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View Full Version : Multimedia player with AAC 5.1 transcode capability?

pgr
26th February 2009, 20:33
I am searching for a hardware player (like TViX or Popcorn Hour) with a possibility to use AAC 5.1 sound (usually from an MKV-Container together with AVC video).

I am a little bit confused: Are there any Surround receivers that can handle AAC 5.1? Is SPDIF a "no go" for AAC 5.1?

Is there a player that's able to transcode AAC 5.1 into Dolby-AC3 "on the fly" like any PC can do? Then I could feed it into one of the many plain receivers out there...
SeeMoreDigital
27th February 2009, 10:28
As far as I know, no company manufactures an amplifier with on-board multi-channel AAC decoding chip-sets... And even if they did, I'm not aware of any multi-media player manufacture providing an option to pass an multi-channel AAC bit-stream via SPDIF (maybe Sony PS3 owners can confirm/deny).

That said, some multi-media player manufactures do offer players with multi-channel (RCA/phono) "analogue" outputs. And some players are now able to transcode a multi-channel AAC stream to a multi-channel PCM stream for passing via HDMI to a suitably equipped multi-channel amplifier.
pgr
27th February 2009, 18:21
And some players are now able to transcode a multi-channel AAC stream to a multi-channel PCM stream for passing via HDMI to a suitably equipped multi-channel amplifier.

How does this work? As HDMI is sound + video in a single cable, is some kind of a Y-cable required? Is the amplifier required to have the same HDMI interface as the HD-TV device?
SeeMoreDigital
27th February 2009, 20:58
Most, if not all DSS (Digital Surround Sound) amplifiers that are fitted with HDMI inputs are able to decode multi-channel PCM audio streams....
LoRd_MuldeR
28th February 2009, 04:06
Most, if not all DSS (Digital Surround Sound) amplifiers that are fitted with HDMI inputs are able to decode multi-channel PCM audio streams....

I think the question was: If he connects the HDMI cable to the amplifier, how does he get the video (which is transferred via HDMI too) to the screen.

Well, I think the amplifier should have a HDMI output connector, which passes the video stream through to the screen.

I guess a simple Y-cable wouldn't work, because both devices connected via HDMI need to perform a HDCP handshake before any data can be transferred...
SeeMoreDigital
28th February 2009, 13:28
Indeed...

All DSS amplifiers fitted with HDMI inputs also have an HDMI output.

Some DSS amplifiers are even able to convert HDMI video to component/composite/s-video - but only up-to a maximum resolotion of 720x480/576i.


Cheers
Blue_MiSfit
4th March 2009, 04:37
Also, some TVs with HDMI inputs have SPDIF outputs. Of course, that's only useful for AC3, DTS, or 2ch PCM :)

~MiSfit