DVD-A Issues? (1 Viewer)

Wondering if anyone else has run into this. . .I got a copy of the DVD-A edition of Deadwing. The DTS and PCM tracks are fine. But when I play the DVD-A track, it's silent. It *looks* like it's playing; the proper screen comes up and the timer runs, but there's no sound. (Other DVD-A discs are working fine.)

Is this most likely a defective disc? Is there any history of compatibility problems with certain discs on certain players (mine's a Pioneer DV-563a)?

You're probably trying to listen via the digital input. The hi-res DVD-A content needs to be sent via the analog connections.

Edit - if other DVD-A titles are working correctly, I'm unsure what's going on. I don't believe that title was affected by the Pioneer firmware fiasco.

Thanks, Felix. I hadn't heard about a firmware issue, since I haven't had any other problems with the deck. Do you have a link?

Do other DVD-As work? If not, it is probably the firmware issue. I have the firmware if someone else cannot provide a link.

My In Absentia DVD-A works just fine. I think I'll try and contact the label to see if they've had any other reports of this problem.

I bought the disc from an Amazon seller, so I'm hoping to figure this out somehow before dealing with the hassle of mailing it back. I wrote to the guy and asked him if he'd managed to play the DVD-A track (most of those sellers are merchants who may or may not test everything). He told me that he had the same experience, and just assumed that the DTS track was the DVD-A track! (If you put it in a non-DVD-A deck, then only the DTS and PCM tracks appear on the menu. Maybe that's what he saw.)

At least he's honest.

I'm not sure if the Pioneer problem was with selected DVD-A disks or all DVD-A disks. The firmware is very easy to install. The file I have is an image. You burn a CD using the image file, insert the disk into your DVD player and the player updates. I can't remember how big the file is. It may be too big to e-mail. If you haven't upgraded, you definitely should.

Jeff

Some players operate in dvd-audio mode or dvd-video mode and you have to tell it to switch between modes. If you switch the mode, then you can see the menus for the dvd-audio side of the disc.

Yep, this deck is like that. I just leave it in DVD-A mode all the time, since that doesn't seem to affect movie-watching. If I switch it to DVD-V, then it resets all the other video settings and I have to futz with 'em.

Jeff, I'll contact Pioneer about the firmware upgrade. If I can't get it otherwise, I may hit you up for a hand.

Well, I spoke with Pioneer customer service, and they told me that the firmware upgrade should fix the problem. Unfortunately, they no longer send firmware discs out to customers because apparently there were too many issues with people screwing up their equipment with the wrong firmware. So I need to take it in to one of their oh-so-conveniently-located authorized service centers. :frowning:

Jeff, is there any way you could send me the file via FTP, or one of those file-sending sites like Yousendit.com?

AHA! Found an ISO of the 1.906 version of the firmware. Jeff, is that the same one you've got?

(Incidentally, Pioneer's Japanese site has a page where you can download firmware upgrades! Assuming you're using Japanese gear, of course. )

I need the same upgrade. I noticed the same prob on a couple discs, but then I moved that player upstairs and got a good deal on the DV-588 that didn't have the problem.

Where did you find the ISO file?

I need the file too. I never went for the upgrade because Pioneer demanded that the player be taken in to a facility, even though we are all gear-head enough to do this ourselves.

BINGO!!! It worked!

Very easy -- I just unzipped the .iso file, burned it to CD-R, and stuck it in the player. After about 2 or 3 minutes of "download. . .step 1. . .step 2. . ." on the LED (not the TV), it ejected the disc and displayed "ok." I turned the deck off and on, re-applied all my A/V settings, and voila, Deadwing in glorious DVD-A! Too bad everyone else is asleep so I can't crank it until tomorrow.

I am pretty sure that this is the file that I downloaded. If you have trouble getting it, let me know and I can email it to you.

Thanks to everyone for your help!

Damn, I just discovered that the DVD-ROM drive in my PC reads DVD-Audio tracks.

Excellent Aaron. I'm glad you successfully upgraded your firmware. That is the file I have. Sorry I didn't respond earlier. Tuesday is golf night after work and then beers afterward so I rarely check this forum on Tuesdays.

I have a question though. You say you unzipped the file before burning. I'm curious what you used to do this. When I read about this a while back on the Hoffman boards, a lot of people had problems using the .ISO file because it was an image. You had to use burning software that would expand and burn from an image. A lot of people would burn the image onto a disc and complain that it didn't work. I was lucky because the Plex Tools software that came with my Plextor burner burned from an .ISO image file. What did you to unzip the .ISO file?

For some reason the OP of the link provided by Aaron zipped the .iso

In that case he 'did' unzip it first , then burn the iso as required.

I got the file, unzipped it, and burned it with no problem. Popped the disc in and in 5 minutes, I can read all my DVD-A's now.

Thank you very much for that link.

Dennis_H

Glad to be of service!

Jeff, hope you won at golf, or at least at beer. It was indeed a .zip file. I extracted the .iso and then used Nero to burn the CD.

Funny coda -- I told the guy I bought the disc from (remember, he had the same problem but for some reason didn't realize that it was a problem) about the fix, and he discovered that his Denon required a similar firmware upgrade. He found the upgrade for his deck, and now it not only plays DVD-As properly, it's gone multi-region.

Ok, now I understand. I missed the fact that the file was zipped.

Golf was fine. I didn't have a match since my opponent hurt his back. I just played for fun and did well (for me).

I'm glad you are now up and running with DVD-As, Aaron. I'm also glad you were able to help out another person. Was his upgrade as simple as the the Pioneer's?

He didn't go into detail, but it sounded like it was a similar procedure.

The funny thing is, I've had the player for years and never run into a problem with DTS, SACD, or DVD-A discs before. Deadwing was the first one that didn't work properly. (Even the last Porcupine Tree DVD-A, In Absentia, has always worked fine.)

I was just lucky to not have bought any of the problem discs until now.