Funai BD Player - Owner's Thread (Magnavox. Sylvania, Insignia, etc.)

[ronjones]

Originally Posted by GMUPatriotsn9

You're not kidding they have fewer issues!

I went to Best Buy a couple of weeks ago when here in VA they suspended sales taxes for a couple of days to encourage back to school shopping.

Anyway...by the time I got to Best Buy they were out of the Insignia version of this player. I had $50 worth of Best Buy Reward Zone certificates and a 12% off coupon good only that weekend so I couldn't go to Walmart and get their version of the Funai player.

Long story short, the Samsung BD-P1500 player I bought goes back to Best Buy in the morning. It wouldn't play Hunt for Red October until after the first firmware update, and even though the manual says it will accept firmware updates via the USB port, you have to do the first firmware update via CD so it'll recognize the port!

If they don't have the Funai player I'll wait until they get them back in stock because I'm not messing with Samsung again. It's amazing how a company that is so well regarded with their HDTVs has such a bad Blu Ray player.

This is the same way Samsung operated with their several generations of upscaling DVD players. They seem to release a new model before, or instead of fixing the problems with the current model.

[Blu Titan]

First time I have read this thread since May, since I am not a Funai Owner. Very impressed with the information presented here, and the satisfaction expressed by the owners.

[STARKILLER--1138]

My 12 year olds Magnavox works great. I thought about picking one up for myself as a back up to the PS3. Load times aren't as fast as the PS3, but it is a solid player.

[BDS23420]

anyone buy the one from Best Buy, if so what were the coupons inside for? the $100 worth of blu-ray movies, what movies were they for?

[ronjones]

Originally Posted by BDS23420

anyone buy the one from Best Buy, if so what were the coupons inside for? the $100 worth of blu-ray movies, what movies were they for?

The Best Buy coupon book consists of 10 coupons each good for $10 off when you purchase 2 BDs from the movies listed on that coupon (except for coupon number 9 listed below which is simply $10 off). Below is the list of titles available with each coupon. The expiration date on all of the coupons is Feb. 28, 2009.

1. Meet the Robinsons, Santa Clause 3, Chicken Little, The Game Plan, High School Musical 2, Underdog

2. Guardian, The Prestige, The Invisible, DeJavu, Con Air, Pearl Horbor

3 Pearl Harbor, The Rock, Con Air, Crimson Tide, Apocalypto, Gone in 60 Seconds

4. Invincible, The Gameplan, Remember the Titans, Wild Hogs, Pirates of the Caribbean-1 (POC-1), Guardian

5. POC-1, POC-2, POC-3

6. Cars, Ratatouille, Meet the Robinsons, Pixar Short Films Collection, Chicken Little

7. Apocalypto, Gone in 60 Seconds, Gone Baby Gone, Becoming Jane, The Rock, The Prestige

8. Bad Santa, Wild Hogs, Scary Movie, The Game Plan, Underdog

9. Lost Season 3

10. High School Musical 2, Santa Clause 3, The Game Plan, Underdog, Pixar Short Films Collection, Ratatouille

[ronjones]

I have updated Post #1 to add another BD title (i.e., Beowulf: Director's Cut) that the Funai players are reported to have issues with playing the Dolby TrueHD track.

[gushin]

With the number of different OEM players funai is making it's a shame that it seems they will not issue firmware updates for these. These issues, esp. the TrueHD problem, should be simple fixes.

If you're a company that wants to get into the Blu-ray market, you should be aware you're going to have to issue firmware updates periodically. The BD-java spec alones dictates that as amust du to the changing copy protection that can be implemented. It's idiotic to not please as many customers as Funai now has with all the different branded BD players out there they alone are producing.

[gushin]

In the Philips thread @ AVS forum some are reporting that Prom Night is having the same issue as Batman Begins and Beowulf playing 5.1 DD when TrueHD is selected. nayone having the same problem with the Mag? If so, add another movie to the list with this issue.

[Mr. Spiffy-Pants]

I'm not sure if this has been covered elsewhere or not, but I have an odd question: Will this player do 720p or 1080i output via component? I doubt it because it states that it will only upconvert DVDs via HDMI, but I thought I'd ask.

[ronjones]

Originally Posted by Mr. Spiffy-Pants

I'm not sure if this has been covered elsewhere or not, but I have an odd question: Will this player do 720p or 1080i output via component? I doubt it because it states that it will only upconvert DVDs via HDMI, but I thought I'd ask.

It will (of course) output BD at 720p and 1080i via component, but the DVD license requirements forbids output at these resolutions for DVD playback (even though some DVD players, usually off brands, have done it, but they are in violation of the DVD license.

[gushin]

Funai has announced a new player the B1-M110. So, Funai is taking the Samsung route. Instead of fixing the small problems on the current player, they'll just release a new player with the problems fixed. Even has Divx support.
Press release: http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/s...m,523056.shtml

[Mr. Spiffy-Pants]

Ok. It sounds like a good idea to wait until the next gen player, but I will definitely add it to my "consider buying" list for my bedroom LCD.

[gushin]

Anybody else try talking to Funai into releasing a firmware update?

[ronjones]

Originally Posted by gushin

Anybody else try talking to Funai into releasing a firmware update?

I sent an email to Funai but received no reply. I haven't tried calling their customer service dept. All things considered, the issues identified to date with the Funai manufactured BD players are really few. There are less than a handful of discs where the lossless Dolby TrueHD audio track is not available (you can only get standard Dolby Digital or DTS, if on the disc) and there is some delay in stopping playback on a very few DVD titles.

By the way HERE is the Funai "Contact Customer Support" page. The Funai customer support phone number is 800-242-7158. I encourage Funai BD player owners to contact Funai requesting a firmware update to correct the two problems identified at the bottom of Post #1 of this thread.

[ronjones]

I received the following email reply from Funai Customer Support to my question on plans for a firmware update for their Blu-ray players:

_______________________________________

Thank you for your inquiry,

Unfortunately, there is no firmware upgrade for this Blu-Ray unit. This issue has been discussed with the folks in corporate about the firmware discs. I would check in this coming winter season for any information on the firmwares.

Steven-1286
Customer Support

[decayingdarkness]

i was wondering if someone could help me out i have this and an onkyo 605 what i need is to know what the detailed settings i need for both the magnavox and the 605 are to get the tru hd dtsma light to go on my receiver, this audio thing is a little frustrating. thanks for any help

[ronjones]

Originally Posted by decayingdarkness

i was wondering if someone could help me out i have this and an onkyo 605 what i need is to know what the detailed settings i need for both the magnavox and the 605 are to get the tru hd dtsma light to go on my receiver, this audio thing is a little frustrating. thanks for any help

Connect the BD player to the 605 via HDMI cable. Set the BD player to output in Bitsteam mode via HDMI. Some BD movies have an audio setup menu where you must select the advanced audio format otherwise you will get standard Dolby Digital or DTS. I don't have a 605 so I can't tell you what settings are required there, but there is probably some setting for surround mode (there may an auto setting that will detect and switch to the correct decoding format for the incoming bitstream).

[gushin]

Looks like someone beat me to the punch. But just in case.

Originally Posted by decayingdarkness

i was wondering if someone could help me out i have this and an onkyo 605 what i need is to know what the detailed settings i need for both the magnavox and the 605 are to get the tru hd dtsma light to go on my receiver, this audio thing is a little frustrating. thanks for any help

1. Connect the BD player to the receiver with an HDMI cable.

2. In the setup menu go to the audio menu.

3. In BD Audio Mode select HD Audio output. (Note: If you want ot hear features with a secondary audio i.e. PIP commenntary, this option will only output the primary track and not the commentary track)

4. Set HDMI Audio Out to HDMI Multi (Normal)

5. On the Onkyo select the correct HDMI input.

You should now see your receiver light up with True HD or DTS HD-MA when you select one of these tracks on your Blu-Ray movie.

[decayingdarkness]

hi thanks for the responses, i have set the blu ray player up just like you said and still nothing , is there any detailed settings i would need to switch on the 605?, the only way i seem to get audio is when the blu ray player is set to hdmi lpcm. thanks again for any help.

[decayingdarkness]

also when i am geting the audio through hdmi lpcm setting its reading multi channel on the 605, does this mean i am still hearing the lossless audio? because i can switch between say dolby digital and dolby tru hd on the movie menus.(but when the player is set to hdmi normal i cant hear anything on 605 when selecting the lossless audio).