[MarkHotchkiss]

Quote:

'. . . but the video processing capability (deinterlacing, scaling, noise reduction, etc) of the current gen of Sigma SOC in the Dune (and other players like the HD300) isn't nearly as good as what you can get from a HTPC.'

I would agree with this, taking into account "can". The Sigma's post-processing is very good, but if you really know what you are doing and are willing to spend the money, you can do better with a HTPC. The 'tweakability' of the HTPC is one of its strengths. But i wouldn't bother, as the Dune would be painless.

 

[Killroy]

The thing about HTPCs is that you will have to spend hours upon hours tweaking them to get anywhere near as good PQ as the Dunes. Even then you might not come close if your hardware is not perfect. I hated all the work of the HTPC.


With the Dunes you just plug-in & play and its perfect.

 

[pacemaker]

at the moment i cannot get dolby trueHD from the HTPC

am i right in thinking the dune will do this and output it in 5.1 to connect to my amps analogue inputs

also what about aac? does it decode an aac encoded 5.1 and ouput that too or does it just output stereo?


i agree with the whole htpc thing i have spent weeks on it

 

[Killroy]

I have a few aac 5.1 files and they seem to play fine.

 

[TODDAVS]



Quote:
Originally Posted by dbone1026 /forum/post/20669992


Correct, cinavia is embedded in the audio track. WHat I meant is I wonder if the hack that DVDFab uses for BluRay folder rips and the PS3 would somehow also work for other containers such as mkv.

Sorry I did misunderstand. Do you know anyone who uses DVDFAB? Is the solution a part of Passkey or BlueRay Ripper or do you need both from them? If it's just in passkey, then I would think it works for whatever software you are ripping with.


Anyone?

 

[TODDAVS]

Has anyone had Heat related issues installing a green drive in a Smart Player? Any experience that suggests the H1 any better from a heat standpoint?


Any knowledge on which 3 TB drives runs the coolest?


Looks like I will be working out of town for a while, and would be cool to have a portable device that I can carry a substantial part of my collection on.

 

[jconjason]



Quote:
Originally Posted by TODDAVS /forum/post/0


Has anyone had Heat related issues installing a green drive in a Smart Player? Any experience that suggests the H1 any better from a heat standpoint?


Any knowledge on which 3 TB drives runs the coolest?


Looks like I will be working out of town for a while, and would be cool to have a portable device that I can carry a substantial part of my collection on.

I use a wd green 2tb in my smart D1, no heat issues at all. That's why I chose the green drive, they run cooler.

 

[TODDAVS]

So I was talking with someone today about Cinevia specific to Dune players and learned a few things.

The 8642 chip is specific to players that have a factory mounted optical player, and the 8642/8643 chip is players that are streamers only.

The license addresses both optical media playback and BD Java. While sigma chips are required to support Cinevia, it is up to each firmware writer to comply with their specfic licensing requirements for their device.

What was not clear is when/if the licensing requires Cinevia if it will be for optical playback only or if it will address BD Java.

1. If it is specific to optical playback, it would not make sense to implement on a streamer only device, so it could possilby only affect a 8642 chip. The 8642/8643 machines would be unaffected. If it is a requirement for BD Java, then it may be more difficult.

2. If/when implemented it would probably not require activation retroactively on devices manufacturered prior to changes in the licensing. Possilbly only the 8910 chip?


The whole discussion was speculative, so dont take anythign as fact, but since its on everyone's mind lately I thought I'd share the discussion.

 

[replayrob]

Just for clarity.... ( http://www.sigmadesigns.com/uploads/...SMP8640_br.pdf )

There is a Sigma Designs SMP8642 Media Processor IC

There is a Sigma Designs SMP8643 Media Processor IC

There is no Sigma Designs 8642/8643 Media Processor IC

Your Dune Smart Series media player has either a SMP8642 or a SMP8643.


Dune lists the Smart B1 player as using "The newest Sigma Designs 8642 media processor"

Dune unfortunately lists the Smart D1 and H1 series as using "The newest Sigma Designs 8642/8643 media processor" which doesn't actually tell you which chip is in that actual player.


Since I had to partially dissemble my new D1 this morning to install the internal USB drive in it- I pulled the main-board too. My Smart D1 uses the SMP8643 media processor.


According to Sigma Designs: http://www.sigmadesigns.com/uploads/...SMP8640_br.pdf

SMP8642 has Macrovision support

SMP8643 is "Non-Macrovision Version" of the SMP8642

 

[TODDAVS]



Quote:
Originally Posted by replayrob /forum/post/0


Just for clarity.... ( http://www.sigmadesigns.com/uploads/...SMP8640_br.pdf )

There is a Sigma Designs SMP8642 Media Processor IC

There is a Sigma Designs SMP8643 Media Processor IC

There is no Sigma Designs 8642/8643 Media Processor IC

Your Dune Smart Series media player has either a SMP8642 or a SMP8643.


Dune lists the Smart B1 player as using "The newest Sigma Designs 8642 media processor"

Dune unfortunately lists the Smart D1 and H1 series as using "The newest Sigma Designs 8642/8643 media processor" which doesn't actually tell you which chip is in that actual player.


Since I had to partially dissemble my new D1 this morning to install the internal USB drive in it- I pulled the main-board too. My Smart D1 uses the SMP8643 media processor.


According to Sigma Designs: http://www.sigmadesigns.com/uploads/...SMP8640_br.pdf

SMP8642 has Macrovision support

SMP8643 is "Non-Macrovision Version" of the SMP8642

This would line up with what I heard. Macrovision is needed for optical playback but not streaming. So its possible they will only have to implement cinevia on the 8642 chip if/when they are forced to.


Thanks, i couldnt find the 8643 on their website and saw the 8642/8643 reference for the D1 and H1.

 

[replayrob]



Quote:
Originally Posted by TODDAVS /forum/post/20673427


This would line up with what I heard. Macrovision is needed for optical playback but not streaming. So its possible they will only have to implement cinevia on the 8642 chip if/when they are forced to.

Yeah, this whole Cinevia matter is clear as mud

How do they address Cinevia on the Smart D1 or H1 if you use the Dune BD expansion module to play commercial BD ROM movies, etc?

Seems nothing's simple anymore....

 

[Moggie]

Personally I think Cinavia DRM is misplaced and ultimately will fail. As an owner of all the movies I've ripped, this post from another forum sums up my feelings very well:

Quote:

It is like typical DRM. The pirates will find a way around it and the honest consumer is the one who pays the price. I remember when Avatar first came out on BluRay. It had a new DRM scheme that many of the Blu-ray players could not handle. The DRM scheme was cracked within a day of release, but it took days/weeks for the Blu-ray player manufacturers to update the fw of their players so that people who actually purchased/owned the disk could actually play back.

Will it be worked around? Here is a confident post by a Slysoft developer:

http://forum.slysoft.com/showpost.ph...&postcount=624


By the time I need to upgrade my h/w I'm sure it will be a non issue.

 

[madpoet]

That was a year ago

 

[Hyrax]

I've been looking for a new Blu-Ray player and came across this interesting article:
http://www.hometheaterhifi.com/techn...roduction.html


Those who are interested should read the whole article, but the following sums it up:
Quote:

As no consumer display can handle the YCbCr 4:2:0 data that is stored on a Blu-ray disc, they must first be converted to another color space. The color spaces that you will see on consumer equipment are 4:2:2, 4:4:4, and RGB. While in theory this should be a conversion that everyone should do correctly, there is the ability to make a mistake and have data remap incorrectly in the process. ... While ideally every component would be able to handle 4:2:2, 4:4:4 and RGB without issue, some components cannot and lose color data or resolution along the way.

They continue to show that the Oppo 93 does a nearly perfect job of handling the color space conversion, and show that other Blu-Ray players do not. I'm wondering if this (color space handling errors) could be the reason that some think the Oppo video output looks better than the Dune's.

 

[pacemaker]

can someone say how this compares to a HTPC using MPC and MadVR say for sd content and streaming avi's?


i am aware BD stuff will be compatible and on that should i get the Max or stick with the PS3 for disc playback and get the B1?


although i like the idea of having it all in one plus if i am correct will also get hd audio with the Max and be able to output it in analogue striaght to my non HD amp


thanks

 

[TODDAVS]



Quote:
Originally Posted by Moggie /forum/post/20673745


Personally I think Cinavia DRM is misplaced and ultimately will fail. As an owner of all the movies I've ripped, this post from another forum sums up my feelings very well:




Will it be worked around? Here is a confident post by a Slysoft developer:

http://forum.slysoft.com/showpost.ph...&postcount=624


By the time I need to upgrade my h/w I'm sure it will be a non issue.

There is a 1500 post long thread about Cinevia at Slysoft. I have not read it all

. However, every comment I have seen from Slysoft in that thread is more along the lines of "that won't work" so I don't think their confidence is that high right now or at least they are struggling. This thing has been around over a year now and no one has come up with a solution yet, possibly because it's on so few players and movies it's a minor nuisance.


I too believe there will be a way around it, but this is more on faith than anything else and I'm guessing it will be a firmware hack, or software trick when the disc is ripped. I'm not an audio engineer by any stretch, but logically from what little I know, I can't see how they can strip part of the analog audio from the stream without substantially affecting the quality.

 

[TODDAVS]



Quote:
Originally Posted by replayrob /forum/post/20673521


Yeah, this whole Cinevia matter is clear as mud

How do they address Cinevia on the Smart D1 or H1 if you use the Dune BD expansion module to play commercial BD ROM movies, etc?

Seems nothing's simple anymore....

Again, all speculation, but if the chip that is installed on the D1/H1 can't read an optical disc due to macrovision limitations, then it Cinevia shouldn't have to be enabled unless the license is tied to BD Java. What hardware handles Macrovision support in the expansion module? Maybe it is enabled there?

 

[Moggie]



Quote:
Originally Posted by TODDAVS /forum/post/20676313


This thing has been around over a year now and no one has come up with a solution yet, possibly because it's on so few players and movies it's a minor nuisance.


I too believe there will be a way around it, but this is more on faith than anything else and I'm guessing it will be a firmware hack, or software trick when the disc is ripped. I'm not an audio engineer by any stretch, but logically from what little I know, I can't see how they can strip part of the analog audio from the stream without substantially affecting the quality.

Your first point is precisely my thoughts. This is not a big enough issue now so will take a back seat for folks like the SlyFox developers. If it effected every title (like Blu-Ray encryption) then the stakes are higher and so is the motivation. If history has taught us one thing it is that if there is a will there is a way. I'm not audio engineer either, but if a watermark can be added to an audio track without affecting quality, then it can also be taken away without affecting quality, don't you think?

 

[sukumar]

Is there anyway I can make Dune player remember the stop position on the blu-ray movie? It is starting from beginning.


Is it possible Dune to remember multiple movie stopped positions?

 

[TODDAVS]



Quote:
Originally Posted by sukumar /forum/post/0


Is there anyway I can make Dune player remember the stop position on the blu-ray movie? It is starting from beginning.


Is it possible Dune to remember multiple movie stopped positions?

It works for DVD's and video files of about any type. I couldn't tell you how many deep it remenbers, but it seems to be a lot.


BD images and folder rips arent workng yet, but imagine it will be fixed in an update eventually.