Μετά από ένα εκνευρισμένο μήνυμα στην Xtreamer για το Ultra .....πήρα αυτήν την απάντηση :
We see this issue is causing you all a little confusion.
So again. We will repeat what was announced and published in FAQ already.
Officially we can say now that the ultra is unable to bitstream high-end codecs such as TrueHD and several DTS variations. It is the safer answer for us to provide you . This situation can of-course be changed with future updates made by the various software vendors and the open source community. It can change with an update by nvidia as well. We cannot confirm.
We did not focus on HD Audio bit-streaming with this product. We tried to achieve capable machine in good price and in good package that works out of the box. You can find better solutions in the market if this is your main or only focus. they will also cost you nearly 2 times more than what we currently offer for the xtreamer ultra. It will come also with no accessories and will not run out of the box. The ASROCK CORE 100HT is good example. You can of-course find also some vendors offering PC HW combinations that are 10 times stronger. Their price will match as well.
http://shop.ebay.de/...-All-Categories
With Xtreamer Ultra we supply hardware. PC to be exact. Not Firmware. in the same time we try to introduce a concept. An ultra portable PC with a very good capability for "standard" MKV playback (which is more than 90% of what most of you doing anyway) and gaming and 3D. We dont and cannot promise compatibility list to codecs and we also cannot provide you a clear lists of files and formats each software can support now or in the future. it depends on the various software you decide to run on the machine. We created Just the PC hardware and the relevant set of accessories that comes with it. We dont commit to anything doable or not doable on the machine in terms of video playback or which software can do what or cannot. Anything installed on the USB boot LINUX OS is based on open source projects that can or cannot do certain things at this precise moment in time.
As this question is making you all very excited i will say repeat what was already answered by SMD :
Essentially, when it comes to passing high-def audio as a bit-stream from ANY computer, from ANY manufacturer via HDMI, there are no clear answers! Indeed, even "pay-ware" software players such as: ArcSoft TotalMedia Theatre 5 (US$99.99), Corel Win DVD Pro (US$59.99 current offer) and CyberLink PowerDVD 10 Ultra 3D Mark II (US$74.95 current offer) have compatibility and reliability issues when it comes to passing HD audio as a bit-stream via HDMI.
While boxee or XBMC does not support currently HD audio 7.1 passthrough, It depends on the software more than on the HW. Sometime, and we saw more than 1 reference to this in the past, in PC environment software can render a solution in order to bypass HW limitation.
Whatever the case maybe in ultra LPCM is your safety-net, it means you will be able to hear sound even when you play HD file via your receiver. in 5.1 channels down-mixed to DTS . So to put the "hot topic" in perspective , at the bottom line it is an issue of whether you will be able to see the "light" in the receiver turning On indicating the exact format rather than just indicating "LPCM". it is not an issue if you can hear sound or not in BR files .
As you all know very well the xtreamer version 2.6 on Sidewinder, XtreamerPRO, XtreamerDVD and iXtreamer can play 7.1 HD audio with no problem even with passthrough.
To summerize - We did not want to fall for this trap of supported codecs and formats for ultra. This is why we removed this from the specs. Please accept that in the case of ultra we supply HW for PC. There are strongest specs configurations in the market. They also cost more. If we wanted to introduce them in Xtreamer Ultra we would have done so. We decided to target the "entry level segment of market" with this product. we wanted to create a machine that will provide you PC environment and in the same time allow you decent experience with XBMC and boxee. if you can find a software or another pc in the same price that can play the file in question the way you want it, please install it or buy it. If ION 2 can ever bitstream HD or not It is a question to address more to the software developers of the open source projects like boxee, xbmc or the counterpart windows like cyberlink rather than to us. In the same time it is a question needed to be addressed to nVidia and their plans to maximize the potential of ION2 or not.
In terms of the HW, ION2 and ALC892 are no secret.We did not invent them. You can find more than 1 reference on google to these chips. As to what they can do or cannot do.
While writing the answer to this thread i conducted a small research in Asrock forums. Specifically about their Asrock Mini 3D series.
http://www.asrock.co...N 3D Series
While they decided not keep an open forum at all like we do , they have announced their similar device to ultra already 6 months ago.
i will refer you to their relevant forums just to put something in perspective here.
http://forums.ocwork...ad.php?t=110458
some guy (AZDMR2) posted the same question there on 01-02-2011, 11:40 PM and never got a single answer. Not from the company (directly or indirectly) . Here however, 4 admins already answered you in the best way they can.
I also could not find any thread or answer or hint to a similar thread on any other manufacturer official or non official forum, as big as their brand name may sound or be. is it just a coincidence ? or people just used to address their questions and expect to get answers only from xtreamer ?
i wonder why this issue is becoming so hot and emotional here ???...Asrock is very well respected manufacturer of PC boards and PC solutions, and they have announced their product 6 months ago. Why no one could care less of this issue with their products and only ours is getting such high volume ?
Anyway, at the end of the day, the proper way to ask this question, and literally any question regarding the Xtreamer ultra, which is relevant actually to any PC, is whether it can or cannot do something now at this precise given point in time and whether it has the potential to grow in the future to support the upcoming updates of the so many software options you all have to play video and audio in your PC ?
In PC world and PC market, you can set yourself a machine for prices upto several thousands of dollars . There are more capable machines in the market than the ultra. They cost much more as well. If you are after HD bit-streaming as main function, better invest more money and try get another machine.
While we cannot keep track of every software development on the planet, as we dont supply windows built inside the machine, and cannot assume what will be the desired software / drivers / configuration / setting / tweaking any one of you may or may not perform on the xtreamer ultra in windows or in linux ubuntu, it is impossible to say how the xtreamer ultra will perform or not in this case.
Cyberlink - a well known author of PC software for windows announced in big letters that their "Cyberlink Power DVD 10" can play HD audio and even 3D files.
http://www.cyberlink...ign=CL_Homepage
It is clear from their release notes that the ultra HW is fully supported .
http://www.cyberlink...nu/releases.jsp
it is clear that ION2 and Intel Atom 525 can play Bluray and 3D files with no problem with cyberlink.
http://forum.cyberli...C7F446252#66158
i hope this clear out this issue once and for all.
