Dune Max HD 3D at CES - Page 3

Thanks for the updated information, So this kinda rules out 10bit anime files as the doubt the 1.2Ghz ce line is fast enough for it by itself, I have been looking for something that works with anime files but nothing good yet, Wonder if intel finally fixed the HD audio issue that boxee had, will be interesting to see how it performs when it comes to light, Strangely I thought Intel abandoned the whole CE line,

Please, please, tell me that this thing has rar-support, just as xbmc?

What exactly does rar-support mean? Something like this?

yes that is what rar support means, Its playing video straight out of a rar files, rather then unpacking then playing it

Why would one do this? I was always assuming that the current video codecs are using disk space efficiently, so that ZIP and RAR can at best squeeze it to save few percent of disk space. Am I mistaken here?

Markus

My guess for folks who are downloading content (which is many times in RAR files). Only reason I could think?

Well, you buy it, you hook up the cables and start watching stuff. That's the difference from a HTPC.

HDMI can't pass 4:2:0.

So what does they mean by NATIVE VIDEO ? native resolution without upscaling ?

i think yes, so in reality this should be "source direct".

I just ditched my dune for htpc + xbmc to. Set mine up and am very pleased.

If this all turns out to be true it will be incredible. Mainly because it can do full 3d and full menus, and run xbmc. (although i quit menus due to the amazing amount of space I saved running main movies only in xbmc).

I honestly am not sure if i believe it, but I hope it comes to light.

I wonder if source direct is not disable upscaling.

This is currently ready to go in xbmc builds, but bickering among the creator and xbmc team has prevented it from being added at the moment.


Honestly this sounds like xbmc with an external player (I do this for 3d movies with tmt, i have also setup an mce remote control tmt and xbmc so it can be done), but I hope im wrong, if it works right it will be fantastic.

But on second thought, how are they going to get disable upscaling working without supposedly using xbmc own player?

If this all works and they pull it off it will be nothing short of amazing, but i am skeptical.

Is this confirmed they will in no way use xbmc own player for anything?
Edited by Murilo - 1/14/13 at 5:45am

They have to be relying on the underlying hardware to handle decode/VP, so its capability (or lack thereof) is more interesting than the exact implementation. I don't think that an external player is required because they will own the box and can make changes to XBMC to support their specific use cases.

I think that's probably best, Dune has a history of showing things that take a long time to (or never) come to market. When I stopped by the booth they wouldn't let me take pictures of the hardware, or examine it in any detail (I didn't actually see the box, but my colleague did). That said, I am very interested in what they are doing here and glad to see that they are innovating around Sigma Design's inability to deliver - hopefully their previous road-map shortcomings were a product of that relationship and now that they have shifted we will see awesome players that give us everything we want.

In fact HDMI can pass up to YCbCr 4:4:4, 8–16 bits per component. The color spaces that can be used by HDMI are ITU-R BT.601, ITU-R BT.709-5 and IEC 61966-2-4, a.k.a. x.v.Color.

I didn't say that it couldn't pass 4:4:4, just that it can't pass 4:2:0 (the native format for most video at rest).

4:2:0 content must be upscaled to 4:2:2 (YUV) or 4:4:4 (YUV/RGB) before transport on HDMI.

The only other thing that would prevent me from dropping my htpc if this does indeed deliver is if it does not comes with all the bells and whistles xbmc does. I can easily airplay to xbmc which is great, the xbmc remote apps on my ipad mini are unrivaled for control when it comes to fanart, info, movie playback control. I also like in the xbmc player gui while watching a movie, you can hit info and bring up a list of actors, artwork, synopsis, and before the movie I simply hit up twice if i want to watch a trailer for it.

If they can incorporate the entire xbmc theme look and feel, while simply integrating a more powerful player that can do full frame packed 3, and menus if i ever need them for a disc, then they will have my money.

Not to mention if they can include a ton of great apps such as netflix (dont really use it much) ,pandora and other apps which are not htpc friendly , they may bridge the gap and bring the htpc and media streamer market together. Something nobody has done that i know of.

I also hope the hardware can handle a few of the nicer skins. It all sounds to good to be true though.
Edited by Murilo - 1/14/13 at 8:26am

edit double post.

It is preferable they keep it to 4:2:2 vs. 4:4:4. The less they do they better for those of us with upstream video processors. The Lumagen can use 10 bit processing if it gets 4:2:2, but can't if it gets 4:4:4.

If they really want to be heros, put in some hardware that can be HD-SDI modded. Lumagen now offers a HD-SDI input. My old SD-SDI system was flawless. Consult with JVB Digital for the requirements of HD-SDI capture.

Gotcha you. Version 2.0 of HDMI is supposed to pass 4:2:0.

The consumer video is 8 bit so to get to 10 bit means dithering (adds noise) or rounding (causes banding).

I'm just quoting the Lumagen guys. They recommended not sending 4:4:4 if it could be avoided.

Didn't know this. So should I set output dither to 8 bit iinstead of 10 bit n my Radiance ?
Edited by Qualunquemente - 1/15/13 at 5:09am

Sorry, I do not know anything about the Radiance.

I was simply saying that what the consumer gets is 8 bit video (Blu-ray, ATSC broadcast, most DVB-S satellite feeds, DBS, etc.). If that video is converted to 10 bit by any device means dithering (adds noise) or rounding (causes banding). That does not necessarily mean the output of the device will be better if the video was processed with 8 bits rather than 10 bits. It could well be the other way around.

From Darbee: “DARBEE™ DVP™ can accept any color input or bit depth and will output the same.”

Does the unit have 7.1 analog out? The image in the Dune website shows only stereo out, the specs also don't mention it.

Dune people, if your following please include 7.1 analog out!!!

From Dune HD site:
Full Range of A/V Connectors: S/PDIF Optical and Coaxial Audio outputs, Analog Stereo Audio output, HDMI output, Component and Composite Video outputs.

If it says Analog stereo I would gues not, I think they decided that the need for it was so small as most consumers ahve upgraded to HDMI capable AVRs....

I refuse to give up my Denon 5805.

Anyone know if this unit will actually decode 7.1 LPCM?

I have the Dune H1 and it only decodes 5.1

My guess it will since it is supposed to be on the higher premium side, but honestly at this point no sense in speculating since we are probably a good 6+ months away from release

What does this exactly mean? Is the native Dune mediaplayer rendering the video? Or the XMBC?
I sold my Dune and switched to PCH, because of its superior subtitle (ASS) support. XMBC has even better ASS support and for that I would be willing to switch again back to Dune Max 3D.. but I won't switch if I would get back to the crappy ASS support the native dune player offers.

Dune is handling all video playback. XBMC is being used as nothing more then a front end.

Hi Sesshoumaru, The "native" Dune player you had before was based on a Sigma Designs System-on-Chip. The new Max is based on an Intel chip, so I suspect it will have very different flaws than the ones that you have known and not-loved.

But the standards are quite high, if they really want to call this an XBMC machine. So I'm keeping my fingers crossed, but not holding my breath.