Meridian Unplugged - Powered by MrTechGuy.co.uk Forums Discussion Meridian - Systems Does anyone know of a high res audio format to PCM converter over HDMI?

Given that we will see more and more sources, some of which will decode to PCM and some of which will not, I tried to look for a device that would decode DTS MA and Dolby THD to PCM and then pass it along over HDMI. So far I have not found anything. Does anyone know of a product that would achieve this?

What's wrong with what's in the player?

There are many streamers that do not decode to PCM. I think the age of disc spinners is past its peak and now we are into the age of streamers.

I see.

Hmm, do you think so?
I just read this morning that the launch of Avatar also marked it as the first time in history that the amount of DVD-players sold was outnumbered by the amount of Blu-ray players sold in the US. (source: HighDefDigest.com) This makes me believe that the age of (Blu-ray) disc spinners is not past its peak yet...

My one of my fondest wishes is that Sonos builds a "XP" model that decodes 24bit high bitrate FLAC files and sends them via PCM to the HD621 through HDMI (perhaps with cover art as video?). This may or may not ever happen. But I have 800+ CDs in 16bit and only about 35 DVDA's and SACD's ....

The Sonos is obviously superior in regards with GUI but the Dune Player 3.0 can decode to PCM and play the high bitrate stuff. Only SACD remains the outlier. I agree spinners are dead. Except for the extreme high end (808+).

The base dune player model is currently $350. I think I will buy one soon. I will predict the GUI will really suck (hey I used to own 4 Roku HD1000's ...)but will correctly play all of my high res DVDA rips (and quad conversions too)

to Mr. Gekke's post - I think this is true of audio. High Quality Video will remain spinnerific for the time being....
-MJT

The new SB Touch does 24/96 via coax. Should have one in a few days.

I received my SB Touch on Saturday and can confirm it plays 96k FLAC as promised via coax. Even though I use the ipeng app on my iPhone and iPad I have to say that having the touch screen at the stereo is a nice feature to have. The big display with album cover and VU meters etc is nice.

Stay on topic. SB Touch has nothing to do with High-Res multichannel HDMI decoders (e.g. DTS-MA & TrueHD) .

I'm not saying spinners are dead- but I believe they are on the decline and will continue to do so- that one type (BR) has surpassed another type (DVD) is an interesting milestone.

Its a shame it seems no one makes such a device.

If the spinners do decline (and there's not much evidence of that at the HD end) won't streamers emerge (e.g. Dune Prime) that will do all the decoding?

Personally, while I never spin a CD these days, I think I will be relying on my BR discs for a quite a few years. Average internet speeds (at least in the UK) make downloading hi-res material impractical. I could buy the movie on disk and transfer it to a server but I'm not sure I see the point - there are very few films I want to watch more than once a year.

Cliff

Right- but the point here isnt really to argue whether spinners are declining- which I still think they are- but rather to ask if anyone is building such a device. Some streamers will decode- others wont- Ive always thought the lack of decoding in the HD621 to be a shame.