You're right:

Ver 2.4 Jan. 06, 2009
This Firmware update provides the following benefits:
1. Supports DTS-HD HRA/MA Decoding

However, as my dealer is particularly difficult to get to organise software updates under warranty, I hope they don't keep releasing new sw firmware updates every other week, like they did with the MKIII.

No idea why B&O couldn't use this firmware, with DTS-HD support, if it was released in January! Mind you, I've always said that B&O seem to incorporate tried-and-tested technology that's been on the market for many months.

Unfortunately divx, mp3 and Jpeg will not be supported

Bye

Ernie

That doesn't worry me too much - I'll have the BS5 for that. Mind you, I wonder if B&O are going to re-write their rather confusing online specs?

In the UK if something is 'not as advertised' (4 x HDMI sockets, no MP3 support), which is on their site, then we have a right to reject the goods....even months after they've been delivered and installed! If you bought the TV thinking you could watch your DivX movies, as it states on the website, and you can't, you have a right to a refund.

Interesting.

Just checking to see if I've understood everything.

True HD is available now but only in 5.1 due to bandwidth issues?

DTS-HD is not available now but probably will be? I guess the bandwidth issues are the same.

Is this correct?

Nothing to do with 'bandwidth issues' as HDMI is more than capable of handling DTS HD (as DTS HD is 'supported' on my old PS3!). The Blu-ray unit in the BV7-40 MKIV doesn't support DTS HD, even though the unit supplied by Samsung now supports DTS HD with a firmware upgrade.

So, it appears that a Blu-ray encoded with DTS HD - and that includes lots of discs - will only playback as standard Dolby 5.1, which you'd get on a standard definition DVD. The audio advantage of Blu-ray is lost on the BV7-40 MKIV. That's disappointing as my PS3 has supported DTS HD for well over a year now.

Yes, as the Samsung Blu-ray drive now includes a firmware upgrade that supports DTS HD, it means that we might get this in the near future, in one of those all-important software upgrades.

ernie:

Unfortunately divx, mp3 and Jpeg will not be supported

 

Bye

Ernie

The "stock" 2500 player (if the B&O player is indeed based on that one) supports these formats with a firmware update. Again, B&O should try to keep its own player current.

Regards,

Jean

B & O has made it easy for themselves this time! They have simply Flashed in a PUC control for the inbuilt blu-ray player because you have to press SHIFT (YELLOW ARROW) first and then right/left button to rewind or change Chapter!

Exact the sam procedure as if you connect a external Samsung BDP-2500 and use PUC control !

B&O think they are smart, but they can´t fool me!

I may have misunderstood, and if so, please correct me.

1. BD is fitted in the BV7, which has a screen size that doesn't need the BD image resolution.

2. But BD high resolution audio isn't enabled, by a company which grew its reputation in audio?

Did I get this right?

Hello together,

can you please give me more informations about the quality of DVD upscaling, problems with blu-ray 1080/24p, sharpness and deep black, playing Audio CD.

regards

Obermurkler

no doubt it will arrive in the bv7 mkV in 6-12 months time

and there goes another £/$ 5k... [:'(]

OK, my BV7-40 MKIV has been installed this morning. Here are my brief initial thoughts (in no particular order):

1) Freeview module improved. Much better layout/structure and use. No real improvement to PQ.

2) Only two (!!) HDMI sockets free out of the four advertised. Blu-ray drive uses one (a cable passed through the system and connects to one HDMI socket) and the DVB HD uses another. This is got to be the single most annoying part of the new system. Why oh why have B&O advertised 4 x HDMI sockets, but 'forgotten' to add the caveat that two of those sockets are in-use?

3) Blu-ray playback *is* better and more fluid than on the old MKIII. Watched the opening sequence on my old favourite Casino Royale, using the internal player, and the movement is more fluid, screen keeps up with fast camera panning and it's a little brighter. I'd say it's about 10-15% of an improvement watching a Blu-ray compared to the same Blu-ray on the older MKIII.

4) Internal Blu-ray drive is noisy. A bit embarrassing to be honest. Strange that we've got this top-end well crafted TV, but a really noisy internal drive. Doesn't really seem to synergise properly. It's no noisier than the PS3 drive, but I didn't pay £10K for a PS3.

5) The internal Blu-ray drive seems a bit of a hack, probably as it simply passes a cable through the a HDMI socket and is no better than an external Blu-ray player.

6) The Blu-ray player ships with a decent 'loading' screen. Using it though is a bit bizarre. You have to press yellow + > to fast forward etc. It was easier to use the Blu-ray remote with the PS3 ;)

7) Sky HD. HD channels were no step up from the previous MKIII. Perhaps a tad brighter, but definitely less than a 5% improvement. Perhaps I'll get a better impression once I've watched more TV - ie. football on HD could be interesting as the 100Hz screen should help the fast camera panning.

Worth upgrading from the MKIII to MKIV? Probably not, no. The lack of HDMI ports and the hard-to-use Blu-ray player make it more of a hassle than the previous MKIII. The PQ improvement is very small. Blu-ray improved slightly, everything else pretty much 'as is'.

soundproof:

2. But BD high resolution audio isn't enabled, by a company which grew its reputation in audio?

I don't know. Still confused. Uncompressed PCM is supported, but I think it's DTS HD that isn't? Most old Blu-ray's used DTS HD, so I wonder what the TV does when you choose DTS HD? I think it downconverts to standard Dolby Digital.

From how I have read the spec, it supports TrueHD, DTS, DD and PCM.  Not DTS-HD MA.

A TrueHD stream contains an underlying DD stream for decoders that don't support it.  Similarly, a DTS-HD MA stream contains an underlying DTS stream.

I don't think I own any blu-ray's with DTS-HD MA, but any that did would get output as straight DTS.  I would have thought most discs have a choice of both TrueHD or DTS, or even uncompressed PCM on some music discs, so it shouldn't be a huge issue.  The PS3 didn't even support it until April last year.

Just had a skim through the BV7-40 MKIV user-instructions. No mention of Blu-ray or the Blu-ray drive. Nothing. No addendum or anything!

Worse, the instructions tell you about the connections, including the 4 x HDMI sockets. Absolutely no mention that the Blu-ray drive and the DVB-HD module take up two of these sockets.

No mention that V.AUX has disappeared from the new model, either.

Also, why does the replacement DVB-T module (DVB-HD) connect to HDMI as default when this doesn't apply to all markets? I can't see BBC HD listed on the Freeview settings, for example.

This is really poor for such an expensive TV. It's as if the instructions were written for the MKIII, bundled with the MKIV and they hoped no-one would notice...

One more observation, and one for Peter who thinks the BV7 is poor with SD, is that Freeview is *worse* on the MKIV compared to the MKIII. Yes, worse. SD is definitely even more pixelated. I'd say HD TV is a slight step up from the MKIII though.

I wonder if B&O only bother testing their new TVs with HD-sourced TV programming? Wouldn't surprise me ;)

I know I have just posted a reply in (BeoVision 8-40 Soap Opera Effect) but am a bit concerned after having problems with the BV8-40.
I have ordered the BV7-40 without any disc drive, so would that mean that I get 3 HDMI inputs?? As I’m going to continue to use my PS3 for BluRay and Beocenter 2 for the old DVD’s etc.
Can anyone tell me is the screen the same one as on the BV8, can you access the menu and turn off the film mode or does it function well? 
It would be great if someone could give a small review of their new BV7, also I have ordered it with the BeoLab 7.4 as I use BeoLab 3’s as the surround speakers and have always had a slight problem picking out voices on films. Age I’m sure....Is the Beolab 7.4 clearer?
Cheers
TC

Spud, I have extensive experiences with various BV7's and I can tell you it won't be a major step up from your current BV8-40. They share the same LCD panel! I'd keep your BV8, unless you have a super-cheap decent deal?

I'm not sure what you mean by small review? I've listed above my thoughts on the BV7-40 MKIV?

7.4+BL3 is a good combination. That's fine. 7.4 is perfect for voice.

Yes, you'll get 3 HDMI inputs as the DVB-HD module uses one.

I appreciate your reply moxxey; I just want more feedback as to the quality of the screen display.
The problem is I will be purchasing the BV7 blind as I live a 1600km round trip from my B&O dealer and cannot get there to see it 1st hand. But if I keep the BV8, will I always be thinking that I should have bitten the bullet and just got the BV7! It’s not every day you have the opportunity to return a B&O product? Also I know this sounds stupid, but when you have got used to the BV6 rotating stand it’s hard to go back to a fixed one and the BV8 doesn’t come with one!!
Cheers TC

mooxey, can you look in to the Costumer Service Menu under Signal information when you watch TV! Because ours dosen´t interpolate at all! It says Output signal: 50Hz!! It should be 100Hz... I have asked B&O about this..

BV7 MKIV = Big flop!

Beolab:

BV7 MKIV = Big flop!

I wouldn't quite go as far as that Beolab, but I would say that MKIII owners should N-O-T upgrade. Waste of money. It's easier to control a Blu-ray from the PS3 and Blu-ray remote control. Audio sounds better, too. A quick test of Dark Knight and it didn't sound audibly very impressive compared to how I remember it was on the PS3. Had to rank up the volume, too.

I'll check the signal information later tonight when I use the TV again. I did notice that Sky HD channels looked better on the MKIV so, for me at least, most of the TV/DVDs I watch are going to look better on the MKIV. Anyone who watches primarily SD TV or SD DVDs are going to be even more disappointed than with the older MKIII. In fact, you could argue B&O are going backwards with the BV7...

splud:

I appreciate your reply moxxey; I just want more feedback as to the quality of the screen display.

It's probably around the same as your BV8-40 as it uses the same panel. I have seen quite a bit of the BV8-40 and it's exactly the same as the BV7-40 MKIVs panel. BV7 is a lot more expensive though.

If the motorised stand is a deal-breaker though and you can't live without it, then the DVD-less BV7-40 is probably a good buy for you. As you said, you can use the PS3.

I'm thinking that the DVD-less BV7 might have been good for me, too...!

moxxey:

Worse, the instructions tell you about the connections, including the 4 x HDMI sockets. Absolutely no mention that the Blu-ray drive and the DVB-HD module take up two of these sockets.

From B&O internal information...

That still doesn't make it right though. They shouldn't need to use their own 'external' HDMI connectors for 'internal' modules. The PR and general specs say 4 x HDMI. Anyway, I'll just have to live without. I suppose I can disconnect the DVB-HD HDMI lead, if necessary.

See general/public specs:

http://www.bang-olufsen.com/beovision7-blu-ray-press
http://www.bang-olufsen.com/UserFiles/File/ts/BeoVision7_en.pdf

These are the specs presented to the end-user.

On a sidenote, even Sky SD (ie. BBC One) is poorer than on the MKIII. Better colours, more pixelated. HD is phenomenal though. Improved over the MKIII.

Looks like it's superb for HD, worse than the MKIII for anything less than, erm, straight HD channels (which are few and far between).

Oh no. The BV7-40 MKIV just crashed whilst watching TV! Screen went to mush, TV wouldn't respond to remote control, had to be switched off and then back on, via mains!

That's not good. This isn't looking promising.

And again :(

Ok, this is my last post on here. I'm disappointed. Two crashes -> off in 10 minutes :(