Page 1 of Pioneer 444k - Frame Freeze at Layer Change?

I have just bought a modified Pioneer 444k from techtronics. The player is excellent with an excellent picture and sound.

I have however, got a minor problem. I have played two DVDs on the player (Gladiator and Godfather Part II) and both have had one part of the movie that freezes for about 1 second before continuing - and the word Search appears temporarily on the player`s display.

I have played the same section of the Godfather II on my old Wharfedale and it has no problem at all with it. You can however, hear the DVD spin sound change at this point on the Wharfedale (does this mean its changing layer or something??) - but it is not the end of the chapter.

The problem section is in Godfather II: Disc 1 - Chapter 10 - 5:47 (the scene as Pantangele walks into his house where Michael is waiting for him). The scene freezes as Michael`s `thug` turns to look at Pantangele as he enters the house from the outside.


Any advice would be greatfully recieved.

Regards

I`ve got the same model (multi-region) and also own gladiator but have never watched it on my 444, if you tell me how far into the movie it freezes (time or chapter) i`ll test it out and let you know if it does the same.
I have noticed on some dvd`s theres a slight pause due to the layer change but have never seen search appear on the screen.

Thanks nolimit.

Its Chapter 14 73:24 : Lucilla gives Commodus a tonic to drink and just after he drinks it there is a close up of Lucilla`s profile - thats where it freezes. The display then says Search and the film then resumes. I wasn`t clear before, but the word `Search` appears on the player`s display, not on the TV screen.

Interested to know if it happens on yours and many thanks for the help.

This item was edited on Sunday, 25th November 2001, 12:22

ok i tested it out. Same thing happened. The pause was very very slight, half a second or less and search appeared on the display. I think it is just the way this player deals with the layer change, not anything to worry about.

Thanks for checking nolimit.

Strange how my old Wharfedale dealt with the layer change seamlessly but this excellent new machine can`t!

Ah well

Update:

I have timed the freeze at layer changes for both the Godfather Part II and Gladiator on my machine and it was consistently around 1.7 seconds - which is obtrusive. nolimit says that his was less than half-a-second which leads me to suspect my machine may be faulty.

I am in the process of trying to find a local store that sells the Pioneer 444 so I can play-test the machine with these discs to see if it is my machine that is faulty rather than it being a problem with the machine in general.

I would appreciate it if anyone else who has this model could let me know how their machine performs at layer changes as well.

I`ve noticed a layer change pause on a few DVD films which I`ve watched, but I havent tried gladiator yet. Probably nothing to worry about, just the layer changing over. One thing I have noticed. When you have Dolby Digital selected, the sound gets down mixed into the left/right audio on the scart lead. If you select DTS there is no sound at all. Does anybody have a clue ?

i cant help you with your query i am afraid but i am considering buying a pioneer 444k multi region can anyone tell me if they have had any problems playing RCE discs?

Right, time to try and answer a few questions.

The DV444 handles RCE discs with no trouble at all. In fact, as it is an auto mod with manual backup, once you have set the player to R1 you will most likely never have to touch it again (unless RCE starts to appear in other regions).

Whoever had the problem with the layer change - you HAVEN`T got a faulty unit. The Pio does pause for a noticeable time on Gladiator, although it`s not hugely intruesive as it happens during a lull in the conversation.

Of the five players I`ve owned in the last two years, not one of them has played every disc flawlessly. Different machines handle different layer changes, well.... differently!

Criterion Robocop is a good example. Crap layer change on a Matsui, Wharfedale and Samsung 709. Toshiba SD100 and DV444 - no problem.

Fifth Element R2 (disc has a known problem with the layer change) trips up the DV444 and Tosh, but the Samsung plays it without a hitch, even though it is the inferior machine with known problems.

I think it`s something yo`re gonna have to live with, at least until the manufacturers start putting buffer memory into players. Ever noticed a layer change on a PC DVD Rom drive..?

As for the final point of the player downmixing DTS as it does with Dolby Digital - it doesn`t, at least not to my knowledge. You need a proper amp/decoder etc to get DTS sound, and it`s like that on all decoder-less players AFAIK. If you have got these then it sounds bloody great :-)