Protected audio path/bitstreaming ATI 5750 question

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borgia

94 posts

Master Geek

# 45679 3-Nov-2009 19:30

Building a HTPC for a mate who is buying a new amplifier that will accept HDMI 1.3, and DTS-HD/Dolby HD. He has a new house with a built in seven speaker set up. I am happy with the freeview and PC build, then thought about the audio for Blu Ray. Obviously he wants the full sound deal, not downsampled. I was looking at he Auzentech X-Fi http://www.playtech.co.nz/product.php?action=showdetail&id=7998 but $450 is a little pricey.

Has anyone used an ATI 57xx or 58xx to get this working? http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/radeon-hd-5770 says it works, but I can't really find anything else about it.

Also, I have trawled the forum, but have not really found a satisfacory answer to whether ATI cards are working well for freeview (deinterlacing/blockiness etc)

Anyone can help?

Cheers

Ivan

RustyGonad

483 posts

Ultimate Geek

Trusted

# 269757 3-Nov-2009 20:38

The first thing you need to do is settle on some software which will support the card. At the moment I believe Cyberlink/PowerDVD 9 is the only one with provisional support for the ATI cards. PowerDVD has a few "other" issues - so its not just a simple decision.

Arcsoft have support "coming" for TMT3 - but they have no date yet. Theres a long thread on thier user forums about it...

Even if you choose the Auzentech cards - there's still many issues around software support at the moment. And like you said $450 bucks for HDCP passthrough - FFS!!!

Personally, I'd just sit on it for another couple of months - whatever you spend now to do it will be a huge premium over what it will most likely cost in another couple of months, and your likely to get tied into a proprietary solution - which probably won't work that well. You could buy a standalone bluray player for the money you need to invest at the moment... Its crazy...

Or just wait until Slysoft release thier player which is likely to bust the HDCP BS on its RS - and restore some level of sanity to the stupidity that is the current situation with HD audio...

borgia

94 posts

Master Geek

# 269772 3-Nov-2009 21:16

Thanks for the reply.

I use PDVD9 and doesn't seem to have too many issues. Any issues it has are fixed by turning anyDVD off. I am sure you are right about waiting though, and about the stupidity of the current siutation.

Cheers

dale77

292 posts

Ultimate Geek

# 270169 4-Nov-2009 23:37

However, if you purchase a 5xxx card for HTPC, you get the best ATI can offer from a video processing standpoint (deinterlacing/acceleration etc) plus a graphics solution that can give you good frame rates at 1080p (if you care about gaming).

Plus... the ability to bitstream to the receiver when software supports it properly, assuming it doesn't today with PDVD9.

I must confess though, I couldn't tell the difference between downsampled 16bit and full 24bit audio in my unscientific test...

HTPC: Antec Fusion 430, Gigabyte GA-MA78GPM-UD2H F7, AMD X2 4850e, Sapphire 4670 1GB, Corsair 4x1Gb, Adata 128Gb SSD, WD10EARS Green, LG GGC-H20L Blu-ray, Hauppauge NOVA TD-500, Logitech z-5500, Logitech Harmony 525, Samsung LA40B530 1080p, Vista Premium-32 SP2, Catalyst 10.12(Facelift preview), Mediaportal 1.2.3+OneButtonMusic, AC3Filter, Cyberlink Powercinema 6 codec, BLU-RAY: Samsung BD-F7500

borgia

94 posts

Master Geek

# 270239 5-Nov-2009 09:54

So all the ATI problems are a thing of the past? Ivan

Ragnor

8035 posts

Uber Geek

Trusted

# 270259 5-Nov-2009 10:25

No problem with 576i SD since several driver versions back. Not sure about hardware acceleration for high profile 5+ H.264 encodes with these new cards.. anyone?

browned

635 posts

Ultimate Geek

# 270270 5-Nov-2009 10:42

Both options have software issues at the moment. As far as I know Cyberlink have released a patch for both ATI's new card and Auzentech's card. What these address and if this fixes all known bugs is probably still up for debate.

Auzentech cards can be purchased cheaper via their own website.

Cyberlinks integration with Media Center is great and has worked flawlessly for me. I have two remotes, one for TV on/off and one for Media Center which plays everything I want.

Home Server: AMD Threadripper 1950X, 64GB, 56TB HDD, Define R6 Case, 10GbE, ESXi 6.7, UNRAID, NextPVR, Emby Server, Plex Server.
Lounge Media Center: NVIDIA Shield TV 16GB: Kodi18 with Titan MOD, Emby.
Kids Media Center: NVIDIA Shield TV 16GB: Kodi18 with Titan MOD, Emby.
Main PC: Ryzen 7 2700, 16GB RAM, RX 570, 2 x 24"