pls do read some earlier posts...

so your symptom may different case as lightning69 & ccs221 as both of them tested the mov with 900
bcos performance may different due to different chipset...

This post has been edited by gkl83: Jan 7 2012, 03:42 PM

But I think himedia just inherits the old problem in 600x and carries it into 900x...

Not easy to answer your question? I used Ac Ryan HD2, so far very good without much problem. Well you can check this websites will give you all player and chipset rating from prof. so far I found is more reliable..

http://www.iboum.com/artkill/chipsets.php

Thanks for the link. Just read through it two times and certainly useful. Nevertheless, most description is on the additional features of the various chipsets especially with feature and performance upgrades throughout the years(faster CPU, 3D support, Dolby TrueHD or DTS-HD MA support etc.) and there is little or no mention on the video quality of the various iterations of Realtek and Sigma chipsets. I presume video quality is more or less similar between all these chipsets, whether new or old, and it's only the additional features that are improved?

However, I did find a short excerpt suggesting a new generation of Sigma chipset that will improve upon the current chipsets in video quality.



Not too sure if we can assume that all the media players with Realtek chips ranging from RM150 to RM500 in the market give a similar video quality, and it's only the features that set these players apart.

I suppose video quality is hard to tell by someone with bare eyes and not into details.. unless some experts would like to do some comparisons and tell us.

You sure have done your research and nicely summed up what I have in mind too in Post #451; I am delaying jumping into the HD900b bandwagon to sit out the expected initial bugs and see whether the picture quality is better than Sigma-based players. I guess we need to take the cue from bro numbertwo and personally audition the 2 year old WD TV Live Air (Sigma 8655) vs HiMedia HD600/900 (Realtek 1185/1186).

BTW, check out this link, where there are people commenting on the Asus O!Play (Realtek 1073) vs WD TV Live (Sigma 8655) picture quality. Sigma wins on sharpness on some hands but on others, there appears to be no perceived difference/indistinguishable.

My gut feeling tells me the video quality with Realtek 1185 and 1186 is similar, and the latter only comes with additional features (3D among others) and a faster CPU. The reason I've come up with this supposition(without hands-on experience) is I've gone through the comparison chart of Sigma chips as below(thanks to wongkmc for providing the link).



If you look at the video processing, from the 8630 chip from early 2008 to the most recent 8670 chip(yes, the 8655 chip in the WDTV Live is already obsolete), they all share the same specs in motion adaptive deinterlacing, programmable scaling, chromaticity correction... etc. Only the upcoming 8910 chip will drop the motion adaptive deinterlacing and incorporate the new integrated VXP processing that is claimed to improve video quality. This information also comes directly from Sigma themselves as shown in their own brochure.

To summarise, I believe all Sigma chipsets(8630, 8640, 8650 and 8670 series) all share similar video quality, and the upcoming 8910 chip that will break away from the pack with its new professional grade VXP processor.

pdf brochure here SMP8910 brochure
Link here Sigma Designs chipsets

As for differences in Realtek chipsets, very vague information provided by the company. Realtek only specify on the differences in features between their chips on the website (RTD1055, 1185 and the new 1186), hence my suspicion that video quality is similar across the range.

As for Sigma vs Realtek, in a technical perspective which was demonstrated by anfieldsdude with measurements carried out using advanced tools and gadget, in layman terms the Sigma chip produces more accurate colours, less artifacts and better differentiation at the black-white spectrum. The Realtek is said to produce a brighter and warmer colour, though not as accurate but can be pleasing to some, which is subjective.

If one does not need the additional features of 3D and faster processor of the 900B, then the 600B or 600C will do equally well in terms of video quality me thinks.

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Added on January 9, 2012, 1:26 pmJust read the 8910 brochure, and the new VXP video processing incorporated into this chip really sounds promising. The player that has this chip will certainly come with a price..

This post has been edited by ryder_78: Jan 9 2012, 01:33 PM

I have been using the Sigma chipset for the past 3 years and now I have the 1186 chipset. All I can say is that the new 1186 chipset is every bit as good as the sigma chipset in terms of PQ. Hope that helps.

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Added on January 9, 2012, 1:31 pmThanks for the confirmation. Its really the HiMedia 900A/B problem which they need to sort out.

This post has been edited by lightning69: Jan 9 2012, 01:31 PM

WD TV Live Air (or more appropriately, WD TV Live Streaming) is NOT 2 years old (it was released in Oct 2011) and runs on Sigma 8670. You may have confused this for its predecessor, the WD TV Live. For your info.

Just get HiMedia HD900A with the latest Firmware Version 1.0.2.16.
How do I set the player to play files in its native format? I think my TV/receiver have a better upscaling than Realtek. Thanks.

900 can do upscaling to 1080?

You have to set the video output resolution in the setup. Say you set it to 1080p, all videos will be output in 1080p regardless of its native resolution.
Tested with a couple of 720p files, all get upscale to 1080p.
I am sure many of us would prefer to have the option to output in native resolution and use external scalers for this.
Is there a way to get this done? Or we have to make a feature request?

Guess the upscaling feature in the 900A must be of inferior quality since there isn't any in-depth information on this upscaling feature, not to mention the chip used for upscaling. In most cases players with good upscaling capabilities will list down the type of chip used, for instance Oppo or some higher-end players.

To achieve optimum video quality, I guess it is best to choose the option to output in native resolution in the setup.

I don't believe any media player has the option to play formats in the native format automatically. The only way u can do that is to select the output resolution to match ur file.

The Oppo BD player has the option to output "Source Direct".

Also RTK upscaling is not that bad. I believe while its true that some displays have better in built scalars, the most damage is done when the file is compressed and the picture mucked with.

After reading all the threads, decided and purchased HD600A. Tested on the picture quality, it far better then my old first generation WDTV. The PQ is more natural and sharp, and the aspect ratio auto adjust to fit the tv very well. Not to mention the audio too is better.

I connect it to the modem through hard wire. And once on the player, it auto update the firmware to the latest one. Tried play some online content (china sites), only few can be played smoothly.

So far satisfied with the player.

Anybody want to sell 600C let me know ya..

I didn't know that 600A has this auto-firmware update feature!! Are you talking about HiTV updation? Welcome to the himedia club!

Hi everyone,

Been trying to configure HD600A for few days. After tonnes of reading and googling, I only able to set up network drives, which is easy. But not able to get network file system (NFS) working. I have followed exact instruction on HiMedia site, installed "haneWin NFS server" (http://bbs.himedia-tech.cn/forum.php?mod=viewthread&tid=31856&extra=page%3D1) and do autoscan under NFS in the file manager, nothing was shown.
Anyone have successfully configured NFS for HD600? My OP is Windows XP Home edition. HD600A firmware is 1.0.5.8.
Network drive transfer speed can do up to 20Mbps+ only.

Thanks

This post has been edited by bsa12: Jan 15 2012, 11:12 AM

Not sure about running NFS client on Windows XP Home. But I can confirm that NFS on the HD600A definitely works. I am using NFS to stream files off my NAS running FreeNAS 8. Autoscan works too but I have statically defined the NFS shares on the HD600A to save me time having to Autoscan for the NFS shares everytime the HD600A is powered up.