I just got the special edition of Beck's new album Guero. The special edition includes a DVD-Audio disc that includes Advanced Resolution Surround and Advanced Resolution Stereo (both 48kHz/24-bit) on the DVD-Audio portion of the disc and Dolby Digital 5.1 and stereo on the DVD-Video portion of the disc. Presumably due to firmware problems, my Pioneer 563A universal player will not play the Advanced Resolution audio portion of the disc, though it does read the menus. When I switched the player to recognize the DVD-Video portion of the disc to play the Dolby 5.1 track, the player stops while playing the third track and resets itself to DVD-Audio. I have never upgraded the firmware on the player, and don't plan to because the player is out of warranty and I don't want to spend a lot of money just so that I can play the Beck disc (my small collection of other DVD-Audio titles all play fine, and I generally prefer SACD anyway). My solution is to connect a $30.00 Cyberhome DVD-Video player to the coaxial input on my Yamaha HTR-5630 amp. It plays the Dolby 5.1 track fine, though obviously not as well as Advanced Resolution DVD-Audio. The other minor problem is the Cyberhome player does not have a display of its own.
I just wanted to give fair warning to DV-563A owners planning on getting the Guero Special edition DVD-Audio disc. I would appreciate hearing if anyone has had a problem with this particular disc on the 563A or any other player.
I hope upcoming DVD-Audio titles from Bob Ludwig's Gateway mastering do not have similar incompatability problems.
As for the new Beck album itself, it is very good. I am dissapointed, however, that there is no planned release of it on SACD. The SACD of Beck's last album, Sea Change, is one of the best I've ever heard.
--Will
Mattias
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I also have the same issue with the Pioneer 563A. The Guero DVD Audio is the only disc for which I've encountered this problem.
Evolution
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I just bought Guero Deluxe and I'm having the same problem with the same player. This sucks. I'll post again if I find a workaround. So much for QA.
same problem here with same player. i can't even play the tracks in the visual audio section in 5.1 without audio cutting out on some songs or the disc locking up.
is this even fixable via a firmware upgrade with Pioneer?
JacobH
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I'm having the same problem with the disc and my pioneer 563a. In DVD-audio mode, I get no sound or only a few seconds of sound if I'm lucky. In DVD-video mode, the player will start playing tracks and then just freeze up.
On a side note, the third track freezes on my computers dvd player as well (DVD-video). A review on Amazon claims that a batch of the discs was warped (and since it behaves poorly on my PC as well, this may be true). Although it seems we may be out of luck with this disc and our player.
JacobH
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I sent an email to Pioneer asking about compatibility with this disc and if a firmware upgrade will help. I will post if I hear back.
I've tried 3 discs. I had originally tried to exchange the 1st disc and the replacement DVD i got actually was unglued between the plastic discs (to support the bad batch theory). The third replacement i got had the same no audio issues as the original DVD. All i want is the music to play properly in 5.1 at this point...
JacobH
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Well, Pioneer emailed me back and just listed the nearest service center (which is open Tues-Fri 8am-2pm). Very helpful I must say. There is one that is open tomorrow that's only 15 miles away, so I'm going to give them a call tomorrow and see if I can get the firmware upgraded.
Anonymous
Posted on
same problem w/ guero and the 563a. the disc plays the advanced audio on my panasonic dvd-a player, but unfortunately that model does not have 6 channel out, only two. Please post if the firmware upgrade is possible or, hopefully, they will re-release the same disc.
Thanks
Jacobh
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I took my player in today. Probably won't be able to pick it up for about a week. The warranty situation is still a little unclear, but Pioneer supposedly covers firmware for 3 years. When I get the unit back, I'll post if the firmware upgrade helps.
I have 565a and have just experienced to my dismay the same problem with Guero, and also with REM's out of time DVD-a. I have mailed pioneer UK and will update as soon as I hear. I see you can update firmware on some players just ny inserting a disc, so wonder if it is really neccessary to send the unit in for update at all.
I called pioneer UK on monday morning and the guy was V V interested to hear about problem, I told him about the discussion thread at audioasylum on the 565a whihc explained the problem was with warners dvd-a authoring software. Today they mailed back to arrange to collect my unit update the firmware and deliver it back.....hurrahh
re: beck guero disc. by the way, if you try to play disc in 'visual' 5.1 mode it does indeed stop after track three and revert back to menu. If you listen from track 4 onwards it plays all the way through fine, just means you can listen whilst waiting for your unit to be fixed. My unit is over a year old and pioneer made no mention of any charge for the update of the firmware.
To those having problems playing Beck's Guero on their Pioneer 563/565, what firmware version do you have? As far as I knew 1.906 was the latest. Is there now a newer release?
To check your current version do the following: - turn on the player - on the remote press: SETUP - Choose INITIAL SETTINGS - press: ENTER - highlight: OPTIONS - press: DISPLAY - in the lower part of the screen the version number will be shown.
Jacobh
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I bought mine in the summer of 2003 around when the unit first came out. My unit is in the shop but the version was 1.3 something.
Can anyone confirm that the disc works on firmware 1.906?
AdamF
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I spoke to Pioneer and they are having me bring my 563 to my local (NYC) authorized service center. My unit is out of warranty, so in order not to get charged by the service center, Pioneer is sending me a work order. They said I will get a firmware upgrade for the DVD-A problem. I knew of this firmware, but does anyone know if it works with this disc or just the older DVD-A's that gave the unit a problem months ago?
JBee
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I have a recent model... within the last 6 months... I'm guessing my firmware would be more updated... I followed those instructions by Sem and I get version 2.03 or something like that. Anyone know the working of that with Guero?
figrin_dan
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It doesn't work on 1.706
Geoff McNulty
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Guero is the second disc with which I've had this problem. The only other one was the T-Rex Electric Warrior disc. I'm updating soon.
teslaJack
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Beck Guero skips, incomplete audio, then just stops
on my Pioneer 563A. DVD Audio and when it you try to play it as regular DVD, too bad, thanks record companies!? Going to try to get the firmware reved..
Just dropped my unit off this morning. It will take 7-10 business days for them to spend 5 minutes upgrading, but I'll be on vacation anyway next week, so I guess it's no big deal. I'll let you all know the story when I get it back.
R-P
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I stumbled upon this looking for something else.
I can tell you that whoever has this player and has not gotten the latest firmware update should do so (1.906 I think). Just call your local authorized repair center. This was easy. I just took it in & they ran a CD in the machine. That was it - took 2 minutes, and it's free under 3 year firmware warranty.
All the problems I had were fixed (T. Rex, Gaucho, + Guero works fine for DVD audio. There is still a glitch after the 3rd video like someone else mentioned (shuts off), but starting it back at video 4 evrythings fine & I can live with this for now (it should be brought up to Pioneer though). Y
You'll need this upgrade for a lot of disks. Do it while it's covered
Jacobh
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I spoke to the service center last Friday. The upgrade is covered under warranty, but they said they wouldn't get to it until later this week.
Hopefully it will work when I get it back. It's annoying to wait 2 weeks for 5 minutes of work, but so it goes.
knucklehead
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Anyone who purchased the Pioneer 563A should know that the warranty covers firmware for three years after the purchase date, so there is plenty of time to get it fixed. It is a very good player in general and superior to its replacement (565).
knucklehead, I believe the 563A and the 565 are the same players. The 563A was sold in the US and the 565 was sold in Europe. The 578 is the US replacement for the 563A. I'm not sure of the model number of the 565 replacement. I've heard the audio is better in the 563A/565 but the video is a bit better in the 578. I haven't tried the 578, this is just from what I've read.
I do have an issue with my 563A. As I mentioned on another thread some time back, it skips for about 5 seconds while playing "Money" on Pink Floyd's DSOTM SACD. I've tried two discs and both skip the exact same way. My firmware version is 1.906. Has anyone else with a 563A seen this?
I also have a DV-563A and I'm very happy with it. It's not a hi-end audio piece of equipement but for the price it's fantastic and I'm glad to know that the firmware waranty is 3 ears.
There not a lot a DVD audio disc with the 192/24 out there and I think that the reading problems are related with these tracks. I also have the same kind of problem with "Hotel California". All the tracks are ok except the stereo advanced (192/24). The display shows the elapsed time but no sound is coming out. I've tried this disc with 3 others DVD players from different audioshops with the same result. I'm suggesting that the problem could be on the side off disc too. Is it possible ?
I have the Hotel California DVD-A and it plays fine in all modes. It also played fine prior to having the firmware upgraded to 1.906 What firmware version do you have?
teslaJack
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Oh great, the 1.906 firmware will f' up my Pink Floyd SACD??!! I have rev 1.3xx now and that works fine.
c'mon pioneer release the CD so we can do this without taking it to a shop to wait 2-3 weeks!
No doubt this trouble is going to continue on, I think it is a war between record companies and pirates that is killing us poor customers..
teslaJack, I'm not sure firmware is the issue with my PF disc as others with the 1.906 f/w version say theirs plays fine. In fact I've never read of anyone other than me having a problem playing this disc. Since I'll eventually replace the 563A, and I don't much care for the song "Money" I haven't felt much like digging deeper into my problem.
borj, I'll double check tonight to make sure I'm not giving bad information here, but I do recall it playing Hotel California just fine. If so, perhaps yours is indeed a disc, not player issue.
I double-checked my Hotel California disc and it does indeed play fine in all modes. So I don't think yours is a firmware issue. It could be a problem with that particular disc, do you know of anyone else that has one you can try as a test? It could also be just a quirk with your player and that disc in combo (like my 563A problem with DSOTM).
I didn't find an other Hotel California around. I got mine on e-bay. As soon as I can put a hand on an other one I'll try it for sure and be back with info.
Jacobh
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I picked up my player this morning and it was upgraded to 1.906. Guero now plays fine.
AdamF
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Agreed! Guero plays perfectly with the upgrade (so far...haven't played all the way through yet).
What a great disc!
AdamF
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Agreed! Guero plays perfectly with the upgrade (so far...haven't played all the way through yet).
i've got a question, it just so happens i got the Beck and Hotel California dvds last week (first DVDA, been all SACD up till now). so i have a question about both. with the Pioneer 578A, when i insert the discs it comes up as "dvd audio" but doesnt let me select DTS or Dolby, i have to go into the menu every time and select "dvd video" to get those options. should i just listen to the multichannel or is there a way to fix this? with the Beck dvd i'm getting the same thing, skipping on track 3. should i get a new one or is it definately just the player?
Jacobh
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DTS and Dolby are sound options for DVD-Video content. DVD-audio is a separate format which should be of higher quality than either DTS or Dolby.
The DVD-audio on the Beck dvd has a multichannel mix that should theoretically sound better than the DTS or Dolby mixes. Those are there for people who have dvd players that do not support DVD-audio so they can also enjoy the multichannel mix.
cool so i should just be using the multichannel then. i cant really notice a difference between the multichannel and dts, except on Hotel California the DTS is in 6 channels. its cool though, i'll take your word for it :D
Anonymous
Posted on
Updated to 1.906. Plays the Guero DVD-A ok except for a skip near the end- (could be dirt on the disc)
Thanks SOOO much for this post. I called pioneer, told them the problem. They sent me a letter to take into a local service center. It was to upgrade the E-Prom (name was coincidence to the song?). Brought the player in with the letter, they upgraded it. Just got it back today and it plays! Awesome. thanks everyone.
Josh Campbell
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What is the Pioneer number, I am in Massachusetts?
In Canada, it seems I have to send the player back to Pioneer in Toronto (Markham, actually). Bummer, I'm in Montreal. The upgrade is free, but they will pay shipping one way only.
Boogiemonster
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Wow, glad I found this post. I bought the Guero disc the day it came out and never got to listen to the DVD disc. Finally got around to searching google for "Beck Guero Recall" and it took me here and with my Pioneer player! I only have firmware version 1.306_SglStp installed and will call to see where I can send it tomorrow! Thanks guys.
eidetic
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For anyone in the UK, Pioneer put me in touch with a company called Sequoia, who performed the upgrade free of charge. Call Pioneer UK and ask for Jim Langley (very helpful) who will authorize the upgrade. The number I used for Pioneer UK is 01753 789789.
Sequoia's number is 08707778789. They will pick up and return the player free of charge.
I can confirm that after the firmware upgrade, my Pioneer 565A plays the Beck disc perfectly