[jdawg0528]

Hey everybody. I'm new to XBMC and HTPCs in general. I recently built an UnRaid NAS and a front-end HTPC. I have a mix of DVD and BluRay rips. For the BluRay rips, I'd like to bitstream the HD audio. The BluRay rips are in m2ts format. I found this tutorial:

http://www.mediasmartserver.net/2010/06/...-dsplayer/

Followed it but I'm having problems playing any m2ts file that has either a Dobly True-HD or DTS-HD MA audio stream when using DSPlayer. Here's a pastebin of the xbmc log:

http://pastebin.com/qTG3pWHX

With my limited knowledge, the issue appears to be with ffdshow and the audio, because of this:

#
07:01:48 T:2332 M:3094007808 ERROR: CFGManager::RecoverFromGraphError Audio / Video error
#
Error in the audio rendering chain.
#
Ensure that the audio/video stream is supported by your selected decoder and ensure that the decoder is properly configured.

If it matters, I'm running Rev 553d719-dx for XBMC. I've tried rev 3749 and 3771 for ffdshow (32-bit). Also, I'm wondering if the issue is an incompatibility with my video card. I have an nVidia GT430 as that is what was recommended to me in the Hardware forum was I was building it. However, I thought I read while researching this issue that ATI cards were all that worked with ffdshow for bitstreaming. Is that my issue? If so, are there any bitstreaming solutions for nVidia and specifically the GT430?

I'm not sure if that is enough info for anyone to help me, but let me know if you have any suggestions or need more info. I would really, really appreciate any help anyone can give me.

Thanks.

[mitul103]

I don't know much about solving this particular issue, but I can at least tell you that the GT430 works just fine for bitstreaming Dolby TrueHD and DTS-HDMA as I have done so successfully with ffdshow. Before you try to get this working with DSPlayer, have you been able to make this work outside of XBMC with media player classic and ffdshow?

[jdawg0528]

I don't know much about solving this particular issue, but I can at least tell you that the GT430 works just fine for bitstreaming Dolby TrueHD and DTS-HDMA as I have done so successfully with ffdshow. Before you try to get this working with DSPlayer, have you been able to make this work outside of XBMC with media player classic and ffdshow?

Thanks a bunch for chiming in.

Good point on trying MPC. I actually tried that first (from the other tutorial referenced in the link above) and it did passthrough the HD audio (at the time I was using a 64-bit version of ffdshow), however I was getting stuttering during playback (perhaps I didn't have everything configured properly to use DXVA - wasn't sure how to do that outside of the XBMC option in settings) so decided to try to dsplayer instead. So I guess I should have known the GT430 does work but thank you very much for validating that.

Maybe I need to take another look at MPC and see if I missed something to keep the playback smooth.

However, if anyone has any additional input in to how to get dsplayer to work, I would greatly appreciate it.

[natethomas]

DSPlayer is no longer supported by anyone. Do you mean the DSCodec?

[jdawg0528]

DSPlayer is no longer supported by anyone. Do you mean the DSCodec?

Thank you for the reply natethomas. No, I really do mean dsplayer. I do understand that it is no longer supported. However, I'm assuming it is still a viable option for bitstreaming HD audio. As I mentioned, I opted to try the dsplayer version of XBMC becuase of the step-by-by tutorial I found at mediasmartserver.net. In all honesty, I just want a seamless means to bitstream the hd audio streams in my BluRay rips via XBMC. If there is a better, currently supported method or player, I'd love to hear about it. I just want the solution to be integrated or seamlessly called from XBMC.

I'm not familiar with the DSCodec. Is that something I can leverage to accomplish my goal?

Again, any help, insight, suggestions are greatly appreciated as I think my wife is going to kill me if I spend another 3 hours tonight trying to get this work

[steelman1991]

Thank you for the reply natethomas. No, I really do mean dsplayer. I do understand that it is no longer supported. However, I'm assuming it is still a viable option for bitstreaming HD audio. As I mentioned, I opted to try the dsplayer version of XBMC becuase of the step-by-by tutorial I found at mediasmartserver.net. In all honesty, I just want a seamless means to bitstream the hd audio streams in my BluRay rips via XBMC. If there is a better, currently supported method or player, I'd love to hear about it. I just want the solution to be integrated or seamlessly called from XBMC.

I'm not familiar with the DSCodec. Is that something I can leverage to accomplish my goal?

Again, any help, insight, suggestions are greatly appreciated as I think my wife is going to kill me if I spend another 3 hours tonight trying to get this work

jdawg - curious where you got that build - isn't an official, or for that mattter unofficial build that I am aware of - did you build yourself?

I always found DSPlayer tempremental with m2ts, the set-up was always more comfortable with mkv rips. The fact it is no longer being supported (development has now moved to the DSCodec branch Nate mentioned), will limit your responses and remedies (in other words if the playback mechanics are broken for m2ts - the will stay broken). I am aware that others are using the last DSPLayer build quite happily, but it never quite worked for me.

DSCodec branch is very much developmental and at this stage can't even bitstream DTS core, let alone handle HD Audio codecs.

Here is a link to the last user posted build of DSPlayer http://forum.xbmc.org/showpost.php?p=687...count=4069 - which you might find useful. For WAF stick to the native Dharma build and accept dts core and lpcm (for True HD) until the new Audio Engine is released which will allow HD Audio bitsream

[natethomas]

For WAF stick to the native Dharma build and accept dts core and lpcm (for True HD) until the new Audio Engine is released which will allow HD Audio bitsream

Also, as I always feel necessary to point out, remember that it is literally impossible to tell the difference between dts core and any audio codec higher than dts core. Not even the most awesome of trained audio professionals can hear a difference. Literally, the only reason to want anything better is because you like seeing the little light glow on your receiver.

[jdawg0528]

jdawg - curious where you got that build - isn't an official, or for that mattter unofficial build that I am aware of - did you build yourself?

I always found DSPlayer tempremental with m2ts, the set-up was always more comfortable with mkv rips. The fact it is no longer being supported (development has now moved to the DSCodec branch Nate mentioned), will limit your responses and remedies (in other words if the playback mechanics are broken for m2ts - the will stay broken). I am aware that others are using the last DSPLayer build quite happily, but it never quite worked for me.

DSCodec branch is very much developmental and at this stage can't even bitstream DTS core, let alone handle HD Audio codecs.

Here is a link to the last user posted build of DSPlayer http://forum.xbmc.org/showpost.php?p=687...count=4069 - which you might find useful. For WAF stick to the native Dharma build and accept dts core and lpcm (for True HD) until the new Audio Engine is released which will allow HD Audio bitsream

Nope, I didn't build it myself. I found it in a forum post when I was researching something else (can't remember what though). Thank you for the link. Definitely need a high WAF but I'm disappointed that there isn't an easy solution right now. Is there any word on how soon the new audio engine will be implemented? Soonish? Or is a months - year away kind of thing? Thanks again for your help steelman ... much appreciated.

[jdawg0528]

Also, as I always feel necessary to point out, remember that it is literally impossible to tell the difference between dts core and any audio codec higher than dts core. Not even the most awesome of trained audio professionals can hear a difference. Literally, the only reason to want anything better is because you like seeing the little light glow on your receiver.

Hmmm ... perhaps it is just mental but I certainly feel the dynamics of DTS-HD MA is more apparent than the DTS core audio ... it's subtle but I feel it makes a difference with the whole "movie experience" for me. I'm no audiophile but that's my take and the reason I want to be able to bitstream with XBMC. But like I said it certainly could be one of those mental things where it seems to sound better just because of the light glowing on the receiver

[natethomas]

Hmmm ... perhaps it is just mental but I certainly feel the dynamics of DTS-HD MA is more apparent than the DTS core audio ... it's subtle but I feel it makes a difference with the whole "movie experience" for me. I'm no audiophile but that's my take and the reason I want to be able to bitstream with XBMC. But like I said it certainly could be one of those mental things where it seems to sound better just because of the light glowing on the receiver

It's POSSIBLY a mental thing. That total lack of differentiation requires perfectly calibrated equipment. While the DTS-HD might not actually sound better, it could appear to sound better because the equipment is calibrated differently based on the input. So you very well could be actually hearing a real difference, due to non-perfect calibration.

[opeters]

What makes a huge difference is if the DTS-HD track is 7.1 and get the full 7.1 glory instead of the core 5.1.

[SpectreX]

Also, as I always feel necessary to point out, remember that it is literally impossible to tell the difference between dts core and any audio codec higher than dts core. Not even the most awesome of trained audio professionals can hear a difference. Literally, the only reason to want anything better is because you like seeing the little light glow on your receiver.

And this statement is based on what exactly, on what founded research? Because half of AVS Forum (and any other Home Teather forum) can tell you otherwise, the difference between the DTS core and the DTS-MA is almost like the difference between a 320Kbps MP3 and a lossless FLAC. Even my GF which is tehnically illiterate (doesn`t even know what DTS-HD MA or DTS mean or are, or why blue lights appear on the receiver, or what a "'receiver" is/does for that matter) noticed that the DTS-MA tracks sounded better (better vibrance/tonals/clearer voices etc.) when i switched over from one to another (using MPC-HC and ffdshow to bitstream) during a movie.
The only people i know that can`t actually tell the difference are older people with lesser hearing, the same people that have a hard time hearing differences between the MP3 and FLAC, which is normal, or people with crappy HTiB sistems

[steelman1991]

LOL You just knew this was opening a can of worms Nate didn't you. I must admit that I agree with you and personally really can't tell the difference - and SpectreX I don't have a crappy HTIB system (Onkyo 805 partnered with B&W M1 sats and PV1 sat).

And yes I will class myself as 'older', but that hasn't really affected my hearing, but has made much less susceptible to the 'Emperor's Clothes' effect. Its yet another marketing con.

What makes the guys on AVSForum any more or less expert than Nate (Haven't read any "founded research" on their to back up your statement) - they listen same as you and me and they perceive a difference, I don't and I am sure there are countless others who don't either, but it doesn't make anyone right or wrong.

[SpectreX]

Neighter have i (found solid research on this matter), and that was the whole point. You can`t say "there is no difference between DTS and DTS MA HD, even for the most trained audiophiles" with no proof behind it, when there is no reasearch even on the average Joe, let alone trained audiophiles, and vice-versa. Some people can hear it, some can`t, i`ve met and know people from both categories (depends on you hearing perception mostly, that`s why i said that people with lesser hearing will certantly not hear any difference). I gave the people on AVS an as an example, and some people i know that can.

The whole point was that you can`t say for sure that nobody can hear it or everybody can hear it. It`s up to the listener to decide (in this case, the thread starter), not us to tell him what he can hear or not.

And for the record, i also stopped using DS Player, i preffer the stability of Dharma over HD audio. I`ll just wait until DS Codec matures or Eden comes out.

[liquidskin76]

The TrueHD/DTS-HD v AC3/DTS discussion continues! Just on another forum, in another universe!! The same has been discussed with 1080 v 720 vid resolution. Can you see a difference...

You'll go bat shit listening to all the different opinions.

All i can say is go with your own ears (or eyes!). If you can't hear a difference, then stick with lossy. If you can or think you can, then go with HD audio.