Meridian Unplugged - Powered by MrTechGuy.co.uk Forums Discussion Meridian - Systems New 4K TV purchased - need DD+ streaming solution

I have been spending 9 long months renovating a vacation home and trying to have my surplus M. equipment used in a meaningful way.

Thanks to Bruce from CMB Integrations and Matt Baty from Nantucket Networks, I have a pre-wired legacy/SL/passive cables basement room to watch tv and film.

Buying 2 new Vizio 4K TVs, I want to be able to stream 4K from Netflix over a high-speed Comcast cable modem->HS router->gig-e switch->4K streamer.

I am leaning towards buying a Roku 4 streamer and watching 4K from Netflix. The problem than becomes Netflix uses the DD+ soundtrack encoding, which doesn't work with my 861v4 + HD621 I have installed here.

Any bright ideas on the forum?

The one that came to mind is buying an Oppo 103D connecting the HDMI output of the Roku into the Oppo's DMI input. That seems like an using a pile driver to smash an ant, but my objection to buying that is my physical media is stored all in my other home.

By the way, Matt enjoyed learning about the Meridian technology and implementing his first M. system. He thought plenty of people would be interested in it because of the design (the way the speakers and processor looked) and the quality of the sound output.

If you are on the cape (Mass.), I would recommend giving Matt a call for all your networking and HT wiring needs. The AV rack he built for my was immaculately laid out.

Hi

I'm not sure that I fully understand your proposed solution. Does the Oppo 103D convert the DD+ feed from the Roku into something that your 861v4 + HD621 can cope with - if so what is the codec that it outputs?

A possible solution might be to use a small NUC PC with Kodi and the Netflix add-on. Kodi gives some options for audio output and it may be possible to output the required audio stream.

Cheers
Tom

The Oppo 103 has 2 HDMI inputs, which will accept DD, DTS, PCM, and DD+, and it is able to bitstream or decode to PCM.

Hi

Is the issue that you need to bitstream/PCM DD+ to the HD621/861v4?

Thanks
Tom

The issue is the that 861 does not decode DD+, thus an external decoder is required that can feed the 861 with multichannel PCM.

The Oppo 103 can do this so it's a good option but it is still worth exploring to see if there are any more cost effective ones.

Can you use optical SPDIF directly from the Roku for plain DD?

Have you considered the Amazon Fire TV? It supports Netflix and DD+. I have read that this can be outputted as bitstream.

I will try and test with a HD621/G68.

Cheers
Tom

But that's the problem feeding Meridian with a DD+ bitstream ... all you'll hear is static.

Meridian kit can only decode vanilla DD or DTS, hence the need for an external decoder so the M kit is feed with multichannel PCM.

Oops - sorry my misunderstanding of terminology. Will do more research!

the original Amazon Fire TV Version 1 had a SPDIF output (or maybe optical) that transcoded DD+ to plain-old DD. Those are not available for sale any more, just HDMI output these days.

I would like to stream Netflix 4K and listen to surround sound, but netflix only provides DD+ instead of DD. I'd have to spend $500 extra to be able to transcode with the Oppo 103.

It's a nice streamer but I wasn't planning on needing to spin discs at my vacation home (streaming only with Netflix and Plex). Ironically I've already bought 1 DVD, 1 Bluray and 1 Bluray Audio since I've been here.

Apple TV?

Dolby Apple TV Info

Neflix on Apple TV


Setting LPCM on Apple TV

Cheers
Tom

4th Gen Apple TV doesn't do 4K ultra HD ...