Meridian Unplugged - Powered by MrTechGuy.co.uk Forums Discussion Meridian - Systems How to get Hi Res formats into 861v6/861v8 - Without a UHD722

Hello,

I have a Meridian 861v6, Oppo UDP-203 and HD621. I would like to upgrade to 4K and UHD722 is an alternative. Is there any alternative to choose instead of UHD722?

Asking mainly since I think it UHD722 a bit pricy and 8K is coming within some years. To replace UHD722 again after 3-4 years and again pay nearly 2500 eur hurts a bit.

All help greatly appreciated

What other sources are you planning to use. Given the Oppo IS 4K but has a separate HDMI for audio so works fine with the HD621, you are sorted currently.

If you plan on using HDMI 2.1 sources eg Xbox, PS 5, then HDfury VRRoom supports these devices. Be aware, the 2.1 chipset is still beta in my experience so it is still early days. New firmware is slow on being released and I still have some issues with it, but overall I’m happy with it. It will also extract the eARC audio from your TV apps which is handy. You will STILL need your HD621 though!

I’m using Xbox 1X and Apple TV 4K with the VRRoom. There is no need to route the Oppo via VRRoom.

Also be prepared to by new HDMI cables. HDMI is painful, but 2.1 has added to the hassle factor!

Cheers
Greg

Hello Greg,

My sources for video are mainly Blu-Ray, various streaming services via Apple TV and Xbox

Audio via Bluesound Node (tidal etc)

Thanks

If you are just streaming films, which I definitely wouldn’t do with an Xbox, the 722 will work ok I guess.

But it only supports ARC not eARC which limits the audio formats. And it doesn’t support HDMI 2.1, again, fine for film HDMI bandwidth.

If you are going to use the Xbox for games, you will want VRR/120Hz/AALM etc support which the 722 can’t handle.

Be aware, the VRRoom is getting a hardware update shortly so do a bit of research before buying now, although the upgrade is admittedly an edge case which you may never actually need.

I’m a fan of hdfury products and decided on a VRRoom myself, but as I said, be prepared for a few more firmware updates before it’s rock solid.

I looked at a 722 but it just doesn’t handle enough of the HDMI spec.

Cheers
Greg

Buying a UHD722 today would still be a great purchase for anyone running a Meridian system. Especially since the newest version of the UHD722 also got updated for HDR10+ and Dolby Vision as well, something you want considering how much of that content is available on VOD like Amazon, Paramount, Hulu, AppleTV and others. Not to mention UHD BD as well.

eARC isn't really relevant for us Meridian owners either, since ARC already provides us DD or DTS audio which the UHD722 can do (all versions). And direct HDMI gives us the bandwidth eARC does for LPCM 7.1. The UHD722 is perfect paired with the latest AppleTV since that device sends out all non DD 5.1 bitstreams as uncompressed multi-channel PCM, something M processors love for MHR.

You can even get working AAC 5.1 sound via the HD621/UHD722 as well, some VOD providers send AAC 5.1 instead of DD/DD+. Meridian UHD722 allows us to get the native AAC as MHR which other boxes and mainstream processors won't support, only Dolby/DTS. So AAC support is another benefit of the Meridian HDMI processors.

The biggest hassle right now is the wait time just to get a new UHD722 with the latest HDMI 2.1 (2.0b?) board. I ordered 2 new ones in the fall to replace the ones I have with the outdated board, it'll be a near 4 month wait by the time I get them hopefully in a couple weeks. Used UHD722s come up from time to time well below MSRP, but they'll have the old board and won't support the new dynamic HDR standards.

Unless you are a gamer, I wouldn't be too concerned with 8K to be honest.

4K UHD will be the last ever physical disc format for home video and the titles for it keep growing by the month. It took a good 6-7 years after the introduction of HD before HD DVD/Blu-ray hit the market, and other 10 years after that for UHD.

UHD Broadcasts on Cable TV are still a rarity in the US. It's mostly VOD and 4K has only recently gained mainstream awareness in the last couple years. 8K content is ultra niche, the most of it is strictly promo type stuff for proof of concept. The industry reception to 8K has been quite cold.

8K upscaling will be more of a selling point gimmick for TV makers more than anything else. Content wise, you won't be able to get 8K out of 35mm film scans as at that res you are just scanning the grain of the filmstock. 4K UHD will be the last and best version of many 100s, if not thousands of films.

Perhaps at the end of the decade, 8K might be more of a thing for super premium VOD solutions like Kaleidescape - but those boxes are for clients that don't use Blu-ray anyway. Amazon recently had a 1 one off 8K promotion with the Lord of the Rings show, but it was exclusive to the flagship 8K Samsung TV using a convoluted playback method via a special link/program. It'll be years before you see VOD boxes like AppleTV's with 8K output support.

Buying a UHD722 now, purely for entertainment, it won't be obsolete for at least 5 years. I'd say that's a pretty damn good ROI considering the cost of what M gear goes for.

Just the way I look at it.

P.S.

I use an HDFury device as well, but strictly for the purpose of getting LLDV playback on my Samsung OLED TV.

I - like many others here - had the same issue of getting a HD621 to work with 4k sources. I fuffed around a bit with some cheaper solutions which were promising but should just have gone straight to the HDFury products. I ran an AVRKey for a few months and then decided I wanted more inputs so bought a Diva. Most Hikers seem to use a Vertex2. The VRRoom is obviously a newer product.

I run an XBox One, Panasonic 4k player, Oppo 103 and a Vero 4k+ (my streaming box) through the Fury and it is brilliant. I occasionally have to flick a switch in the app or webpage with some unusual file formats.

Will the latest UHD722 be able to support HDMI 2.1 with a firmware update? Or will that require again another hardware update?

Best regards,
Martin

HDMI 2.1 is hardware

Hi,

I agree with a lot of the mixed thoughts above, the UHD722 still has a place and its uses and I’m sure that 8k is not about to explode onto the market by storm anytime soon. It’s a shame this part has not been updated my Meridian but who knows.. maybe they will bring a .2 to the market at some point!? The updates for Dolby vision etc are nice to hear!

For me, I use a bluestream 4k 4way HDMI switch with audio breakout (coax) this works well. I feed a Bluray player and Roku 4k through it to a panasonic 55 OLED. Does what I need at the moment.

Upsides are cost was good and that it’s a single feed to the G61r. Anything on tv is set as TV on the G61r

Downside is that Roku and Netflix are PL2 as they’re no decoding on the Roku or Bluestream. (Currently thinking of changing the Roku later this year to Apple TV 4K because I believe it will output 5.1 not just Atmos/DD+)

I can also feed the tv optical back to the Meridian and that does give me 5.1 downmixed from DD+ if we want it.

We don’t watch enough films on disc now to warrant a HD621 or UHD722 and music is via Roon streamed so even CDs are a rare occasion these days.

Kind regards
David

I have an idea. Could an able Premium reseller retrofit the HDMI 2.1 board into existing users UHD722?

My guess is that all other parts (PSU/Meridian SPDIF board) are identical and thus just swapping in the new HDMI 2.1 makes sense from a customer as well as environmental point of view.

This is what changing to the newest available HDMI board for the UHD722 will offer. Still no HDMI 2.1.

Functional changes:
New board: HSR-82T
Inputs 1-7 HDCP 2.3
Inputs 1, 2, 3, 4 & 6 HDMI 2.0b
Input 5 & 7 HDMI 1.4b
Output 1 4K 4K
HDCP 2.3
HDMI 2.0b
CEC CEC
ARC ARC
Dolby Vision
HDR10+
Output 2 1080p 4k
HDCP 2.3
HDMI 2.0b
HDR10+

Note:
When displays are connected to both outputs simultaneously, certain features must be supported by both
displays in order for the source product to be told that those features are supported.
This means that, if one or other of the displays does not support the feature, neither display can take advantage of it.
This applies to 3D, 4K, HDRS, COLOR and HDR10+.

Adding my experience to the UHD722 debate I have found it perfect for my use. I bought it as soon as it was available so took advantage of the trade in.

Another post asks about a simple way of using other products like the HDFury etc. instead of a UHD722 without the need for more remotes or apps. This is one reason why the UHD722 is good for me.

My system is in the lounge of our humble home so has to be accessible to all the family. The UHD722 does that. We all use the system for standard TV, Apps and 4k films. By connecting Sky Q, the Oppo and Firestick to the UHD722 it's just one press on two remotes and we're off. My 9 year old Granddaughter can work it.

Sadly Sky Q has several connectivity issues but we've learnt to live with those. It works well most of the time and the provision of UHD HDR expands all the time except for BBC iPlayer but I use the TV direct for that and feed an optical output to the 861.

I don't game and have no need for anything else so the all Meridian system suits my needs. TV can't do HDR10+ so the original UHD722 serves my needs for now.

I appreciate others have more special needs but it's good for me.

Bob