llsTixll

Unlucky mate. I still stuffer from purple snakes (magenta banding) and plasma buzz on my TH50PX70A. I got to the point of just ignoring it.

So Aldi let you return electrical items if you don't like it or change your mind? If that's the case, man it's tempting just to grab one and try it out.

http://www.aldi.com.au/au/html/offers/2827_10330.htm Anyone got any info on these?

Nope, don't change a thing on the AVR. In both tests, the amp is sitting at "PL II" with the analog light on. If it boots up with the Windows sounds on, the amp clicks then shows "STEREO96K" and the little digital light comes on. If I play a Dolby Digital video file, I have to put it in surround mode for it to output Dolby Digital, otherwise it will stay in stereo mode. If it boots up with no Windows sounds, I can play a DD51 video fine and it flicks over to Dolby D. However, if I play stuff from iTunes or Media Player, it sits at "PL II" with the analog light on. It seems like my amp has issues picking up the signal for some weird reason. Funny thing is though, if I run the "Test Hardware" wizard while iTunes is playing, the music suddenly kicks in halfway through the green bar progress thing. I press the surround mode on remote until it shows "PL II" Yep, input is set to auto. Is there a setting in ffdshow audio config to tell it to output stereo if no surround is detected or should it do that anyway? Is there a better decoder than ffdshow? I tried AC3filter but it gave me more grief.

I have a Denon AVR-1602 receiver. I recently acquired a sound card (Aopen CMI chipset) with optical out for my cheap HTPC (pretty much an old desktop running XP Media Center that I use to play iTunes and watch 720p mkv rips of Lost with AC3. ) Here are my findings/issues: I turned on the default Windows sounds. I set my amp on the Pro Logic (surround) setting. When the machine boots up, my amp flicks over to "STEREO96K" and I hear the last part of the Windows logon sound (just a delay of my amp switching the decoders I guess). If I then play a song in iTunes straight away, the amp flicks to "STEREO". If I then play Lost, it stays as stereo...boo! I then change it to the surround settings and it flicks over to Dolby D...yay! If I then play iTunes again, it plays in surround mode no worries. Now with the Windows default sounds off. I set the amp to surround mode (Pro Logic/Dolby D) and after the machine boots, I try to play iTunes. Nothing comes out. If I play Lost, it flicks over to Dolby D and sounds fine. So the issue is somewhere during boot up where the login sound kicks the amp into the right mode or something. Weird. Anyone have experience with the Denon receivers and know what is going on here?

What model Panny is that?

Run Powerstrip on your lappy to output the native resolution of the panel. This will give you the best result. http://www.entechtaiwan.com/util/ps.shtm

Is false contouring the same as purple snakes though? I'm sure the panel was showing purple snakes but perhaps it's just the limitations of the panel.

Well, tv went in and the tech called some Panasonic engineer in Sydney. Turns out my tv was just showing "false contouring", which the Panasonics are notorious for. Looks like I'll be tweaking tonight to find the best setting to reduce the issue.

I have the same issue! Anyone got a fix?

Been playing around with the test vids and the tv settings. I was able to minimise the purple snakes a little with normal viewing mode, normal colour balance and increasing the brightness and contrast up a few notches. Viewing still looks ok. I'm going to get the tech out to my place to check if it's repairable before going into the shop.

I thought the PX70s were immune too but it seems that they're not! Here are 3 test vids (vob files) that I found from doing research. If your Panny plasma has the issue, these vids will show them clearly! Test1.vob - http://rapidshare.com/files/138183468/Test1.VOB.html Test2.vob - http://rapidshare.com/files/138183469/Test2.VOB.html Test3.vob - http://rapidshare.com/files/138183470/Test3.VOB.html OR: Test1.vob - http://www.megaupload.com/?d=AEYO5CYQ Test2.vob - http://www.megaupload.com/?d=JFOJPC11 Test3.vob - http://www.megaupload.com/?d=H20KPEQI

Ended up ringing Myer. It's just out of the 1 year warranty so lucky I got the 3 year extended warranty. A local repairer should be contacting me soon - will be interesting to see what happens. When I first bought the TV, I actually checked for purple snakes and it didn't appear to have the issue. Now after 1 year's solid use, they show up all the time. The extended warranty guy said that in the event that it is not repairable, they will look into a replacement unit. I'll keep this updated to help others who are in the same boat. Cheers

Well, I'm going to contact Myer and see what they say. I found some test vids that show the issue.

Hi guys I'm starting to notice purple snakes on my 50" Panasonic plasma and they seem to be getting worse. The panel has been in our lounge room for just over a year, bought new from Myer. Just wondering what my options are - can I return it and get an equivalent model, ie is the issue covered by warranty? Cheers

Never mind...Rollup Update 2 fixed it.

Hey guys Just setting up an old XP MCE box. I have a USB AF9015 TV tuner. I've updated to the latest drivers and using the software that came with it (TV Jukebox), I can scan and pickup channels fine. In MCE, no services are found! ?????

Saw this at ozbargain.com.au Thought some of you might be interested... http://www.shoppingsquare.com.au/newsletter.php?id=281 Cheers

Do you live in a regional area? If not, check your TV setup - there's an option there somewhere that should fix it.

Hi guys I downloaded episode one of Planet Earth and it has an org file extension. It plays fine in Media Player but MCE 2005 doesn't show the file. Is there a way around this?

http://gamedude.com.au/prod_show.php?art_no=capLEdtv1000s Will this work with MCE2005? Any other suggestions for a cheap PCI card that can show/record SD and HD that will work in MCE2005? Cheers

You can run XBMC in 720p or 1080i (in 1080i, the menus can sometimes be a little sluggish). You need to get Enigmah (http://www.xbox-hq.com/html/modules.php?name=Xbox_Homebrew&op=view&gid=349), which you can use to put the XBOX in NTSC, then simply select 720p/1080i in a dashboard or XBMC. PAL XBOXs never had HD resolutions available. The XBOX will not play HD files due to its hardware (CPU/RAM). People have upgraded the XBOX specs to overcome this hurdle (http://www.firingsquad.com/hardware/friendtech_dreamx_xbox/) but it's not a simple job. Check here for the video formats/resolutions that XBMC can play -> http://www.xboxmediacenter.com/wiki/index....ed_File_Formats For me, I just picked up an old P4 IBM workstation with 512MB RAM from work for $100 and it plays 1080p fine. I've slapped MCE 2005 on it, and I just need to chuck in a DVD burner, TV card and voila...a cheap as chips "poor man's" HTPC. One downfall I have with it is that the old integrated Intel 865G graphics won't output 1360x768...I've tried Powerstrip, drivers, etc, etc, etc. The closest I get is 1280 x 768...MCE fills my 50" Panny plas but any 16:9 video has 40 pixels of black top and bottom.

Hi all Sorry if this has been posted before...I did a search and didn't find anything. I'm after a wireless keyboard for Media Center 2005. It has to have an integrated mouse as I want to do PC stuff on the TV as well and I don't want a separate mouse and keyboard. This Microsoft one is exactly what I'm after but it's pricey and requires the receiver from the MCE remote (which I don't have): https://www.microsoft.com/hardware/mouseand.../RKWMCE_v1.html Are there any 3rd party wireless media keyboards with an integrated mouse available? I was wanting to buy one from JB as I have gift vouchers to use from Christmas. For those who have HTPCs and perform normal PC stuff (web browsing, etc) on them, what do you use? Cheers

Didn't even think about a USB sound device...thanks.

Anyone have any suggestions for an all in one cheap PCI video/digital tv card that'll work in MCE 2005?