Sigma chip-set Information - High Def

[trbarry]

So far I haven't tried and CQM or any custom Xvid encodings at all for this player. But I have been playing with it all afternoon.

It plays most, but not all, of my previous Xvid DVD-R's I've made. These are mostly either 720p or 540(+/-)p 1 pass CBR, no b-frames, qpel, or CQM. Bit rates were mostly in the 3-5 mbps range, with the original ac3 audio track. I've pretty much stuck to that formula for compatibility and ease of playing on slower machines. And I use a av receiver for audio decoding.

I only had one disc that I couldn't play. That one lock up the player so I had to power it off. But it played in my HTPC.

The big negative about this player with Xvid so far is that it cannot FF, skip, or reverse. I can hit the >> button until the cows come home and it will cycle thru ff1-ff4, never really going anywhere. That would probably be a show stopper for using this with Xvid if I didn't know it was easily firmware upgradeable.

I also played a couple of transport streams over the network. But to do this I had to rename them to .mpg, and the sound was torqued thru my receiver. But the decoded analog audio sounded more or less okay. Anyway, I won't be likely using it for transport streams yet either. They are supposed to have 'official' support for transport streams sometime after the first of the year.

I also played a couple of the MSFT WM9 downloadable trailers from the web. The player could play and even FF through the Amazing Caves and Coral Reef Adventure just fine. But with no audio. :(

Apparently someone has run off with my Coral Reefs DVD or I've misplaced it so I couldn't test that one.

I'm tired of playing with this thing now but I'll test more later to see what sort of other Xvid limitations may exist. I particularly want to see at what bit rate it starts having problems since the web only documents Xvid up to 1.5 mbps, which would make it be worthless to me. But I've alread played much more than that except for the FF limitations.

- Tom

[SeeMoreDigital]

Hi Tom,

Did you manage to upgrade your players firmware?


Cheers

[trbarry]

CmoreD -

Yeah, I updated. It may have been something I did to the gateway but more likely the previous Japenese message was just saying "no update needed". When one became available yesterday it also (I think) changed the message to English.
(possibly that's all it did ;) )

But it works now.

- Tom

[LordRPI]

Originally posted by trbarry
I particularly want to see at what bit rate it starts having problems since the web only documents Xvid up to 1.5 mbps, which would make it be worthless to me. But I've alread played much more than that except for the FF limitations.


From the testing in the office, we know we can go well beyond 1.5 Mbps with DivX. I'm actually asking around the office to get a test unit of these, but they're in big demand here :)

I might as well just buy one though. It's going to be a hot topic unil there's a whole line of competing products.

[trbarry]

I have not done any more Xvid (or WM9) testing yet. But yesterday I did watch a couple of ripped DVD's over the network with no problems.

I still intend to take maybe a 10 minute sequence of some movie and compress it with progressively higher bit rates and difficult options to see where the stress points are.

My previous opinion was that adding either b-frames or 1/4 pel would add maybe 10-15% extra dificulty for the player at the same bit rates. But it's been a long time since I tested those and I'll redo it all for the Linkplayer2.

- Tom

[SeeMoreDigital]

There seems to some good news regarding the Sigma's EM8620L chip-set...

Over on the AVS forum, a guy going by the name of Kermee has confirmed that high-def Mpeg4 streams can be encoded and played back at well 1.5Mbps...

Kermee wrote: - I made a 9 minute 38 second XviD clip of the AVeL LinkPlayer2 in action from start-up and streaming from the AVeL Link Server with various media types and shows some of the screens for navigation of the player.

It demonstrates:

1. Playback of a sample 1280x720p DivX-HD (5.0.3) encode of HDNet 2002 Hawaiian Tropics I made. And how FF (Fast-Forward) works in it. Audio is AC3 interleaved into AVI container. Average video bitrate is 6 Mbps. (Two-pass VBR encode).

2. Playback of a sample 1440x1080p anamorphic PAR flagged XviD-HD (1.0.2) encode of Matrix Reloaded I made. (Source was 1080i/29.97 telecined to 1080p/23.976). Audio is AC3 interleaved into AVI container. Average video bitrate is 8 Mbps (Two-pass VBR encode).

3. Playback of the Magic of Flight 1440x1080p anamorphic flagged WMV9-HD sample from Microsoft. Notice there's no audio. That's because the audio is WMA Pro.

4. Playback of the Shark Tale 1280x720p DivX-HD trailer available from www.divx.com.

5. Playback of 1280x720p XviD-HD (1.0.2) encode of The Incredibes movie trailer played on INHD. Source was 1080i transport stream. Interleaved AC3 in AVI container. Average video bitrate is 6 Mbps (Two-pass VBR encode).What I find very interesting is that the chip-set seems to be able to support Mpeg4 streams containing far more than 1280x720 (921,600 total) pixels (Sigma's official stated limit). Indeed, it appears Kermee has been successful at encoding and playing back Mpeg4 streams containing 1440x1080 (1,555,200 total) pixels :D

If anybody here can confirm the same?


Cheers

[trbarry]

If anybody here can confirm the same?


I'll try to make one over the weekend along with finishing up my other testing if no one else has already done so.

- Tom

[SeeMoreDigital]

Thanks Tom... I knew I could count on you!

Sadly, I reckon you must be the only forum member with one of these players!


Cheers

[trbarry]

Sadly, I reckon you must be the only forum member with one of these players!

Oops. I hadn't realized that. I've only been tinkering with mine as I happened to have some extra time, not often.

- Tom

[SeeMoreDigital]

It sounds like another stand-alone player is about to be launched based around Sigma's EM8620L chip-set.

An Australian company called Zensonic, has just announced it's intension to release the Z500 (which reminds me of an motorcycle I once had). Anyway, more information can be found here: -

http://www.zensonic.com/press_z500.php


Cheers

[trbarry]

Well, I played around a bit more today and maybe I'm just doing something stupid but I don't think I can recommend this player for Xvid. Not yet anyway.

I made a few 5 minute Spiderman CBR clips at varying bit rates with no 1/4 pel or b-frames to see if I could find out what the bit rate max really was. I used the MPEG quant, which was a bad idea. All the clips hung the player such that I needed to push the off button on the front to reset it.

Curiously a "1024x576 + Soulhunters v3 @ Q2 + 1/1/1 B-VOPs" seemed to play just fine, including FF, pause, rewind.

But after FF or rewind I could often lose the audio or have it become very choppy through my AV receiver. The sound was still fine on the stereo analog outputs.

I then made a 6 mbps CBR as above but with H263 quants. That one also worked except for the FF audio problems.

BTW, sometimes FF would cause FF1 to appear on the screen but not otherwise seem to go anywhere. Then the next time it would work.

There is probably some set of good Xvid options that would work but I'll probably wait for another firmware release before relying on any of them or regularly using this player for Xvid playback much with other clips. Though I'm still intending to keep the box.

Testing above was all done thru the network, defining a 2nd server. I haven't bothered to burn any test DVDR's with this material.

I've been using Koepi's 10-30-2004 Xvid 1.1 build for these tests.

Later on I think I'll try some WM9 VCM/ac3 on the same clip and see if that works any better.

- Tom

[Soulhunter]

Originally posted by trbarry

Curiously a "1024x576 + Soulhunters v3 @ Q2 + 1/1/1 B-VOPs" seemed to play just fine...

Big thanks for ya investigation... :)

Good to know this player eats my encodes !!!


Bye

[trbarry]

Yep. Mine too, except for the FF ac3 audio issues. Hope they fix that soon.

But as I mentioned a few days ago I sampled maybe a dozen Xvid HD DVD-R's I'd made and it played all but one of them.

BTW, I was surprised it handled custom quants. I hope I didn't screw something up there.

Also, I'm still testing but have not yet run into anything resembling a max bit rate, at least for my simple CBR encodes. So I don't know what's up with that silly 1.5 mbps Xvid limit claimed on the web site.

It still scares me though. :scared:

- Tom

[SeeMoreDigital]

Originally posted by trbarry
BTW, I was surprised it handled custom quants. I hope I didn't screw something up there. I must admit I'm not..... As my Sigma Xcard has been able to play just about every custom matrix I've ever thrown into it!

That said however, it hates any type of XviD encode that's been encoded with B-VOP. Which is a real bummer!


Cheers

[trbarry]

A couple of further data points here.

An Xvid CBR with 1 bframe & 1/4 at 8.5 mbps consistantly froze the system as above. However as I was typing this I remembered I had just turned on packed bitstream for another test. So I'll redo it.

A VM9 VCM 8.5 mbps test with ac3 played fine with no green squares others have reported. But like other tests sometimes FF and RW either did not work or led to choppy ac3 audio. Also it looked a bit softer then I'd expected. Maybe my eyes are just getting tired here.

Finally, the remote is very sluggish when getting things from the server. Sometimes keystrokes are stacked up, making me play unintended files and not the ones I'm trying to select. Since I've created so many 'Xvids of Doom' in that folder it means I keep resetting the box. Partially user error.

Also (maybe correctly) if I FF or RW past the begin or end of a file it goes to the next one. But again with deadly files in the folder that means the power switch.

- Tom

[SeeMoreDigital]

Hi Tom,

Jeez I really hope Sigma hasn't ignored the XviD B-VOP problem. This has been a big issue for Sigma Xcard owners for a couple of years now!

There was a time when only "DivX" files encoded with B-VOP worked with the Xcard. However, since the launch of DivX5.1.x (with its "adaptive B-VOP" implementation), Xcard users have found that such encodes don't play correctly either!

In fact, the only Mpeg4 codec that's able to generate B-VOP encodes that work with the Xcard is NeroDigital's Recode2!


Cheers

[trbarry]

There was a time when only "DivX" files encoded with B-VOP worked with the Xcard. However, since the launch of DivX5.1.x (with its "adaptive B-VOP" implementation), Xcard users have found that such encodes don't play correctly either!

SMD -

I don't have an xcard and have not followed the gossip on them. Are you telling me that Sigma/Xcard chips still can't play Xvid files with b-vops?

What b-vop parms should I use to test this? 1 bvop? Ratios? Packed? Closed Gov?

Is there any combo known to work (better)?

Luckily most of my own encodings don't have either bvop or qpel since I was avoiding the play overhead for a slower machine and usually have lots of space on a dvdr. But this is just too picky and I'd hoped to losen that up a bit as I go back to just using increasinly cheaper USB drives hung on my server.

- Tom

[SeeMoreDigital]

Originally posted by trbarry
I don't have an xcard and have not followed the gossip on them. Are you telling me that Sigma/Xcard chips still can't play Xvid files with b-vops?That's correct!

The encodes play but are unwatchable, due to dropped frames and severe video rolling at the bottom of the video frame!

Originally posted by trbarry
What b-vop parms should I use to test this? 1 bvop? Ratios? Packed? Closed Gov?

Is there any combo known to work (better)??I really don't know when it comes to the EM8620L this chip-set. All I really know about, are the problems associated with the Xcard's EM8475 chip-set!

I wonder whether Sigma EM8500/8550 chip-set player users (ie: Elta 8882, Hiteker 920, Kiss DP-450, DP-470, DP-500, DP-1000, DP-1500, LiteOn LVD2001, Scott 842, TransGear DVX-500e, Yamakawa 365, 375, etc), can comment on their XviD B-VOP experiences?

Originally posted by trbarry
Luckily most of my own encodings don't have either bvop or qpel since I was avoiding the play overhead for a slower machine and usually have lots of space on a dvdr. But this is just too picky and I'd hoped to losen that up a bit as I go back to just using increasinly cheaper USB drives hung on my server. Most of my encodes don't contain B-VOP or Qpel either... they're just straight forward "simple profile" affairs generated using XviD. In fact, I think it's fair to say my XviD SP encodes look better than my DivX encodes with B-VOP. I've also found, encodes generated using Recode2 are giving DivX a run for their money!


Cheers

[manono]

My only experience is with the first generation Sigma Designs chipset.

I've tested a number of Custom Quant Matrices, and almost all have worked OK, including several of Soulhunter's. In fact, the only one that gave me any problems at all was the Fox Networks one, and it put green blotches on the video from time to time. Sigma's are the best of all the chipsets about playing CQM, I think.

I've used 1 and 2 B-Frames with no problems at all.

Where I've had problems is with AC3 muxed with different settings. I've had the best luck with Nandub's 96/96. Using VDub's standard settings resulted in jerky play from time to time. And Packed Bitstream was also a no-no. It played very badly. I don't use QPel or GMC, but then, they didn't work with the first-gen Sigma chipsets anyway.

I find it hard to believe that Sigma has gone backwards in regards to what it can play well. But you never know how well I-O Data has implemented the chipset.

So, Tom, if I were you, I'd make sure that Packed Bitstream is off. And maybe generate your test encodes without any audio at all, in order to rule that out as a stumbling block. But as far as I know, any B-Frame settings within reason should work well. I usually use 1/1/1, but the default 2/1.5/1 should also work well. All had Closed GOV.

[trbarry]

I was about to give up on this thing for playing Xvid since there seems to be no consistancy it what I can play or not. For instance I can encode the 5 minute clip a 6 mbps and have it work but use the same parms to encode it at 3 mbps and have it fail.

But I notice that on my new Xp installation I have a new Vdubmod which has defaulted again to interlacing ac3 every frame. I'll fiddle with that a bit and see if it helps.

But for my HD caps I insist on using ac3 throuh my receiver. That's the only way I can get 5.1 audio.

It sure is funny though that I can play so many of my old encoding but so few of the new ones. I previously tested more on the DVDR's I had lying around and now I'm just testing network play so I wonder if that's the difference.

- Tom

[trbarry]

No luck. I followed Manono's suggestion and both played with the interleave factors and even trimmed audio completely out of the 3 mbps no-b no-q clip and it still fails.

It occurs to me that on my new Xp installion I don't even have a working DVDR writer soft. From the last time I tried this (b4 going back to Win/Me) I remember my PrassiDVD won't work here. But that means I can't easily burn these to a DVDR.

Is there a good free soft I can download that will easily burn data discs? If not I think I have a demo copy of Nero somewhere in a box that came with my burner but I have no idea where it is after my last move.

- Tom

[SeeMoreDigital]

Originally posted by trbarry
No luck. I followed Manono's suggestion and both played with the interleave factors and even trimmed audio completely out of the 3 mbps no-b no-q clip and it still fails. This doesn't sound like very good news. There's no apparent logical reason why "simple profile" XviD encodes should not to work!

I can't help you with DVD burning software... My Nero software came bundled with my current BTC burner!


Cheers

[Soulhunter]

Originally posted by trbarry

Is there a good free soft I can download that will easily burn data discs?

Maybe try this... (http://www.cdburnerxp.se/) ;)


Bye

[trbarry]

Thanks. The burner software worked fine. I'd never heard of CDBurnerXP before.

On the good side the Linkplayer could read the DVD. On the bad side all the errors were identical to what I posted above.

Here's a stupid question for most anyone. I've never paid attention to or set profile levels in Xvid. Anyone know if there is some requirement for that here?

Otherwise I might try rolling back to a previous version just to see what shakes out.

- Tom

[Soulhunter]

Afaik XviD's profile settings only block the "not level conform" options...

But I guess this player dont follows the MPEG4 profile/level restrictions !?!


Bye

[trbarry]

Until future developments I'm not going to rely on the Linkplayer2 as a hardware HD Xvid player.

Possibly I'll play around a bit more after the next firmware update of if I get any great ideas for Xvid parm changes. But in the mean time I'm just going to continue archiving in my simple to play CBR format and software playback, though I might try a couple in WM9.

I'll post if the situation changes significantly but for now I don't recommend the darn thing.

- Tom

[SeeMoreDigital]

With regard to the I-O Data AVeL LinkPlayer2, here's another AVS forum link detailing some FAQ's: -

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?s=&postid=4871140


Cheers

[SeeMoreDigital]

It looks like new firmware has been released for you I-O DATA AVEL LINKPLAYER2 owners living in the US:

Date: December 29, 2004
The latest Verion: 04-33-041227-01-IOD-234-000
[ Bug Fix ]
- WMA noise problem fixed
[ Codec Support ]
- AVI2.0 (Over 2GB)
- DivX® HD Movie (Full version)
- MPEG2-TS (Standard Spec: Packet Size 188 Bytes)
[ Additional Functions ]
- UDF Format Support for DVD/CD media
- CD-ROM Update Function
- Add the "Drive Speed" menu to change drive spin speed
- Add "Square Pixel" mode on video zoom menu for a adjustment of AVI aspect ratio
[ Notice ]
- For LinkServer users, it needs to be updated for MPEG2-TS playback
- For Advanced Server users, it has not had 100% compatibility for the latest firmware


http://www.iodata.com/news/culture.php?ts=21&tsc=24&newsID=56

Cheers

[trbarry]

Well, some more interesting things to play with. ;)

Maybe with the new firmware I can get Xvid 720p working now. Anyway, I should have some more time to play with it this weekend.

Anybody know what that advanced server does? It looks like it demuxes and/or decodes some things in software and then sends it to the player. But in what form? Raw? Recoded?

One of my servers is fairly slow and I've hesitated to put up the advanced server software on it since it wouldn't have the power to be processing HD resolutions in pure software anyway.

- Tom

[SeeMoreDigital]

Originally posted by trbarry
Anybody know what that advanced server does? It looks like it demuxes and/or decodes some things in software and then sends it to the player. But in what form? Raw? Recoded? To be honest I don't know.... and I can't think why such software needs to be so "advanced"!

A 100Mbps network connection seems to be the norm these days, which should be fast enough to cope with most content. I have an old PC which I connect to my network from time to time. It has loads of old media files on it... I've never had any problems getting my main PC/Xcard to see them and play them!

That said, I'm now favouring the idea of storing media files on large capacity hard-drives connected via USB2.0 and/or FireWire.... Shame, that this player does not offer both connections :(


Cheers

[trbarry]

Originally posted by SeeMoreDigital
[B]To be honest I don't know.... and I can't think why such software needs to be so "advanced"!

A 100Mbps network connection seems to be the norm these days, which should be fast enough to cope with most content. I have an old PC which I connect to my network from time to time. It has loads of old media files on it... I've never had any problems getting my main PC/Xcard to see them and play them!

Well, a 100 mbps connection probably only gets half that on the average. And if the decoding was taking place on the server and sent as 8 bit RGB that would be a problem since even a 720x480x24 movie would take about 199 mbps if not compressed. And HD would be hard even at a gig in that format, though almost possible in 4:2:0 I guess.


That said, I'm now favouring the idea of storing media files on large capacity hard-drives connected via USB2.0 and/or FireWire.... Shame, that this player does not offer both connections :(

I've just been buying 120 GB USB drives at my local Sam's club recently and hanging them on my server as needed. But that's sort of an interim solution.

- Tom

[trbarry]

I loaned my player to a friend for awhile and it was only today when I found some time to hook it up again and play with it a bit more.

This may merit a second look now. I downloaded the new firmware and it now plays all the Spiderman Xvid test clips that I was previously complaining about above, including up to at least 8 mbps 720p. Maybe it's just having a good day.

I still seem to have some issues with playing transport streams directly though if I strip one with HDTV2MPEG2 it seems to work.

- Tom

[Custom_VCD]

Does this player play, the new Nero AVC mpeg-4 by chance?

[SeeMoreDigital]

Originally posted by Custom_VCD
Does this player play, the new Nero AVC mpeg-4 by chance? I'm afraid not.

Currently, there are no stand-alone players supporting Mpeg4/AVC.

[SeeMoreDigital]

Sadly, as reported by Doom9 (over on the main page), it sounds like the proposed KISS range of players, supporting Sigma's high-def EM8620L chip-set, have been delayed again!

http://img148.exs.cx/img148/1503/unwelcomenewss7sv.gif

Sufficed to say, there has been some problems with the I-O DATA players. However, it's difficult to determine how much of this is down to I-O DATA or Sigma!

But seeing as though, the chip-set is Sigma's and placed in a development kit which is Sigma's design... I'll leave you guys to decide where the problems may lie....


Cheers

[SeeMoreDigital]

As reported earlier, an Australian based company called Zensonic are manufacturing an high-def DVD player based around Sigma's EM8620 chip-set.

http://img176.exs.cx/img176/1576/player6jx.png

More information about the player can be found over on the AVS Forum: -

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?s=&threadid=482136

But, what's interesting is, they are asking advice from prospective customers, about what can be included in the player. So if you have something to say... please do so... fast ;)

Here's what a representative from Zensonic has provided so far: -

Some differences between the Zensonic Z500 over the IODATA unit.

1. The IODATA does not support DVI HDCP which by law now is required on all DVI devices (HDCP)

2. The Z500 uses totally written from the ground up firmware and will not use the reference design or reference board unlike IODATA

3. The Z500 will support ID3 Tag on the VFD display on the unit, the IODATA does not support it unless they change hadrware

4. The Z500 will support up to 16MB of Flash memory and 64MB of DDR Memory. Not sure how much the IODATA has.

5. The Z500 will support Jog dial on the remote similar to the Mouse scroll button where it makes it much easier to navigate through huge MP3 files

6. The Z500 will support 5:1 analog outputs. Not sure if the IODATA does or not.

7. The Z500 will support WPA wireless encryption. Not sure if IODATA supports that or not.


These are the major differences between the 2 units. The US$ RRP will be $299.

Should you have any questions please feel free to ask. I will try and answer as many questions as possible.

Cheers

Chuna
(Zensonic Corp)
And here's their spec: -

http://img181.exs.cx/img181/1237/spec1uv.png

Note, support for the Matroska container...


Cheers

[SeeMoreDigital]

Hi Tom and other I-O DATA player owners.....

You may all like to know that I-O DATA has just released new firmware for the player!


Cheers

[Wilbert]

But, what's interesting is, they are asking advice from prospective customers, about what can be included in the player. So if you have something to say... please do so... fast
Ask them about DivX/XviD with muxed subs. You know, the samples I sent you a few months ago.

[SeeMoreDigital]

Originally posted by Wilbert
Ask them about DivX/XviD with muxed subs. You know, the samples I sent you a few months ago. Good point!

I will ask the question :)


Cheers

[Wilbert]

Perhaps you can also give the link to the samples :) Btw, will they be sold in Europe too?

[SeeMoreDigital]

Originally posted by Wilbert
... Btw, will they be sold in Europe too? I don't see any reason why not.

Australia is a PAL (region 4) country and Zensonic have had the presence of mind to fit a scart socket and "proper" component video outputs, instead of that awful D4 connector...

But I guess the question needs asking too!


Cheers

[chuna]

Hi Everyone,

I just got the right to post here finally.

As for availaibilty in Europe, we intend on distribution in Europe. We are currently seeking distribution.

The firmware currently is in its early stages so a lot of the questions I may not be able to answer just yet due to the engineers that havent got to that part of the code yet. More and more answers will come as and when they are developed.

One note is that this unit will be Nero Digital certified as a lot of people use Nero Digital.

So I will try my best to answer as many question but if I cant please be patient and if not answered it is notbecause I am ignoring that question, it is because I dont have the answer yet from the engineers and I dont want to bug them this early.

So if you feel you want to start a new thread on the Z500 please feel free to so as to keep it seperate from other threads.

Cheers

Chuna
Zensonic Corporation
www.z500series.com.

[SeeMoreDigital]

Hi chuna, and a warm welcome to the forum.

It looks like you've already found the dedicated Zensonic Z500 thread (http://forum.doom9.org/showthread.php?s=&postid=602738#post602738), so it's probably best to ask/answer all the questions about your player their.


Cheers

[len0x]

Looks like IOData playes can be bought in the UK now:
http://www.ng03.co.uk/acatalog/ng03_Shop_I_O_Data_Linkplayer_2_19.html
(but look at the %^&%^& price!)
There is also another instersting product there - Roku Labs HD1000 Photobridge:
http://www.ng03.co.uk/acatalog/ng03_Shop_Roku_Labs_HD1000_20.html

[SeeMoreDigital]

Originally posted by len0x
Looks like IOData playes can be bought in the UK now:
http://www.ng03.co.uk/acatalog/ng03_Shop_I_O_Data_Linkplayer_2_19.html
(but look at the %^&%^& price!)
There is also another instersting product there - Roku Labs HD1000 Photobridge:
http://www.ng03.co.uk/acatalog/ng03_Shop_Roku_Labs_HD1000_20.html Thanks len0x,

Wow... that's "some kinda price" for the I-O DATA player!

There is supposed to be a specially built I-O DATA player coming to the European market. So with this in mind, I would strongly urge people on this forum to wait.

For those interested in the Roku_Labs_HD1000. Here's a direct link to the devices specification: -

http://www.rokulabs.com/products/photobridge/specsheet.php


Cheers

[SeeMoreDigital]

There has been some confusing rumours circulating various web sites and forums, stating that Sigma's EM8620L chip-set is able to support Mpeg4/AVC playback!

So yesterday I contacted Keith Jack of Sigma, who has been kind enough to clarify the companies current chip-set situation: -

RE: Sigma's chip-sets and Mpeg4/AVC (H.264)

The EM8620L does not support VC-1 and H.264.

The EM8622L and EM8624L chips are new versions that do support it. EM8622L is pin compatible with EM8620L to enable manufacturers to quickly shift to the new chip.

Keith Jack
Sigma Designs
So there we go ;)


Cheers

[SeeMoreDigital]

Sorry...

I'm a bit late informing you guys about this, however Buffalo have indeed released their high-def LinkTheater (Ref: PC-P3LWG/DVD) player.

Currently the player only seems to be available in Japan and North America. That said, things might change so it's best keep looking in at ther web site, which can be found here (http://www.buffalotech.com/products/product-detail.php?productid=96&categoryid=18).

More detailed information can be found over on the AVS forum, here (http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?s=&threadid=495915).


Cheers

[masken]

Another player with the EM8620L chipset, Transtechnology DVX-700 series:
http://www.trans-technology.com/default.asp?PAGE=DVX_700_SERIES

PDF:
http://219.123.247.228/~dloeffler/TTEuropeWebSiteLinks/brochures/DVX-700E.pdf

Claims HD playback, WMV9 & 10, got different playback modes through an "ultimate server" (networked) etc...

[niknik]

Sadly, as reported by Doom9 (over on the main page), it sounds like the proposed KISS range of players, supporting Sigma's high-def EM8620L chip-set, have been delayed again!

That was over 1 year ago... LOL
I think they'll just skip it entirely... I really don't understand why this has happened. (Good for Zensonic, Snazzio, and all the other companies :)

As for the "DP-700" from what I hear it really seems to be a "HD-DVD/Blueray" player - except for the actual media drive itself. :)

Not that I'm counting or "waiting" for it, but maybe some of the other companies will come out with a similar offer and a real launch date?

[laserfan]

Ancient thread, I know. But I'm wondering if anyone here has "hit a wall" wrt MPEG2 bitrates and their EM8620L player. My Pinnacle SC200 plays HDTV files just fine (typically 15Mb/s upwards to 19Mbps) but I'm wondering if I re-encode some HD DVD material if there's a particular upper limit I have to worry about?

I want to stick w/MPEG2 so I can edit some scenes into a "best of" demo for my HT...