HDMI and HDMI related questions:

  1. Upgrades to G68/G61 and 861 that will allow for Dolby TrueHD and DTS-HD? This wouldn't require HDMI, but would require proprietary digital input + OK from standards community.


    Meridian Response:
    HDMI would be the appropriate solution for the next gen HD discs, not a proprietary solution. MHR SmartLink was the appropriate solution for DVD-A as Firewire wasn't an acceptable solution, but not in this case. There is no timeframe at this point for HDMI 1.3 as even sample silicon is not shipping.


    JK sez: There will be no digital transmission of these in native form until HDMI 1.3 which is quite a ways out as they haven't even started shipping silicon samples of HDMI 1.2. Until then, you're stuck with PCM transfer via HDMI 1.1, and there's little point in offering that upgrade when there will have to be another after that for HDMI 1.3.
  2. Availability of an HDMI input/output in the preamps or perhaps in intermediate device to seperate audio and video streams? Asked multiple times.

    Meridian Response:
    Seperating audio and video won't really make a difference at this level. There is no benefit to seperating video from audio with HDMI.


    Hardware upgrades to Gxx / 8xx and new products:
  3. Will there be an analogue 7.1 input provided for future upcoming formats and codecs not yet handled by Meridian?


    Meridian Response:
    There are no current plans to add a 7.1 analogue input, you'll probably have to wait for 7.1 digitally via HDMI.
  4. Is it possible to upgrade the G91 / G91 DAB to G91A / G91A DAB?


    Meridian Response:
    We have not decided whether or not to do offer this upgrade, but if it were offered it would be incredibly expensive. It would require a rebuild of the entire player replacing all of the boards and back panel.
  5. Is there consideration of a formal upgrade plan as Lexicon and DVDO have offered for years when new models come out.


    Meridian Response:
    There are no current plans to do so.
  6. What is the possibility of introducing a new G Series amp at 5x200w?


    Meridian Response:
    It is Meridian's policy not to discuss any potential future products.
  7. Is it possible to lay out the roadmap for 861s future?


    Meridian Response:
    Meridian hasn't published a roadmap for our products in the past and this will continue to be the policy for the future.


    Software related questions:
  8. Selectively chose or delete DSP modes for a given input? This has been asked previously, and put on the wish list... Status update?

    Meridian Response:
    This item is still on the wish list and has not been forgotten. At this point it hasn't reached the front of the queue.
  9. Independently selectable crossover slopes on each side of crossover frequency for small loudspeakers?

    Meridian Response:
    This is something that would, in all likelihood, provide little tangible benefit. Although it is a nice "bragging rights" feature, in most cases having substantially configurable crossover slopes ends up causing more harm than good.

    At this point there is no plan to do so.
  10. Is it possible to add full RS-232 control for surround paramaters as is available on 861 for G68/G61? It is painful to navigate through 6/8 parameters even with a Crestron.

    Meridian Response:
    Both G68 and G61 use the same RS-232 control scheme as 861.
  11. Concern of slow cycle of firmware upgrades and access. Is Meridian going to be taking steps to provide more regular updates to firmware for DVD Players?

    Meridian Response:
    There are internal and external releases, and resources shift according to need. As such, there are times when it seems as though things are not progressing on the external releases, but are happening internally. Generally speaking slow cycles on DVD players are due to feature additions or a stable platform and no bug fixes required.
  12. Jitter with new formats, ie Dolby TrueHD and DTS-HD?

    Meridian Response:
    From Meridian's perspective it won't matter as both of those when decoded will first be sent to a FIFO buffer and then reclocked for extremely low jitter, as happens with existing packetized audio formats (DD/DTS).


    Jk sez: Both formats have to buffer the input as the data is not stored as native PCM. A competently engineered system will buffer the decoder output and accurately clock the PCM results to minimize jitter prior to passing along to the next point in the system.
  13. Is it possible to update MConfig to remove required connection to the web?

    Meridian Response:
    This can already be done in MConfig. It's in the Options tab (the Icon has a finger on it). On the General Tab you'll find a check box for "Check for Updates when program is launched."

    JK Sez:
    I'll post images of this in a follow up post.
  14. Possiblity of performing a firmware upgrade for USB equipped G Series from a USB Flash(pen) Drive

    Meridian Response:
    This is an excellent suggestion, but this can't be done as the G Series is a USB Peripheral and this would be a Peripheral to Peripheral connection. This couldn't be performed without an intermediate host computer.


    Meridian, the corporation and other non-product questions:
  15. There are concerns over the expansion of the corporation including the takeover of the Faroudja brand for consumer electronics. These concerns are with respect to a lowering of support quality, and whether M can continue their high standards of product development and time to market on their products.

    Meridian Response:
    We aren't aware of any decline in our service or support and have expanded staff significantly to cover the expansion. Meridian feels that they have *and are* keeping up with the growth of the company with the takeover of the consumer products from Faroudja.
  16. Has Meridian considered outsourcing chips and software? Concerns over issues of poorly authored discs causing player problems.

    Meridian Response:
    It is rare to have a problem with authoring on discs these days. Outsourcing software would only lower the quality of the players.
  17. Slow growth of white papers on Meridian technology. Is there going to be growth in this area going forward? As it stands some feel that this has falling quite short of expectations.

    Meridian Response:
    Meridian agrees. There are more planned.
  18. Why no Meridian beta test program?

    Meridian Response:
    Meridian has a beta test program.

    JK sez: I know Meridian has a beta test program (I am not a participant). However as a software engineer I can tell you that it is literally impossible for the beta test program to catch every error. The software involved is simply too complex on DVD players, plus there are external factors that are out of control of the coding staff is the incredible variety of hardware encountered that can never be fully accounted for. What Meridian doesn't have is a PUBLIC/OPEN beta test program.

Surround Music Fan/Computer Geek/Curmudgeon in training.
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861v4, HD621, Panasonic BD-P55K, Toshiba HD-A35, Oppo HD990, Dish Network 622, Pioneer DV-668AV-S w/ DVD Upgrades mod, EW Fontaine II (x5), Velodyne DD-15 (x2), Seymour AV Ice blocks (x7)