d2cheer

It happens with the still filter on, that is what I was attempting to explaine... sorry If it didn't sound like that. I should also mention that this separation does not occur with the same DVD's on my DVD-Rom drive...

Doc Moonlight

I just received 3 DVDs from Amazon.uk.co that were released by Cromwell Productions Limited.

One, THE BRUCE, plays perfectly on my Malata N-996.

Another, 1746-THE LAST HIGHLAND CHARGE, plays the supplementary materials (trailer, music video) fine, but locks up when I try to play the feature.

The third, SCOTTISH BATTLES, loads fine, but freezes when I try to select any of the 3 battles on the menu page.

I have the most recent firmware (November 01). I have tried stopping during the copywrite page and starting from the programming page, but this doesn't seem to work.

Any suggestions on how I can fix this problem?

Treilak

i'm having a problem with the Parental Control on my Malata N960. It came set to PG-R. I want to change the setting, but the player asks for a password. I NEVER set a password and if there is a default password (I assume there must be), it's not listed in my instruction book.

Any ideas?

Ted Todorov

I'm having a problem with my Malata N996 and Sony KV-32FX65 (a 16:9 multi-standard European Sony), connected via S-Video.

The problem stems from what I suspect to be incorrectly flagged DVDs. With the Malata, the TV is always set to "Wide" (anamorphic) mode, with the Malata being set to 16:9. With badly flagged disks, the TV will automatically change from Wide to 4:3 and back again. If I set the Malata to 4:3, and the Sony to 4:3, then it will switch itself from 4:3 to "Smart" (stretch) mode.

I would really love any and all advice on disabling this phenomenon.

Again let me emphasize that this is very rare -- I have only observed it with L'intégrale de Serge Gainsbourg à Gainsbarre de 1958 à 1991 (R2 - France) (a 4:3 disk) and Three Colors Blue (R2 - UK) (Possibly on some of the 4:3 supplements, I'll have to go back and double check).

I have not had any problems with numerous other R2 - PAL DVD both 16:9 and 4:3

Thanks,
Ted

late_but_earnest

I did a quick search and didn't see this problem discussed, so here's mine.

I get faint vertical bars on my screen while playing a dvd. The only time it's noticible is when the screen is dark.

I've purchased a better component video cable but that had no effect. I've screwed around trying a bunch of different things but there was no change.

Today I connected a panasonic rp56 and the artifact disappeared.

Do I have a lemon?

funkydjmcescher

Hmm... has anyone had problems with Dumbo ?
I had the GF's rugrats over & when I popped it in it locked up on chapter 2.
All other features work A-OK (trailers,songs,etc.).
I have the June 2001 FW & I never bothered with the Nov. FW upgrade.
Strange.... or is it ?

Harlock415

Try 3308 when it asks for a password. You have to have the player stopped without a disc in it to enter into the Preferences menu under setup. There you can change password and setting. I just did it on my 960.

Now, I seem to have a relatively unimportant problem. No closed captioning on any of my discs that have them. Anybody have any ideas?

slymer

News flash! The Malata 520 still won't play the subtitles on the 2nd disc of the Stupendous "Red Wolf"!

Goremeister

Hey folks. I have a question for any Malata owner regarding the video filters on the N996. The manual is totally useless & doesn't say what the "SMART" or "CAMERA 1" or "CAMERA 2" filters are for. I noticed that the picture gets steadier when you use the "STILL" filter with certain PAL discs. Most noticeably(out of my collection) NIGHTMARE CITY & my UFO BOX SET have much steadier credits & fine detail also stops shimmering when this filter is used instead of the default "MOVIE" filter. I noticed that if you put an NTSC disc in afterwards, you have to change it back to the MOVIE filter or you get all these horizontal bars with any fast movement. I also have some PAL discs(ISLAND OF DEATH, EYE FOR HORROR ~ 2nd disc in UK SLEEPLESS set) where you can't use the STILL filter or you get those same horizontal bars as you do with NTSC discs. Having to change these filters all the time is a real pain in the neck. Has anyone else noticed this? Is there a site out there that's dedicated to the MALATA like there is for the SAMPO? Thanks in advance for any help.

axolotls return

Yes. I agree, it's hit or miss with PAL discs. Even within the same disc I sometimes have to switch filters. My #1 problem with the Malata. And yes, I have the Sleepless 2-Disc set. and vouch for your problems, as well. Malata has a problem with incorrectly flagged discs. Search the forums for the Malata Thread, it will give you everything you need to know.

Goremeister

Thanks for the quick reply. I'm glad I'm not the only one. I don't understand why SLEEPLESS plays perfect with the "STILL" filter on & EYE FOR HORROR has these horizontal bars that appear when this mode is on. I have to keep it in the "MOVIE" mode & the picture is so unsteady. My SAMPO didn't even have this problem. I also heard that the picture was so great & I still notice artifacting with certain discs in night scenes. I read so many good reviews regarding the player & no one ever pointed this out. A damn shame. The XY scaling feature is the best thing about this machine but having to change the filter constantly really ruins it. I guess many people who give the player high regards don't play PAL discs very often. It plays region coded NTSC discs just fine when in the default "MOVIE" filter setting but isn't the main reason to buy this player to play PAL dvds? If I want to view a region 3 NTSC disc then I'll just watch it on my region free Pioneer 525. I guess I should have done more reading before purchasing but even now no one brings this up. Thanks for your help.

Hannibal

I think no one brings this up because it isn't a problem. The very fact that the Malata allows you tweak it to your hearts content along with x-y scaling for the price is one of the best things. I love the fact that I can zoom out to almost no overscan and see things I previously missed with my previous region locked NTSC player. I have a number of Pal discs and it takes less than 10 seconds. You can do all the reading you want and you'll come around full circle back to the Malata. Gross generally,"Smart" is the best filter to use as a default. "Still" for SOMEPal movies to eliminate shakiness and "Movie" for SOMEanimation. Your mileage may vary..
Pal discs I have so far (most "shake")
Iron Monkey
The Edge
Private Parts
Ring
Ring 2
Gormernghast BBC series
Secret of Nimh
Corrs: Lansdowne Road

Output: RGB via component outs with SYNC on composite
to Panasonic lcd projector.

axolotls return

A gross generalization. What PAL titles do you have? In the previous threads, Matt questioned the same thing and I listed a few PAL discs that did not look good at "Still" and few other followed before the issue disappeared.

I have quite a lot of PAL discs (almost as many as my NTSC ones) and some do not play properly with any filter setting, some play perfect, so have to be switched throughout the movie etc...

The new player (forgot the name) they are talking about in AVS uses the same chip, but has no user selectable filter settings, and no one has answered whether it does the PAL->NTSC conversion since the person testing it is using a projector.

Jojo

I think the new player you are talking about is JVC XV-S500BK.
This player also use the same Mediamatics chip as Malata. However, it does not have the filter. I am also wondered if it has the shimmering problem when playing PAL discs or not.

axolotls return

Nope. I'll find it in a minute

axolotls return

Product Here:

http://www.xindakaudio.com/en/news/viewdoc.asp?id=5

Thread here:

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showt...s&pagenumber=3

benedict

Welcome to the forum Goremeister. When you are new, as is probably the case with all communities, it pays to spend a little time observing and seeing how things are done.

I am merging your thread with the pre-existing, long-standing, multi-part "help" resource. We cannot have 50% of threads as Malata discussions.


Benedict

Goremeister

Sorry about that.

I didn't know you had a certain way of doing things. Makes sense & I'll know in the future.

Simon

Goremeister

I was wondering what your hook up is? Do you use component or composite outputs? I use composite because my tv doesn't have the blue/green inputs. I don't know if the picture would be steadier if my tv had those inputs.

jtkv

Anyone use their N996 to playback MP3 songs?
I made a CD to test it out, and ran into some issues...

It will play MP3s encoded at 128k and 160k bitrates.
It seems to skip other files encoded at higher bit-rates, but it will play 224K bit-rates.

Does anyone know for sure what bit-rates the N996 supports?

Seems to work with: 128k, 160k and 224k
Seems to not like: 192k and 256k

Can anyone else confirm my findings??


Also, it will not play files in sub-directories. You can go into a subdirectory and play the files in there. Seems to only read files in current directory.

There is a number of files limit when it display the listings of files.
I have 200+ files in the root of the CDR, but after 100 or so files, the listing turns to blank, even though you can still play those unlabeled files....


regards,
J.T.

Mutant

Hmmm... it's supposed to support up to 320kbit, although I haven't tried the high bitrates myself. I did try VBR encoding and some of the sections were going up to 320kbit and I didn't have any skipping issues. I can only confirm that lower bitrates does work fine in CBR encoding.

I can also confirm that it doesn't play files in sub-directories. This doesn't bother me too much though.

J.T. - what firmware version do you have? I noticed some changes between the original firmware and the Nov'01 version that I upgraded to.
One change is that the listing of the files does not scroll in playback anymore. Quite annoying. Another good changes is that it seems to support ID3V2 tags now while before it didn't recognize those tagged with V2 as mp3 files.

jtkv

I have the original firmware still... no reason for me to upgrade yet.
I guess I really shouldn't be using the N996 to play MP3s.
It'll wear it down faster...


J.T.

Matt Stevens

I don't care what DVD player you have, if the artifacts are in the source, then they are in the source. For example, some of HKL's titles have a lower bit rate and sections are prone to artifacts, no matter what player you use.

roseart

I am having an issue with my PAL DVDs. I have a 35" Sony TV , and when a PAL DVD is Anamorphic, the left side of the bars jump just a little, both on the bottom and top. It doesn't matter if I choose still or smart.

Any ideas?

Matt Stevens

Does your Sony give you tilt correction? if so, try tilting 1 degree right or left.

Also, how are you connected/ Composite (bad), S-Video (good), Component (best)?