Aaron Ledger

[swoon]

Not quite sure what you mean “in assuming S3”. You can always check your BIOS settings to verify that S3 is indeed the standby state when the OS sleeps.

[swoon]

Perhaps there is some trouble due to DHCP reassigning the IP address. As an experiment, you could try setting the IP address of the InfiniTV via the web configuration utility to a valid static IP address on your network. Make sure the IP is not in the pool of addresses your DHCP server assigns.

[swoon]

By definition, VUDU only streams stereo sound if you are using the SD service tier (which is all that is available on the PC).

As far as I am aware, this information has not changed for the PC:

Today, we cannot use WMDRM to deliver AC3 or DD+ audio, which means that only stereo (delivered via WMA) is available. PCs and Macs decode the WMA, and CE players also transcode to PCM for digital connections to receivers. We could technically include multichannel audio using WMAPro, but essentially no receivers are actually capable of decoding that.

Netflix

[swoon]

I agree with oliverredfox. It appears the USB device will attempt to create a 5.1 mix out of the audio. In general, it probably is best to let the receiver do this. You really just want to send the original audio to it (and unless something has changed recently, it’s stereo for both Netflix and VUDU on PC).

[swoon]

Are you sure your USB sound device isn’t using something like DD Live to re-encode the audio? This is usually a tab in the audio properties if the card is device is capable of it.

Basically, the PC should decode the audio for you and just send it using your HDMI audio device. If it is 5.1 audio, the PC will decode and send as LPCM.

[swoon]

I don’t believe Netflix and VUDU send anything but stereo to the PC right now. It is true, VUDU can use DD+, but they only send to connected devices. Netflix can also send DD+, but I believe that is only PS3 at this point.

Even if you were receiving the DD+ stream, you need the right type of GPU in order to bitstream DD+, otherwise, you’d be best decoding and sending as LPCM not transcoding to DD.

[swoon]

Actually, the Hitachi deal might still be on.

[swoon]

They look attractive. I presume there will be a black option as well?

[swoon]

Here’s a little more detail on Google Music from my experience so far. I was able to upload a lossless wma album. Google Music encodes it into a 320kbps mp3. Unfortunately, I think 320kbps is a bit too much for 3G (if the connection is not great) and besides, it’s not really necessary on a portable device. Instead, I took the Lame mp3 VBR-encoded version of my music library (~180 – 220 kbps) and uploaded that.

I was sort of hoping it could house the wma lossless files and just transcode to an appropriate bitrate on the fly depending on speed–extremely wishful thinking on my part . I was able to tell what Google Music was doing/not doing to the files by looking at the cached files stored by the Android player. The good news is they don’t touch the mp3 encoded files. They appear to be exactly what was uploaded.

The service is obviously in beta stage and a bit rough, but it definitely has potential. The browser is used for managing and playing the library on the PC. It is classic Google, simple but effective for covering the essentials. The Android player is basically an updated version of the standard music player with more eye candy and the sync functionality. The Android player will pre-cache songs it thinks you will listen to and songs can also be downloaded for offline listening.

[swoon]

Maybe you’ll get it soon. I signed up the day it launched and just received the invite an hour ago.

I agree, for home use, I won’t use it, but accessing the library on the go using someone else’s server and storage is beneficial. 

[swoon]

I just received the invite to the Google Music Beta which, in theory, is a more compelling offer to me. Supposedly I can upload 20k songs to Google in any quality. I have a lot of Lossless WMA files I can throw at it :). Unless they do transcoding though, they won’t be too friendly for 3G streaming. In that case, I’ll throw the mp3-encoded versions up there.

[swoon]

I don’t really remember the 30GB having any issues. It lasted for years until I got rid of the PC altogether.

[swoon]

Ouch. I’m going through my own RMA headaches with another problem so I can empathize. The G620T is looking like an awesome chip for a lot of applications.

[swoon]

 

I hope so too. This is my first Deskstar since my IBM 30GB! That was quite the cutting edge when it came out back in the day. I paid WAY more for the drive, too. Probably over $200 for sure.

[swoon]

Do you recall any events that occurred prior to these issues that could have been potential causes? Any chance you have a restore point or backup you could fall back to?

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