May/June 2007 Update to the LMC-1

[The Administrator]

While there's been no official word, it would seem that a software fix is definitely in the works for the LMC-1. Rumor has it that we may see an update within a few weeks (Late May/June time frame).

If anyone has any knowledge about it, or would like to share their stories about the update if/when it hits, please post them here.

This may also be a good place to start an unofficial list of the fixes.

[gonk]

It's not anything specific, but I got this e-mail from Lonnie earlier today:

Hello Jim,

We are currently in the process of doing a full system check on the LMC with the new software which I hope to have finished sometime over the weekend (unfortunately there is a lot of functions, sub functions and circuit interactions that need to be tested). So if all goes well we are hoping to be able to release the new software by the middle of next week at which time we will offer full documentation of the related changes. But until it is fully tested and has been approved for release, I am reluctant to go into what changes were made as I do not want to release anything that might possibly change if we find a problem in some part of the code.

Please give me a few more days and I should be able to give you some real data at that time.

Best regards,

Lonnie Vaughn
Emotiva Audio

Based on that, it seems unlikely that we'll get any specifics on the changes included in the firmware revision or how the firmware update process will be handled (which fixes can be installed with the update dongle, which fixes might require returning the unit to Emotiva, etc...) until they've done some testing. Hopefully there will be some extensive testing before they actually deploy the update.

[The Administrator]

Ok, it's been a few days. ;D

Anyone talk to Emotiva today? I sent them an email over the weekend asking for some details of the software upgrade. I'm very curious as to how their weekend of testing went!

I'm probably going to give them a call this afternoon, if I haven't heard anything.

[gonk]

If you talk to them, you might ask for at least a clarification of how the dongle is going to work - even if they don't want to take the wraps off the fixes included in the new firmware, they could presumably offer some specific feedback on that. Last week's comments suggesting that the firmware was somehow loaded onto the dongle was pretty unexpected, and would definitely be good to clarify one way or another.

[The Administrator]

I've traded a couple of emails with Lonnie today.

Here's what I know:

• Emotiva isn't going to release the list of fixes before they're completely tested and ready for production. They want to be 100% sure that they can deliver on their promises. I understand and respect this.
  
• Expect an announcement soon as to what the fixes are. Whether it's here or over on AV123, we should all know something within a few days.
  
• Emotiva is trying very hard to get this put together so that updated LMC-1's can ship out by the end of the month to allow customers to take advantage of the free shipping. So we're talking about a 7-10 day window. Nothing promised, but they are trying.
  
• The dongle issue is still being debated as to how exactly they are going to handle it. The dongle is nothing more than a USB gateway between PC and LMC-1. Dongles will be shipped out to customers. Customers will download the firmware from Emotiva, and then attach their PC to the LMC-1 via the dongle. I did not ask, but I suspect that then the dongles would be returned to Emotiva.
  

gonk said:

If you talk to them, you might ask for at least a clarification of how the dongle is going to work - even if they don't want to take the wraps off the fixes included in the new firmware, they could presumably offer some specific feedback on that. Last week's comments suggesting that the firmware was somehow loaded onto the dongle was pretty unexpected, and would definitely be good to clarify one way or another.

[gonk]

So the dongle is USB-to-3wire somehow... I guess that means it'd be hard for folks to make their own, as it probably is a little more than just a wire. It'd make the most sense for folks to be able to keep them, as it gives Emotiva an avenue for future updates.

I'm also guessing that they didn't mention whether the USB cable would allow updating all portions of the firmware or whether some portions of the code still require shipping it back to Tennessee. That's something that will need to be in their announcement.

[robollie]

Spoke to Dan today and ordered my LMC-1/LPA-1 combo. He stated that units shipping today have the latest firmware and software installed. Dan also said that it will be posted Wednesday/Thursday with what the changes were ect. Looking forward to getting it!!!

[The Administrator]

I think we're hanging out at the same places!

Ding! AVS thread update alert!
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Ding! AV123 thread update alert!
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Ding! Emotiva forum thread update alert!



This is great news. I hope that an official list is posted soon, especially before the end-of-month deadline for free shipping.

robollie said:

Spoke to Dan today and ordered my LMC-1/LPA-1 combo. He stated that units shipping today have the latest firmware and software installed. Dan also said that it will be posted Wednesday/Thursday with what the changes were ect. Looking forward to getting it!!!

[moovtune]

Glad to see this info. Depending on the fixes - I may finally be able to order one of these to go with my LPA-1 and replace my Denon receiver as a preamp.

[theophile]

Have My UT Series Ordered!!! I spoke with Dan and he stated they've run on-going testing for the past week and all issues with the LMC-1 have been resolved! ;D ;D ;D

We'll, I'll find out soon enough! Hope UPS makes delivery by this Friday so I can spend the weekend getting them hooked up and putting the new separates to the test!

Will post my findings ASAP!

Ted

[brijenjas]

Well that's good news, I hope they waited until the upgrades were done to ship my replacement unit.

[gonk]

I just got an e-mail from Lonnie. I'm going to pass some questions/comments back to him, but wanted to offer at least some information here while I had a few minutes.

• Surround mode memory will remain global - the architecture doesn't allow per-input memory. There are going to be a couple preset modes (automatic PLIIx-Movie for DD 2.0 was the example that Lonnie gave), but otherwise the firmware update from this spring includes the final form of surround mode memory. I'm asking for a detailed run-down of how the memory works, since we never did get that entirely untangled.
  
• There has been a change made regarding how long the LMC-1 waits before going into scan mode, which should resolve the problem of DD 5.1 decoding sometimes only decoding the left and right channels.
  
• Regarding the problem of the unit reporting Dolby Digital EX for both Dolby 2.0 and 5.1 sources, Lonnie said that "In this version of the software the LMC-1 will engage PLIIx (Movie) unless another format has been selected by the user. With a 2.0 source you have access to all PLIIx formats, however with a 5.1 source, you only have access to Movie and Music." I'm going to ask for some further information here, as the EX display bug appeared to be related to what the LMC-1 reported when it was in Dolby Digital mode with no additional processing overlayed.
  
• Lonnie confirmed that DTS ES/NEO:6 was fixed in the spring firmware update. Any chance somebody can verify this?
  
• They have made changes to the clock speed of the DAC to improve signal acquisition time. The longest they have experienced in testing was 4 seconds (on a satellite box), with less than 2 seconds being the norm.
  
• There is an addendum to the manual in development that will cover the Pro Logic II/IIx changes from last summer. I've suggested that it also include details on the surround mode memory behavior.
  

I've asked for further details on the surround mode memory behavior, Dolby EX display issue, the Dolby button problem with the spring firmware update, and software update options for existing owners. I'll also post this at AV123 shortly.

[moovtune]

Thanks for the info Gonk. I have to admit it's not exactly exciting me yet and encouraging me to pick up an LMC-1. I've been waiting three months for these bugs to be sorted through, but it seems there may be only so much they can do with this design. I may have to wait to see what next year brings with their new designs.

[mrgreg]

gonk said:

"In this version of the software the LMC-1 will engage PLIIx (Movie) unless another format has been selected by the user. With a 2.0 source you have access to all PLIIx formats, however with a 5.1 source, you only have access to Movie and Music."

Hmm. I don't know about everybody else, but the behavior I'd like to see is for 2.0 sources to use PLIIx and for 5.1 sources to be left as DD5.1. I suppose I could see someone with a 7.1 setup wanting to have 5.1->PLIIx.

[The Administrator]

gonk, Thanks for the info. Great to hear a few tidbits of the update are leaking out!

mrgreg, I noticed that too. Not sure why they would now think that users want DD5.1 overriden by DPLII. I guess it's a matter of choice, but it makes logical sense to me that DD5.1 streams should be decoded as DD5.1, whereas DD2.0 streams should be decoded as DPLII:Movie with the easy option to toggle to bypass or other things.

That's great that it defaults to DPLII on DD2.0 streams, and that's a big fix that I've been waiting for.

I hope they fixed the DOLBY button on DD2.0/5.1 sources. That seems like it should be an easy fix that would solve several problems.