Philips DVP-642 - need help from experienced owners

[alexb76]

Hey all, a newbie to divX player and Philips DVP642....

First, I gotto say I love this player, very nice player with tons of features and good quality. I just set it up, upgraded the firmware to 1109 and tried a few different things on it.

Here are my first tests:

MP3 CDs - fine, but some files played scratchy...
JPG- perfect
mpeg videos - PERFECT, could not beleive those old videos I had looked this good
divX - some good, some bad - details later

The biggest problem I have encountered so far is that divX files were a hit or miss. I burned 5 movies into a DVD+RW and played them. 3 played, 2 didn't... the 2 that played were perfect looking in most cases... BUT, it pixelated at fast moving parts of the movie (silence of the lambs), and in another movie the fast-forward was very unreliable... first off it would stop FF after a point in the movie and would just skip to next video, also, at times when I fast forwarded, the video/audio sync was off! it was consistent!

Anyone knows why I encountered those problems? Also, if an experienced user can help me out with the following:

1. What's the best media format to use? CD-R/CDRW/DVD-R/DVD+R/DVD-RW/DVD+RW?

2. What's the best audio format to use in combination with divX files? I am mostly concerned about audio/video sync

3. What's the ideal setting for divX xVid files? Is there a VirtualDub template perfect template? How can I re-convert my downloaded files to a perfectly playable format?

4. I have NEC 3500a burner, what media BRAND should I use and does it matter at what speed I burn?

5. What resolution is BEST for my divX videos? I want to have them all at a certain video resolution so it plays perfect on this player and would also be good for future HDTV upgrade.


I know these are a LOT of questions... but I appreciate any help

[alexb76]

Anyone can help out?

BTW - I just saw quite a few questions about this player. We may need a separate section for this player or a sticky note of all the tweaks and tricks for this player as it looks to be very popular these days.

Maybe users can post stuff here and we make this official Philips DVP642 thread.

[Heywould3]

try here first

resolution dont matter.. but you must close all disks for it to play propery. i use richojpn01 and riteck03 all play fine.. it will not play qpal mpg4 and if the data rate for divx/xvid goes above 1000 you might get studdering

main thing for the divx is to keep br under 1000 i use 780 800 ish.. thats a pretty common setting.. the audio is usually mp3 up to 256 any resolution is ok.. just use a standard.

[alexb76]

try here first

resolution dont matter.. but you must close all disks for it to play propery. i use richojpn01 and riteck03 all play fine.. it will not play qpal mpg4 and if the data rate for divx/xvid goes above 1000 you might get studdering

main thing for the divx is to keep br under 1000 i use 780 800 ish.. thats a pretty common setting.. the audio is usually mp3 up to 256 any resolution is ok.. just use a standard.

THANKS A LOT MAN.. how did u do a clean search like that? whenever I searched it brought many posts of little relevance.

I closed the DVD, but it was a DVD+RW... it's called Radius from Japan... I got it from Tigerdirect.

What's a tool to tell what codec and setting my videos have? when I check in Virtualdub, it just gives a general divX coded, but I dont know if it has gmc/qpl?

Also, does Philips play AC3 audio?

Thnx again man

[CaZeek]

Alex, click "DVD Recorders" on the bar to the left. Then just search for your model and click it =)

[DVD Polizei]

DVD-R might be a better choice. RW just isn't realiable, imo.

[freestylegreek]

Im going to be getting this dvd player sometime this month so i hope i dont run into any issues.

[alexb76]

DVD-R might be a better choice. RW just isn't realiable, imo.

Ok, is DVD-RW or DVD+RW better for this device?

[freestylegreek]

Anytime i contact philips and try to get info from them which mind you they dont know crap about there own player they keep on saying something about dvd-r being better even when i dont even ask them about it.

[Heywould3]

first i only use +R so i cant comment on the RW.. but if you look at that link i gave it will show you the media people have tried wit hthe results.. the clean search came from going to the DVD Players area and looking for the philips. to find the codec used for the media you have use gspot found in the tools section here. GL

P.S. there is a new firmware released for the 642 17.. v1109.. do not use.. stick with 0503 i think it is..

and yes the phillips with play ac3 audio and dts audio. you will need an external decoder IE your reciever will need to be able to decode it for it you work.. but the phillips will play it.. you can even rip the audio off dvds in ac3 or dts place them on a cdr and the pililps will play.. (fake sacd/hdcd)

[alexb76]

first i only use +R so i cant comment on the RW.. but if you look at that link i gave it will show you the media people have tried wit hthe results.. the clean search came from going to the DVD Players area and looking for the philips. to find the codec used for the media you have use gspot found in the tools section here. GL

P.S. there is a new firmware released for the 642 17.. v1109.. do not use.. stick with 0503 i think it is..

and yes the phillips with play ac3 audio and dts audio. you will need an external decoder IE your reciever will need to be able to decode it for it you work.. but the phillips will play it.. you can even rip the audio off dvds in ac3 or dts place them on a cdr and the pililps will play.. (fake sacd/hdcd)

Thanks... I made some progress:

1. I am on the new firmware... how can I go back to 503? I have 642/37.

2. I just found Gspot and used it

3. I solved most of my problems. It wasn't the videos, BUT the DVD+RW or my burn. I checked the DVD with DVDinfo and it reported some errors, I then burned the same movies again at 2.4X (instead of 4X) and then set the bitstream with DVDinfo and it played MUCH better (it played all of them). BUT, I still had the out of sync problem of audio/video (with one video) and FF resulted in some unexpected behaviour and once crashed the unit (had to power down to make it work again).

4. I had a divX that was 640*256, the player CUT the sides a little bit and I couldn't see the whole picture. Is there a limit to resolution this player can play or to aspect ratios?

Thnx again

[Heywould3]

the new firware will have no affect on playback only on quality of pic durring playback.. on philips site i think there is an ftp and it should still ahve the old firmware.. jsut reload the old version.. if its not there google it.. somone must have it somewhere..

as far as aspect ratio. im not sure if there is a limit.. i dont think so.. but there are settings on the player.. jsut make sure its set to your tv.. IE 4:3 panand scan 16:9 letter box.. standard TVs are 4:3 the 4:3 pan and scan setting is most common for us in the US

also when you say the play cuts a little bot iff the sides are you refering to TV vs computer? if so that common.. TVs have over scan that will do that.

i dont know what kinda burner you have but dvdinfo will show errors in PO PI all the time.. its just the amount that matters.. antything below 200 shouldbe fine..

liteon drives are picky on the medai.. if you find the right kind you can burn fast.. i use richojpn01 and ritek03 burn both at 8x and have pi below 20 and pif under 3.. but anything below 200 for pi and below 30 for pif should play fine on a set top.

[freestylegreek]

What is wrong with the new firmware? What does it cause?

first i only use +R so i cant comment on the RW.. but if you look at that link i gave it will show you the media people have tried wit hthe results.. the clean search came from going to the DVD Players area and looking for the philips. to find the codec used for the media you have use gspot found in the tools section here. GL

P.S. there is a new firmware released for the 642 17.. v1109.. do not use.. stick with 0503 i think it is..

and yes the phillips with play ac3 audio and dts audio. you will need an external decoder IE your reciever will need to be able to decode it for it you work.. but the phillips will play it.. you can even rip the audio off dvds in ac3 or dts place them on a cdr and the pililps will play.. (fake sacd/hdcd)

[Heywould3]

look here read the comments posted in that link for info on what the new firware does

[freestylegreek]

What am i looking for? I dont see anything that says 1109 firmware does this or that.

[absinthecarolinas]

Here are some tips:

-Regarding DivX and XviD encodes, here are characteristics to look for in GSpot or when encoding.

Generally speaking, the player will NOT play DivX/XviD encodes with QPEL or GMC. If you use the latest beta of GSpot, you can easily see whether those are present in your file.

However, it turns out the player WILL play certain files with GMC (but definitely not QPEL). After a good bit of head scratching, I finally figured out that the files WITH GMC that WOULD play were DivX files. However, XviD files with GMC will NOT play.

After a bit of digging, I learned that GMC in XviD uses 3 warp points whereas in DivX it only uses 1 (which is pretty well useless, anyway). So, if you have a DivX movie with NO QPEL but WITH GMC, it should play.

I use 1 consecutive B-VOP (which is a DivX certification standard). In the past I've used 2, and never had a problem.

Also never had a problem with so-called "packed bitstream" (N-VOP).

Here's another major tip: If you come across a file that seems to play okay but appears in a swirl of "psychedelic" colors, as if you just dropped acid, press the SYSTEM MENU button ... then press it AGAIN. You will be surprised how many movies will suddenly play just fine .

I believe that particular phenomenon is a result of using custom quantization matrices.

As far as the size (pixel-wise) of your file, 640 horizontal seems pretty standard. In general, I believe the XviD codec (which is all I use) is optimized for multiples of 16. So just divide 640 by your aspect ratio (i.e. 640 / 1.85) and find the multiple of sixteen which is nearest your answer. For instance, for 1.85:1 movies, I use 640 x 352. Your file will only be a few pixels off from perfect size, and it will look just fine.

That being said, I have often made my files more precise in aspect ratio (i.e. 640 x 346), and have never had a problem.

592 x 320 is also a good size to use for 1.85 as both numbers are multiples of 16, and 592/320 is precisely 1.85.

As far as media, I use it all. CD-R, CD-RW, DVD-R, DVD-RW, DVD+R, DVD+RW. In fact, I probably use RW discs more than any other. I have never had a problem.

You can play VOB files burned directly to the disc.

You can play VCD or SVCD MPG files (not authored) directly from the disc. This is a feature I really love. I hardly bother with burning VCD/SVCDs anymore. If I have a BIN/CUE set, I just use IsoBuster to extract the MPG from the BIN file and burn the file(s) to a DVD-/+RW (of course, since the extracted MPG won't fit on a CD).

And of course it plays VCD and SVCD just fine.

Happy viewing,

-abs

[freestylegreek]

Thanks alot.

[Heywould3]

"WARNING: Do not 'upgrade' player's firmware! Newest firmware (at the moment of writing)is version 1139, and it does NOT provide any new features, nor it will give you any extra support of xvid/divx files encoded with Q-Pel/GMC. I couldn't find any differences between original 0531 and new 1139 firmwares but one important difference: the quality of divx/xvid playback.
You will see more edge pixelation and jagginess with 1139 firmware. If picture doesnt show in the report click here:
http://img46.exs.cx/img46/8982/DVP642-37firmwares.jpg "

this poster meant 1109 he goes on to post that info later.. tis all in the comments section area of that i posted

[freestylegreek]

Ya i spoke to this person through email.

[alexb76]

as far as aspect ratio. im not sure if there is a limit.. i dont think so.. but there are settings on the player.. jsut make sure its set to your tv.. IE 4:3 panand scan 16:9 letter box.. standard TVs are 4:3 the 4:3 pan and scan setting is most common for us in the US

also when you say the play cuts a little bot iff the sides are you refering to TV vs computer? if so that common.. TVs have over scan that will do that.

The file plays fine in my computer but the same file is cut on the sides when I play it in the Philips. That's the only file that does that (640*256), another file at 640*272 plays fine?! So, dont know why is this happening?

i dont know what kinda burner you have but dvdinfo will show errors in PO PI all the time.. its just the amount that matters.. antything below 200 shouldbe fine..

I have the NEC 3500A. DVDinfo couldn't do a test on PO/PI (said this player not supported), but just said "read errors" as soon as I goto DVD and when I did a nero speed test, it could do it. Now, it can do it, but DVDinfo crashes when I do CRC test! The DVD+RW reads as OPTODISCOP4, could be a crappy one.

UPDATE - I just ran the speed test on DVDinfo. It's the burner/DVD+RW, after 3.4GB, the speed goes down from 7X to 0.04X and starts having read errors, and at 72% complete, it has 800 errors!

The DVD+RW is on the compatible media list of my burner, so not sure what's up!

Here are some tips:
...
Also never had a problem with so-called "packed bitstream" (N-VOP).

As far as the size (pixel-wise) of your file, 640 horizontal seems pretty standard....

That being said, I have often made my files more precise in aspect ratio (i.e. 640 x 346), and have never had a problem.

....

As far as media, I use it all. CD-R, CD-RW, DVD-R, DVD-RW, DVD+R, DVD+RW. In fact, I probably use RW discs more than any other. I have never had a problem.

Happy viewing,

-abs

First of all, THANKS A LOT for the tips, they helped out QUITE A BIT.

Do I have to do the bitstream all the time on DVD+RW or not?

As I posted earlier, 640*256 didn't work properly while 640*272 did!

Have you had better lock with one particular media or format? I seem to have problems with this DVD+RW, will get some DVD-R today and will test it.

Thnx again everybody!

[catdaddio6]

i use the mpegmodifier tool for unpacking or changin pixels to square,,to sure it works in my 642