Ac3 plugin now for money ??

[maxidvd]

Till yesterday I played all my mkv files ac3 encoded with 2.1 fw perfectly.
Today I installed 2.2 Froyo and it ask to me to install a new plugin, for money I think !
Is this correct ?

[maxidvd]

Update: yes it is.
They ask 15 euros for the cinema plug in.
Do you know if there is a valid Player alternative on market ?

[elmerohueso]

Unfortunately, this was always Archos' plan. Their Tech Specs page under Audio says "[playable] With optional software plug-ins (downloadable on www.archos.com): ÔÇó AC3 5.1 ". It's said that from before release. We were lucky that they somehow slipped in AC3 with the last firmware, but now they've caught their mistake.

[viking]

now they've caught their mistake.

Why a mistake? Maybe simply being nice guys, because they didn't have a plugin available for eclair or the plugin upgrade logistics would be too messy.

[gottahavit]

now they've caught their mistake.

Why a mistake? Maybe simply being nice guys, because they didn't have a plugin available for eclair or the plugin upgrade logistics would be too messy.

well I still can't purchase the plugin here in the US. This is getting ridiculous.

[maxidvd]

I tried a pair of alternatives, both poor and not freeware.
Any idea ?

[oic0]

Ac3 wasn't working for me in 2.1, except in software mode in Rockplayer. You sure it was working for you before?

[mrkniceguy]

Ac3 wasn't working for me in 2.1, except in software mode in Rockplayer. You sure it was working for you before?

AC3 was definitely working for me on 2.1. I use the exact same file on 2.2 and received the "cannot play" message stating the AC3 plugin was needed. Trouble is.. there IS no AC3 plugin (at least in the U.S. Are other countries able to purchase the plugin?).

I'm in the process right now using YAMB and BeLight to convert AC3 audio to aac. Time consuming, but it'll save me from having to buy a plugin (that doesn't exist).

[maxidvd]

Ac3 wasn't working for me in 2.1, except in software mode in Rockplayer. You sure it was working for you before?

AC3 was definitely working for me on 2.1. I use the exact same file on 2.2 and received the "cannot play" message stating the AC3 plugin was needed. Trouble is.. there IS no AC3 plugin (at least in the U.S. Are other countries able to purchase the plugin?).

I'm in the process right now using YAMB and BeLight to convert AC3 audio to aac. Time consuming, but it'll save me from having to buy a plugin (that doesn't exist).

yes there is.
It's called cinema ac3 plug in for archos 70, it costs 15 euro

[mrkniceguy]

Ac3 wasn't working for me in 2.1, except in software mode in Rockplayer. You sure it was working for you before?

AC3 was definitely working for me on 2.1

I just realized that the files I was using had both AC3 and aac audio streams... so maybe the AC3 never worked, but it was able to just use the stream that worked. Sorry for the confusion.

Ac3 wasn't working for me in 2.1, except in software mode in Rockplayer. You sure it was working for you before?

AC3 was definitely working for me on 2.1. I use the exact same file on 2.2 and received the "cannot play" message stating the AC3 plugin was needed. Trouble is.. there IS no AC3 plugin (at least in the U.S. Are other countries able to purchase the plugin?).

I'm in the process right now using YAMB and BeLight to convert AC3 audio to aac. Time consuming, but it'll save me from having to buy a plugin (that doesn't exist).

yes there is.
It's called cinema ac3 plug in for archos 70, it costs 15 euro

I hope they release it in the U.S. sometime soon. They have a lot of upset customers who can't watch movies on their little movie players. Not cool.

[nz]

now they've caught their mistake.

Why a mistake? Maybe simply being nice guys, because they didn't have a plugin available for eclair or the plugin upgrade logistics would be too messy.

well I still can't purchase the plugin here in the US. This is getting ridiculous.

we are working on this!

[mrkniceguy]

we are working on this!

Glad to hear it. Thanks for the update.

[elmerohueso]

we are working on this!

Could you maybe also work on making it cheaper?
The price for the codec pack seems pretty steep when there are other video players on the market that can play most or all of those formats for cheaper (namely vPlayer, which is free).

[oic0]

Would the plugin packs enable hardware acceleration for mpeg 2 and ac3? or just allow the default player to play them in software?

[asphxia]

yeah me too tested a mkv i had that worked before on the tablet no longer works because it needs the ac3 update..

[tECHNGRO]

Since I get most of my video and audio from The Pirate...I mean..."the Internets", I just redownloaded the files I want to watch on the A70 with ACC.

[paulus3476]

strangely AC3 is still very much working on mine - AC3 448kb/s 48000hz 5ch - sound is perfect

[JasonF]

So what's the official word? We weren't supposed to have AC3 support to begin with so now we're forced to pay if we want any kind of decent A/V decoding?

[ElementalDragon]

.... i find it difficult to say that you're "Forced" to pay if you want any decent A/V decoding... when i don't remember their specs ever changing. Check the specifications of the 70... specifically the bottom of the Audio Playback portion.

With optional software plug-ins (downloadable on www.archos.com):
ÔÇó AC3 5.1

The idea of it working before without having to pay for the plugin was probably just a bit of a slip-up on their part somehow. But ever since the Gen8 player information made it onto their site, it's shown the same exact things for the plugin additions.

[the1legend]

I can confirm that AC3 is working for me also.

MKV Movie...
VIDEO MPEG-4 1280x720 5131 kb/s 23fps
AUDIO 448kb/s 48000Hz 5.1