Pioneer DV-563A firmware campaign

[JonUrban]

Good job, Evil Otto! Welcome to QQ! Great first post.

 

[soesbeout]

Perhaps your evilness would extend to copying the disk muuhaaaaaa.

 

[Evil Otto]

Just an update, I have not received the disk as of yet. I was told it'd take about a week, and I believe it's being mailed from California (I'm in Massachusetts) so I should have it any day now.

Copy a cd? Heaven forbid! I wouldn't know anything about that!

 

[Evil Otto]

Ok, I got the disk late yesterday, with instructions that basically said "turn on, put in, wait, disk will eject, turn off, turn on." Pretty simple. Worked like a charm; the update only took 2 or 3 minutes to do.:banana: I tested it with my NIN-With Teeth dual disk, and lo and behold the dvd-audio track was being played. Fixed

Now. Here's the thing. I have this disk, but Pioneer wants it sent back. (It's just a CDR with the software to flash the firmware on it.) They even gave me a pre-paid UPS sticker to return it with. However, they didn't give me any instructions as to copying or distributing the software that is on it. (By the by, the disk is only 4MB in size or so. Easily downloadable. Pioneer.)

Those who are wiser than I, is there any advice you can give me regarding the legality of distributing an .iso of the disk, so that fellow 563-A owners don't have to put up with this "service center" nonsense? I don't want to get my butt sued.@:

 

[dscline]

I would VERY much like to get a copy of that. I had no idea of this problem until yesterday, as I had no affected disks. Got REM's "Out of Time" yesterday, which wouldn't play. Some searching lead me here. I REALLY don't want to have to tear my system apart and have to ship my DVD player off for some unknown amount of time. I'd even be willing to host the ISO for a little while.

 

[ArnoldLayne]

I'm afraid we have another case: "David Live" by David Bowie. It's from the new "DTS Signature Series". No DVD-A output at all. DTS outputs analogue only and sometimes stops outputting digital after a while. One case of total freeze, i.e. player just gets blocked in the middle of a track.

Edit to clarify that it is not merely a bad unit (disc). Ripped DVD-V area plays just fine. IMO strengthen the hypothesis of being a protection issue.

Cheers
AL

 

[jrahrah]

Those who are wiser than I, is there any advice you can give me regarding the legality of distributing an .iso of the disk, so that fellow 563-A owners don't have to put up with this "service center" nonsense? I don't want to get my butt sued.

We're all friends here.

 

[dscline]

Ugh, I talked to Pioneer. They cheerfully gave me a case #, and are waiting for me to call them back with my serial#. It's a huge PITA just to get it pulled out enough to read teh SN much less completely take it out, disconnect it, send it off, then wait. They completely denied that there was a firmware update that could be done in the home. If ANYONE has any suggestions on getting ahold of the firmware, please let me know.

This really puts a sour taste in my mouth for Pioneer. The fact that they COULD make it easy for their customers, but choose not to, really irks me.

 

[NormanB]

I would love to find an iso of that disc! It sure would be much easier.

 

[gregb23]

Hey friends, I also would love to get that ISO/disc to use at home! For a long time I just thought I bought a bad "Gaucho" disc (I sold it on ebay), but now I just got Jackson Browne's "Running on Empty" DVDA and it also plays to complete silence. Please contact me if this is possible...

Thanks, and unfortunately it's as I've always said.... you get what you pay for!!! Greg

 

[neil wilkes]

I'm afraid we have another case: "David Live" by David Bowie. It's from the new "DTS Signature Series". No DVD-A output at all. DTS outputs analogue only and sometimes stops outputting digital after a while. One case of total freeze, i.e. player just gets blocked in the middle of a track.

Edit to clarify that it is not merely a bad unit (disc). Ripped DVD-V area plays just fine. IMO strengthen the hypothesis of being a protection issue.

Cheers
AL

I can tell you from experience with this player & The Who's "Tommy" DVD-A what the problem is here.
The discs will have been authored using Panasonioc's MEI Authoring tool, which forms the kernels of some versions of Sonic's DVD-Audio Creator.
There is a basic incompatibility between certain versions of this software and that Pioneer player.
Not sure who to blame here - Authoring for getting an incompatibility issue, or Pioneer for their fast & loose interpretations of the specs in that particular player.

 

[dr8track]

I am just now attempting to deal w/ the upgrade on my player. From my experience so far it seems to me that it would be an INCREDIBLE service to those who have not yet had the upgrade done to have this disc available.
It would just save so many people a huge hassle. If there is any way of providing this we'd all be forever grateful.

Ok, I got the disk late yesterday, with instructions that basically said "turn on, put in, wait, disk will eject, turn off, turn on." Pretty simple. Worked like a charm; the update only took 2 or 3 minutes to do.:banana: I tested it with my NIN-With Teeth dual disk, and lo and behold the dvd-audio track was being played. Fixed

Now. Here's the thing. I have this disk, but Pioneer wants it sent back. (It's just a CDR with the software to flash the firmware on it.) They even gave me a pre-paid UPS sticker to return it with. However, they didn't give me any instructions as to copying or distributing the software that is on it. (By the by, the disk is only 4MB in size or so. Easily downloadable. Pioneer.)

Those who are wiser than I, is there any advice you can give me regarding the legality of distributing an .iso of the disk, so that fellow 563-A owners don't have to put up with this "service center" nonsense? I don't want to get my butt sued.@:

 

[oldsyd]

I haven't posted on this for some time, too bad it's still an issue.

My 563 is running fine, did the ISO of the firmware fix ever get out into
circulation?

 

[gregb23]

I haven't posted on this for some time, too bad it's still an issue.

My 563 is running fine, did the ISO of the firmware fix ever get out into
circulation?

I never received a response about it.

If anyone has this, PLEEEEEEASE send me a PM...

Thanks,
Greg

 

[MartinGr]

Anyone able to play David Bowie's Heathen SACD with this player? I have the European version of the player at work, and the SACD skips to the second track after 10 seconds. Exchanging the disc or the player didn't help.

Martin

 

[mortonscott]

I had the same issue with Pioneer as well. I had to go through the firmware upgrade fiasco too, but in the end, it fixed the problem. Among the albums I had trouble with were Neil Young Hawks & Doves, Mark Knopfler Sailing to Philadelphia and Shangri-La DVD-Audios. It was a hassle getting the upgrade done, and why Pioneer cannot simply post the firmware updates online is beyond me. Also, I have trouble getting this dang Pioneer to read any of the DVD-R or DVD+R disks I burn. All my other players read them fine. Weird.

 

[Kazaam]

Anyone able to play David Bowie's Heathen SACD with this player? I have the European version of the player at work, and the SACD skips to the second track after 10 seconds. Exchanging the disc or the player didn't help.

Martin

I've had a DV-563A that I no longer use just sitting around and waiting to get hooked up to run this test for a few days now, but I just got to doing it today. It's the least I could do. Or rather, it's about time, I suppose, since I haven't actually been to work for 2 weeks now. So I've had the time. But I digress... The test is done. The results?

Well... It played fine for me.

Of course, I'm using a North America release of the Heathen SACD. I don't know if that makes a difference or not. And I was only testing the surround tracks since I couldn't switch to 2-CH mode without a TV monitor. Bytheway, I never had the firmware upgraded in my 563A, so I suspect the issue you've got probably isn't related to this particular firmware upgrade. But I guess you never know.

Best of luck, though. I think it's a fantastic album in surround!


PS - I, too, would really like to see Pioneer release the firmware upgrade as an Internet download! (It really makes me appreciate the competitor brands that have been more consumer-friendly when it comes to their firmware updates.)

 

[Demolition Man]

Another disgruntal 563A owner joining the crowd...

I finally noticed the problem after trying both NIN's "With Teeth" DualDisc and ALSO to add to the confirmed list of problimatic titles - Foo Fighters "In Your Honour" DualDisc edition. Both on the DVD-A track. My 563A was purchased at the Circuit City in **** Rapids, MN (where I work) around April 2004. No idea on what firmware is on it since until I saw this thread I never knew of how I could check.

I don't have exact dates but I'll be close on my estimates on when things happened.

Early November - Called Pioneer the first time and got bratty kid on the line who tried telling me that it was the discs fault for what was happening and that there is nothing wrong with the player despite the fact that I noticed it being the same problem as with DVD-Audio titles. Would NOT listen. I finally pretended to agree with him and got off the phone.

Called back five minutes later and got a semi helpful new guy. He took my info, gave me a working number and said that I would get a letter in the mail within a week telling me what to do.

A Week Later - A letter shows up instructing me to go to a repair place that is only (shock) 10 minutes away. I'm also told that this has to be done within thirty days. Sadly I have a lot going on at the time so this was put on hold until almost the end of that said thirty days (its scary when my dad had to go in for open heart surgery - thankfully it was just a valve replacement but still....).

Mid December - I finally get around to schlopping the player to the repair place. I was expecting to hear a week wait or whatever. Get to the place and was surprised to find it in the middle of a residential area not to mention the place looked... well........ creepy. The best way to describe this "authorized repair center" is much like a creepy haunted cabin in a horror movie where the axe murder is lurking in waiting for some poor innocent dumb blond teenage girl to walk in to kill upon.

Anyways, I walk in to find the place a complete MESS. I swear I almost couldn't breathe from this place just being so overcluttered with electronics all over the place. Finally I see the person who I assume runs this place. An old man who obviously has seen better days in his life. I hand him over my 563A in great fear that I might never see it again. Thankfully to my delight he says that its just a EPROM upgrade that will only take a few minutes. So he goes off to who knows where leaving me to stand around in great fear of perhaps a giant axe about to drop out of nowhere making me the equivelent of that dumb blond teenage girl.

Finally after what felt like two hours (but it was at worst 10 minutes) he comes back with my player intact or so I think. I sign the paperwork and get the hell out of dodge before some creepy man in a mask comes after me. While in there I did notice he does Laserdisc repair. Great... perhaps I might risk my neck another day in case my precious CLD-D702 needs repair..... or maybe not.

A Week Ago - The digital outputs go completely dead while watching "24" Season 4 Disc 5. I sent the player through Circuit City's repair as I did buy the extended service plan (yes they do come in handy believe it or not). I should have my 563A back in a day or two so I'll give an update on what has happened.... that's if no creepy man (named Eugene out of all names) in a mask axes me.

Also I would be very interested in getting ahold of the firmware upgrade mentioned a few posts ago? What has happened with getting it made available online? I doubt that Pioneer is going to do much once it does get "leaked" if you know what I mean. If anything you would think they would THANK US for saving them a lot of hassle, right?

 

[bobou2]

A Week Ago - The digital outputs go completely dead while watching "24" Season 4 Disc 5. I sent the player through Circuit City's repair as I did buy the extended service plan (yes they do come in handy believe it or not). I should have my 563A back in a day or two so I'll give an update on what has happened....

Same thing happened to my player...Since I have another DVD player its no problem, But if you get an answer let us know

 

[Demolition Man]

Right now I have the infamous Philips player on loan from Target. I'm taking it back anyways as it has massive loading problems but its a decent player to tide me over until my 563A comes back. I miss my 563A badly even though its only been a week. Miss my SACD and DVD-Audios.