Momitsu V880 Loader Replacement Pix

[spillz564]

I wanted to give something back to this community that has helped so much in getting the Momitsu V880 to run smoothly.

Based on past posts and past responses I have been able to successfully mod my V880 (Cap, Loader, & cable mods) so I tried to take some pix along the way to help others who may be going through the same thing.

This guide shows how to successfully replace the original V880 EPO loader with a Lite-On 166HD...

I hope this helps! The file is just a tad too big to post here so I've posted the file on my website. The link is below:

http://www.geocities.com/cole7007/Momitsu-Loader-Replacement-Guide-BrianCole.pdf

If anyone has feedback (positive or negative) or any comments please post. I used SAP's original instructions and added pix. I have made sure to give proper credit so hopefully I'm not stepping on any toes. Anyone know how to take about 50K off of this file so that it can be attached to this post??

Enjoy,
Brian

<edit> You may need to click the link. And then refresh the opening page since this link truncates.

[raster]

link doesn't work

[spillz564]

Sorry, try this one...

www.geocities.com/cole7007/V880LoaderReplacement.pdf

Please post back and let me know if it works.

For some reason I have to click on the link and I get an error. I then click on the URL and hit enter and the pdf file loads.


-Brian

[BajaFishin]

Thanks Brian,

that's AWSOME.

Baja

[spillz564]

I split this file up into 2 parts so I could post it within this thread. Here's part 1of2...

[spillz564]

Here's part 2of2...

Please let me know if there are problems.

Thanks,
Brian

[Paul Bigelow]

Nice writeup and nice pictures. Great work.

[whitey66]

Yeah,great work Brian.Will all Liteon 166 models work,or do you need a special version?

[spillz564]

I'm not sure about other Lite-On drives but the most common drive by far has been the Lite-On XJ-HD166S. I've copy/pasted some info below from another post on where to get the drive.

<Snip>
XJ-HD166S retail version, which would equate to the newegg item # N82E16827131113 .
Your choices seem to be the N82E16827131603 OEM model if you want a black tray for $31.00, the N82E16827131112 OEM model if you want the cream colored tray for $33.00 or the N82E16827131113 retail package for $34.00 if you want a nice box.

Steve
<snip>

[whitey66]

The one I found on is an LTD 166S,but i'm in Australia.Good price too - $38.95 AU ,that's about $27.50 US,I just hope it works.I'll probably just keep it on hand till my warranty runs out,or it stuffs up.
My picture always seems to stutter when 1080i is selected,could this be a loader issue,or is more likely a PAL - NSTC conversion error?.
The stuttering is constant, ie. about every 1 or 2 seconds when camera is panning.
This doesn't happen with 720p though,anyone got any ideas?

[zeto]

That's not the loader. I think what you're seeing is called 'judder', a framerate conversion issue. If it were the loader, you'd know. It'd be clicking and clacking loudly!
Walt

[zeto]

Spilz that's a great document! If you could add information to it about updating the firmware for the loader and making it region free, it be a one-stop document for all new-comers to be referred to.
Walt

[rwestley]

Thanks for the great report. It seems that the 166s loader is being replaced by 167T. NewEgg has removed the 166s from their website.

Does anyone have experience with the 167T or any other drive for the
Momitsu? What firmware should be used? How can it be made region free?

[spillz564]

Thanks for the comments.

I'll probably wait a little bit to see if there are more suggestions and then make an update with additional links, such as links to the thread on updating fw, etc.

[steviec]

spillz564: Great work! One question; Is that all you had to do was install the new loader and everything worked o.k.?

[spillz564]

I also added the capacitor mod and the upgraded IDE cable. But I did these mods prior to adding the new loader.

The original loader that came with my V880 was dated June 2003 and worked fine for about 20 or so movies and then began stuttering occasionally. A hard reset (unplug) worked for a while and then the stuttering began to get worse and a hard reset didn't get me through an entire movie.

When I swapped out the loader with the Lite-On 166, everything worked great. I initially had some problems adding the correct firmware (Ds0f didn't work) but once I used DS19, everything was fine.

[whitey66]

Originally posted by spillz564
I'm not sure about other Lite-On drives but the most common drive by far has been the Lite-On XJ-HD166S. I've copy/pasted some info below from another post on where to get the drive.



The guy from the computer shop has confirmed that he has a Lite-On XJ-HD166S,a firmware update guide would be really handy if you have time.

[rwestley]

The 166S is the old model and it is being discontinued. The 167T is the
new model. Has anyone tried it with the Momitsu? It also has new firmware just released.

[spillz564]

whitey66,

here's a link to a thread about updating the firmware on the LIte-On166 (the drive you mention above).

I initially had some problems with the firmware that I installed (DS0f) and eventually switched to DS19 and everything worked. On the last post of this thread I listed the steps I went through to update the firmware.

Also in this thread is a link that will get you to the firmware you need:

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?s=&threadid=416693

Here's a very basic list of steps that may help:

1. Hook your new 166 up to a computer and boot the computer.

2. Go to the website that has the firmware (fw). See link in above thread. I would recommend DS19. (here's a link to the DS19 fw: http://digi.rpc1.org/165_166.php)

3. Depending on the fw you download, the file may be a self extracting file or it may require a third party program (easily found by doing a google search for lite-on 166 firmware program). I believe that the last update (DS19) I did had a self extracting file.

4. Make sure you know what drive letter your Liteon is registered to in your computer. Follow the instructions and load the firmware onto your 166 drive.

5. Hook the drive up to the Momitsu and give it a shot.

Hope this helps.

[BajaFishin]

Oh Don't fortget about the region free hack..

Here is the link to do it all...

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?s=&postid=3796508#post3796508

[whitey66]

Thanks for the help,not sure if i'll do it straight away as it's still has heaps of warranty left.Does much go wrong with the Momitsu besides the loader?
Also, does anyone know if spare parts are available?(mainly the motherboard,it looks like PC bits could be used for the rest.)

[spillz564]

There was a post in the past couple months recently by extremephono about an upgraded board that supposedly improved picture quality over the analog outs (component, s-video, etc) but didn't affect the DVI output since it's digital. With a little seaching you should be able to find the thread. It just depends how your have your player hooked up to your display device (analong or DVI).

As far as other problems you can add a capacitor to the main board. I found that it improved player response time (chapter search, etc) but I'm sure others can comment more on that.

As Bajafishin stated (thanks!) if you play with the fw you might as well change the player to region free.

After doing a couple mods you'll definitely be pleased with the operation of your V880. The loader mod also seems to have helped the player play a wider array of burned DVD backups in my case. I have some burned discs that won't play on my Sony (S500D) or my JVC but will play fine on the V880.

[dylang]

has any one tried a loader with an 8mb buffer? I wonder if this would help with layer changes. Is the Denon 2910/3910 buffer on the loader or on the board? It would be interesting to see if this would work on the Momitsu.

[rwestley]

I would suggest using the new Lite-On 167T it is the replacement for the
166s. Be sue to use the same region free hack.

[dylang]

Well that what every thread does say. What I'm asking is whether taking it up a notch it worth it. The only dvd-rom's out there that have 8mb buffer are R/W's. I'm not sure if that really makes a difference. It would be a good experiment.

[rwestley]

I think the 8m buffer is used for recording. I wonder if there is any DVD player with a 8m buffer. If anyone knows please post. It would be an
interesting experiment. It could be tried before any modifications are
made by hooking up the IDE cable and the power out the the player out
of the Momitsu case.

[scottypop]

I found it easier just to skip the dremel and duct tape my drive to the metal piece in the front and to the "floor" of the unit. :)

[Tal L]

I have one of the late model V880 with the supposedly newer loader and not counting the remote have been using it flawlessly for well over a year.

However, over the past several months more and more DVDs that use to play with it would no longer load. (Like Digital Video Essentials). I tried upgrading to the latest firmware (both the player and loader) and unplugging it for 24 hours. None of these worked for me. Also, I noticed in the info screen frequently the loader firmware would just show gibberish.


The following is what I did to get my V880 fully functional again...

Many people have stated success with the Lite-on drives. The model that people have had success with isn't available any more. The theory is any IDE DVD drive should work with the Momitsu.

So I went to my local Fry's and picked up a EMPREX 16x DVD-ROM, along with a round ATA hard drive cable and an extension for the drive power connector. My V880 had a covered hole for some unused connector. So I punch out the metal covering for it and ran the drive cable and power cable through this opening. The end result is to just leave the new drive sitting on top of the the Momitsu's case. I am also using an old mouse pad to absorb any vibrational noise.

I could now play my old troubled disks again.

However, there was a new problem. There were other titles that didn't play. These seem to the the double sided dual layer titles like Remington Steele and Due South season 1 disks.

I then tried the Sony DDU1622 and Pacific Digital Corp U-30219 DVD-ROMs all with the same problem.

Finally, I went with the Pioneer DVR-A08XL. It has played every disc, I have thrown at it.

So if double sided disks are important to you and you are willing to have the drive sit externally to your Momitsu, you might want to give this drive a try.

[nameless33]

"...Finally, I went with the Pioneer DVR-A08XL. It has played every disc, I have thrown at it..."

That pioneer A08/108 line was great at reading discs. Which bios are you using ?

[rwestley]

Many of us have had great success with Lite-On drives for replacement.

They are inexpensive and work well. They have a new model that should be great and
the price is really low. Newegg has the 16P9S in stock and the retail version is even cheaper than the OEM version this week. If you have a Momitsu around it might pay to get a Lite-On to have around. They have been great in playing all disks.

[rwestley]

Many of us have had great success with Lite-On drives for replacement.

They are inexpensive and work well. They have a new model that should be great and
the price is really low. Newegg has the 16P9S in stock and the retail version is even cheaper than the OEM version this week. If you have a Momitsu around it might pay to get a Lite-On to have around. They have been great in playing all disks. Newegg buyers give it 5 stars. Another good thing about it is that it is small and can play nearly all types of disks with no errors.