Pioneer A03 firmware 1.80?

[Sepen]

Has anyone updated the A03 to the new firmware yet, 1.80?
I just saw it and was wondering what it fixed, etc?

http://perso.club-internet.fr/farzeno/firmware/

[ghetto pornstar]

i don't know anyone who has but i'm seriously considering it.

i'm a big fan of firmware upgrades, they almost always help.

on the other hand, if it ain't broke...

[bluespot]

Well, I flashed up to the new 1.80 firmware and I've burned 1 disc.

I have a US Version 2 PS2 that up until now has refused to play generic media. Movies that I burned would work great in my standalone, and in my friend's Version 4 PS2, but mine would have all kinds of playback problems. If you haven't figured it out yet, this disc that I burned with the new firmware played perfectly, all the way through.

It could just be a fluke, so I'm burning some more discs to find out for sure. Or just maybe, Poineer managed to deliver better media compatability with their new firmware. More to come...

bluespot

[ptmsssg]

I saw some news site in Japan and it said the new firmware improve the quality of writing. I'm not sure what it exactly means.

Thanks,

[ghetto pornstar]

sounds good to me, i will be flashing mine shortly :) keep y'all posted.

[wakebrder]

I'll post results also.

[Nogami]

Just flashed mine up - doing a burn right now - will get back to you in an hour.

It does warn that flashing to 1.80 prevents flashing to earlier versions though - I didn't hack my drive at all, I don't use the burner for ripping, so not a big deal.

[wakebrder]

:eek: Flashed, internal reboot, reboot.....big blue screen of death >>incompatible hardware. If you continue to see this message, please REMOVE THE INCOMPATIBLE HARDWARE:scared: Reboot again. All is fine. WHEW!! :cool: I'll post results on burning results.

[bluespot]

wakeboarder, ouch, I think I would have had a heart attack if I saw that error message!

OK, so I burned my second disc, and it worked perfectly! This is on a PS2 that up till now, didn't have a single burned disc (except for Pioneer media) play right. Usually, it would play OK at the beginning, but then start skipping and pixelating near the end, till it eventually froze. These same discs would work perfectly on standalones and newer PS2s. But since the firmware upgrade, I'm 2/2 with Ridata media.

Just for the hell of it I tried some really crappy media (Princo), and it still didn't work. But with Princo media, my PS2 would fail to recognise the disc, something it still does with the new firmware.

So it seems that if you're having problems with your media skipping and pixelating at the end of movies, then this firmware upgrade should be able to fix it.

I'll post again after I do some more movies, which probably won't be till early next week...

bluespot

[bluespot]

Oh yeah, I forgot to mention that I was still burning at 1x. Anyone want to put some media on the line and try a 2x burn?

[wakebrder]

Originally posted by bluespot
wakeboarder, ouch, I think I would have had a heart attack if I saw that error message!
You're tellin' me....@customer sevice...yeah um it ah just isn't compatible anymore]:rolleyes:
Originally posted by bluespot
So it seems that if you're having problems with your media skipping and pixelating at the end of movies, then this firmware upgrade should be able to fix it.
This is great news! I've had these problems im the past on my set top (JVC SA75) I've got 4 different kinds of "cheap" media to test, so I'll post the results next week. Of course Pioneer & Apple work flawlessly.

1.Blank-cdr.com general use
2.Meritline golds
3.Judysdeals general use
4.cd-recordable.com general use

If all these will work now, I'll be set for blanks for awhile!:eek:

I see Doom9 has started The ultimate DVD recordable compatibility list thread, so I'll most likely post my results over there. A lot of us have been talking about this idea lately. It will be much easier finding all that info in one place, rather than scattered all over the board. It seems that many threads boil down to asking about compatability anyway. Good job Doom9!

[kevinswystun]

Why it's this firmware not on the official US Pioneer site?

http://www.pioneerelectronics.com/Pioneer/CDA/ServiceAndSupport/SelfHelpForIndFirmware/0,1465,60~6020~60201100,00.html

[Commander XJL]

1.55 seems to be the last firmware update on Pioneers site, so don't know where this 1.8 came from

[Forko]

1.80 is on the japanese pioneer homepage

[mcp]

sure it´s official...

http://www2.pioneer-eur.com/pioneer/support_software.jsp;jsessionid=aaalyWECUQ3iUC9cyXlm?category=support/software#fdvdwriter

and for me it works (apple-dvd-r)
btw: what´s this for a link above???
little bit old?
:D

[Nogami]

No problems after upgrading to 1.80 - burned fine on Apple media. I've had inconsistant luck with the meritline blanks. Players seem to be able to identify the media much more quickly when burned with the 1.80 firmware.

Some of the meritline blanks (purple label on top) have a very slight speckly look near the outside of the disk, and the player starts skipping when it hits this area. Other meritline blanks without this speckling work fine. I think they need to do a little more QC work on their production line. I'm going to get some of the unbranded meritline cheapies to test as well.

I rubbed the speckly area lightly with an alcohol-soaked q-tip - No effect, the speckles seem to be below the surface, probably on the media layer.

These blanks work fine for data storage (which is probably how I'll use the speckly ones), however best to check before using them for video storage.

N.

[jdobbs]

Upgraded to 1.80 hoping to get 2x recording on generic disks -- that part was a no-go. Seems to work okay in every other way. I can't really see a difference.

[jeffnoone]

Is it possible to lose or change the "Region" of the A03 by reflashing with a frmware from another region

I'm in Region 1 (USA/CAnada) and the US site doesnt seem to have this update

I dont want to change region

If I use the firmware fromn this file "RT3A180.exe", what will happen to Region designation???

Thanks
Jeff

[jdobbs]

I'm in Region 1 too, the one from the Japanese site worked fine for me.

[Sockpuppet-uk]

Just as a footnote:
The 104 firmware works fine as well :-)

[bluespot]

Just an update,

I've burned 2 more movies since my last post, and both have been flawless. I think it's very safe to say that the firmware upgrade is what made the difference. Finally, generic media can play on my PS2! This probably means better standalone compatability too.

[Areku]

Do any region hacks exist for the A03?

ie. how 2 turn your A03 Region x to Region 9 ;)

[Adex]

I was using patched firmware 1.68 and everything worked just fine and now I'm using the just released patched 1.80 and so far everything is still great.

For anyone interested, you can download the new region free firmware from the following site.

http://www.geocities.com/drv103/

Cheers.

[ryutran18]

i have a sony vaio with a built in pioneer 103, firmware 1.55. when i try to upgrade the firmware to any version, i get a message, "please use firmware data for sony." i go to sony's website and don't see any firmware updates. please help me. i don't want to be stuck with 1.55 4ever.

[Nogami]

You need to use the patcher program to convert your drive to an A03 instead of a 103 - there's a program on that firmware page listed - upgrade your drive to a region-free 1.68, then use the latest patcher to get to 1.80 and it should work.

This WILL void your warantee, so if it kills your drive, it's your decision.

Or just wait for the offical sony upgrade.

N.

[leopardone]

COOL!!!
With 1.80 I can now burn MeritLine bulk dvd at 2X!!! :D


Edit: the sign is 2X but the speed is still 1X :(

But the rest is perfect! :D

[Vulpine]

The RPC-1 version of 1.80 is available. Follow the link on the firmware page:
http://perso.club-internet.fr/farzeno/firmware/

[Forko]

leopardone, what do you mean 2X thats cool, what software and version

[wakebrder]

All my problems with pixelating/freezing are gone!! I've had perfect results with this media so far:

1.Meritline golds
2.Judysdeals general use
3.Apple (well, they worked before)

Seems Pioneer got this one right. All the media mentioned above also burns at 2X with Prassi Primo DVD 2.0. Standalone is a JVC SA70BK. If you haven't upgraded yet, DO IT.

Edit: Prassi reports 2x, but is actually 1x.:mad: