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0 pointsjauntywundrkind10mo ago0 comments

Really good call out, that the TV now often is the center of the AV experience, where-as the "receiver" (and amplifier) used to be driving the show.

I really really wish there were digital audio decoder/processors available. It sucks so bad that you either buy a semi affordable consumer amplifier with 7.2.2 Dolby Atmos out and ok amplification, or if you want to step up you need a $4000+ processor whose only real job is decoding Dolby formats & turning them into analog outs for amplification. And there's almost no market, just a couple odd products like Emotiva's XMC-2: https://emotiva.com/products/xmc-2-plus-16-channel-9-1-6-dis...

Opener standards like DTS would hopefully have some remedy here but if the source material isn't available it hardly matters. Hoping for actual open standards Immersive Audio Model and Format (iamf) and the Eclipsa Audio Format profiles atop that maybe some day give us good spatial audio that an rpi and multichannel sound out board can help us free ourselves from this vile civilization-scale Dolby tarpit with. https://opensource.googleblog.com/2025/01/introducing-eclips...

0 comments

jeffbee10mo ago

Licensing is definitely strangling the market for Atmos decoders. If you have particular requirements you can always do it with ~$2k in Dolby software licenses and also ~$2k in converters. You cannot, unfortunately, DIY hardware for Atmos without an HDCP license. If you have one of those you can actually DIY something around a DSP like the ones Analog Devices sells preloaded with the IP. Then again if you have those kinds of resources you probably already work for Harman or something.

hedora10mo ago

Gee, look what fell out of the back of a truck:

https://www.alibaba.com/product-detail/HDMI-1-4-Splitter-1-i...

$25 minimum order (for ten) + shipping and tariffs. No idea if these work, but they’re the top internet hit. The metadata says they do.

jeffbee10mo ago

Yes but ADI won't even sell you the DSP I mentioned unless you produce your HDCP license.

iwontberude10mo ago

Whenever I try to use these they don’t work with the latest hardware

1 more reply

Duwensatzaj10mo ago

MiniDSP? https://www.minidsp.com/

I used their stuff for a four-speaker audio setup but they do affordable home theater devices as well.

drodgers10mo ago

They don't do any of the Dolby decoding and multi-channel mixing. Their closest product is the miniDSP Flex HT which is really about applying EQ to a bunch of channels (only 8, aka 7.1 or 5.2.1) after they've been decoded by an upstream receiver. It's pretty niche.

bob102910mo ago

I use the miniDSP 2x4 in my office right now to split the LFE and filter out the room modes.

It's amazing the difference you can make with a basic DSP engine and a tape measure.

EnPissant10mo ago

MiniDSP doesn't do any bitstream decoding.

j / k navigate · click thread line to collapse

0 pointsjauntywundrkind10mo ago0 comments

Really good call out, that the TV now often is the center of the AV experience, where-as the "receiver" (and amplifier) used to be driving the show.

0 comments

jeffbee10mo ago

hedora10mo ago

Gee, look what fell out of the back of a truck:

https://www.alibaba.com/product-detail/HDMI-1-4-Splitter-1-i...

$25 minimum order (for ten) + shipping and tariffs. No idea if these work, but they’re the top internet hit. The metadata says they do.

jeffbee10mo ago

Yes but ADI won't even sell you the DSP I mentioned unless you produce your HDCP license.

iwontberude10mo ago

Whenever I try to use these they don’t work with the latest hardware

1 more reply

Duwensatzaj10mo ago

MiniDSP? https://www.minidsp.com/

I used their stuff for a four-speaker audio setup but they do affordable home theater devices as well.

drodgers10mo ago

bob102910mo ago

I use the miniDSP 2x4 in my office right now to split the LFE and filter out the room modes.

It's amazing the difference you can make with a basic DSP engine and a tape measure.

EnPissant10mo ago

MiniDSP doesn't do any bitstream decoding.

j / k navigate · click thread line to collapse