Iomega Screenplay MX Mobile

Posted: Wed Jan 18, 2012 3:32 am

A few weeks ago I bought the Iomega Screenplay MW Mobile 1TB. And let me tell you, I'm not a happy camper. I WAS, the first day, but this was before I realized there was a huge problem with it.

http://go.iomega.com/en/products/multimedia-drive/screenplay/screenplay-mx/?partner=4740#tech_specsItem_tab).

Pretty good device for it's money (€150 overhere), excellent picture, AND able to play MKV without a hitch, BUT - and there is the but - it just won't play subs at all, no matter what I try. No srt, no ssa, not one that they mention on their site (and on the box of purchase).

I tried every single method that I could think of to get the subs displayed, to no avail.

What I tried:

The usual method
Burning the movie on the mediaplayer with separate subs, making sure both files have the same name, for example batman.avi and batman.srt, and putting them in the same folder.

Did it work? No.

Second attempt
Same thing, but this time without putting them into a folder.

Did it work? No.

Third attempt
Changing the subs extension to whatever they SAY the device can handle. Tried it by putting it into the same folder and not.

Did it work? No.

Fourth attempt
Checked their website and did some elaborate websurfing in this issue. Apparently I'm not the only one with this (huge) problem. Followed their (Iomega's and users) supposed-to-work solution(s) to the letter: making sure the subtitles were turned ON (they were), made sure I used the correct encoding for the subs (tried every possible encoding, and making sure the mediaplayer was set correctly too), etc.

Did it work? NO. Did it work for other people? No.

Fifth attempt
Mailed the official helpdesk. Their utterly ridiculous response: please contact our online helpdesk for this problem. DUDE, WHERE DO YOU THINK I JUST CAME FROM???

Sixth attempt
Used another container for the avi files: MKV, with of course selectable subtitles (using MKVmerge), trying all sorts of subtitle encoding, making sure the mediaplayer was set correctly for each different encoding. Even tried to set the wrong one on purpose, just in case.

Did it work? No.

This has been going on for 3 weeks now, and I'm pretty tired of it. Trying to get help from the helpdesk is absolutely a total no-go (I wonder what they get payed: would love a job like that > sitting on your ass not knowing shit of the job you're supposed to do.).

And bringing the device back to the store to get another brand is also a no-go, since we lost our cashier ticket during moving (was blown away due to the storm). Rolling Eyes

If there is ANYONE who solved this problem... please let me know HOW you solved it, in detail. Not asking to tell me to hardburn the subs (THAT one does work, obviously), since that is not the purpose of the device.

Thanks in advance, ya'all! Hopefully I'll find someone inhere able to help me out. Wink

Cheers.

EDIT Holy mother of all F-ing Gods!!! After 3 weeks of pulling my hair and the rest getting grayer and grayer, I've found the solution!! On my own (again!!). Very Happy

SOLUTION : in the home menu, under "System", you can do a little reset, "Standard values". Push that one and the subs will be displayed as they should. No worries, you won't lose any of your already burned stuff. The only thing that I had to adjust after that, is the font of the subs (menu > settings > play > Subtitle font size ... and set it to your desired setting. Initially it's set to 24, just change it to the fontsize you want).

Voilà!! Am I good or not, hu?? Mr. Green

Darn, I think I should apply for a job at Iomega's online helpdesk. Laughing

Posted: Wed Jan 18, 2012 6:58 am

Woah, major headache mate Rolling Eyes

Glad you got sorted though. I may refer back to this if I get any problems going forward...

https://ca.isohunt.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=760309

Havent decided what to go for yet...

Posted: Wed Jan 18, 2012 8:46 am

Realplay H2 is what is flying over counters here in China. Its pretty much the apple tv but only better your not locked in and it can take 1TB storage (not sure about the 2TB drives??) or you just stream wireless or with an ethernet cable. it supports playback of DivX MPEG4 MPEG2 MPEG1 AVI VOB RM RMVB MP3 WMA and supports subtitles SRT SUB PGS and its Output Resolution: 1920 × 1080. Its footprint is quite small as well 129 × 155 × 31mm also with Coax along with Network Interface HDMI and good old analogue.
The kicker is these buggers go for only 320 RMB which is pretty good. Thats 50 USD. 32.50 British pound
These little buggers decode dolby and hd sound dts etc. basically anything you throw at it.
Thing is updatable via the nets and comes with access to a shitload of movie sites and wacked out web tv etc......yup all in Chinese hahahaha.
I am 100% sure it is a clone of the older Apple TV complete with the underside ventilator and fan but it is so much better tech wise and is plug n play whilst the price is less than one new Bluray.
I find it such a pity that once a piece of tech as this is on the boat it triples in price by the time its in the stores.
Sorry if the above sounds or appears as spam.. not my intention
Just played around with one today and pure chance saw this thread.

Posted: Wed Jan 18, 2012 9:54 am

You are forgiven, my son. Wink

Anyway, yeah, you're right. Ones things (anything) has to cross borders, even one single border, the price goes sky high. Specially the Chinese stuff that go towards western countries. I mean, seriously, for example - and this is just a made up example - buy an iPhone in China for €20 > buy the exact same one here in Europe: €400 and more. I do know that taxes have to be payed, but com'on...

Posted: Wed Jan 18, 2012 10:07 am

iomega have made some pretty cool stuff over the years. Sadly the one product that I had which never let me down was a jazz drive.....god for its day they were fast. however two zip drives suffered the clik o death and a iomega buzz I had nothing but crosstalk across the connectors returned it and the second just gave up and died after about 7months. I did a hard drive and that lasted till I stupidly left it in the car and the cost of replacing a passenger window made me hate iomega with a passion.
The iphone here cost 6 dollars to build but in the retail to the penny the same price as USA. the iphone copy with two sims and 2 batteries running android are 20 usd.... dammed good phones as well.

Posted: Thu Feb 02, 2012 4:09 pm

THANKS Opelkoenjas! You really are the f**kin man!! Very Happy

I've been trying to solve this problem for months... No solution in Iomega forums, direct support or any other web in the whole Internet. I had tried all the steps that you specify in your post, but not the reset option Embarassed

Really thanks for share your solution mate.

Posted: Thu Feb 02, 2012 4:40 pm

i gave up on all help desks a long time ago, you can hear them turning the pages and clicking the mouse as they go through the flowchart, and any question suggesting a problem not on the chart is answered with "no sir that is impossible"

Posted: Thu Feb 02, 2012 6:36 pm

felino wrote:

THANKS Opelkoenjas! You really are the man!! Very Happy

I've been trying to solve this problem for months... No solution in Iomega forums, direct support or any other web in the whole Internet. I had tried all the steps that you specify in your post, but not the reset option Embarassed

Really thanks for share your solution mate.

You're welcome.

Quote:

i gave up on all help desks a long time ago, you can hear them turning the pages and clicking the mouse as they go through the flowchart, and any question suggesting a problem not on the chart is answered with "no sir that is impossible"

Yep, indeed. Pretty annoying, aint it. It's sad that people have to look for the working solution by themselves - specially the ones that they call "impossible" while they are actually very simple. Like I said: would love to have a job were you don't have to know shit, except for reading and using your index finger to turn pages.