longshanks
Well-Known Member
I understand that but when u play a DTS track are u getting at least two channel down-mixed audio though the analog out ?
Asus O!Play Mini with DolbyTHD decoding, DTS HD-MA for just 3500!!
- Thread starter sam9s
- Start date
I understand that but when u play a DTS track are u getting at least two channel down-mixed audio though the analog out ?
yes it does
can i connect 320GB seagate free agent go external drive to the asus mini directly? As default, this has come with some installation files and user manual from the company. Shall I delete all of them and reformat the hard drive before connecting or just create one movie folder and dump files, which the player can recognize on its own?
please guide me as I ma making my collections on this....
thanks in advance
please guide me as I ma making my collections on this....
thanks in advance
bsmcoolguy
Member
Make a folder or u can simply put ur files in the HDD and the player will auto-scan and recognize all ur media on first play and will list it in respective headers (Movies , Music , Photos etc)
papabear01
Member
Hi guys , as you might be knowing i have a Z5500 speaker system . and i was wondering if i could get this media player to play bdrips in DTS 5.1 (considering the source has it).
can the owners confirm if it supports dts 5.1 via toslink , or does it downmix it to DTS 2.0 ?
also does it decode the audio codec or just pass through ?
sorry if the questions are repetitive.
can the owners confirm if it supports dts 5.1 via toslink , or does it downmix it to DTS 2.0 ?
also does it decode the audio codec or just pass through ?
sorry if the questions are repetitive.
papabear01
Member
here's some news apparently they've gotten rid of the DTS HD and Dolby True HD claims on their official specs page.
FYI - I have tested USB playability for LG. IT WORKS..!! I could connect my Seagate 2 TB External HDD through USB and it did play MKV , m2ts formats flawlessly...
I was also in same situation as yours, 3 weeks back and finally went for ASUS HDP R1 player and I have no regrets for that. Most of my media is in USB, so this works like charm..!!
papabear01
Member
Asus mini , back in stock here Asus O'Play Mini HD Media Player 1080P with 7.1 Audio
i'm ordering one for myself soon
i'm ordering one for myself soon
ukjeyaraj
Well-Known Member
Today I visited primeabgb at Lamington Road, Mumbai and they had Asus O Play Mini at stock for Rs.3600/-.
what i would like to say about cheaper media players is that no matter from what brand these are, all of them have lower quality parts used at the output stages. I have compared a lot of cheap brands like xtreamer , asus and the playon hd and in no way do the picture quality out of these can be matched with popcorn hour c200,tvix 7000 series and the dune hdi series.
I know that the latter are the expensive ones but what i would like to suggest here is that as a player is the most crucial part of the ht so a good investment is needed there.
I know that the latter are the expensive ones but what i would like to suggest here is that as a player is the most crucial part of the ht so a good investment is needed there.
papabear01
Member
Agreed , good quality has no substitute , but one must also understand that the media player target segment is not the one that worries to the last percent about quality because they're already comprising it by downloading their content.
no1lives4ever
Active Member
If you are using a digital output from the media player into your HT system. i.e. HDMI for video and HDMI or coax or optical for audio, you will rarely face issues with component quality. As long as the components are up to spec, with digital interconnects, you do not really need to worry a whole lot about component quality. I would worry more about the quality of the input that is fed on these cheaper players. Mostly they are used with low quality downloaded rips.
The newer generation media players are sometimes cheaper just because the manufacturer can cram more features for a given price point or make the same features available with a player that is cheaper. In the end, a media player is essentially a cheap computer. And we are all aware of how the prices of computers with the same config keep on falling as time passes.
The concerns I would have with the cheaper media players would be:
a. The quality of the software interface - This varies between players and since you can not change it like in a HTPC, you need to see if any part of the software interface slows you down with your media watching. This is mostly a non issue with cheaper players from established names in the game. They already have the software done and they would typically just disable some features on the lower end models.
b. The support from the manufacturer for newer codecs and file formats. The media players need a manufacturer which will frequently update the firmware for even the older models to support new codecs and file formats to the extent possible with the hardware. Again, this is where a cheaper player from a established brand should in theory not face any issues.
c. Most of the cheaper players miss out on features which require extra hardware to implement. e.g. network connectivity via wired or wireless ethernet. Output options, etc. Now this is something that you can easily check from the spec sheet and figure out for yourself.
I use both a mix of downloaded content and rips of content that I own when I use them with a computer. Today my primary DVD player is my laptop connected to my HT setup using HDMI because I can skip over the non skippable portions when playing it on the laptop, while with my PS3 I can not do so. Same way I use my laptop to play all the music including FLAC rips of the CDs that I own. I stream all to my AV receiver over HDMI when I play from my laptop. Since my AVR seems to have a A2D stage for all the analog inputs, I would rather feed it with digital data. And when I am feeding it with digital data, the effect of using FLAC over HDMI from a PC is virtually the same as playing a cd and connecting the cd/dvd player to the avr using a digital output. In this scenario, when I feed the music and videos using digital connections, I seriously doubt if a cheap media player will screw things up in software v/s my PC.
-- no1lives4ever
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O!Play Mini firmware update 1.10
1. Improved the speed of UI operation when system resuming.
2. Added Bold and Italic tag recognition of subtitle.
3. Fixed bug: the elapsed time bar is not updated with the audio progressing simultaneously.
4. Fixed bug: the rewind issue when playing MOV file
5. Fixed bug: some string UI of Thai cant be displayed correctly when system resuming.
6. Fixed bug: the system will be frozen when playing some AC3 files.
ASUSTeK Computer Inc. - Multimedia - ASUS O!Play MINI
Click on Download, then select OS "Linux", then only we can see firmware download option.
BTW, I ordered one on eBay today for Rs.3,648/- shipped (Rs.3840 - 5%).
no1lives4ever
Active Member
O!Play Mini firmware update 1.10
1. Improved the speed of UI operation when system resuming.
2. Added Bold and Italic tag recognition of subtitle.
3. Fixed bug: the elapsed time bar is not updated with the audio progressing simultaneously.
4. Fixed bug: the rewind issue when playing MOV file
5. Fixed bug: some string UI of Thai cant be displayed correctly when system resuming.
6. Fixed bug: the system will be frozen when playing some AC3 files.
ASUSTeK Computer Inc. - Multimedia - ASUS O!Play MINI
Click on Download, then select OS "Linux", then only we can see firmware download option.
BTW, I ordered one on eBay today for Rs.3,648/- shipped (Rs.3840 - 5%).
Took a lot of effort to get this installed. I do not really know what did the trick. I bought one from Nehru Place for 4250 from my regular computer dealer.
Here is what I did, and perhaps this is what helped to update the firmware:
1. I took a 8GB HP USB flash disk and formatted it using Windows Vista. I set the filesystem to FAT32, allocation unit to default, it seems that it did not take the 4k allocation unit suggested by Windows when I tried it. Volume label to blank.
2. Copied only the .img file on the firmware download zip file to the USB disk
3. Did a hard reset of the O!Play Mini. And kept the power out for some time.
4. Disconnected the O!Play Mini from the AVR and connected it with a HDMI cable to my LG Monitor TV. This was done mainly because others were watching the TV.
Only after these steps did the firmware get updated.
Now the firmware contained updated bluecore component. A quick google search seemed to suggest that is used by the firmware to stream HD audio over HDMI.
Before I did the firmware update, I downloaded a few HD audio clips from demo-world.eu and I had observed that the system could not play a DTS m2ts demo file that contained hd video and DTS HD MA audio. After the firmware update, the player correctly streams the DTS core postion of the stream. It does not still stream the full DTS HD MA stream to my AVR over HDMI. But the player can stream Dolby True HD over HDMI. This is one of the few devices that I have come across with such a limitation.
Another bug that seemed to have been fixed with the firmware update relates to rewind functionality. I tried rewinding a 1080p mkv rip and the same did not seem to work before the firmware update.
Overall I would recommend any O!Play Mini users to upgrade to this 1.10 firmware if you face the above 2 issues.
-- no1lives4ever
Like mentioned in post # 94, i updated the firmware of my OPlay mini to 1.10. The rewind issue and subtitle tag recognition issue seems to be resolved with this update. However i have started noticing a new issue :
"After my oplay mini goes to stand-by mode (using the remote control), and if i try to play a movie file, there is no audio/sound. All is fine when i switch on the power to the oplay device and play for the first time, the problem is when i try to play a movie after the device was in stand-by" .
Has anyone else experienced this issue? I am pretty positive this issue was not there before the firmware upgrade.
"After my oplay mini goes to stand-by mode (using the remote control), and if i try to play a movie file, there is no audio/sound. All is fine when i switch on the power to the oplay device and play for the first time, the problem is when i try to play a movie after the device was in stand-by" .
Has anyone else experienced this issue? I am pretty positive this issue was not there before the firmware upgrade.
no1lives4ever
Active Member
This seems to be a known problem with the 1.10 firmware of the O!Play Mini. When you resume the unit after going into standby, the audio outputs from the optical and analog outputs stop working
This information of mine is based on a thread on the Asus O!Play Mini support forum. Here is a direct link to the Asus O!Play Mini support forum: ASUSTeK Computer Inc.-Forum-
Since this unit eats very little power when not doing anything, as a temporary solution you can just keep the unit powered on. You can switch off your TV & AVR when you do not want to use it. Alternatively just power off the system from the mains when you stop using it.
I am using the HDMI output for audio and video and I have not faced this issue on my unit.
-- no1lives4ever
no1lives4ever
Active Member
I see this as an advantage. By doing away with analog component outputs, the unit is saving on costs. This makes the unit cheaper for those who have a HDMI capable TV/Projector/AVR. Given that most HDTVs & projectors sold in the last 3-4 years have HDMI inputs, I doubt if this would be a major headache.
Those who require component video output would need to look at other models.
-- no1lives4ever
could you kindly share your comparisions details and how was it based ?
also let us know if the brands u mentioned better have no issues with all audio codecs
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Knight Rider
New Member
Thank you for this post. I was also able to update the firmware, Had to remove the power code for a while apart from what you have mentioned, Also make sure that you paste the img file only and not the Folder
A beautiful, well-constructed speaker with class-leading soundstage, imaging and bass that is fast, deep, and precise.
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