Dell Zino HD - New mini HTPC - Page 10

Exactly the problem I'm having with my ION XBMC box right now.
My TV will only pass down converted audio from the HDMI, through the optical out to my receiver.

A usb to s/pdif convertor is on my soon to try list.

Does anyone know when is estimated shipping time for the current orders? I'll be holding off until I see some real reviews, but I am pretty much 90% set to order one when it becomes available on epp.

I tried ordering from Dell EPP and they said that they were unable to order it.

Thank the MPAA. Televisions will only pass down converted audio through their digital audio outputs with sources other then their built in tuner. They think you might be stealing their precious audio.

I just ordered today through EPP for the free shipping. According to my information, it is expected to ship out on the 30th - about 2 weeks.

The above post links to a discussion thread centered primarily on NVidia. The relevant GPU acceleration hardware is listed in the release notes of Flash 10 :

Radeon Radeon HD 4xxx (and higher)
Mobility Radeon Mobility Radeon HD 4xxx series (and higher)
Integrated/Motherboard Radeon HD 3xxx (and higher)

This is a great time for the release as youtube goes 1080P and Dell releases the Zino HD.

There has been concern that Vimeo is experiencing problems with NVidia cards and the flash update.

Any thoughts on whether the Bluray drive includes software that will do multi-channel audio? If so, the $100 cost to upgrade is probably worth doing at purchase, especially since it's a slim line drive.

I have an estimated delivery date of 12/4...ordered through EPP.

CD

Anandtech has tested the pre-release. Not recommended for AMD, yet.

Zino HD hits Canada...

http://www1.ca.dell.com/ca/en/home/d...no_hd_rbp_en~~

They've posted an update that ATI will be releasing drivers *today* that will enable gpu acceleration.

That's great news. I hope performance improves on the Zino for flash streaming. I may have to order mine before the new year. That's was my only concern with this machine.

It does improve as I had already tested some early code. I had alluded to it in early posts in this thread but did not want to say anything until Adobe made their announcments.

Can Zino play "raw" AVCHD files?

Java Jack,

I appreciate all the testing that you have done. I would love to order one of these machines ASAP but I don’t want to have to pay to upgrade the processor if the single core 1.6 GHz will work just fine with the new Adobe flash. What is your recommendation on the processor for HD Flash Streaming now that Adobe has released their beta version of Flash 10.1?

That's one question I can't answer yet as I did not have access to the single core variant to test with.

However, I did notice that Flash was multithreaded so the dual core was an advantage. So far, based upon my testing, I think the dual core upgrade is probably worthwhile over a single core.

Not sure what you mean by "raw" AVC HD. I did try some AVC HD files and they played back very smooth.

I ran Eagle Eye on AVC HD at full screen 1080p and CPU load was only 25-30%. I did not watch the entire film, but the first 20 minutes played very smooth.

Thanks for your testing. I did notice some hint in your earlier posts but didn't really know what you were hinting at.

Looking forward to seeing more real world results before I order. I figure there is no huge hurry considering the backlog of orders at Dell. Thankfully I'm patient.

I'm sure video files play fine outside of Flash because of the CPU overhead (or lack thereof) required for flash. I have a similar issue with my VAIO P mini laptop. I can play some 720P video fine if it's not in flash. However, standard YouTube barely works because of the Atom Z520. It's too bad the GPU acceleration in Flash wont apply to my netbook.

By "raw" I mean uncompressed video out of HD camcorder. My 4 year old laptop with 1.8Ghz cpu cannot play these files smoothly

Now that the system's back at work, have a chance for any kill-a-watt measurements, Jay?

Sleep/hibernate, idle, various streaming modes.

Please explain, I'm fairly sure my Vizio is passing DD 5.1 out the optical to my receiver using my Revo 3610 on HDMI as source, as well as DISH DVR as HDMI source, and PS3 as HDMI source.

I think there is a new standard now that YouTube supports 1080p -- see here. It seems the Acer 1410-2285 doesn't handle this new standard well (like it did the Seeker HD clip).

Understood. Did not try but one of my coworkers has some raw AVC HD content. I have asked him to bring some in so we can try it.

Refreshing the system with a new OS load now. Will try to get to this soon.

Are you able to pass copy guarded material from original retail DVD/BD?

If so your setup is out of the ordinary. It seems that most manufactures restrict the digital audio output to stereo when the original source is copy protected.

I personally ran into this limitation, and found information to be scarce.

However, below is the always reliable copy/past from the all mighty Google

VIZIO:

"When the DTV [cable/antenna] input is selected for viewing, the digital audio associated with digital programming will be available on this SPDIF Optical connector for connection to your home theater system."

"If your sound system has a SPDIF (optical) digital audio input you can connect it to the optical DIGITAL AUDIO OUT at the rear of [this TV]. This is active when receiving digital audio with the programs from the DTV/TV CABLE/ANTENNA input."

SANYO:

Dolby Digital 5.1 audio is available at the Digital Audio Output only when received as part of a Digital Antenna signal being viewed on the screen.

JVC:

No audio out on optical when using HDMI.

TOSHIBA:

The DIGITAL AUDIO OUT terminal may not output some digital audio sources because of copy restrictions.

PIONEER:

Note: When signals are input from the HDMI terminals, no signals are output from the DIGITAL OUT terminal if they are copy guarded.

SAMSUNG:

[the digital terminal] outputs stereo only from HDMI sources.

Other manufacturers will pass multichannel from the digital audio output, but it is not clear if this pertains to copy protected material.

I have a Pioneer plasma and they seem to have the strictest enforcement. The Pioneer outputs 5.1 if the tuner or analog inputs are the source but there was no audio output from HDMI sources. I ended up getting a new AVR with HDMI input.

I wish I could find an official source, but I haven't yet. So take this for what it is worth.

Java Jack has me sold. I asked the wife for the Zino for Christmas. I wonder if I should start to worry about the demand being too high. I really want to wait to read some more reviews, but I might have to have her order it earlier.

Hello
I was wanting to purchase this mini HTPC also but had a few questions. I will be using it mainly to play blu ray movies from disk or hard drive.
1)How does the video quality output of the ati 4330 compare to something like the ati 4670?
2) Will I need to upgrade the audio in the upgrade list to be able to get 5.1 to the receiver?

Thanks in advance!