Philips DVP-5140 'DivX Ultra' player vs. the Philips DVP-642

[LisaB]

amontoth,

Well, I just did the definitive test, and Squash's comments were right on.

I have both a 642 and 5960 side-by-side, and so it is easy for me to do these kinds of tests. The 5960 (brother to the 5140) has some nasty audio synch issues with some videos, and so that is why I haven't gotten rid of my 642 yet.

As I said before, I do have a few discs burned in UDF (I *had* to use UDF because they contained one or more AVI's larger than 2 GB).

So, I took the UDF-burned disc (verified with ISOBuster) and put it in the 642....well, just as you describe, the SRT files have ? in front of them, and are unrecoginized! So, UDF is your problem.

Then I took the UDF-burned disc and put it in the 5960. The SRT subtitles worked! So, Philips 5960 is your answer.

Voila! Both your problem and your answer all in one fell swoop! Of course, you could reburn all your DVD's with ISO+Joliet and they *will* work in the 642 with proper firmware, but I think buying a 5960 would be easier, depending on how many discs with foreign films you have....

Enjoy and peace out.

Lisa B.

[jagabo]

And the 5960 has far better picture quality.

[DarrellS]

So that's why I couldn't play this Data DVD in the 642? There is a 2GB file size limit?

I made a Data DVD of a football game which was a little over 4GB in size. I tried playing it in the 642 and it was all corupted. Made another copy and it was the same. Before throwing the coasters in the trash, I stuck one in the 5140 and it played just fine. Also plays fine on the PC but won't play in the 642.

[amontoth]

Nero Info Tool
Content
File System(s): ISO9660, UDF
Title: 060924_0908
Date: 24 September 2006
Publisher: n/a
Application: Padus PFC Version 4.50.07.1179

as i said
i have nohice but to go with a differnt manufatcture
i have way too many foreign languge films with subs on dvd data to even consider copying back to hd and reburing with a differnt app.
Again.thanks for the input

no reply necessary

[amontoth]

amontoth,

Well, I just did the definitive test, and Squash's comments were right on.
...
So, I took the UDF-burned disc (verified with ISOBuster) and put it in the 642....well, just as you describe, the SRT files have ? in front of them, and are unrecoginized! So, UDF is your problem.
....
Then I took the UDF-burned disc and put it in the 5960. The SRT subtitles worked! So, Philips 5960 is your answer.
'''
buying a 5960 would be easier, depending on how many discs with foreign films you have....
....
Lisa B.

OMG OMG OMG
i had already given up (see previous 2 posts

thanks for doing the test...
Add that to your page too hehe

but
why should i buy 5960 instead of 5140? Ill scroll back thru thread to see ..IF its just for upconverting..no need and no future need! If it plays HR avis..well them maybe

i dont have a HD just a 3yr old 36" Sony Wega ( cant sell it!. takes 3 men to move it
15yrs per TV, sniff;(

[jagabo]

why should i buy 5960 instead of 5140? Ill scroll back thru thread to see ..IF its just for upconverting..no need and no future need! If it plays HR avis..well them maybe :)

No high definition AVI on the 5960. In addition to the upscaling output, it has a USB port that can read thumb drives or USB hard drives (not all work though). No burning to DVD required. I've seen them as low as US$50 lately.

[LisaB]

Nero Info Tool
Content
File System(s): ISO9660, UDF
Title: 060924_0908
Date: 24 September 2006
Publisher: n/a
Application: Padus PFC Version 4.50.07.1179

as i said
i have nohice but to go with a differnt manufatcture
i have way too many foreign languge films with subs on dvd data to even consider copying back to hd and reburing with a differnt app.
Again.thanks for the input

no reply necessary

Well, I will reply anyway, since it seems that you might have missed something very critical that I mentioned in an earlier post!

Before burning the UDF disc, I first tried a hybrid ISO+UDF, and the 5960 wouldn't even recognize the disc! Now, from the info above, it appears that you've been burning ISO+UDF hybrids all along. This could be very bad news for you, but try it anyway, just in case the problem is hybrids burned by Nero (remember, I use Nero Burning Rom, so it's *possible* that your DiscJuggler hybrid will work). I didn't try to play the hybrid in the 642, but apparently the 642 doesn't have a problem with hybrids, since you've at least been able to play the avi's from your hybrid discs.

You'd think that hybrid would be the best of both worlds (which is why I tried it first), but apparently the world is imperfect

I am surprised, though, that you have "so many" hybrid discs with foreign movies on them. I would have thought that you would have noticed that the subtitles weren't working after burning the first few discs, and would have come to this forum and figured out the problem before burning more incompatible discs. I just fear that you'll have to reburn them all anyway, since the 5960 doesn't like hybrids.

[amontoth]

well
i will not use Nero.
(bad track history for me, the losing fuctionality problem)

i switched to task-specific burning software quite a while ago (eg VCD Easy for S/K//VDCs, Acoustica for audio/p3, audiograbber for mp3 extract, Diskjugger for data disks and images.)

CDRwin 6+ is flaky on win2k.

anyone got a recomendation for a dvd DATA burner program?

LisaB : I am surprised, though, that you have "so many" hybrid discs with foreign movies on them.

hehe,well my wife doesnt have a great love for subtitles..so I end up watching most on computer while she watches The Amazing Race

Today i plan to make a actual count of srt subtitled dvd data disks.
I will also once again attempt to make an ISO only dvd with CDRWIN 6.. my last attempt resulted in a DVD that showed an MPEG4 icon for the SRT on the 642!!!!

BTW i wonder in the 5140 has the same no recogniztion problem with idx/sub on hybrid iso/udf disks??? AT least 1/2 of mine are idx/sub (burnt with an expectation that vobsub subs would be eventually supported on divx dvd players)



...
aio = All-in-One Solutions cause All-the-More problems.

[amontoth]

grabbed 5960 at best buy for 117$CDN they have 30day moeny back policy, so I can test it out
..1st impression

Of course first dvd i load was my Korean movies DVD.

The 5960 played both the SRT and idx/subs on this ISO/UDF hybrid produced by Padus Diskjuggler.

Tried a false colour movie ... worked
Tried 2 Qpel movies ...worked
Tried a movie that gave blank screen and just skipped thru numbers on 642 display .... worked
plays audio cd

every body cheer!
.
.
.
however

the remote SUX!

642 and 5690 control both control both players
very aggravating while testing with one on top of other ....


Disc Menu key does NOT turn menu off and on as it does on theh 642. I cannot seem to have it autoplay divx movies.

next/previous does not work for multiple movies
DISC MENU does not work while video is playing
STOP will only go back to menu if you DOUBLE CLICK it

i lost remote twice during testing in plain sight on grey couch ...

SetUp Menu Right edge is jagged.

I set subtitle pref to English..perhaps that will casue subs to be autoplayed? Nope..

Having worked at Philips in hardware QA. i am aware of the shortcuts taken when they cost-reduce a product. Reducing functionality when adding a features is de-reigeur ...

even in firmware

well
/me gives LisaB a big hug ..

[amontoth]

(a 3 part xvid on dvd)
5960 :Video GMC Not Supported
642 :No Disc

LoL

[SDF.Monoxide]

The PHILIPS DVP5140 w/ Region Hack won't play Region free PAL DVD with menus.

I just backed up a movie that was in pal and I wanted to convert it to NTSC but decided to buy the Philips DVP5140 and use the region hack, & just reburned the dvd as a region free pal film with all of my original menus and such but the dvd player wont play the movie like people say it will... my TV dont play pal and this was suppose to convert the film "on the fly" as I watched it right from PAL 2 NTSC so it was viewable.... but it just sticks at Loading.... and wont do anything...

There any other settings to change in the menus?

[FulciLives]

The PHILIPS DVP5140 w/ Region Hack won't play Region free PAL DVD with menus.

I just backed up a movie that was in pal and I wanted to convert it to NTSC but decided to buy the Philips DVP5140 and use the region hack, & just reburned the dvd as a region free pal film with all of my original menus and such but the dvd player wont play the movie like people say it will... my TV dont play pal and this was suppose to convert the film "on the fly" as I watched it right from PAL 2 NTSC so it was viewable.... but it just sticks at Loading.... and wont do anything...

There any other settings to change in the menus?

I just bought a Philips DVP-5140 and it does do PAL to NTSC. It's not a perfect conversion mind you but I suppose it looks good enough and is definately better than the DVP-642 for PAL to NTSC. Truth be told I really got it as a cheap MPEG-4 player and as a MPEG-4 player I am so far very impressed. Light years better than the DVP-642 which broke on me after all of one month or so. Here's to hoping the DVP-5140 lasts a hell of a lot longer.

Anyways your problem is that you obviously didn't burn the DVD correctly since you said the Philips can't even "load" the disc. Try again using ImgBurn and quality media such as Taiyo Yuden or Verbatim DVD-R discs.

Although why you haven't tried the original I don't know. I mean once you do the region free hack it will play any DVD and it will do PAL to NTSC. You don't have to make a region free back-up in order to play it ... at least not after you've done the hack.

- John "FulciLives" Coleman

[Saliva]

While others have indicated that Korean characters are supported, I can't seem to display Korean subtitle for any of the English AVI. Does anyone have a working solution to this dilemma? The subs are mostly in SRT format.

[lizzoqops]

I haven't tried srt, I only got Korean characters to work in idx/sub format.

[Saliva]

According to the user manual, both srt & idx/sub files are supported. When you played the AVI file, were you able to see the sub by pressing the "subtitle" button? When I pressed mine, all I got was a bunch of garbled texts.

[slam87]

Does the DVP5140 come with component video jacks? I checked the manual at the official site and it only says composite video jacks are supplied.

[FulciLives]

Does the DVP5140 come with component video jacks? I checked the manual at the official site and it only says composite video jacks are supplied.

The Philips DVP-5140 has a composite video output and a component video output. It does not have S-Video output.

For audio it has standard analog stereo output (the red/white RCA stereo jacks) and a coaxial digital output (no optical digital output).

As a side note I often see people complaining that the remote control has no disc drawer open/close button BUT if you hold and keep holding the "STOP" key for a few moments it will open/close the disc drawer. The DVP-642 remote did the same thing.

- John "FulciLives" Coleman

[slam87]

Actually what I'm asking is does it come with component video cables?

[FulciLives]

Actually what I'm asking is does it come with component video cables?

No. Like most DVD players it comes with shitty ass-wipe composite video with stereo analog RCA stereo jacks. You know the yellow/red/white thing.

- John "FulciLives" Coleman

[tashidondrup]

Very annoying noise

Hey i just bought a DVP642, and i want to give some insights about it.

I have read practically every review in the internet about this DVD player, and i want to share some thoughts about it.

PROS.

1. Quality: well i can say the quality is awsome, the clue is to download good rippings with a good quality, in a 20" TV it would be hard to distinguish from a dvd.
2. Size: the size of the DVD player is perfect, fits on my 20" Sony TV, and it looks good too.
3. Easy of use: very intuitive DVD player.
4. Plays everything: i have put all the divx and Xvids i have and it plays them without a problem.

CONS.

1. Annoying noise: when you play any DVD, the noise isvery very very very annoying, is like a tic tic tic tic when the DVD rotates inside the unit, this maybe can only heard when you are watching a movie at night, and you cant put all the volume in your TV, during the day there is no problem, but if you are a NOISE HATER like me this is gonna be very annoying at night.
2. Remote control: the configuration for me is good, but the materials are EXTREMLY low quality, i mean the unit price is very cheap ($54 in CC) but come on PHILIPS dont be that cheap.
3. Very slow: when you are playing a very loaded DVD disc with a lots of pics and mp3s and movies and you play the DISC Menu button starts saying PLEASE WAIT>>>PLEASE WAIT (cause is turning the PBC On or OFF), i always end turning off the unit because it simply take too long, if you only have 6 Divx movies on it, there is no problem.
4. Subtitles: i think that yellow color gives much better contrast than white, and the size is a little bit smaller than it should. I mean im young but a not 20/20 person it will have a rough time.

CONCLUSION.

I really recomend this DVD because is a very capable one, and about the cons, the only one that really turn me off is the noise, but thats a price you pay for the $54 you pay. Right now, i dont have any doubt that this DVD unit is the right one for me (short budget), but if you have more money, may be can try other one like the Helios 4000.

[insync44]

I purchased a 5140 a week ago. The first Disk I put in said "GMC not supported" and played in slow motion. My 642 played the same disk perfectly.

I read through all these threads and find that my old 642 appears to have no problems compared to the 5140.

I stll need a second DVD Player.

[jagabo]

Try the Philips DVP 5960. It's better than the 642 in all regards except it has no s-video out. There are many threads here about the 5960.

[amontoth]

5960 doesnt play GMC either

[jagabo]

The 5960 plays single warp point GMC produced by Divx. It does not play 3 warp point GMC produced by Xvid.

[insync44]

How important is this GMC? Are there many downloads encoded as such?

I used Dr Divx and converted the 3 files on the disc that were affected and the 5140 then played them perfectly.

The 5140 is a newer model than the 642. But I am disappointed that, in many respects, the 5140 is inferior to the 642.

1. No SVHS connection. Not important but, if I keep the model, I might have to upgrade. All my 3 component connections on the TV are being used. XBOX, PVR and normal DVD recorder. Only free connection is the HDMI. But that entails a cable and the more expensive Phillips, 5960.

2. No search by time.

3. The above, GMC incompatibility.

I tried the Toshiba SD3390 first but it seems a very picky unit.

I like Phillips , just disappointed.

[ntngod]

How important is this GMC? Are there many downloads encoded as such?

Not very; you're more likely to run into QPEL than XviD-encoded GMC.

The 5140 can handle QPEL (the 642 couldn't) and DivX-encoded GMC, as mentioned before (the 642 couldn't handle any GMC).

[I LUV MONEY]

I have the 5140 and I tried to play some DIVX & XVID files (with GMC encoded) but it doesn't play smoothly. It pauses and play again every 2 seconds. Was there are a firmware update recently that could play the GMC-encoded files?

[FulciLives]

I have the 5140 and I tried to play some DIVX & XVID files (with GMC encoded) but it doesn't play smoothly. It pauses and play again every 2 seconds. Was there are a firmware update recently that could play the GMC-encoded files?

DivX GMC should be no problem ... XviD GMC is hit or miss. In other words an XviD file with GMC may work or may not work ... all depending on how the GMC was implimented. There is no way that I know of to correct this other than to completely re-encode the file but then the image quality suffers.

The other culprit to stuttering playback is "packed bitstreams" although I think this only affects XviD files ... not DivX files.

You can use the program "MPEG4Modifier" to see if your XviD has packed bitstreams and if so then you can use that program to save a new version of the XviD file that will be the same quality wise but will have un-packed bitstreams. Assuming that was the problem the file should then play back A-OK.

I have heard that doing this can "mess up" A/V sync but I think that is rare as I don't hear many people complaining about it and never experienced it myself.

- John "FulciLives" Coleman

[I LUV MONEY]

Thanks for the info FulciLives. I'll try to use that program and see if it works.

[wasabiboys]

My two sense is that the 642s remote and firmware is wacky. And the unit I had was very loud when reading a disc. Maybe the 5140 updated and fixed the issues.