Meridian Unplugged - Powered by MrTechGuy.co.uk Forums Discussion Meridian - Systems Why does the HD621 & UHD722 not accept Dolby TrueHD?

Yes, DTS HD MA and Dolby True HD are compressed PCM (but lossless).
AppleTV systematically "unzips" them an send the original PCM stream.

But with AppleTV, you never see DTS HD MA on the display of your compatible amplifier...

Good for Meridian, sad for people which like see DTS HD MA on their amplifier...

You use a Shield TV? You couldn't have LPCM...
You use a Amazon Stick? You couldn't have LPCM...
You use a Zidoo player? You couldn't have LPCM...

So the saving of two stickers becomes more and more problematic for users

AppleTV is the magical solution but if Apple changes its mind and erase LPCM compatibility, it will be a real problem for us...

Hi Domin,

This is why I asked if you had any issues currently, to look at what you would like to have unpacked and see if there was a work around?

OK, but none of those existed when HD621 was first released were they?
At the time it appeared that players would be able to unpack, so no need for HD621 to do so as well.

I take the point with the UHD722 maybe as a newer product, perhaps it would have been a nice feature given that source manufacturers weren't putting the ability to unpack in their devices.

Cheers, Rick

Personally, all my devices are selected to output LPCM.
So no problem, but I need to choose them carefully.

And I think it's weird for an leadership company like Meridian, with a scalability like any other, to refuse a solution for full compatibility...

The HD621 is a very good concept to upgrade 861/G6x.
But the UHD722 should have pushed the concept to the end!

Today the value of G6x is ridiculous because it doesn’t have the good stickers on it.
But it still better than the last Marantz processor at 3000 pounds.
But without the right decoders, not many people want them.

The UHD722 was designed to offer 4k video compatibility for Meridian users who wanted that. Neither the HD621 nor UHD722 ever decoded anything, they merely stripped the LPCM audio sent from a compatible device over HDMI.

If a device can't decode and output LPCM it is not Meridian's problem as those devices don't meet the design intent of Meridian.

Meridian audio stripping devices were simply not made to keep up with every little 99 dollar widget that comes out.

I don't think that this argument really stands up very well these days.
Trinnov, Lyndorf, McIntosh, Storm Audio, Anthem, all decode HI res codecs.

If Meridian designed their equipment to only receive LPCM then why do they have the ability to decode other codecs such as DTS and Dolby Digital?

I think it is just a simple case of not keeping up with the market and cost. I really do like the sound quality from my 861 and I can't imagine it being changed for a couple of years yet, but when the time comes I doubt it will be replaced with a Meridian processor.

A bit sad really and an indictment to their commitment to the AV processor market.

A new UHD823 with HDMI 2.1 AND HD 7.1 decoders ?

It will be a good idea !

Storm and Trinnov announce their new CYP cards for this year...
The old version (HDMI 2.0) is the same in Trinnov / Storm / UHD722

Given that Meridian is the UK distributor for Trinnov I don’t believe that Meridian are sufficiently motivated to design/produce their own state of the art processor. This is the likely reason for the existence of the Meridian 271.

I would like to believe that Meridian would produce a custom install 265 to match their other 200 Series lineup, but I am doubtful.

Equally, I’m surprised that the G65 continues to exist, given it’s relatively ancient surround codecs.

Yes, I totally agree with you. I always accepted Meridian's word that video should never enter a sound processor because of the contamination this would cause the audio but perhaps I was being gullible. But given that the 861v8 has never received the promised MQA capability there ought to be a new XE edition that does everything to perfection. Will it happen? On recent form, probably not.

Yes, it would be a good idea and a neat solution.

A dealer that I recently communicated with spoke of the new ‘XE range’.

Whether that was simply a slip of the tongue, or only meant to refer to the 8KXE DSP’s….

We live in hope rather than expectation. Although, to be realistic, judging by the cost of the 8kXEs, a new range of XE products would probably not be affordable!