Page 1 of Scan SC2000 not too bad for mp3, but ...

I just received my Scan SC2000 DVD player yesterday. My first impressions are this is a rather fine machine for the price.

I would like to give my feelings concerning the MP3 playback because this is a nice feature, which it does perform quite well but not perfectly. I think that because the company`s boss is listening to this forum we can have a constructive dialog leading to an even better product. In fact, being able to upgrade the firmware can lead to big improvments.

It is good to note that this player seems to be able to accept any type of mp3 files (except for one exception that I`ll explain later). In fact I tried VBR files with a wide range of rates (from 32 to 224 kbps at least), mono or stereo. More usual CBR (constant bit rates) files are of course accepted as well, I tested 128, 160 ad 256 Kbits files for that matter.

The exception comes from 96Kbits Stereo CBR files which are only played from the left side. In the left ear I ear some burps noise but not the music at all. Strange because it plays fine in Winamp.

Second problem : in some 128 Kbits CBR stereo files (and a few 160 Kbits as well), the singer voice which is supposed to be firmly at the center of the stage is having some wird echoes from everywhere. It`s a bit like the flanging effect of an old electronic organ. I double-checked the same files with WinAmp and such thing doesn`t happen. It`s actually instantaneously noticeable if one hears the music with headphones.

Third problem : when you press the Next button to jump to the next track, a little bit of the track is not played. Maybe half of a second is missed.

Fourth problem : in a few cases the ID3 tag is not read or is only read partially. It is not frequent but I found maybe 20 files. Again, no problems with Winamp, and the concerned tags have nothing particular.

In my opinion these problems are bug. Hopefully they may be corrected with some firmware enhancements.

I have also some suggestions to enhance the MP3 playback :
- Being able to use the Shuffle mode on a given directory, not only on the whole disc.
- Being able to program a selection of tracks (using the program key). and why not being able to use the Shuffle mode on top of that ?
- Display a JPG or a GIF picture corresponding to the directory of the currently played file (toggled on/off with the Display button).
- The display button may also display some characteristics of the mp3 file, as well as the ID3 tag in one page (similar to the Info page of WinAmp).

It may or may not be possible to do all these things, let`s hope it is.
If Nelley is interested I can get in touch with him and send him a CD-Rom containing problematic MP3 files in order to facilitate the debugging.
Honestly the MP3 possibilities are a good selling point for this machine considering its price. Half of the reasons who motivated to buy it is this capability... I know that in the mp3 world everyone is looking forward a good reception-room device to play mp3 files. A DVD player really fits very well in this niche for many reasons.

Nobody cares ?

I do because I am thinking of buying one of these machines.
Thanks for the info.

Since a number of folks were waiting to receive `Jan 5th batch` Scans and non have come on here moaning can we assume that these latest machines work OK and it is safe to order one?

After my trial of the two faulty Aiwas and the lousy Bush TV from Aldi I couldn`t stand any more problems. I am not asking for the Earth, just a DVD player that plays OK.

Bernard.

After my trial of the two faulty Aiwas and the lousy Bush TV from Aldi I couldn`t stand any more problems. I am not asking for the Earth, just a DVD player that plays OK.

Then buy a Sony.

This item was edited on Thursday, 11th January 2001, 21:45

I`ve had one since beginning on November - and I haven`t been anywhere moaning... I`d say it`s safe to get one!

The only problem I`ve ever seen is lip sync after unpausing or skipping through a film. Hit stop and play and it resumes back where it left off and no sync probs!

Cheers,

-SteveC-

Will the Sony play mp3 and VCD? I have a lot of mp3 files so mp3 playback is v.v. important (more so than DVD picture really). How, roughly, would it cost?

> - Display a JPG or a GIF picture corresponding to the
> directory of the currently played file (toggled on/off with
> the Display button

Now THAT`S a cool idea.

The mp3 problems may not be the SCAN player. Mp3`s can be encoded in many different ways. 2 people could use the same source and S/W and end up with 2 different mp3 files. For example MusicMatch 6 has 3 processor settings for every bit rate, i.e. Fast encode (default), High and Very High. They all produce the same file length and bit rate, but the Fast encode produces lower quality files. From my experience, a well encoded mp3 file will sound the same on different players, however a badly encoded file can sound OK on one but weird on a different type of player.

Which version of Winamp are you comparing the playback of the problem files to? The Winamp 2.7x versions use a better decode algorithm.

I also have a SCAN which I consider a great mp3 player - that`s why I bought it, the fact that it also plays DVD`s is icing on the cake. I have not found the problems you have, but I have not looked into it as deeply as you have.

What I would say is if you are ripping the files yourself then use 160bps with the highest processing level available. Of course if you are using Napster files then you loose control over the initial ripping and there are an awful lot of badly ripped files out there.

Your suggestions are all valid and perhaps they would be implemented one day. As the SCAN can be firmware updated then this could become a possibility. It would be good to see a SCAN user community start up, similar to that in the US for the APEX players so that 3rd parties could hack into and upgrade the SCAN firmware. Maybe one day.

Email me on yellen[at]edargpU.ku.oc.nacs the firmware to 2.04 and
see if it makes a difference.
nilesh

As Nelley suggested I`ll upgrade the firmware. I just sent him the mail asking for that.

As Gary W said the quality is important in making mp3 files. I always use the highest quality settings. I don`t have any mp3 files from Internet (they are ususally crap in fact), I did all them myself by using Audioactive Producer Pro which does a very good job. For producting VBR files I use Xing Audiocatalyst 2.1.
In every case I use the highest quality settings.
It has nothing to do with the player but I agree with him that 128 Kbps is not always good enough. When I encode a file I use 160 or 256 Kbps. When I do that in VBR I choose one of the two highest bps level in Xing, which leads to files being roughly 150-160 Kbsp in average (or more if I choose the highest setting). VBR is better because it uses more data when it`s needed.
For my comparisons with Winamp I use the 2.65 version. I never encountered these problems with Winamp before anyway.