Nettop and HD Audio
#1
Looking for better understanding and some guidance ...

For a few months I've been researching and asking questions regarding building an HTPC. Recently, I decided to turn my attention to something prebuilt that I can stream my bluray and dvd rips to.

I've been looking at purchasing the Shuttle XS35GT. However, I'm confused as to how nettops handle HD audio. For example, all of my bluray rips contain only one audio stream. It's the English Dolby TrueHD or DTS-HD stream. It's my understanding that most nettops can't do HD audio bit-streaming. So how would a nettop like the Shuttle handle the audio in my bluray rips? Downcovert them? I have a 5.1 system, would I still have 5.1 sound? Is there a noticeable difference in sound quality when compared to something that can bitstream? I do understand that is going to be somewhat subjective but just curious on opinions.

If the HD audio question isn't a concern, is the Shuttle a good device to purchase? I'd purchase a SSD and install Windows (most likely) and would be streaming a lot of 1080p content (m2ts), mkv and mp3.

Any advice and input would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks in advance.
j
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#2
jdawg0528 Wrote:So how would a nettop like the Shuttle handle the audio in my bluray rips? Downcovert them?

If configured correctly in the OS (I use Linux) it will convert Dolby True HD to 8 channel PCM (like many Blu Ray players do) while with DTS-HD it will just pass-through the large DTS core (which is many blind tests has been proven to be indistinguishable from the full DTS HD for most people). All 5.1.

If you want full HD audio from all your Blu Rays, you just convert the DTS HD audio tracks to 8 channel FLAC:

http://www.curtpalme.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=17002

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#3
I am considering the Shuttle as well and was about to ask the same thing. This is good to know. Looks like the Shuttle is acceptable for my needs.
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#4
thank you puffyhairguy. should i assume the same thing can be accomplished in Windows 7? i'll look around and see if i can find any tutorial's on it. thanks for the input as usual, you've been a huge help as i've tried to figure out exactly what the heck i'm going to buy Smile

tommyv, looks like we're in the same boat. i have a c-200 as well and looking to switch over to xbmc. just seems like xbmc is a far superior UI, etc.
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#5
jdawg0528 Wrote:thank you puffyhairguy. should i assume the same thing can be accomplished in Windows 7? i'll look around and see if i can find any tutorial's on it. thanks for the input as usual, you've been a huge help as i've tried to figure out exactly what the heck i'm going to buy Smile

In Windows 7 with DS Player and a Nvidia GT430 you will one day be able to bitstream DTS HD in XBMC...

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#6
poofyhairguy Wrote:In Windows 7 with DS Player and a Nvidia GT430 you will one day be able to bitstream DTS HD in XBMC...

Why one day people have been bitstreaming TrueHD and DTS-HD using DSPlayer and ffdshow for ages with the correct hardware

Although quite expensive it should be possible with the Asrock Core 100HT systems to bitstream HD Audio using ffdshow
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#7
>>X<<' Wrote:Why one day people have been bitstreaming TrueHD and DTS-HD using DSPlayer and ffdshow for ages with the correct hardware

I didn't know if Nvidia support was worked out yet. I haven't tested myself.

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#8
jdawg0528 Wrote:...
tommyv, looks like we're in the same boat. i have a c-200 as well and looking to switch over to xbmc. just seems like xbmc is a far superior UI, etc.

Yeah it really seems that if you're going to have a proper media library interface, XBMC is the standard. I only wish I had found out about it sooner.

It's easy to assume that a dedicated media player would be the best option since the whole unit is specifically made for one purpose. But the low cost of a HTPC and considering everything it can do, makes it hard to beat. I'm actually embarrassed that I bought the C-200s and paid what I did for them. They're less reliable than my other $99 media player.
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