Official OPPO BDP-105 Owner's Thread - Page 98

Originally Posted by TrebleClef 



So, if using the highly heralded OPPO DAC, we must add a Processor down the chain to get multichannel, correct? The OPPO DAC only delivers 2.0 audio.

I understood UPTHREAD (yes, I've read the entire thing), that this in some way would compromise or circumvent the high quality output from the onboard OPPO DAC.


Still learning....Thanks.

Originally Posted by Torqdog 

This may come as a shock but I totally agree. I finally had a chance to do some A/B testing using the Spears and Munsil disc and I could NOT see any difference between the cables.

It was a damned good bottle of red though.

Originally Posted by Bob Pariseau 

Are you running the latest firmware? Check Setup > Device Setup > Firmware Information. Your "Main" firmware version should end 1220.

How are you connected for audio output when the problem happens? Are you using the multi-chanel Analog outputs? Are you also using Dedicated Stereo Analog outputs in place of the normal LR/RF output pair of the multi-channel Analog outputs (i.e., Stereo Signal = FRONT LEFT/RIGHT)?

What does the on-screen music playback graphic say is happening when the problem happens? For example, for SACD it will display whether it is playing the 5.1 or the 2.0 layer.
--Bob

Originally Posted by drumgail 

Hi;
I purchased the Oppo -105 as soon as it became available, my set up is running the Oppo out of HDMI 1 into my Onkyo TX-VR 809 Receiver, then HDMI out of the audio receiver into the TV (Sharp LC-60LE632U) for my video, should I run the HDMI out of the OPPO straight into the TV? If I do this, what is done about the audio for the Receiver?

I was also trying to run HDMI 2 out of the Oppo into my receiver for audio for my DVD-Audio and SACD playback because I have several discs and love the DSD sound, doing this, I had no sound coming out of HDMI 1 using the HDMI AV Split setting, I got audio when I went to the Dual Display HDMI setting, I got 2 different responses from Oppo when I talked to them, one was that by using the Dual Display setting I am not getting the best audio possible, another was that it was ok to use the dual display setting, I want the best audio on HDMI 2 and the best Video/Audio on HDMI 1.

I bought the Onkyo because of the DSD decoding capabilities. By using the HDMI 2 output instead of going analog out of the Oppo am I shortchanging the sound possibilities? Should I not be concerned about the DSD decoding in the Onkyo and just run analog cables? I believe the Onkyo does the DSD decoding over the HDMI, not sure if it will decode it over analog cables. Does the analog quality outweigh the HDMI DSD method?

If I go strictly HDMI, I am trying to go best possible Video for HDMI 1 and best audio for HDMI 2 but to use the AV Split setting, it would force me to pull out the HDMI connection in the back of the Oppo out and move it when I want to play blu ray and when I wand to play SACD which is inconvenient, The Oppo Tech said just leave it in HDMI 2, that the video improvement would not warrant the inconvenience, saying that the only difference on HDMI 1 is Contrast Enhancement, Noise Reduction and 4K capabilities.

I recently sold my home and moved into a new one, my basement man cave in the new home will not be finished until I get more funds, unfortunately I had to leave much of my home theater as well as my old PSB Stratus speakers as part of the selling price of my old house. I am currently using for my living room setup: Onkyo TX-NR 809, Wharfedale Diamond 8.4 for fronts, Wharfedale Diamond 10 CS for center, 2 JBL ES250 12" for Subs and my wife made me put speakers in the ceiling for aesthetics for surround, I think it is Dayton Audio Ultra Series, Acoustic Research AR-1 turnatable and now the Oppo-105.

What should my suggested setup and settings on the Oppo be? Not ready to run separate amps into Oppo, but should I go analog out for SACD/DVD-Audio playback? Since HDMI 1 will control the Video/Audio of the bluray, if I go analog, what do you use for the visual of the SACD menu and the DVD-Audio visual functions? The Oppo is capable of running HDMI 1 out and analog at the same time right?

Lastly, the audio/video sync issue on the Oppo I have had from day one is very concerning to me, I would think that this would have been resolved prior to it's release.

Be easy on me, I am not that astute at Audio/Video, but I love it ! Thanks .....Mark

Originally Posted by JRDiAndrea 


Hi, Bob. Yes to about everything!

Have latest firmware.

Using RCA analogue outs including the Dedicated stereo RCA

The player screen indicates it's playing the multichannel program.

Weird issue. Inconvenient but at least there's an easy work around. Hope it's something that will be resolved in future update.

Originally Posted by Bob Pariseau 

OK, you may be getting bitten by the bug where the Stereo Signal setting is getting incorrectly executed.

The next time this happens, instead of power cycling the player, go into Setup and change Stereo Signal to DOWN MIX STEREO and then immediately back to FRONT LEFT/RIGHT and see if that cures your problem.

If so, please email your finding to OPPO Tech Support.
--Bob

Originally Posted by Bob Pariseau 

I didn't want to quote all of your posts, but it looks like you are still getting your head around how the audio works. Not surprising, as it can certainly be confusing.

First off, if you are listening to the Analog outputs of the 105 then you are using the fancy DACs in the 105. Always.

The DACs are "Digital to Analog Converters". Their job is to convert a digital audio stream into Analog audio for output on the Analog audio jacks. No matter HOW you play audio on the 105, if you are listening to its Analog audio output jacks (including the Headphone jack), then you are listening to the output of its fancy DACs.

---

Now, the audio you are trying to play is recorded digitally in one of various file formats. To play audio, the file you select has to be decoded from its file format and "rendered" into a simpler digital audio stream that can be handled by the DACs in the 105. This is where your confusion comes from as there are multiple ways to do that.

The simplest way is to play a shiny disc or select a file off a hard drive directly attached to the OPPO. When you do that it is the *OPPO* which decodes the file format, renders that into the appropriate digital audio stream and directly passes that to its DACs to generate Analog audio output.

The OPPO is capable of playing numerous music file formats this way (but by no means every such file format in existence), including multi-channel file formats up to 7.1 channels at 192KHz 24-bit.

Directly attached hard drives are attached using the "normal" USB sockets of the 105 -- not the special, Asynchronous USB DAC Input.

---

Another way would be to play the file on your computer -- as for output to speakers directly attached to the computer.

When you do that is it the *COMPUTER* which decodes the file format, renders that into the appropriate digital audio stream and directly passes that to ITS OWN DACS -- DACS in the sound card in the computer -- to generate Analog audio output to the speakers attached to the computer.

But as you can imagine, many people are not satisfied with the quality of the audio when they do that. No matter how good a program they use in the computer to decode and render the audio file, they are limited by the quality of the analog output stage of the computer's own sound card -- the DACs installed in the computer.

And THAT is where the Asynchronous USB DAC Input of the 105 comes into play. Because if you run the appropriate USB cable from the Computer to that USB DAC Input of the OPPO, and have the appropriate driver in the computer, the OPPO can REPLACE the sound card in the computer! It is still the computer -- more specifically whatever sound playback program you are running in the computer -- which decodes the music file and renders it into the appropriate digital audio stream. But now instead of sending that to the Computer's own sound card it is, instead, sending that stream out the USB cable to the Asynchronous USB DAC Input of the 105 -- which sends it directly to the fancy DACs in the 105 for conversion to Analog output on the 105's own Analog output jacks.

That connection -- that very special connection for replacing the function of the sound card in the computer -- is limited to 2.0 LPCM 192KHz 24-bit.

That is, even if the computer software was capable of playing a multi-channel audio file (decoding it and rendering it into more than 2.0 channels of digital audio) -- the Asynchronous USB DAC Input of the OPPO can still only accept 2.0 LPCM input. The OPPO can replace a STEREO sound card in the computer but not a multi-channel sound card.

So if you want to play multi-channel audio, you DON'T DO IT THIS WAY! Instead you get your audio into a music file format the OPPO knows how to decode and you get the FILE into the OPPO -- not a digital audio stream already rendered by some music playing software on your computer.

---

SO, perhaps it is not convenient to get your music files onto a shiny disc or onto a directly attached hard drive. And perhaps you need to include the flexibility to play multi-channel audio.

In that case you need to explore the in-house, network playback options in the 105.

These come in THREE flavors:

1) The 105 can access "SMB Shares" which you set up on a server on your in-house network. Once connected to the SMB Share (over your house network), the OPPO lets you browse it and playback files from it basically the same way as if it were a directly attached hard drive.

2) The 105 can access files offered up by a "DLNA Server". A DLNA Server -- software that runs on a file server on your network -- presents music files in a somewhat trickier fashion. That's because the typical DLNA server can be configured to understand what the OPPO can decode, and can "transcode" other music file formats into something the OPPO can handle. There are other services that DLNA servers provide such as formatting/sorting your file lists and presenting additional meta-data to the OPPO such as album art. There are lots of different DLNA server programs out there -- some free, others you buy -- and all of them will have a learning curve in terms of how you install them and configure them for most convenient use. But the actual playback of music is very similar to playing files from a directly attached hard drive. You browse the files using the OPPO's own, on-screen browser, and select which file you want to play next.

3) The 105 can ALSO serve as a "DLNA Digital Media Renderer". Again this involves a "DLNA Server" set up on some file server on your house network. But this time it is the DLNA server that finds the OPPO and *SENDS* files to it to play! Note the difference from attached hard drive playback or (1) and (2) above: You no longer use the browser in the OPPO to find the files you want to play. Instead you use the facilities of the DLNA server itself to select files for playback which get SENT to the OPPO. The piece of the DLNA server that lets you do this is called a "DLNA Digital Media Controller", and the latest advance in such stuff is Digital Media Controllers that let you use a separate device for doing the control -- such as an Apple iPad.

You'd be forgiven for thinking that (3) -- Digital Media Render playback -- is the same thing as using the Asynchronous USB DAC Input, which is where we began above. Once again it is the computer (or a separate device like the iPad) which is being used to select the file to play, and the computer -- or the DLNA Digital Media Controller, to be precise -- which is sending the music to the OPPO.

But there's a major difference: In Digital Media Renderer playback it is THE FILE which is being sent to the OPPO. It is the OPPO which is decoding that file and rendering it into the appropriate digital audio stream for sending to the DACs in the 105. So for example, you can play multi-channel files this way.

Contrast with the use of the Asynchronous USB DAC Input, where it is the Computer which is decoding and rendering the file and the resulting, rendered, DIGITAL AUDIO STREAM (*NOT* the original music file) which is being sent into that input and thus straight to the OPPO's DACs.

And that last bit is also an important difference. When using the Asynchronous USB DAC Input, the digital stream goes *STRAIGHT* to the DACs in the OPPO. Thus there is no chance for the OPPO to do any digital audio processing on it before the DACs do their thing.

But when you play *FILES* via a shiny disc, or via a directly attached hard drive, or via an SMB Share, or via a DLNA Server, or pushed to the OPPO by a DLNA Digital Media Controller, it is the OPPO which is decoding and rendering the file -- and thus all of the OPPOs audio processing features are available to adjust that audio before it gets -- as the last step -- sent to the 105's DACs for conversion to Analog output.
--Bob

Originally Posted by Real 

Streaming using JRiver MC to the 105. I have some 24/192 files that play as they should via regular usb hook-up of a hard drive. However, even though I have JRMC set up to output 24/192, 48 kHz is all I get. PC with Windows 7. Does anyone know why it is being down-sampled?

Originally Posted by Bob Pariseau 

I will try very hard to avoid saying words to the effect, "I Told You So!"
--Bob

Originally Posted by Bob Pariseau 

I.......

And THAT is where the Asynchronous USB DAC Input of the 105 comes into play. Because if you run the appropriate USB cable from the Computer to that USB DAC Input of the OPPO, and have the appropriate driver in the computer, the OPPO can REPLACE the sound card in the computer! It is still the computer -- more specifically whatever sound playback program you are running in the computer -- which decodes the music file and renders it into the appropriate digital audio stream. But now instead of sending that to the Computer's own sound card it is, instead, sending that stream out the USB cable to the Asynchronous USB DAC Input of the 105 -- which sends it directly to the fancy DACs in the 105 for conversion to Analog output on the 105's own Analog output jacks.

That connection -- that very special connection for replacing the function of the sound card in the computer -- is limited to 2.0 LPCM 192KHz 24-bit.

......
--Bob

Originally Posted by VRDnhorns 


Great post Bob, now all I need is an Apple DNLA Server for music to an Oppo 105 for Dummies Book. . .

Originally Posted by stevepow 

The only Blu-ray content I have evaluated so far is this sampler / calibration disc - AIX Records - Blu-Ray Audio Calibration Disc and HD Music Sampler - and it sounds wonderful. That and Stones Live at the MAX - pretty great sounding as well.

Originally Posted by Bob Pariseau 

including multi-channel file formats up to 7.1 channels at 192KHz 24-bit.

Originally Posted by jimshowalter 


What formats support 7.1 at 24-bit/192kHz? Blu-ray runs out of steam above 5.1.

Originally Posted by Bob Pariseau 

I didn't want to quote all of your posts, but it looks like you are still getting your head around how the audio works. Not surprising, as it can certainly be confusing.

First off, if you are listening to the Analog outputs of the 105 then you are using the fancy DACs in the 105. Always.

The DACs are "Digital to Analog Converters". Their job is to convert a digital audio stream into Analog audio for output on the Analog audio jacks. No matter HOW you play audio on the 105, if you are listening to its Analog audio output jacks (including the Headphone jack), then you are listening to the output of its fancy DACs.

---

Now, the audio you are trying to play is recorded digitally in one of various file formats. To play audio, the file you select has to be decoded from its file format and "rendered" into a simpler digital audio stream that can be handled by the DACs in the 105. This is where your confusion comes from as there are multiple ways to do that.

The simplest way is to play a shiny disc or select a file off a hard drive directly attached to the OPPO. When you do that it is the *OPPO* which decodes the file format, renders that into the appropriate digital audio stream and directly passes that to its DACs to generate Analog audio output.

The OPPO is capable of playing numerous music file formats this way (but by no means every such file format in existence), including multi-channel file formats up to 7.1 channels at 192KHz 24-bit.

Directly attached hard drives are attached using the "normal" USB sockets of the 105 -- not the special, Asynchronous USB DAC Input.

---

Another way would be to play the file on your computer -- as for output to speakers directly attached to the computer.

When you do that is it the *COMPUTER* which decodes the file format, renders that into the appropriate digital audio stream and directly passes that to ITS OWN DACS -- DACS in the sound card in the computer -- to generate Analog audio output to the speakers attached to the computer.

But as you can imagine, many people are not satisfied with the quality of the audio when they do that. No matter how good a program they use in the computer to decode and render the audio file, they are limited by the quality of the analog output stage of the computer's own sound card -- the DACs installed in the computer.

And THAT is where the Asynchronous USB DAC Input of the 105 comes into play. Because if you run the appropriate USB cable from the Computer to that USB DAC Input of the OPPO, and have the appropriate driver in the computer, the OPPO can REPLACE the sound card in the computer! It is still the computer -- more specifically whatever sound playback program you are running in the computer -- which decodes the music file and renders it into the appropriate digital audio stream. But now instead of sending that to the Computer's own sound card it is, instead, sending that stream out the USB cable to the Asynchronous USB DAC Input of the 105 -- which sends it directly to the fancy DACs in the 105 for conversion to Analog output on the 105's own Analog output jacks.

That connection -- that very special connection for replacing the function of the sound card in the computer -- is limited to 2.0 LPCM 192KHz 24-bit.

That is, even if the computer software was capable of playing a multi-channel audio file (decoding it and rendering it into more than 2.0 channels of digital audio) -- the Asynchronous USB DAC Input of the OPPO can still only accept 2.0 LPCM input. The OPPO can replace a STEREO sound card in the computer but not a multi-channel sound card.

So if you want to play multi-channel audio, you DON'T DO IT THIS WAY! Instead you get your audio into a music file format the OPPO knows how to decode and you get the FILE into the OPPO -- not a digital audio stream already rendered by some music playing software on your computer.

---

SO, perhaps it is not convenient to get your music files onto a shiny disc or onto a directly attached hard drive. And perhaps you need to include the flexibility to play multi-channel audio.

In that case you need to explore the in-house, network playback options in the 105.

These come in THREE flavors:

1) The 105 can access "SMB Shares" which you set up on a server on your in-house network. Once connected to the SMB Share (over your house network), the OPPO lets you browse it and playback files from it basically the same way as if it were a directly attached hard drive.

2) The 105 can access files offered up by a "DLNA Server". A DLNA Server -- software that runs on a file server on your network -- presents music files in a somewhat trickier fashion. That's because the typical DLNA server can be configured to understand what the OPPO can decode, and can "transcode" other music file formats into something the OPPO can handle. There are other services that DLNA servers provide such as formatting/sorting your file lists and presenting additional meta-data to the OPPO such as album art. There are lots of different DLNA server programs out there -- some free, others you buy -- and all of them will have a learning curve in terms of how you install them and configure them for most convenient use. But the actual playback of music is very similar to playing files from a directly attached hard drive. You browse the files using the OPPO's own, on-screen browser, and select which file you want to play next.

3) The 105 can ALSO serve as a "DLNA Digital Media Renderer". Again this involves a "DLNA Server" set up on some file server on your house network. But this time it is the DLNA server that finds the OPPO and *SENDS* files to it to play! Note the difference from attached hard drive playback or (1) and (2) above: You no longer use the browser in the OPPO to find the files you want to play. Instead you use the facilities of the DLNA server itself to select files for playback which get SENT to the OPPO. The piece of the DLNA server that lets you do this is called a "DLNA Digital Media Controller", and the latest advance in such stuff is Digital Media Controllers that let you use a separate device for doing the control -- such as an Apple iPad.

You'd be forgiven for thinking that (3) -- Digital Media Render playback -- is the same thing as using the Asynchronous USB DAC Input, which is where we began above. Once again it is the computer (or a separate device like the iPad) which is being used to select the file to play, and the computer -- or the DLNA Digital Media Controller, to be precise -- which is sending the music to the OPPO.

But there's a major difference: In Digital Media Renderer playback it is THE FILE which is being sent to the OPPO. It is the OPPO which is decoding that file and rendering it into the appropriate digital audio stream for sending to the DACs in the 105. So for example, you can play multi-channel files this way.

Contrast with the use of the Asynchronous USB DAC Input, where it is the Computer which is decoding and rendering the file and the resulting, rendered, DIGITAL AUDIO STREAM (*NOT* the original music file) which is being sent into that input and thus straight to the OPPO's DACs.

And that last bit is also an important difference. When using the Asynchronous USB DAC Input, the digital stream goes *STRAIGHT* to the DACs in the OPPO. Thus there is no chance for the OPPO to do any digital audio processing on it before the DACs do their thing.

But when you play *FILES* via a shiny disc, or via a directly attached hard drive, or via an SMB Share, or via a DLNA Server, or pushed to the OPPO by a DLNA Digital Media Controller, it is the OPPO which is decoding and rendering the file -- and thus all of the OPPOs audio processing features are available to adjust that audio before it gets -- as the last step -- sent to the 105's DACs for conversion to Analog output.
--Bob

Originally Posted by Bob Pariseau 

....
And here's another possibility: Cable HDMI 1 *AND* HDMI 2 to the Receiver, and cable the Receiver to the TV.

For "normal" use select the input on the AVR which comes from HDMI 1. Since the input coming from HDMI 2 is not selected, that cable is not "live" and thus the Split A/V vs. Dual Display setting in the OPPO is ignored. Best video and audio goes over HDMI 1 and HDMI 2 is not used.
--Bob

Originally Posted by Bob Pariseau 

Good catch.

That's correct. 7.1 is limited to 96KHz 24-bit. 5.1 can carry 192KHz 24-bit. That should have read up to 7.1 channels at up to 192KHz and up to 24-bit.
--Bob

Originally Posted by stevepow 

Some AVRs apparently keep both HDMI 1&2 active even when only one is selected. That's the behavior of my Marantz AV7701 Pre - I run Split A/V (HDMI1 to "Blu-ray" input and HDMI2 to "DVD" input) and only select the 7.1 audio inputs on the Marantz for the Blu-ray/HDMI1 input - if I select HDMI for the audio input over HDMI1, I get no sound. I only get sound over HDMI from HDMI2. If I switch to Dual Mode, I can get sound over HDMI from either input.

. . . .

Steve

Originally Posted by stevepow 

And my ears can probably only process 32KHz / 24-bit these days. Who am I kidding...144dB of dynamic range? I'm probably doing good to appreciate well done 32/16.

Originally Posted by Torqdog 

It's quite alright and I'm quite capable of admitting I was wrong. I just wish there was someway to always watch with "placebo-vision". LOL

Originally Posted by nycjazz 

Lip Sync issues again! I just put the latest firmware one hour ago and the issue is still there. Everything starts fine and then after a while it gets out of sync. I switch channels and it corrects itself and then it happens again. I've never had this problem before.

Originally Posted by nycjazz 

Anybody?

Originally Posted by audiofan1 

I'll bite did you take the Red Mere's out the system?