Author Topic: Fukuda 881 DivX/Mpg4/Jpg/Wma/Mp3/Vcd/Dvd/CD Player owners' discussion forum (Read 25790 times)

motion55 · « **Reply #30 on:** Jun 29, 2005 at 05:51 PM »

Quote from: fiddlers_green on Jun 12, 2005 at 12:28 AM

Guys, have you experienced the No Disc problem with the Fukuda player? Thanks in advance.

Mine is being serviced after just two months of use. It is having difficulty reading disks now. It's with the service center for more than two weeks now. Does that suck or what!

firewired · « **Reply #31 on:** Jun 29, 2005 at 08:05 PM »

Yeah that sucks. Good thing it comes with a warranty. Frankly, while I'm happy with my Fukuda and its DivX capabilities, the fact that 2 members are already having problems with their units is a bad sign.

Firmware should be upgradeable but since we don't know who the OEM manufacturer is, there's no way of contacting them. Fukuda is a local brand and they declined to reveal the identity of their partner in China when I asked.

motion55 · « **Reply #32 on:** Jul 03, 2005 at 05:35 AM »

I finally got my Fukuda back. So far it is almost good as new except that you now have to give it a nudge to close the tray after pushing the open/close button. It may or may not be the same unit that I sent over for repair. They might have upgraded the firmware or replaced the entire unit itself because the menu seems to be slightly different. The rumbling sound when you open/close the door is now gone. I just hope this baby lasts much longer than the warranty. Keep your fingers crossed.

TimSavvy · « **Reply #33 on:** Jul 03, 2005 at 06:37 AM »

Quote from: motion55 on Jul 03, 2005 at 05:35 AM

I finally got my Fukuda back. So far it is almost good as new except that you now have to give it a nudge to close the tray after pushing the open/close button. It may or may not be the same unit that I sent over for repair. They might have upgraded the firmware or replaced the entire unit itself because the menu seems to be slightly different. The rumbling sound when you open/close the door is now gone. I just hope this baby lasts much longer than the warranty. Keep your fingers crossed.

can i return the unit because of that rumbling sound whenever I turn on and off the unit?
or wait for it to break down? cuz things might get worse if i return the unit w/ just the rumbling sound complaint?

So far, i'm satisfied naman w/ my crapuda.. it's well worth my P3,300.. never skips, hangs, etc.. even those discs that jumps when played at Ganz Klar divX players. My only complaints are
->the loud fan (which is kinda not *that* noisy anymore),
->no real "stand-by" mode.. it's still ON even when you turn it off using the remote
->rumbling sounds when ejecting and closing the tray.. even when scrolling for files.

aside from those three.. it could've been perfect.. but hey.. for P3,300.. i can't complain..

PLUS!!! I leave my Fukuda unit on almost everynight.. (kse there's no sleep mode kaya natutulugan ko parati mga TV series.. playing in my fukuda)

ABSOLUTELY NO PROBLEMS AS OF TODAY.. (i'm keeping my fingers crossed)

Gino · « **Reply #34 on:** Jul 03, 2005 at 09:48 AM »

You may have gotten a unit returned for a faulty open/close function hehe.

motion55 · « **Reply #35 on:** Jul 03, 2005 at 12:48 PM »

Quote from: Gino on Jul 03, 2005 at 09:48 AM

You may have gotten a unit returned for a faulty open/close function hehe.

You now have to gently push the tray to get it started moving to close. I wanted to check the serial no against what's on the receipt but I couldn't find it. However, I'd rather keep this unit rather than trade back the one with the rumbling sound. So far it is holding up to its first 24hr continuous use playing all 41 episodes of American Idol. Another thing I notice is that it runs cooler than the original.

firewired · « **Reply #36 on:** Jul 03, 2005 at 09:54 PM »

So far, no heat issues with my unit although a cold start sometimes results in a screeching noise similar to the racket that old PCs with dying fans make while booting up. I usually switch off the unit, wait 10 seconds, then the familiar hum usually kicks in.

I ran some comparative tests today against a Nextbase NB-783. I like the contrast and saturation of the NB better but overall picture quality seemed higher on the Fukuda since it displayed less artifacting and cleaner edges. Blacks were also deeper. The NB also had problems playing the test film I backed up on a Top 4X (generic) DVD-R disc. There were instances of split second blockiness and sound dropouts in some scenes. In comparison, the Fukuda played the same scenes with no visible/audible errors.

motion55 · « **Reply #37 on:** Jul 04, 2005 at 12:31 PM »

It takes a more powerful processor to handle the DIVX compression. I'd expect the Fukuda to run more smoothly on the simpler MPEG1 and MPEG2 files. That is why I still consider this a good buy at its price despite the problems.

To clarify, there is really no heat issue even with the original Fukuda I had. This new one runs just cooler though.

motion55 · « **Reply #38 on:** Jul 12, 2005 at 03:11 PM »

A little googling around and it looks like the Fukuda uses the ESS Vibratto chipset. There are some firmware upgrades available for other DIVX players. Anyone bold enough to try them out?

firewired · « **Reply #39 on:** Jul 12, 2005 at 05:34 PM »

Yeah, that SmartNAVI interface is unique to ESS. Been thinking about it too but haven't worked up the courage yet. Have you opened up your unit? The chip markings clearly identify which Vibratto chipset is installed in your unit. Could be one of the following:

ESS Vibratto S ES6168 F FD FA DA FAD
ESS Vibratto S ES6178 F, D
ESS Vibratto II ES6688 FAD
ESS Vibratto II ES6698F

orangekeys · « **Reply #40 on:** Jul 28, 2005 at 01:47 PM »

2 weeks and now I have problems.

Just bought my unit July 9, 2005 at Anson's Landmark, all was well till three days ago. My daughter was watching a DVD (not DivX disc) and suddenly it paused adn stopped. Now it wont respond to eject, though I can eject it if I press the eject button fast enough after pressing the powerbutton. But stil it wont play any disks. LCD will read, loading or read.. cant remember after a while it will say "No disc". WTF!!! 2 Weeks pa lang unit ko.
Called up Service center and they are located in between Sucat and Alabang. Will bring my unit tomorrow, I asked if I can wait for my unit to be serviced... Guy said yes.
Wish me luck.
Oh and also the fan was giving noises na after only a week and a half of owning it.

indie boi · « **Reply #41 on:** Jul 28, 2005 at 06:54 PM »

This player is included in my shortlist for a second dvd player at home. How reliable is this really? Of the number of people who bought the player, how many have experienced problems?

firewired · « **Reply #42 on:** Jul 28, 2005 at 07:35 PM »

Mixed bag. Guess my luck's holding out but the salesman I bought it from probably still remembers me since I tested all the units they had in the Glorietta exhibit. Finally picked one after an hour or so of comparing.

My advice? Go for a branded player like the new LG and the Philips 642 (which can be had for as low as Php4,900 during sales).

fiddlers_green · « **Reply #43 on:** Jul 31, 2005 at 11:18 PM »

We finally got the unit from Ansons. It took about almost a month. My girlfriend was a bit pissed after waiting a long time. It didn't bother me that much because I had a busy month. Ansons sent the unit for repair. They didn't have any technicians coming over which is the case for the other manufacturers. The player seems to work fine again.
The fan noise was gone. The player was a bit dusty, they didn't even bother to clean the player.

firewired · « **Reply #44 on:** Aug 16, 2005 at 11:04 PM »

Fukuda 881 Report Card: 5 Months

Well, my 881 kicked the bucket last weekend. I turned it on and it started screeching like a dying PC -- how apt -- so I turned it off. When I tried again after a minute, the noise was gone. Unfortunately, it also refused to read any and every DVD, DVD-R, and CD-R that I tried to play so I turned it off. I resigned myself to an inconvenient trip to the service center to have the d**ned thing fixed. Given the unfortunate experience of fiddlers_green in Ansons, I figured a trip to Sucat was probably my best bet.

I called Fukuda first thing Monday and was informed by Rey, the guy in charge of the DVD line, that they were open from 8 am to 5 pm. He also said that I could wait for my unit since given the symptoms, they could repair it in one hour.

When I got there, I was... shocked. The Fukuda service center is actually a small room inside their warehouse -- no waiting area. no reception counter, no queue, no chairs, no water machine, and no forms to fill out. I sat on a wooden bench outside the room near a forklift.

Rey just got my machine and told me to wait. About 45 minutes later, they asked me to enter the room to test the player. I was informed that since the unit was still under warranty, they just replaced all the broken parts. This included:
1. The entire lens assembly, for reasons unknown.
2. The motor assembly, which was fried apparently. The screeching noises were indications of gear misalignment which strained the motor and eventually burned it out.

Upon testing the unit, I immediately noticed:
1. Startup and disc load times improved considerably.
2. The screech and low PC-like hum that I had come to associate with the 881... was gone. It sounded like a regular DVD player.

The technician assured me that my 881 was likely to be trouble-free moving forward. It seemed like the problems weren't new to them, so I'm guessing that this may be tied to a quality control issue that affected a number of players that were shipped to the Philippines from China.

Anyway, I've been testing the unit and so far so good. It's played everything I've thrown at it including a couple of hard-to-read DVD-Rs.

I'll update this thread if anything unusual comes up.

firewired · « **Reply #45 on:** Aug 17, 2005 at 07:56 AM »

Forgot to mention that I quizzed the technician about the overall durability of their DVD players. I noticed 4 or 5 different models stacked between boxes of Fukuda electric fans, electric stoves, blenders, irons, plastic chairs(!), etc. According to him, the 881 is really their best unit so far. It's considered a very reliable machine internally. Problems (like mine) aren't common daw given the number of units they've sold.

Gino · « **Reply #46 on:** Aug 17, 2005 at 09:19 AM »

Is it possible to get a Fukuda, bring it to Sucat, and have it inspected and repaired (modded) if necessary so that we know we are getting a reliable player? Honestly, I think they should recall all units and repair them before anyone notices. Such a bad reputation spreads like wild fire.

firewired · « **Reply #47 on:** Aug 17, 2005 at 09:56 AM »

Actually, I suggest buying it in Sucat. Call the number on Page 1, ask for Rey, and let him know you'd rather buy direct because of the experiences of people you know who got their units from retailers. I have a feeling that the batches they have in the warehouse are newer than the ones that are out in the market.

I doubt they'd do a recall. Judging by their warehouse, Fukuda is a no-frills, very low cost operation. DVD players seem to be a small part of their appliances business. Also, their market seems to be provincial more than Metro Manila. Personally, I'm just thankful that there's a warranty attached to the 881.

firewired · « **Reply #48 on:** Aug 19, 2005 at 06:40 AM »

Hey, I think I've identified the chipset that our Fukuda 881 comes with: the ESS Vibratto II (ES6688FAD). Checkout these setup screenshots for the XMS-888 player. Look familiar?

garee · « **Reply #49 on:** Aug 19, 2005 at 09:25 AM »

Quote

Considering that the rest of the manual is nearly unintelligible and whoever wrote the manual took pains to use Xvid when referring to DivX (presumably because this model isn't licensed), I'm inclined to think the Fukuba 881 is a backdoor model of some branded unit abroad. I asked a friend and he suspects it's a rip-off of a KiSS player given the deinterlacing parameters.

I'm actually thinking of opening the unit up to see what chipset is powering it. I'm guessing it's either a Mediatek MT1389 or a Sigma Design 8500.

Conclusion: there's a certified player here that's hiding inside a generic box.

does it mean that this generic dvd player is at par with the branded you have mention?
otherwise your conclusion is the way togo.

Gino · « **Reply #50 on:** Aug 19, 2005 at 09:50 AM »

Being at par is not a certainty. The chip is just part of the equation. Tweakers should know.

firewired · « **Reply #51 on:** Aug 19, 2005 at 10:16 AM »

No I don't think it's at par with branded players that use the ESS chipset. Based on my experience early this week, overall build quality could be much improved. It's like using an original Intel P4 chip with a so-so motherboard and so-so components.

The features I mentioned that are similar to the KiSS player are probably native to the ESS chipset, so smart deinterlacing is available in all generic and branded players that ship with it.

garee · « **Reply #52 on:** Aug 19, 2005 at 10:52 AM »

we are contemplating on which dvd player (built-in 5.1 decoder) with divx capability should we purchase over the weekend...

either Fukuda 881 or LG 9934?
other models you have in mind?

Gino · « **Reply #53 on:** Aug 19, 2005 at 11:01 AM »

Xbox. It is as close to a media center pc as you can get.

firewired · « **Reply #54 on:** Aug 19, 2005 at 11:15 AM »

I'd stick with the LG 9934 if you're looking for a primary player.

The Fukuda 881 is a bargain at P2,700 (in some stores) but there's a build quality tradeoff. Good thing it comes with a 1 year warranty.

frequenzy · « **Reply #55 on:** Aug 19, 2005 at 03:21 PM »

Could I ask sir where did you buy your Fukuda player?

firewired · « **Reply #56 on:** Aug 19, 2005 at 06:04 PM »

I bought it during one of the Glorietta credit card exhibits. It was still going for P3,000++ but 0% interest over 6 months. I was willing to buy it for cash but the biggest discount they could give me was P50.

firewired · « **Reply #57 on:** Aug 30, 2005 at 06:44 AM »

Have you tried connecting your 881 via component inputs? I tried it last weekend after I moved my primary player (Pioneer) upstairs. Gulat ako sa picture quality: very vibrant color reproduction and rich blacks with no visible artifacting. Frankly, I wasn't expecting much given the generic pedigree of the player but it was a pleasant surprise.

Gino · « **Reply #58 on:** Aug 31, 2005 at 02:22 PM »

Nakaka display ba siya avi subtitles?

TimSavvy · « **Reply #59 on:** Sep 03, 2005 at 05:28 AM »

My 881 starting to make screeching noises (about 10-20seconds) on startup since last month. I was ignoring it until 2 days ago when it was having a hard time identifying one of my DVDs (which I recently played on a Pioneer DVD Player). I tried using other DVDs after a couple of hours and it was working fine again, til now.

Do you think I should bring it to Abenson's Galleria (since that's the nearest to my place) as early as now (screeching noise complaint) or wait for it to totally conk out so that they may replace other parts bound to fail altogether?

thanks!