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  1. Member
    Join Date
    Dec 2007
    Location
    Israel
    Search Comp PM
    Hello...

    I'm kinda confused. Well, you see, I'm not gonna complain; I've got this cheap DVD player, that is true, but... it provides, at least for my standards. I mean, I insert a CD, it plays it, never had any serious issues with this one. Although, there is this annoying little problem which causes right-to-left languages (Hebrew, to be specific) subtitles appear inversely. For example, instead of "Hello", you'd see "olleH". I can, however, flip the letters using Subtitle Workshop and then burn the media to the CD... but still, it's kinda annoying, especially when I wanna bring some CD to watch at my friend's place, but then we have to burn the media all over again, just because my DVD is kinda problematic. Anyway, I thought some firmware upgrade, or update, might fix this. Problem is, I have no idea what kind of firmware I'm supposed to get a hold on, and I do know many brands are almost identical in their models since the firmware is not necessarily written, or manufactured by them. The exact model is Akira DVD-K3288 (click)

    So, if you guys know of a way for me to find out what's the firmware (I guess...), I'd be very grateful.

    Oh, almost forgot... assuming I've got this XviD, or DivX file on my hard disk, is there any way I'd know if it'd play on a standard ESS-based standalone DVD player? Maybe I could use a software like GSpot? But what kind of information am I supposed to be looking for?

    Well... sorry for the headache, and thanks in advance!
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  2. Banned
    Join Date
    Oct 2004
    Location
    Freedonia
    Search Comp PM
    Akira's website offers no firmware updates of any kind for this player. In fact, it appears that this player is not even sold in Israel, so this is what happens when you try to save money by buying some cheap Asian player sold in other countries.

    Is your problem with DVDs or Divx discs? Because there is a HUGE difference. DVDs use bit maps for subtitles (basically, this means that they are photos) so there is no need for special software to play those. This is why any DVD player should be able to play any DVD subtitle file. Divx discs are completely different. These use external subtitle files. My experience is that NOBODY (well, nobody I know of at least) who makes a standalone DVD player that support Divx fully supports every language in the world for Divx subtitles. I've only seen subsets supported, like just Latin alphabets, or Latin+Cyrillic and so on. Akira makes players for the Asian market and they sell them in Poland and Russia. So I would guess that they probably test and support Asian languages and Latin and Cyrillic character sets and nothing else. It's a miracle that you can even see Hebrew subtitles at all. This is an issue that Akira is going to have to help you with and since they don't target the Israeli market, my guess is that their interest in fixing YOUR problem is next to nil since they don't sell their machines in your country. Unless they are just nice guys or they are maybe interested in expanding into Israel one day, I doubt they'll be interested in fixing it. For all we know, you may be the only guy in Israel with this player and they have nothing to gain by fixing it just for you.

    I said this once before a few weeks ago to a guy who posted with a Hebrew subtitles problem (different player I think) and he didn't like it at all, but that doesn't mean it's not true. There just aren't a lot of Hebrew speakers in the world. Bluntly, Hebrew is a fairly minor world language and the fact that it uses a unique alphabet doesn't help you. In fact, that makes it bad for you because it means that special work has to be done to support that alphabet in external subtitle files. You guys are just going to need to find companies that target your country when you buy DVD players that support Divx and worry more about getting something that works than worrying about saving a small amount of money by buying some cheap import player that doesn't really do what you want.
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  3. Member
    Join Date
    Dec 2007
    Location
    Israel
    Search Comp PM
    Thanks for you help, but... what you're saying -- I already know, so that doesn't help much, but thanks anyway. Well, I did buy it at a department store, so I didn't expect much of it. Though, you're quite wrong, it is no "miracle" that DVD player supports Hebrew, tons players do support that language (guess it should be one obvious condition when importing), luckily, but it's just happens that I bought a cheap one, not one made by a more common, reliable brand like LG, Toshiba, Sony, Pioneer, etc.

    Anyway, I witnessed a lot of DVDs, standalones, coming from unknown companies around here, with the same firmware... or at least I think so, because I do keep noticing most of them have the identical interface, error messages, you know. And the one thing that's really different is the font they use for displaying SRT subtitles, and the fact they don't suffer from the same issue mine does.

    Well, guess it can't be helped... thanks for the help, though.
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  4. Member Krispy Kritter's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jul 2003
    Location
    St Louis, MO USA
    Search Comp PM
    Regardless of whether or not there is a "generic" firmware used by multiple DVD makers, for any kind of changes or updates, you will need an updated version from the manufacturer. Unfortunenately, even many big name manufacturers don't provide firmware updates. Your best bet to try and "fix" your current player is to contact the manufacturer. Aside from that, shop for a DVD player that has all of the features that you want/need.
    Google is your Friend
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  5. Member
    Join Date
    Dec 2007
    Location
    Israel
    Search Comp PM
    That's what I thought I should do anyway... Well, thanks Krispy!
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