Stand-only player that can read .wav (DTS audio) etc...

[sconnell]

I have a LG LDA-530. Although it is fine with playing nearly any video (DivX or Xvid) file I throw at it, I have have to complain about its audio player skills.

Problems include:
- Directories are truncated past 8 charactors;
- Worse... this player does not read playlists nor does it span multiple
folders. Meaning it will only play music in one folder at a time. Very
annoying!
- Perhaps even worse - This play will not see .wav files! I like to mix in DTS encoded .wav files with mp3 of the same band on a DVD. These DTS .wav files cannot be converted with lossy compression schemes like mp3.

Anyhow is there a DVD player out there that addresses these issues (especially being able to play .wav files)?

NOTE: The player doesn't need to decode the DTS encoded .wav because my amp will do that.

Thank you,
Shawn

[CBC]

Have you tried not mixing in .mp3 file on your discs to see if they play?
I assume you are using your digital output of your player...?

[sconnell]

The problem is that the player cannot "SEE" the ".wav" extension.

Music is selected from the directory/file lists. I doubt changing the extension ".wav" to ".mp3" will do it because if it cannot see the extension it probably has no idea how to interpret the wav format.

[Noahtuck]

CBC's point is NOT to mix the mp3 and wav files on the same cd.....

Have you tried JUST the DTS wav's on a disc of their own ??

Have you tried normal wav's mixed with mp3's and they played ??

Try authoring a standard cd with the DTS wav files and see if they play that way...
I have quite a few DTS music cd's and they are read just like a standard cd where an mp3 cd is read diff.

[CBC]

exactly, Noahtuck.

This may be what's "confusing" the dvd player, trying to decode mp3s and DTS wav files on the same CD. Maybe not, but at least try what was suggested( put only DTS wav on a CD, and burn regular wavs & mp3s onto one CD.)

[sconnell]

>Have you tried JUST the DTS wav's on a
>disc of their own ??

How would that change the situation? The LG can't see the .wav file extension.

I think you folks are misunderstanding.

I am burning DVD "DATA" disks. I am not burning "audio" disks. The files are stored in a format that the computer can see through files and directories.

My complaint is that the LG only sees .mp3, .jpg, .mpg, .avi, .wmv and perhaps a few others. *BUT* it does not see the .wav file extension (which is probably the only lossless format I can use for DTS audio files).

If I encode the DTS .wav files to CD-AUDIO, of course the LG plays them in this format but they are no longer .wav files.

[sconnell]

CBC - Not that it makes any difference but I am burning to DVD+R data disks. This is not a question of the LG getting confused because it will only display and play what it can see and what it was programmed for.

So.... is there a DVD appliance out there that handles music better than the LG? Especially to play .wav files and playlists.

Thanks for your input!
Shawn

[CBC]

Don't find any other mention of wav playing difficulties here:
https://www.videohelp.com/dvdplayers.php?DVDnameid=5647&Search=Search&
but your comment of "burning the DTS wav files to DVD+R data discs"
(or -R for that matter) could be the problem. You are burning *audio* files as *data*. MP3 files are "data", raw .wav isn't.

"If I encode the DTS .wav files to CD-AUDIO, of course the LG plays them in this format but they are no longer .wav files."

The fact that they play fine when on a CD-R shows that they are getting changed somehow when burnt onto DVD+R. I do not think that it is the players fault. Can I suggest taking one of your burnt DVD+R full of the tracks to a local hi fi store & try them only several other brands/model? I'm thinking that they will not play properly on any of them.

[Cornucopia]

Ok, let's try to put this to rest...

We know it works with DTS-WAV encoded AudioCD's. This isn't a surprise--just about EVERY player would, as they see it as just another audio CD. They don' know the difference, they're just piping it out through the SPDIF port as raw PCM data--It's the decoder that knows the difference. So, we'll work on the Data disc question first.

Start with short, 8.3 filenames.
Use only CD-RW until all has been verified, then try DVD-RW.

Take 2 or 3 wav files--they must be 16bit, 44100Hz, Stereo, LPCM waves--do a couple of things with them...

#1 encode each to mp3 (16bit, 44100Hz, Stereo, 192kbps will do). Call them "********.MP3"
#2 using a good audio editor (like CoolEdit), export each to a raw LPCM file (no wave headers). Call them "********.PCM"
#3 encode each to ac3 (16bit, 44100Hz, Stereo, 192kbps also). Call them "********.AC3"
#4 encode each to DTS (16bit, 44100Hz, Stereo, 1536??kbps). Call them "********.DTS"

Burn a Data CD of each kind alone and then one with all 5 types (WAV, MP3, PCM, AC3, DTS). If you wanted, you could try MP2, WMA, and others as well, but not for now.

Try it again, but this time SampleRateConvert the original WAV to 48000Hz first. All derived versions would then be set for 48000Hz also.
Burn again, individually and in combination.

Now, do it all over again, but this time don't export/encode, JUST RENAME!

You'll have:

• ********.WAV
  ****_WAV.MP3
  ****_WAV.PCM
  ****_WAV.AC3
  ****_WAV.DTS

and then have 48k versions also.

Now, using the exported PCM from the 1st batc, do a rename of it. So you have:

• ********.PCM
  ****_PCM.MP3
  ****_PCM.PCM
  ****_PCM.AC3
  ****_PCM.DTS

Try again with the 48k versions.

Now, try each using a DVD-RW.

Finally, you can decide:
1. Does it recognize the wave extension at all?
2. What (correct) formats does it recognize and decode?
3. Can you get it to see a WAV or PCM when disguised as another format?
4. Does 48 vs. 44k make any difference?
5. Does it have a harder time with DVD discs than CD discs?

Notice I didn't say anything about AudioCD's or DTS-WAV files.
That's because it's not having to do a filesystem parse for how to find the file/track/data.
Also, DTS-WAV is a WAVE-headered file that is DTS inside but with the data padded with silence/null/zeroes to maintain standard 16bit/44k/Stereo bitrate/filelength settings as would be required to be Redbook-compliant.
These DTS-WAV's are what amounts to DTS-PCM when actually on the AudioCD.

For you to be able to use them, you would have to either:
Open in Audio editor, export as PCM, and rename as whatever your system accepts.
-or-
Somehow decode the DTS-WAV back to either DTS or WAV/PCM, though I don't know if that's possible (although you could always do the Out-Analog-Decode-Redigitize-ReEncode route).

Good luck,

Scott

[sconnell]

Hello Scott, I appreciate the work you put into your response. But I am not sure you completely understand the nature of this problem.

For a moment, let us forget about DTS. It is not relivent.

This is simply a problem with the player not being able to SEE (and likely READ) .wav files. It has nothing to do with the media, the file name lengths, etc. If the play could see another non-lossy format, I would re-encode these files to that format. Both MP3 and wma are lossy, so I cannot use either one.

From what I understand, the player was only programmed to read the following file formats:
.avi, .mpg, .mpeg, .sub, .mp3, .wma, .jpeg, .jpg.

The only possibility is perhaps encoding these .wav files as .avi or .mpg with a PCM audio track. That may work....

But considering I have already made a few DVDs with DTS audio .wav files... my time is probably better spent buying a different DVD player that solves two of my issues - - Reading mp3 playlists and reading .wav files.

Doing a little research revealed a number of players
that at least read ogg (a lossless compression scheme).
Buffalo Technology PC-P3LWG/DVD
Lite On LVD-2010
Roadstar DVD-2501X/N

Perhaps no stand-alone player that can read .wav files exists.

Shawn

[Megahurts]

sconnell,

My Linkplayer2 plays WAV files from DVD/CD and USB port but not over a home network as it does with all other files.

Regards,

Chas

[sconnell]

Megahurts - I just d/led the manual for the Linkplayer2. Very cool! It not only recognizes .wav but many other formats too!

The *only* problem I can see is how the heck can I purchase this from Canada? The USA IO DATA company only sells in the U.S.! Urrghh!

[Megahurts]

Hey sconnell,

Did a Goggle serch and found this. It mentions Canada shipments.

http://www.digitalconnection.com/Products/DVD/avpl2.ASP

If you have any questions about this player, let me know.

Regards,

Chas

[sconnell]

Hello Megahurts... thank you for the info! I appreciate it!

Guess what? As much as your unit looks really cool, I believe I found the perfect one!

Check out the Buffalo PC-P3LWG/DVD.
http://www.buffalotech.com/products/product-detail.php?productid=96&categoryid=18#

I am "blown away" by its features!

I found this unit quite accidentally when I was checking for a firmware upgrade for my Buffalo Airstation WHR-HP-G54. Which, by the way, is one of the best wire/wireless routers available.

My only concern are the mediocre reviews. 6.5 out of 10 isn't terrible but it's not spectacular either. Before I go spend $300 plus for this unit, I will see if some of the claimed problems have been resolved. I will also look into the Linkplayer2 as well.

[sconnell]

BTW, I should point out that the Buffalo unit does support .wav file playing whereas the Linkplayer2 does not (but at least it supports OGG).

[Megahurts]

Hello sconnel,

I checked the specs of the Buffalo and Linkplayer2 and they both state they support WAV files.

Before I responded to your post, I checked if a WAV would work on a DVD/CD, USB and over a network. Everything worked except over a network, it wouldn't recognize any WAV files. It doesn't say that in the specs.

You said that Buffalo has many bad reviews, the Linkplayer2 has problems too. The problem I have is when playing a DVD and pause for over 20 secs and hit play it starts fastfowarding 10 secs and plays normal. Engineering is aware of the problem and says it will correct in the next FW update. Other than that, I'm very satisfied.

Choose wisely,

Chas

[Cornucopia]

sconell,

I understood EXACTLY what you were trying to do, that's why I was telling you to go through such painstakingly thorough troubleshooting so as to find out what your given player would and wouldn't play. VERY OFTEN, the player will play additional formats that aren't listed.

For example, DVD-Video streams are allowed to have PCM audio (and can play them). Therefore, if your player can play ISO raw filesystems "files" and said player also can "see" and "parse" MP3's, it's quite possible that you could take a PCM file (WAVE file with WAVE headers removed) and just rename it and then the player would "see" that particular file, possibly parse it without realizing it wasn't really the kind of file it was purported to be, and just play it out. I have successfully done so with 2 of my players.

No matter which player you do finally end up getting, I strongly suggest you use my method, so you'll know exactly where you stand.

Scott

[sconnell]

Hello Scott, Sorry.... I thought you misunderstood.

I now understand the reasons for your approach and I appreciate the time you spent writing that post. But you know, for the time I spent converting my DVDs, it simply isn't worth the trouble. I still have a few more DVDs to convert so perhaps I will experiment using your examples. However, I would much rather spend ~$300 and purchase a more versitile DVD player. Considering the poor reviews.... I may wait another six months or so.

Thanks again!