) as opposed to the standard divx (~700 mb) with an audible audio stream. i can play video on everything i throw at this xms888, but not audio on the smaller files.

cheers
malcez

[Pythonisman]

the dr divx (i checked with GSpot and it's DivX 5, not 3.11) ones i've made don't work, although the one i tried was 1600 odd kbps. I'm going to try a sub 1000kbps one as I'm not sure if this will help

[andw]

For those waiting for firmware update...
Jok11n has got one, and is testing (hopefully will be available tomorrow if it all holds together).
However OSD issue is fixed in AVI's... toggles between time elapsed / remaining / off. (display continues to update on player). No lock up on avi's as yet. No change on zooming as yet.
Player's display continues to update with MPG's when the OSD is turned off.
Shuffle / random is working with MP3's (no long file names as yet).
Now plays WMA's (although at the moment it stops at exactly 1 minute mark?!?)
Displays 'codec not supported' when you try and play WMV's)
Surround Sound Test tone still dodgy, but surround appears to be working on DVD's ok.
Random works in a folder with .jpg's in it.
Not sure about .srt or .sub support yet, will try asap.
Still some funnies with display on VCD & SVCD (timer counts to 63:59, and then clocks back to 00:00 so when the movie is at 75 minutes, display shows 11:00 instead of 15:00 (or preferebly 1:15:00)).
Still would like to see a proper zoom, especially with AVI's, and proper support for widescreen tv's on AVI's and MPG's.
Unsure about tmd and smr format, as I don't have any.
I will leave it for jok11n to release, as he is the source, so don't ask me for a copy. He will release it when he is sure it won't trash your player.
It appears much much better at this stage tho, will continue to play with it.

[Pythonisman]

this sounds excellent. Exactly what I'm after. Will probably fix any issues that the folks are likely to run into. How big are the isos for the flash?

I'm flying up there to give it to them on monday morning, so if it's more than about 10MB i'd love to be able to grab one while i'm still on broadband tomorrow :)

oh, yes, and not toasting the player would be a plus :D

[andw]

this sounds excellent. Exactly what I'm after. Will probably fix any issues that the folks are likely to run into. How big are the isos for the flash?

File is only 1MB, (bank30.rom).
Just needs dumping onto a cd (blank I think - that's what I've used).
Drop it onto a cd with something like Nero, and 'finalize' the cd.
I have done it with cdrw discs, they are old ones and only 4x, so that's how fast I wrote it at.
Pop out the tray on the player, put in the disc...
It reads, erases, writes, and then powers off the player.
Turn off the player (with the power button on the player), then turn it on again.
(eject the disc quickly before it starts writing the firmware again!! - if it does start again, DO NOT switch it off - wait for it to finish as above)
It still does not show a version number in the hidden menu.

[jokiin]

Ok, the firmware looks good and some major improvements, still some issues but certainly a big improvement and some good work by the factory to get on it so quickly. They are still asking for feedback though, so if I can have comments back about problems you are having it would be appreciated. Any feedback needs to be as specific as possible.

As I recieve any newer firmware I will update the progress via this list, I will also keep copies of older firmwares should the need arise to roll back to an earlier version for whatever reason.

The new firmware can be obtained from ftp.jokiin.com

Basic details are contained within the zip file, file is less than 1 meg in size. If there is anything you don't understand, ASK, don't kill your player because you don't ask. It is very straight forward but remember ,advice is free, players cost money.

Big thanks to andw, who has put in a lot of effort to help with identifying the issues, much appreciated.

[Pythonisman]

thankyou very much for the firmware, and your efforts, jok11n :)

It seems a simple task to get the firmware to flash.
as far as iso9660 compatability goes, would just burning (and finalising) it as a cd in nero do?

:)