Meridian Unplugged - Powered by MrTechGuy.co.uk Forums Discussion Meridian - Systems HD621 and 4K

Hi All.

Read some posts but still don't know so here are my two silly questions of the day.

1. I want to use a 4k Firestick to pump 4K through the HD621 to my 4K TV. Will it simply pass through and strip the the audio out as normal?

2. Alternatively, can I put a 4k firestick into my 4k TV and use the ARC return to the HD621 to strip out the audio for my hifi?


Thanks All in advance!

Aidan

Hi,

The HD621 does not support 4K or ARC, Meridian's later HDMI switch the UHD722 does support 4K (not sure about ARC).

I know there are some historic discussions on this topic, but it sounds like you've been reading up on those ... maybe someone here has a better suggestion.

I've got Sky-Q that supports 4K and am thinking of upgrading my 1080p TV this year, so I'm in a similar situation with my HD621.

Regards,
Carl

I don’t believe that either option will work as a result of the HDMI version in use in the HD621.

Personally I use an SPDIF connection for Netflix. It’s far from perfect, but an acceptable solution.
The most viable option I’ve seen is to buy a UHD BD player with two HDMI outputs that has similar streaming options.

I solved a similar issue by using a Fury Vertex HD2

It's taken quite some effort, the purchase of a 2nd hand Logitech Harmony Elite remote control as well, plus the setup of that, but now I've got 3 - 4 sources feeding the Vertex, and that feeds an old plasma and the HD621, which feeds a G68 etc

I can switch between scenarios that I've set up like Netflix TV and that switches on the Firestick and navigates to netflix, and outputs 2 channel sound to the TV only, or Movie Bluray which turns on the relevant kit, opens the Bluray disk drawer and switches the Vertex to multichannel sound. I've still got some work to do as the Firestick won't switch into the right audio mode for movies but that just needs a change to the script that the Logitech runs (I do it manually now)

The vertex is v flexible - like a small computer really but if you are needing to switch between 2 channel and multi channel depending on whether you are watching TV or movies, from multiple sources (Prime, Netflix, Bluray player) then I ended up with the solution above

let me know if you'd like to know more

My next step is to replace the plasma and the G68 when funds permit and things should get simpler with the latest HDMI and 4k processing so I can probably ditch the Vertex

Hi

I had problem with SKY Q via HDMI all to do with UHD which l wasn’t running anyway.

I fitted a CYP AU-11CD mostly for an extra audio output (Sky nowadays only gives 1 optical along with HDMI) only to find it not only gave me the extra audio but also allowed SKY HD to go via HD621 with added benefit of the HDMI audio on the HD621.

Regards

Colin😀

Xolorspace or Feintech have some good adaptators to create 2 HDMI output (one 4K for TV, second for audio only or 1080p for HD621)

Thanks all for your replies which turned out to be wise :-)

As you surmised, the firestick 4k isn't passed through by the HD621 so either I replace the Meridian HD621 or send the firestick direct to the TV and switch the TV between the HD621 & Firestick. We all bought the HD621 to avoid this complexity :-( !!

And the price of the UHD722 bucks the trend for electronics to become cheaper every year. Come back, Mr. Moore!


Again, thanks all and happy listening.

I know I'm missing something here and you will all point it out quickly.

If/when I move to 4K for my system...my plan is to either use the native smart TV capabilities or feed an HDMI input on the TV with Apple TV, Roku, etc. The 4K sets I have looked at all have an optical audio output on them. I would simply feed that to my 861v8 as a digital source and have the same / similar 5.1 signal that my HD621 previously peeled off. Would this work and how large of a hit in sound quality am I going to take? This scenario is at least a year away for me...

Content on Netflix used to be DD5.1 which is 640kbps. More recent content is DD+ at 7.1 at 3mbps. For streaming services, when they say "Dolby Atmos" it means a DD+ stream with Atmos metadata. On blu-ray or 4K discs, Atmos means True HD lossless audio plus Atmos metadata.

So you are fundamentally limited by streaming. That said, DD+ is better much than DD, and you can't get DD+ over an SPDIF nor ARC. An Apple TV 4k, I am told, will do the conversion from DD+ to LPCM onboard, and then send that along with the video. For sure a TV wont send that back to you. However, I never got 4k/7.1 working from my Playstation Pro, via my HD621 and ended up getting a 722.