Atmos finally decoded in PC/Mac

[VoidX]

The cards are generally not the problem. There are many cards pci-e or even USB dongles. The problem is actually getting the bitstream audio out. Most are locked to only accept LPCM. This should just be a software issue though (as well as a licensing thing).

HDMI audio is actually contained in the image. It could be extracted with their API.

 

[voodooless]

HDMI audio is actually contained in the image. It could be extracted with their API.

It’s not contained in the image . It’s just part of the data stream. The hardware does the deembedding for you. To receive bitstream audio you’ll need to offer the correct EDID to the source. This is however not something these capture cards expose as a configurable parameter. And then there is the HDCP to worry about.

Edit: this one seems to do it: https://www.magewell.com/kb/001030032/detail . The card is not cheap though.

 

[VoidX]

It’s just part of the data stream

You can override the sync from their API, making it work. But there's still the issue of TrueHD documents not being available.

 

[voodooless]

You can override the sync from their API,

Who’s api?

 

[VoidX]

Who’s api?

Blackmagic.

 

[voodooless]

Blackmagic.

Ah haven’t found any resources on that yet.

Don’t care too much for TrueHD personally. All streaming stuff is DD+ Atmos at best anyway.

 

[VoidX]

Ah haven’t found any resources on that yet.

Don’t care too much for TrueHD personally. All streaming stuff is DD+ Atmos at best anyway.

And if you just discard the DRC metadata, it's basically transparent. I honestly have no idea why anyone thought it was a good feature.

 

[tifune]

The old upmixer simply cut the signal to bands, and applied height by amplitude. The current upmixer is based on Spleeter for separating different kinds of sounds, and moves the ones marked as height to height channels.

What hardware did you use to test all these channels? It seems kind of difficult to find anything that works beyond 8 channels on Windows

 

[VoidX]

What hardware did you use to test all these channels? It seems kind of difficult to find anything that works beyond 8 channels on Windows

I just tested with a subset of channels. I only have 8 channels, but I'm working on a player that supports multiple sound cards.

 

[tifune]

I just tested with a subset of channels. I only have 8 channels, but I'm working on a player that supports multiple sound cards.

that would be excellent; any thoughts on how you'll sync their respective clocks? In my limited testing, OS X is great in that regard but I haven't seen anything as simple on Windows

 

[voodooless]

I'm working on a player that supports multiple sound cards.

No need:

Aggregate Audio Devices and Drivers for PC and Mac - SweetCare

In this guide, we will explainn how to use aggregate audio devices on PC and Mac. Click here to learn more and get started!

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[krabapple]

so...decode to multichannel PCM in PC, then HDMI out to pre/amp (or AVR) HDMI in, then to speakers? Is that what we are talking about?

 

[voodooless]

so...decode to multichannel PCM in PC, then HDMI out to pre/amp (or AVR) HDMI in, then to speakers? Is that what we are talking about?

No, the point is to skip the AVR altogether

 

[retro]

so...decode to multichannel PCM in PC, then HDMI out to pre/amp (or AVR) HDMI in, then to speakers? Is that what we are talking about?

No. This is all about taking the HDMI restrictions and requirements out of the chain.
Read the thread from the start and also the articles on computeraudiophile.

 

[krabapple]

No, the point is to skip the AVR altogether

I wouldn't want to do that, given all the nice things I can do with my AVR.

So...you're talking about PC direct to powered speakers? Or with maybe some more DSP in between?

 

[voodooless]

I wouldn't want to do that, given all the nice things I can do with my AVR.

Yeah, but this about all the nice things it can’t do

So...you're talking about PC direct to powered speakers? Or with maybe some more DSP in between?

Your PC is one massive DSP But sure, if you want an external one, that should be no problem.

 

[Human Bass]

I read that Google is trying to develop a open source multi channel codec

 

[krabapple]

Yeah, but this about all the nice things it can’t do

Your PC is one massive DSP But sure, if you want an external one, that should be no problem.

Right, I mean applying e.g., room correction either in the PC downstream of decoding, or in a box between PC and speakers.

 

[Axo1989]

I wouldn't want to do that, given all the nice things I can do with my AVR.

So...you're talking about PC direct to powered speakers? Or with maybe some more DSP in between?

I'm also in the 'skip the AVR' group.

But output to powered speaker, or amp then speakers, both ok. And DSP room EQ on the computer, or in a downstream device, also ok.

(As you say in the post above, exactly)

 

[Digimaster]

And if you just discard the DRC metadata, it's basically transparent. I honestly have no idea why anyone thought it was a good feature.

There are 2 reasons to prefer Atmos in TrueHD:
1) TrueHD is lossless, the difference when you listen in High quality HT is really big.
2) Streaming audio is Dynamic compressed to follow ITU 1770/1771 or EBU128 specs. Good for TV and soundbar, not for High quality HT listening.
So, please, don't discard Atmos in TrueHD: it's the only Atmos for HT ultimate experience.