ProHD DVD Player
 

Simple question: does anyone use this ProHD DVD player?
http://pro.jvc.com/prof/attributes/f...&feature_id=01

This could be a solution for the *.m2t files and I want how well it's working.

This machine can play standard DVDs and upconvert them to HD. Do you really have an good image displayed on your LCD or plasma monitor?

Thank you!

Hey it seems to work OK, but has a lot of weird bugs.

They are coming out with another firmware upgrade soon.

The good thing is it has a network connection and you can hook it
up to your router and download the upgrade. I've tried it and it works fine.

http://www.iodata.com/usa/forum/index.php?

This is the same player that was hooked to the D-ILA cinema projector in the Chicago show. It pushed the m2t's out to a 23' screen. It worked fine (although I was not the operator). For playing m2t's and DivX type files the screen displays a menu of files on the disk and then you make a choice. It was connected to the cinema projector via component.

I just installed one in my office hooked up to a Panasonic 42" HD Plasma. It looks wonderful. It allows you to pick the output resolution that matches your display.

I use it with .m2t files burned to a DVD-R. Works fine.

Dan Weber

That's interesting. So you don't even have to author a DVD as such but can access a variety of formats from the same DVD-R? That creates some interesting options.

How long have you had it Dan?
Have you tried double sided discs?
The price point and the fact that it upreses SD DVDs for HD monitors could make this more than just a niche HDV machine.

Jim,

Actually we purchase it a couple of weeks ago. We put it in the visitor's center in the building where I work. It runs all day, never skipping a beat.

I haven't tried double sided discs, or do you mean dual layer? Dual layer should work which would give you close to an hour of video.

The uprez from SD is only output via the DVI port, not the component HD.

When I have some time in the coming weeks I will test out the network functions as well as using a USB 2.0 drive as file server.

This thing is pretty cool for the money, and the video quality is outstanding.

Dan Weber

I had a chance to test it out briefly in a JVC showroom today.
It had just been pulled out of a new box and there was a D-iLA projector setup, so we plugged in YRB component. (The projector didn't have DVI in)
At first there was no signal, but we realized that the default output was set for video composite, so we had to go into the menu and set it for component out.
We set it to 1080i component and everything worked well.

I had brought along a DVD-ROM with some m2t 720P24 clips on it. The player played it no problem, uprezzed to 1080. However, I was under the impression that the whole disc would play repeatedly, but the player seemed to default to only repeating the first clip (alphabetically) or whatever file I selected in the menu. There must be a menu option somewhere to play all the files on the disk and then repeat.
The other weird thing is that hitting the "skip" button didn't advance to the next m2t file, it just said "invalid." I had to hit stop and then select the next one. This didn't seem right, so maybe another menu setting to check.

I then inserted a standard DVD and it uprezzed well to 1080i. (Daniel, it seemed to work fine on the analog component for me.)

In all fairness I only had a few minutes with the machine, and the room was dark so I may have been hitting some of the wrong buttons on the remote.

I must say I could see this machine being very useful in an editing facility. For example, you could have it hooked up in a screening room, connected to the network, and then all the edit suites could easily export rough cuts for screening to m2t, divx, wmv, etc to a main server and then simply play them in the screening room for clients.
The "media centre" capability has me sold on this already.

The thing is actually pretty complicated. What you can do with it is amazing.

I was blown away that they had detailed instructions on even how to hook it up to a Mac based network. Very cool.

It can also be used at Trade Shows to play a looping HD video on a plasma.

I like Tim's ideal of the media center for client reviews, etc.

I use it to play the stuff I shoot with my Z1 as .m2t files edited in FCP on a 720p plasma screen. It looks awesome.

The first response that people give when they see it is Wow!!!

I am going to get one for my home as well. Pretty cool product for under $400.

Dan Weber

Sr-dvd100u
 

The SR-DVD100U is a wonderful tool for the distribution and playback of .m2t and Windows Media files. It can play back files that are on a disk, on a USB flash drive, on a USB hard drive, or through a ethernet connection to a PC or network.

It has both component and DVI outputs for video, and 2 channel analog audio out. I like to think of it as a "real-time data-to-video/audio converter"

I use it all the time at trade shows and seminars. I used it for 3 hours today at a seminar, in fact! Outputting to a HD LCD monitor or HD projector, I can't tell any difference between the SR-DVD100U footage and HDV directly from tape. It can upconvert and downconvert, so you can use it with any display - SD or HD.

And, it's by far the most economical way to distribute HD material.

What would be the coolest is if it played the psuedo HD-DVD format DVD Studio Pro now authors.

If you have a computer on the net it will use its HD as a source of music (but not music from Apple's store), video, and photos.

It will also play internet radio stations. And, it will play internet video.

It will also play music (but not music from Apple's store), video, and photos from a connected USB drive or device.

What's sort of sad is that since it can play HD recorded on red laser DVDs you quickly realize that there really is no need for BR and HD-DVD. Sure these new products have storage for "extras" but some of us could care less. And, sure they offer advanced interactivity, but some of have zero interest in this either. All we want is our DVD movies in HD. Clearly this device shows that an HD DVD player could be $100. And, the video wouldn't look any different. Even, better we could burn HD on any burner we have in our computer. With VC1 I've even burned 5 minutes of HD to CD-ROMs.

Interestingly, a company with the rights to thousands of Chinese and Indian movies is going this route. The Chinese govt. is close to approving a Chinese codec that will also use red lasers. Fundamentally a scr*w y*u to Japan Inc.

Steve, I'm not sure if I understand what you saying here..

BR and HD-DVD offer over five times the data capacity over DVD.

Slightly off topic, Nate have you been able to play an HDTS folder on a machine that didn't create the folder. I made one on my G5 and then tried to play it on my powerbook with the Apple DVD player and it comes up with an error that it doesn't support the format.

I the same OS on both machines. Any ideas?

Sorry to go off topic.

Dan Weber

$379 from B&H Photo is the lowest price I could find.

Anyone else know of any other stores that is selling the units at a comparable or cheaper price?

What's the maximum amount of burning an m2ts for viewing on the system that you would trust? Ex: Some of the cheaper DVD player starts having issues with playing DVDs toward the end. Notice anything like this with this player?

Goinng back to a discussion we've ben having in a couple of other threads, I'm assuming the best way to burn FCP projects to DVD-R for this player would be as native files. Tim and Daniel...how did you export the FCP timelines to DVD?

This player is basically the same unit as the IO-Data LinkPlayer2. The LinkPlayer2 can be purchased for about $250.

Everyone,

The player looks very good with the m2t files.

It is very quirky, like Steve mentioned about having
to stop playing the file and going back to the menu to select another m2t.

Also, playing some regular movie DVDs, the player just freezes at times.
I've owned it for about six weeks. I'd love to praise this player, but believe me it's very buggy. IODATA is coming out with another firmware update. If you question this, just visit their forum I posted above.
The good thing is we can update it via its network connection.

I just used Lumiere HD to encode my exported timeline (AIC codec) into an m2t at 720P24. The player played it fine.
I also threw some raw m2t captures straight from tape onto the DVD-ROM.
I burned the DVD straight from Tiger: stick a blank in, drag the files to it, click burn.

Carl, have they worked out the issues with playing back HD WMV files? To me, thats just as important as playing back m2ts'.

you probably better to go with the KISS DP-600.
it plays every video format (including DivXHD and wmv9-HD) from a regular DVD-R, so you get the best of both DVD and HD-DVD world (cheap and hires).
it can play from a harddisk (optional) , from network (ethernet plug) or from DVD, DVD-R.
It all new, so we can expect some bug too, but KISS has a solid reputation of making very good players.

You only need enough space for a 2 hour movie. The amount of space is dependent on the codec. Use MPEG-2 and you need BR and HD DVD.

Use MPEG-2 AVC or VC1 and you don't. HD encode at 8-9Mbps.

Same quality.

interesting secret about the KISS DP-600.
http://www.mpeg-playcenter.com/kiss_...heres_more.htm

It was shown at last year's NAB. A year later and it's not shipping in the USA.

the explanation from the website is the delay was probably due to the first 16 000 items sent directly to the MPAA.... but anyway , it is shiping now.
My preffered shop has it in price list, but delivery time is not yet indicated, so probably they have no stock yet.

ooops , correction, it is available now , but on special order.
But if you need just a storage place or a player you can transport easily, there are many standalone harddisk player that can output HD 1080i or 720p.
unfortunately, most of them are just playing SD video to 1080i, so there is no improvement to expect here.
And if you need a cheap storage +portability, using a new small SONY hdv is even better.

And last ressource, you can do as every TV shop is doing now, plug the huge HD ready demo plasma screen on a mini barebone PC running one of the HD microsoft demo.

Jim,

I probably do it the long way, but I edit native HDV in FCP and then print back to HDV tape. I then recapture the video with DVHSCap as a .m2t file. I then burn this to a DVD-R.

I tried exporting via compressor as an HDMPEG2 file where you can select a transport stream, but I didn't like the compression artifacts that I saw. Much cleaner off tape.

Dan Weber

Daniel:
 

I agree with Daniel about FCP back to Tape and then DVHScap m2t files, burn as UDF and the Linkplayer will play them just fine.

Compressor does a pretty bad job at encoding MPEG2's.

And the answer to your question about HDTS = G4 vs G5.

HD WMV files
 

Hi Joe,

I have downloaded HD WMV files from Microsoft's website, burned them to a DVD data disc, and played the disk with no problem. So, I'm not aware of the problem you are referring to.

Regards, Carl

Wmv Hd
 

Be careful with that, a few of those files you pulled from Microsoft are not DRM'ed

If you buy the actual WMVHD DVD from let's say Amazon, those will be encrypted using DRM and the Link player will not be able to play them. Unless you have a PC and you go thru the pain staking process (Workaround) of playing them from the Windows machine itself.

Tomas,

Thanks!! I should have figured that one out!!!

Dan Weber