UnicodeDecodeError when importing 3ds file with python fbx sdk 2017.1

[phillips.b.david]

Using 3ds Max 2017, I exported a scene in ".3ds" format. I then attempted to read the 3ds file with the 2017.1 fbx sdk python bindings (specifically, the linux python33_x64 build, though the python27_ucs4_x64 build produces the same error). When attempting to retrieve the name of an FbxObject (via object.GetName(), which returns a char*), it results in the following error:

UnicodeDecodeError: \'utf-8\' codec can\'t decode byte 0x80 in position 8: invalid start byte

The specific error details vary slightly from run to run, as it may read "position 9", or "invalid continuation byte", but always a UnicodeDecodeError of that general form.

What's more, the point at which this error occurs is not consistent. Sometimes it will occur when retrieving the name of the first or 2nd oject in the scene. Sometimes a later object. On rare occasions it even makes it through the entire file successfully without producing that error.

This does not happen with the 2016.1.2 python fbx sdk, and there is nothing in the 2017 sdk release notes that seems to indicate a change that would cause this, so I am wondering if this could be a new bug in the 2017 sdk. Additionally, I did not see this error when importing a few test fbx files.

Any ideas are appreciated. I'd like to use the 2017 sdk for the 3ds texture loading performance fix it has, but this unicode error is preventing me from doing so.