nieuw: Xtreamer Ultra

[advr]

ik ga even denken wat te doen...
ben maar een gewone  gebruiker...

[eduard]

Net de volgende kaart besteld voor mijn tijdelijk htpc http://www.sparkle.com.tw/product_detail.asp?id=114&sub_id=404
Misschien binnen kort nog even op zoek naar een nieuws ssd.

[Ronin79]

Ik ken de kaart zelf niet, maar de specs zien er goed uit.

Als je voor een nieuwe SSD gaat kijken, kun je beter de Vertex 3 aan je voobij laten gaan. De OCZ Vertex 2 is nog altijd de betere.
De review stond, of op; Tweakers of op Hardware Info.

[Toni71]

Leuke kaart voor een htpc.

Groet ,

Tony

[Niek_gti]

Net de volgende kaart besteld voor mijn tijdelijk htpc http://www.sparkle.com.tw/product_detail.asp?id=114&sub_id=404
Misschien binnen kort nog even op zoek naar een nieuws ssd.

Goede kaart voor een HTPC, stil en wel echt low profile..... Meer dan zat voor 1080p en full bluray playback. En wel HD audio geschikt :p Bovendoen maken onze Nvidea vrienden Linux drivers voor de XMBc lovers onder ons... Die in versie 11 ook HD audio gaan ondersteunen.

[skank1]

mooi, xtreamer maakt hun naam weer helemaal de oude
As of today, the word is out. Xtreamer's Ultra cannot handle TrueHD and DTSHD but "may" get those features later on in firmware development by manufacturers of components inside the Ultra player or maybe by open source (and how would they license that?). They even hint at updates for the chip which is (ION2) limited by hardware and never would be able to support TrueHD and DTSHD although it is possible by software eventually thanks to the integration of a Realtek chip on the side. Will we see another version of Ultra shortly after the launch of the first like they did with the first Xtreamer? I wouldn't be surprised as also that hoax was based on claiming DTSHD and TrueHD would eventually come... They where right, It came eventually in the form of a new Xtreamer you'd purchase but not as an update for your existing unit! Fact is, the more we look at the Ultra, the more we feel it doesn't earn that title despite Xtreamer going through every effort convincing people the Ultra is the next best thing to get... Let's discuss, shall we...?

HDMI 1.4a is thrown all over the place whilst looking at specs, the only HDMI 1.4 we can find clearly mentioned is the cable, not the player. Together with this "unclear" statement comes the message 3D support which people link to HDMI 1.4 as 3DBD!! It seems based only on nVidia's 3DTV play and not true 3DBD, the real thing. Isn't it a paid software as well included by default as a 14 day trial or something? Will Xtreamer handle real 3D BD or Blu-Ray itself properly. We know ION2 cannot handle that up to 1080p so is it "ultra" really? (Did you see our trick stating it does not support 1080p? In fact it only affects 3D playback but we mentioned Blu-Ray on the side as well, that gives us the excuse later on stating you misinterpreting our message, we didn't lie...)

DDR3 memory sounds great but wait... The D525 Intel Atom chip features only an 800MHz front side bus and therefore renders DDR3 absolutely useless. DDR2 would be a better alternative and reveals the usage of DDR3 up to 4GB as a pure marketing hoax or benefit of the Ultra...

Any true HD solution without TrueHD and DTSHD support or full HD support for certain "common" types of media by now is a no go for every serious media user from the start. A promise for "possible future support" is not a convincing argument. You either can and do it, or you can't and admit it... Instead it is clear Xtreamer is using dubious commercials to make people believe they can, but smartly without lying directly. They state HD Audio (which is not limited to TrueHD and DTSHD) and then state Blu-Ray bit streaming, for which the bit-streaming part does not apply to the HD Audio. (See image)

Click this bar to view the full image.


HD Audio, somehow the world was informed about the Realtek ALC892 HD chip integrated and possibly would be used for streaming TrueHD and DTSHD! Not possible according to specialists and the reaction of Xtreamer to pull back once more "false information" from their spec's and advertising only confirms they cannot provide it, they took a run with the truth or have no clue of what they are able to do or not... (Notice the customer can have TrueHD and DTSHD by implementing software themselves)

It begs the question, how ULTRA is the unit without decent Blu-Ray support? What about 3D and HDMI 1.4? We don't believe these are or will be available on the Ultra in it's pure form as there's no such thing as an upgrade for HDMI 1.3 to HDMI 1.4? It takes hardware changes and the least it takes to complete the experience is TrueHD and DTSHD support.

So rounding up the findings so far...

Ultra features HDMI 1.3 but comes with HDMI 1.4a cable... (make people believe HDMI 1.4 device)
Xtreamer promotes 3D capabilities based on nVidia's paid software solution (extra cost for the software and it also requires Windows 7 to be installed, so twice the extra cost and even after all this invested money still cannot support full 1080p 3D playback)
Fitted DDR3 memory which wasn't needed due to the limits of the Intel Atom D525 FSB...
Cannot handle DTSHD and TrueHD out of the box requiring users to fit that support by whatever means themselves...
Compares the Ultra to a far outdated product instead of more recent units, just like they did with Syabas old interface for the Xtreamer...
That about sums up how "Ultra" the Ultra really is if Xtreamer lacks all this and is scared as hell to compare their Ultra against a more up to date product... Even if we would have a thing or 35 wrong about the Ultra (caused by Xtreamer's lack of honesty), let's admit, it doesn't sound too attractive or Ultra anymore, does it?

Why pay more...? I really like that slogan as it's making very clear why I actually would consider to pay more! There are cheaper and better options out there... search and you'll find them... (AVSForums is a really good source on that subject, hence the reason we never started with it )

PS: Xtreamer has removed most or all of their dubious messages surrounding the Ultra!
PS2: We don't take full credits for investigations, just rounded up information from several partner forums (AVSForums, Xtreamer, MPC CLub etc...) with what we already knew and suspected...! Credits are due by those people who took time to reveal the truth about the Ultra and pushed Xtreamer back to acknowledge the Ultra ain't Ultra at all! It's just cheap HTPC hardware which burdens people to get it up and running properly! (Well, it ain't even cheap either)



terug allemaal valse beloftes met de specs

1 woord: blijf gewoon ver weg van alles wat de naam Xtreamer draagt !

[eduard]

Zier hier een reactie op mijn vraag aan xtreamer of ze wel of geen hd audio ondersteunen op de ultra. als je de tekst door leest lijkt het er op dat hij hd audio kan in lpcm en niet in bitstream mode.

Mijn bestelling is ge anuleerd nu nog even kijken hoe het met de refund zit.


Om de link te kunnen lezen moet je lid zijn van het forum zie hier onder de tekst.  
Antwoord van xtreamer:

Please refer to the last post in this thread - http://forum.xtreamer.net/topic/20766-qa-what-about-blu-ray-iso-and-disc-playback-support/


Some short further update from our lab about Xtreamer Ultra ability to play HD audio :

Xtreamer ultra can handle HD Audio via HDMI

DD / DTS / Stereo ------> LPCM
TrueHD /DTS-HD Multichannel ----> LPCM over HDMI

Source Signal ----> Result

DD ---> DD

TrueHD---> DD 7.1

DTS-HD MA - ---> DTS-ES

DD-EX ---> DD

DTS ---> DTS

DTS 96/24 ---> DTS 96/24

DTS-HD MA(MKV) --->DTS





Some more detailed explanation about the true meaning of this concepts of bit streaming and LPCM means can be found here :

http://forums.afterdawn.com/thread_view.cfm/520150

Quote

Bitstream

Bitstream audio refers to a succession of 1's and 0's transmitted from a player typically to a receiver or A/V preamp. The receiver then decodes this information and amplifies the resulting audio signal to drive your speakers. This information can be transmitted either through SPDIF (optical or digital coax) or HDMI connections depending on the compression method.

Bitstream audio as it comes on disc is usually compressed in 2 ways:

Lossy compression such as:
Dolby Digital
Dolby Digital Plus
DTS
DTS HD High Resolution

Lossless compression such as:
Dolby True HD
DTS HD Master Audio

PCM

PCM or Pulse Code Modulation "is a digital representation of an analog signal where the magnitude of the signal is sampled regularly at uniform intervals, then quantized to a series of symbols in a digital (usually binary) code." (From the PCM WIkipedia article.) There are compressed forms of PCM audio but the PCM soundtracks that you see in BluRay discs are uncompressed.

Linear PCM or LPCM can be included on the disc itself or the player can derive LPCM from other digital tracks and transport this through the player's digital connections.

Is there an audible difference?

Given the right equipment and the right conditions a compressed lossless Dolby True HD soundtrack should sound the same as an uncompressed LPCM soundtrack.

See this comparison between the two on "The Departed." The LPCM soundtrack is on the BluRay disc and the Dolby True HD trak is on the HD DVD disc:

http://hddvd.highdefdigest.com/598/departed.html

Quote:

"Now, how do the PCM and TrueHD tracks compare? Given this historic opportunity, I decided to conduct a little experiment. I invited a friend over, who is a big movie and music buff, but not particularly technical. He knows good audio when he hears it, yet doesn't know a PCM from an RPM from R.E.M. In other words, he's Joe Six-Pack with a great ear. Anyway, together we conducted a "blind" audio test -- we select ten short sequences from the film, and listened to a compare of each. We took turns firing up each scene, and selecting which one sounded better, with no knowledge of which sample was the Blu-ray and which the HD DVD.

After writing down our answers on little scraps of paper (note that we didn't throw them into a hat -- we aren't that dorky), the results were interesting. Out of the twenty comparisons (ten for him, ten for me), we could only detect differences on four scenes total. But of those four, we both always preferred the PCM track, if only a smidgeon. For example, there is a scene in involving an attempted trade bust between the Costello character and a Chinese gang. There is a sound of a gun firing that we went back over a few times, and as silly as it sounds, the force and impact of the sounds was a shade more realistic in PCM. Also a beneficiary of the uncompressed mix is the music, as this is a film brimming with rock songs. The first scene we picked featured the Rolling Stone's "Gimme Shelter," and again the PCM track boasted a slightly more spacious feel to the music in all channels -- as if the very highest end of the frequency range was more palpable.

Granted, these are very slight differences and subjective preferences. Had we not blindfolded each other (figuratively speaking, of course) and been flipping back and forth between discs like one of those old Coke-Pepsi commercials, such deviations likely would have been imperceptible. It is also certain that the average listener wouldn't be able to tell the difference without possessing the ears of a dog. Still, in this case I give a slight edge to the PCM track, though a comparison between a single title hardly qualifies as the final word. If nothing else, it made me realize that if all the studios dumped this dueling audio format business and went all-PCM, I can't say I would be likely to complain... "

As long as the Dolby True HD soundtrack is decoded properly, the resulting LPCM signal should be exactly the same as the uncompressed LPCM track or the studio master.



another useful link for you to see read more about the subject is :

http://www.missingremote.com/guide/bitstreaming-hdmi-hd-audio-formats-your-htpc


"If you have a card that supports multichannel LPCM there shouldn't be any difference in quality between decoding HD audio on the PC and streaming multi-channel LPCM to the AVR versus bit streaming the same. That said, there are differences in implementation that can influence the decision."



And this was not enough to realise the scope of this issue read here as well :

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=842477

Most Sincerely,
Xtreamer  Sales Team.

[skank1]

Is niet te lezen, maar ik vertrouw ze voor geen haar meer.
Weg ermee.

[Ronin79]

Ik snap ook niet dat er bij voorbaat zoveel pre-orders zijn gedaan. Met een beetje onderzoek hadden de meeste kunnen weten dat Xtreamer niet echt betrouwbaar is.
Ook is Xtreamer geen uitblinker in hun support, zeg maar gerust ... niet.
Met name HT ers zouden dit beter moeten weten .... dat je niet alleen op specs op papier moet afgaan.  

Daarom heb ik maanden geleden toen bekend was dat de Ultra zou gaan verschijnen. Mijn broertje geadviseerd ... om eerst
maar eens de kat uit de boom te kijken, en de speler nog niet te bestellen. Zeker niet met het boven genoemde voor ogen.

Mijn broertje wou namelijk zijn Dune Smart inruilen, omdat hij oa. de menu's niet mooi genoeg vond.
Persoonlijk heb ik zelden zo'n belachelijke reden gehoord (al begreep ik wel wat hij bedoelde). Je kunt daarin naar mijn mening
ook te ver door slaan. Een mooi menu is leuk, maar daar gaat het bij een media speler, naar mijn mening niet om.

Ik hoop in ieder geval dat jullie het geld terug krijgen, mocht je al een aanbetaling of gehele betaling gedaan hebben.

Zelf blijf ik mooi wachten op de upgedate; Dune Smart, met de nieuwe Sigma chip ... die eind November verschijnt.
We weten allemaal dat de Dune Smart goed werkt (zeker nu) ... de nieuwe heeft gewoon een wat snellere processor.
Dit lijkt mij dan ook een goede aankoop om de HDX in de woonkamer te vervangen. De HDX gaat dan naar de slaapkamer  

[mediaplayerfan]

Ik heb 4 weken geleden de xstreamer ultra zonder hardeschijf aangeschaft.
Audio werkte niet. Kreeg een nieuwe opgestuurd.

Yo, audio werkt.

Het besturings systeem wordt geleverd op een USB stick.
Bevindingen:
Opstarten zeer traag.
Besturing met meegeleverde toetenbord onnauwkeurig.
Draadloos internet  met xstreamer wifi antenne zeer traag.
Na een automatische update wilde het geheel niet meer opstarten.

Teruggebracht en een asus EEEBOX met windows 7 aangeschaft. Geen vertrouwen meer in de Xstreamer ultra.
Draadloos Internet supersnel.
XBMC freeware geinstalleerd. Alle codecs werken. audio via HDMI.
Harde schijf eenvoudig te delen.

Werkt perfect! .

Dus voor € 15,00 meer. Heb je naar mijn idee een stabieler systeem

[Ronin79]

Met alle respect, dat zat er een beetje in.
Er zijn zoveel negatieve reviews over Xtreamer als bedrijf, dat je die producten .. beter links kan laten liggen.
Ze beloven namelijk meer, dan dat ze waar kunnen maken.

Ik ben in ieder geval blij voor je dat de Asus het wel goed doet.
Heel veel plezier met deze speler.