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

[ronjones]

UPDATED 10 May 2010- - New Firmware Web Site - See Below



FIRMWARE UPDATES - Information as of 10 May 2010

Magnavox and Sylvania Blu-ray Disc Players

Funai has released firmware updates for the Sylvania and Magnavox NB500, NB501, NB530 and NB531 series of Blu-ray Disc players. HERE is the link to the Funai web site for the latest available firmware updates. Be certain to download and read the firmware update instructions from the above Funai web site before downloading and attempting to install any firmware update. Note that two different versions of the firmware update are being offered for the Magnavox NB500MG9 players and you will need to follow the instrctions on the Funai web page (link above) to determine which version is needed for your specific Magnavox BD player.

Insignia has released a firmware update for the the NS-BRDVD first-generation Blu-ray Disc player. The latest firmware update and instructions are available from the link on THIS INSIGNIA WEB PAGE under the "support" tab at the bottom of that web page. Two different files are offered and you will need to first download the "Firmware Installation Guide" where you will find the information on how to determine which is the correct firmware update file for your specific player (based on a number that appears on a sticker on the rear of the player).

Note: All of the above firmware updates are provided as ISO image files. You will need to use your PC to burn the ISO image onto a CD (or DVD). The disc you have burned is then used to update the firmware in your Blu-ray Disc player. Instructions are provided on the Funai web site (link above) for the Magnavox and Sylvania players and in the Insignia Firmware Installation Guide for which a link is provided on the Insignia web site (link above).
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Funai Manufactured Blu-ray Disc Players

The first generation of Blu-ray Disc (BD) players manufactured by Funai were introduced in May 2008 and were widely available at retailers. Funai manufacturers players sold under a number of brand names such as Magnavox, Sylvania, Insignia, Philips, etc. This thread is intended to collect reports from forum members that purchase any of these Funai manufactured BD players. Funai is a Japanese company with manufacturing factories/suppliers in China. They are the largest manufacturer of DVD players (making over one half of all DVD players sold in North America). They are an Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM) for the following familiar national brand names and in-house brands for such retailers as Best Buy. Below are some examples of the most widely sold models made by Funai:

- Magnavox NB500MG9 (Status: original model now replaced by newer model)
- Magnavox NB530MGX (Status: current model available from Walmart)
- Magnavox NB500MGX (Status: currently model that appears to be identical to the NB530MGX)
- Sylvania NB500SL9 (Status: original model - still available at some retailers)
- Sylvania SB530SLX (Status: newer model available from some retailers)
- Insignia NS-BRDVD (Status: Discontinued, no longer available from Best Buy)

Note: While Funai also is reported to be the OEM for several models of Denon DVD players, the OEM for the current Denon BD players is unknown and the higher-end Denon models do not appear to be Funai. However, Denon's lower end models may be OEM'ed from Funai. The Philips BDP7200 (a 2008 model) appeared to be manufactured by Funai (it does have a few additional features not found on the Magnavox and Sylvania models). The most recent Philips BD players are made by Funai including the models supporting BD profile 2.0 features (i.e., BD-Live). Best Buy is now offering a 2nd generation Insignia BD model that conforms to BD Profile 2 (i.e., BD Live) that is not manufactured by Funai.

As of this update, the typical street prices for the Funai manfactured BD profile 1.1 players from Magnavox and Sylvania are in the $130 to $200 price range. These models can sometimes be found on sale in the $100 price range. The Funia manufactured Philips BD players, including their BD Profile 2.0 models, typically sell in the $200 to $300 price range.


This thread is intended to be a single point to collect reports from owners of any of the Funai manufactured BD players, to identify the capabilities of these units and to identify what are the differences (if any) between the Funai manufactured units that are being sold under different brand names.

Summary of features for the 1st Generation and 2nd Funai manufactured BD players from Magnaovox, Sylvania and Insignia:

• Profile 1.1 BD Player

• Video Output Resolutions: 480p, 720p, 1080i, 1080p (1080p/24 and 1080p/60)

• DVD Upconversion to 720p, 1080i, 1080p

• HD Audio Formats: bitsteam output via HDMI of all formats incl. 7.1 ch. Dolby TrueHD & DTS HD-MA

• No internal decoding of HD Audio Formats

• HDMI Ver. 1.3 output

• Some models (e.g., Magavox NB500MG) only have coax output for std. Dolby & DTS (not HD audio formats)

• Some models (e.g., Insignia) have optical output for std. Dolby & DTS (not HD audio formats)

• Weight approx. 9.5 pounds

• Dimensions: 17.2" x 13.9" x 2.8" (exact dimensions may vary by brand)

• Chipset used: Panasonic UniPhier chipset

• Plays DVD+R discs, but not all DVD-R discs (depends on the software used to create) but improved DVD-R support with the latest firmware update

The first of the 2nd generation Funai Profile 1.1 players was the Magnavox NB530MGX and similar models are available under the Sylvania brand name. These newer models are very similar to the first generation BD players, whose features are summarized above, and are BD Profile 1.1 (i.e., Bonus View) capable, but do not support the Profile 2.0 (i.e., BD-Live) features. Also Funai now owns the rights to the Philips brand name for several types of consumer electronics products, including DVD and BD players as well as LCD flat screen HDTVs. New entry models of Philips BD players from Funai may be similar to the new Magnavox model while more upscale models, with additional features such as support for BD Profile 2 (BD-live), are being offered in more expensive Philips models.

Here are links to information related to some of the Funai manufactured BD players:

Funai USA Press Release

Owner's Manual for Magnavox NB500MG9

Magnavox NB530MGX (Walmart Listing)

Magnavox NB500MG9 (Walmart listing)

Insignia model NS-BRDVD Thread

Owner's Manual for Sylvania NB500SL9

Sylvania NB500SL9 (Amazon Listing)

Sylvania NB530SLX (Walmart listing)

Philips Blu-ray Disc Players

KNOWN DISC PLAYBACK ISSUES WITH 1ST GENERATION FUNAI MANUFACTURED BD PLAYERS WITH THE ORIGINAL FIRMWARE

1. There is a minor issue when playing the BD releases of the Jack Ryan movies (The Hunt for Red October, Patriot Games , Clear and Present Danger, and The Sum of All Fears) in that when Stop is pressed it takes approx. 15 to 20 seconds before playback actually stops.

2. There is a significant audio issue with a few BD titles that have Dolby TrueHD audio tracks (i.e., Batman Begins and Beowulf: Director's Cut) in that the Dolby TrueHD audio track is not detected and only the standard Dolby Digital 5.1 audio track is provided via the HDMI bitstream output.

3. There are reports that the HBO BD release of "Rome" has issues with the subtitles randomly being displayed even when when the subtitles option is turned off in the player.

4. There are reports of the BD title "Wanted" causing the player to lockup (requiring an unplug from power to reset).

5. There have been reports of playback issues from one or more users with the BD titles "Twilight" and "Taken".

NOTE: The updated firmware that is now available for the first and second generation of Funai BD players appears to have resolved the issues with playback of some, or perhaps all, of the above discs.