Anthem D2/D2v/AVM50/AVM50v/ARC1 tweaking guide - Page 56

I'm glad I didn't know about the Zoom function, I had been doing it that way all along

Hi,

According to your technical experience, do you think the AVM50 will be able to support HDMI 1.3 (via Hardware upgrade).

I know this standard will require a huge amount of horsepower / bandwidth and I'm afraid the AVM50 (D2's little brother) wont be upgradable. I assume that one day the basic concept of the AVM Serie will be an obstacle.

I'm about to buy the new AVM50 or the D2 and I'm figthing again myself to choose between the best features (D2), money (AVM50) and RealWord...

Regards,
FRED

Yes it will be
But not for at least 2 to 3 years
1.3 was just finalized
It took MFG 4 years to start use HDMI,
Plus nothing can support 1.3 at this time, none of the TV/PJ will be able to support 1.3 for a long time (don't forget nothing is made for anything above 12 bit color depths at this time on the market).
So IMHA 1.1 is all you need for at least next 2 to 3 years

1.3 on some devices, such a HD DVD players, will be here a lot sooner than you expect. Like in a month or two!


http://www.twice.com/article/CA6372424.html


"Toshiba Shows Next-Gen HD DVD Players

By Greg Tarr -- TWICE, 9/15/2006 6:10:00 AM

Denver Nearly six months into the launch of HD DVD, Toshiba introduced a pair of next-generation players, including a model that will support 1,080p high-definition video output.

The new models include the new entry HD-A2, shipping in October at a $499 suggested retail, and the new step-up HD-XA2, shipping in December at a $999 suggested retail. Both will offer performance and functionality improvements over the initial HD-A1 and HD-XA2 versions that are now in stores, including improved remote controls.

The flagship HD-XA2 will incorporate the new 1.3 version of the HDMI spec, said Jodi Sally, Toshiba A/V products group marketing VP, and will output high-definition in all major formats including 1,920 by 1,080p. Toshiba will use the capability to support the company's growing assortment of native 1,080p video displays, and to answer competitors planning to launch Blu-ray Disc players with full 1,080p output later in the fall.

The XA2 will also add 12-bit video DACs with 4x over-sampling at 297MHz, bi-directional RS-232, adjustable picture setting function and a more compact brushed aluminum housing than the first generation.

Both players will also include out-of-the-box support for the Dolby TruHD 5.1 audio format a feature that was also recently added to the first-generation players through a firmware update.

The entry HD-A2 model features a slimmer cabinet design, and will output HD content in either the 720p or 1,080i picture formats.

Toshiba also brought to CEDIA its HD DVD Mobile Experience 18-wheel truck, offering demonstrations of HD DVD players and various Toshiba high-definition video displays. In includes various Mark Levinson audio components and Microsoft HD DVD products.

The truck will be taken on a tour of more than 10 major cities across the nation between now and the end of January."


http://www.audioholics.com/cedia/ced...HDXA2HDDVD.php

"The new high end Toshiba HD-XA2 HD DVD player is designed to output 1920 x 1080p via HDMI version 1.3, adding support for Deep Color technology. The HD-XA2 also incorporates a 297MHz / 12 bit Video DAC with high-quality, 4x oversampling for increased bandwidth of HD picture playback. The HD-XA2 comes with a picture setting function allowing customers to optimize picture quality with user adjustable settings for color, contrast, brightness, edge enhancement and block noise, among others. The new HD-XA2 HD DVD player's 1080p output capability also complements Toshiba's new Cinema Series Pro LCD TVs which provide true HD 1080p input capability via HDMI.

Since the HD-XA2 will be one of the first next generation players to support the "Deep Color" or 36-bit RGB/YCbCr portion of HDMI 1.3 I suppose we shoudl be on the lookout for compatible displays coming from Toshiba next year."

Hello again,
In fact I'm not asking if HDMI 1.3 will come in a month or years but... Is the AVM50 still a good choice if I want to face the future?
The next big step in term of hardware will be according to me HDMI 1.3 but there perhaps more (Room EQ, new Audio format... ) and I don't want to see Anthem upgrade the D2 but not upgrade the AVM because of technical limitation. One day the AVM basic hardware will be a limitation unless they also upgrade this basic hardware... It's exactly like a computer, you can easily change your software, add a new card but as soon as you need extra Flops you need to change the main processor, the mother board, the RAM... and its no more an upgrade but a very different hardware.
I'm afraid of this since even the AVM50 represent an amount of money here and since hardware change very fast I'm wondering if the AVM is still a good choice to face the future. I do love the upgrade policy of Anthem and don't want to be frustrated if only the D2 will get hardware upgrade... (for now Anthem always succeed their hardware upgrade on the AVM so perhaps its not a problem)
Regards
FRED

PS: Forthcoming Sony PlayStation 3 will be an HDMI 1.3 BlueRay player.

So are you saying Anthem wont be adding 1.3 to the D2 anytime soon
If not, why are the holding off so long on the D1 upgrades?

I got a chance to talk to Anthem about the D1/D2 here at Cedia.

1. Upgrades should start happening Q1-Q2 '07
2. If you're having an actual heat problem contact Nick (They acknowlege the issue and have a fix IF you are having an issue)
3. HDMI 1.3 won't be part of D2 model
4. Room correction around Q2 '07. Will include "kit and sw" with mic. Kit will cost $500-$600 and will work with D1 or D2 only. (others don't have the horsepower)
5. No acknowlegement of connector issues

4. took me by surprise. I expected it to always be on the perpetual "list".

I think I forgot a few things, but there you go.

Ken

Thanks Ken

Nice of them to admit there is a heat problem, but dissapointed they did not address the HDMI conectors. I am sure the will be a silent swap out.

With Lumagen offering a 2 HDMI out, use 1 for picture use the other
to route sound into a pre/pro, I might stick with seperates

Any word on a D3?

I just purchased a Tivo Series 3. In the audio section of the S3 you can choose to output Dolby Digital, or it can convert the audio to PCM. The Tivo recommends using DD when using a receiver with a built in decoder. However, I'm still confused on which setting to use. I'm thinking, since my HD-A1 is set to output PCM, shouldn't the Tivo be set the same?

My D2 does get VERY hot. Did they mention what the fix might be? Hardware/firmware/software? I've seen some odd behavior with my HD-A1 whereas i had to reboot the d2. I always figured it was the A1 but wonder if the D2 contributes as well. I wouldnt mind cooling the thing down anyways since my equipment room is getting very toasty since i added the Halo amps in there...

No. Set the Tivo to output DD so the Anthem decodes it. The reason you want the A1 set to PCM is so it can convert the DD+ and TrueHD formats.

Thanks Tom, I appreciate it.

Thanks,
It's now quite clear I will be able face the future with "only" the AVM-50.
Audio will be decoded by the player, I will be vigilent on that point.
Picture is on extra board for the AVM (the same as the D2) so this part could be upgrade in the future... I'm quite confident Anthem will do that right on time... I'll see then, if an upgrade bring me something more with my setup.
Thanks again for this answer.

AVM-50 it will be... I'm already drooling

FRED

I've talked about this in other forums, but to be clear...

As far as HD DVD goes, even with HDMI 1.3, unless the content providers author the soundtracks in the basic format, as opposed to the advanced formats, the decoding for DD+ and THD must happen in the player... so far, all of the studio releases will NOT pass their bitstreams out of the player for DD+ and THD, even with HDMI 1.3.

Do you have it hooked up via hdmi? And, if so, do you have any handshaking issues with the D2? I ask because my S3 is coming from CC on Monday with new Comcast service on Wednesday. I am concerned about setting the S3 to native with constant new handshaking with each resolution change.

Your audio question is the same that I would have. How does the audio sound with DD or PCM?

Maybe ManWithAPlan can chime in as he was supposed to get his S3 and 2 cablecards installed by Friday.

This discussion brings up a question I had the other day in another forum. Can the D2 handle eight channels of PCM over HDMI or is it limited to six? I'm not aware of any 7.1 hi-res software but was wondering what would happen if we ever get 7.1 versions of DD+ or TrueHD.

Greetings,

It is my understanding the HDMI version 1.1 equipped gear can handle up to 8 channels of 96khz PCM. Currently there is no software supporting 7.1 channel sound. The Anthem shouldhave no problem.

Regards,

I realize HDMI 1.1 supports this but that doesn't mean the Anthem supports it, hence the question. A lot (all?) of the newer HDMI 1.2 devices do not appear to support SACD for instance. I don't see anything on the Anthem web page or manual, both could use an update as most of the information is based on the older models.

Yes, I am connected via HDMI. I have the AVM 50, and have not had any handshaking issues, and am using the S3's native video mode. I get a slight screen flicker when changing channels from SD to HD, but never had a problem. The channel changing is slower than the 6412, not a big deal.

I also have Comcast and just retired the 6412. My wife and I are more than pleased with the purchase, well worth it IMHO. I don't know if it's possible, but the audio seems to edge out the 6412, as well as the video.

One issue I've noticed, is sometimes when entering the S3 menu I get that high pitched, half second audio chirp. This may also happen when exiting the menu and watching live TV. I'm not sure why this happens.

No more phantom recordings, lockups and just plain, terrible Motorola software to deal with. I love it.

Cool,
but what is S3 is it a new digital box
I went to comcast to find some info on it and I can't
It almost sounds like its SA8300HD with internet support

The S3 is the new HD Tivo box which works with cable only, it uses two cable cards and can be found here...http://www.tivo.com/2.0.boxdetails.asp?box=series3HDDVR.

I get it
Will this thing work in Canada, does any one know?
So all it gives you more than SA8300HD is Internet support

According to the outcome of the following link, it will work in Canada..http://www.tivocommunity.com/tivo-vb...ghlight=canada


Tivo's S3 will give more than internet support, you get awsome glitch free, easy to use, no headache software. When it comes to DVR's, Tivo has it nailed.

I know some of you would rather see this posted in the Tivo thread, I was going to send a pm, but know a few others here are from Canada, and might find the ability to use Tivo in Canada usefull.

Thank you will look into it,
Sorry LEVESQUE for steeling your tread

I am in contact with SFI re excessive heat on my D2(#5). It seems that this may be related to the video output resolution, cable, display device.

I am running 1360x768 as this is the closest to the native resolution of my plasma (Fujitsu 50 inch). I am using a 10 foot HDMI cable from Blue Jeans (based upon this forum).

Do others have a similar setup? Do you have excessive heat with resultant failure of the setup screen video out? This heat buildup occurs after about 10 minutes of operation in an open room (no enclosure, no stacked equipment). Cooling the D2 down the problem goes away. I also got the D2 hot enough in a more closed environment to result in "shaky" video from an SD SAT broadcast.

Maybe those D2 owners that do not have excessive heat have "lesser" video processing requirements that allow the scaler to not work so hard or are not using HDMI. And thus, the very different experiences you see on this forum regarding heat. Some report their D2 is barely warm while others, like myself, have a "hot" D2. The variation is perhaps not in the units themselves but in the loads imposed.

Have you tried changing you output to another resolution to see if it still gets hot.

It was stated the other day that the heat issue could be fixed by a simple repair, so this seems a little contradictory

There are other considerations that need to be looked at also. While this may seem like a rerun of the Canadian D2 conspericy theory it's really not.

I live in South Florida, room ambient temperatures that we are adjusted to for normal everyday living are 78-80. My cousins who live way way upstate NY very near the Canadian border tell me that they (and a poll of their friends) prefer 65-70 as their year round indoor temperature. Basic thermodynamics....65-70 degree ambient air can remove a lot more heat from a device without mechanical assistance than can 78-80.

My D2 runs very hot here in WPB and has heat stability issues, whereas Al Lev's D2 may not.......in Canada. So, if Anthem wasn't thoroughly considering the ramifications of different environments when they cobbled together the D2, problems could occur.