zensonic z300

[wim]

EDIT: z300 is no longer available (august '04).
this player has been superseded by the z330. pics here (http://www.susanglenn-hume.com/wim/zensonic/).

[Hackerjac]

if you want vobsub suport, then you won't buy any standalone divx player since none of them suports vobsub, only srt txt file and i think the sigma 85xx based player also suports sub txt file

[wim]

i know vobsub support is probably wishful thinking... i know there is currently no vobsub support on ANY standalone player (and xbox hack ppl don't tell me what to do.. i don't want an xbox!)

but a release of hardware player with proper subtitle support.. we've been waiting years for this.. is it REALLY too much to ask for!?!? i mean the vobsub stream is the same as a dvd subtitle stream isn't it? (modulus the unraring) so the player is doing the same kind of work anyway it's just in some other part of the chipset which handles dvd.

well considering processor power doubling every couple of years and the speed of improvement in desktop hardware, i don't see why the improvement in standalone hardware is comparitively so slow. i bet there's a huge market of folks who are just lurking and waiting for that perfect hardware player to be released

[wim]

huh i just realised this thing looks almost the same as the neuneo player! i bet it is an exact copy. does anyone here have any good/bad experiences with the neuneo player?

[Mr Whippy]

Originally posted by wim
huh i just realised this thing looks almost the same as the neuneo player! i bet it is an exact copy. does anyone here have any good/bad experiences with the neuneo player?

Neuneo is a GE variant. Loader is the usual weedy slim tray. Lacks SCART of some other units, and also lacks video adjustment features of the DE (sharpness, luma, gamma)

One slight gripe is that "displayed time" is shown up on every Divx movie selection, so "display" needs to be pressed until it disappears.

Also Neuneo QC is a bit dodgy (my transport when CRUNCH) within 2 days. Neuneo are sending me a new mech FOC.

The transport can be considered to be noisy (6 year old Sony is dead silent, H&B/Neuneo whirrs and clicks loudly) audible from 3-15 feet away, depending if you get a good 'un or a bad 'un..

A pretty good player, but expensive considering the £27 shipping + because it's GE version.

[wim]

so it's GE chipset? the big thread in this forum says neuneo is EE chipset...

seems many of the players available in australia are very similar.. tried a "trio" at strathfield and it did that thing where the counter display is on by default aswell. maybe it will be remedied in a firmware update

[Mr Whippy]

Originally posted by wim
so it's GE chipset? the big thread in this forum says neuneo is EE chipset...

Yep, Neuneo is GE (opened it up to check the damage- ribbon cable pulled itself out) Noticed the "GE" and a bit disappointed.:(

[speed_X]

Originally posted by wim
huh i just realised this thing looks almost the same as the neuneo player! i bet it is an exact copy. does anyone here have any good/bad experiences with the neuneo player?

I sure do have a bad experience with the NeuNeo player.
When you see their web page, they claim the chip used is divx certified, even if the player isn't. This would lead one to believe it contains a 1389DE or EE chip. Wrong!!! After purchasing mine I encountered very buggy and "iffy" behavior. I removed the chassis cover only to find a 1389GE chip. Boy, was I boiling mad!

I don't know if all their units are made with the GE chip however, I think most folks wouldn't purchase a player based on that particular chip, given a choice. I don't think the NeoDigits folks will be around for too long. Their players have so many issues and the availability of firmware fixes is limited. What purchasers of these units should worry about are the firmware updates from NeoDigits. If they're selling units with either the 1389GE,EE or DE chips, how would you know what firmware will fit your unit? In the case of the 1389GE chip, many quit functioning after ANY firmware update.

On an email received from "Roy" at NeoDigits, he claimed their suppliers sent them a batch of PCB's containing the GE chips but they normally use the boards with the EE chips and so sorry. When a manufacturer doesn't even know what chips are going into his products, do you think there is much in the way of quality control?

Let the buyer beware!

[speed_X]

Originally posted by wim
here it is...

http://www.susanglenn-hume.com/wim/host/z300.jpg

yes it is MTK 1389 chipset. read more here
http://www.zensonic.com/z300.php

if anyone has a chance to have a try of this player, please tell me how it handles subtitles (i want vobsub support for rar'ed subs, and also text based sub support) and how it shuffles (a working shuffle play on mp3 cds is essential to me)

Looks just like the NeuNeo player I had a bad experience with. I clicked on the links you posted and didn't notice any information about what version of the 1389xx it uses. Scroll up and read my posting about the NeuNeo player. I wouldn't purchase one 'till I got a confirmation from the manufacturer about what version of the 1389xx chip it uses.

[speed_X]

Hi!


I sent an email to the Zensonics sales department asking what chip is in their Z300 player and here is what they said:

"Yes the Z300 uses the MTK1389GE chipset. Unfortunately all the chipsets coming out of China uses the MTK1389GE chipset. You wont find any other chipsets of MTK other than the MTK1389GE in Australia either. Currently Mediatek is shipping mainly the GE chipsets"


Regards



Sales

I don't think the above information is correct. There are other, better versions of the chip available on the market, it's just that you have to pay more for them.

[wim]

speed_x, thanks for all your info.. unfortunately i got mine today and just came here to tell you all the same thing :p

On an email received from "Roy" at NeoDigits, he claimed their suppliers sent them a batch of PCB's containing the GE chips but they normally use the boards with the EE chips and so sorry

i'd hazard a guess to say "roy" probably lied to you. i bet they're all GE chips.

When you see their web page, they claim the chip used is divx certified, even if the player isn't. This would lead one to believe it contains a 1389DE or EE chip. Wrong!!! After purchasing mine I encountered very buggy and "iffy" behavior. I removed the chassis cover only to find a 1389GE chip. Boy, was I boiling mad!

i have seen this in many places too for the zensonic.. eg here (http://www.warcom.com.au/shop/flypage/divx_players/1118). i made a little page (http://www.susanglenn-hume.com/wim/zensonic) to warn australian buyers that they might not be getting what they thought if they buy this one. pretty dodgy marketing, you can get sued for that sort of stuff.

alas, bummer you got burned.
what sort of buggy and iffy behaviour did you experience? i haven't actually heard what the real differences between DE, EE, GE chipsets are. do you (or mr whippy) know?

I clicked on the links you posted and didn't notice any information about what version of the 1389xx it uses

LOL that's cause they must have taken it down now.. it used to say divx certified EE chipset on that official site! judging by the response from zensonic sales dep seems they just didn't know at the time. probably they got scammed, thinking they were getting a container of EE's.

There are other, better versions of the chip available on the market, it's just that you have to pay more for them.

where? any in aus? all i have seen is GE everywhere, abt 5 different brands and looks 'on the outside' but they're all clones and behave the same way.

[speed_X]

Hi wim and all!

When I put a DVD or CD into the NeuNeo I'm never sure if it will play it all the way or lock up. If it only happened with a small percentage of the media, that would be one thing. It happened about 50% of the time.

There are some players made with the DE and EE chips. Yamada 6600(DE), XMS989 (EE..I think), Philips DVP720 SA (EE).

BTW, all the players I've tested seem to stutter on spikes at the start of high bitrate scenes. I think many units need a better memory interface that will feed more info. to the chip when needed, meaning: more throughput.

I got so upset with the present players that I went ahead and built a dedicated media PC. All the units I've tested are not consumer ready and this comes from testing an RJTech 1500, NeuNeo, Philips DVP642 and a Yamada 6600. They all have many bugs and issues.

[wata]

i been waiting for vobsub support (my sub are in chinese)
since the first divx player
up to now still none, that why i brought a xbox player softmod and TSOP it.

[speed_X]

Originally posted by wata
i been waiting for vobsub support (my sub are in chinese)
since the first divx player
up to now still none, that why i brought a xbox player softmod and TSOP it.

Good for you wata! Let me tell you, a dedicated player is the way to go. I know my HTPC will play any file, subs or disc I put into it!

[PCB]

I have a Zensonic Z330 player. After i updated the firmware it was excellent. The only problem with it is the dvd tray won't close or open by it's self. I have to manually push to close or pull to open it. I sent the player back and was given a new one and the new player has the same problem.
I like the Zensonic apart from the tray problem.