gapless playback and iPlayer bugs?

[allactionrob]

Hi all, I've had a BDV-E380 for a few months now and am distinctly underwhelmed with the quality of the software. To be fair it does most things well, but a few things are pretty terrible:

1. there seems to be no ability to play MP3 albums (in my case from a NAS over ethernet) without gaps between the tracks - deeply rubbish when playing mix albums

2. there is no way to play one track (e.g. MP3 audio) whilst navigating to find another - you have to stop one to go looking for the next

3. often episodes of TV programmes on BBC iPlayer show up as 'unavailable' only to suddenly become available again (sometimes) by quitting the iPlayer app and restarting it - and of course it's always the one episode you haven't seen yet!

4. the web browser is utterly shocking and almost unuseable (though having no keyboard doesn't help I suppose)

I'm gutted because I recently had a play with a mate's PS3 which seemed to have *much* more 'finished' software and a far more useable interface - so why don't all the Sony hardware platforms share the same interface? I should have bought a PS3...

Will any of these things get fixed? Is there a software team still supporting development of this product?

Rob.

[Catmambo]

Hi

To answer a few of your questions.

1. Not sure there are any DLNA receivers that can offer gapless playback, so I think this is more of s standards limitation than an issue with the product per-se.
2. Again, this may be a standards issue  - I'm not sure DLNA supports queuing, but maybe someone else can advise.
3. Strange iPlayer issue. Have you updated the firmware on the device? I can't say I've seen that issue before, but it may have appeared on the BBC forums, so might be worth checking there to see.
4. The web-browser is really a way of just facilitating VOD service like iPlayer etc. Browsing is far easier on a tablet, smartphone or PC as you have support for more platforms like Flash and HTML5 etc as well as much better control. There is a plugin for your PC available on the download page and a smartphone app which you might find makes it easier though. Browsing on a PS3 is no easier, actually I don't think I've ever used the browser on my PS3.

Hope this helps

[allactionrob]

Thanks for your quick reply Catmambo.

I'm not entirely sure I accept your assertion regarding DLNA support for gapless playback. It seems that it is supported, but apparently very few DNLA renderers implement it - according to this thread possibly out of laziness on the part of the manufacturers. And besides, even if a certain standard did not support a particular feature, a developer with the capability and market presence of the mighty Sony should surely be able to a) implement something proprietary (like Logitech have done with Squeezebox) and then b) get it incorporated into the standards or inspire enough other mfrs to copy the idea that it becomes an informal standard. I do not believe that it can't be done - it's just software! (I am biased somewhat as a hardware engineer... )

Regarding the iPlayer bug, I am on the latest firmware. I had not thought of checking the BBC forums - I will. But since the iPlayer apps for Windows and Android do not seem to suffer this problem it sounds to me like a Sony thing.

As for my final question - are the Sony developers still progressing the firmware for the E380, or should I give up hope of these things getting fixed in future? The last f/w update was four months ago...