Is Connected dead? Where is DivX?
Everyone's obviously wondering what the status is as to the Connected product. Their concerns have been met with a stony silence from DivX which has only served to fuel fears that the product may have been discontinued.
In terms of communication, Divx has 3 simple options here.
1. Come out and outline that the player is still active and will be supported in the short/medium term etc
2. Indicate hardware production has ceased along with development and support.
3. Say nothing.
With loyal users on this forum expressing their concern that development has ceased etc, if the Connected project was still active, I can't see why DivX wouldn't come out and outline their continued support to counter claims the product is dead. These types of user posts are hardly conducive to further sales of the device.
However, if the product is in fact dead, I find it unlikely that DivX will confirm this (certainly at this stage) for the simple reason that they (& Dlink) have stock remaining in other distribution channels (like Amazon.com as Hornsea mentioned in another post).
So, with the likelihood that this product is at the end of it's life, the obvious approach is to remain silent (along with stopping development and support).
I'd love to be mistaken here and for DivX to come out and make some comment. However, at this stage I think it may be wishful thinking.
ADDED 05/09/2009: Slow-V's post confirms DSM-330 has been discontinued in the UK.
Thanks slow-v... and no thanks to the cowards at divx for continuing to avoid this forum. I also enjoyed edgarrs theory about the lack of divx response being due to a huge surprise fix all upgrade being planned (as a reward for our loyalty and patience over the years?). It's important to have a sense of humour.
Now it's been confirmed that our dsm330 boxes have golden handles on their sides after a less than a 2 year lifespan can I just confirm that I will never ever even contemplate buying any d-link or divx related products again. I bought mine naively believing the line about it continuing to evolve and promise of exciting new features to come. Within 3 months they'd shut down Stage6 and since then every new server had added very little with most of the development coming from the users themselves. What a stitch up gov just like a kipper.
Hornsea:
To be fair, I didn't contact Dan (Dsalmonsen) regarding product development but rather about themes creation. So by all means, go ahead and get in touch!
Edgarr:
I'm also surprised and disappointed that a company like DivX has refused to comment publicly. I see it as a strategic decision to end development or certainly put it on hold as they divert their resources towards other potential revenue streams in the face of a slowdown in DVD player sales.
Anyhow, it's a real shame DivX didn't provide DTS support in one of their last updates. Having said that, Kamiwa's hack does work well. I'm keen to try to get it to work for you. Did you download his latest all-in-one package (think last one was March 2009 - here's the link ---> http://www.kamiwa.de/en/node/41).
Close down Connected and the Connected scanner etc and then install every application in the package using the default values. Place the DCDShowPlaybackPlugin.config file into the Connected folder. It should then just work (without needing to configure anything in ffdshow etc...)
I've only had one instance where I had trouble getting DTS playback and spent ages messing around with configuration options with no luck. What solved it was simply uninstalling the Connected server (make sure folder is empty) and then reinstalling (including Kamiwa's package).
Granted you can't fast forward or rewind MKV's but play/pause and memorisation of the last played position is good enough for me! Certainly the absence of the former functionality doesn't necessarily offset the advantages Connected has over the rather onerous 'file explorer' type streamers.
Hi,
Sorry for the delay – I’ve been away. I have just tried everything you suggested, right down to uninstalling and re-installing Connected – followed instructions to the letter. I still have the same problem though; the 330 plays the MKV fine, but with no sound (when you press the info button it says “audio muted”). When I play back DTS MKV’s on my PC with DivX player I vaguely hear the sound, but the quality is horrendous! Yet, when I play the same files with VLC, the audio is perfect!
I am wondering if it is my soundcard. Either that or Vista could do with a re-install – it is way past due but I haven’t had the time.
Thanks for your advice. I am going to try it on my daughter’s XP box and see if that is any better. Failing that? Guess I’ll start banging my head against the wall!
Edgarr, as far as I can tell MKV's must be using AC3 audio only. What I do is strip the audio track and convert it to AC3 (if it isn't already) and then merge it back into the original MKV. to do this I use: AVS Video Editor 4 to strip the audio track to PCM (alway use PCM as MP3 never worked out in step two.)
ffmpeggui to convert the PCM to AC3
MKVmergeGUI to remix the MKV video (or whatever it is)with the new AC3 audio.
Takes only a few minutes to do this depending on the size of the video.
I'm not going to give you step by step instructions as I think you should be able to figure it out on your own, but if you have a problem getting it let me know.
Good luck
I noticed that although you first registered last year this is your first post. I'm surprised that you didn't ask for assistance when you were having those initial problems. The main criticism about Connected is the lack of feedback rather than the product itself. Various aspects have been criticised but I don't think I've seen criticism of the user interface
Why not get it out of the attic, post details of operating system, say how it is connected, what format your videos are and what problems you are encountering. I am sure that someone will try and help you
@fkm
Excellent summary of the situation. I noticed recently that dsalmonsen was online and I was going to PM him then remebered what you had said about the lack of response
It is dead. At least - in our house.
Now I admit: by buying the DivX Connected device I was fooled.
It is not a plug and play device. I had to waste to many time in trying to get it connected, then to get it play my library of videos. And lastly: it longs only few hours without crashing and forcing me to raise my ass to the server to restart. May be it is the undocumented feature - not to get used to couch :) Only me can use the device in the house - my wife and my daughters refusing to use it "as not fool-proof" device. Too slow too complicated. Thats may be OK for some PC-addict but not for ordinary TV viewer who likes to push the remote buttons fast and in unexpected order.
So, now it collects dust in the attic.
May be someone is eager for DSM-330? No? I thought so. :)
Hi,
My overall experiance of the DSM330 is a lot more postive than bondas.
My system was easy to set up, easy to use, robust when performing basic functions. I should also say that this is the first wireless media player that my wife is happy to use.
The interface is attractive and visual which make selecting music, etc much easier than other devices I have used.
I really think that this device could be great with some more devlopment. It is a shame that divx seem to have turned their back on it.
The Connected jukebox made the system a whole lot more powerful to use for music and really demonstrated what could be achieved with plugins.
Personally I shortly will be packing my system up in favour of something else (possibly the Xtreamer) as I am changing my home set up and no longer intend on having a PC on all the time in my house.
The frustrating part of moving to an alterative is that it apears that i am back at square one and will have to post numerous feature requests on user forums to get the product anywhere near to how I want it.
However, I should say that if my set up were staying the same I would have kept my DSM330.
Greenman
Just been looking at the Xtreamer - hadn't heard of it before reading your post. This looks like a serious alternative to the DSM-330. It does DTS (which I never did get to work - the Kamiwa hack never worked for me), and just about everything else. If it FF/RW MKV's I reckon I'll be buying one.
I have been silently reading all of the posts over the last few weeks about Connected development and I must say that I am shocked at the lack of response from DivX. Not a single word from them. Do they want their customers to seek alternative products? Weird marketing angle if you ask me.
As I have said before, I think DivX Connected is an absolutely fantastic product. It does everything I need it to do (apart from play DTS MKV's!!). I feel that with a couple more updates it would have been perfect, had they addressed all of the issues raised in our posts (as opposed to the paltry and unneccesary items included in the last update).
Will DivX ever respond to our thoughts and suggestions? Or do they think that we are all moaning about nothing? OR... is there such an amazing update on its way, one that will address every single issue raised by loyal forum members, that they are simply going to let IT do the talking for them when released?
I sure hope so.
Though I would let you have it from the horses mouth:-
http://www.dlink.co.uk/cs/Satellite?c=Product_C&childpagename=DLinkEurope-GB%2FProduct_C%2FDLDiscontinuedProductLink&cid=1197319463041&p=1197318...