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Thrang's Home Theater (for now...) - Page 6

post #151 of 561
11/10/12 at 10:00pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by thrang View Post

Hi Frank
Doing well, hope you are too.
No major changes recently - first post has the updated equipment list; the custom risers for the subs, the McIntosh 7 channel amp, and rearranging my speaker configs were the most recent modifications.
How about you?

All good this side of the world. I've noticed your hard drive storage of your movies that looks fantastic I want to venture down that road but not yet decided which way to go. I've showed my friend your Home Theatre he loved it, he knows your speakers very well he told me too post A+++ all the way. He loved it. I agree with him.
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post #152 of 561
11/10/12 at 10:05pm
Thread Starter 
Thanks, they are great speakers, though I've been toying with demoing Triad Platinums...

The Synology's are great NAS servers - trickier finding a playback device that is glitch free...I've jumped around between TMT5, PDVD, XBMC, and stand along media players (Micca EP950 the best of the bunch so far) but all have their strengths and weaknesses.

I'm looking forward to the new Dune 3D player coming how (hopefully) soon to see if that's the magic bullet.
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post #153 of 561
11/10/12 at 10:08pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by thrang View Post

Thanks, they are great speakers, though I've been toying with demoing Triad Platinums...
The Synology's are great NAS servers - trickier finding a playback device that is glitch free...I've jumped around between TMT5, PDVD, XBMC, and stand along media players (Micca EP950 the best of the bunch so far) but all have their strengths and weaknesses.
I'm looking forward to the new Dune 3D player coming how (hopefully) soon to see if that's the magic bullet.

Triads are very nice but your B&W are beautiful speakers. I've demoed your speakers and they are top class.
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post #154 of 561
11/10/12 at 10:26pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by thrang View Post

The Synology's are great NAS servers - trickier finding a playback device that is glitch free...I've jumped around between TMT5, PDVD, XBMC, and stand along media players (Micca EP950 the best of the bunch so far) but all have their strengths and weaknesses.
I'm looking forward to the new Dune 3D player coming how (hopefully) soon to see if that's the magic bullet.

Well I have lots to learn regarding NAS servers are you still alble to get hd audio?
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post #155 of 561
11/10/12 at 11:34pm
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Franin View Post

Well I have lots to learn regarding NAS servers are you still alble to get hd audio?

The NAS is in essence just a dumb storage device, so whatever you put on it will be played back. In my case, I use AnyDVD HD to rip Blu Ray titles, no compression, to either an ISO or Blu Ray folder structure (BDMV) format - so the video and audio is precisely as on the original disc. Typical space is about 40GB per title (my NAS currently has about a 20TB capacity)

Not all players play every format, and certain BDA non-compliant players will not show the full menus - they generally just start playing the main movie title. Things like TMT5 and the Micca EP950 media player will play all 2D and 3D content, the Micca does not support full menus as it is not a licensee of the BDA (this however, ensures they will never support Cinavia copy protection)

TMT5 does not support Cinavia yet, but I would imagine their next major release will, else they would most certainly lose their licensing.
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post #156 of 561
11/10/12 at 11:38pm
Thanks for that Thrang how many movies do you have stored at this present moment? I have 600+ blu rays in my collection but I would be very selective in what makes it in my storage.
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post #157 of 561
11/11/12 at 12:45am
Thread Starter 
About 420, plenty of room to go
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post #158 of 561
11/11/12 at 1:43am
That's very good. So you have a raid system so if one hard drive fails your able to back up?
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post #159 of 561
11/11/12 at 5:21am
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by Franin View Post

That's very good. So you have a raid system so if one hard drive fails your able to back up?

Yes, though nothing is foolproof. I can sustain failure of one drive out of ten in my current RAID 5 configuration, insert anew drive while it's running, and it will rebuild the missing data from the redundant data stored on the remaining nine - if I lose a second drive while its still rebuilding, you are toast and have the awesome fun of starting over. There's a RAID 6 option, chief among other differences lets you sustain to simultaneous drive losses at a time before you are kaput. I may migrate my RAID 5 to this, though it will take a few days of non stop chugging for all the data to be reallocated...

Knock on wood, I do keep my Synology off most of the time - even though its tucked away in a different closet, the new Roomie Remote iOS software I'm using (hey, there's something new you asked about that I forgot to mention earlier!) supports sending Wake on LAN packets to devices that support this. The Synology does, so when I hit an activity from any room that requires access to the library, it ticks on automatically, as does my Windows Media Center PC which is located in the main theater. There is also an auto-shutdown command in the Synology, so I have it set to turn off automatically at 2 pm each evening, as does the PC.

I do have a separate Synology RAID unit which is on 24/7, as it serves as a repository for our household documents, music, iTunes purchases, etc. That is a smaller RAID, and the core data I really care about is backed up to an external drive connected directly to the Synology (the Synology has many easy to use admin and feature apps, or packages, you can run, and backup is one of the them. If you are interested in video surveillance, you can control the recording of IP camera data to the Synology, and notification methods of movement is detected).
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post #160 of 561
11/11/12 at 6:17am
Quote:
Originally Posted by thrang View Post

Yes, though nothing is foolproof. I can sustain failure of one drive out of ten in my current RAID 5 configuration, insert anew drive while it's running, and it will rebuild the missing data from the redundant data stored on the remaining nine - if I lose a second drive while its still rebuilding, you are toast and have the awesome fun of starting over. There's a RAID 6 option, chief among other differences lets you sustain to simultaneous drive losses at a time before you are kaput. I may migrate my RAID 5 to this, though it will take a few days of non stop chugging for all the data to be reallocated...
Knock on wood, I do keep my Synology off most of the time - even though its tucked away in a different closet, the new Roomie Remote iOS software I'm using (hey, there's something new you asked about that I forgot to mention earlier!) supports sending Wake on LAN packets to devices that support this. The Synology does, so when I hit an activity from any room that requires access to the library, it ticks on automatically, as does my Windows Media Center PC which is located in the main theater. There is also an auto-shutdown command in the Synology, so I have it set to turn off automatically at 2 pm each evening, as does the PC.
I do have a separate Synology RAID unit which is on 24/7, as it serves as a repository for our household documents, music, iTunes purchases, etc. That is a smaller RAID, and the core data I really care about is backed up to an external drive connected directly to the Synology (the Synology has many easy to use admin and feature apps, or packages, you can run, and backup is one of the them. If you are interested in video surveillance, you can control the recording of IP camera data to the Synology, and notification methods of movement is detected).

You certainly have worked it out well, I have to decide which will be the best method for me to go. The burning of the blu ray how long does that take? Also what about the quality? I've been told that once you burn blu ray the quality isn't as good? Is that true ?
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post #161 of 561
11/11/12 at 6:43am
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by Franin View Post

You certainly have worked it out well, I have to decide which will be the best method for me to go. The burning of the blu ray how long does that take? Also what about the quality? I've been told that once you burn blu ray the quality isn't as good? Is that true ?

Ripping takes about 45 minutes, depends upon your system/blu ray drive speed etc.

If you rip 1:1, there is no change in quality. Many people compress their rips to save room, but if you do a straight RIP (which is all AnyDVD HD CAN do - it cannot compress), it is identical to the original.

Where quality can come into play is in the playback device - the PC, video card, drivers, or external media player - just like different set-top Blu Ray players had subtle differences in video quality (audio not the issue if you bitstream). But a careful calibration from player to display should address issues if they do arise.

At times, I think I "see" more differences than is likely there, and in most cases, one would be hard pressed to DBT TMT5, a Micca EP950, and an Oppo 103 (which I had but returned) The Oppo may have been a touch "cleaner" video wise than TMT5, but getting really nit picky and would not bet more then 10 bucks if compelled to...

Other differences are in the meta scrapers the systems have or don't have. TMT5 and PDVD work with My Movies, a separate application that downloads cover art, descriptions, cast and crew, and creates a Kaleidescape interface in WindowsMedia Center for easy browsing, searching, and playing. The Micca really just supports jpegs you place in a folder to give you some simple cover art. But the Micca is cheap, fast, excellent quality, and plays most titles flawless (seamless branching titles like Aliens seems to momentarily pause at branch points, and you don't get full BD menus since they are not a licensee of the Blu Ray format - which is how they can avoid copy protection issues) TMT5 has no issues with branching titles, but I am constantly frustrated my an HTPC since there are many HW/SW players, and things like micro stutters or lip sync seem to come and go without any rhyme or reason week after week. It SEEMS fairly stable with the latest AMD drivers, but we'll see.

I'd start modestly with a player like the Micca, and if you have a blu ray drive on your main PC already, get AnyDVD HD (I think there's a trial version), rip some titles to an external drive, and connect it to the Micca to experiment (the Micca supports an internal and externally connected drives as well as SMB shares on NAS).
Edited by thrang - 11/11/12 at 7:41pm
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post #162 of 561
11/12/12 at 6:31am
Quote:
Originally Posted by thrang View Post

Ripping takes about 45 minutes, depends upon your system/blu ray drive speed etc.
If you rip 1:1, there is no change in quality. Many people compress their rips to save room, but if you do a straight RIP (which is all AnyDVD HD CAN do - it cannot compress), it is identical to the original.
Where quality can come into play is in the playback device - the PC, video card, drivers, or external media player - just like different set-top Blu Ray players had subtle differences in video quality (audio not the issue if you bitstream). But a careful calibration from player to display should address issues if they do arise.
At times, I think I "see" more differences than is likely there, and in most cases, one would be hard pressed to DBT TMT5, a Micca EP950, and an Oppo 103 (which I had but returned) The Oppo may have been a touch "cleaner" video wise than TMT5, but getting really nit picky and would not bet more then 10 bucks if compelled to...
Other differences are in the meta scrapers the systems have or don't have. TMT5 and PDVD work with My Movies, a separate application that downloads cover art, descriptions, cast and crew, and creates a Kaleidescape interface in WindowsMedia Center for easy browsing, searching, and playing. The Micca really just supports jpegs you place in a folder to give you some simple cover art. But the Micca is cheap, fast, excellent quality, and plays most titles flawless (seamless branching titles like Aliens seems to momentarily pause at branch points, and you don't get full BD menus since they are not a licensee of the Blu Ray format - which is how they can avoid copy protection issues) TMT5 has no issues with branching titles, but I am constantly frustrated my an HTPC since there are many HW/SW players, and things like micro stutters or lip sync seem to come and go without any rhyme or reason week after week. It SEEMS fairly stable with the latest AMD drivers, but we'll see.
I'd start modestly with a player like the Micca, and if you have a blu ray drive on your main PC already, get AnyDVD HD (I think there's a trial version), rip some titles to an external drive, and connect it to the Micca to experiment (the Micca supports an internal and externally connected drives as well as SMB shares on NAS).

So the playback devices is where the quality can come into play, good to know. Thanks Thrang you've been great explaining it all, I talked to my brother who is knowledgable like yourself in computers and he is going to show me some gear to give me an idea what it costs.

Btw why did you return the Oppo bdp 103?
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post #163 of 561
11/12/12 at 6:57am
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by Franin View Post

So the playback devices is where the quality can come into play, good to know. Thanks Thrang you've been great explaining it all, I talked to my brother who is knowledgable like yourself in computers and he is going to show me some gear to give me an idea what it costs.
Btw why did you return the Oppo bdp 103?

Yes playback device is important, but also ensuring you are ripping one to one, and not compressing. There are tools to only rip the main movie, strip out extras, other languages, etc., to get an overall smaller file size without affecting quality, but they generally aren't the most elegant tools to use.

I returned the Oppo because the firmware update of a few weeks removed a feature for network playback - accessing BDMV folder structures, which is how most of my library is ripped. There is a workaround (putting individual movie title contents into individual folders labeled AVCHD, for over 420 titles), but this would be a stupid and time consuming process, break other functinality with my PC, and have to be done this way manually each and every time I ripped a new movie - and there are no guarantees that even this feature wouldn't change/be removed in the future.

I doubt I ever would have put a physical disk into it - I wanted to see how well it performed as a streamer for my library, and if I was happy with the most basic of text listings as the interface (there are no scraping capabilities, nor even support for simple folder art) I was willing to sacrifice that if playback of all media was rock solid and I could see if there was a benefit to the renowned performance of the Oppo players - but once they removed the BDMV support, it made no sense to keep it despite it's excellent build and playback quality.

That, and it must support Cinavia.

Companies like Oppo have a big challenge as the days dwindle for physical media. They could extend their life by being the best streaming player int he market, but they are hamstrung by BDA licensing. They may have to move to Antigua and work under a different set of rules!
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post #164 of 561
12/1/12 at 10:02am
Thread Starter 
update -

- Eliminated CP-800 stereo pre-amp
- Added M2Tech Young DAC back into the setup
- Added two B&W M-1's for rears

upcoming, likely the Marantz 8801 to replace the 80.3 and adding two additional M1's for heights.
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post #165 of 561
12/1/12 at 11:29am
This is actually the first I'm hearing about the 8801......Is it expected to trounce the 80.3's features, or is it more of an expected sound quality upgrade?
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post #166 of 561
12/1/12 at 11:39am
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Quote:
Originally Posted by BrolicBeast View Post

This is actually the first I'm hearing about the 8801......Is it expected to trounce the 80.3's features, or is it more of an expected sound quality upgrade?

Well the 80.3 is really quite good - I would expect similar or incremental improvement of sound quality - I think the heights, some additional audyssey features, AirPlay, and a few other things will define the differences...
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post #167 of 561
12/2/12 at 12:34am
What are the F113s sitting on? I would never dare put my Outlaws on top of something. They have a tendency to move around a little...can you imagine the possible damage to my wood floor eek.gif
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post #168 of 561
12/2/12 at 4:57am
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Quote:
Originally Posted by pokekevin View Post

What are the F113s sitting on? I would never dare put my Outlaws on top of something. They have a tendency to move around a little...can you imagine the possible damage to my wood floor eek.gif

As noted earlier, they are stands build from 3/4 in mdf, painted, and stuffed with rockwool insulation

The 113's are inert - very heavy with dense rubber feet for grip.
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post #169 of 561
12/9/12 at 8:12am
Thread Starter 
Spent the day wiring new height speakers, B&W M-1's, in anticipation of a Marantz 8801 and additional amplification around Christmas..

Also testing the Mede8er 1000 media player, as the Popcorn Hour A-400 is junk...
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post #170 of 561
12/10/12 at 6:12am
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Originally Posted by thrang View Post

Spent the day wiring new height speakers, B&W M-1's, in anticipation of a Marantz 8801 and additional amplification around Christmas..
Also testing the Mede8er 1000 media player, as the Popcorn Hour A-400 is junk...

I think the height speakers make a great addition Thrang. Congrats!! Looking forward in hearing your thoughts on the Marantz.
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post #171 of 561
12/13/12 at 6:57am
Cool to see you are putting in some heights. I look forward to your comments how the integration is now that you have widths and heights. Did you give any consideration to B&W's new CI 800 series speakers for your heights? They seem like they would be the closest thing B&W make performance wise to the diamonds now thus giving a much better performance then the M-1's plus they would be in the ceiling.
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post #172 of 561
12/13/12 at 7:20am
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Rod#S View Post

Cool to see you are putting in some heights. I look forward to your comments how the integration is now that you have widths and heights. Did you give any consideration to B&W's new CI 800 series speakers for your heights? They seem like they would be the closest thing B&W make performance wise to the diamonds now thus giving a much better performance then the M-1's plus they would be in the ceiling.

No, right now, running speaker wire to those points in the ceiling would be more work than I'm willing to invest right now

If the m1's show promise for heights with the 8801 and neo:x, maybe ill revisit that.

Thanks
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post #173 of 561
12/13/12 at 9:23am
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Originally Posted by thrang View Post

No, right now, running speaker wire to those points in the ceiling would be more work than I'm willing to invest right now
If the m1's show promise for heights with the 8801 and neo:x, maybe ill revisit that.
Thanks

That makes sense, thanks
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post #174 of 561
12/14/12 at 4:52pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by Rod#S View Post

That makes sense, thanks

Then again, I just got some estimates for the CCM's and the back boxes.

Not sure I want to go THAT high for, well, heights!
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post #175 of 561
12/17/12 at 4:21am
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Originally Posted by thrang View Post

Then again, I just got some estimates for the CCM's and the back boxes.
Not sure I want to go THAT high for, well, heights!

I agree, I didnt fork out that much for heights but I matched them the best I can. It does open up the soundstage and found llz heights work the best.
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post #176 of 561
12/19/12 at 5:48pm
Hey thrang
I am looking at the MC 303 or 207 or your 8207 for my 804D / HTM4 setup..
Currently I find my setup somewhat bright.. what do you think of the Mcintosh / B&W Diamond partnership?

BTW - took your lead and lifted up my F 113 as well. Cheers.
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post #177 of 561
12/19/12 at 5:58pm
Thread Starter 
I find the setup very neutral and revealing, but not overly bright unless the recording is that way.

I have full carpeting and some drapery around the room - cannot tell precisely, but it looks like you may have wood or vinyl flooring? That, and a hard ceiling, maybe the bigger culprit ( I love the look of your room BTW)

If it works aesthetically, you might want to consider a large area rug for the space to help take some reflections

Does raising the 113 help in your setup?
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post #178 of 561
12/19/12 at 6:01pm
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Franin View Post

I agree, I didnt fork out that much for heights but I matched them the best I can. It does open up the soundstage and found llz heights work the best.

Well, knowing me, I'll bitch about the price and then do it anyway in six months..
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post #179 of 561
12/19/12 at 6:04pm
Thanks, Yep - the raised F 113 with a new ARO cal, helped - tighter too. But the MBM was also very welcome in helping with the mid bass - something I was missing.
I am looking for a warmer sound...

I have a marble floor - that old carpet will go after the wild doomsday / X Mas parties .... will be using a larger carpet and getting my acoustic chap to come in.

Thanks for the comments, I posted on my blog on the effort to make this room - did most of the design myself with acoustic feedback from a friend who runs a calibration shop. The wood panels are from Swiss Acoustic company and have rockwool behind them. It's not just regular cabinets or paneling... smile.gif
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post #180 of 561
12/19/12 at 6:34pm
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Originally Posted by thrang View Post

Well, knowing me, I'll bitch about the price and then do it anyway in six months..

lol I know what you mean smile.gif One you have done it im curious to read how you go.
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