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wilsonlaidlaw

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Graham Thompson suggested I join this forum to get better answers than AV forum.

I have been using a Humax Foxsat HD box since my house in the Haut Var (Provence) got struck by lighting in 2008. The hit was on the 140cm dish at the bottom of the garden and the Sky box went up in flames. I feed the S/PDIF audio output into a Russ Andrews Firestone Spitfire 24/192 DAC. This does not understand the 5.1 stream that comes out of the optical out on HD channels and just makes a noise like a motor scooter with a broken exhaust.

Up to this year this has not been a big issue as I did not watch the BBC HD channel a whole lot. However this year with BBC1 and ITV1 in HD it has become more of an issue. I change the input on my Meridian G02 pre-amp over to the Sony KDL-40W3500 TV, which of course can decode the 5.1 stream arriving via the HDMI lead, albeit at lowish quality and outputs via 2 channel stereo RCA.

My options are:
1) to get a Humax HDR box, which was not out when I got the HD box. I am told that if you turn Dolby off in the menu of the HDR box, then unlike the HD box, the optical out sends a normal 2 channel PCM stream that a standard 2 channel DAC can understand.

2) To find a DAC that can understand 5.1 S/PDIF and output a 2 channel mixed stream from this. I don't mind buying a new DAC as I am not exactly blown away by the quality of the Spitfire for my main system and my 15 year old Audio Alchemy DAC that I have been using in my study to play Internet Radio, has died.

Apart from that, my interests are: Classical Music, Hi Fi, photography with rangefinder cameras (1942 to 2009 models), Porsche 911 cars and classic rallying.

Wilson

| Sun 24 Apr 2011 7:56:44 #1 |
aldaweb

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Hi and welcome to the forum.

Take a look through the FAQs, wiki and blogs and any specific questions you have post in the relevant forum, I'm sure someone will be able to help.

| Sun 24 Apr 2011 8:14:45 #2 |
grahamlthompson

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Hi WilsonLaidlaw and welcome.

The current released firmware V1.00.13 always outputs Dolby Digital 2.0 or 5.1 from HD channels on the s/pdif port using this compression system irrespective of the setting for Dolby Digital in the menus. The BBC HD channels have a stereo lpcm track that can be selected using the audio button on the remote but it's audio described. Incidentally ITV1-HD Granada has the full 1920 x 1080 resolution but only a lpcm stereo track (does have prologic 11 surround though if you have a suitable decoder). If you use a Manchester postcode or tune the channel in non-freesat you can check this out. (M2 4JA - Manchester Town Hall works :-))

The new beta v1.00.15 - (see the thread on here) which fixes the cessation of recording capability following a power cut when the box is in sby adds the downmix capability to the s/pdif port so if DD is turned off you get good old lpcm stereo which shouldn't be a problem to any dac.

| Sun 24 Apr 2011 9:37:29 #3 |
wilsonlaidlaw

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Graham,

Many thanks for your very helpful suggestions. I had seen the suggestion of using the audio button on the remote on the DS forum. The problem is unless my eyesight is going or my brain (both according to my wife), I cannot see an audio button on my remote (pic attached). Maybe this is because this is quite an early HD box (not HDR) dating from early 2008. The beta you mention is I think for the HDR box only not the HD.

Wilson
Attachments
1. Humx_RM_108.jpg (79.5 KB, 2 downloads) 12 years old
| Sun 24 Apr 2011 9:57:34 #4 |
grahamlthompson

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Yes afaik the HD currently can't downmix to s/pdif. The button you need is the loudspeaker with a ?. Second from bottom right hand side.

| Sun 24 Apr 2011 10:03:37 #5 |
wilsonlaidlaw

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Graham,

I had played with that button but all it does is play around with the channels so you can have 2 left channels or 2 right (why???) and presumably if the broadcaster was sending out multi-lingual streams, would allow you to choose your language. I think it may be give up time and dig into my pocket for an HDR box. I see that Tesco is selling refurbed ones on Fleabay.

Thanks anyway

Wilson

| Sun 24 Apr 2011 10:11:36 #6 |
grahamlthompson

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BBC-HD and BBC1-HD always has two streams, the default Dolby Digital and the stereo lpcm track which the button can select, it should work with your DAC but you can't get rid of the audio description. The hdr with the new firmware should fix your problem.

| Sun 24 Apr 2011 10:48:15 #7 |
wilsonlaidlaw

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I think this is all going to have to wait until my daughter and son-in-law come to stay in June. I just remembered I would need to lay a twin cable from the dish or maybe quad to future proof. We will have to dig up the channel from the house to the bottom of the garden, where the 140cm dish is screwed on to a rock face about 50 meters from the house. The 'garden" is mainly softish limestone rock and I got my son to cut a channel with a pick axe when I bought the house 8 years ago. Fitting a twin or quad LNB is not an issue. I replaced my ancient rusting UK dish and LNB last month myself, after some aerial monkeys wanted me to pay them £300 to do it - all the parts including Invacom quad LNB, alignment meter, 10 meters of 7.5mm shotgun cable and 65cm dish cost me £107.

I can get my daughter to bring out the Humax HDR as well, instead of trusting to the vagaries of French post, UPS (U'r Parcel Stolen) or DHL (Delivery Hopelessly Lost).

Wilson

| Sun 24 Apr 2011 10:51:59 #8 |
Barry

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Welcome to our forum

If you can hang on a couple of Days whilst I check something with Humax Support, might save you some pennies.

| Sun 24 Apr 2011 10:58:21 #9 |
wilsonlaidlaw

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I wait in gleeful anticipation Barry. Your help IS appreciated.

Wilson

| Sun 24 Apr 2011 12:16:12 #10 |