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More => Old Versions => JRiver Media Center 21 for Windows => Topic started by: benelevi on May 20, 2016, 09:45:09 am

Title: Help needed with Sound settings for Bluray Movie playback via HDMI 5.1 True HD
Post by: benelevi on May 20, 2016, 09:45:09 am
Hello guys,

I am loving this piece of software and exploring more and more its capabilities,

i am using a HTPC with Intel motherboard and Intel processor Inter True 3D HD  capable,

i have a 5.1 surround sound system using an Arcam AVR 450 HDMI receiver and trying to get the proper settings within the software for best possible sound for Bluray Movie playback,

can anyone please help me proper setup guide to achieve this,

 i really appreciate it in advance,

Thank you,

Best regards,

Levente
Title: Re: Help needed with Sound settings for Bluray Movie playback via HDMI 5.1 True HD
Post by: CountryBumkin on May 20, 2016, 11:18:03 am
I'm certainly not an expert on this - but I suggest you do not use "bitstreaming" which bypasses the JRiver DSP (but makes the AVR's "DTS-HD or TrueHD or whatever lights" turn on).
For movie/video viewing you want to select WASAPI and under Tools>Options>Audio>Audio Device, and for Device Settings use "open device for exclusive access", and Bitdepth to "automatic", then under DSP Studio>Output Format>Channels select "Source number of Channels". Then under Tools>Options>Video, check the box for "VideoClock".
And lastly, in the Windows>Control Panel>Sound, for the "Intel HD Audio", be sure to check at properties>advanced and set to the highest default format and your speaker configuration (5.1, 7.1 etc.).
I can't think of anything else.

Are you playing back from the physical disk or ripping the movie to your HTPC? If ripping, I also check the box for "Volume Leveling" which then requires you to run the "Audio Analysis" tool on your video files.
Title: Re: Help needed with Sound settings for Bluray Movie playback via HDMI 5.1 True HD
Post by: benelevi on May 20, 2016, 01:26:14 pm
I rip all the blurry to the htpc but i don't touch the the source i am just taking out the extra language sound and extra menu's that i am not using , keeping just the main movie, doing all this with DVDFAB,

i tied your suggestion but if i don't use HDMI Bitstreaming than i don't get out the True Master HD sound, its only Digital PCM sound,

windows configuration is all done properly, all other settings i had also as you recommended,

Thank you,

Regards,

Levente


Title: Re: Help needed with Sound settings for Bluray Movie playback via HDMI 5.1 True HD
Post by: CountryBumkin on May 20, 2016, 02:41:40 pm
You are still getting the True Master HD sound when you don't send bitstream. When you send bitstream to your AVR, the light on front turns on and says it received a TrueHD source (or whatever it its) then the AVR decodes it into PCM to play. When you don't bitstream, JRIver program decodes the TrueHD internally and turns it into PCM then sends it to the AVR as a PCM source to play (the AVR will say MutliChannel PCM (if it has a display). So either way the source is turned into PCM.
At the speakers, the sound is the same (except for any "Digital Signal Processing" you may apply within the JRiver program).

But if you don't let JRiver do the decoding, then you can't apply the neat DSP features JRiver has to offer like "VideoClock" and "Volume Leveling", "Room Correction",  and internal volume control, etc..
VideoClock is especially helpful to synchronize the audio and video on movies.

Search on the word Bitstreaming for more info, and/or see this http://wiki.jriver.com/index.php/Audio_Connection_Type
Title: Re: Help needed with Sound settings for Bluray Movie playback via HDMI 5.1 True HD
Post by: tzr916 on May 21, 2016, 08:30:26 am
But if you don't let JRiver do the decoding, then you can't apply the neat DSP features JRiver has to offer like "VideoClock" and "Volume Leveling", "Room Correction",  and internal volume control, etc..
VideoClock is especially helpful to synchronize the audio and video on movies.

Check your AVR documentation. On some AVR's if you don't use bitstreaming then you cannot take advantage of the "neat DSP features" in the AVR like Audyssey DSX, LFC, MultEQ XT, Dynamic EQ, and Dynamic Volume. I'd rather not get into any arguments on EQ filter resolution but I have always been in the bitstreaming camp (using the AVR's DSP). Although, I have never actually done a "side by side" test of MC's DSP vs my AVR's DSP.
Title: Re: Help needed with Sound settings for Bluray Movie playback via HDMI 5.1 True HD
Post by: Fitzcaraldo215 on May 22, 2016, 02:28:55 pm
Check your AVR documentation. On some AVR's if you don't use bitstreaming then you cannot take advantage of the "neat DSP features" in the AVR like Audyssey DSX, LFC, MultEQ XT, Dynamic EQ, and Dynamic Volume. I'd rather not get into any arguments on EQ filter resolution but I have always been in the bitstreaming camp (using the AVR's DSP). Although, I have never actually done a "side by side" test of MC's DSP vs my AVR's DSP.

I have not seen or heard of that restriction on any AVR or prepro.  All the ones I am familiar can apply their DSP functionality to an LPCM Mch input signal via HDMI, which is what you get if you turn bitstreaming off in JRiver.

In some rare cases, old BDs, especially stereo-only ones, have only LPCM soundtracks, no DTS HDMA, Dolby THD or compressed codecs at all.  Yet, AVRs and prepros handle that with their full DSP functionality.
Title: Re: Help needed with Sound settings for Bluray Movie playback via HDMI 5.1 True HD
Post by: tzr916 on May 22, 2016, 03:51:52 pm
You may be correct on that. But if I go through the trouble of performing a multi-point Audyssey microphone room calibration to get a flat EQ curve, I don't see any good reason to introduce MC's processing into the mix. I trust a microphone room calibration more than my ears  ;D
Title: Re: Help needed with Sound settings for Bluray Movie playback via HDMI 5.1 True HD
Post by: Fitzcaraldo215 on May 22, 2016, 05:03:39 pm
You may be correct on that. But if I go through the trouble of performing a multi-point Audyssey microphone room calibration to get a flat EQ curve, I don't see any good reason to introduce MC's processing into the mix. I trust a microphone room calibration more than my ears  ;D

That is fine.  You should not have to recalibrate Audyssey or use JRiver instead for DSP functions like speaker distance or bass management via turning bitstream off and using LPCM input from JRiver. Your settings in your processor should be unchanged.
Title: Re: Help needed with Sound settings for Bluray Movie playback via HDMI 5.1 True HD
Post by: CountryBumkin on May 22, 2016, 05:25:05 pm
Same with my Denon X4200W and with my previous Onkyo AVR.
I do the speaker/room calibration with the Denon (i.e. Audyssey) and that continues to work/apply even though I don't send bitstream from MC. This way I can use the JRiver "VideoClock" and "Volume Leveling" features. I don't give up anything (except seeing the DTS-HD light).