Pioneer DV-563A firmware campaign

[santafuji]

I too have a 563A in Canada.
I was told to send it to the main repair in Markham and that it would take two weeks after they get it.
it will cost about 30-35 bucks to send it from my location.
I can't belive that they do not have a cd to update the firmware.
If possible..if someone does receive a cd/dvd to update the player if you could post an image of the cd/dvd so others will not be "ripped off" by Pioneer.

Thanks

 

[BOSSMAN]

Well it took nearly a month, but I finally received my unit back from the Markham service center, and all's well. I've tested the Advanced Resolution layers of Neil Young's 'On The Beach' and 'American Stars 'N' Bars,' as well as The Who's 'Tommy,' and all work fine. Also, I used to experience intermittent static pops/clicks in the rear surrounds between the tracks of DVD-Audio discs, but that problem too has now been alleviated. I know this was a problem in first-generation models, because I've seen other posters on the Hoffman boards who complained about this issue too. It was incredibly irritating, and I'm happy it's been taken care of.

If there's one oddity to this fix is that the feature whereby you could test the sound levels of each channel with 'white noise' has now disappeared from the menu setup. There was no charge for anything; the tech sheet I received merely states, "firmware update 1.906 - all functions tested, tested OK."

Nonetheless, I'm glad everything worked out, but I hope they don't muck around with DVD-A specs again in the future. Good luck everyone.

 

[santafuji]

Well I bit the bullet and sent my DVD player off for the upgrade. I too had noticed a static click between alot of DTS disks and some DVD-A disks.
I read that this firmware corrects this issue so I sent it off.
We can all blame Pioneer for this trouble but perhaps some of the blame should go to the authoring houses that have changed the method of encoding.
Gees people lets find a standard and stick with it..
As for "ripping" the DTS and DD from the disks it can be done with DVDXcopy.
If you own the disk it's your right to be able to back up your disk. It is fair use.
I know of no program that will back up the advanced resolution.
My wife has a DVD player (not a dvd-a) in our living room and it's nice to backup the DD and DTS for playback on her system. It saves the risk of damaging my DVD-a disks.
As mentioned this is only legit if you own the DVD-A title to begin with. I do not condone nor imply that you illegally copy titles that you have not purchased.

Anyways I'll update you on my player when I get it back from Markham Service Center.
Thanks to all the mods for this great forum.
Keep up all the good work :sun

 

[bnyhof]

Well it took nearly a month, but I finally received my unit back from the Markham service center, and all's well.

I took mine in personally and the turnaround was a little better - about 10 days. The Brian Wilson and a couple of Neil young discs I tested work fine now.

By the way, if you want to check the firmware level, (1.906 on mine) do the following:
- turn on the player
- on the remote press: Home Menu
- Choose INITIAL SETTINGS
- press: ENTER
- highlight: OPTIONS
- press: DISPLAY
- in the lower part of the screen the version number will be shown.

 

[rocker10]

Just a final update. Recieved my player back and the Dvd-Audio discs that would not work now work. Happy to have this resolved. Good luck to all!

Rocker10

 

[kvsawilson]

Got my player back two weeks to the day after shipping to California from rural Colorado. Not too bad. GBYBR plays fine now. But the bad news. Boz Scaggs Dig still won't play in hi-res. Also didn't fix the problem with the Midnight Oil DTS disc. At least I can play the edited/reburned disc of that one.

KW

 

[oldsyd]

bnyhof: Thanks for that tip on getting the firmware version! I've been looking for that info, and that's the first I've seen about it. I like those hidden menu type things

Anyway, the service center in Minneapolis still has my player. They called me and said I needed to FAX in my receipt for them to work on it. I did FAX it, but I also told them that this wasn't a warranty issue, it's a player defect for working units. I hope this doesn't cause problems for people who own out of warranty players. Pioneer doesn't sound like they are prepared very well to handle this defect.

And, KW, that stinks that Boz Scaggs Dig won't play in hi-res. If that's true, what would stop some future releases from doing the same?

Until this fiasco, I actually preferred Pioneer products (amp, laser disc player) but now I'm starting to lean towards Denon or others for future additions to my mid-fi system.

Jay

 

[kat]

Hi
I have this problem with the Pioneer 667a player , the New Zealand/Australia version of the 563a. I guess it is back to the dealer for the fix.

Cheers, Kat

 

[bnyhof]

I forgot to mention that the firmware upgrade has also fixed the problem I was having playing 24/192 stereo dvd-a's (distortion coming from the center speaker). I noticed on other forums that this was also a widespread problem.

 

[santafuji]

I also found that when playing 128/96 that distortion came from the center speaker. However this was solved by doing the easy setup (the menu option that takes you thru an autosetup asking you type of speakers ect). I don't know why but it always solved the problem with the center/distortion issue.

 

[bnyhof]

Well I did try that and found that the problem would go away only if you set the speakers to large. If you did not have large speakers you would then not have an optimum setup. No longer an issue with the new firmware.

 

[santafuji]

Well I'm hoping that I will get my player back from the Markham center tomorrow. I'm glad that the firmware fixes other issues besides the 96/24 issue with some dvd-a 's

 

[oldsyd]

The saga still continues...

I called the service center today because I had a message
waiting from them saying that they didn't know why I had sent
it in. Apparently, when you call Pioneer and they issue a UPS
call tag, that doesn't mean they will tell the service center
why you are sending it in.

When I called, I talked to the actual technician who was very
nice. He said they have only had a few units sent in for the update
and that they didn't even know the fix existed until a month ago.
I warned him that there might be quite a few units coming in as
more of the newly mastered DVD-Audio discs trickle out.

Also asked him what exactly is involved in updating the software
and he said it is as simple as loading the special Pioneer issued CD
and running the update. No tools needed! I then asked why Pioneer
wouldn't have saved some money and just sent me a disc, he had no
idea. He said something about Pioneer being funny about releasing
those updates to the public.

Call me paranoid, but I still think Pioneer has a short leash on those
software based updates due to possible illegal uses. Just to rub it
in thier faces, I'd love to see an ISO of the update disc float around
somewhere.

Jay

 

[Nova74]

I say everyone goes and buys a New 563a from Best Buy, sticks the old 563a in the box and takes it back for a refund to Best Buy.
Then if they ask why, tell them it doesn't work.
Screw sending my player back for a fix,
Let's stick it to em'
Ryan

 

[jph1207]

good idea..normally i would disagree with doing something like this but pioneer is bringing it upon themselves...how hard would it be for then to ship the parts & intructions to all thier service cemters so i could at least to a walk in...im not shipping my player out of state & waiting a month or so just to get pioneer to fix thier problem..they're not even trying to make it convienient for the customer

 

[oldsyd]

Well, I finally got the player back, and yes, it works with everything
I have tested.

In summary, I'd like to think Pioneer learned something from this,
but I would guess they probably didn't.

At least this thread can save someone out there all the confusion we waded through to get here.

I'm signing off this ungodly long thread....

Jay

 

[jph1207]

after what manufacture date is the firmware correct & new for the 563a?...my best buy has stock of units manufactured january 2004

 

[ghent]

Just to update all, I contacted pioneer today 6/8 twice. The first person was remarkably unhelpful and obviously not interested in the problem with the 563. She stated that there is no current plan to provide a fix as in home fix, in the form of cdrom or other. She made it clear that sending the unit in for service was the only way to resolve the problem.The second individual was much more pleasant and helpful but reitterated that there is not now any plan to provide a home firmware update. She stated that they are not taking peoples names and information for the purpose of providing an update. She denied any knowledge of a disk coming from Japan or elsewhere for this purpose. She agreed that it would appear to make sense to provide such a fix and that she would pass my concerns on to management,who she said are not currently interested in doing this! Good luck to us all

 

[rstamberg]

after what manufacture date is the firmware correct & new for the 563a?...my best buy has stock of units manufactured january 2004

February 2004 -- it'll say on the outer box.

 

[cwellock]

after what manufacture date is the firmware correct & new for the 563a?...my best buy has stock of units manufactured january 2004

I did the "Best Buy Quick Fix" a few months ago- the new player was manufactured in January 2004, and it has the updated firmware. Don't mess around with the idiots at Pioneer!