I upgraded my RP91's firmware to 236 and it stille won't play Boz Scagg's DIG DVD-A (1 Viewer)

[Rachael B]

Can anybody's RP91 play this title. My JVC 723 that I sold to my brother played it fine. It was my favourite DVD-A. My RP91 had 155 so I upgraded it and hoped as a fringe benefit Boz would come on home, but nooooo. Anybody have any insight here? Thanks!

 

[Rachael B]

bump......any hope that an RP91 will, could, can, might play Boz's disc?

 

[John Kotches]

There's nothing unusual about the authoring/layout of the disc. Are you sure it's not an issue with a defect in the media that one player can handle and the other can't?
I've played this disc without incident in an Onkyo DV-S939, JVC XV-SA75GD, Toshiba SD-5700 and Kenwood DV-5700M as well as a PC based DVD-V player.
On a side note, does this disc qualify as the worst packaging ever? It seems nearly impossible to pull this disc out without adding another scratch to the surface :frowning:
They tried to do the right thing, by including the CD with the DVD-V, but the packaing nearly kills the whole shebang IMO.
Regards,

 

[Rachael B]

Thanks for the reply John! This is about the forth time I've posted this subject on various forums and nobody knows anything about it. I cetainly don't know how to check to see if the disc has an authoring mistake. How would you do it? Visually, it looks A-OK. Given the history of the industry, I think that's a likey theory.
I think it's out of print already. I was on Acoustic Sounds's site over the weekend and they didn't have it. They tend to have most all SACD's and DVD-A's in stock. Maybe it was recalled for some problem?
I aggree the package stinks. When I bought it I figured it had spindles inside it. It should have. I put the CD in a jewell case. I'm giving up on playing it for now. Since the upgrade the player goes to 2 seconds of the disc and stops. Before it did nothing. Maybe my next player will be able to handle it? I'm gonna be darn tempted to get a Pioneer 47A when they show up in a couple weeks. Best wishes!

 

[John Kotches]

Rachael,

My earlier point was that there isn't an overt authoring error, this would be on every copy of the disc.

I would sooner think that it's a flaw with your particular disc.

I guess EMI/Virgin wasn't kidding when they said "Deluxe Limited Edition".

Arrgh.

Too bad, as it sounds pretty good -- I really dig that super mellow tone from the horns.

Regards,

 

[Rachael B]

John, I'm going to take the disc down to my favourite dealer and put it in the Pioneer Elite and Denon players and see what happens. You've got my curiosity up. There must not be too many copies around. Notice the lack of respondence! It's just the two of us. Maybe my disc has a problem but the JVC 723 liked it very much! Best wishes!

 

[Jeff O.]

Rachel,

I may be having a similar problem, but with a Tosh 4700. I posted in another section about a problem playing the Pat Metheny Imaginar Day DVD-A. In two spots there was audible distortion and noise(always in the same place, so I figured it was either the disk or my decoder). The DD surround tracks played fine (no distortion or noise). Anyway, the player plays the ELP and Bela Fleck disks fine. I got another copy of the Metheny disk and find the same problem. Then, last weekend I picked up a copy of the Billy Cobham Spectrum disk. Like your RP91, my Tosh completely locks up when I try to play the surround DVD-A tracks. I haven't had a chance to return the disk yet to see whether it is bad or another copy will also lock up on me. I really hope that this isn't going to be a problem with certain disks and certain players. It could turn me off of DVD-A for good.

Good luck getting your disk to play.

Jeff

 

[Geo]

Rachel,

I have the exact same problem. Boz Scagg's DIG won't play on my RP91 either. As a matter of fact it locks up the player completely. I can't open the drawer or anything. I have to turn the unit off, which takes about 30 seconds to finally turn off, then push the open button before turning the unit back on. The disc plays fine on my Pioneer Elite DV-F07 but it won't play on my Technics DVD-A10.

Very, very strange to say the least.............I will also be getting the Pioneer Elite DV-47A but keeping the RP91 in my system until I've checked out the video on the DV-47A to see how it compares.

geo

 

[Rachael B]

Geo! I'm relieved in the sense somebody else is having the same problem. When my RP91 had firmware 155 it just sat and did nohing with DIG. Now it freezes up at 2 seconds and I have to turn it off and on again, same as you to get the thang out. We're on a parallel here. I'm proably going to get the 47A too. I have 3 DVD players in my main system at present. A Malata N966 to play my out of region titles, the RP91, and a Sony 9000ES which I only play CD and SACD's on, I don't even have it hooked up for video.
If I like the 47A for video the Sony is going to my stereo system and the RP91 is gonna be for sale.
Jeff, I've kinda' given up on DVD-A. If the 47A turns out to play all my 11 discs, I might add a few more at some point? There just aren't too many titles in the jazz / blues / r & b vein that I generally prefer. Come to think of it, there's not too many titles, period! One thing I have to admire about SACD is nobody is having compatiability problems with the discs. I've become more intrested in them. Acoustic sounds has some intresting small label stuff too and the discs all have a CD layer too. All the non-Sony discs have a CD layer. Sonny is a idi-oat outfit, all in all!
Which DVD-A player will actually play which of the few discs has gotten really old! No compatiability could suprise me. Although I think DVD-A has a huge potential as a format, it seems like it's going nowhere fast. Same could be said for SACD too, I suppose...... Best wishes guys!

 

[Jeff O.]

Rachel,

I agree, there isn't really anything else on DVD-A that I feel like I really need. Although I will get the Queen disk when (and if) if finally comes out. I am just thinking in the future when more DVD-A disks are going to come out. Supposedly "this is the year" when we find out if any of the studios back it up with more mainstream stuff. For now, the few extra bucks I paid for DVD-A capability was no big deal because the main reason I upgraded my old player was to go progressive. But, I don't think there is any way that I will buy a new player in the future just to make sure that I can play a couple of disks if there are compatability problems. But, you never know, I find that I really like the multichannel surround disks.

Jeff

 

[Rachael B]

Jeff, I'm considering the 47A to cut down on player clutter. That sounds silly, doesn't it. I'll have no trouble selling my RP91 if I like the 47A, we'll see. The 9000 would go to my stereo. I was at Busted Buy awhile ago and saw a DVD-A of George Benson's BREEZIN' with a couple of bonus cuts. I'd like to have it but not for $23!!! I might buy it if I see it online for a decent price sometime. That's the first title I've seen that even tempted me since DIG. The selection is laughable.... Best wishes!

 

[John Kotches]

Rachael,

DVD Planet and DVD Empire sell for about 25% off of list.

Regards,

 

[Rachael B]

Thanks John! I'm already well known at those joints! I started buying LD's from Ken Cranes DVD Planet in the early '90's. Empire is my favourite DVD vendor these days though. I didn't preorder SUMMER OF '42 so I stoped by Busted Buy this eve and they actually had it in stock. I always look at their sniveling little DVD-A section while I'm there. what the heck....I appreciate you thinking of me just the same! !

 

[Michael_T]

Just to add my 2 cents in:

I also had problems with the Dig DVD-a on my Technics DVD-A10. Went through 4 different copies, none played. Needless to say I gave up. I called Panasonic to report the problem, they gave it a case number, but never got back to me.

I may not be as informed about the authoring of this disc as John Kotches seems to be, but the fact that this disc won't play in ANY Panasonic DVD-Audio player, old or new, leads me to believe there has to be some sort of authoring anomoly that prevents the disc from reading correctly in those players.

I have over 40+ DVD-Audio discs, and this Boz Scaggs disc is the only disc that would not play.

I wonder how many Virgin Records got back as returns because of this problem?

 

[Scott Merryfield]

DVD Planet and DVD Empire sell for about 25% off of list.

FYI, Digital Eyes seems to have much better prices on DVD-Audio than DVD Empire. Most titles were $18.50 - $19.00 at Digital Eyes, but were $22.50 at DVD Empire.

 

[John Kotches]

Michael,

This could just as easily be a bug in Panasonics navigator as the Boz Scaggs disc, since it has played in every Non-Panasonic player I've tested it on.

Has anyone called / asked Matsushita about this disc and whether there's a firmware update to the player?

It's something that should definitely be considered.

Regards,

 

[Jeff O.]

Rachel, if you get the 47A, let me know how it works. Also, I second Scott's recommendation of Digital Eyes. They have good prices and good service, most DVD-A titles for $18-$19. At this point I am still skeptical about buying more disks. I am sure that I wouldn't hesitate as much if I didn't get the disk and have to cross my fingers the first time that I put it in that it plays correctly. Kind of wrecks that moment of discovery when you put the new disk in hoping to discover some great new music.

Also, I am really curious if it is just certain disks. Has anyone else tried the Billy Cobham disk? Maybe I should post a new thread. I will take this disk back as soon as possible and try another one. If the new one doesn't play maybe I will start another thread.

Or, since other people seem to be having problems with other players, maybe it would be good to start a general thread about problems with DVD-A compatability. Since my 4700 is new, I want to make sure that it is a problem with the disks and not just a problem with my specific unit.

Also, John what do you mean it could be a problem with the Panasonic navigator? Do you mean that something in the menu system of the disk locks up the player? Thats what happens with the Cobham disk in my player, it locks at the menu and I can't select anything.

 

[John Kotches]

Yes Jeff. That's exactly what I mean.
Given that these discs are playing in non-Matsushita players, it's fairly safe to say that there's something they (Matsushita) is not handling correctly. This is evidenced by the lockup on two different titles at the Top Menu.
This is why I suggested discussion with Matsushita on the specific title lockups.
Good luck guys
Regards,

 

[Rachael B]

Jeff, I think we need a thread for all DVD-A incompatibility with various players. When I stille had the JVC 723 all 11 of my discs played. I'm really put off about the format in general because of so many reports of my player won't play such 'an such, and DAMN (!), DIG was my fav! Threads about discs that won't play have poped up repeatedly in the software section. The Aaron Neville DVD-A comes to mind, I know it was a problem with some players, I forget which player/s.
I'm thinking it's a hardware problem, proably...? What John is saying would suggest so. It's intresting that Michael got a case #, hmnnn... I doubt Panasonic gives a rat's ass about solving the problem. I was reluctant to buy the RP91 because of Panasonic's abysmal reputation for customer service. I must admit it's a great player for DVD-V but... I like Pioneer and they aims to please IMO. I wish they weren' so slow about getting the 47A to market.
Jeff, if the 47A is all it's cracked up to be, I'll proably have one. I'm such an audio-vidiot, I won't be able to resist! The local dealer told me 1 Febuary and now they say by the end of the month it will come in. I'll be the first one down there when it arrives. It's a damn shame you can't hear the Billy Cobham disc. I have the record album of it. It makes me feel old to admit so! It's a great recording. Jeff, you should start the new thread. It's your turn. Best wishes guyz!

 

[DEAN DE FURIA]

It wont play in my RP-91 either.It also locks it up and I have to turn it off then on again while holding the eject button.

I hope that Pioneer doesn't have any "issues" as I would like to remove some player clutter too.