30-Jun-2010
Realtek 1073DD+ / 1283DD+ Explained
Starting in Spring 2010, Realtek switched production for all 1073 and 1283 chipsets to an updated version called '1073DD+' and '1283DD+'. These new chips are identical to their 'DD' predecessors except that they are now capable of passing through (bitstreaming) lossless HD Audio formats (DTS-HD MA / Dolby TrueHD).

To be clear, all 'DD' versions of the Realtek chips are capable of passing the lossy HD Audio formats such as Dolby Digital, Dolby Digital Plus, and DTS. The only difference is in the ability to pass lossless audio as found on Blu-Ray discs.

Unfortunately, several of the original Realtek Media Players were advertised as capable of lossless HD Audio from launch in summer 2009. It became apparent around the end of 2009 that the original chips were never going to able to pass lossless HD-Audio. This confusion / false advertising has been covered in detail around the internet and we won't start pointing fingers here. What we will say is that the iboum site has always published the most accurate specs. We have been accurate about Realtek HD-Audio issues since late 2009.

The situation we have now with Realtek chipset players is confusing and complicated. Manufacturers are taking different approaches to the introduction of 'DD+' based players. Some are creating new products with these chips (Egreat R4A, DViCO 6600+) whilst some are simply using the new chips in existing products (ACRyan Play!On, Mede8er).

The latter approach is massively problematic if you are buying a player. There is no way of knowing which chip is in your player without opening it up and invalidating the warranty. We advise you check with the retailer first and even try to get a written guarantee that the chip is the DD+ version. It is likely many retailers won't have a clue whether they are selling the DD or DD+ version..

All players on our site that have both 'DD' and 'DD+' variations in circulation are marked DD(+) and have a paragraph linking to this page in their description.

There is further confusion because even the new 'DD+' based players can't actually pass HD-Audio with any current Realtek firmware! All the new players are waiting for an updated Realtek SDK with HD-Audio built in. The best estimate we've had for these new firmwares is August 2010.. Until then the only players with full HD-Audio support remain the ancient Sigma 8635 players (e.g Popcorn Hour A-110) or the new Sigma 864x based players (e.g. Dune 3.0, Egreat A1080, Popcorn Hour C-200).

HD Media Player Chipsets
This page gives some technical background to the history of Media Player chipsets.


Sigma 8634, 8635
300Mhz

The first chipset to be capable of decoding 1080p full-HD video was the 863x from a company called Sigma Designs. The Sigma 863x spawned a whole series of Media Players from early 2008 onwards. It was these players that kick-started the Media Player revolution. Manufacturers released machines with modified versions of the original Sigma firmware, so the Sigma 863x machines are not identical. There are differences in all areas, from user interface to marginal decoding performance. The Sigma 863x is clocked at 300Mhz.

The Sigma 863x has now been superseded by newer chipsets, aimed squarely at the growing Media Player market. Limitations of the Sigma 8635 such as slow user interface, limited DTS support, and just general lack of power have been addressed in a new generation of chips released in 2009.

The Realtek 1283 / 1073 chipset range appeared in mid 2009 and is clocked between the old Sigma 863x and the newer Sigma 864x/865x. The Realteks use one CPU, clocked at 400mhz. A flood of cheap Realtek based Media Players arrived through 2009. The 1073 is the same as the 1283 with some DTV functions stripped out, they are otherwise exactly the same chip providing the same performance in a Media Player. The only hardware performance difference amongst the Realteks is that the Xtreamer is clocked at 450mhz rather than 400mhz.


Realtek 1073DA, 1073DD, 1283, 1073DD+, 1283+
400Mhz

There are Realtek 1073DA and 1073DD variations, with the DA version being an early release that is unable to downmix DTS. The DA variation is common among the cheaper players. We differentiate between the versions in our detailed specifications and comparison table.

The Realtek chipsets provide fast and reliable performance at a low cost. These players can cope with all Media files you are likely to come across with only abnormally high reframe files or some HD audio formats providing any problems. It was revealed in February 2010 that neither the 1073DA, 1073DD, or the 1283 can passthrough (bitstream) Dolby TrueHD or DTS-HD MA.

In early 2010 Realtek started shipping enhanced + versions of it's chips. The 1073DD+ and 1283+ can both passthrough DTS-HD MA and Dolby TrueHD. The number of players using these chipsets is currently limited but we expect it to grow. All players on our site that have both 'DD' and 'DD+' variations in circulation are marked DD(+). More info on Realtek 'DD+' players is here

The Realtek RTD 1085 / 1185 is the successor to the 1073 / 1283 series and will run at 500Mhz. It will support Gigabit Ethernet and full HD-Audio. Realtek are also launching a version without network support called the RTD 1055. Expect players with these chips to start shipping in late 2010.


Sigma 8642, 8643
667Mhz



Sigma released both Sigma 864x series and Sigma 865x series chipsets in late 2009, with the first player featuring the 8643 (Popcorn Hour C-200) shipping in September 2009, and the first 8655 players (WDTV Live / Eminent EM7075) arriving in October 2009. The Sigma 864x and the 865x are related and similar chips with the 864x being the more powerful.

The Sigma 864x contains a 667mhz CPU, a 333mhz IPU (image processing unit), 2* HD video decoding, and three 333mhz Audio DSPs. The 8643 and 8642 are identical except that the 8642 is a Macrovision version allowing for the ability to play copy protected DVD / Blu-Ray.

The Sigma 8646 and 8647 are versions of the 864x expected in late 2010 with improved performance (800Mhz) and working Gigabit LAN.

Sigma 8652, 8653, 8654 8655
500Mhz

The Sigma 865x uses a 500mhz CPU, a 333mhz IPU, 1.25x HD video decoding, and one 333mhz Audio DSP. All the 865x variations are similar, with the 8655 being marginally the most powerful. The 8655 uses 64bit RAM whereas the 8653 uses 32bit and the 8655 has six video DACs whereas the 8653 has four. The only benchmarks we could find give identical scores so real world performance is likely near identical. The 8654 and 8652 are copy protection (Macrovision) enabled versions of each allowing for the ability to play copy protected DVD / Blu-Ray. One notable deficiency in all the Sigma chips is the inability to play RMVB files.

The Sigma 8656 is an upgraded chip coming in late 2010 and offering hardware 3D acceleration.


Amlogic 8626H
400Mhz

The AmLogic 8626H (Apollo) chipset was launched in early 2010 as a budget alternative to the Realtek 1073. It runs at 400mhz and appears to be at least equal in decoding performance to the Realtek chips whilst being even cheaper. The 8626H's main drawbacks are that it does not support lossless HD-Audio or WMV / VC-1. The Amlogic 8613 is an older Amlogic chipset used in the WDTV Mini and is unable to decode 1080P.
Click Here for all
Amlogic
Media Players


In early April 2010 HDX are launching a player based on an ARM 11 series chip. The HDX-Bone uses an ARM1176JZ(F)-S ARM chip as previously found in car entertainment systems, the Apple iPhone, and Zune HD. This chip is clocked at 500mhz so should offer performance on a par with the established names. ARM 1176, Wiki ARM 11 Series

Intel has long promised to release it's own range ('CE') of Media Player chipsets. The first player announced with such a chipset was the Conceptronic Yuixx in mid 2009, although almost a year later there is no sign of the Yuixx. What we do have however is the promise of Google TV using the 'Intelo Atom CE4100'. It tanspires that this is a combination of an Intel Atom CPU and Intel GMA500 graphics, with the GMA500 running at 200Mhz. We are yet to be convinced of how this will stack up against the existing dedicated Media Player chipsets.

Other chipsets that we've come across but have little information on are MStar D7M26L/6M68/SC9800/TCC8900 and Amlogic7226/7228/8618.