jdm56 Posted January 23, 2004 Share Posted January 23, 2004 My Pioneer Elite DV-47Ai suddenly can't play the DVD-A tracks on DVD-A discs. It will play about 3 seconds, then mute for about a half second, then play another 3 seconds, mute, and on and on, etc, etc. It plays everything else just fine. I am using the "i-link" connection only. Does anybody have a clue what is going on here, because I sure don't. I've reset the player AND the receiver to the default settings, and double checked all connections and set-up parameters after that. Help! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dougdrake Posted January 23, 2004 Share Posted January 23, 2004 Might try using the analog interface just to eliminate the ilink as the source of the problem... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jdm56 Posted January 24, 2004 Author Share Posted January 24, 2004 Yeah, I thought about trying that, but geez, the i-link is largely what sold me on the Pioneer duo. Besides everything else seems to play OK through the i=link (SACD, CD, etc). So, I guess it's another trip to KC to ye olde Pioneer fix-it shop. Thanks for the suggestion, Doug. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
picky Posted January 27, 2004 Share Posted January 27, 2004 James: Dougdrake has an excellent suggestion. It could be that your optical cable may have a break in the fiberoptics or even one of the end connectors may have a speck of dirt on it. Weirder things have happened. I know how frustrated you must be. I love my own 47Ai and I would miss it too if it didn't work right. Best of luck. Please let us all know what the problem was. Thanks! - Picky Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dougdrake Posted January 27, 2004 Share Posted January 27, 2004 If everything else plays OK across the ilink, I'm suspecting maybe a problem in the receiver's DVD-A decoder rather than the player, since it really is acting as nothing more than a transport when using the iLink, yes? That's why I suggested trying the analog connections, to see if the problem persists which would indicate something weird in the player.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jdm56 Posted January 28, 2004 Author Share Posted January 28, 2004 Not wanting to leave any stone unturned, I took your advice, and sure enough, playback of DVD-A was A-OK through the multi-channel analog connection. The only problem area remains DVD-A playback via i-link. I took the player to the shop mainly because I thought it was probably a toss-up as to which piece was defective, the receiver or the player, and the player is of course much easier to take out of the system and lug around than that 41 pound receiver! But, you are probably right that the problem will end up being in the receiver. See, I just had gotten the receiver OUT of the shop (bad transformer), so I'm wondering if somehow the DVD-A circuit could have been damaged while the the previous problem was being diagnosed and fixed. Yes, this is a major bummer that should not be happening. Needles to say, I'm not too impressed with Pioneer's QC. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnA Posted January 28, 2004 Share Posted January 28, 2004 Randy, Is the I-link a digital out? I've never seen a DVD-A player that had a digital out. Mine only outputs analog when playing DVD-A. To prevent piracy the industry wasn't supposed to build DVD-A digital outs. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dougdrake Posted January 28, 2004 Share Posted January 28, 2004 The i-Link is a digital output (Firewire, isn't it?), compatible only with selected receivers from the same manufacturer (I think). I'm not sure how they handle the piracy issue, but probably it is handled in the receiver - no digital output from the receiver for i-Link content? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jdm56 Posted January 29, 2004 Author Share Posted January 29, 2004 Correctimundo, Dougy-D! The i-link is a IEEE1394 standard,("firewire") connection. There are currently no audio recorders that I know of with a compatible input. Pioneer's literature states that all data passed through the i-link is jitter-free. I can't verify that of course, but it does sound very clean. No digititus here! p.s. john, who's "randy"? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
picky Posted January 30, 2004 Share Posted January 30, 2004 Doug, John, (et all): I do not think that the i-Link (aka Firewire) actually requires the receiver and DVD player to be of the same brand, just the same protocal, in order to work. Naturally, I could be wrong. I noticed that Doug wrote ("I think"), to, so I guess that neither of us is sure. There actually (I think) there MAY a way to record the i-Link audio output digitally: I'll have to try connecting my DV-47Ai i-Link connection into the i-Link connection on my JVC HM-DH30000U D-VHS recorder and see if I can record the audio digitally. I don't know for sure if it will work. I know I can directly plug my Mini-DV video camera directly into the JVC and record full digital video and sound that way. When I get the chance I'll have to give that one a whirl. -Picky Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dougdrake Posted January 30, 2004 Share Posted January 30, 2004 Picky - You make a good point -- it is protocol (Layer 3) based, rather than link (layer 2) based. I don't know if everyone uses the same protocols or not. That would be interesting to know. Would you mind researching it and reporting back? (PowerPoint slides not necessary.) Thanks! P.S. I learned the "I think," "I believe," "I may be wrong, but..." method from the master statesman, Ben Franklin. He found that it softened his demeanor, opened others up to hearing what he was saying, and left him less mortified when it turned out he was wrong. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Formix Posted February 4, 2004 Share Posted February 4, 2004 This will sound odd, but I had the same problem with my Pioneer 563 DVD player and Sony Receiver. I found that if I switched from a DVD to a DVD-A or SACD (or vice versa), I would have the same problem you have. Now, if I turned the DVD player off between the DVD and DVD-A (or vice versa) I had no problem. It seemed to be a switching problem when I wanted the player to switch between the multi-channel and digital outputs. Now when I tried the same thing with a different 563 DVD player and a Pioneer 912, I didn't have the problem......odd. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jdm56 Posted February 5, 2004 Author Share Posted February 5, 2004 hmm...yeah, that's strange. Sometimes I miss the simplicity of good old two-channel analog. I should be hearing from the shop this week or next on mine. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
picky Posted February 9, 2004 Share Posted February 9, 2004 dougdrake: Yeah, ya gotta love that Franklin-guy! It was a busy weekend. I didn't get to experiment yet. We now have house guests! ACKKKK! At least they are GOOD houseguests! Finding free time is a real BEAR! I'll report back after I can find the time to fire-up the D-VHS and give it a whirl. -Picky Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cluless Posted February 9, 2004 Share Posted February 9, 2004 from a UK webpage for similar Pioneer model "iLink (aka FireWire or IEE1394) digital audio interface, conforming to the newly ratified A&M (Audio & Music Data) protocol. Currently, the only other similarly equipped component is Pioneer's flagship VSA-AX10Ai AV amplifier - use the two together and you can transfer wide-bandwidth DVD-A and SACD data from player to amp in the digital domain, employing the amp's superior powers of processing and speaker management to give significant performance benefits. The interface does more than just stream high-speed multichannel data, which has previously been possible with proprietary and mutually incompatible digital connections from Denon and Meridian. It also carries control information, allowing auto source- switching and configuration of the amplifier according to the type of disc used. It even feeds back a clock signal from the amplifier's master clock which slaves the player, reducing jitter. The same idea, but using separate clock sync leads, has been used by Linn, TAG McLaren and others." So, It does look like you need to be very careful of the type of Ilink interface used (proprietary versus standard IEEE) James- How do you like the ilink versus analog, when it's working of course? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jdm56 Posted February 10, 2004 Author Share Posted February 10, 2004 Clueless, When all is well, the i-link is just great! It must be the most pristine, cleanest sound I've ever heard from my system. It is so simple, too - just one wire between player and receiver. Plus, in multi i-link component set-ups, you just hook everything up daisy-chain style. Receiver to disc player, disc player to music server, music server to recorder, etc. The only improvement in that regard would be if it was wireless! On the downside, I believe most IEEE1394 equipped components on the market right now, including Pioneer's, Denon's and Sony's are not necessarily compatible with anyone elses. I think that will change in the future, and hopefully the current equipment can be made to be compatible with a universal standard via a software upgrade. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Formix Posted February 17, 2004 Share Posted February 17, 2004 okay...I'm an idiot. I was re-wiring all my equipment to add the Parasound amp I bought in preparation for the new RFs I have coming, and I noticed that my multi-channel out was wired incorrectly, probably causing my receiver to freak a little. Everything is working fine now, sorry to hijack your thread with my idiocy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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