I have been using the RJTECH 1500DVXII for several months and have one question and several comments: Does this player use the ESS chipset referred to in the AutoGK tutorial at: http://www.autogk.me.uk/modules.php?name=Tutorial ? I ask because I have some Vidx files that playback with video tearing and I need to know if I should switch to the ESS support in AutoGK. Comments: Unit was delivered with incorrect firmware. I had to download the new firmware and upgrade the unit before it would play anything other than standard commercial DVD's. It would not even play audio CD's. The manufacturer said this was a unique problem; even so, it clearly demonstrates that they, like everyone else in the world, use the consumer for final product testing. Unit responds (badly) to my Hitachi TV remote control. If I leave the power on to the RJTECH and fiddle with various selections on the TV (I don't know the specific sequence) the RJTECH gets reprogrammed to PAL mode. Fortunately, I have memorized the sequence to reset the player back to defaults, but the first time around was a real pain - I finally ended up connecting a computer screen just so I could read the menues. Unit will not play an XVID file larger than 2 GB if recorded on a TDK DVD+R 4X 4.7 GB disc. However, the same file plays fine if recorded on a DVD-RW 2X (generic, no longer have the packaging so I can't tell you the brand. As mentioned before, some XVID files will not play properly - video tearing. Others work fine. I don't know what differences there are between the various files, but will continue checking. I recently made an XVID / AC3 format file and it worked great!!! Full surround sound and excellent video (almost as good as original DVD). Overall, I give this player a rating of above average, but not great due to the remote control problems. Anyone else have any comments on the player?
I have this player also. It uses the ESS Vibratto II chipset. You can tell by the setup menus and their layout that it is ESS. MediaTek and Zoran have their own unique setup menu styles too that 'give them away'. I admit to using only DivX. I have only tried Xvid very rarely when I had some files already downloaded in the format. The Divx files I've downloaded and made myself have all been well under 2GB so I don't have direct experience as to a possible 2GB limit. I have burned 7 two hour DivX movies onto 1 DVD totaling more than 2GB but each file was under 700MB. I see no reason to backup a DVD to DivX or Xvid with the resulting file being 2GB or more when I can use Clone DVD 2, Shrink, etc. and have the backup play in non-DivX/Xvid players. But that's just me and my situation. Only problem I've had is using stick-on DVD/CD labels (which I don't use anymore). It started with this player. I burned a DVD with 7 two hour DivX movies (as mentioned above) that had pixelation and breakup during playback. After trying everything under the sun to fix the issue, I tried burning another copy without a stick-on label and all was good. I haven't used stick-on labels since and I have since not had an issue. I have a new high speed burner now but to date, I haven't tried DivX discs burned any faster than 4X. For CDs, I haven't burned anything over 32X. So far, all CD and DVD discs I've made have worked great on the RJTech. Downloaded files have been a mixed bag of course. I have backup DVD movies burned at 16X, 12X, 8X and 4X that play very well and without issues. There is a firmware 'update' on the RJTech site for this player that I downloaded and installed. Keep in mind however that my player could play everything when I got it, i.e. audio CDs, etc. I believe the update was mainly for XviD performance. The update is bank30.rom and can be found at: http://www.rjtech.net/rj1500ii.html In my opinion, this player and others can get a bad rap from users trying to play stuff they downloaded off the internet in the past 2 or so years and complaining when most or some files don't play. This player and others are great if you are looking to create your own files for use on it and find a format that works on it using all the right settings. As for the remote, this player and most other Chinese made players (I have many) along the same lines (not restricted to DivX players) use a 'standard/old' NEC1 protocol and only 1 or so manufacturers actually make the remotes themselves (example: I have 6 or 7 different players with different names but ALL of their remotes have overlapping codes so that on one player the PLAY button is PLAY on another it's TRAY OPEN, on another it's PAL/NTSC, etc). Unfortunately for you and many users, some of your other equipment that has to be ON when you use the player is using some of the same IR frequencies and patterns. Others and myself with Pioneer products (DVD Players, Receivers and probably TVs too) have experienced the same overlap with these players' remotes. I can't have my Pioneer DV-563A player and CAVS DVD-103G (another ESS Vibratto II player) ON at the sametime when using the CAVS remote. Of course that's easy to solve because there is no need to have two players going at the sametime (except for Zone-2 stuff). But for you and others that have TV and/or Receiver overlap, it can be a real problem. Only a different combination of components or moving them so they aren't all in the same line of sight could solve the overlap issue.
Thanks for the excellent post. I am glad to know that I am not the only one with remote control overlap problems. Keeping the DVD player out of LOS from the TV remote solves the problem, unless I forget. I agree with your comments on not using 2GB+, there really is no need. Now that I have some experience with AutoGK it is all getting easier. Thanks again.
