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Problem with "Minority Report" BD (1 Viewer)

Peter McM

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Just got "Minority Report" on Blu-ray. Inserted into my Panasonic BD-65. Disc went straight to Extras / Subtitles menu, and that was all I could get it to do. I couldn't access the Main Menu or play the movie. Is this more likely to be a defective disc or firmware problem with the player?
 

Brandon Conway

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Assuming your player has the latest firmware, it may be that the persistent storage of another title might be conflicting with it. I would clear the memory cache on the player if possible and try again.
 

Peter McM

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Thanks, Brandon. I'm so new to Blu-ray; I really have little idea of how they work compared to standard DVD. How do I clear the cache on my BD player?
 

Brandon Conway

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Well, first things first. For your player you want to be at Firmware 1.70. Either plug it into the internet and find the update, or download it onto a CD-R from here: http://panasonic.jp/support/global/cs/bd/download/bd45_65_85/bd45_65_85_na.html


After you update the player to the latest FW, try clearing the cache. I'm not 100% sure where it would be on your player's menu system. If you still have the manual try looking it up there. If not, the Panasonic website should have the manual online.
 

ManW_TheUncool

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The notion that we might need to clear cache just to get a title to play the main feature properly is yet another strike against the whole BD-J/BD-Live business.


FWIW, if you've been keeping BD-Live enabled on your player, I'd strongly recommend disabling that as soon as you're done updating the firmware and clearing the cache. That will likely substantially reduce the probability of such future problems.


I've had a Panny BD60 (w/ BD-Live disabled from the get-go) for more than a year now and have yet to need a firmware update so far -- and I haven't had any of the problems that I see many folks have, especially those who leave their BD-Live enabled. It probably even loads many discs faster w/ BD-Live disabled near as I can tell although it can still be quite slow, if just tolerable enough, in many cases...


Oh, and yes, Minority Report worked perfectly fine in my BD60.


_Man_
 

Brandon Conway

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The only reason the cache might have a problem is if a storage file got corrupted accidentally. Like any computer hardware and software errors can occur.
 

Peter McM

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My current firmware version is 1.14. Having no way to connect the unit to the internet, I downloaded the update you pointed me to (which took over 4 hours on my slow dial-up connection), burned it to a disc, but the player said the disc is incompatible. Now what can I try?
 

ManW_TheUncool

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Is there a way to do a factory reset? Maybe you can try that first rather than fiddle w/ the firmware update. Check your player manual for that.


I don't recall seeing any cache clearing function on my BD60 either -- and frankly, I don't think there should've been need for one in the first place.


Also, you didn't really confirm this, but do you have BD-Live (and/or internet connectivity) enabled somehow even though you don't have the player hooked up for that? Did you explicitly disable those settings or are you just assuming they were disabled by default? I would not assume they're disabled by default, if I were you.


Originally Posted by Brandon Conway
The only reason the cache might have a problem is if a storage file got corrupted accidentally. Like any computer hardware and software errors can occur.

No. Not like just any computer hardware and software at all because it simply should not have been done that way for a movie format and its players intended for and marketed to average consumers. That would be a poor excuse for BD-J/BD-Live -- yes, you're trying to explain what might've happened, but that's really besides the point I was making.


Basically, this is really just a crap implementation/deployment of a half-baked idea, and I continue to strongly recommend against leaving BD-Live enabled, etc. unless someone's fine about dealing w/ the extra hassles that comes w/ that.


Also, the studios and hardware makers really need to improve the BD-J/BD-Live situation so we run into far less of these kinds of problems among others...


_Man_
 

Brandon Conway

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BD-Live isn't the issue here since he's never connected it to the internet.


1.14 is a very old FW for this player. 99% sure that the update will solve the problem (and I doubt a factory reset will). Call Panasonic and have them mail you a disc.
 

ManW_TheUncool

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Originally Posted by Brandon Conway
BD-Live isn't the issue here since he's never connected it to the internet.


1.14 is a very old FW for this player. 99% sure that the update will solve the problem (and I doubt a factory reset will). Call Panasonic and have them mail you a disc.

BD-Live may not be the direct cause of the problem, but that doesn't mean its implementation/deployment (both in this specific case and in general) has nothing to do w/ it -- maybe you're not that familiar w/ how software can often work under-the-hood, but I certainly wouldn't put it past the whole BD-J/BD-Live implementation/deployment to be a real culprit even though he didn't obviously use BD-Live before. The fact that you originally suggested for him to try clearing the player's cache is indicative of the relevance of BD-J/BD-Live w/ such problems too.


And it's not like the disc didn't load at all afterall. He's saying it loaded w/ menus showing certain menu items, but did not allow him to play the actual movie.


As for the firmware version being too old, I wouldn't be so sure of that. As I mentioned before, my older BD60 (bought back in late-2009) played Minority Report just fine, and I *never* updated its firmware either. IOW, the firmware in my BD60 is almost certainly older than the firmware in his BD65 -- and my player predated the Minority Report release by a few months while his BD65 probably came afterward (or maybe right around the BD release). And it's not like we're talking about something all that close to v1.00 for firmware either nor are we talking about one of the more crappy makers that tend to need more frequent firmware updates anyway. Near as I can tell, Panasonic has been one of the best at producing players that come w/ good enough firmware that rarely needs updating, especially if one keeps BD-Live disabled -- and Minority Report hasn't exactly had widespread playback problems either.


Anyway, why just wait to receive a firmware update from Panasonic? Why not try the factory reset first under the circumstance? If there's really some sort of cache issue (or similar), then a factory reset would likely clear that. Not like that would void the warranty or would likely cause any other problems to the player afterall -- it better not unless the player is actually defective in some way.


_Man_
 

ManW_TheUncool

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FWIW, I'm not saying the OP should not try to get a more recent (and possibly more stable) firmware update for his player. Just saying that he may not need to wait for that when he can easily try a factory reset first... OTOH, if a factory reset fixes the problem and there's nothing else wrong, then maybe he's better off not fixing what ain't actually broke...


Also, I'd still strongly recommend disabling BD-Live -- and whatever other networking features, if those are not really needed. Don't just assume it's disabled by default (or by the fact there's no physical network connection or the like)...


_Man_
 

Brandon Conway

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And all I'm saying is that after years of experience working with blu-ray players the most effective way to troubleshoot is, a) update the FW, b) clear cache, c) factory reset. The studios only care that the disc plays on the latest publicly available FW, because that is what they design the discs for in regards to performance and when they QC. BD-J titles also store information to the cache, which is why I mentioned that as a possible issue. Also, comparing the Pan 60 and Pan 65 is the wrong approach because they are different generations of player design and have unique issues.
 

Peter McM

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Brandon and Man:


Thanks, guys, for all the thought and effort you're putting into solving my little dilemma. The help I find on these forums is the reason I've hung out on HTF for so many years.


If Panasonic will mail me the needed disc, I guess that's what I'll do. I suppose when I call their support line I'll be speaking to some guy in India; so be it.


I got my BD-65 in a Black Friday sale last November, along with a Mitsubishi DLP which, thankfully, continues to function flawlessly.
 

Colin Jacobson

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You guys are finding a problem where there isn't one. "Minority Report" is a two-disc BD release. Disc One has the movie, Disc Two has the extras. The OP obviously inserted Disc Two and didn't realize there was another disc.


If you can't find the movie on the disc with the extras, then you're sane!
 

Peter McM

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Well, smack me upside the head!! Thanks, Colin!


No, Man--brand new factory-sealed from Wal-Mart. The feature disc was hidden under an insert labeled "important notice"; I've become so accustomed to DVD/Blu-rays not having inserts anymore. I have removed the offending and useless piece of paper and discarded it.


Nice thing is--I honestly feel you guys laughing with me and not at me.


God bless you all.
 

Josh Steinberg

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Originally Posted by Peter McM

Nice thing is--I honestly feel you guys laughing with me and not at me.


Absolutely - it happens to the best of us at some point or another! (Doesn't help that half the time, the writing on the disc is so tiny it's hard to tell which disc is which, or that sometimes the bonus disc is given the more prominent spot in the case..)
 

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