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Anthem D2/D2v/AVM50/AVM50v/ARC1 tweaking guide

4M views 45K replies 1K participants last post by  BritishColumbian 
#1 ·
UPDATE!!! Anthem D2v NOW SHIPPING. News By Bob Pariseau:


''The Anthem Statement D2v is shipping now (confirmed). The Anthem AVM 50v is supposed to ship this coming week. [NOTE: Anthem originally referred to these two units as the "D2 v.2" and "AVM 50 v.2".]


The original Statement D2, AVM 50, and quite possibly the AVM 40, may be discontinued soon if that hasn't already happened. Upgrades to the D2v or AVM 50v for owners of the original units should be available soon (my guess would be February for the D2 -> D2v upgrade). Upgrade pricing is not confirmed yet. Either upgrade will require shipping the unit to the Anthem factory in Canada.


HDMI is V1.3c -- some folks may care about the particular V1.3 level

Speaker Xover is "Pair"

Surround Mode is BOTH PLIIx and THX (the additional THX stuff is user selectable -- you don't seem to have an option for that)


Pricing is a little confusing right now as Anthem seems to be offering a reduced "introductory" price at the moment. It appears the US MSRP for the D2v is $7499 at the moment. The AVM 50v pricing is not confirmed yet but will likely remain $2K less than the D2v pricing. The price includes Anthem ARC-1 (room correction) bundled with either the D2v or the AVM 50v.


LPCM audio: for both of these units it is up to 7.1 channels at up to 192KHz/24bit. [NOTE however that ANALOG multi-channel audio input remains 5.1 on both units.]


In addition, Dolby TrueHD and DTS-HD bitstream decoding are in both units now via HDMI 1.3c. Anthem has announced that "Dolby Volume" will be added as a free software upgrade for both units (user installable) -- no ETA announced.


Video is up to HDMI 1080p/60 (with 1080p/24 support) including HDMI V1.3 "Deep Color" and full video processing. Video processing is 12 bits per component (36 bits per pixel) end to end using the latest VXP chip from Sigma Designs. The two HDMI video outputs run in "parallel" -- i.e., they are both live at the same time, but they can not be set to carry different video signals. It is not clear yet whether that restriction may be relaxed in future firmware.''



Anthem support. Fast and really efficient:
tech@anthemav.com


Anthem D2v2 announcement:

http://www.castercomm.com/prView.cfm?cid=111&id=208


And the new Sigma scaler (Sigma bought Gennum...):

http://www.reuters.com/article/press...008+BW20080414

8 HDMI 1.3c IN and 2 OUT!!!!! No need for an external HDMI switcher anymore!






Here's a compilation of links to find specific informations faster in this mega-thread on the D2!


--------------------------------------------------------

PANIC ROOM!


* Should I panic since the D2/AVM50 are NOT HDMI 1.3? :


Not anymore!!!


The D2/AVM50 will both be upgradable (hardware upgrade) to do the D2v, so they will be HDMI 1.3c, 7.1, and will support decoding of DD TrueHD, DTS HD and DTS-HD Master


--------------------------------------------------------

FIRMWARE and INSTALLING NEW FIRMWARE


* Belt & suspenders approach to doing the update from Bob Pariseau
http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showt...post10645127


* Disconnect HDMI sources and display PRIOR to installing an upgrade!
http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showt...&post9277613


* Some extra steps to make sure your settings remain good
http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showt...&post9543881


--------------------------------------------------------

SETUP -- SOME BASIC, SOME ADVANCED


How to adjust Phase and Polarity for your subwoofer(s)
http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showt...post13997761
http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showt...post15831964



* How to get the best from your video setup (video calibration for non-ISF techs)
http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showt...&post9277613
http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showt...&post9564825


* Lossless HDMI audio for folks without HDMI displays
http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showt...&post9805765
http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showt...&post9808465


* Max resolution/frame rate for processed HDMI or Component video
http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showt...&post9683898


* My video is "shocking pink"!
http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showt...&post9610862


* Using AUTO DIG to get more than one device on the same input
http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showt...&post9564730


* What if my 1080p display only accepts up to 1080i input?
http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showt...&post9286645


--------------------------------------------------------

ANTHEM ROOM CORRECTION (ARC-1) : AUDIO BLISS IN A FEW, EASY STEPS

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showt...=#post14142274
http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showt...=#post14160614
http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showt...=#post14165296
http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showt...=#post14181449
http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showt...=#post14192486
http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showt...=#post14207104
http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showt...=#post14207158
http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showt...=#post14207663
http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showt...=#post14214469
http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showt...=#post14216213
http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showt...=#post14220432
http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showt...=#post14232090
http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showt...=#post14236866
http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showt...=#post14256232
http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showt...=#post14262027
http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showt...=#post14267952
http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showt...=#post14268617
http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showt...=#post14286844
http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showt...=#post14287488
http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showt...=#post14296873
http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showt...=#post14306824
http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showt...=#post14320989
http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showt...=#post14322061
http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showt...=#post14327449
http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showt...=#post14335277
http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showt...=#post14347781
http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showt...=#post14351330
http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showt...=#post14353551
http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showt...=#post14363180
http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showt...=#post14365808
http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showt...=#post14366806
http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showt...=#post14370256
http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showt...=#post14372958
http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showt...=#post14377508
http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showt...=#post14379882
http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showt...=#post14380719
http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showt...=#post14383015
http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showt...=#post14384710
http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showt...=#post14391953
http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showt...=#post14393593
http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showt...=#post14393664
http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showt...=#post14394305
http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showt...=#post14395567
http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showt...=#post14396801
http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showt...=#post14407572
http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showt...=#post14413014
http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showt...=#post14415277
http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showt...=#post14420677
http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showt...=#post14422227
http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showt...=#post14424204
http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showt...=#post14424251
http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showt...=#post14424733
http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showt...=#post14429013
http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showt...=#post14430627
http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showt...=#post14436325
http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showt...=#post14439704
http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showt...=#post14439977
http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showt...=#post14440383
http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showt...=#post14448571
http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showt...=#post14451192
http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showt...=#post14458172
http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showt...=#post14459485
http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showt...=#post14461019
http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showt...=#post14462796
http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showt...=#post14469019
http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showt...=#post14477302
http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showt...=#post14484075


--------------------------------------------------------

THINGS YOU CAN DO WHILE WATCHING/LISTENING


* Why can't I get to the audio processing mode I want?
http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showt...&post9627851


*Making SDTV Programs Fill a 16:9 Screen Without Distortion
http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showt...post10864623


* Fun with Custom Cropping and Scaling
http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showt...&post9587424
http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showt...&post9652415
http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showt...&post9660854
http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showt...&post9672930
http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showp...ostcount=10203


* What's with this Frame Lock stuff?
http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showt...&post9556938


--------------------------------------------------------

TERMINOLOGY AND TECHNOLOGY


* Color Space
http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showt...&post9731538
http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showt...&post9738172


* Data Format (YCbCr 4:4:4, etc.)
http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showp...ostcount=14288
http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showt...&post9442585
http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showt...&post9443139
http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showt...&post9445345
http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showt...&post9306459


* Frame Rates and Custom Resolutions
http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showt...&post9211974
http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showt...&post9276351


--------------------------------------------------------

SOURCE DEVICE SPECIFIC SETTINGS


* Scientific Atlanta DVR
http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showt...&post9557247


* Oppo 970 for SACD or DVD-Audio over HDMI
http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showt...&post9388249


--------------------------------------------------------

DISPLAY SPECIFIC SETTINGS


* Custom Resolution for a 1366x768 Panasonic display
http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showt...&post9081443


* How to output 1080p48 to Sony Ruby with Live Video Settings Editor
http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showt...&post9221154


* Custom /24Hz Resolution for a Sony Pearl
http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showt...&post9256440


* What if your display won't accept it's "native" resolution as input?
http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showt...&post9795082


--------------------------------------------------------

SOUND SPECIFIC SETTINGS


* How to set the D2 with the Velodyne DD15 subwoofer
http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showt...&post8872147


* How well does the Room Resonance Filter work? What does it do, and what affect does it have?
http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showt...post10516640


==================================



Latest review by Kris Deering (august 2006) of the Anthem D2:

http://www.hometheaterhifi.com/volum...006-page1.html


And my review:

http://statement.anthemav.com/HTML/P...D2_Reviews.pdf


For those searching for Kris Deering's benchmark of the video section of the D2 at Secrets, you can access it directly here:

http://www.hometheaterhifi.com/cgi-b.../V%20Processor


Anthem's page for the Statement D2:

http://statement.anthemav.com/HTML/Products/D2/D2.html
 
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3
#3 ·
Am I correct in assuming the D2 supports Dolby Digital Plus, Dolby TrueHD, and DTS-HD, or will this be a system upgrade when the time comes?
 
#4 ·

Quote:
Originally Posted by Buckeyefan /forum/post/0


Am I correct in assuming the D2 supports Dolby Digital Plus, Dolby TrueHD, and DTS-HD, or will this be a system upgrade when the time comes?

If the player can read the disc, decode it, and send it as PCM, the receiving end doesn't care what it started out as.


The D2 support up to 8 channels of 192KHz/24bit digital audio over HDMI 1.1
 
#7 ·
Just wanted to second Levesque's thoughts on the D2. I have owned mine for about 1 month or so (Beta tester), and this product is worth every penny I spent. I love the damn thing. My only complaint is that I am 1 input short of what I need to handle all my equipment. Just wish there was 1 more there for me.


That aside, in short, this thing rocks. The Gennum is incredible at cleaning up video, reducing artifacts, displaying the cleanest, crispest image I have yet seen on my Sony Qualia 006 set. I am sending 1080i out of the D2, and it looks great. Keep in mind something that Nick at Anthem taught me on this. The Gennum immediately deinterlaces and scales everything to 1080p, then from there adjusts it to meet whatever output one has chosen. So, when I feed the D2 480i from my DVD player over HDMI, it immediately performs inverse telecine true per-pixel deinterlacing, then scales the image to 1080p. The Gennum is always outputting a progressive signal, so Anthem included an interlacer in the D2 to allow for interlaced outputs when needed. So, the signal is interlaced then to 1080i, and sent to my Qualia over HDMI. The Qualia does its thing, converting it to 1080p for display.


Although the above sounds messy and circuitous, the picture is mindblowing. Short of Levesque's setup with the Ruby and the ability for 1080p the whole way, I have yet to see any picture this good.


It may help that I had UMR calibrate my display prior to getting the D2, so that helped as well. However, I didn't have the D2 for about 2 weeks after UMR calibrated, and the picture improved even that much more after inserting the D2 and taking advantage of the Gennum scaler.


So, for what it's worth, another viewpoint on the D2. I know I'll be enjoying this pre-pro for years to come!!
 
#8 ·
Got a dilemma here.


I am very interested (drooling even) over this Anthem D2. My question is... Would this be EXTREME overkill for my Paradigm Studio 100, CC-570, ADP-470, Servo-15, Denon DVD-3910 setup? Would I actually notice and improvement in SQ with this processor and a Statement 5 Channel amp over my current Pioneer Elite 74TXVi?


Please post as many thoughts and opinions on this as possible. You guys could help make it easier for me to part with my pennies.
 
#10 ·
Yes, please, owners, some thoughts on sound quality.


Levesque, can you explain a bit about the "HDMI repeater option"? Will this allow me to switch my cable box in and out (go to DVD from cable and back if I want) without losing the handshake, as I now do? I guess the question is, is the D2 more of an "active" switcher, for lack of a better word?


I've been waiting for this thing for a long time. I mean, look how long that thread was. A lot of hotly-anticipated/recently released products seemed to have come up short. Glad to know that Anthem delivered the goods.
 
#11 ·
Very cool. Thanks for the early report.

Quote:
Originally Posted by LEVESQUE /forum/post/0


It can do 1080i inverse telecine and true per-pixel motion adaptive de-interlacing of 480i/1080i. It's not performing any Bob/weave like the Sil504 and Farouddja chip.

Both of those chips do inverse telecine and true per-pixel motion-adaptive deinterlacing. (They don't do a simple 'bob' deinterlacing.) They just don't do it for 1080i, only for 480i and 576i.


Question: Does the D2 accept a PAL or 576i input?

Quote:
One really cool aspect of the D2 is that the Gennum chip is fully upgradable with a simple firmware download from Anthem web site. So if we ever need new resolutions and timings for the upcomnig HD-DVD and Blu-Ray players, then we will just download a firmware upgrade to enable them. Also, if we need new features, aspect ratio controls, memory banks, test patterns, etc, we will be able to obtain them and install them later down the road with a simple firmware download.

So in other words, it's just like most video processors on the market today.
That's a big step forward for an A/V prepro. All the ones I've seen to date have been very limited in the video processing department.


- Dale Adams
 
#12 ·

Quote:
Originally Posted by Dale Adams /forum/post/0


Both of those chips do inverse telecine and true per-pixel motion-adaptive deinterlacing. (They don't do a simple 'bob' deinterlacing.) They just don't do it for 1080i, only for 480i and 576i.

Thank you Dale for the precision. It was late and I was writing too fast. That's what I meant. I will edit my post.

Quote:
Originally Posted by Dale Adams /forum/post/0


Question: Does the D2 accept a PAL or 576i input?

I'm not sure for now. But since they want to reach the european market, I would think so. I will ask Nick monday morning. But I think it does.

Quote:
Originally Posted by Dale Adams /forum/post/0


That's a big step forward for an A/V prepro. All the ones I've seen to date have been very limited in the video processing department.

Coming from you, it really means something! It is definitely a bold step forward for a pre/pro manufacturer. This kind of video processing in a receiver or pre/pro is rather unique on the market right now.
 
#14 ·

Quote:
Originally Posted by Ted W /forum/post/0


Levesque, can you explain a bit about the "HDMI repeater option"?

The D2 give you the option to put the HDMI repeater "off" for a particular input, so this particular source will think it's talking to a display directly, and not to a "repeater".


There is some satellite and cable STB that expect a repeater or a display to talk to and will give a black screen if they don't "find" the good thing at the end.


That's what I understood.
 
#15 ·
Levesque: Thanks for the great info and pics! I'm sure you had a hell of a time sitting on those for the past little while



I'm just curious as to how the D2 behaves in some respects... These are things that are hard to put into spec sheets, and are only apparent if you use the product.


First, once the D2 and your display are fired up, and the display handshakes and syncs, will the display EVER have to re-sync so long as the D2 stays on, no matter what you pump into the D2? Also, how fast is the D2 with syncing different video types from the same source? For example, with my current display, when being fed from my cable box (it's set to pass through), when flipping through HD channels, if the channel is a different format than the last (i.e. flipping from a 1080i channel to a 720p channel) there's the normal slight delay for the MPEG decoders to catch up, then my TV will take a moment to re-sync and start displaying. I'm just curious, how quickly does the D2 deal with such format changes and re-sync?


Thanks again!
 
#16 ·

Quote:
Originally Posted by matted /forum/post/0


First, once the D2 and your display are fired up, and the display handshakes and syncs, will the display EVER have to re-sync so long as the D2 stays on, no matter what you pump into the D2?

Each time you switch from one input to another, you have a 1 or 2 seconds delay before you get a picture.

Quote:
Originally Posted by matted /forum/post/0


Also, how fast is the D2 with syncing different video types from the same source? For example, with my current display, when being fed from my cable box (it's set to pass through), when flipping through HD channels, if the channel is a different format than the last (i.e. flipping from a 1080i channel to a 720p channel) there's the normal slight delay for the MPEG decoders to catch up, then my TV will take a moment to re-sync and start displaying. I'm just curious, how quickly does the D2 deal with such format changes and re-sync?


Same thing with the D2. With my satellite STB, when I switch from a 480i SD channel to a 1080i channel there is a 1-2 seconds delay before you have a picture back.
 
#17 ·
Somehow, the release of this product has lost it's appeal to me. I'm not even sure if changing over from my D1 is worthwhile for me. Maybe, it just took too long for this thing to come out. It's not even on Anthem's web site? Just a really weird rollout of a product from a timeframe and marketing perspective.
 
#18 ·

Quote:
Originally Posted by LEVESQUE /forum/post/0


The D2 give you the option to put the HDMI repeater "off" for a particular input, so this particular source will think it's talking to a display directly, and not to a "repeater".


There is some satellite and cable STB that expect a repeater or a display to talk to and will give a black screen if they don't "find" the good thing at the end.


That's what I understood.


If used in this way with a given input, does the scaler still function with that input or is the signal just passed through?


TM
 
#19 ·
Does the OSD work through HDMI?
 
#20 ·
I have been thinking about an AVM 40 but after reading this thread, I may decide upon the AVM 50.


Is there a way to bypass the scaler on the D2? If I feed the D2 1080p24

( assuming BluRay DVD eos this ) will it output unprocessed 1080p24?
 
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