Firmware wishlist for 7600 blu-ray player

[Blackcurrant]

Apologies if I'm duplicating an existing threat (please merge if necessary), but I thought it would be good to compile a wishlist of features for possible future firmware upgrades to the Philips 7600 blu-ray player.

I bought the philips at the same time as the rival Panasonic BD210, which has better reviews than the Philips, in order to compare them side by side. I found the Philips superior in several important respects, particularly in its ability to read USB drives and and cope with downloaded video files such as MKV and DIVX. It also has iPlayer, which the Panasonic lacks.

But the Philips has some very irritating defects. Chief among these is its inability to remember stopping points in films or iPlayer, which means you have to forward wind all the way through to find where you were if you break off from watching. It also failed to remember stopping points in blu-ray and DVDs on several occasions.

iPlayer support works well but the inability to scroll, forward-wind or rewind through a broadcast is maddening. I can scroll through iPlayer video on a PC or a Wii, but the only way of forwarding on the Philips is by playing at normal speed (since forward-wind doesn't function) and waiting... which can mean a very long wait. Rewind simply doesn't work at all.

Lastly, there are some crash bugs in the Philips software. If I open a list of files on a USB list and scroll down through them far enough, the player freezes and becomes totally unresponsive, making it necessary to switch off power at the mains and switch back on again.

Apart from these gripes, it's a great machine and I've been delighted with the features that work.

[Blackcurrant]

Two more things for the wishlist:

1. Ability to stream MKV files from a PC.
2. Ability to access setup menu features without having to quit a film entirely and lose your place on it.

[kwinnie]

great making a wishlist! i just hv some comment:

1) i think it can remember the place where you leaves the movie (say a commercial disc), for iplayer i m not sure as i m not in UK. you mention it's occasionally, so are those disc commercial discs?

2) is iplayer a appt? just not sure if that s a apps standardized by BBC or not. (sorry do you mean BBC iplayer?) since for the youtube leanback, the apps is quite standardized throughout some other manufacturers as far as i can see (just browsed through youtube to understand more and i found most of the youtube leanback apps are to me the same) that s why i m thinking if this can be modified by philips...

3) freezing prob, occasionally i hv that also, but it s not quite frequent...

4) if there s possibilities streaming mkv, i think that will be great.

5) setup menu during play- this is not possible? i think there s a menu button or similar... so that you press that during play. or you mean other configuration settings? n i think it should be able to rmb the place where you left it still ... ?_?

[Blackcurrant]

great making a wishlist! i just hv some comment:

1) i think it can remember the place where you leaves the movie (say a commercial disc), for iplayer i m not sure as i m not in UK. you mention it's occasionally, so are those disc commercial discs?

2) is iplayer a appt? just not sure if that s a apps standardized by BBC or not. (sorry do you mean BBC iplayer?) since for the youtube leanback, the apps is quite standardized throughout some other manufacturers as far as i can see (just browsed through youtube to understand more and i found most of the youtube leanback apps are to me the same) that s why i m thinking if this can be modified by philips...

3) freezing prob, occasionally i hv that also, but it s not quite frequent...

4) if there s possibilities streaming mkv, i think that will be great.

5) setup menu during play- this is not possible? i think there s a menu button or similar... so that you press that during play. or you mean other configuration settings? n i think it should be able to rmb the place where you left it still ... ?_?

1) yes you're right, it can remember your place on DVDs. But not in iplayer or video files on USB or HDD.

2) iPlayer is an app available in the UK. It's possible to forward and rewind on the Wii's version of the iPlayer app, so I think the inability to search on the 7600 is a Philips issue.

3) I think I found a fix, which is to press the home button.

4) agreed

5) you have to exit the film, press home, then go to setup. If you're watching iplayer or a film on a USB drive, you lose your place in it. If you're watching a blu-ray, you can find your place again but you have to wait for the disc to load up again, so there's a delay. It would be better if users could simply access setup functions without having to exit the film.

Another function that would be handy is being able to zoom to alter aspect ratio while watching a blu ray disc. On my machine, the zoom function is disabled when watching a blu ray (Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2).

[Htrnb]

Two more things for the wishlist:
1. Ability to stream MKV files from a PC.

4) if there s possibilities streaming mkv, i think that will be great.

4) agreed

The BDP7600 streams .mkv using a DLNA server (as other players): I have just tested http://www.supportforum.philips.com/...ll=1#post22792

For other things I have to try. I have just bought it.

[Blackcurrant]

The BDP7600 streams .mkv using a DLNA server (as other players): I have just tested http://www.supportforum.philips.com/...ll=1#post22792

For other things I have to try. I have just bought it.

Thanks. Maybe some of us are having problems because we use other server software. I use TVersity and can't get it to stream MKVs, either over wifi or via ethernet cables. But it doesn't bother me as I prefer to watch films from disc drive and switch off my PC to save power.

[Htrnb]

Thanks. Maybe some of us are having problems because we use other server software. I use TVersity and can't get it to stream MKVs, either over wifi or via ethernet cables. But it doesn't bother me as I prefer to watch films from disc drive and switch off my PC to save power.

I have tried with TVersity (only one fast test), but it has seemed to work.
I will buy a new router that permits to connect an hard drive on usb and to work as DLNA server (and FTP server). This solution saves power and gives the opportunity to reach the contents from all the devices (Android, PC or BD).
There is another possibility: the use of a networked hard drive with DLNA server built it.
I hope to have been useful.

[Htrnb]

5) you have to exit the film, press home, then go to setup. If you're watching iplayer or a film on a USB drive, you lose your place in it. If you're watching a blu-ray, you can find your place again but you have to wait for the disc to load up again, so there's a delay. It would be better if users could simply access setup functions without having to exit the film.

I have tried to exit to menu when play from usb. Then I have pressed back more time until the film starts in the same place. I don't know if it was only luck.
Can you try?

[Blackcurrant]

I have tried to exit to menu when play from usb. Then I have pressed back more time until the film starts in the same place. I don't know if it was only luck.
Can you try?

Thanks, very useful tip as it did work, but if you power off you still lose place. So another one for the firmware wishlist is place-holders that are saved when the power is off. Also, similar feature for iplayer is essential if rewind and forward-wind can't be made to work.

[Blackcurrant]

Another one for the wishlist: when forwarding or rewinding through a film, the scroll bar disappears after a few seconds, making it difficult to tell how far you've moved. It would be handy to let it stay visible.