More > JRiver Media Center 23 for Windows
Request change in handling of multi-channel
tbng:
I need to clarify a point that I think is being missed.
JRiver will play a two-channel recording just fine using a 5.1 output configuration BUT ONLY IN STEREO. I do not want to listen to two-channel recordings merely in stereo but want to engage DSP processing to create virtual surround. To do that, the processor must see a two-channel input. If the processor sees a 5.1 input, even if three of the channels contain zero data, it will assume discrete multi-channel input and not engage applicable DSP processing.
These are facts that I know about JRiver after a year or more of trying:
1. Configured with "source number of channels," JRiver cannot and will not playback a multi-channel source but demand that the user change to a two-channel output configuration to continue. The name implies that it functions as an automatic channel selection setting, but it does not.
2. JRiver can and does permit configuration of a zone that outputs a two-channel signal that works exactly as I want it.
3. JRiver can and does permit configuration of a zone that outputs a multi-channel signal that works exactly as I want it.
4. JRiver cannot and does not provide a means to switch automatically between the functions described in 2 and 3. Rather, it is incumbent on the user to switch zones manually prior to playback. This is what I want to change.
P.S. In both zone configurations, the output device used in my JRiver setup is "HD621 (Intel(R) Display Audio [WASPI]". "HD621" refers to a Meridian HD621 HDMI interface that acts as the DAC in this case, although it sends the signal still in digital format to a Meridian 861V8 where the actual D-to-A conversion is accomplished.
Hendrik:
"Source Number of Channels" functions just like you want it to - unless your device doesn't actually accept the number of channels you are trying to send it - in which case you are given an option to configure a different number of channels to mix to.
kr4:
--- Quote from: Hendrik on February 08, 2018, 08:07:22 am ---"Source Number of Channels" functions just like you want it to - unless your device doesn't actually accept the number of channels you are trying to send it - in which case you are given an option to configure a different number of channels to mix to.
--- End quote ---
That is not entirely so. The number of channels is not the same as the mapping of channels. If one uses "Source Number of Channels" with a 4.0 source and outputs it to an 8 channel DAC, the output is LF/RF/LS/RS (without space holders for the missing Ctr/Sub channels). As a result, the hard-wired connections from the DAC send the LF/RF to the correct amp/speakers but the LS/RS to the Center and Subwoofer speakers. If one chooses "5.1" as an output format, MC inserts silent Ctr/Sub outputs in the appropriate place and playback is as expected.
"Source Number of Channels" is literally correct but not always appropriate.
Fitzcaraldo215:
--- Quote from: Hendrik on February 08, 2018, 08:07:22 am ---"Source Number of Channels" functions just like you want it to - unless your device doesn't actually accept the number of channels you are trying to send it - in which case you are given an option to configure a different number of channels to mix to.
--- End quote ---
Actually, that is not true. Mch SACDs, for example, exist as both 5.0 and 5.1 mixes. However, the Channel metadata tag value on the disc is either the integer value 5 or 6. But, 6 is not the same as 5.1 and JRiver interprets it as a 6.0 recording with no sub channel, causing the channel misassigment. It redirects the disc sub channel to a different channel also messing up surround/back channel assignments.
I am not blaming JRiver. It is a subtle, inadvertent miscue between metadata standards on the disc and the interpretation by JR. Possibly 6.0 recordings exist, although I have never encountered any. Unfortunately, Source Number of Channels lulls people to sleep thinking they have gotten it right. It seems logical, though it does not work as desired. It took me awhile to discover the problem, because it is not necessarily blatantly obvious in listening to unfamiliar recordings on my 7.1 system. I discovered it only by looking at instantaneous channel output levels using the display in my Exasound driver. My reaction was WTF.
The symptoms might be different on a 5.1 system, such as refusing to play. Others have reported issues due to this in 5.1 systems in this forum. Fortunately, setting the DSP Studio output parameter to 5.1 solves the problem for both 5.0 and 5.1 files.
I just saw Kal's response above, also. Thanks, Kal, for an even more detailed explanation.
Ashfall:
--- Quote from: kr4 on February 08, 2018, 09:26:37 am ---That is not entirely so. The number of channels is not the same as the mapping of channels. If one uses "Source Number of Channels" with a 4.0 source and outputs it to an 8 channel DAC, the output is LF/RF/LS/RS (without space holders for the missing Ctr/Sub channels). As a result, the hard-wired connections from the DAC send the LF/RF to the correct amp/speakers but the LS/RS to the Center and Subwoofer speakers. If one chooses "5.1" as an output format, MC inserts silent Ctr/Sub outputs in the appropriate place and playback is as expected.
"Source Number of Channels" is literally correct but not always appropriate.
--- End quote ---
--- Quote from: Fitzcaraldo215 on February 08, 2018, 09:43:44 am ---Actually, that is not true. Mch SACDs, for example, exist as both 5.0 and 5.1 mixes. However, the Channel metadata tag value on the disc is either the integer value 5 or 6. But, 6 is not the same as 5.1 and JRiver interprets it as a 6.0 recording with no sub channel, causing the channel misassigment. It redirects the disc sub channel to a different channel also messing up surround/back channel assignments.
The symptoms might be different on a 5.1 system, such as refusing to play. Others have reported issues due to this in 5.1 systems in this forum. Fortunately, setting the DSP Studio output parameter to 5.1 solves the problem for both 5.0 and 5.1 files.
--- End quote ---
That explains what I've been seeing since forever as well! I never could figure it out and just resorted to using automatic zone switching to send 4.0 and 5.0 audio to a "Quad Audio" zone in a 5.1 wrapper. That causes issues with playlists though.
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