Media Players for Hi Res Surround

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HomerJAU

Moderator: MCH Media Players
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I've spent the last few months getting all my hi-res surround (and some hi-res stereo too) onto a media player/server.

Primarily this is for convenience as I can now play my 'Jukebox' with the 'wave and click of a remote' but its also a backup for some discs that a probably irreplaceable (or no longer unaffordable!).

I've found I'm listening/watching way more music since going 'media player' since its now so easy to find something and switch between 'discs'. Highly recommend.

I'm using a Mede8er 1000X3D because it has an internal hard disc but now I have a NAS server I really didn't need the internal disc (apart from its 'party-in-a-box' capability). It has an HDMI output that has a 'HDMI pass-through' option for video and audio. All the decoding is done by my Arcam receiver DACs (full DTS-HDMA, DolbyTrueHD, FLAC upto 192kHz etc. I converted my SACDs to FLAC). Quality is excellent - video and audio.

Anyway it also has a nice Ipad/IPhone/Ipod Touch user interface so I don't even need a TV or Remote now. Screen shots follow (down res to make 'em smaller):

image4.jpg

image3.jpg

I have also put my concerts blu-rays and DVDs on there too (although currently there is a bug playing individual video tracks via the Ipad/IPhone interface):

image1.jpg

Please post any thoughts/questions or equipment you use and experiences here.
 
Actually there are other reasons I went this way: theft/damage

One of my favourite hi-res discs went missing a couple years ago. A multi-channel SACD. Couldn't find it anywhere... 3 months later I found it in my wife's car. It was a hybrid CD SACD. She'd been playing it on and off. No cover, scratched. I could have cried. (Luckily found it still played in my Oppo.... Could have been another divorce!)

Now they're all locked away!
 
I use a Popcorn Hour A-300, which plays gapless 5.1 FLACs in addition to pretty much every video and audio format (aside from SACD and DVD-A) and is a bargain at 200 bucks I think. The new Popcorn Hour A-400 plays DSD files so I'll be upgrading to that as soon as I can afford to. I've started ripping all my media to FLAC - I think the days of disc based media for playback are all but done for me.
 
Thanks for sharing HomerJAU !! The Mede8er 1000X3D looks very interesting to me, I can only presently use my Oppo BDP-83 to play surround sound music and given the slow and unresponsive interface I tend more to listen to 2 channel music via Apple TV. I think the Mede8er 1000X3D would make it much easier for me to listen to the collection that I have of great surround titles.

A few questions :

Would I need the wireless enabled one to use the iPhone / iPad app ?

Also am I right in saying it plays 5.1 FLAC via optical as well as HDMI ?

On the screenshot showing Beck playing from the iPad, is that the same image that is on the TV screen ? And where does the image of Beck playing the guitar come from ?

I'm in Australia too, would you mind telling me where you bought it from and for how much ?

Cheers
 
Thanks for sharing HomerJAU !! The Mede8er 1000X3D looks very interesting to me, I can only presently use my Oppo BDP-83 to play surround sound music and given the slow and unresponsive interface I tend more to listen to 2 channel music via Apple TV. I think the Mede8er 1000X3D would make it much easier for me to listen to the collection that I have of great surround titles.

A few questions :

Would I need the wireless enabled one to use the iPhone / iPad app ?

Also am I right in saying it plays 5.1 FLAC via optical as well as HDMI ?

On the screenshot showing Beck playing from the iPad, is that the same image that is on the TV screen ? And where does the image of Beck playing the guitar come from ?

I'm in Australia too, would you mind telling me where you bought it from and for how much ?

Cheers

I'm sitting here having a beer (Friday night for non-Aussies). Been juke boxing quite a few 5.1 tracks and just now watching Neil Finn and Paul Kelly concert, all on the media player via iPad interface (M8 it's called).

Your questions answered:

Would I need the wireless enabled one to use the iPhone / iPad app ?

I have my Mede8er hard wired via my router (Ethernet). I tried wireless but couldn't stream blu-ray without a stutter. However my Mede8er is approx 15m away from my wireless router, and through 4 or 5 walls, two are solid double brick. I put a 5 way router in my audio/theater room, connected to media player, Oppo, receiver and Foxtel (cable STB). As long as the Mede8er and IPad are on same internal network, inside firewall it's ok.

So you may not need a wireless one if you have it wired directly via Ethernet or wired to a wireless range extender like a Netgear on this page: http://www2.netgear.com.au/rangeextenders/wifi-where-you-want-it.html

Some of these also have an inbuilt switch so you can wire up to 4 devices to your LAN.


Also am I right in saying it plays 5.1 FLAC via optical as well as HDMI ?

Yes. It has an optical out but I'm not sure that can handle ultra-hi res formats. Some of my FLACS are 192kHz 24bit 5.1 at over 11Mbps. Can optical do that? No probs with HDMI.

On the screenshot showing Beck playing from the iPad, is that the same image that is on the TV screen ? And where does the image of Beck playing the guitar come from ?

Each album's songs are stored in a folder (directory) that also contains two picture files (jpg) of your choice. 1 is the album cover, other is the background image (jpg). I've had some fun finding great pics on the net. Amazing what's there really, especially some of the 70's bands! Size is limited to under 1Mb and recommended to be 1280 x 720 but it can handle 1920 x 1080 ok. Cover art is smaller usually under 500 x 500 but flexible, I use 300 x 300. The iPad app shows the background jpg file as it album background and the cover art jpg.

I'm in Australia too, would you mind telling me where you bought it from and for how much ?

I got mine from a shop in MEL for around $200 but they don't sell them anymore. There is another place in MEL selling for around $279 I think. Try http://jayvee.com.au/mede8erproducts. You may need an internal hard disk or NAS. I also have movies on my NAS. (I collect HD war movies too. )

Let me know how you go.
 
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Thanks for the detailed reply, I'm going to order it tomorrow. I've already got a NAS on my wired network so I'm good to go. I'll just have to buy a bluray drive for my PC so I can start ripping the Blu-ray Discs I have. How many GB are they on average ? Do you make an .iso or an .mkv file ?

Cheers
 
Great to hear! Blu-ray concerts and movies vary in size but can be up to around 40Gb, usually between 15 and 30Gb. I generally create M2TS files as they play all HD sound formats on my Oppo too. I know some favour MKV.

I also split into individual files by song/chapter for ease of navigation, although you get a slight pause between songs when playing all. If I know I like to play a whole album I also create a single file so I can play without any pause.

For audio only I use a free program called Tagscanner to imbed tag data and cover image into my FLACs.

The iPad jukebox app is about $4.49 on the Apple Apps store.

I don't use ISO.

If you go to the Mede8er forum website you can download some PDFs that may help. Feel free to ask me too.
 
Although I prefer shiny discs and reading booklets, there are going to be some albums I want which won't ever get released on a disc so I've been looking for a suitable 5.1 FLAC player. I stuck twin Gigabit throughout the house a few years ago, so all the audio and video is connected, and teamed up with my NAS on my home network. I bought a Pioneer SCLX86K earlier this year as it had a turntable input, but irritatingly will not do 5.1 FLAC, nor will my Denon DBP-2012UD. So the Mede8er 1000X3D looks interesting, and a cheap way to upgrade.
 
If you have a NAS you may not need an internal hard drive so the 600 model will do. It's a bit cheaper and has the same electronics and firmware. Actually there is also a new 800 model that also has an internal hard disc bay that has all front controls. The 1000 has some controls on top. (The 800 is not sold in AU)
 
If you have a NAS you may not need an internal hard drive so the 600 model will do. It's a bit cheaper and has the same electronics and firmware. Actually there is also a new 800 model that also has an internal hard disc bay that has all front controls. The 1000 has some controls on top. (The 800 is not sold in AU)

Thanks, I've just had a look and the 600 is on sale on amazon.co.uk @ ÂŁ130
 
I use a Popcorn Hour A-300, which plays gapless 5.1 FLACs in addition to pretty much every video and audio format (aside from SACD and DVD-A) and is a bargain at 200 bucks I think. The new Popcorn Hour A-400 plays DSD files so I'll be upgrading to that as soon as I can afford to. I've started ripping all my media to FLAC - I think the days of disc based media for playback are all but done for me.

What App are using to play these? I have a Popcorn Hour also but it has no jukebox function, it can only play one track at a time.
 
What App are using to play these? I have a Popcorn Hour also but it has no jukebox function, it can only play one track at a time.

The A & C 200 and newer (300, 400) series have a built in jukebox function called NMJ or Networked Media Jukebox, which can be seen in this video:

[video=youtube;pbXsSVyFOMU]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pbXsSVyFOMU[/video]

The music functions start about 4:50 in. There are also Android and iOS apps that allow you to control playback through the jukebox feature, much like the Mede8er.
 
The Mede8er arrived and it seems that I need to spend quite a bit of time in order to set it up properly. My folder of surround sound music is tagged very well with nice album art but apparently I will have to use a program called Tagscanner to re-do it all and then I'll have to add new album art to each album folder, the largest being 230x230 jpeg. Looks like I have some work to do over the coming weeks :rolleyes:

Have had to ask for some help on the Mede8er forums as well, seems I cannot 'Add to Favourites' a folder from either my NAS or internal HDD, not sure what I'm doing wrong ?

HomerJAU : What are your HDMI audio settings please ? I can get 5.1 FLAC to play perfectly derived from a SACD rip but I get white noise when trying to play a 5.1 FLAC derived from a DTS-CD rip.

Anyway I'll persevere, I'm sure it will be worth it in the end !
 
I'm using the JRiver Media Center for Windows software and the exaSound e28 Multichannel DAC here. Working fine for Stereo and Multichannel files.
 
I'm using the JRiver Media Center for Windows software and the exaSound e28 Multichannel DAC here. Working fine for Stereo and Multichannel files.

Yours for the bargain price of only $3299 US! For that much money I should get a reacharound from a beautiful woman while I'm listening to my 5.1 music.
 
Yours for the bargain price of only $3299 US! For that much money I should get a reacharound from a beautiful woman while I'm listening to my 5.1 music.

It's a nice unit. I'm enjoying the e28 here!

And cheaper than some of the other audiophile solutions. For example, one of the Playback Designs 2 Channel DACs is around $15,000 - so linking three of those for 5.1 playback would exceed the exaSound's cost by quite a margin!
 
The Mede8er arrived and it seems that I need to spend quite a bit of time in order to set it up properly. My folder of surround sound music is tagged very well with nice album art but apparently I will have to use a program called Tagscanner to re-do it all and then I'll have to add new album art to each album folder, the largest being 230x230 jpeg. Looks like I have some work to do over the coming weeks :rolleyes:

Have had to ask for some help on the Mede8er forums as well, seems I cannot 'Add to Favourites' a folder from either my NAS or internal HDD, not sure what I'm doing wrong ?

HomerJAU : What are your HDMI audio settings please ? I can get 5.1 FLAC to play perfectly derived from a SACD rip but I get white noise when trying to play a 5.1 FLAC derived from a DTS-CD rip.

Anyway I'll persevere, I'm sure it will be worth it in the end !

The covers can be larger. I have mine saved as 350 x 350 but it still works with larger files. I used Tagscanner to do all my tags and embed my own cover images. I also named my album with it source appended (e.g 'Sea Change (5.1 192kHz)' or 'Brothers in Arms (5.1 SACD)') as this comes up on the IPad app or TV screen.

My audio settings on Mede8er are HDMI pass through and also set surround mode to 5.1/7.1 (I think it's called). My Arcam receiver auto plays all FLACs in surround or stereo based on source. I assume your amp/receiver plays hi res audio ok. Also the 'Force' option is on. Sorry, I don't have my system on so these from memory. Let me know if you need more info.

The DTS CD rip may not have been decoded to PCM. I use Foobar with the DTS decoder plugin to convert to Flac. There is an option to post process the DTS to PCM during conversion. If Foobar can't play the DTS files with the plugin then the files were not ripped correctly.

You could play the DTS files directly but you won't be able to tag them. I've converted everything to FLAC at original bit rates etc.

I've also used AudioMuxer to convert some DTS stuff at 96kHz as DVD Audio Extractor won't do above 48kHz. There is a sub forum on here that discusses these tools.
 
With the Mede8er you don't need to embed cover art in audio files. It only displays the 'folder.jpg' when using the audio player. The folder.jpg can be almost any size (I've found) but as I said earlier I've generally resized to around 350 x 350 or 300 x 300.

Both the Mede8er display and iPad app resize the image to their respective displays anyway and don't seem to be affected by actual file image size, although I do remember reading something saying image files for background (fanart.jpg) should be under 1Mb in size (and no more than 1920 x 1080).
 
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