AudioCircle
Industry Circles => Salk Signature Sound => Topic started by: Saturn94 on 9 Mar 2018, 02:08 am
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I just recently discovered I could rip multichannel DTS CDs to my Salkstream III and play them using Roon. The Salkstream is connected via optical to my pre/pro (Anthem AVM 20) via which decides the DTS stream.
This got me wondering if I could do the same with my DVD-A discs. I’d love to be able to add my DVD-A disc collection to my music files for easy access using Roon. I found software that will rip DVD-A discs into FLAC. I assume the resulting file woukd still be in DVD-A format, but in a FLAC container, and would have to be run through something that can play the DVD-A format? Does this sound right?
Since my Anthem pre/pro can’t decode DVD-A, can I connect the Salkstream to my Oppo BDP 103 player to decode the DVD-A steam then send it to my pre/pro? Can the Salkstream output to more than one component at a time?
Any advice/guidance is greatly appreciated. :)
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The StreamPlayer can be configured to stream to multiple devices. Once you enable the new device (the BD 105), when you play a track, you can specify which output device you want to use. As to whether or not the BD 103 can deal with ripped DVD-A files, I can't say as I've never tried it. But you can certainly try and report back here how it all went.
- Jim
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Yes - the Oppo can handle streamed files. I have two 103Ds. One in the master bedroom (which feeds the outdoor speakers) and one in the main system (which I just use for video. I read files (including ripped DVD-As and DSD) from my NAS and listen to either the outdoor speakers several times a year and in a spare system I have used the Oppo 203 a couple of times (I have a Windows 10 music server and a DAC in that system so I just tried it to makes sure it worked when I first got the 203 when it came out).
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DVD-A discs can be ripped with appropriate software (I use Trader's Little Helper) which allows you to extract the PCM data files for each track. However you choose to save them (i.e. as FLAC or WAV files) they contain PCM data which can be streamed on any suitable streamer.
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The StreamPlayer is agnostic about what it is streaming as long as the compression algorithm is supported (which flac is). So that is not an issue.
- Jim
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Great responses! Thanks. :)
This sounds promising. So I have some setup questions....
How would I connect the Salkstream III to my Oppo BDP 103? It looks like the Salkstream III has connections for USB and HDMI.
Is there some kind of setup in the Salkstream III I need to do so it will output via both the optical output and whatever I’m using to the Oppo (USB or HDMI?) at the same time?
Once the Salkstream is connected to the Oppo, I assume the Oppo will then show up in Roon as an available zone? Or is there some kind of setup I have to do in Roon to get it to see the Oppo as an available zone?
Thanks for the help. :)
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Uh oh, I just saw this in the Salkstream III setup settings;
“S/PDIF Enable/Disable
Your StreamPlayer is equipped with S/PDIF output capability.
Would you like to use S/PDIF as your StreamPlayer output?
Note: You cannnot use USB and S/PIF at the same time. Choose one or the other.”
I didn’t see anything about HDMI. Is it even an option to use?
I was really hoping to avoid having to change settings each time I wanted to play a multichannel FLAC file. Most of the time I just play stereo files via the optical connection to my pre/pro and prefer to keep doing this so I don’t have to use the Oppo for everything. If each time I want to play multichannel files I’m going to have to power up the Oppo and select the appropriate input, then change the output on the Salkstream to USB (or HDMI if possible), then change it back to optical when done, I night as well save all that hassle and just pop the DVD-A disc in the Oppo to play it.
Of course getting a modern pre/pro would likely solve these issues, I still love my Anthem AVM 20 and simply cannot afford to replace it in the foreseeable future.
So, am I back to square one, or is there an option I’m not seeing?
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Does your Oppo have a USB input? If so, you should be able to use both optical and USB at the same time using Roon as a front end. You can't do this with MPD as it requires you to identify an output device. But Roon should be able to see any valid output device and you should be able to choose either in Roon.
- Jim
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Does your Oppo have a USB input? If so, you should be able to use both optical and USB at the same time using Roon as a front end. You can't do this with MPD as it requires you to identify an output device. But Roon should be able to see any valid output device and you should be able to choose either in Roon.
- Jim
Thanks Jim.
I think the Oppo 103 does have a USB input. I’ll double check.
Is there anything I have to do in the Salkstream III settings to use USB and SPDIF/Optical without having to change settings each time I switch from one to another?
I take it HDMI is not available for use in the Salkstream III?
Edit: I checked the Oppo manual and it does have two USB 2.0 inputs on the back. This will work, yes?
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Thanks Jim.
I think the Oppo 103 does have a USB input. I’ll double check.
Is there anything I have to do in the Salkstream III settings to use USB and SPDIF/Optical without having to change settings each time I switch from one to another?
I take it HDMI is not available for use in the Salkstream III?
Edit: I checked the Oppo manual and it does have two USB 2.0 inputs on the back. This will work, yes?
If you have S/PDIF enabled (which it sounds like you do), USB is enabled as well. So you just have to enable both in Roon and you can then select either.
If the Oppo USB inputs are USB Audio 2.0 compliant, it should work.
- Jim
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If you have S/PDIF enabled (which it sounds like you do), USB is enabled as well. So you just have to enable both in Roon and you can then select either.
If the Oppo USB inputs are USB Audio 2.0 compliant, it should work.
- Jim
Great! :D
Now to find a USB A to USB A cable. I can’t believe I don’t have one....I’ve got every other kind of cable in a big box! :lol:
Going online (Monoprice and Amazon) I was surprised how much searching I had to do to find one. What’s up with that?
I’ll let you know how it goes when I get a cable.
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Now to find a USB A to USB A cable. I can’t believe I don’t have one....I’ve got every other kind of cable in a big box! :lol:
Going online (Monoprice and Amazon) I was surprised how much searching I had to do to find one. What’s up with that?
USB A to A cables are rarely used or available because you wouldn't want to have the possibility of connecting two hosts together, both having a +5V power line which could produce damaging results. There are USB A to A Data Transfer cables used to network two computers together via USB, but they also have electronic components inline with the cable.
USB A to B cables are generally used to connect a USB host (computer, streamer, etc.) to a USB peripheral (DAC, printer, etc.).
AFAIK, the Oppo 103 / 103D does not have a USB DAC input that can accept a digital audio stream from a computer or streamer.
A USB DAC input, such as on the Oppo 105 / 105D, uses a USB Type B connector.
(http://www.audiocircle.com/image.php?id=177468)
The two rear panel USB Type A ports (USB1, USB2) on the Oppo 103 are host ports that can accept mass storage devices (thumb drives, hard drives, SSD drives, etc.) or USB adapters such as a WiFi network adapter.
Steve
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Thanks for the great info.
Looking at the 103 manual again, I see it only mentions using a thumb drive or USB portable drive on it’s USB inputs.
Back to square one, I guess. :(
There is an HDMI input, but I’m guessing the HDMI output on the Salkstream III isn’t active? Anyone know?
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DVD-A discs can be ripped with appropriate software (I use Trader's Little Helper) which allows you to extract the PCM data files for each track. However you choose to save them (i.e. as FLAC or WAV files) they contain PCM data which can be streamed on any suitable streamer.
This suggestion is what I’d suggest you follow. Rip the DVD-As to an appropriate format (ie FLAC) and then play them like any FLAC file through the Salk Streamplayer.
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...and if you have any SACDs, RIP those as well. When you are done the files will be Roon compatible.
Just google something like “SACD Rip Oppo 103 Sonore” and you should find what you need.
DVD-A & SACDs are expensive. We should get as much benefit out of that investment as possible, in my opinion. The ability to rip SACDs using an Oppo 103 is a recent development. A clever programmer figured out how to do it.
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This suggestion is what I’d suggest you follow. Rip the DVD-As to an appropriate format (ie FLAC) and then play them like any FLAC file through the Salk Streamplayer.
Agreed. :) The issue is how to get the multichannel digital signal from the Salkstream to the Oppo (then Oppo will send multichannel analog to my older pre/pro).
It appears using USB won’t work with my Oppo 103. There is an HDMI connection on the Salkstream , but I do t know if it’s used in the Salkstream III.
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...and if you have any SACDs, RIP those as well. When you are done the files will be Roon compatible.
Just google something like “SACD Rip Oppo 103 Sonore” and you should find what you need.
DVD-A & SACDs are expensive. We should get as much benefit out of that investment as possible, in my opinion. The ability to rip SACDs using an Oppo 103 is a recent development. A clever programmer figured out how to do it.
I did some searching about ripping SACDs, but it looked intimidating (I’m not very computer savvy).
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Progress! :D
I had an extra HDMI cable so I gave it a try. In Roon under Audio settings there were three HDMI devices listed; HDMI 0, HDMI 1, HDMI 2 (odd, there’s only one actual HDMI connection on the Salkstream III). I tried each one and found HDMI 2 worked.
The only multichannel files I have on the Salkstream at the moment are a couple of DTS CDs. When playing those I noticed the first second or so of each track is cut off. I tried adjusting the Resync Delay in Roon’s audio setting for the HDMI device being used, but that didn’t seem to help. Any suggestions to fix this? Two channel files ripped from CDs seem fine.
BTW, playing DTS CD files via the optical output I’ve been using to my pre/pro don’t have this problem.
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Roon software lists all HDMI ports which includes Display Ports (and maybe even DVI ports?) that are either available on the motherboard video chipset, or the processor chipset in the case of Intel processor integrated video, even if all ports aren't physically installed in the motherboard backplate, so this is somewhat common.
As far as the one second of audio being cutoff, HDMI requires a hardware handshake that the S/PDIF optical and coaxial connections don't, although in some cases they can also cutoff the beginning of an audio track while negotiating signal lock.
Do you get the same problem when the HDMI monitor connected to the Oppo player is on?
Steve
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I haven’t tried it with the TV on. I’ll give that a try.
BTW, if I just play the entire DTS CD file/album all the way through without interruption, the first track is cut, but the remainder are fine.
Ripping my first DVD Audio disc now. Crossing my fingers!
UPDATE: First DVD-A rip went fine. Yay! The DVD-A file plays fine without tracks being cut. Files from CD rips also play without cuts. It seems only the DTS CD file has cuts, whether the TV is on or off makes no difference. Again, playing the DTS CD files via optical straight to my pre/pro there are no cuts. I suspect it has something to do with the Oppo taking time to lock onto the DTS signal (apparently the pre/pro locks on faster). Btw, I’ve noticed the same thing with movies on the Oppo.....often the initial intro gets cut briefly. If it matters, the Oppo is connected to my pre/pro via multichannel analog (the pre/pro has no HDMI ports).
Thoughts?
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I’m still working on ripping my small collection of multichannel DVD-A discs, but so far I’m really enjoying having access to them using the Salkstream III/Roon.
I haven’t listened to these recordings for some time cause the Salkstream/Roon has made me too lazy to get a disc and put it in the player. :lol:
Too bad there’s not much out now there in this format. :( I think Multichannel DVD-A was a bit ahead of its time. When it came out, setting up a proper multichannel wasn’t easy and it was expensive.
My thanks to everyone who posted for helping me with this. :D
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Well, my excitement over being able to rip my multichannel DVD-A and multichannel SACD discs was short lived.
Whenever I play any of these files there’s low level, but clearly audible, noise in the background of the music (the music itself doesn’t distort) that sounds kind of like a loose or bad connection. Its audible on all channels, including sub. It’s only there on the files ripped from multichannel DVD-A and SACD discs (I haven’t tried 2 channel SACD discs). There’s no such noise when playing files ripped from CDs or even DTS CDs. It’s there whether I’m playing multichannel through my Oppo via HDMI or direct to my pre/pro via optical.
So it seems either the Salkstream is doing something to add the noise or the noise is within the multichannel files. I’m thinking it’s the latter since it only occurs on the multichannel files.
Is it possible Roon is doing something to cause this noise? Any settings I can check?
Another issue is when using HDMI to the Oppo, if music is paused for awhile (the time varies) the HDMI connection between the Oppo and Salkstream is lost. I then have to reboot the Salkstream to get it to reconnect. Changing HDMI cables didn’t seem to help.
Any ideas what’s going on here? Am I just out of luck playing multichannel music using my streamer/Roon?
Any suggestions/help is greatly appreciated.
(I can start a new thread if needed.)
EDIT:
Another data point....streaming the multichannel files to my iPad (of course Roon downconverts to 2 channel), there is no noise.
I’m really confused about what’s going on here.
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It is highly unlikely that the StreamPlayer adds noise to a recording. Does the Oppo have a file browser? If so, try playing a track using the Oppo as a controller and the StreamPlayer as a NAS on your network. In other words, use the Oppo to play files stored on the StreamPlayer. The idea is to take the StreamPlayer and Roon out of the equation and test the results.
- Jim
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It is highly unlikely that the StreamPlayer adds noise to a recording. Does the Oppo have a file browser? If so, try playing a track using the Oppo as a controller and the StreamPlayer as a NAS on your network. In other words, use the Oppo to play files stored on the StreamPlayer. The idea is to take the StreamPlayer and Roon out of the equation and test the results.
- Jim
Thanks for the suggestion. I’ll give that a try and report back.
I did try playing the actual discs in the Oppo and there was no noise.
This is very puzzling. Hopefully there’s a simple fix (ie, maybe a setting change in Roon).
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It is highly unlikely that the StreamPlayer adds noise to a recording. Does the Oppo have a file browser? If so, try playing a track using the Oppo as a controller and the StreamPlayer as a NAS on your network. In other words, use the Oppo to play files stored on the StreamPlayer. The idea is to take the StreamPlayer and Roon out of the equation and test the results.
- Jim
I did as you suggested with the Oppo and the noise is still there. As a matter of fact, now the noise is there no matter what is playing, or even if nothing is playing. Turning off the Salkstream stops the noise. If the Salkstream is on, the noise is there, and gets louder when asking the Salkstream to do anything (whether using Roon or the web browser access to the Salkstream). If I leave the Salkstream alone for a bit with nothing playing, the noise gets quieter. Btw, I made a recording of the noise if you want to hear it.
I did discover something, however. If I disconnect the HDMI cable between the Oppo and the Salkstream, the noise goes away. So it seems using the HDMI connection introduces the noise (I tried 2 different cables, made no difference). Of course with it disconnected I can’t use Roon to play multichannel files through the Oppo. :(
Any suggestions where to go from here? :scratch:
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I did as you suggested with the Oppo and the noise is still there. As a matter of fact, now the noise is there no matter what is playing, or even if nothing is playing. Turning off the Salkstream stops the noise. If the Salkstream is on, the noise is there, and gets louder when asking the Salkstream to do anything (whether using Roon or the web browser access to the Salkstream). If I leave the Salkstream alone for a bit with nothing playing, the noise gets quieter. Btw, I made a recording of the noise if you want to hear it.
I did discover something, however. If I disconnect the HDMI cable between the Oppo and the Salkstream, the noise goes away. So it seems using the HDMI connection introduces the noise (I tried 2 different cables, made no difference). Of course with it disconnected I can’t use Roon to play multichannel files through the Oppo. :(
Any suggestions where to go from here? :scratch:
Don't know if this is helpful - https://www.cepro.com/article/understanding_fixing_hdmi_noise
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Thanks Phil. :) Reading that link explains why the Salkstream had trouble keeping a connection with the Oppo (too much noise in the line).
Also, I found this video about eliminating computer noise from the audio signal.
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=jSA2F1AwboU
The noise in the video is similar to what I’m hearing, though what I’m experiencing is lower level and variable depending on if the Salkstream is doing something or not. It got me wondering if connection between the Salkstream and the Oppo via HDMI cable is setting up some kind of ground loop?
Unfortunately, I don’t have a 2 prong power supply, HDMI cable with a ferrite bead, or any kind of “noise eliminating” device to try.
Anyone think this is a ground loop issue, or is it likely something else?
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(Deleted post...more detailed post below)
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UPDATE:
I tried a cheater plug on the Salkstream’s 3 prong power supply and the noise went away. Yay! :D Is this a safe solution? If not, Jim, would it be possible to get a 2 prong plug power supply for my Salkstream III?
Now the other problem. After about 9-10 minutes after booting up the Salkstream and connecting to the Oppo, the connection drops and audio stops via HDMI (it still continues to play fine via optical to my pre/pro). The only way to re-establish the connection is to reboot the Salkstream.
When the Salkstream boots up, you can see it doing so on the TV. Once fully booted up, this message shows on the TV:
(http://www.audiocircle.com/image.php?id=177729)
There’s a bliinking curser next to “Login”.
After 9-10 minutes passes, the curser stops blinking and audio stops. If I switch to another input on the Oppo, then back to the HDMI input connected to the Salkstream, there’s no message at all on the TV screen.
So it’s as if the Salkstream is going to sleep at the HDMI input. As I mentioned, the music will continue to play via optical output, and Roon never shows anything amiss.
Jim, or anyone knowledgeable about the Salkstream’s programming, is there a way to keep the Salkstream from doing this on the HDMI output?
What’s really weird about the HDMI issue is I know this wasn’t happening when I first started ripping my multichannel DVD Audio discs to the Salkstream. I played music, and paused, quite a while without any issues. It started just the other day when I started ripping SACDs.
Thanks in advance. I appreciate the input and patience helping me to get this working right. :)
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UPDATE:
I tried a cheater plug on the Salkstream’s 3 prong power supply and the noise went away. Yay! :D Is this a safe solution?
http://www.dslreports.com/forum/r28709428-Electrical-Tell-me-about-cheater-plugs
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Do you by chance have a cable box nearby?
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http://www.dslreports.com/forum/r28709428-Electrical-Tell-me-about-cheater-plugs
Thanks for the link. Hopefully Jim can provide a proper 2 prong power supply to alleviate any risk.
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Thanks for the link. Hopefully Jim can provide a proper 2 prong power supply to alleviate any risk.
see the first video
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0002E4YI8/?coliid=I2I3VNO4OQRS43&colid=321FECHQA1Z6W&psc=0&ref_=lv_ov_lig_dp_it
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see the first video
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0002E4YI8/?coliid=I2I3VNO4OQRS43&colid=321FECHQA1Z6W&psc=0&ref_=lv_ov_lig_dp_it
Interesting product. I’ll keep that in mind. :)
Do you by chance have a cable box nearby?
There is small cable box hooked to the TV (part of my Audio/HT system).
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UPDATE:
I tried a cheater plug on the Salkstream’s 3 prong power supply and the noise went away. Yay! :D Is this a safe solution? If not, Jim, would it be possible to get a 2 prong plug power supply for my Salkstream III?
Now the other problem. After about 9-10 minutes after booting up the Salkstream and connecting to the Oppo, the connection drops and audio stops via HDMI (it still continues to play fine via optical to my pre/pro). The only way to re-establish the connection is to reboot the Salkstream.
When the Salkstream boots up, you can see it doing so on the TV. Once fully booted up, this message shows on the TV:
(http://www.audiocircle.com/image.php?id=177729)
There’s a bliinking curser next to “Login”.
After 9-10 minutes passes, the curser stops blinking and audio stops. If I switch to another input on the Oppo, then back to the HDMI input connected to the Salkstream, there’s no message at all on the TV screen.
So it’s as if the Salkstream is going to sleep at the HDMI input. As I mentioned, the music will continue to play via optical output, and Roon never shows anything amiss.
Jim, or anyone knowledgeable about the Salkstream’s programming, is there a way to keep the Salkstream from doing this on the HDMI output?
What’s really weird about the HDMI issue is I know this wasn’t happening when I first started ripping my multichannel DVD Audio discs to the Salkstream. I played music, and paused, quite a while without any issues. It started just the other day when I started ripping SACDs.
Thanks in advance. I appreciate the input and patience helping me to get this working right. :)
PS - Did a search on “HDMI going to sleep on NUC” (am I correct the Salkstream III is a NUC?), and found lots of complaints about this on the Intel support forum. I didn’t see any solutions. :icon_frown:
Help!
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Interesting product. I’ll keep that in mind. :)
There is small cable box hooked to the TV (part of my Audio/HT system).
Cable boxes are known to cause issues. There are solutions and threads on various forums - e.g. http://www.avsforum.com/forum/155-diy-speakers-subs/1447566-cable-box-causing-hum-need-fix.html
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You can also unplug the cable box and see if the problem disappears before looking at solutions.
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Thanks. I’ll check that out.
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What you are seeing on your TV is the StreamPlayer login after booting up. If you hook up a keyboard, you can actually log into the StreamPlayer using your TV as a monitor. Of course, there is no need to do so unless you are doing maintenance on the OS. But this is normal. And after some period of inactivity (not logging in), the screen will go blank and/or the cursor will stop flashing. This also is normal behavior. It is not an issue.
The StreamPlayer does not use a NUC. It uses a standard motherboard.
As for the power supply, I don't think anyone would make a two-prong power supply in this day and age as they likely could not get UL approval. If a cheater plug solves the noise problem, I don't think you'll have any problems using it. But you do likely have a ground loop situation.
Are the Oppo, the receiver, the TV and the StreamPlayer plugged into the same physical outlet? Are you using a surge protector?
As for the HDMI dropping its connection, this is a non-standard use of the StreamPlayer. The StreamPlayer was designed to be used with USB, S/PDIF or both. While it is certainly possible to enable the HDMI outputs in Roon, this is not necessarily a supported use. There are simply too many variables involved here when things don't work out. It may be an issue with the the HDMI cabling, the Oppo, the receiver, the TV or any number of other things. HDMI is a basically a video interface with copy protection. There could be issues with the Intel graphics circuits or graphics drivers not recognizing the Oppo as an HDCP (digital copy protection) compliant device. Without having all the associated devices in hand (TV, Oppo and StreamPlayer), troubleshooting the issue is akin to target shooting in the dark.
We have purposely kept things simple with the StreamPlayer both to keep things stable and to minimize the support time required to keep them up and running. When we introduced the very first StreamPlayer, we had a version without internal storage. But we found that we were spending a great deal of time sorting out customers network issues. I spent two full days one time trying to figure out how in the world one of our customers could have over 1,000 devices attached to his router. In the end, a new router solved the issue. Although you could certainly use a StreamPlayer to play music files stored on a NAS or other device, we now include internal storage in all StreamPlayers to keep things simple. Having internal music storage pretty much eliminated support calls since we no longer have to help resolve network communications issues between the StreamPlayer and a NAS or computer.
I have used a customized version of the StreamPlayer as a media server in my home theater and have had not issues with drop outs or the HDMI signal going to sleep. But I don't use that server for music via HDMI (although I do play concert videos quite often and have had no issue).
Solving issues like these is actually quite easy, once you've identified the cause. The best way to troubleshoot is not to search for the issue or assume any component is at fault, but to eliminate things that are not the issue. The more potential issues you can eliminate, the smaller the list becomes until you eventually narrow in on the cause. In all the years we have been producing StreamPlayers, we have had to sort out a fair number of issues. I don't recall a single case where the StreamPlayer was at fault once it was set up and operating properly. Of course, you can't rule anything out. But it is a very simple device and there really isn't much that can go wrong.
If I get a chance in the next week or so, I will investigate HDMI issues where multi-channel music is concerned. In just a quick look today, I noticed quite a few individuals trying to address similar issues. But I did not run across any solutions. So more research time is in order on this one.
- Jim
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Thank you Jim for the thoughtful response.
To answer your question, the TV, processor, Oppo 103, and the Salkstream, are plugged into the same surge protector. My processor is an older model (Anthem AVM 20) and lacks any HDMI connectios.
In case this info helps, these components are connected as follows;
Salkstream is connected to processor via optical, and to the Oppo via HDMI.
Oppo is connected to processor via 6 channel analog RCA connections, and to the TV via HDMI.
As far as trying to narrow down the source of the HDMI issue, I’ve tried the following so far;
1, Leaving the TV on so all HDMI components are powered on and actively connected.
2. After loss of HDMI connection, change input on Oppo to something else then back to the Salkstream to try to re-establish connection.
3. Reboot the Oppo after HDMI connection is lost to try to re-establish connection
4. Reboot the Salkstream
The only thing that worked was rebooting the Salkstream, hence my thinking that the Salkstream was disconnecting the connection when the Login curser stopped blinking (video signal turning off).
It’s apparent from your post that it may not be that simple. Is there anything else you recommend I try to help narrow down the issue?
I understand this isn’t a standard use of the Salkstream. However, I’d love to be able to use it and Roon to play my multichannel music files. I wonder how other Salkstream/Roon users are playing multichannel files? What components/connection setup are they using?
Your time and effort helping me where possible are greatly appreciated.
Again, thank you. :)
Jim
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I have an idea. I'm not sure it would resolve your situation, but it is worth a try. If you want to run a TeamViewer session, just email the ID and password. It shouldn't take long to make the changes. Again, I have no idea what the issue is, so this might not be the solution. But if we don't try, we'll never know.
- Jim
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I have an idea. I'm not sure it would resolve your situation, but it is worth a try. If you want to run a TeamViewer session, just email the ID and password. It shouldn't take long to make the changes. Again, I have no idea what the issue is, so this might not be the solution. But if we don't try, we'll never know.
- Jim
Hi Jim.
While waiting I posted about this on the Oppo 103 Owners forum on AVS. Bob Pariseau, one of the Oppo gurus replied with this:
“Leave the TV ON. When the music stops press Info button on the OPPO remote. If you get the on screen Info display then that will show you what is coming in on the HDMI Input.
If not, check your Screen Saver setting in the OPPO and confirm it is not on the Power Saving setting.
—Bob”
I did as Bob suggested and just posted this response:
“Thanks.
I tried as you suggested. While it was working fine the first few minutes after rebooting the streamer and starting a music file, I pressed the Info button on the Oppo remote and saw this displayed across the top of the screen;
HDMI IN BACK: Audio LPCM 5.1 176.4k Video 1080p@60Hz RGB 36b 16:9
Once the music cut off, when I press the Info button on the Oppo, the screen is completely blank.
I checked the Display Options in the Oppo setting and Screen Saver is set to “ON” (not Energy Saver).
So what does this mean? Does it mean the streamer stopped sending the HDMI signal completely (audio and video)?
Thank you again for your help.”
So I’m waiting for his response to see if he has anything else I can try on the Oppo side.
While I’m waiting, do you want to go ahead and try your idea? Or would you prefer to wait and see what Bob says?
Thanks. :)
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Hi Jim.
I got this response from Bob;
If the streamer stopped sending you’d still get an Info display from the OPPO.
Instead the OPPO is muting its HDMI output. Typically this would happen due to a Copy Protection check failure.
As with all HDMI related problems, the first step would be to try replacement cables. Make sure you are using cables in and out which are rated as High Speed or For 1080p. If you buy new cables, there’s a newer standard that’s even better called HDMI Ultra HD Premium Certified. Premium Certified cables will be packaged with a fancy hologram label identifying them as such. —Bob
I’ve tried 2 different HDMI cables that work fine with another BD player (Pioneer) in the den, but I’ll Try one more to see what happens. Also, I’m not sure how the Oppo’s HDMI output applies here since I’m using the Oppo’s multichannel analog outputs to send audio to my processor. I’ll ask Bob about that.
Does Bob’s response have any impact on what you wanted to try?
PS - I went ahead and emailed the TeamViewer information to you in case you want to go ahead and try your idea while I’m at work Friday. Thank you again for your time and efforts. :)
PPS - I tried a 3rd cable, but no change in behavior. You think we can safely rule out a cable issue?
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UPDATE:
Jim and I continued this conversation through email, so I thought I’d post an update.
After much testing and some dead ends, we narrowed down the audio cutoff issue to the Salkstream putting its video output via HDMI into a sleep or screensaver mode. I learned that HDMI audio is always carried in the video signal, so when video stops, so does audio.
Jim was able to find a simple command code that prevents the Salkstream’s video signal from going into screensaver/sleep mode. It was simple to log into the Salkstream and enter the command.
I spent about an 1.5 hours this evening listening to multichannel music with no interruptions....woo hoo!
Many thanks to Jim for sticking with me on this to find a resolution even though I’m using the Salkstream in a non-standard way. :thumb: