The Sharp BD-HP20 player Review Thread

[kap64]

I have one and it seems I have to reset it about once or twice a week, screen goes black when I hit a button on the remote such as stop or reverse and then doesn't respond to any remote inputs. I had to reset it today because it would play audio cds, but not a dvd. I had to reset it again later tonight when I hit stop and it wouldn't stop, then it went black, couldn't open the drawer.

[kap64]

Originally Posted by jarheadatunm

Hi all,

Does anyone have problems with this player taking forever to load discs? Regular DVDs load no different than a DVD player, but BR discs take anywhere from 2 minutes to over 10 (Max Payne and 3:10 to Yuma). It is seriously annoying. I ran the latest firmware upgrade and have reset the player to no avail. Ideas?

My Wall-E takes about 5 or 6 minutes to load and my X-Files 1 and 2 won't play at all. They say reading complete and that's as far as it gets. I just bought this recently, but I guess I need to get new firmware. I tried Wall-E with fast play on and off and it didn't seem to make any difference.

[BluAnjel]

Has anyone seen this message on their BD-HP20 ?? I am seeing this now on discs that previously used to work. I could never get the firmware updates installed (wouldn't recognize ANY of my USB drives - followed Sharp's instructions to the tee). My player is almost a year old. Some movies, if I keep popping it back into the machine it will eventually play... Help! I'm about to go out and buy a Sony (was my first choice, but none were available last year when I was buying).

[Spyder-Dan]

Originally Posted by BluAnjel

Has anyone seen this message on their BD-HP20 ?? I am seeing this now on discs that previously used to work. I could never get the firmware updates installed (wouldn't recognize ANY of my USB drives - followed Sharp's instructions to the tee). My player is almost a year old. Some movies, if I keep popping it back into the machine it will eventually play... Help! I'm about to go out and buy a Sony (was my first choice, but none were available last year when I was buying).

i have experienced all your problems as well with my sharp bd player. i contacted sharp and they shipped a pre-loaded firmware usb thumb drive that worked up until i bought a new blu-ray release. so, i contacted sharp several times and all they could tell me was to try resetting the player and or reinstalling firmware. finally decided to buy a new blu-ray player and settled for the samsung 2500 which streams netflix but now i want the 2550 for the pandora radio option. needless to say, the sharp bd player is now in the bedroom as a DVD player because thats all it can do.

[BluAnjel]

Thanks Spyder-Dan, I was afraid that this was my only option (new BD player). I like the Netflix streaming idea! I usually have to confiscate my son's XBox360 to do this and it doesn't have the HDMI output, so it's a pain to hook up (but it has the wireless, so that's nice). I'll look into the Samsung! I've got to find new rear speakers, too - seems I've blown one. And my whole system isn't even quite a year old - they just don't make things the way they used to! Thanks again!

[Histep]

Hi all,
I found this thread by accident. I have read all 45 posts going back a year. I think this might be the right thread to get the answer to my problem with this player.
I bought it in Jan '08 bundled with a Sharp Aquos LC 42D64U TV. This player in my opinion, produces an absolutely beautifull picture and great sound! But, it has always seemed slow to load and performed erratically.
Actually, I have 2 subjects to talk about here: my problems with this player, and firmware updates. I see that several people are having trouble installing the new firmware. I believe I can help SOMEBODY with that.

Is anybody still watching this thread? I would like to talk about our common problems, fixes, and experience with this player.

HERB

[adsn10]

I am having trouble updating the firmware. I am trying to watch Quantum, and of course with my luck it won't play and I can't get the firmware to update. Any suggestions?

[Histep]

Originally Posted by adsn10

I am having trouble updating the firmware. I am trying to watch Quantum, and of course with my luck it won't play and I can't get the firmware to update. Any suggestions?

Hi,
I worried and agonized over this, and put it off for months fearing that I would mess it up permanately. When I FINALLY got around to installing the latest firmware, It was so simple that feel like I should dip my head in the commode or something! I read here where some people are so frustrated with this that they are buying new thumb drives, new players, and junking this player because the BD-HP20U won't update! We'll never know for sure, but I'll bet that at least some of them are having the same problem that I was.

My own difficulty was caused by the fact that I have never learned how to
"PROPERLY" unzip a file. I must have spent 2 hours googling, and finally found the answer on Meridian's website. I thought that it it works for Meridian players, maybe it will for Sharp too.

I don't have Winzip or 7 Zip installed, I used XP's extractor and it kept everything in the same folder. Keep in mind that the file you want must be in the "ROOT FOLDER" of the flash drive, NOT in a subfolder, Or the BD-HP20U player won't see it on the flash drive. I used a 256MB Lexar Jump Drive, but any USB thumb drive should work.

Try this and see if it works for you too.
Read page 45and 46 in the owners manual.
Create a new folder in your "MY DOCS" you'll be able to save this DL in case you ever need it later.

Go to sharpusa.com and DL the newest update to this new folder.
Make sure you get the correct update HU8100900. This one includes all previous updates. This comes down as a 25MB zipped folder.
Double click the folder and you will see a "README" file and an icon. (my own error was that I was putting this on the jump drive, WRONGO!)

Read the readme file, it is the same info as the owner's manual page 45.
Double click on the icon,and in XP's task menu, click on extract all files.
You will now see a zipped folder and a subfolder with the newly extracted file in it. Open the this folder and right click on the file. Cut and Paste the file onto your flash drive.
Be sure to click on the green safely remove hardware icon in the taskbar before removing the flash drive.

You now have the firmware update on the USB flash drive by itself.
Plug this USB flash drive into the BD- HP20U's Service port.
Turn on the BD-HP20U player
When it comes on hit settings and navigate to software update.
The player will read the flash drive and tell you what to do. All you have to do is follow the prompts and hit enter when it tells you to.
Don't pull the drive or disconnect untill it tells you to.


I did not have to do a reset on mine, the update went right in with no problems, just like I actually knew what I was doing or something.

Read the manual. If the update is unsuccessful, perform a reset and repeat the process.
I hope this helps you or somebody else. Please post back and let me Know if it works for you.

HERB

[Leon Liew]

Originally Posted by adsn10

I am having trouble updating the firmware. I am trying to watch Quantum, and of course with my luck it won't play and I can't get the firmware to update. Any suggestions?

Am facing the same problem as you.The player won't play Quantum
and a warning sign says an upgrade is necessary to view.

[MarcinR]

I've had the BD-HP20 since Jan 08 and had the software upgrade installed as soon as it became available. Sometime ago I tried to play a home made BD and it came back with "cannot play this disc" message..Any ideas?

[snootypoodle]

Today the BD-HP20 would not let eject my copy of No Country for Old Men. I had to unplug the power and plug it back in. So far I've had it for a month and I'm not a fan.

I'll prolly go for the recently announced BD-HP22U as soon as I can get my mitts on it.

[clint330i]

I too have had an issue trying to watch Quantum of Solace. My BD HP20 said that I need to update the firmware. So, I used my old jump drive that had nothing on it and loaded the file. Yes, I know how to extract a file and put in on the jump drive. Alas, the player said that there were other files on the drive and I need only the firmware file to be on the drive. I double and triple checked. Nothing worked. So, I schlepped myself over to Target and got a new jumpdrive. Dan - Elec 8 GB FAT 32. I am using a Macbook with OS X 10.5.6

I know there is nothing on this jump drive...so I checked anyways. Nope nothing.

I load the file HU8100900.RVP onto the jump drive and eject it properly. Insert into the service slot and nothing. It says that the DB player cannot see the file. HUH? So, double and triple checked and then removed the file and reapplied it.

Now, the weird thing. The old jump drive would light up when I put it in the service slot. But the new one does not. ???

Any thoughts would be appreciated. My need to see Quantum of Solace is begging you. Plus just the shear fact that this kinda stuff torques me off.

Sharp Aquos BD HP20
Sony Bravia 52XBR6

[Histep]

HI guys,
I will try to give all 3 of you a response that I'm afraid that is of no help at all because I am at a complete loss in this situation.

I don't burn discs and never even bothered to learn how to do it.

If you do get a new HP22, please let us know how IT works. That's probably going to be the best solution, and the most expensive.


Now for the update itself: Clint, from your post, I am guessing that you probably downloaded and extracted the file directly to the flash drive the CORRECT way that is SUPPOSED to work. All I can say is try this. I have no clue why so, but it seemed to work for me.

Do all the downloading and extracting to a separate "NEW FOLDER" on the desktop.
Make sure the flash drive is formatted to "FAT"
The update file is in a subfolder inside the new folder you just created. Open the subfolder,and cut and paste the file by itself on the flash drive.
It may be necessary to do a reset on your BD- HP20U.
In my case the update went right into the machine. The biggest probablem I had, was getting the file on to the flash drive in the first place.
HERB

[Histep]

Hi again,
I still have my problem even after the update was successfully installed. When I watched this update go in, I was very excited and just knew that everthing was "WUNNERFULL" Wrongo! Murphy strikes again.
I only have 8 BD's and have always managed to get them to play. I have NEVER had a movie yet that "JUST WOULD NOT PLAY" But, I cannot access the menus on the disc. Sometimes the popup menu works, but the top menu button always reads "cannot access". Most of the time, all I can do is put the disc in and wait until it decides to play.

Example: 3:10 to Yuma is my personal ref. disc. It was the first one I got ayear ago, and is still the only one I have with 7 channels.
This disc has about 25 minutes of prevues at the beginning. I usually have to just wait through this and the movie's main menu will eventually come up, then, I have to use the arrows to navigate the menu.
The pop up button and top menu button both say "cannot operate".

HERB

[snootypoodle]

Not to threadjack, but Costco now has the BD-HP16U on their website (in stock) for $199.00
From the site:


Experience the most brilliant display of high definition with the Sharp AQUOS Blu-Ray Player, enjoy bonus content with BD-Live Compatibility (SD Card sold separately) and enjoy a truly enhanced audio experience with Dolby TrueHD.



Features:

*
Full HD 1080P/24 Hz Output
*
BD live 2.0
*
HDMI Ver. 1.3 w/ x.v. Color, Dolby TrueHD, DTS-HD Master Audio Essential
*
AQUOS LINK
*
High Quality Picture: AQUOS PURE MODE
*
Quick Start Mode
*
JPEG Image Viewer
*
Advanced Power Saving
*
Audio CD Playback
*
SD Card: Not included for BD-Live use

Inputs/ Outputs:

*
HDMI x1
*
Digital Audio Out: Optical

[Model BD-HP16U / BD-HP17U]

[Leon Liew]

Originally Posted by Leon Liew

Am facing the same problem as you.The player won't play Quantum
and a warning sign says an upgrade is necessary to view.

Well sent my unit to Sharp Svc Centre to upgrade to Version 8.Came back
hooked it up and it played Quantum of Solace till it reached the main
feature film and it went static.Geezus what gives with QOS BD !

Hi all!

Has anyone tried playing BD-R discs in this player? I own HP20S model and have recently received test materials in HD recorded on Verbatim BD-R medius. When I put it in the player, after 20 seconds of reading it says "Incompatible disc" and ejects the drawer. I have updated to the newest version, but the problem remains...

[BluAnjel]

Originally Posted by Spyder-Dan

i have experienced all your problems as well with my sharp bd player. i contacted sharp and they shipped a pre-loaded firmware usb thumb drive that worked up until i bought a new blu-ray release. so, i contacted sharp several times and all they could tell me was to try resetting the player and or reinstalling firmware. finally decided to buy a new blu-ray player and settled for the samsung 2500 which streams netflix but now i want the 2550 for the pandora radio option. needless to say, the sharp bd player is now in the bedroom as a DVD player because thats all it can do.

I've contacted sharp a few times via email and NO response whatsoever. Not even an automated one. I broke down and got the Samsun P1600 in the hopes I can have wireless access for Netflix and Pandora - just waiting for them to get their poop in a group about the "dongle"

Any one else out there having issues with "incompatable disc" message, on discs that previously played?

Good night all!

[snootypoodle]

Hey, after QOS would not play, I took the following steps:
#1 unplugged/replugged the power cable for the player
#2 when the player came back up, I put in a known good disk
#3 When the TV recognized the player via HDMI, I put in the QOS BD
#4 crossed fingers
------ Viola - that worked for me.
Kinda sucks that i have to do all this monkey business to play a movie though.

[drjohnf@shaw.ca]

I tried your suggestions, but they did not work. I successfully updated my firmware one time a few months ago, using an old 256Mb no-name stick. The stick was formatted as a FAT32 and had nothing other than the update on it in the root directory. I did the exact same thing, however, using a more modern stick that did not work. I believe that the problem is that the BD-HP20U possesses only a (cheaper) old-fashioned USB 1.0/1.1 read port. These are not compatible with USB 2.0 sticks and the data stream becomes corrupted when the BD-HP20U tries to read the stick.

I believe that the solution is to use an old USB 1.1 stick...and they're hard to find. You can't simply just go out and buy one. They're now all USB 2.0. For legal reasons, I would be willing to bet that Sharp isn't going to admit to this hardware omission...and that it will be simply up to the user to figure out that they are forced to use old, redundant and essentially unavailable technology to effect ongoing upgrades of their "modern" Blu-Ray player.

So - it looks like the best solution to the upgrade problem is to:
1) Properly unzip the file and place it in the root directory on the FAT32 formatted drive.
2) Reset the Blu-ray player
3) Don't bother to attempt the upgrade unless using an old USB 1.1 stick.

Personally, I'm sick of this whole thing and am going to abandon Sharp for the rest of time (though I love the 64" Aquos TV)...I'm going for a new Sony Blu-ray player if the above doesn't work.

JF

Originally Posted by Histep

Hi,
I worried and agonized over this, and put it off for months fearing that I would mess it up permanately. When I FINALLY got around to installing the latest firmware, It was so simple that feel like I should dip my head in the commode or something! I read here where some people are so frustrated with this that they are buying new thumb drives, new players, and junking this player because the BD-HP20U won't update! We'll never know for sure, but I'll bet that at least some of them are having the same problem that I was.

My own difficulty was caused by the fact that I have never learned how to
"PROPERLY" unzip a file. I must have spent 2 hours googling, and finally found the answer on Meridian's website. I thought that it it works for Meridian players, maybe it will for Sharp too.

I don't have Winzip or 7 Zip installed, I used XP's extractor and it kept everything in the same folder. Keep in mind that the file you want must be in the "ROOT FOLDER" of the flash drive, NOT in a subfolder, Or the BD-HP20U player won't see it on the flash drive. I used a 256MB Lexar Jump Drive, but any USB thumb drive should work.

Try this and see if it works for you too.
Read page 45and 46 in the owners manual.
Create a new folder in your "MY DOCS" you'll be able to save this DL in case you ever need it later.

Go to sharpusa.com and DL the newest update to this new folder.
Make sure you get the correct update HU8100900. This one includes all previous updates. This comes down as a 25MB zipped folder.
Double click the folder and you will see a "README" file and an icon. (my own error was that I was putting this on the jump drive, WRONGO!)

Read the readme file, it is the same info as the owner's manual page 45.
Double click on the icon,and in XP's task menu, click on extract all files.
You will now see a zipped folder and a subfolder with the newly extracted file in it. Open the this folder and right click on the file. Cut and Paste the file onto your flash drive.
Be sure to click on the green safely remove hardware icon in the taskbar before removing the flash drive.

You now have the firmware update on the USB flash drive by itself.
Plug this USB flash drive into the BD- HP20U's Service port.
Turn on the BD-HP20U player
When it comes on hit settings and navigate to software update.
The player will read the flash drive and tell you what to do. All you have to do is follow the prompts and hit enter when it tells you to.
Don't pull the drive or disconnect untill it tells you to.


I did not have to do a reset on mine, the update went right in with no problems, just like I actually knew what I was doing or something.

Read the manual. If the update is unsuccessful, perform a reset and repeat the process.
I hope this helps you or somebody else. Please post back and let me Know if it works for you.

HERB