Disklavier

Hey Josh,

I agree 100% with those comments.. Plus now I have my own!

The MK4 has been around for years now, and lets face it, it's just a 
PC running a dumbed down version of Linux.. These days the things you 
are talking about are not asking very much..

I am a computer professional (music is after hours) and was very 
dissapointed with the basic file handling of the MK4. When I frist 
got my Disklavier (2 month ago) I copied a heap of .mid files (from 
the piano bar) and it would just 'stop' with a crappy non specific 
error.. After trying all sorts of things, copying from a different 
USB stick brands, directly to the share from my PC.. All it was, was 
some songs from the piano bar have 'un-english' charactors in the 
midi song title info (latino etc), I would of thought it would simply 
do this, "..if title does not exist or is not readable then use the 
midi file name (misty.mid). Not just 'copy error' how weak. (I have 
over 200 songs so stopping at file 87 is annoying, but I got around 
the problem using a bulk find/replace tool).

I also found copying files in general quite slow, I think it's all 
the overheads trying to 'database' the songs.. who knows.

Also I brought proper yamaha disks and ones that a guy sells on 
ebay.. these are great, they have the piano over the real song etc.. 
but when copying these to the disklavier HD it copies say 7 tracks 
then comes up with some weak error again!! out of all the CD's I only 
have half or so of all the tracks from each CD.

I think it's a bit weak that it can't even handle copying things 
properly.

Yes I was wondering about the wireless signal, I originally thought 
there was something wrong, if I use it in the next room I have to be 
in the right spot for it to work..oh well.

I also have gripes with the yamaha radio, I think its a bit rich to 
charge all that money each month, it's a mix bag, some songs are 
complete crap others are 'ok'.. I have major issues with 'popular 
songs' that use the synth heavily, in many cases the built in synth 
is pretty horrible if not 'mastered' for the disklavier properly, 
generally they sound like a bad midi on the normal windows synth ;-) 
I think a cache of 10 songs would be good (can't be that hard a midi 
would struggle to be more than 20k!.) Sometimes I just miss a good 
tune and it's gorn for ever! until it plays at some random time 
again.. Also a few times I wanted to save the song and god bless me 
BUY it.. but you can't eaisly, you have to fumble around and remember 
the exact title and hope it appears in the crappy search!

Not to winge, but (as a subscriber ((for now)) ) then I have to pay 
full price for some old midi file when you can buy the ORIGINAL 
proper song from iTunes or what ever for like 99c.

I find the FREE stuff from Doug Mckenzie excellent and beautiful live 
played.. it's a pity yamaha have a random quality.. I expect a 'gut-
sy' live played piano arrangement of a popular pop song.. not some 
horrible processed version for $3.50!

The next thing that annoys me is the PDA has practly no ram left, and 
the built in browser won't work with the working net connection from 
the disklavier..

oh and the battery is a bit funny so I quite humbly called yamaha, 
they want $472 for a new battery.. I kept calm.

Also this could be my fault now, but I wanted to access the apparent 
XG synth in performance mode (good sounding strings with the piano) 
not just the standard 127 instruments.. but you can't? just strings 1 
or 2... bit crappy, my 1992 clav has more?

The other thing is a 'panic'(like cakewalk)/reset midi option, or it 
should try harder when a song is stopped.. I find with random midi 
files they might be a 'bit dirty' and so the pedal migh stay down, or 
it has a weird midi effect that it clung onto.. so the next song 
suffers! Sometimes I have to completly powerdown the box. (ahem piano)

Has anyone seen how crappy the play list managment is.. ok I won't 
bother commenting on that..

Finally, what about network security and network setup 'for the 
bloody smart people' I want to simply put in a WEP key (so the whole 
street don't go connecting to my piano lol) but unless I have missed 
something this type of thing is not easy to find, the only WEP 
options are for the PDA.. I also wanted to put in a trusted IP for my 
LAN.. but no...

Oh and what about WAV or MP3 support? this sort of thing is not all 
that hard.. my old 486 was playing these.. I want to make my own 
piano over CD stuff.. but no.. I have to wait for V3.. and you have 
to be 'special' to test the beta version. oh well.

That will do for now ;-)

Cheers,

Philip
 

--- In disklavier@yahoogroups.com, "Josh Goldman" <josh@...> wrote:
>
> Thanks all, the replies have been helpful and I'll be eager to get 
the
> update.
> 
>  
> 
> It's just disappointing that Yamaha didn't really invest in a 
remote control
> that met their needs, they simply adapted what was available and 
just lived
> with the consequences and limitations.
> 
>  
> 
> As for all the errors in the metadata on the Internet Download 
Service,
> that's pretty inexcusable for a company like Yamaha and on a 
product like
> this.  Typos, errors, artists filed under first names, empty 
categories, no
> accurate genres... it's really atrocious and disappointing.
> 
>  
> 
> The fact that the remote has a range of maybe 20 feet from the piano
> (because of another compromise the designers made - choosing an ad-
hoc
> low-power wifi card in the piano's controller rather than a real 
access
> point) is also disappointing.  Doesn't even work from the next 
room.  So I
> guess the virtual PRC will be helpful.
> 
>  
> 
> I guess I had unrealistic expectations for this, feeling that as a 
high-end
> product and service, that it would be well designed into a great 
user
> experience (see Kaleidescape).  So far, my experience is that the 
piano may
> be excellent, the electronics are excellent, but the overall user
> experience, remote, and data service are all poor.   So many little
> decisions that contribute to this overall bad impression.. things 
like: no
> search (coming, I hear), can't even rename a track while music is 
playing,
> much less move it, copy it, etc.  Should be doable.  It won't even 
let you
> edit a different track than is playing.  Why?  And does it tell you 
this
> ahead? no, it lets you go ahead and painstakingly type out a new 
name and
> only THEN does it tell you to stop playback first.  Argh.  And even 
then,
> once you stop playback, does it remember what you just typed? nope, 
start
> all over bud.  That's bad UI design.  I'm sorry, but it is.  So 
many more
> examples...  when I have more time I'll write them up, in a 
constructive
> way, not a complaining way, I promise!
> 
>  
> 
> I'm sorry if I come off as being negative... I do love our piano 
and am sure
> it will give us many years of enjoyment.  Just trying to give a 
very honest
> opinion and some feedback to Yamaha in case they ever see these 
forums.
> 
>  
> 
> --josh
> 
>  
> 
>  
> 
>  
> 
> From: disklavier@yahoogroups.com 
[mailto:disklavier@yahoogroups.com] On
> Behalf Of George F. Litterst
> Sent: Tuesday, June 10, 2008 7:20 AM
> To: disklavier@yahoogroups.com
> Subject: Re: [disklavier] What's coming in v3.0?
> 
>  
> 
> Good morning, everyone.
> 
>  
> 
> Josh, the Mark IV UI is heavily influenced by the type of remote 
controller
> that comes with it and the size of its screen.
> 
>  
> 
> With version 3.0, you get a virtual remote for use on your computer.
> Although the virtual remote is an emulation of the PRC and does not 
offer a
> larger screen or additional features, I think that you will be 
pleasantly
> surprised by how fast it is. And, as Kevin mentioned, the ability 
to use
> your computer keyboard simplifies a number of issues.
> 
>  
> 
> In my case, I feel as though my Disklavier has had a significant 
speed boost
> with version 3.0.
> 
>  
> 
> Regards,
> 
> PianoBench
> 
>  
> 
>  
> 
> On Jun 10, 2008, at 7:58 AM, Kevin Goroway wrote:
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
>  
> 
> Josh,
> 
> If you search the archives here you should see a post from Bill 
about what
> is coming in version 3.0.  Based on the list of things you don't 
like
> currently, I can't give you much hope for improvement in version 
3.0 (as it
> has already been described, maybe it will change before release).
> 
> The only things that come close to your current issues are that you 
can now
> search for titles in your collection from the remote (nothing to do 
with the
> internet features), and the virtual PRC which effectively moves the
> interface from the handheld remote to the desktop of your PC/Mac 
(It is nice
> using a real keyboard instead of your thumbs, and mouse clicks are 
faster
> that touch screens, it would seem).
> 
> Here's hoping for the future!  ;-)
> 
> -Kevin
> 
> ----- Original Message ----
> From: Josh Goldman <josh@...>
> To: disklavier@yahoogroups.com
> Sent: Monday, June 9, 2008 9:08:01 PM
> Subject: [disklavier] What's coming in v3.0?
> 
> I'm a brand new Disklavier owner (DC2M4) and hope to soon find time 
to
> post something here on "Impressions from a new owner" or 
something...
> that may be helpful to people considering purchasing a disklavier.
> 
> My impressions of the instrument itself are excellent, and the basic
> functions of the recording and playback are good also. But my
> impressions of the internet functions, the "on-piano" internet
> searching, the UI of the remote, the metadata of the service... all
> are pretty terrible, especially for something in this price tier.
> 
> Can anyone say what some of the improvements and features are that 
are
> coming in the 3.0 software? I'm hoping it changes my impression for
> the better...
> 
> Thanks,
> --josh
> 
>  
> 
>  
> 
>  
> 
> =
>