Meridian Unplugged - Powered by MrTechGuy.co.uk Forums Discussion Meridian - Systems 800 Hardware Upgrades available NOW

Hello fellow Meridian lovers.

I have read many of the posts dealing with the 800 CD/ DVD transport, which I own in an 800/ 861 setup. I have an older 800 that is not (yet) DTS capable. My dealer advice (and some advice posted on this board) was to wait until the DVD-A modification is available, and then update all at once. I can't wait any longer! I want my DTS! I really care less about DVD-A, although perhaps by the time it is available on the 800, there might be more software. In any event, I am at teh point where I am willing to pay for a second upgrade down the road.

My question for those of you in the know is this: if I sent my 800 back to Meridian, what all can/ could be upgraded? From what I could glean from various posts, it would definately be the DVD decoder (to encorporate the newer C-Cube Ziva 3 chip which outputs DTS audio). What about the DVD-ROM drive? I saw some posts indicating Meridian recently shipped a black colored alternative drive, which was rumored to be of higher quality. I do know that I get a fair amount of "mistracking" on DVDs and again, if upgrading, would be interested in trying this as well.

So, spoken another way, if I was to purchase a new 800, what components have changed since the inception of the 800. Thanks to all who read this and might have additional information.

On a separate note, I have upgraded the 861 all the way to include the newest 2.8 software, and preliminarily as all have been reporting, the DPL II is a terrific new preset format!

As far as I know, Meridian does not have a program to update older 800's to include DTS. As before, my suggestion is the same: Quietly ask your dealer to work through Meridian to see what can be done to make you satisfied. In the event that your dealer is unwilling to help you, try contacting Meridian directly.

In my experience, Meridian bends over backwards to help customers, and in the end, they've always made me more than satisfied. But, if you don't ask them nicely (and directly), you won't know what they'll say. Since this forum isn't a formal means of support for Meridian, you can't expect any "definitive" answers regarding how Meridian (or your dealer) would handle your request.

Also, I happened to call Meridian last week and questioned the different color drives in the 800 (along with some other questions). Apparently, some drives aren't different "quality" then other drives; they are all equivalent in "quality". Some drives simply gives the Meridian firmware more control over drive operations than others. Meridian apparently changed drive vendors in order to get a drive that won't auto-retry on errors. Apparently, most DVD-ROM drives are designed to be operated within a computer, and automatically retry a whole buncha times in case of problems accessing the data. Meridian prefers that this not be done; if a spot on the disc can't be read, they'd rather move on (causing, perhaps, a studder) rather than freeze in the middle of a movie as the drive retries (over and over) a spot on the disk that it won't recover from.

So, Meridian says that drive colors won't affect overall quality. But different drives may recover differently from nasty error conditions. Since I've never had a movie freeze anyway (with the old drive), this issue is clearly unlikely to come up.

Hello,I also wanted to know when I would have the chance to upgrade (DTS) my 800 machine. I got my answer from information given during the CES and relayed to this forum. When the DVD-A upgrade comes we may get the DTS around the same time. If you look back at the date 1-8-2001 (on this forum about 60 days back) you will see that there will be an upgrade to our older machines soon. I understand that it may be about 90 days or so away. Mr.Stacey Spears would have more accurate info as to when, but I too hope that it will be soon.
Greg