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Author Topic: NEC Service Pack 4.214 issues... Mark Gulbrandsen Resident Trollmaster Posts: 16657 From: Music City Registered: Jun 99 posted 11-09-2014 03:38 PM                     Anyone gone to this level and had a gray screen and other issues with projectors going on screen after the update to 4.214. I have two sites with this issue and I just took one site back to the 4.212 firmware and system data and that seemed to correct the gray screen problem. 4.212 is a comprehensive update while 4.214 only updates system firmware, System Data and the Enigma to the new 1.8 Enigma Pro package. I hope T.I. didn't blow the Enigma update. I am thinking though that the system Firmware or Data is no good.I have only taken a few projectors that are actually using their enigmas to 4.214. Mark  |  IP: Logged Steve Guttag We forgot the crackers Gromit!!! Posts: 12814 From: Annapolis, MD Registered: Dec 1999 posted 11-09-2014 04:18 PM                     I believe all of our NECs are on 4.214 and we are having zero issues with it. Almost all of our Enigma based systems are on 1.8.24 (Christie was bringing up the rear on that one) and there have been ZERO issues with 1.8.24. We have NC900C, NC1200 and NC2000s all running on 4.214. The mix is about 50/50 Dolby servers and GDC. Note too, NEC made Enigma 1.8.24 as a separate upgrade if you desire to just apply that one part. However, I think something else is at play here. We've been on 4.214 for quite some time now (at least 4-months).  |  IP: Logged Mark Gulbrandsen Resident Trollmaster Posts: 16657 From: Music City Registered: Jun 99 posted 11-09-2014 06:31 PM                     Well, I now have three systems at two different sites with this issue. The servers are all HD-SDI connected servers. To get rid of the gray screen you just have to hit the desired format button and then it plays fine. On the one projector I reverted the Firmware and Data back to 4.212 on it is working fine. Did you get your firmware off the NEC site or the Strong site? Mark  |  IP: Logged Steve Guttag We forgot the crackers Gromit!!! Posts: 12814 From: Annapolis, MD Registered: Dec 1999 posted 11-09-2014 07:17 PM                     I ALWAYS use the NEC site. Why 2 step it? Plus, with the NEC site, you get everything straight from the source with all of the documentation. If this was a trend...I would have seen it by now. I have 4.214 running with GDC servers on 4 sites (with HDSDI)...NONE have reported that problem yet. All are on current GDC software but one that is still on 7.83 (not on a VPF plan).  |  IP: Logged Mark Gulbrandsen Resident Trollmaster Posts: 16657 From: Music City Registered: Jun 99 posted 11-09-2014 07:45 PM                     Well, there IS a problem! Friends down under have also had the exact same issue! Beware! Mark  |  IP: Logged Mike Blakesley Film God Posts: 12767 From: Forsyth, Montana Registered: Jun 99 posted 11-09-2014 08:15 PM                        I'm glad for once, when there was a problem, it was a REAL problem and not some bonehead thing I did!  |  IP: Logged Joe Elliott Master Film Handler Posts: 497 From: Port Orange, Fl USA Registered: Oct 2006 posted 11-09-2014 08:42 PM                     I've only seen it happen when going to an alternative content format. Has anyone had it happen when going to a cinema format? Also this was on 2 projectors that both have legacy boards, not IMB's. GDC servers. Pushing the back up in worked for a few days, then it started again. The second projector didn't do it until 3 weeks after update. It is a white test pattern, the projector however, does not show that it is displaying a test pattern. It is the white test pattern, no masking applied, so it overshoots the screen. This tells me it is probably coming from the ICP, as that is where the test patterns reside. Tried re updating multiple times, with no effect. I'm not upgrading any other projector with it, I'll wait for the next update.  |  IP: Logged Chase Taylor Expert Film Handler Posts: 175 From: Troy, Alabama, USA Registered: Mar 2001 posted 11-09-2014 08:45 PM                        Mark I'm having the same problem at a site with Dolby servers. If memory serves me its actually loading the "RGB-12bit-Full Screen 50 Pct Grey" test pattern.  |  IP: Logged Mike Blakesley Film God Posts: 12767 From: Forsyth, Montana Registered: Jun 99 posted 11-09-2014 08:52 PM                        quote: Joe Elliott I've only seen it happen when going to an alternative content format. Has anyone had it happen when going to a cinema format? Also this was on 2 projectors that both have legacy boards, not IMB's. GDC servers. Pushing the back up in worked for a few days, then it started again. The second projector didn't do it until 3 weeks after update. It is a white test pattern, the projector however, does not show that it is displaying a test pattern. It is the white test pattern, no masking applied, so it overshoots the screen. This tells me it is probably coming from the ICP, as that is where the test patterns reside. Tried re updating multiple times, with no effect. Well it happened here in cinema format (scope) and the gray screen seemed to have a flicker to it. It reminded me of in film days when a diode would go out, except the flicker was faster. Our situation didn't overshoot the screen either, it was the same size as a regular scope picture. Pressing the format button cleared the problem. I tried inserting an extra format cue into our playlist but that didn't help it -- you had to actually press the button to fix it. But, all good now after reverting to the earlier firmware. (Thanks Mark!)  |  IP: Logged Steve Guttag We forgot the crackers Gromit!!! Posts: 12814 From: Annapolis, MD Registered: Dec 1999 posted 11-10-2014 05:58 AM                     I'll be on the lookout for it...thanks Mark! Has anyone reported the issue to NEC? Since this update had the Enigma 1.8...I was pretty fast adopting it so we are nearly 4-months into it without incident. Since NEC has hung onto 4.214 for nearly 4-months (still the current version) I would presume that they are not receiving a rash of complaints either.  |  IP: Logged Carsten Kurz Film God Posts: 4340 From: Cologne, NRW, Germany Registered: Aug 2009 posted 11-10-2014 09:05 AM                     Do we now wether that might occur on all NEC models with the 4.214 update, or only on select models, e.g. NC900? Wondering what that could be when another format cue from the server doesn't fix it, but a format button press, which in theory should do exactly the same thing. - Carsten  |  IP: Logged Mike Blakesley Film God Posts: 12767 From: Forsyth, Montana Registered: Jun 99 posted 11-10-2014 11:53 AM                        I was thinking the two format cues that I put in might have been too close together - the machine might have still been "thinking" while the second cue went by.  |  IP: Logged Steve Guttag We forgot the crackers Gromit!!! Posts: 12814 From: Annapolis, MD Registered: Dec 1999 posted 11-10-2014 01:20 PM                     Mike...my simple rule with NEC is 2-seconds for a douser command and 16-20 seconds for ANYTHING else. NEC does not multi-task well. In the past with odd NEC issues (had a problem where it wouldn't shift a scope image on the imager)...I've switched between formats on each format change to ensure it reselected it...thereby eating 40-seconds of time But seriously...no reported incidents for us yet and we have NC900, NC1200 and NC2000s. Almost all are HDSDI systems but a couple are now IMBs.  |  IP: Logged Mark Gulbrandsen Resident Trollmaster Posts: 16657 From: Music City Registered: Jun 99 posted 11-10-2014 01:44 PM                     I think by going back to 4.212 Data and Firmware only and leaving enigma 1.8 in there it is now ok. Obviously, there is a bug in 4.214 data or firmware of some sort. Carsten... This might affect any NEC projector that has an Enigma in it... IE: Legacy Module. If you only have an IMB then I reccomend you completely skip 4.214 for now. 4.212 was a good version. If you want to you can update JUST the enigma manually assuming you are at 4.212. UPDATE: I talked to Tim Elwell @ Strong about this and he'd like to know what it says on the LCD screen when the gray screen comes up. Does it say some other format other than what was selected or does it say the format your cue called actually for? Mark  |  IP: Logged Steve Guttag We forgot the crackers Gromit!!! Posts: 12814 From: Annapolis, MD Registered: Dec 1999 posted 11-10-2014 03:22 PM                     Mark...had he heard of the problem? From the Release notes. "01. Implement Function to avoid DMD Brighter /Darker Pixels Issue TI has suggested the F/E unit generates a gray raster pattern for DMD during light-off state." I wonder if it has something to do with it.  |  IP: Logged

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