Meridian Unplugged - Powered by MrTechGuy.co.uk Forums Discussion Meridian - Systems Looks like I purchased the HD621 too soon

I am an original buyer of the modified DVDO Edge many years ago. It still works but I wanted all Meridian equipment. When I saw one on eBay for what I thought was a great deal, I purchased it. To my dismay it was defective and I had no recourse but to repair it. That was $750 to replace the board and Marc Koval did the honors. I also want to give a shout out for all my fellow Hitchhikers who helped me through this ordeal with setup etc... especially Ron L...

Now the UHD722 is coming out and with a trade-in of the HD621, I will still have to pay at least $2000 to get it.
I wished I had waited 8 more months.

Now that I have gotten that out of my system. I see in some of the threads that there are other solutions
I just purchased a Sony XBR75 900E and I didn't think to think about whether the HD621 would pass 4K video.

(1) I have an Oppo 103 that can upscale to 4K but it won't play 4K disc. I don't know if it would pass 4K video.
(2) I have a Samsung Ultra HD Blu-ray player K8500 with video and audio out. I did connect the video to the Sony and the audio out to the HD621 and it worked. I had to adjust the lip sync. This is my worse case scenario so far.

So my question is: Will the HD Fury vertex or integral used between the Sony and HD621 with proper cables allow 4K video to pass from the HD621 to the Sony?

I am also open to other fixes.

Regards
Samuel

Hi Samuel,

From my last researches...

4k video can only be sent using HDCP protocol version 2x.
The HD621 uses HDMI 1.3 chips that can handle 4K@30Hz... in theory. But HDMI 1.3 chips use HDCP version 1.x protocol. It can't handshake with 4k video sent with HDCP 2.x
The conclusion is : No 4k video through the HD621.

But there is this HD fury Vertex little box. Its goal is to split the 4k HDMI signal in two :
- one output will give the same 4K signal to feed your 4k tv (if it has HDMI chips with 2.x HDCP)
- the other output will feed the HD621 with a 1080p signal compatible with 1.4 HDMI chips (HDCP 1.x)

As HDMI 1.4 and 1.3 are nearly the same (strictly the same on the audio side, except the Audio Return Channel), it should work.

The previous HD Fury Integral (2016) was able to sent 4K with HDCP 2.x to older devices equipped with HDCP 1.x but Warner and Intel sued the company. (The whole story Here)

The 2017 version of the HD fury integral seems to be 99.99% identical to the 2016 version (in terms of functionalities )
So it may be be possible to put it between your UHD source and your HD621. But you will only get 4K30p as best UHD format.
I know some UHD disks are in 4k@60p. That's a too high bandwidth for the 1.3 HDMI chips.

If your Sony TV is using HDCP 2.x, I think the best option is the Vertex.

Serge.

I think there's a misunderstanding. You won't put a HD Fury between the HD621 and the TV, you will put it before the HD621.

Assuming you have the usual chain: Source -> HD621 -> TV, when you try to set the source to 4k it won't work and tell you that the connected device (the HD621) does not support 4k due to HDCP.

If you insert a HD Fury, so your chain looks like this: Source -> HDFury -> HD621 -> TV, the HDCP problem is eliminated and your source can be set to 4k. The HD621 usually passes this, but some users have experienced video glitches such as color issues in this setup (this is because of the HD621, not the HD Fury). Personally I'd recommend to hook up the source to the HD Fury, use one output into the HD621 for audio and another output into the TV. This is similar to your Samsung player, but both audio and video are sent to both the HD621 and TV. You can safely ignore the video side of things on the HD621 and audio on the TV side.

If you have alot of sources, add a cheap 4k HDMI switch before the HD Fury and use that for switching. You'll only use a single input of the HD621 then.

Gentlemen,

Thank you for the specificity of the information you shared, it was very practical.

I ordered the HD Fury Integral 2017
When I get it installed I will keep you posted on the results.

Regards,
Samuel