i just tested the newer Compaq CQ35 series with nVidia chipset. it does have an option to output audio through HDMI.
no idea if it supports HD audio passthorugh though. no AVR to test it with

Which 'You Guys' said that? I only read one guy said that MOST Notebok HDMI doesn't give Audio, only video. There's a difference between the word 'Most' and 'All' you know .

Anyway TS was asking more about HD Audio over HDMI, I hope you know the diff between HD Audio and regular Dolby/DTS 5.1 audio

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Added on March 18, 2010, 9:58 amHow's your BD1, still got poblem with certain files? No firmware updates yet? Sell to me cheap . I want to replace my POHD.

This post has been edited by Ngto: Mar 19 2010, 02:06 PM

Sorry if i quote "guys" wrongly.

About TS, my notebook can output HD Audio over HDMI. I "think" HDMI should be able to output both HD audio and video over HDMI in any case (maybe i am wrong).

Must be very careful with writing english here!!! . May offend someone.

Bro, since I'm on a tight budget, I am considering one of these players first...

- TViX HD N1 (Cafe)
- A.C.Ryan Playon!HD mini [ACR-PV73200]
- ASUS O!Play AIR HDP-R3
- WD TV Live
- FreeAgent Theater+™ HD Media Player

Any suggestion?

*I think, HTPC+AVR will be too costly for me at the moment *

Just having 5.1 sound over HDMI doesn't mean it can handle HD Audio. Getting HD Audio will depend on the software, the sound Card capabilities etc.

Even your AVR must be able to handle HD Audio. There are some AVR with HDMI but the sound is not passed through.

In either case there must be a HD audio decoder (TrueHD/DTS-MA, not regular Dolby/DTS) present.

Selecting HD audio in the source movie and hearing 5.1 sound in your HT system doesn't mean you are getting HD Audio. For e.g when I play a blu-ray movie in my non-HD audio AVR , I still get 5.1 sound but it is only downgraded sound.

btw, you didn't quote "guys" wrongly. You quote "U Guys" wrongly . And it's not the english that I am talking about

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Added on March 18, 2010, 11:53 amEach player got some ++ and -- . You need to be more specific of your needs.

This post has been edited by Ngto: Mar 18 2010, 11:53 AM

[quote=Ngto,Mar 18 2010, 11:46 AM]
Just having 5.1 sound over HDMI doesn't mean it can handle HD Audio. Getting HD Audio will depend on the software, the sound Card capabilities etc.
I am not sure about your setup but my setup is notebook -> AVR, my AVR shows that HD Audio is running with 7.1 and not only "just having 5.1 sound over HDMI". Does this mean my system can handle HD Audio?

Even your AVR must be able to handle HD Audio. There are some AVR with HDMI but the sound is not passed through.

In either case there must be a HD audio decoder (TrueHD/DTS-MA, not regular Dolby/DTS) present.

Selecting HD audio in the source movie and hearing 5.1 sound in your HT system doesn't mean you are getting HD Audio. For e.g when I play a blu-ray movie in my non-HD audio AVR , I still get 5.1 sound but it is only downgraded sound.

btw, you didn't quote "guys" wrongly. You quote "U Guys" wrongly . And it's not the english that I am talking about
I wrote "u guys" means that i am not specifically pointing at that person and just for general speaking.

I'm on a CQ45 nvidia graphics and outputting to an AVR.. yes it does give me the 5.1 from an mkv source but the amps only light up PCM.. so no passthrough here..

[quote=TrynRex,Mar 18 2010, 01:45 PM]
[quote=Ngto,Mar 18 2010, 11:46 AM]
Just having 5.1 sound over HDMI doesn't mean it can handle HD Audio. Getting HD Audio will depend on the software, the sound Card capabilities etc.
I am not sure about your setup but my setup is notebook -> AVR, my AVR shows that HD Audio is running with 7.1 and not only "just having 5.1 sound over HDMI". Does this mean my system can handle HD Audio?

Even your AVR must be able to handle HD Audio. There are some AVR with HDMI but the sound is not passed through.

In either case there must be a HD audio decoder (TrueHD/DTS-MA, not regular Dolby/DTS) present.

Selecting HD audio in the source movie and hearing 5.1 sound in your HT system doesn't mean you are getting HD Audio. For e.g when I play a blu-ray movie in my non-HD audio AVR , I still get 5.1 sound but it is only downgraded sound.

btw, you didn't quote "guys" wrongly. You quote "U Guys" wrongly . And it's not the english that I am talking about
I wrote "u guys" means that i am not specifically pointing at that person and just for general speaking.

[/quote]


Make sure your AVR display screen TrueHD or DTS-MA logo light up. If you can see that ,then Ok, your system can handle HD Audio . Some 7.1 AVR can take a regular AC3 or DTS 5.1 sound and upmix some of the channels giving a virtual 7.1.

Like I said it's not about the english. I was referring to you saying someone said 'so and so ' when no one really said 'so and so'. Can we drop this issue now and move on .

This post has been edited by Ngto: Mar 18 2010, 02:32 PM

cheers mate.....

Since TViX HD N1 (shortlisted) is premium according to Digital Mall seller... I am still wondering if the unit is more reliable than others like ACRyan in terms of certain files cannot be played eventhough format is supported, menu hang...and etc.

No f/w updates yet. Have to wait til April. Not much of a problem if you just hit 'play' button. Only happens to very few bd iso when I press 'fwd'. It stuck there. Apart from this, it plays bd iso w/o much problem. Still IMHO it is better than my Dvico 6500.

I have 2 BD1 with me. One is for myself and the other is for sale. Cheap?

No problems with my AC Ryan . But maybe I am just using for straightforward playback. Not using network or any of the other features.

Anyway N1 is using same realtek chipset as AC Ryan, if I am not mistaken.

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Added on March 19, 2010, 12:08 amIs it new or used? For sale means how much?

btw, Wasn't there a DVD playback problem with the latest firmware?

This post has been edited by Ngto: Mar 19 2010, 12:09 AM

It is a new unit. PM me for the price.

DVD playback? Never tried it. I am getting because it can play bd iso or m2ts with bd java w/o problem, which my 6500 is unable to do it.

A while back, I read in the BD1 thread one user mentioned that DVD.iso stopped functioning after updating to 4.9 firmware. I don't know if this happened only to his set.

I also read that a new firmware is coming out in April. I think I will wait for while and see how that goes before deciding.

What is the BD1 thingy? got link?

BD1 is priced in region of RM1.1K. The advantage over the cheaper media players is it can display the full Menus found in bdmv(m2ts files) or bd.iso. It is also able to bitstream HD audio to your AVR (provided it also support HD Audio).

Meaning the BD1 is more advance than the one i'm targetting... TViX HD N1 Cafe? price could be as close to double

Yes, spot on. I bought it because it does not have any limitation (in terms of number of playing times) for m2ts as well as bd iso playback.

Like I have told you before, since your budget is low, do you really need HD Audio? If you do, you have to pay RM1.1 K for the BD1 player and on top of that you have to buy an AVR which supports HD Audio which will cost you another RM1.5K. And what about your speaker system ?

Secondly regarding BD Menus, the BD1 has the advantage to activate those menus in m2ts and BD.iso files. But like I mentioned before, the other cheaper media players (like the POHD) can also play those fiiles, but only disadvantage is they can't display the menus. (please don't confuse with DVD menus, which all the players cheap or expensive can display).

Also take note that MKVs don't contain any menus, so even the expensive players like the BD1 won't be able to do anything about it.

Next point is do you want to play RMVB files ? Because the BD1 can't play those files.

update- BD1 I tested at shop
---------------------------------
It also can't play VCD files which the cheaper players (POHD) can.

The player specs said can play .dat (VCD) files, but when I tested at the shop the BD1 can't even recognise and list the files with .dat extension. Maybe this is a bug (Not that I am expecting enyone to play VCD files on this player, except me of course, for my Karaoke collection ). )

Also I tried to browse DVD folders but again it didn't allow that feature (even when system settings was set to browse (General). Another bug?

Then I tried to play 2 of the DVD I copied to my External HDD. One of them played successfully. The other (Jet Li's "Hero" double Layer copy) couldn't play. The menus appeared though, but pressing play or sellecting a chapter kicked back to the Menu after a brief moment.). This movie didn't have any problems whatsoevr playing on the cheaper Players.

The BD playback was of course problem free , whch is what this player's main purpose is for.

This post has been edited by Ngto: Mar 20 2010, 01:52 PM

Hi Ngto,
Thank you for the very informative explanations. If I were to set my purchase price higher, what are the options (players that are on par with BD1) ?