My first problem with the HD-A35...

[aesupreme1]

Hello everybody, my name is Andy and I've been reading these forums along with Hi-Def Digest for quite some time now. I'm writing because I encountered my first problem with my A35 last night. I was attempting to watch American Gangster for the first time on the player, and instead of loading the disc, the player just froze at the loading screen. The A35 wouldn't turn off so I had to unplug it. I tried again to play the disc and this time it got past the loading screen (after 2 minutes) only to freeze before getting to the menu screen.

I got frustrated so I tried playing the disc in my 360 HD-DVD player add-on, and although the playback stuttered at the menu screen, the movie played fine.

I have played quite a few discs on my A35 (including new titles such as Beowulf), and have had no problems with any of them; so I guess the question is, do I need a firmware update in order for the A35 to run American Gangster? I have yet to do any firmware updates with it, although I tried to update to what the player asked (1.3/1.1) and it said it couldn't find the server.

[BMAG]

Try clearing the "persistent memory" (see the manual for details).

[CochiseGuy]

Firmware 1.3 should be fine, the one above that - 2.0 - is not recommended as it has issues with 1080p/24 playback, and doesn't seem to improve anything.

American Gangster played fine on my A35, and it was even a rental. That it played (wuth stutters) on you add-on makes it sound like the disc is not defective, but inspect it for scratches, dirt or residue. Maybe try washing with dishwashing soap & warm tap water?

And next time your player freezes, you should be able to re-set it by pressing & holding in the power button for 10 seconds, a little more gentle on the player than unplugging it.

EDIT: Oh yeah, what BMAG suggested - clearing out Persistent memory in the Setup Menu, Maintenance. I've found some of the newer Universal cookies/data is not compatible with previous data.

[MrBig]

There's a disc replacement program for this title in effect, a quick search should turn up the thread. I've had persistent problems with copy and freeze-ups.

[aesupreme1]

Thanks for all the advice guys. I will try clearing the persistent memory and if that doesn't work then I will search for the replacement program.