Philips 5990 quick review/impressions.

[Horsepower]

Thanks for that post kbehel. In the past I put over 648 files on a thumb drive and it worked as you describe. I then loaded more files that have .jps on there, but now I can't see all the mp3's. I'll give your suggestion a shot.

[lepa71]

Is there a tutorial on how to re-encode or remove 3-warp point GMC from Divx file?

Thank you

blackrain2008,

I'm pretty sure the 5990 uses a Mediatek chip, specifically the MT1389S. Hej456 thinks this is the case, and he's been writing firmware mods for Mediatek-based players for quite a while:

http://hej456.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=770

This would explain why the 5990 can playback wmv files:

http://www.mediatek.com/News/Downloads/2007/0326MT1389S-DVD-Player.pdf

Also, the region-free hack begins with the numbers 1,3,8 and 9, as TBoneit reported in the top post. Coincidence? I think not!

A guy over on avsforum popped his 5990 open but was unable to verify the make of the chip (apparently it was obscured by a heat-sink).

Files with QPEL play back fine. The last time I had problems with them was with the old ESS-chipset based Philips DVP 642.

3-warp point GMC is still a problem on the 5990. It will display a warning saying "Video GMC not supported" but will continue to play the file OK until it hits a spot where the encoder invoked the 3rd warp point, then freeze and skip for awhile. I've done quick recodes on these types of files using Divx through Vdubmod. On a Q6600 it takes about 6 to 8 minutes to do a 22-minute anime episode (that's about the only thing I see these days that still occasionally uses 3-warp GMC).

No playback problems with 1-warp point GMC like Divx uses.

[Squash]

lepa71,

Open the file with Virtualdub. Under Audio, it should already be set to Direct Stream Copy. If not, change to that.

Under Video, set it to Fast Recompress, then click on Compression... In the left window, choose xvid or divx, then click the Configure box.

For xvid, in the Profile @ Level: box, click the drop-down, select Home. For Encoding type, Single pass. Target quantizer defaults in mine to 4.00, lower it to 3.00 or less if you want higher quality (and bigger file-size), but 4's pretty good.

Click OK, then OK again. Now on main window, click File, then Save as Avi... Wait a few minutes, and you're done.

If using Divx, configure as Home Theater Profile, 1-pass quality-based, Target Quantizer on 4 or less.

If you don't have xvid or divx or virtualdub installed, try Avidemux. On the left, leave Audio set to copy, leave Format set to AVI, and use the Video drop-down to pick "MPEG4-ASP (Xvid4)". It defaults to Single-pass, Quant 4, but you can lower the quantizer by clicking on the Configure button under Video if you want. Then click the "Save" button. You need to give your file the .avi extension manually with Avidemux as it doesn't do it automatically.

[lepa71]

Thank you for this. It was very informative. One more Q. How can I verify that file does not have 3-warp anymore?

Thanks

[jagabo]

For an existing file, if it's Xvid and GSpot says it has GMC -- it has 3 warp points. For files you are making, if you encode Xvid without enabling GMC you will not have any warp points. Divx encodes with single warp points (if GMC is enabled) which some standalone players can now handle.

[reyesm999]

Regarding the file limits for an external USB drive:

It does apear that it is 648 files per directory. I didn't do an exhaustive test, but my partition had more than 2000 files on it in different directories and subdirectories and I didn't have a problem as long as they were only mp3 and videos.

For some as yet unexplained reason, when I put a bunch of JPG files on the hard drive in a separate directory tree, I was not able to see all of my mp3 and videos that were in different directory trees. Some I could see, some I couldn't. I got the impression that I was not able to see any files that were more than 3 levels down the directory tree.

so if you have any similar problems, experiment with the directory tree or remove the jpg files.

kevin

I have a 350 GB passport and it has the original settings NFTS formated, but the dvd would not recognize the harddrive "it says it is Invalid", In the HD disc I have programs, office documents, mp3, mpg, etc

I do not know if it is invalid because all the different format files that I have or because it is a 350 GB HD, All the documents are in diferent folders, and in the root directory I do not have any file. The problem that I have is that I do not have a different disc to copy all the documents to test with mp3 files only. Do any one have an idea of what could it be ?

I know other devices that only read 250 GB drives. So I do not know if this is the reason.

Thanks

[jagabo]

The problem is the Philips 5990 can't read NTFS.

[Bodyslide]

The drive must be formatted with FAT32. Remember to remove your data from the device before you format it to FAT32...IF not you will delete it....

[reyesm999]

Sorry, the WD passport is Fat32 and the dvd can not read it. and it is a 300 GB capacity. I double check the information

Thanks,

[jagabo]

Sorry, the WD passport is Fat32 and the dvd can not read it. and it is a 300 GB capacity.

Does your drive have its own power supply or does it get power from the USB cable? If the latter, it may simply not be getting enough power.

There can also be issues with how the drive is partitioned. Whether there is more than one partition, whether the FAT32 partition is a primiary partition or an extended partition, etc. When people have had problems with Philips players not recognizing FAT32 drives reformatting with SwissKnife often fixes the problem.

http://www.compuapps.com/download/Swissknife/swissknife.htm

Remove all existing partitions. Create one primary partition. Format FAT32. Obviously, doing this will obliterate all the files currently on the drive. You have to copy them elsewhere temporarily.

[Mister-Mike]

I purchased one of these players primarily for the upconversion feature after getting a new Samsung LCD TV (I was using a Philips 5140/37 prior to this).

I ran the HDMI from the 5990 to the TV directly for the improved video, since my older Yamaha amp doesn't have any HDMI inputs/outputs, and ran the coaxial audio from the 5990 via an RCA type cable to the Yamaha amp for the sound.

Whenever I start a DVD or use the Previous/Next buttons to skip to the next title/chapter/track, and there is audio at that point, there is a brief (1-2 second) delay in the audio, even though you can see the picture. This also happens when the DVD player just advances to the next title on its own in the normal course of events while playing a DVD and there is audio at the beginning of the title.

I did a lot of testing with various combinations of cables, which I've summarized on a WWW page:

http://www.mjq.net/dvdplayerproblem.htm

I spoke to Philips tech support about this, and they didn't have any specific help for this problem, though the fellow I spoke to suggested that they have had problems concerning HDMI cables -- for example, where you would get video with no audio or vice versa.

Is this a problem with the DVD player or the Yamaha amp?

[jagabo]

HDMI from the 5990 to the TV... coaxial audio from the 5990... to the Yamaha amp for the sound... Whenever I start a DVD or use the Previous/Next buttons to skip to the next title/chapter/track, and there is audio at that point, there is a brief (1-2 second) delay in the audio, even though you can see the picture. This also happens when the DVD player just advances to the next title on its own in the normal course of events while playing a DVD and there is audio at the beginning of the title... Is this a problem with the DVD player or the Yamaha amp?

I get the same with a Sony amp and similar hookup. I think it's just a quirk of the DVD player. Note that the audio is not out of sync, it's just silent for a few seconds after a seek, FF, RW, etc.

[Techflaws]

There can also be issues with how the drive is partitioned. Whether there is more than one partition, whether the FAT32 partition is a primiary partition or an extended partition, etc.

I've tested my HDD with several partitions and the Philips simply ignored NTFS and showed the two FAT32 as USB1 and USB2. I'd rather say the HDD in question being bus powered is the problem.

I think it's just a quirk of the DVD player. Note that the audio is not out of sync, it's just silent for a few seconds after a seek, FF, RW, etc.

Which is a problem for Philips to fix so everyone experiencing it should complain to Philips support. I haven't had any skipped audio in movie files but with mp3s which are missing the first or so second which is annoying the hell out of me.

[reyesm999]

Sorry, the WD passport is Fat32 and the dvd can not read it. and it is a 300 GB capacity.

Does your drive have its own power supply or does it get power from the USB cable? If the latter, it may simply not be getting enough power.

There can also be issues with how the drive is partitioned. Whether there is more than one partition, whether the FAT32 partition is a primiary partition or an extended partition, etc. When people have had problems with Philips players not recognizing FAT32 drives reformatting with SwissKnife often fixes the problem.

http://www.compuapps.com/download/Swissknife/swissknife.htm

Remove all existing partitions. Create one primary partition. Format FAT32. Obviously, doing this will obliterate all the files currently on the drive. You have to copy them elsewhere temporarily.

The hard drive gets power from the USB cable, does phillips supports this type of drives?,
it is a western digital and when I connect it to the DVD you can fell it is working (placing your hand on the drive), but probably does no get to the requerired speed.

I tested the dvd with a memory stick and it works fine, then the dvd should be ok.

Thanks for your help, but I am trying to find more possible solutions before I format the drive, I do not have space in my laptop to save all the files that I have in the Hard drive.

Happy new year !!!

[jagabo]

The hard drive gets power from the USB cable, does phillips supports this type of drives?

Yes, but it doesn't deliver as much power as a computer to the USB port. The drive may not be getting enough power. If your drive doesn't have an input for an external power adapter you might look for a USB power booster.

[Techflaws]

The hard drive gets power from the USB cable, does phillips supports this type of drives?

No! As said in the manual the Philips officially doesn't support any drive but USB sticks only.

[Gareee]

I just ran into something odd.. maybe someone else has run across it in a thread?

We've been playing avi files fine off the usb port with a 8gb sdhc card in a portible sd usb reader.

Today I put a few files on, and while two can play, the 3rd will not. It IS almost 2gb (it's a 3 hour long movie)

I don't recall seeing any posts about filesize limits reading off the usb port.. anyone here see any mention of that anywhere?

[Techflaws]

anyone here see any mention of that anywhere?

You mean, apart from it being mentioned in my FAQ? File size limit is 4 GB so you probably gotta remux the file and try again.

[Gareee]

Actually the file size is fine. it's under 2 gb.

BUT I think I discoved the issue.. load time on a larger file increases dramatically. A 2 gb file takes almost a total of 4 minutes to load off a high speed sd card! I wrote the file on the card again after updating to the latest vb update, and selected the file.. it read load on the player, and I figured what the hell, I'll just let it sit and see what happens.

The wife was in the room with the tv, and called for me to come in, because the file had finally loaded and started playing!

I'll have to see if I can fine a 1gb file now, to see what the load time on that is. smaller files (typical downloaded of tv shows or dvd rips under 1gb seem to load in just a second or two.

There must be some higher end limit, where loading a larger format file takes much longer.

[Techflaws]

Actually the file size is fine. it's under 2 gb.

Actually, I can read, that's why I pointed out that 4 GB is the file size limit so it had to be something else.

There must be some higher end limit, where loading a larger format file takes much longer.

Or it is a muxing problem. Remuxing the file will get it loaded in no time despite it's large size! I've had files > 2 GB that took 12 min (!) to load before I remuxed them to load in a few secs.

But if you wanna waste time finding some filesize limits that's fine by me.

[Gareee]

Hmmm I'm willing to do it as a test, if you can point me to the proper software to do it.

[jagabo]

AVI File? Start VirtualDub:

File -> Open Video File
Video -> Direct Stream Copy
File -> Save as AVI

[macthekitten]

I bought one too! I admit the USB was the deciding factor, since I burn a lot of RW discs for my own use, and thought this would be better! HOWEVER, I'm a MAC user, and the flash drive doesn't like my AVI files so I erased it and tried again - the files copied fine, but once in the DVD player it said the drive was "empty" waaaaaah!!! Is there a way to format the flash drive in FAT32 but using a MAC????

Any help is GREATLY appreciated And thanks in advance for not laughing at me

[Meritocracy]

...and the flash drive doesn't like my AVI files so I erased it and tried again - the files copied fine, but once in the DVD player it said the drive was "empty" waaaaaah!!! Is there a way to format the flash drive in FAT32 but using a MAC????

Any help is GREATLY appreciated And thanks in advance for not laughing at me

Your flash drive doesn't like your avi files? I won't laugh, but I'm going to pass on trying to discern your intended meaning there and simply state that if you erased your flash drive one would assume you reformatted it as well. Disk Utility has the option to reformat in FAT32. Choose that option next time.

P.S. It's Mac. Caps aren't required.

[macthekitten]

ha! MACs are so awesome I always use CAPS!!! I realise now that using the "ms-dos" as the format option under disk utility is the same as FAT32 So I did that. And then I copied over a small .avi file that plays fine using VLC or by being burned on a re-write disc. And it copied over OK and i can see it and play it from my computer -- but... once i take that pesky little drive over to the dvd player, it still comes up as "empty card"

do i have any options or do i have to get a pc LOL

I'm going to cry

ps wicked choice on the eraserhead pic!

[jagabo]

A lot of thumbdrives come with U3 software on them and a hidden partition. That causes problems for the Philips players. If you have that remove it with the vendor's uninstall software and reformat the thumb drive (part of the uninstall process) .

[macthekitten]

ummm i know that was english but me no likey! hhahah sorry I'm a girl and i have no clue what that means!

[jagabo]

If you flash drive has this:
http://www.u3.com/
remove it:
http://www.u3.com/support/default.aspx#CQ3

[Mister-Mike]

I've encountered another "no rhyme or reason" problem with this unit.

I was playing back some double layer DVD of jazz performances from TV broadcasts that I had created using DVD Flick (to make the DVD) and Imgburn (to burn it).

From the time I hit "play" until the menu (created with DVD Flick) appeared was well over a minute. This behavior reminded me of what I've read about some Blu-Ray players having a big delay after you hit "play," or experienced previously using the Philips DVP642-37, where media with multiple DIVX data files would take forever to display the index.

I then discovered I had this problem with a couple of other double layers that I created recently -- some of the menus took much longer than one minute to appear. But I also had NO problem with some double layers that I had created after burning this particular jazz DVD. So it wasn't a problem with my DVD burner or the media (Verbatim double layers), especially since I took all these DVDs and played them on my Philips 5140/37 and an ancient Toshiba SD-1800KC and the menus came up right away.

What was weird -- I pulled out another double layer using some of the same jazz broadcast material which was created and burned months ago with a different burner and different brand of DVDs, and it had the same problem!

[HBx2000]

Is there someone that's willing to test this ISO (95,4 mb) I made.
It includes a few different DivX 3, 5 and XviD and a WMV file + some subtitles.
All of which are approx. 45 seconds each.

I'm asking this, 'cause my Cyberhome 4620 is broken and i'm looking to replace it with this Philips,
and I don't know if it's really that good... Or at least as good as my Cyberhome was.

Thx in advance!!

http://sharebee.com/dccc0062