*Official* Asus Xonar HDAV1.3 thread - Page 210

Well, as I said... "any self-respecting program"... anyway, I would have thought that if you set VMC in its Speaker settings to S/PDIF that it would prefer to bitstream DD/DTS, that's the way it works for TV, Recorded TV and DVD. I really REALLY hate VMC's configuration options. "Watch this video and adjust your settings, raise contrast but make sure you can still see buttons and wrinkles on the shirt", "let me know what kind of audio connection you have, and I'll set myself up without telling you what the hell I'm really doing". What a load of BS settings are that?

Anyway, right now I can't test how VMC behaves when there are 2 audio devices, I only got my ATI 4670, but I have been meaning to install my Xonar DX so I'll have front panel audio. I'll test with that and let you know in a few hours.

I just want to mention especially to the pple that bag this card (I was one of them) that most of the problems related to the card are end user problems like mine, so if your thinking about this card and worried, dont be this is a great purchase if you want to passthrough HD codecs.

+1, I totally agree with this statement.

I need a wife and 6 year old usable system. My wife does not want to think about anything but watching the TV, and my friend's 6 year old (while quite bright) is only 6 years old.

If I get this card and use it with VMC for DVD and Live TV, and TMT3 for BR and HD-DVD, can I just set it to HDMI, set Windows to SPDIF, and forget it?

Do I have to change settings based on the type of input? I am coming from your run of the mill VMC based system as it is (and I have TMT 3 already) setup at a 5.1 speaker system.


Basically, can I set it once and it will play everything, or do I need to tinker every time I change the souce?

You can set for them, but you'll be forever checking/testing for yourself.

HDDVD may be a little problematic. You need to use hdmi or spdif passthrough. I bought What Dreams May Come HDDVD for $5 and played it tonight and the audio hiccup is there. Tomorrow I will play BD/HDDVD/VMC and Tuner through passthrough/AVR and et you know. But I'm sure its fine. Specifics are changing bitrate to match, etc. I'm finding there ARE many settings to keep track in a home theatre setting.

el_kano

can you be more specific about this supposed new card?
e.g. what it's name is going to be?

thanks

Damn this thread is crazy busy, there's waaaay too much unnecessary noise!

A large chunk of the complaints are really just people entirely blaming the card when there's clearly other variables at play...

We should find out if we can have a sub-forum created which consists of multiple threads e.g.

"Asus Xonar HDAV sub-forum"

(1) Xonar HDAV1.3deluxe
a) Software discussion on Win 7/MC
a) Software discussion on Vista/MC
a) Software discussion on XP/MC
a) Software discussion on GNU/*nix
b) hardware/firmware related discussion
...

(2) Xonar HDAV 1.3slim
similar layout to (1)

(3) Xonar HDAV1.3
similar layout to (1)

etc, etc, etc,....

If discussion surrounding this card can be divided into multiple threads it'll be far more digestible and hence helpful for end-users, & perhaps even Asus devs!
(whom occasionally trawl such discussions).

That's probably it for a a start, unless people feel we need more or less categories? Add your thoughts!

I appreciate the thought, but it's not a good idea for exactly the reasons explained in post 6273.
Most, if not all problems are user system specific and can't be copied 1 on 1 to another user system with the same OS.
I, for one have the card running fine with variables set that others describe as impossible.
The whole problem comes down to the implementation of PAP and DCHP that seem to cause all kinds of effects in conjunction with different hardware parts in different setups.

Can anyone confirm if there is an issue with Asus TMT playing discs at 24hz?

Thanks for expressing your opinion arttext but in all honesty I don't see how what you've been saying conflicts with my suggestion.
If anything what I've suggested would better facilitate analysis of what you claim to be the root causes...

How?
By structuring problems into smaller, more targeted chunks, & thereby having far less irrelevant data-sets (red-herrings) being thrown into the mix.

I've come up with a better idea imo which is to convince AVS to establish a dedicated sub-forum for Xonar HDAV and all it's iterations...


Answered nicely, although I'm still somewhat confused about these conflicting reports of useless video processing...


Assuming TMT3 is now officially usable with the card, surely this down-sampling issue won't last for very long.
Not being able to disable such a function would be considered almost a bug, or is it an official bug?

What worries me more is that Asus will probably invest no resources towards supporting equivalent 3rd party apps in OSS community...


Yet another 'reasonable reason'

@Jalyst The we agree to disagree?

@All others. Some contributers here discussed the use of FFDshow. Brilliant! I never thought of that one. I always use FFDshow and Haali in MPC. But it never occurred to me to configure FFDshow to pass through DTS and DD because b4 I had the HDAV I used Ati's Realtek and PCM/Multichannel and had configured FFDshow as such.
So now I have Windows set on Xonar HDAV Digital out and Xonar's center on HDMI and never have to chance settings again.
I tried MKV's with AC3, with DTS and with stereo and everything is passed through either by FFdshow or TMT.
The only problem left is the following. I have some WMV HD (WMA3 audio) files and the pre/amp doesn't recognize or decode that so it's treated as a stereo file.
So I will try to re-encode them to AC3 with SUPER or dismiss them.
So I think now I have reached a Wife Acceptance Factor of almost 100.
Brilliant!

Sure, but my point was that I can't see how you addressed why my suggestion's good or bad...
It seemed more like a general observation as to why there's such varying situations for end-users.

Normally when you disagree with something you attack it's fallibility.

Anyway no mare banter from me about how you chose to agree/disagree. I accept your position!
Perhaps there are others whom agree/disagree with my suggestion? All thoughts/ideas welcomed.

I only can confirm that it's not.

Ok, last one, since your reply really was a challenge. I did give (imho) valid reasons in my first reply namely the multitude of problems solely related to variables in end-user systems and not OS depended.
And as for the slim card, there's already a special forum for that one.

Ah the man likes a challenge! ;-P
Yes of course that's the case but at least if everyone's broken up into their respective OS families the 'noise' so-to-speak is reduced and we'll all have a much greater chance at "seeing the forest for the trees"

For those not familiar with the expression:
http://www.bartleby.com/59/4/cantseethefo.html

It doesn't have to be threaded quite so much, could have for e.g.

(1) HDAV1.3 / HDAV1.3 Deluxe
(a) Win 7 (w/wo MC)
(a) Vista/XP (w/wo MC)
(a) GNU/Linux, BSD's etc
(b) Hardware/Fw (e.g. opamp/fw upgrades)
(?)
(?)

(2) HDAV Slim
Similar to (1)

I'm not quite sure where the best home for this sub-forum would be and what exactly it'd be called.
I do know that it should probably be called something more generic than: "Asus HDAV cards"...

I think one level closer to the root index, straight under "Home Theatre Computers" might be the most appropriate home.
http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/forumdisplay.php?f=26

As always I'm open to other peoples thoughts...
But be forewarned, if you totally disagree and you don't (imo) give a clear reason, then a challenge will be forthcoming! jk ;-P


There's a thread, yes.

You would not be able to play multichannel LPCM (including FLAC and WMA and anything that's decoded in the PC), unless your program lets you choose the speakers audio device individually.

Also, about Ati HDMI, with all I've had (2600, 3450, 4550, 4670) and even with Nvidia HDMI devices (9200m GS, 9300) and Intel G35, I've had no trouble bitstreaming DD/DTS through HDMI.

True, that's why I'm re-encoding right now my (few) wmv's with S.U.P.E.R. If that works out: only digital device than. If not, then I will engage speakers every now and then


Nor had I, but I wanted the Xonar for HD bitstreaming

If you're using ffdshow, you can probably enable AC3 encoding in the output section, and it will do it on-the-fly for you. If you're not using ffdshow but something else in a directshow chain, you can use Reclock for that very same purpose. There's no need to reencode your videos.

Look at post 3550 which I made in January, which says to do this, with pictures and everything

Basically, if using FFDShow, you set it to reencode non DTS/DD 5.1 streams to AC3. Stereo is left untouched.

I just don't like it that, provided you just wanna set your Windows audio device and never have to change it, you need to make such a compromise as to reencode LPCM to AC3. Plus, you're only limited to 5.1 channels. You'd need to decide basically if your priority is to bitstream HD codecs with ONE program for ONE type of content (okay, two versions of the same program, and one type of content in two different media), or multichannel LPCM with everything else. Worst thing is that it doesn't have to be that way.

@andyO and Nephster:
Great tip guys, I tried it immediately but to no avail. I still ended up wit a stereo signal in my pre-amp. The settings I applied in FFDshow audio decoder are in the pictures

Uncheck "mixer", you don't have to enable that for the "output" section to work, and "mixer" would be irrelevant in your setting anyway. (Although it looks as it is, "output" is not a subset of "mixer", they're on the same level in the tree, if you notice.) Also, you might wanna disable DPLII, since at least with my setup it's clipping the channels. Let your receiver apply it.

This is what I am looking for as well, except my daughter is 8 and my speaker setup is 7.1. I don't play HD-DVD, but I do listen to FLAC music in VMC. I am using a media server, Denon 3808, Denon VP 602, TMT3, MyMovies 2.53, Vista Premium sp1 32bit & auzentech prelude 7.1 sound card (which I want to replace w/ASUS HDAV 1.3 regular or slim). I would rather not have to load more software onto my HTPC, but would consider FFDShow and/or AC3 Filter if I can get playback of all the above automatically without tinkering/switching.

There is a slight problem with FFDshow. The files are mentioned are VC1(video)/WMA10 pro (audio) encoded (first picture)
And as it turns out, FFdshow audio decoder (latest beta) hasn't got that decoder onboard.
So when i start the movie only FFDshow video decoder is triggered (VC1 onboard) and not FFDshow Audio decoder hence no transcoding on-the-fly from wma10 pro audio to ac3 and only stereo on the pre-amp.
Discussed here extensively.
So back to re-encoding (1 file a night LOL)

FDDsshow has flac onboard, no problem (does need a source filter though) at all. However any wma above 8 or 9 and in the case of 9, not pro won't run in fdd

I would probably tinker...but if I just set it to HDMI on the ASUS and SPDIF in Windows, would everything work...in other words, would I get the best possible all around setup this way.

That way, if I wanted to change things around I could, but I would set it backk to this so that anyone else using it would not have to make any changes regardless of what they were going to watch.

IMHO (but Davinleeds might correct me) you've got only two options in windows with the Xonar, Digital or speakers.
Maybe you mean in TMT?

Oh guys, forgot to mention got my Xonar back from RMA yesterday (which is why I've been a bit quiet here). Unit was purchased from Overclockers.co.uk and from granting of RMA, sending from Ireland to UK, and receiving back took just over two weeks.

Only sent the Xonar itself back but fully boxed new unit received with all the bits. Was a bit concerned when saw it was an 8 serial but has the 1.39 firmware and passes 24p no problem.

Have the freeware Display Changer set up so when I click a .bat file it switches to 24p and opens TMT3, when you close TMT switches back automatically to 50hz.

Happy days!

Greg