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Assassin's Simple/Beginner HTPC Buying Guide - Page 388

post #11611 of 15486
3/7/12 at 2:33pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by tomandbeth View Post

How do you like the Asus optical drive? I have one coming (today I believe)

No problems with the Asus Blu Ray drive. I have only used it to rip 20 or so dvd and Blu Ray movies, and it did that fine.
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post #11612 of 15486
3/7/12 at 2:42pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by assassin View Post

No, it can play MKV with LAV the way I have it setup. I do it all the time. It also can bitstream HD Audio.

Did you read the guides? (just kidding!)

Let us know about your J.Edgar results.

Very funny! Of course I did but I jumped ahead a bit not realizing that the MPC-HC set up wasn't really required.. I thought that it was. I started this whole project before LAV even came out. It has been a learning curve for sure. I do like the configuration ability of HPC-HC, though but sometimes you got to K(eep) I(t) S(imple) S(tupid)...
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post #11613 of 15486
3/7/12 at 2:44pm
Thread Starter 
MPC-HC is a great player and very flexible.

However, I agree. I like simple, durable, stable, easy to use, and high quality.
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post #11614 of 15486
3/7/12 at 2:53pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by FastM3 View Post

No problems with the Asus Blu Ray drive. I have only used it to rip 20 or so dvd and Blu Ray movies, and it did that fine.

Thanks you for taking the time to respond. Mine did show today so will be adding it to an older (I3-530) build later today.
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post #11615 of 15486
3/7/12 at 3:21pm
assassin

can i just confirm with you one thing.
if i turn bitstreaming off in LAV audio settings, my AVR switches to Multichannel PCM.

Thats because the decoding is now being down by the PC, and the PC is sending the decoded, uncompressed audio to the AVR, correct?

Thats exactly the same as bitstreaming to the AVR instead, correct?
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post #11616 of 15486
3/7/12 at 3:24pm
Bitstreaming is when the compressed audio is sent to your AVR for decoding. If the PC decodes it sends LPCM which can be sent via analog for AVR's that cannot decode but have 5.1 or 7.1 analog inputs. This can also be sent via HDMI to the receiver but isn't considered bitstreaming.
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post #11617 of 15486
3/7/12 at 3:36pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Sammy2 View Post

Bitstreaming is when the compressed audio is sent to your AVR for decoding. If the PC decodes it sends LPCM which can be sent via analog for AVR's that cannot decode but have 5.1 or 7.1 analog inputs. This can also be sent via HDMI to the receiver but isn't considered bitstreaming.

im aware of this - it wasnt really the point of my question.
i wanted to confirm that, when i turn bitstreaming off, Because the AVR is now receiving as multi channel PCM, it therefore means that the PC is decoding the audio and sending the uncompressed audio, and all the AVR is doing is outputting to speakers.

thats what i wanted to confirm.

if thats the case then im not bothered about bitstreaming, unless it has any tangible sound advantages.
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post #11618 of 15486
3/7/12 at 3:41pm
That is correct.

Depending on your AVR, the Digital-Analog Converter could be better in it than in the PC so you may want to bitstream for better clarity.
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post #11619 of 15486
3/7/12 at 3:46pm
Thread Starter 
Agreed. You spend a lot of money for the DAC/sound processor in your AV Receiver and typically you get the best sound and control of that sound when its send untouched to the AV Receiver.
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post #11620 of 15486
3/7/12 at 3:49pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Sammy2 View Post

That is correct.

Depending on your AVR, the Digital-Analog Converter could be better in it than in the PC so you may want to bitstream for better clarity.

thanks.
indeed, thats why i really want to try and get bitstreaming working with the HD formats, so i can listen for myself and decide. i probably wont notice anything.

its such a weird problem - as i say - the avr (onkyo 308) is decoding the bitstream HD audio and shows it on the display, but then struggles to play the file.
it will bitstream the lossy formats with no problems.

ive narrowed it down to 2 things. either update the realtek drivers to the latest.
test it on a different amp. just to make sure my amp is broken.

if either of those things make no difference i give up, and will have to settle for regular dts/dd/multi lpcm.
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post #11621 of 15486
3/7/12 at 3:52pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by schloss View Post

thanks.
indeed, thats why i really want to try and get bitstreaming working with the HD formats, so i can listen for myself and decide. i probably wont notice anything.

its such a weird problem - as i say - the avr (onkyo 308) is decoding the bitstream HD audio and shows it on the display, but then struggles to play the file.
it will bitstream the lossy formats with no problems.

ive narrowed it down to 2 things. either update the realtek drivers to the latest.
test it on a different amp. just to make sure my amp is broken.

if either of those things make no difference i give up, and will have to settle for regular dts/dd/multi lpcm.

Many people argue they can't tell the difference between DTS/DD and DTS-HD/TrueHD. Some argue they can.

So you may or may not be able to tell the difference.
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post #11622 of 15486
3/7/12 at 3:58pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by assassin View Post

Many people argue they can't tell the difference between DTS/DD and DTS-HD/TrueHD. Some argue they can.

So you may or may not be able to tell the difference.

For me, the dialog is more clear and the separation of channels is better from a lossless source but if I only have a lossy available I will watch it. The original Blues Brothers blu-ray comes to mind. Lossy is all they put on the disc but that doesn't stop me from watching it.
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post #11623 of 15486
3/7/12 at 4:03pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by schloss View Post

thanks.
indeed, thats why i really want to try and get bitstreaming working with the HD formats, so i can listen for myself and decide. i probably wont notice anything.

its such a weird problem - as i say - the avr (onkyo 308) is decoding the bitstream HD audio and shows it on the display, but then struggles to play the file.
it will bitstream the lossy formats with no problems.

ive narrowed it down to 2 things. either update the realtek drivers to the latest.
test it on a different amp. just to make sure my amp is broken.

if either of those things make no difference i give up, and will have to settle for regular dts/dd/multi lpcm.

I would not blame this issue on your AVR as it looks to be quite capable but have you tested it with another component with HD Audio such as a stand alone blu-ray player?
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post #11624 of 15486
3/7/12 at 4:03pm
I recently batch ripped a bunch of my DVD's to ISO using an old Sony Vaio VGP-XL1B (unattended batch ripped about 60 DVD's using DVD Decrypter ). My question is would it be better (more convenient...easier...simplier...) if these were in MKV format? and if so is there a program that can batch read these ISO's and convert them to MKV? MakeMKV looks nice but it can only do one ISO at a time and I have to create a directory name which is a bit of a pain....Thx!
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post #11625 of 15486
3/7/12 at 4:45pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by Sammy2 View Post

For me, the dialog is more clear and the separation of channels is better from a lossless source but if I only have a lossy available I will watch it. The original Blues Brothers blu-ray comes to mind. Lossy is all they put on the disc but that doesn't stop me from watching it.

I agree. I can hear very subtle differences but both really are excellent.
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post #11626 of 15486
3/7/12 at 4:47pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by chrishet View Post

I recently batch ripped a bunch of my DVD's to ISO using an old Sony Vaio VGP-XL1B (unattended batch ripped about 60 DVD's using DVD Decrypter ). My question is would it be better (more convenient...easier...simplier...) if these were in MKV format? and if so is there a program that can batch read these ISO's and convert them to MKV? MakeMKV looks nice but it can only do one ISO at a time and I have to create a directory name which is a bit of a pain....Thx!

Simplest answer would be to leave things the way they are in iso.

But starting from scratch I would consider MKV if all you want is the movie (and not the menu, extras, fluff, warnings, etc).

I don't know of anything to batch this work but I am sure its out there.
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post #11627 of 15486
3/7/12 at 5:34pm
A friend of mine is putting together a demo disc along the lines of ScubaSteve's. He has arranged it so there will be 5 parts, each of which will fit on a BD9, but, when completed, will be available as a single-disc BD download.
I just thought there might be some interest in such material among the group here.
http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=1391873
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post #11628 of 15486
3/7/12 at 6:29pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Sooner97 View Post

I've had my HTPC since December and I kept having a lot of problems with it not being able to open up my video files. Basically it said the drivers were missing and to restart the PC or Windows Media Center. I posted this on another thread to help others but this may be of use to others here too:

I've had my Ceton tuner since Dec 2011 and every once in a while I would have problems with it when I use Windows Media Center. Basically it either said that WMC couldn't open the video files or there were no tuners available. The last time it went down for 2 days and I got really frustrated and was about to go back to my Cable Co's DVR. But then I decided to buy a new GeForce GT430 and use that instead of the on board video from my Intel i5 2500K processor. That fixed the problem! It was the video drivers that were messing up everything. And yes, I did try to update the drivers for the Intel video but it said my drivers were up to date. So those of you who have problems, you may want to try a discrete video card instead of using the on board video. It was such a headache trying to fix this problem and now everything works perfectly. It was worth the $70 for the video card. HTH.

This is a known issue with Intel's "up to date drivers". If you use the older drivers on Assassin's blog all these problems go away when using the I-series inboard graphics.
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post #11629 of 15486
3/7/12 at 6:51pm
Thread Starter 
Just wanted to announce that the first JRiver guides have been posted.

A special thanks to GreenEyez who not only made these guides but is also going to head up AssassinHTPC.com in Europe.

JRiver Guides JR1-JR5 (Guides #93-98 in total)

Enjoy.

JRiver Audiophile guides hopefully coming soon (I have them done. They are just very long and extremely wordy. I hope to make them more concise)
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post #11630 of 15486
3/7/12 at 6:56pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Sooner97 View Post

I've had my HTPC since December and I kept having a lot of problems with it not being able to open up my video files. Basically it said the drivers were missing and to restart the PC or Windows Media Center. I posted this on another thread to help others but this may be of use to others here too:

I've had my Ceton tuner since Dec 2011 and every once in a while I would have problems with it when I use Windows Media Center. Basically it either said that WMC couldn't open the video files or there were no tuners available. The last time it went down for 2 days and I got really frustrated and was about to go back to my Cable Co's DVR. But then I decided to buy a new GeForce GT430 and use that instead of the on board video from my Intel i5 2500K processor. That fixed the problem! It was the video drivers that were messing up everything. And yes, I did try to update the drivers for the Intel video but it said my drivers were up to date. So those of you who have problems, you may want to try a discrete video card instead of using the on board video. It was such a headache trying to fix this problem and now everything works perfectly. It was worth the $70 for the video card. HTH.

Really. I have two ceton tuners in my HTPC and I experience no problems. I don't even see the crash problem many have referred to. I had a little delay issue when installing the 2nd card but erik provided some simple check items and its been problem free. I use nothing but the i5 video chipset. Could it be a configuration issue?
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post #11631 of 15486
3/7/12 at 7:16pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by assassin View Post

Just wanted to announce that the first JRiver guides have been posted.

A special thanks to GreenEyez who not only made these guides but is also going to head up AssassinHTPC.com in Europe.

JRiver Guides JR1-JR5 (Guides #93-98 in total)

Enjoy.

JRiver Audiophile guides hopefully coming soon (I have them done. They are just very long and extremely wordy. I hope to make them more concise)

you keep cranking out these guides faster than I can actually read the thread. No seriously thanks again.

So, do tell which do you prefer JRiver versus MB?
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post #11632 of 15486
3/7/12 at 7:43pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by mariob33 View Post

you keep cranking out these guides faster than I can actually read the thread. No seriously thanks again.

So, do tell which do you prefer JRiver versus MB?

Too early to tell. But the waf is extremely high right now with mb and xbmc. I came home today from work and she was watching gone with the wind.
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post #11633 of 15486
3/7/12 at 7:53pm
Using the Asus BC-12B1ST as recommended by the build guide.
I ripped my first BD movie fine using MakeMKV.

Then...I decided to try SD DVDs too, I receive a error message in the status of MKV while it first reads SD DVDs. Then I tried several other DVDs all have the same error message..

"Drive BD-ROM ASUS BC-12B1ST 1.01 has RPC protection that can not be bypassed. Change drive region or update drive firmware from...."

All my DVDs are Region 1 and this is also the setting under Device Manager for the drive.

Any ideas why I'm receiving this error message? It can't be a firmware issue with the drive as it ripped a BD just fine as MKV.
LL
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post #11634 of 15486
3/7/12 at 8:04pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by cyberguy34 View Post

Using the Asus BC-12B1ST as recommended by the build guide.
I ripped my first BD movie fine using MakeMKV.

Then...I decided to try SD DVDs too, I receive a error message in the status of MKV while it first reads SD DVDs. Then I tried several other DVDs all have the same error message..

"Drive BD-ROM ASUS BC-12B1ST 1.01 has RPC protection that can not be bypassed. Change drive region or update drive firmware from...."

All my DVDs are Region 1 and this is also the setting under Device Manager for the drive.

Any ideas why I'm receiving this error message? It can't be a firmware issue with the drive as it ripped a BD just fine as MKV.

Looks like its a problem with that drive.

http://www.makemkv.com/forum2/viewtopic.php?f=7&t=4499

That's really frustrating. I wonder if there is a firmware update available.
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post #11635 of 15486
3/7/12 at 8:10pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by assassin View Post

Looks like its a problem with that drive.

http://www.makemkv.com/forum2/viewtopic.php?f=7&t=4499

That's really frustrating. I wonder if there is a firmware update available.

If you have that drive, can you try out a SD DVD for reference and report back?

It is frustrating, very much so...especially when I purchased the drive at a decent price.
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post #11636 of 15486
3/7/12 at 8:16pm
Are most using the stock cpu heatsink/fan or an aftermarket such as a cooler master?
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post #11637 of 15486
3/7/12 at 8:16pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by assassin View Post


Too early to tell. But the waf is extremely high right now with mb and xbmc. I came home today from work and she was watching gone with the wind.

Now there has to be a guide for blocking that..JK. Wife figured out how to record 3 shows and watch another so my DVR is consumed by smash, dancing mom and such..if they are happy we are happy keeping the new toy flow rolling.

By the way the plex guide is fantastic. That coupled with a quick download of plex for the roku makes one handy extender.
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post #11638 of 15486
3/7/12 at 8:18pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by jrock18 View Post

Are most using the stock cpu heatsink/fan or an aftermarket such as a cooler master?

I am using a scythe 1000 I think..
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post #11639 of 15486
3/7/12 at 8:28pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by assassin View Post

Looks like its a problem with that drive.

http://www.makemkv.com/forum2/viewtopic.php?f=7&t=4499

That's really frustrating. I wonder if there is a firmware update available.

This drive is currently en route to me for my build. I am considering returning it and going with Lite-On. It was hard to pass up for $50.00.
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post #11640 of 15486
3/7/12 at 8:35pm
Thread Starter 
Lite-On has never let me down. ASUS hadn't either until now. LG has as well as Samsung (let me down that is).
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