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

OP,

For lossless codecs, Meridian uses the method of the source transport decoding and sending the signal in uncompressed LPCM form. It's bit for bit identical to the losslessly compressed THD/DTS-MA, just decompressed out of the container. So if you're using a Blu-ray player like an Oppo, Magnetar etc. you merely select "LPCM" in output format in settings instead of "bitstream" and when you play DTS-HD MA and Dolby TrueHD sources you're getting lossless hi-res 5.1/6.1/7.1 etc. whatever the source is. Atmos and DTS:X sources if you run 7.1 in the 861v8, you will get the highest channel based layer which is the back compatible DTS-HD MA 7.1 and Dolby TrueHD 7.1 substream in that context respectively. If the 861v8 is setup for 5.1, then you will get the 6ch substream of the former as configured based on EDID settings in the 722. The entire mix and all the sounds are there, just presented in 5.1 or 7.1 depending on your system.

Meridian anticipated HDMI changing rapidly and the quick obsolesce of processors with HDMI built in well before standards stabilized like today, so they opted for the external method and added benefit of keeping A/V signals apart for enthusiast purity.

Theater cinema processors handle lossless audio the same way, they have no need to work with disc size contraints and requiring lossless compression, so it's all LPCM on the DCPs. You can think of the 861v8 as playing hires/lossless multi-channel just like DCP "D-Cinema" does

Legacy sources like a DVD with dts, DD, DD-EX or old MPEG-2, you can change the output of the source to bitstream or "Auto" and you can get onboard decoding since the 861v8 supports handling those as bitstream. The Apple TV though decodes all sources to LPCM automatically making it a popular playback device for movie servers or streaming with Meridian owners.

As far as video and source control go, trust me, if you want to get the most of your awesome 861v8, you definitely want the 722 over something like an HDFury device or similar.

I recommend ordering a new one, as the current version has the latest HSR-82T board with added full HDR10+/Dolby Vision passthrough 4K/60hz and latest HDCP on all 8 inputs.

The original 722 (2016-2022) had the previous gen board, which did basically the same but ARC instead of eARC, no HDR10+, Dolby Vision being hit/miss and it only worked for me on 1 input (8). I upgraded from the old 722 since my TV's support HDR10+ and I have a not insignificant amount of those titles on UHD Blu-ray plus lots streaming and I also wanted proper DV passthrough on all sources as I have 3 video sources hooked up to it. HDCP handshaking also enables the 722 to send an upsampled + apodized and encrypted MHR signal to the 861 as well, as opposed to non-MHR, unecrypted PCM. You def want the MHR variety with the upsampling. Works on 44.1/48 intervals. 48k->96kHz, 44.1k -> 88.2kHz. Native 88.2/96 is untouched, 176.4 and 192 are downsampled to 88.2/96K since the 861 is a 24/96 device.

The 722 is also how you can get TV ARC/eARC source audio into your 861v8 if you ever use your TV's internal stuff. The connection from the 722 to the 861v8 is 1 basic Cat5/Cat6 ethernet cable called MMHR. Works like DANTE and is basically a pro AES3/AES67 digital 8ch link.

Lastly among the biggest benefit of the 722 is integrated source control and comms with the 861v8. This enables the 861v8 to function like any AVR would that has the video section built in. Once configured, your remote will switch both the video and audio source on the 861v8 for the specified input you select (i.e. Oppo, Apple, DuneHD/Zidoo, NVIDIA etc.), it's awesome and works perfect.

As far as easter eggs go (unadvertised by Meridian) a cool feature is built in MPEG AAC decoding including surround. AAC 5.1/7.1 audio is detected and decoded and even legacy PAL MPEG Multichannel matrix get detected and pre-decoded to all 5.1 channels by Meridian's proprietary onboard MPEG/AAC decoder. This is great for 861 owners since only the G61/65/68 processors had onboard AAC-LC decoding, so we get the same support for both MPEG and AAC audio via the 722.


Yup, decoding automatically to multichannel LPCM is the default auto option on the Apple TV. It knows what to send based on the EDID handshake with a HD621 or 722 and recognizes 8ch on the 861 and 6ch on the G65. It works perfectly.

As far as streaming goes, ATV4K is probably the best combo with Meridian due to the LPCM decoding. Although you'll do just fine getting fallback DD 5.1 streams from DD+ 5.1 content on VOD using an Android device or Smart TV interface over SPDIF, the LPCM onboard decoding of the ATV let's you use it with the Infuse player and get lossless multi-ch with your movies.

While I do prefer the sound quality slightly of the Oppo transport for stuff I have on my NAS and its superior handling of interlaced content vs the ATV, the Infuse is an excellent player with great graphics/metadata fetching. It's fully optimized to take advantage of the Apple TV OS. There is a 1-time tiny paid fee though to add Dolby TrueHD and DTS-HD software decoding though with Infuse. Free version will decode the lossy fallback audio instead.

FWIW If I didn't have a high end UHD transport I could definitely live with the ATV4K + Infuse + Streaming apps as my daily/reference setup.
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Six