Asus O!Play Mini with DolbyTHD decoding, DTS HD-MA for just 3500!!

[no1lives4ever]

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

Great to know that you could get the firmware to update. Looks like a hard reset is required by the device to allow a successful firmware update.

So here are the updated guidelines for updating the firmware:

1. Power off the O!Play Mini. Remove the power cord and wait for 5-10 minutes before proceeding to the next step.
2. Use only a USB flash drive for the firmware update. The next step would make using a hard disk with existing data impossible.
3. Format the USB drive using FAT32 filesystem with everything set to default and with no volume label. You can use quick format.
4. Only copy the .img file to the usb drive - Do not copy any other file to the formatted usb drive.
5. Insert the usb drive into the machine and then connect the machine to power supply.
6. The rest of the firmware update instructions should work.

-- no1lives4ever

 

[papabear01]

So i've finally received a 10% off from ebay and set to buy this player.

just one thing i want to know before i make the payment there :

Does it passthrough DTS 5.1 (not MA) through Toslink out ???

specs page says DTS 2.0 + Digital out , i'm confused

edit: found the answer on dts website

DTS-HD 2.0 + Digital Out denotes the ability of outputting
DTS-HD High Resolution Audio 2.0 Lossy channels directly to a
TV or external amplifier through analog outputs. Also capable of
outputting DTS-HD High Resolution Audio streams to an
external decoder such as an A/V receiver or pre-amp/processor.

will post my impressions once i get it

 

[papabear01]

Ok so i got the player smaller and lighter than i thought , played almost all formats that i threw at it including iso's

one thing i didn't understand , it' does not decode audio codecs at all , and downmixes everything to stereo via spdif. only when i put it to spdif raw i get my speaker control pod to decode the codecs but that too has limitations like only dts , ac3 , stereo would be decoded.

so not being able to play AAC 6 Ch codecs either ways.

and also i'm not able to get audio through my tv when i try playing it only via HDMI , it should give a stereo output via tv aswell right ? i selected HDMI LPCM btw.

please let me know

ohh and FW is 1.0.7 .

 

[subhash]

Ok so i got the player smaller and lighter than i thought , played almost all formats that i threw at it including iso's

one thing i didn't understand , it' does not decode audio codecs at all , and downmixes everything to stereo via spdif. only when i put it to spdif raw i get my speaker control pod to decode the codecs but that too has limitations like only dts , ac3 , stereo would be decoded.

so not being able to play AAC 6 Ch codecs either ways.

and also i'm not able to get audio through my tv when i try playing it only via HDMI , it should give a stereo output via tv aswell right ? i selected HDMI LPCM btw.

please let me know

ohh and FW is 1.0.7 .

could you tell us your connections

 

[papabear01]

could you tell us your connections

sure buddy , here's how i started -

oplay mini ---> hdmi----> tv

but i got no audio from the tv , tried all combinations in audio settings no luck.

so then i used this the spdif :

oplay mini ---->hdmi ---> tv
|---->toslink---> control pod of speakers , logitech z5500.

then i could get audio from my speakers, but everything was downmixed to stereo when i chose spdif lpcm in Audio options.

And when i chose Spdif RAW in the same ^^ setup , then only the codecs which my speaker could support were decoded like AC3 DTS and stereo ... rest did not play.

please let me know if something in specific is to be mentioned , kind of a n00b

 

[shamnadsn]

I am facing one problem. The video output of the O!play mini does not occupy the complete display area of the LCD. I am getting a black border on the screen. My setting is ' HDMI Auto' '16:9' from O!play mini and my TV is Sony Bravia Full HD.

These are the experiments I did:

1. Played different 1080p videos/other lower resolution videos and checked.
2. Changed the 'Display Area' of LCD to Maximum. It improved little bit.
3. Changed the TV system to different resolutions other than HDMI Auto
4. Checked with 1920x1080 Photos.

No other improvement on the black border.

I am having HD Set top box, which is giving 1080i/720p/576p/576i. If I change it to any of these resolutions it covers the full display area. So I do not think it is a problem with TV.

I am using 1.10 firmware.

Anybody is facing the same issue?

Can anybody please help me, how to solve it?

 

[subhash]

sure buddy , here's how i started -

oplay mini ---> hdmi----> tv

but i got no audio from the tv , tried all combinations in audio settings no luck.

so then i used this the spdif :

oplay mini ---->hdmi ---> tv
|---->toslink---> control pod of speakers , logitech z5500.

then i could get audio from my speakers, but everything was downmixed to stereo when i chose spdif lpcm in Audio options.

And when i chose Spdif RAW in the same ^^ setup , then only the codecs which my speaker could support were decoded like AC3 DTS and stereo ... rest did not play.

please let me know if something in specific is to be mentioned , kind of a n00b

hi

i havent tried with optical connection

but with the mini connected to TV via hdmi ,u shud get 2 channel audio without any issues ,do keep changing the audio out @ the mini and chk, it should work

try HDMI raw out to tv this shud help

or may be IMO simultaneous optical and hdmi out may not work (only one out may work) so you cud try the analog audio out of mini to TV and chk for audio

with Hdmi out thro mini to decoder/processor/avr it outputs most codecs except DTS HD MA

 

[subhash]

I am facing one problem. The video output of the O!play mini does not occupy the complete display area of the LCD. I am getting a black border on the screen. My setting is ' HDMI Auto' '16:9' from O!play mini and my TV is Sony Bravia Full HD.

These are the experiments I did:

1. Played different 1080p videos/other lower resolution videos and checked.
2. Changed the 'Display Area' of LCD to Maximum. It improved little bit.
3. Changed the TV system to different resolutions other than HDMI Auto
4. Checked with 1920x1080 Photos.

No other improvement on the black border.

I am having HD Set top box, which is giving 1080i/720p/576p/576i. If I change it to any of these resolutions it covers the full display area. So I do not think it is a problem with TV.

I am using 1.10 firmware.

Anybody is facing the same issue?

Can anybody please help me, how to solve it?

such an issue isnt there with my connection of the mini to pana PV8

i guess there should be an output resolution in the mini try to set @ 1080P

or try the aspect setting in the display

 

[no1lives4ever]

Upgrade the firmware to 1.0.10. That fixes a lot of bugs including some audio related. I have not faced the exact same issues, so maybe these problems may not have been fixed with the new fw.

-- no1lives4ever

 

[shamnadsn]

I am facing one problem. The video output of the O!play mini does not occupy the complete display area of the LCD. I am getting a black border on the screen. My setting is ' HDMI Auto' '16:9' from O!play mini and my TV is Sony Bravia Full HD.

These are the experiments I did:

1. Played different 1080p videos/other lower resolution videos and checked.
2. Changed the 'Display Area' of LCD to Maximum. It improved little bit.
3. Changed the TV system to different resolutions other than HDMI Auto
4. Checked with 1920x1080 Photos.

No other improvement on the black border.

I am having HD Set top box, which is giving 1080i/720p/576p/576i. If I change it to any of these resolutions it covers the full display area. So I do not think it is a problem with TV.

I am using 1.10 firmware.

Anybody is facing the same issue?

Can anybody please help me, how to solve it?

The problem solved. In the video settings, made 'Video Zoom' to "OFF". Now I i am getting proper resolution signal, and i need not adjust any TV settings to get full screen videos. No more black border.

 

[diplomat]

thanks to all of you here, finally I got my hand on this little master @ 3900/-from delta after waiting of 5 to 6 days due to no stock at chennai.
While playing one flv file from youtube, I got sound through HDMI on my tv but had no clue of why my marantz avr does not respond to the optical signal. All other files play perfectly on bith HDMI and optical. Is it because the file has 2ch AAC format which is not acceptable to AVR? Do I need to change anything on setup???
Honestly , do I really need to upgrade the firmware or can hang on with 1.0.7 till the next release. Bit afraid to flash it....

 

[papabear01]

thanks to all of you here, finally I got my hand on this little master @ 3900/-from delta after waiting of 5 to 6 days due to no stock at chennai.
While playing one flv file from youtube, I got sound through HDMI on my tv but had no clue of why my marantz avr does not respond to the optical signal. All other files play perfectly on bith HDMI and optical. Is it because the file has 2ch AAC format which is not acceptable to AVR? Do I need to change anything on setup???
Honestly , do I really need to upgrade the firmware or can hang on with 1.0.7 till the next release. Bit afraid to flash it....

similar issue although my audio setup is much much inferior to yours, i guess the avr/decoder needs to support each audio codec that the video has unless you opt for SPIDF LPCM / HDMI LPCM where the mini decodes and down mixes it , you can try this instead ... but if you just use the mini audio as passthrough then you need a decoder / avr that supports that particular codec.

mine does not support AAC (multi-ch) ... using a logitech z-5500

 

[krishnenduk]

Ordered one Asus O!Play Mini for 3.6K.. Waiting to get hold of it......

 

[pegasus]

Hey guys.....i am new to hifivision........tried to go through most of the forum..........finally am buying the ASUS mini from http://www.theitbazaar.com/ as suggested by one of the members............just needed one little confirmation though..............does the O play mini support 1TB and 2TB external hard disks..............would be great if somone could reply....thanx in advance......

 

[papabear01]

I personally never have read anything on size restrictions , file systems yes but never size ... so i think you are good to go.. but still wait for other's opinions .

 

[diplomat]

just to share, the mini accepts SDHC card from HD digicam and plays directly AVCHD files (.m2ts format) without any problem. Also the AAC codec from H264 or mkv files can be routed to older AVRs through setting SPDIF audio out to LPCM instead of RAW. My marantz AVR takes care of the 5.1 data superbly through DPLII Movie mode. Still I have not flashed with new firmware and managing with old one...

 

[skamalpreet]

Folks,
This is my first post to the forum. i am contemplating on buying the Asus O! Play Mini. However, I have a few questions and need expert help from you. I have the following set up

Videocon 32" inch TV (likely to be upgraded in eh near future)
Sony DVD player with Upscaling to 1080p (also plays basic movie formats via USB)
Sonodyne Genie Power Pack 2.1 setup

the DVD player is connected via HDMI to TV for video to utilize upscaling capability
the DVD player is connected to the speakers via L/R analog audio cables

The other HDMI port of the TV connects to the laptop for Video
The Laptop connects to the speakers via analog cable via the headphone jack

The TV analog audio L/R out are also connected to the speakers

All L/R analog audio cables from TV, DVD and Laptop concentrate at a Audio Hub before input into the speaker system.

I have two problems at hand
1) I do not have remote functionality to control volume output of my speaker systems
2) I cannot play video formats other than basic ones unless i connect my laptop which is fairly cumbersome.

I thought of investing in an AV receiver but that calls for Rs. 20000/- which might require me to win a state lottery, at least in the short term.

With the Asus box I intend to replace the Laptop resolving the above two problems.

Questions
1) Can the AV gurus on the forum assist me with confirming if this setup will do the trick?
2) Does the Asus box allow audio out via the HDMI as well as the L/R Analog audio outputs in parallel so that I can send the video signal via HDMI to the TV and the audio signal via the L/R Analog audio outputs to the speakers.
3) Any other options which I can exercise in a low budget?

Any inputs will be appreciated/

 

[papabear01]

Folks,
Questions
1) Can the AV gurus on the forum assist me with confirming if this setup will do the trick?
2) Does the Asus box allow audio out via the HDMI as well as the L/R Analog audio outputs in parallel so that I can send the video signal via HDMI to the TV and the audio signal via the L/R Analog audio outputs to the speakers.
3) Any other options which I can exercise in a low budget?

Any inputs will be appreciated/

1- yes
2- yes , just remember muting the tv audio or you'll have an echo'y kindda sound.

 

[mkreddy]

Hey Guys,
This player is availbale on ebay for 3440/-, This is part of their weekly sale.

Any body intereseted can buy from there.

-Murali.

 

[krishnenduk]

does it supports USB hub???