PioneerFAQ

[Hkan]

Hi!
I just wanted to say that the site PioneerFAQ (pioneerfaq.info) will be closed down (in the beging of 2020)
This is becouse of a few things.
But mainly as the webhotel are removing the kind of account that I have on it and the pricing for what they offer is a 150% higher yearly cost then I pay now.
The cost for keeping the files and everything is to high for me to pay myself.

It will cost €300/year to keep the files/pages.
However I also know that the pages are outdated as almost noone anylonger are using DVD's

Just wanted to let you all know

Regards

//Håkan

[hydra3333]

thank you

[mike20021969]

almost noone anylonger are using DVD's

Don't talk rubbish.

Market data published by Forbes showed that the aging, low-definition DVD format still accounts for 57.9 percent of physical media sales, and 4K Blu-rays are only 5.3 percent.

Source: https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2019/04/dvd-and-blu-ray-sales-nearly-halved-over-five-...a-report-says/

[johnmeyer]

almost noone anylonger are using DVD's

Don't talk rubbish.

Market data published by Forbes showed that the aging, low-definition DVD format still accounts for 57.9 percent of physical media sales, and 4K Blu-rays are only 5.3 percent.

Source: https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2019/04/dvd-and-blu-ray-sales-nearly-halved-over-five-...a-report-says/

Yup. DVD is still very much with us.

DVD was introduced in 1997 and was one of the most successful consumer electronics products in history. Blu-Ray, by contrast, never really took off.

I've been shooting in HD since 2005 and usually deliver 30-100 DVD copies of my work. In the last fourteen years I have received exactly zero requests for Blu-Ray. Obviously people want HD, but I provide my HD copies on a thumb drive, which people simply plug into the USB port on their TV and then play. I also deliver HD via streaming.

Despite its obviously inferior resolution compared to true HD, DVD made from HD material still looks very good on a 55" or smaller screen, and its menus, convenience, and longevity still make it a winner.

Of course its use is waning, but its decline is very, very slow, and I expect it will still be in use, to some degree, for at least another decade. By contrast, VHS went away in a matter of a few years, as did vinyl records (although the latter never entirely went away, and has made a minor resurgence).

[skinnyv]

I'm late to the party but I got to say this is too bad. So many forum's post from the last decade point to your website for information and files. Most peoples don't use DVD anymore but there is still interest in some DVD-Recorder, either for using some of them as passthrough TBC unit or to use them to transfer VHS tape by connecting their HDD directly to a computer (like Pioneer DVD-550H). Many specials information and files were lost when your site went down and are almost completly impossible to find now. It there a way you could post an archive of your website or a dump of all the files so we can upload them on the Internet Archive? There is some mirror of the site on the Wayback Machine but the files are not all there. You worked very hard for years to run that website and accumulated so much knowledge and very special files, it would be a real shame to lose it all. Please consider putting the files somewhere or give an archive of it to someone who will make them available again so it is not all lost to time.

Thanks!

[orsetto]

Also just noticing this thread a year later: it must have dropped down the VH main page really fast when it first posted. A belated huge "THANK YOU!" to Håkan for all his efforts, dedication, and expense keeping PioneerFAQ running for as long as he did. He was always very friendly and helpful any time I contacted him with a question, and I was happy to donate.

The most significant info Håkan hosted was the procedure steps needed to replace a failing HDD, and links to the service disc images. The procedure steps have been re-posted here on VH by Håkan, myself and others multiple times, and is also posted at other AV sites: anyone who needs a refresher can just run a search for "pioneer HDD replacement upgrade". Generic clones of the GGF1381 service remote are still available from several replacement remote vendors around the world. The hardest item to acquire nowadays would be a service disc: perhaps try contacting Håkan directly via PM here on VH, or other members here or elsewhere with a long history of Pioneer-related posts.

As an aside, I don't understand the people above contradicting Håkan's statement that interest in these recorders has largely died off. Yes, because English is not his primary language, he may have used phrasing that suggested interest in DVDs altogether had died off, but seriously: you guys couldn't parse the context that he was explaining visits and donations to his site had evaporated because dvd/hdd recorders have aged out, broken down, been obsoleted by HDTV digital broadcasts, and the consumer disc burning market has fallen off a cliff? C'mon, cut the man a break. DVD as a consumer recording format is deader than Monty Python's parrot: dvd/hdd recorders disappeared from the US/Canada market ten years ago, while barely hanging on in Europe for a couple more years.

The "Big Three" in DVD/HDD were Panasonic, Pioneer and Sony. They were all comparable and competitive until Pioneer slipped on a banana peel and imploded in late 2008, dropping completely out of the recorder and TV business. This had a domino effect on Sony, which had relied on Pioneer to make near-identical recorders with the Sony brand name. Within a year, Sony was forced to rely even more on Samsung: the resulting terrible DVD/HDD models were so poorly received Sony went from a long run as #1 recorder in Europe/Asia to bottom of the heap overnight. They too decided to get out of the recorder business.

Panasonic held on the longest, motivated mostly by the need to amortize the insanely huge "non-compete" fee they had paid Sony to stay out of the BluRay recorder business. They still marketed DVD/HDD alongside BluRay/HDD, but the dvd units became steadily coarser and crummier than their heyday a few years earlier, with the BD/HDD units going down the same path soon after. By 2013, disc recorders were gone from the US/Canada market (the bizarre Funai/Magnavox/WalMart anomaly notwithstanding). Europe made a sudden dramatic shift from DVD/HDD and BR/HDD recorders to BluRay players with built-in HDD HDTV recorders (no disc burning ability): in essence, generic TiVOs bolted onto Blu-Ray players.

Today, blank disc sales are so poor both Taiyo Yuden and Verbatim have completely abandoned what little remained of the archival quality media business, selling all their assets to the dreadful CMC conglomerate (which now markets lame imitations of the once-premium Verbatim AZO and TYG02 blanks, along with nearly every other once-distinct media brand). Sure, theres still some stubborn consumer holdouts, some latecomers who need the properties of dvd recorders to assist in digitizing VHS, and some event videographers who need to distribute discs: but combined, this minimal demand wasn't enough to sustain a high quality blank media market. Heck, the continued viability of the pre-recorded Hollywood disc market is a bit astonishing, given the global migration to streaming services: while I'm sure its still fairly lucrative, I'd be surprised if pre-recorded DVD/BluRay volume was anywhere near what it was a decade ago (pre iPhone, iPad and NetFlix/Hulu/Amazon).

[skinnyv]

Well, it is true that the market for those things died, but I was looking for information on them and the information is no longer available. There might be other too.

In any case, after a long search, I was able to find two pioneer service discs. I uploaded them to the Internet Archive so the next peoples won't have to go through dozen of dead links, mention of needing to email the owner of PioneerFAQ for them or google translate Chinese forum to find working links.

Pioneer GGV-1305 Type 2 Service disc[/URL]

Pioneer GGV-1175 Service disc

[orsetto]

Yes, there is still sporadic interest in DVD/HDD recorders: I spent the entirety of last month engaged in off-forum discussions with three VH members who suddenly found they needed the particular qualities offered by the later Pioneer units for unexpected VHS projects (they requested assistance figuring out feature and encoder chip differences, international vs domestic versions, recording speed nuances, etc, etc). All ran into the same brick wall of no source for the elusive Type 2 GGV1305 service disc in the wake of PioneerFAQ demise. Fortunately there are still some volunteers around willing to mail out out hard copies.

So it was very good of you to post those links to Internet Archive: hopefully word will get out to those in need. You might also want to post these links on the lengthy VH thread titled "Pioneer DVR-520 and DVR-560 Functionality Discussion", since that one resurfaces every month or so and is more likely to be noticed than this moribund thread (which is unlikely to surface again for ages).

My only reservation about your links would be the source you used for the GGV1175: for over a decade, thats been the only disc image floating around the web that was not exclusive to PioneerFAQ. Many people have reported the GGV1175 disc image is corrupted and does not function properly, not to mention Pioneer quickly replaced the GGV1175 with the more stable GGV1256. Although I don't suppose it matters as much today: those are both Type 1 discs for the obsolete Pioneer 510, 520 and 530 series (most of which have long since experienced catastrophic irreplaceable burner failure). While extremely popular in their heyday for off-air recording, the 510 and 520 are terrible choices for the VHS dubbing due to their finicky unstable reaction to tape input. The North American 530 series was an electromechanical trainwreck that should be avoided at all costs, the European and Asian 530 series was far FAR more reliable and good at VHS dubbing (tho again, most have aged out and croaked by now).

Anyone considering a Pioneer for VHS projects today should limit their choices to the later Sony-influenced "Type 2" models: 550, 650, 560, 660 series. These had the best video encoder chips (the earlier, similar 640/543/540 were regressive in having a somewhat weaker "fuzzier" encoder than the 530 series: they don't perform as well with VHS as later x50/x60 models). These observations refer specifically to the North American NTSC format Pioneers: the Europe and Asia versions often employ different encoder chips (i.e. some PAL and multiformat vx50/x60/LX ersions use the older 640/540 encoder which may actually be perfectly fine for PAL format tape sources- but NTSC VHS encodes noticeably better with the N.A. x50/x60 units). Those living in PAL-format countries can widen their search to include the many Sony recorders that were near-identical to the Pioneers (RDR-HXx50, 70, 80, 90).

[664kemi]

Pls can anyone give me the Pioneer Data disc or where can i buy it GGV1179 for my DVR-5100 or the files to download the service remote i have ths

have disk error and CPRM ERR content error must have data disk to solve it

[Seeker47]

Well, it is true that the market for those things died, but I was looking for information on them and the information is no longer available. There might be other too.

In any case, after a long search, I was able to find two pioneer service discs. I uploaded them to the Internet Archive so the next peoples won't have to go through dozen of dead links, mention of needing to email the owner of PioneerFAQ for them or google translate Chinese forum to find working links.

Pioneer GGV-1305 Type 2 Service disc[/URL]

Pioneer GGV-1175 Service disc

Like orsetto, I also came across this thread well over a year after it last (briefly) flashed by on VH. I'm sorry to hear that Hkan had to pack it in on his site, but nothing lasts indefinitely. It seems like the web hosting fees must be a lot steeper where he resides than is the case here ? Anyway, the torrent link you posted seems to be kaput:

pioneer-ggv-1305-type-2-service-disc_archive.torrent
Torrent damaged
No activity. Transferring of the files to Google Drive was not successful because of Google Drive is full. Make some space. We are trying to save it every 20 minutes. There was an error while moving to Google Drive.

was the error I received. Will check it again though, just to make sure.

[Hoser Rob]

almost noone anylonger are using DVD's

Don't talk rubbish.

Market data published by Forbes showed that the aging, low-definition DVD format still accounts for 57.9 percent of physical media sales, and 4K Blu-rays are only 5.3 percent.

Source: https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2019/04/dvd-and-blu-ray-sales-nearly-halved-over-five-...a-report-says/

But that does not account for the decline of physical media in general, which is enormous.

[orsetto]

Reminder for Pioneer enthusiasts (like 664kemi) who stumble across this old thread but fail to read earlier posts:

Avoid torrent sites if you need the service discs, esp GGV1175.

The service disc files floating around the open web are mostly the ancient GGV1175, which aside from being outmoded was corrupted by early uploaders. These corrupted uploads were duplicated across dozens of torrents and web hosts, so the majority of GGV1175 links you'll find will fail to produce a usable disc.

Those with a "Type 1" Pioneer 510, 810, 5100, 520, 920, 430, 530 or 630 series dvd/hdd recorder should look for the updated GGV1256 service disc instead of the troublesome GGV1175.

Those with a "Type 2" Pioneer 540/640, 450/550/650, 460/560/660 or LX series unit should look for the final revision GGV1305 service disc.

Like it or not, the only reliable source for clean images of these discs was the defunct PioneerFAQ site. Luckily for us, the creator of that site still helps people find clean links to those disc images. But you must make the slight effort to contact him with a request: you will not simply find direct file links via Google search. Sent a PM to Håkan via his messaging link (see first post in this thread), requesting help finding a service disc, and he will usually reply when he sees your request. He participated in several similar AV forums worldwide: while no longer as active he does periodically check his forum messages and assist fellow Pioneer enthusiasts.

[Seeker47]

while no longer as active he does periodically check his forum messages and assist fellow Pioneer enthusiasts.

Where is the best place to write to him these days ? (Skip Afterdawn forum, as I still don't have proper access there, and so far it is not looking good for that info to be found on an old computer.)

[orsetto]

Where is the best place to write to him these days ? (Skip Afterdawn forum, as I still don't have proper access there, and so far it is not looking good for that info to be found on an old computer.)

Well, he's been responsive to at least a half dozen pleas here on VH over the past couple months (that were public in threads: there may have been many more via PM). So I'd say he's very likely to reply to a VH PM. I'm not quite certain what other forums he still monitors: I would imagine the European AVforums for sure, since that's the region he lives in. I think he may also have been a member of the American AVSforum, and probably several others where dvd/hdd recorders were discussed back in their heyday.

AFAIK, Håkan (known as Hkan here on VH and some other sites) has never publicly posted a direct email contact for himself. Which is probably prudent, as he would be inundated by a mountain of emails he couldn't keep up with. Despite being something of a patron saint to us Pioneer aficionados, he's only human, after all...