Alternative Method for UMC-1 Firmware Updating

[Pauly]

Sorry to hear that Moe. Music is one thing I haven't tested, since my UMC is only used for HT and TV. Maybe I'll haul my ERC and tube buffer upstairs and give it a try.

[Viktor]

Sounds great Pauly, congrats.

It's really weird though how corrupt installations can apparently cause these sort of "subtle" problems. You'd expect functions to work or not, instead of giving varying degrees of errors all over the place. Really weird indeed.

I'll also take the opportunity to comment that this update procedure and the installer program itself is a piece of software engineering disaster!
But I'm glad you guys are finding ways to make it work, nice job!

[jamrock]

Moe: Have you checked your EQ settings. I cannot exactly decipher the terminology 'fake' But what came to my mind was exaggerated mids and not enough bass. Good movie dialogue and bass normally translate into good musical presentation. In other words, if vocals are clear, instruments tend to be clear & distinct also. I just don't see how one is acceptable without the other? Just thinking!

[moe]

I did bump my lower freq up a bit, still no bliss, it's ok though.The method of upgrading did work perfect and my unit may sound better than it did with first install.It is clear, too clear, clinical is a good term.I did hate it, now I just ain't crazy or bragging about it.

[jamrock]

Be well my friend. Remember, we are waiting for the XMC-1 ;D

[moe]

I heard that.The good news is now I'm a pro at updating and it don't ascare me.

[jamrock]

Dec 9, 2011 18:38:40 GMT -5 moe said:

I heard that.The good news is now I'm a pro at updating and it don't ascare me.

Precious! ;D

[copperband]

will Emotiva charge me for the firmware update if I send the UMC in? if not I suppose I need to pay shipping both ways?

[moe]

I think you pay to them and they pay return.I would consider this install method before you ship it back, can't hurt.

[jamrock]

Dec 9, 2011 18:59:15 GMT -5 copperband said:

will Emotiva charge me for the firmware update if I send the UMC in? if not I suppose I need to pay shipping both ways?

No. Emo does not charge for FW updates, and will ship the UMC-1 back to you at their cost by FedEx ground if you are located in the contiguous States. However, you have to bear the cost of shipping it to them. They did 07.04.00 for me at no cost. I called them last Thursday, got my RMA, and I will shipping mine to them to do the .19 update on Monday, 12/12/11. Customer service that might be equalled, but not surpassed ;D

[moe]

After going through every possible setting I have my unit at an exceptable level for now.I'll listen to a variety of things later then decide.I have changed all parameters from previous FW updates.

[roadrunner]

Reg

Just logged on for the first time today and saw your post. Good news on what the alternate install has done for you. This is why I frequently post that everyone should view the Emotiva videos. One of those videos, I think it was the one done by "Uncle Freddy", presented this alternative method for doing the FW upgrade. It has been a good six to eight months since I did my last FW upgrade and that is how I performed mine. I have been using it ever since with no issues.

Since most members are apparently not viewing the videos, may this thread should be "stickied" so that more people will see it and find doing the FW installs less daunting. Nice move, Reg thanks for starting the thread.

When the XMC is released, we can all forget about this challenging FW upgrade process... or should I say those who upgrade to the XMC can forget about it. ;D Emotiva has informed us that it will be updated via the internet similar to the way Oppo does.

[LCSeminole]

All of these anomalies really have me baffled. I loaded mine twice and both times I didn't get any of these problems that have been mentioned. Dolby TrueHD works fine, EMO-Q worked well(except for the really off subwoofer distance), the past decoding problems with DTS HD-High Resolustion have been fixed, and I have no audio dropouts when changing channels through HDMI. I have nothing to complain about on this software version thus far.

[LCSeminole]

Dec 9, 2011 21:12:51 GMT -5 roadrunner said:

Reg

Just logged on for the first time today and saw your post. Good news on what the alternate install has done for you. This is why I frequently post that everyone should view the Emotiva videos. One of those videos, I think it was the one done by "Uncle Freddy", presented this alternative method for doing the FW upgrade. It has been a good six to eight months since I did my last FW upgrade and that is how I performed mine. I have been using it ever since with no issues.

Since most members are apparently not viewing the videos, may this thread should be "stickied" so that more people will see it and find doing the FW installs less daunting. Nice move, Reg thanks for starting the thread.

When the XMC is released, we can all forget about this challenging FW upgrade process... or should I say those who upgrade to the XMC can forget about it. ;D Emotiva has informed us that it will be updated via the internet similar to the way Oppo does.

Good idea on the sticky. Done!

[Bridger]

Okay, so I couldn't sleep at 3am and thought I'd check the forums and stumbled upon this thread. What the heck, I said!

The DSP Flash went great, no issues. The decoder file was a different story. It would fail, turn the UMC-1 off and back on, erase the flash, and start all over. This happened at last a dozen times until it finally went through. This was in contrast to the no failures at all using the documented method.

So, it finishes and I begin setups. EmoQ was the same as before. Nails all my speaker distances except for the left front. It thinks it's at 0.0ft and out of phase. It isn't. So no change there.

As documented in the "PLIIx issue since update?" thread, the only problem I was having (sans the EmoQ hiccup) was trying to get Dolby TrueHD movies to play in 7.1 using PLIIx. This is still the case. Movies in DTHD will still not matrix to the 2 back channels. I cycled through all available modes just to make sure.

So, back to where I started.....

[SticknStones]

Dec 10, 2011 4:44:42 GMT -5 Bridger said:

Okay, so I couldn't sleep at 3am and thought I'd check the forums and stumbled upon this thread. What the heck, I said!

The DSP Flash went great, no issues. The decoder file was a different story. It would fail, turn the UMC-1 off and back on, erase the flash, and start all over. This happened at last a dozen times until it finally went through. This was in contrast to the no failures at all using the documented method.

So, it finishes and I begin setups. EmoQ was the same as before. Nails all my speaker distances except for the left front. It thinks it's at 0.0ft and out of phase. It isn't. So no change there.

As documented in the "PLIIx issue since update?" thread, the only problem I was having (sans the EmoQ hiccup) was trying to get Dolby TrueHD movies to play in 7.1 using PLIIx. This is still the case. Movies in DTHD will still not matrix to the 2 back channels. I cycled through all available modes just to make sure.

So, back to where I started.....

Please note that the Alternate method is really only affecting the DSP File which is where I was having all of my loader issues. Once you get the DSP file complete you are then using the same instructions as those documented in the PDF with the exception of doing the Load Defaults which is not in the insructions but recommended.

The most important take away with this method is that you eliminate the "Overtime" errors and get a clean upgrade. In terms of functionality and such we all have such very different configurations in our personal systems that would and does preclude us from saying this method will address those items.

I do hope that you, I and everyone continue to forge ahead and work through these various challenges. What prompted me to post this thread in the first place was my desire to try and understand how Emotiva would apply a firmware upgrade which has been done as part of the original post.

Any notion that anyone could go beyond this with the highly individual configurations in the settings portion is beyond the intent of this thread.

I really do have my fingers crossed for everyone and am hoping at some point we will have all converged into a very common outcome where it does "Just Work"

thanks to everyone for their continued support of the little things I do to try and help us along.

Reg

[pdavit]

@ Pauly

Do you get the test tones? I don't have your volume static issue. I install the new FW in the conventional way as instructed and went fine on my first attempt. So I presume I didn't have the volume statics due to a correct application of the FW.

But the test tones issue is there for me.

@ moe

Reading your post and your sonic characteristics findings brings to my mind my very first impressions when I replaced my old Yamaha A/V amp with the UMC-1. At that time I had found the sound of UMC a bit dull on mids and highs and overenthusiastic in the low end in comparison to my Yamaha.

I now strongly believe that if the switch over had been with the FW .19 installed I would have found the sonic character of UMC much more closer to the Yamaha.

Let aside personal taste, since I was slightly disappointed back then which the replacement (taken into consideration the 10 years of technological advancements in between the releases of the two units), I have to admit that since the new FW resembles to me another unit that I used to be very happy living with, I have no other words than describing the new .19 FW of my liking. My emphasis is on music other than movies and I'm quite happy with the new results. Movies have been also improved but I find music much more enjoyable.

[fishhead]

Can anyone give me any ideas on how to fix a screwed up firmware update. I think I shut down the installer prematurely and now the unit is stuck saying loading..... again and again on the from screen. I tried reloading the first part again with no luck.

The unit will not power up all the way and I can't get it to load anything over again. When I start the unit it turns on and off two or three times and then it stays stuck on loading.

Any one have any ideas on how to totally start over? HELP!!!

[geebo]

Dec 10, 2011 10:21:34 GMT -5 fishhead said:

Can anyone give me any ideas on how to fix a screwed up firmware update. I think I shut down the installer prematurely and now the unit is stuck saying loading..... again and again on the from screen. I tried reloading the first part again with no luck.

The unit will not power up all the way and I can't get it to load anything over again. When I start the unit it turns on and off two or three times and then it stays stuck on loading.

Any one have any ideas on how to totally start over? HELP!!!

Try turning the unit off with the switch on the back for several seconds. Then turn the switch back on. Don't touch the front switch. If the light on the front is amber, you should be able to start the process again. But don't turn the unit on with the front switch.

[pdavit]

Dec 10, 2011 4:44:42 GMT -5 Bridger said:

Nails all my speaker distances except for the left front. It thinks it's at 0.0ft and out of phase. It isn't.

While my speaker distance is calculate correctly except for my sub (FW .19 more accurate than before with my fronts where I had a deviation of about 1-3 feet and even worse than before with my sub), I have the same behavior as you for the phase of the left front speaker. I'm not sure if I have to "correct" this or leave it as EmoQ has calculated it.

We possibly have a similar room characteristic or speaker placement. While my front right speaker is freely located in the room, my left front is only 2 feet next to a side wall. This possibly causes the inverted phase captured by EmoQ.