Another kick in the groin for Pioneer 563A owners

We've already confirmed over at QQ that the new "missing 4" NY releases out tomorrow will not play on the 563. I find it hard to believe that it is some sort of "plot". Since the 563A is a big seller due to it's price, all they would be doing (if it was a conspiracy) was ticking off the few people who are actually BUYING the format. Not a smart move.

 

dang- I didn't get his name. but he was extra-helpful and got me an RA and case number over the phone from my work (where I don't even have my serial number with me!) very soft-spoken and pro-active. he was definitely right there in Long Beach, because he described the roads around the factory (I'm going to go there in person rather than wait the extra days for the shipping - it's an excuse for a road-trip!).

-s

 

Hello,

Can anyone update me on how things are going in the US with the Pioneer 563A firmware update? Has anyone already gotten it done?

I have the 565A, the European version of the 563 and was about to buy the "Gaucho" DVD-Audio when I read about the incompatibility problem. Since then, I've contacted Pioneer here in Spain several times by phone and through e-mail and have gotten no reply to this issue from them. It seems that they are turning a blind eye on this.

Any information on how things are going elsewhere regarding this matter will be much appreciated.

Thanks

 

pioneer

it's over at their massive futuristic nightmare of a factory in long beach

I drove it down there myself to save time; they will be sending it back to my work address and then I'll let everyone know how it worked

they say the turnaround is about 5 days for the upgrade

but they have a list of all the DVD-As that won't play on the machine and they seem to know exactly what to do to solve the problem. We'll see how it all turns out.

-s

 

Okay true to their word the machine is back with me inside of five days.

now I have to go get ANOTHER copy of Greendale to see if the medicine worked

-s

 

I'm looking forward to seeing how your machine is doing now.

Do you know what the fix was all about? Did they tell you if it was something fixable through a firmware update or are we talking about something to do with the hardware?

I surely wish someone from Europe would drop a line in this thread and let us know if they've experienced the problem with their Pioneer 565 and if their local Pioneer office has offered them a solution. I just can't believe that Pioneer can be solving the Pioneer 563 for their American users and not doing anything about their European ones.

 

Yes!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

It works just fine. I can now play the mighty Greendale (and it's well worth the wait I might add)

So back to the drawingboards all you Warners engineers: I still have a $150 player that will play the rival format too!

And, as I can play the Neil Young CDs, I'm perfectly content so unless you come up with an "unplayable" DVD-A box set of Pierre Boulez conducting the complete works of Anton Webern or something like that, I'm likely to be a happy consumer and just leave things the way they are...

Of course, now Sony will probably come up with something to make the SACDs incompatible, since they are the ones who started it (no Sony players will play both formats in high-resolution, as you might have noticed).

but Pioneer came through and I'm happy as a clam!!!!

send 'em your machines, it doesn't cost you a thing and they upgrade 'em. I have no idea what they did, I just know it worked....

 

Steve,

I am glad your 563 is now working fine. This should serve as motivation for other US consumers caught up in this problem.

If only we were able to get Pioneer in Europe to address this soon.

By the way, have you found out if what they fixed was a firmware issue or a hardware one?

 

I am also interested in finding out if it is a firmware or a hardware issue.

 

I will look at the documentation they sent when I get home and try to answer that question.

-s

 

Steve G, did you find any info in the documentation?

I am going crazy with this issue here on 'the other side of the pond'. I have written to several of Pioneer's European offices including Pioneer Europe (Belgium) and have not received a single reply.

 

Here's my experience that I posted over at QuadraphonicQuad:

Today is 4/22 and I just called Pioneer. The whole call took less than five minutes. They asked me what the problem was, I told them I have a DV-563A and I am having trouble playing certain DVD-Audio discs. His response immediately was "we are aware of the problem and there is a firmware upgrade."

They took my information, serial number, etc. I'm in Buffalo so the unit needs to be sent to Ohio, I pay for the shipping to Ohio and they pay for it coming back.

I'm not thrilled with having to ship it, but at least through the members of this board and others like it, there seems to be a workable solution.

 

well my documentation just says "updated system" or something like that, so I'd defer to Dan who seems to know what he's talking about more than I do (!)

but whatever they did worked, and they shipped it back for free so I didn't spend any money as I live nearby. I guess if you have to mail it that costs you a little but heck at least it's light...

I'm just glad my stereo is back in action.

I understand that there are some better players for SACD, but who wants to spend that kind of money? (like, some are $3,500 etc.)

As far as these things go, from my perspective it's nice when a company doesn't give you a lot of attitude, and takes responsibility for fixing your product, etc. In fact, when I got my RA from Pioneer I didn't have my serial number with me, or the date of my purchase, or my receipt, or anything. I just called them and they helped me out (because obviously they knew I wasn't making it up...)

-s

 

I surely would hope that Pioneer in Spain would take note of what good customer service is all about. I had spoken directly on the phone with the Spanish Product Manager a few days before I heard about this issue and had his e-mail. I immediately notified him about the problem and asked when we would see a solution here, but I have gotten no reply.

I called some other day and spoke to a person in the technical support department who told me it was the Product Manager who should solve this issue, but added that he was then in Belgium in a meeting where they were being presented the new models. He told me he would tell him about the case once he got back, but... again, no reply.

I don't think this should be a major hassle for him given the swift communications within corporations nowadays. I surely hope someone from Pioneer USA would see this post and try and talk his Spanish colleagues into reason.

Other than that, I am truly happy you guys are getting your machines fixed. Enjoy!

 

That is good news Dan! I am not thrilled either about having to ship it (why not a firmware CD/DVD). But, I am glad they will fix the problem.

I do not have any of the problems DVD-A's yet so I may hold off a bit, but I definately WILL get the firmware updated eventually.

 

I may hold off a bit myself on thiis. However, Long Beach is just the next city over so if it's close and quick maybe I can run it over.

 

What about local Pioneer-authorized service centers? Or is it Long Beach only?

 

I just returned my 563A because it malfunctioned and wouldn't play SACDs, DVD-As or dual-layer DVDs. The replacement works fine so far. So I've already had a bad experience with this player, which I otherwise love.

Having said that, if Pioneer manufactures a piece of hardware and then some software is released afterwards that is incompatible with the older hardware, I fail to see why Pioneer should be held responsible. Not that they're perfect, but they couldn't have forseen future changes in DVD-A authoring.

Am I the only one that sees it this way?

 

Denon maybe but not Pioneer.

I can say this from an experience dealing with both companies.

 

Tim,

You might just find one reason for Pioneer being held responsible on this page:
http://www.pioneerusa.com/pna/article/0,,2076_3143_80037,00.html

Please read under "Additional Limited Warranty - Firmware."

 

When I talked to Pionner they mentioned there were five places that could do the upgrade. Call them and they'll tell you the one nearest you where you can send it.

 

Thanks Dan. I'll give that a go...

 

I agree with you. Some of the folks on the board see it differently.

But, personally, I think that if Warner's is changing the way they author DVD-As they should be testing them on all the popular players.

I still think its suspicious that the new authoring affects the universal player but I seem to be the only one on the board who thinks that, and I'm not a techie so maybe there's stuff I don't know that makes it not a reasonable position. My reason is: the Harvest and Road Rock DVD-As played just fine. Suddenly the Greendale one doesn't. Why the change? Greendale doesn't have any "features" those others are missing, so there's no ostensible reason for the change in authoring.

The only reason I can think of is: to force people to choose between DVD-A and SACD. Remember that Sony deliberately made their SACD players play DVD-As at low resolution only, so it's not like this is the kind of thing these big companies won't do.

 

Just got an e-mail today from Pioneer Spain's Product Manager acknowledging the compatibility problem on the 565A (the European version of the 563A). He has told me they are going to address the problem.

I did test "Gaucho" on the 565 player and, it does not play the MLP track. Or, rather, it plays them, because you can see the numbers changing in the player's display, but nothing can be heard.

Hope this is fixed soon and all 563A and 565A users can enjoy their DVD-Audio disks as was intended.

 

Steve,

I believe the issue is that there is a new version of the popular industry DVD-A software. It have much to do with features on the newer discs. For some reason the Pioneer 563A wasn't forward compatible for this change and many other DVD-A players are.

Probably just a sacrifice of having a universal player for only $150.

--Dan