Page 1 of MiCO DVD-A980S (New Model) - FIRST IMPRESSIONS

Hi MiCO fans. (cue the cricket noises)

Got the new-and-improved* MiCO DVD-A980S today from MultiZoneDVD for £199.99 + £10p+p
https://www.business-ecommercesoftware.co.uk/actinic/softech/index.html

Better delivery times than Unbeatable! Site states 3 days, but delivered it next day, 10am. That`s the way to do it.

I had a `severe` shock when I opened the box to find no mention of CDR or VCD/DVCD/CVD on the MiCO or manual (The older MiCO had)
My fears were quickly dispelled as all my CDR MP3/CDDA collection played fautlessly. Not surprisingly as all MiCO`s utilise dual-optic loaders.
Additionally, a home made VCD (industry compliant via Nero) played without a hitch. Phew!
But there was some bad news to come.
All my non-standard DVD resolution XVCDs failed to play properly! I tested them on CDR/CDRW and came up with the same results, green and purple blocks all over the place. 640x480 and 640x400 were also affected.
After nearly vomiting up my dinner (diced carrots, of course) I tried my 720x576 X(S)VCD`s samples.
PERFECT! and still fautless up to 5,600 kbs :) Phew again!
As MPEG2 is considered better than MPEG1 (smaller size for same quality), I didnt let the fact that XVCD wouldnt now play put me off.
But why did they remove this???
Losing DVD resolution XVCD though has now knocked MiCO off the budget king position (sic) ... or has it?

A closer look...

IMPROVEMENTS :)
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Redesigned remote control. Much more sensible. Still a nice solid remote :)
The MiCO feels a tad more responsive to button presses too :)

Old model remote control. Yelo 800 clone. Basic but did the job well.
http://www.geocities.com/micoshrine/A980_RCU_150dpi.jpg
New Model. More features.
http://www.geocities.com/micoshrine/A980S_RCU_150dpi.jpg

Component out (Y Cb Cr) takes the place of the RGB phono`s. Not to worry as RGB is still selectable via SCART.

New low-power standby feature, as well as the nice clunky mechanical power switch up front. Best of both worlds :) [Curious though that the mechanical power button has no effect if the MiCO is in low-power standby!]
**** UPDATE - SCRAP THAT. CAPACITIVE CHARGE LEAKS AWAY AFTER A FEW SECONDS ****
Oh, and of course a standby button on the remote! ABOUT TIME!!!

Banding artifacts on similar coloured backgrounds have GONE!!! Yippee. I`d only noticed this effect on one freebie disc, but it was nice to see it has cleared up.
Better filtering on its C-Cube 3.0? :)))))

Pause added to MP3 mode.
Directory/Track numbers bug fixed which usually caused false readings of directory totals when reversing through the disc. Perfect now :)

MiCO no longer needs a reset between playing MP3 and DVD discs. Famous MiCO problem solved :)

Two interesting preview modes (VCD / SVCD / X(S)VCD only).
Either view a single track as 9 pictures on screen (3x3 grid) or view the beginning of eack track, 9 pictues (tracks) at a time.
Then select the section you want to jump to. VERY NICE!

One other thing I`ve noticed is the marked improvement of VCD playback. With my last MiCO (old model), I didnt rate VCD at all. Now even if the MiCO is set to PAL or NTSC output, the reproduction is very watchable.
Was the old MiCO under performing in this department? YES!
Even SVCD show less artifacting.

Added pitch control (15 settings flat/sharp). Works on CDDA and DVD etc, but not MP3. Sound like Donald Duck/Minnie Mouse via the twin karaoke mics. Digital echo too :)

When playing CDDA there is an option to select DTS Compact Disc. Anyone know what that is?

Sticky label on from fascia stating `C-Cube ZiVA` inside. Nice to see that sorta thing these days. C-Cube Rocks!!!
Duchess: Do,ya wannit? £50. :)

Manual has nice protective glossy cover. More professional all round :)

Fascia/Remote buttons look more solid with professional clearer labeling :) MiCO is definately going up market.

Many more changes that I dont yet fully understand (Manual is a bit lacking). Replay mode and even `RECORD`!!!
No it cant, can it? :)

DISLIKES :(
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As stated earlier DVD resolution XVCD (and maybe other resolution too) is gone! I`m very glad I didnt backup anyhing in this format.
Perhaps this is a good lesson. Dont rely on obscure non-standard formats. YOU`LL UNDOUBTEDLY COME A CROPPER. Betamax!
Best to stick with MPEG2 SVCD authoring - the highest quality standard to date.
MiniDVD will always be compatible with PC software player, unfortunately neither the new or old MiCO will play them :(

No mention of DVCD/CVCD any longer! But still may do it. (I`m sure it will)

There is no longer the ability to covert a PAL Disc to NTSC! At least it wont work thru the SCART. It never looked good anyway, so I guess thats why it was dropped.
The player sometimes will not play a PAL disc if it is in NTSC mode. (`No Disk` or `Wrong Disc Format` error!).
Manual selection of PAL mode in then necessary.
This fact nearly made me chuck up again!
First DVD in drive returned No Disk. Arrrrrrrgggggggggghhhhhhhhhhh. You should have heard me swear!

At other times PAL mode is automatically configured! Weird!
At least it provides a sort of auto selection.
PAL60 is mentioned on MultiZoneDVD`s web site. My TV is will do both automatically, so I cant confirm this. No detectable flicker/jitter from an NTSC disc output in PAL, so perhaps it`s working.

Slow `reverse` speeds appear a bit jerky and produce artifacting (large squares) at times. Not something I`d use though.
I didnt notice this on my last MiCO but it may be dependant on the DVD.
Forward speeds are fine - 1/16 - 1/8 - 1/4 - 1/2.

Picture `may` be fractionally darker overall. Perhaps the extra filtering to remove artifacts/miniscule grain?

Macrovision reset to ON each time either standby mode is entered.
Not important to me, but may annoy those who watch via their VCR`s.

THINGS TO IMPROVE!
==================

Fast-Forward/Reverse for MP3. It`s about time it was implemented. :¦
Filenames?

Still `some` low bitare MP3`s (32kbs) terminate early or are randomly skipped. Strange :(

All-in-all, MiCO DVD-A980S is an improvement over the old model. But not by as much as it could have been.
The inclusion of a PREVIEW mode, adds class to an already superb player.
If you still own the old model, dont feel it is second best.
You have a beauty, capable of XVCD too. First issues are always more collectible anyway. ;P
It`s all a question of swings and roundabouts, but I wouldnt swap it for the old one. :)))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))

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There are some changes to the firmware which add auto-functionality such as RGB/Composite/Component/S-Video output selection.
Before, selection could (probably) be obtained from all sockets simultanoeously.
Why change this? Reduction in circuit noise?

Anyhow, no scratched discs so it gets the Carrot`s thumbs-up :)

This item was edited on Thursday, 15th March 2001, 08:52

Excellent Informative Post Cock Cruncher (you did call me duchess).

Finally Carrot has highlighted the pro`s and con`s of the mico.

although you did seem to mention quite abit about artifacts, seeing as the mico is not supposed to have any:)

The 505 has that daft digest feature, but only for VCD etc, Hitachi couldnt be arsed implementing it for DVD eventhough the ESS chip supports it!

It seems Mico have aimed this model directly at the european, seeing as it wont convert pal to ntsc.

The picture improvements that you see carrot are probably down to a new Analogue/Digital Video chip.

Ironduke:

Guess your campaign against the MiCO has finally killed off interest!

Just two people here own a MiCO (Briley & myself), against a couple of Hitachi owners! STALEMATE :) However interest is growing elsewhere :)
I wont tell you where :)

Back to the article...

"Finally Carrot has highlighted the pro`s and con`s of the mico."

I have always been honest with my appraisals. The truth being that MiCO`s con`s are virtually non-existant to us serious users.
Home-brewed smut/bootlegs was the vestage of Chinese DVD players, making it ideal for me. I believe MiCO may be attempting to suck-up to the DVD industry by imposing restrictions on these `extra` functions.
Perhaps the dropping of VCD and CDR from the manual and casing is a message from MiCO that they want to be taken seriously again by the Warnker/Sony mafia.
Sadly it might work.

Perhaps this MiCO is the last of its kind. Firmware can be altered to comply to terms set out by High street shops. I believe that day will soon come :(

"although you did seem to mention quite abit about artifacts, seeing as the mico is not supposed to have any:)"

Ha-ha. One freebie `throwaway` disc showed artifacts. It was a 6Mb bitrate advertisement authored by the BBC. What would you expect from these jokers?
I mentioned artifacting in VCD and SVCD modes. Thats what these modes use to create the picture. Artifacts! If there werent any they would be called DVD!

"The 505 has that daft digest feature, but only for VCD etc, Hitachi couldnt be arsed implementing it for DVD eventhough the ESS chip supports it!"

DAFT??? Does yours show the first two seconds on each clip when passing the cursor over it? No? MiCO does and I dont think its daft at all.
Then again on an Hitachi... hmmmm.

"It seems Mico have aimed this model directly at the european, seeing as it wont convert pal to ntsc."

Possibly, but that doesnt explain why there`s component out included now, a system widely used in the states.
Anyhow, it doesnt upset me as I`d hate to think of all those Yanks exploiting the qualities of the MiCO while they deny us decent R2 DVDs on time.
Who the hell do they think they are. F*ck Hollywood.

"The picture improvements that you see carrot are probably down to a new Analogue/Digital Video chip."

I`ll open her up and find out. Need some clips for MiCOShrine 2 anyway :)

"Ironduke:

Guess your campaign against the MiCO has finally killed off interest!

Just two people here own a MiCO (Briley & myself), against a couple of Hitachi owners! STALEMATE :) However interest is growing elsewhere :)
I wont tell you where :)"

The fact you take no blame proves your guilt:(
and as far as "I wont Tell you where:)"..........I couldnt give a rats ass:)

The truth is the syndicate is growing too big for the DUKE!


"Perhaps the dropping of VCD and CDR from the manual and casing is a message from MiCO that they want to be taken seriously again by the Warnker/Sony mafia.
Sadly it might work."

It`s the only way the will suceed outside of southeast asia.....otherwise they will be crushed.

"DAFT??? Does yours show the first two seconds on each clip when passing the cursor over it? No? MiCO does and I dont think its daft at all.
Then again on an Hitachi... hmmmm."

I will have to check that, I know the 505 and 705 have a cool tabbed dialog showing 9 clips, then another 9.(yours is probably bugged to f*ck)

"I`ll open her up and find out. Need some clips for MiCOShrine 2 anyway :)"

I doubt the actual mpeg chip has changed as it is still the c-cube 3 we all know?

And Stop talking about the Mico Shrine 2 and do it!

Carrot, I received my Mico AS980S the same day as you and on the whole have been well impressed by this machine. MP3 plays flawlously and being able to bung in any VCD, on any type of disk and play it straight away (709 didn`t) means alot to me, as well as good DVD playback.

I want to ask a couple of questions

1) What is the hack to disable macro, the old hack doesn`t seem to work because of the lack of a `Select` button on the remote (unless it means the enter button`

2) the first disk i played was an R1 release, i then inserted an R2 and it said wrong disk type, so i opened the tray, closed the tray again and it worked, will this happen everytime i swap regions


Apart from that i am very happy and only slightly sceptical of Duke`s views that the reliability is sh*t. Only time will tell but i rate this machine well above my Samsung 807 and 709



andyw

Hi Andy,

Good to hear you enjoy the MiCO too.

"1) What is the hack to disable macro, the old hack doesn`t seem to work because of the lack of a `Select` button on the remote (unless it means the enter button`"

With no disc in the drive (or tray open) press 7,4,ENTER to view/change your BIOS.
Your loader make will be shown on the first page.

Mine`s a DVS DSL-710A

Hack Page #1

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DVD MK-3*3 SYSTEM SETUP

FIRMWARE VER ******* --> Always blanked out!
MICROCODE VER W-2354 --> Firmware release. Higher the better (Generally!).
#COUNTRY CODE 13 --> Region. [13] = Auto-region. Manual Region can be set for RCE protective discs.
#OP PROH ON 1 --> Set to 0 to be able to skip FBI warning on DVDs.
PARENTAL PSWD 7890 --? Needed to bypass chosen censorship setting (Child-Lock).
#PARENTAL C*C* 8583 --? ``
DVD-ROM:KOREADVS --> Loader manufacturer. Mines made by DVD in Korea.
MOD:DVS-LDR DSL-710A --> Loader model. Provided by loader to MiCO. DVS/RAITE/Hitachi are known to be used by MiCO.
REV:L009 --> Loader firmware revision. Again, higher the better (Generally!).
NEXT PAGE --> Press [ENTER] to proceed to hack page #2.

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Hack Page #2

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DVD MK-3*3 SYSTEM SETUP

#MACROVISION 1 --> 0 = Macrovison Protection OFF / 1 = Macrovision Protection ON. Resets to 1 on entering standby.
#ERROR CORRECTION OFF --> [OFF] / FRAME / SLICE. ???






ABOUT --> Press [ENTER] to proceed to hack page #3.

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COPYRIGHT C-CUBE --> MiCO Chipset manufacture. C-Cube 3.0 ZiVA.
MICROSYSTEMS

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The OP PROH is there to enable you to see the FBI warnings without being able to skip it. Change it at 0 then you`ll probably being able to skip it.

"2) the first disk i played was an R1 release, i then inserted an R2 and it said wrong disk type, so i opened the tray, closed the tray again and it worked, will this happen everytime i swap regions"

Yes, maybe. Once I got my BBC R2 PAL disc (At least I think its R2) to convert from NTSC to PAL automatically. But your problem seems more likely. I havent got any R1, just NTSC regionless, but I get the same error. I manually select PAL in the TV mode setup. Perhaps yours is a better way.

"Apart from that i am very happy and only slightly sceptical of Duke`s views that the reliability is sh*t."

He really hasnt a clue, but as reading somewhere that 78% of all electrical goods need to be returned to manufacturer, he might be right!

Keep an eye out for scratches on discs. My last MiCO (old model) did this so it went back. I`m still conducting tests on this. IF IT DOES, I`ll be joining IronDuke in his campaign and having a word with Trading Standards!

Hope ours are gooduns!

Carrot

This item was edited on Friday, 16th March 2001, 22:46

hi carrot,

i too have the mico A980s and had it for 3 months now and i must say it hasn`t let me down yet, i`ve played region 1, 2, 4, vcd`s and RCE disks and it`s played the lot with no trouble whatsoever, i had trouble with one dvd, frequency but luckily it turned out to be the disk, so its thumbs up from me and as for your hack you mentioned for the bios i turn on the machine without the door open and press 7, 7, enter

kd

Hi kd,

Your Mico A980s is 7, 7, enter? Same as the old model?
You may then have an earlier firmware version than mine.

All C-Cube 3.x have the same bios screen and usually follow a hack pattern of X,X,ENTER(SELECT).

MiCO is the mutts nuts!!! and we now out-number Hitachi 505 owners 4 to 1 ;-)

Wow! as Kate Bush once yelled.

Just been playing around with the RECORD button on my MiCO`s remote control and recorded (YES RECORDED) my first Karaoke song!

Up to 74 seconds of voice can be recorded in highest quality output (much longer in medium/low quality) and synchronised to play with the VCD/SVCD/Karaoke track.

Sing along via either or both of the Mic`s together with a range of sound processor effects:
Pitch control / Variable Mic Echo / Mic Effects [Harmony,Chorus,Flange] / Widesound [Low,Medium,High] / Treble [Low,High].

Unique features from MiCO Electric.

Just been informed about a new place to buy the MiCO DVD-A980S.
About £11 cheaper than mine taking p+p into account.

ADVERT BELOW: (Check all details before ordering)

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This player is now available from http://playstationmods.com/ for £199 INC Next Day Courier
Not On the site yet but if you call can take orders - been abit busy with the NEO 2

We also have the NEOTEK DV3000 (£179 inc Delivery) in stock that - quite frankly is the best player we`ve tried - all the cons featured in this great revue of the mico are all Pros with the NEOTEK...

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I doubt the Neotek is that good! But who knows?

This item was edited on Saturday, 17th March 2001, 06:57