v1.2.05, v1.2.05_G Beta version for Z9X 8K/Z30 PRO/Z3000 PRO/UHD8000

Same for me, TMDB search no longer works !

 

Hi to all,
- I confirm that TMDB scraping is not working (I noticed this since yesterday).
- I also can confirm stuttering problems with DV content: sometimes starts from the beginning, other times after a pause.
- I'm also still having out of sync problems: in general all seems good with a -75ms delay applied in my system (with a Yamaha A5100 AV processor)...which is however not normal since I never had to touch delay with my other previous Zidoos (X8, X9S, Z9X), but randomly this doesn't seem good enough and playback gets out of sync (it can happen with DTS-HD MA tracks, but also with DD+ and DD+ with Atmos tracks...doesn't seem to affect TrueHD with Atmos tracks, in my case)... and it's really annoying since I really can't seem to nail down why... it just happens... sometimes even only at some point of a playback.
- Although I actually never use it, yesterday I was playing around with a JVC NZ500 I am testing and tried to apply VS10 to DV content to see how it played outputting in HDR10 and stuttering was mad since the beginning. Tried to stop and play again, the behavior never changed. So it seems like there's something wrong going on with the VS10 processing.
- Since the introduction I also asked for the "Custom Aspect Ratio" (feature I actually like very much) not to be globally default once selected, but just single content related (or at least give an option to decide how we want it to behave), but several FWs came by and nothing changed.

I really love Zidoo (this is my 4th gen device and I suggested a great amount of friends and people to buy one), I love the global improvements of the last gen devices, but please focus on getting rid of all these bugs. We don't need new features at the moment, we need what we already have to work properly... I think we can all agree, can't we? Thank you!

 

I agree with you. These boxes have only one purpose: video reproduction (and audio). If they do not meet this requirement they are failing miserably.

 

I've exported as much as possible using the Export NFO function. The result is messy. I now have a directory with nearly 5 thousand files in it. Not the greatest idea for performance. I'll need to reshuffle things at some point, but not now while TMDB is b0rked.

Which brings me to a question/suggestion? Is it possible to save NFO for only a single movie/episode, for a collection, for a season or for a TV show? If not, can this be added?
Similarly, is it possible to perform updates by requesting a re-read of NFO files? Again, if not, can this be added please?

@Markswift2003 @Zidoo Support-Kim - I'm not sure how to request this feature from the development team. Can you please suggest on my behalf or put me in touch?

 

Not sure why the result is messy - you just get an NFO and appropriate artwork in the movie folder.

If you update an NFO just hit "Refresh Metadata" and the changes are read.

 

@Markswift, Please, we would like to have your feedback regarding the TMDB loss scraping.
Tks

 

I play content from other devices and access it using simple file browser style user interfaces. Previously I'd have one file per movie. Now I have four files per movie and in many cases the file names are so long that the extension is truncated on the screen. This makes it very slow to navigate through the list and also hard to select the correct movie file, rather than one of the three auxiliary files.

Great! That works for individual movies and for entire TV show seasons. However, "Refresh metadata" does not appear to be available for individual TV show episodes, entire TV shows with multiple seasons or for movie collections. It is also not possible to refresh metadata for a movie if that movie has multiple versions, such as 4k HDR and 1080p SDR. It would be great if the user interface was a bit more uniform in this respect and the "Refresh metadata" option was present in all cases.

And as mentioned earlier, a corresponding menu entry to export to NFO for the selected entries (collections, shows, seasons, individual episodes & movies) with the option to choose whether you want to overwrite existing NFO and media files or not.

 

I use Tiny Media Manager which creates a NFO and download the trailer so no problem there, only it doesn't associate the actors with all the movies on your system that they starred in

 

Obviously you can't have NFOs without having NFOs....

Update NFO works for collections.

Update NFO works for multiple movie versions, although only the first NFO appears to work.

You're correct - Update NFO does not work for TV Series. Will add to the buglist.

 

Yeah - that's the only downside of using NFOs.

 

Sure - you need to create the files. However, it wouldn't be that hard to place all the NFO & media files in a parallel directory hierarchy under the .HomeTheater directory that is already created. An NFO export from the Zidoo could simply create an NFO subdirectory and write into there. There could be an option to "Export to .HomeTheater/NFO directory" that the user can select during the export. When enabled, it would write into new location, when disabled the existing behaviour would remain.

When looking for NFO files, also look in the parallel directory. It would make sense to first look for side-by-side NFO files and if not found, try again under /.HomeTheater/NFO/

To illustrate, with an ASCII diagram...

Code:

Movies
├── .HomeTheater
│   ├── Backdrops
│   ├── Cache
│   ├── Logos
│   ├── Posters
---- 8< ----     Add These     ---- 8< ----
│   └── NFO
│       ├── DC Comics
│       ├── Indiana Jones
│       ├── Marvel
│       ...
---- 8< ---- Rest is untouched ---- 8< ----
├── DC Comics
├── Indiana Jones
├── Marvel
...

One added benefit of adopting this scheme is that of simplified file system permissions. Previously, I had to go and create ACLs on the NAS server to allow the Zidoo to write into all the different directories. I wanted to preserve the existing owners and groups. With this new scheme there would be no need for such complexity. All you need to do is create the .HomeTheater directory and give the Zidoo user ownership and write permissions. This would cleanly separate the content and metadata and their ownership.

 

I've had these problems with episode 4 of True Detective season 4 since the latest firmware. It's completely unwatchable now. It has DV and a frame rate of 23.976 Hz, so that matches your findings!

 

Greetings all. Try it in the settings to set the EDID 4K60HZ BT.2020 HDR 10 parameter, it helped me, there is no twitching of the picture

 

Haven't seen ASCII art for a few years

Yes - there are many ways to skin a cat, but personally I think the current solution is more elegant and cross compatible.

Putting them in .hometheatre for example - firstly that's a hidden directory, so not ideal, and secondly that negates their use, or at least makes it very difficult, on other boxes (including non Zidoo boxes) particularly if .hometheatre is local to the box (as it should be).

 

Time keeps passing and without realizing it, 22 days have already passed since the release of v.1.2.05 which, in my case, made the Z9X 8K obsolete.

There is no justification for releasing an update that leaves the box practically inoperable: I'm talking about the bug that caused Dolby Vision content to stutter - can you watch content like that?!

As this is a gross and serious error, I would expect nothing less than an hotfix released in the next few hours to fix this bug, or else revert this update and go back to the previous version.

I find the slowness, the way of operating and the disdain of Ziddo's support truly shameful. This inoperability after 22 days makes no sense. This is enough time to find a solution, or revert the update. Maybe it's time to consider another brand, Zidoo is not the last coke in the desert.

Regarding @Markswift2003 , who is the only one who shows up, I can only thank him for all the help he has given to the community, but clearly he cannot solve the problems alone...

Very disappointed with the Ziddo brand, it was my first product and probably the last (and I don't even waste time with the serious lipsync bug).

 

The way support works on zidoo players is like theres one guy with one machine locked in a basement somewhere answering all our questions and in his spare time fixing them.
I just cannot understand that after all these MAJOR problems which leave our machines unusable there is still no ETA on fix.

 

Yes, Mark is really precious, skilled and always helpful! We should all always thank him!

 

I also add myself in the thanks for Mark. His availability and competence counterbalance the obvious technical gaps of the Zidoo team.

 

As has been said many times on these forums "CEC is the work of the Devil".

 

You can have both when you use alternative for the info use. But the online movie database (IMDb) should be available I think