Dolby Atmos decoding hardware ???

[zcftr29]

Good luck with that! Haha.

My problem is that I'm very stubborn and I never give up... I'll just keep banging my head against a wall until I figure it out

 

[himey]

My problem is that I'm very stubborn and I never give up... I'll just keep banging my head against a wall until I figure it out

It doesn't look like my Topping D20 DAC will work in conjunction with my miniDSP UDAC8. Using ASIO4ALL in Foobar, I add both DACS in the mapping section, and I get intermittent audio, and the ASIO4ALL icon blinks red and green.

If I just use the D20, without mapping the other DAC's channels, it works fine using ASIO4ALL. I guess I am still limited to 8 channels for now.

Edit...Turned on hardware buffer and now it plays without going in and out and the ASIO4ALL icon stays green...but there is slight noise in the background Getting closer...

 

[himey]

I might try combining my Oppo (HDMI INPUT) and the UDAC8 (USB) next...

 

[zcftr29]

Good luck with that! Haha.

Maybe this will help point in the right direction Asoundrc - AlsaProject... It's a bit beyond me, but if anyone here is a Linux nerd and wants to chip in?

 

[SeeMoreDigital]

I might try combining my Oppo (HDMI INPUT) and the UDAC8 (USB) next...

Currently I use my OPPO's analogue audio outputs for listening to anything up-to 7.1 channels. But it would be great if it were possible to use the OPPO's HDMI audio output to send Atmos meta-data to an Atmos decoding device of some kind...

 

[himey]

Maybe this will help point in the right direction Asoundrc - AlsaProject... It's a bit beyond me, but if anyone here is a Linux nerd and wants to chip in?

Can you tell me your settings in ASIO4ALL?

 

[mandrix]

The RPi 4 has two HDMI ports... I have no coding knowledge and very little Linux experience, but if there were a way to aggregate the HDMI ports to get 16 channels of LPCM output that would be amazing! I think the Linux software for controlling audio interfaces is "Jack", but that is as far as my Googling on the subject has got so far.

With no ASIO program to aggregate the devices, I wonder....but in truth I know nothing about the device and software, at least not on a user level.
But do go for it! There are smarter heads than I about these various devices. Sometimes Google is your friend, sometimes sticking stubbornly to the S.O.S.

 

[mandrix]

Currently I use my OPPO's analogue audio outputs for listening to anything up-to 7.1 channels. But it would be great if it were possible to use the OPPO's HDMI audio output to send Atmos meta-data to an Atmos decoding device of some kind...

You should be able to bitstream from the Oppo to a hardware decoder via HDMI, e.g. AVR.
The limitation will be whatever the hardware device has, yes?

But I guess you are talking about getting more than 7.1. In that case it's still down to hardware AND software. I think the Oppo would be an unnecessary device in the chain assuming we're talking about aggregating devices. Bitstreaming from the Oppo would pass the signal unchanged, if I'm thinking correctly.

But maybe I'm missing something?

 

[SeeMoreDigital]

You should be able to bitstream from the Oppo to a hardware decoder via HDMI, e.g. AVR.
The limitation will be whatever the hardware device has, yes?

But I guess you are talking about getting more than 7.1. In that case it's still down to hardware AND software. I think the Oppo would be an unnecessary device in the chain assuming we're talking about aggregating devices. Bitstreaming from the Oppo would pass the signal unchanged, if I'm thinking correctly.

But maybe I'm missing something?

In my case I really don't want a huge AVR sitting in my room packed with loads of features (especially video) I don't need. Ideally all I require is a dedicated device that can decode Atmos meta-data only via HDMI. But I doubt such a device will ever become available...

EDIT: I've even considered buying a cheap Atmos soundbar and taking it apart to see if it's possible to utilise just the Atmos speaker parts!

 

[mandrix]

In my case I really don't want a huge AVR sitting in my room packed with loads of features (especially video) I don't need. Ideally all I require is a dedicated device that can decode Atmos meta-data only via HDMI. But I doubt such a device will ever become available...

I get it. There's a lot of "stuff" in AVR's I don't need, especially a bank of stereo inputs.
But I wouldn't be surprised if a smaller device comes along that does what you want.

 

[zcftr29]

Can you tell me your settings in ASIO4ALL?

Just the default settings other than turning on/off the relevant devices... I haven't played with the other settings yet, although did notice a bit of stuttering the other day, so may need to increase the buffer.

 

[zcftr29]

With no ASIO program to aggregate the devices, I wonder....but in truth I know nothing about the device and software, at least not on a user level.
But do go for it! There are smarter heads than I about these various devices. Sometimes Google is your friend, sometimes sticking stubbornly to the S.O.S.

I'll probably stick with using Foobar/DRP on a PC/Windows rather than the RPi, but might tinker a bit... I still have the RPi hooked up for now, but may repurpose it for something else

 

[himey]

Just the default settings other than turning on/off the relevant devices... I haven't played with the other settings yet, although did notice a bit of stuttering the other day, so may need to increase the buffer.

I am getting a slight background garbled sound when both DACs are connected. I will try another, more powerful PC. I really don't have an issue with 4.0.4, so I should probably just stick with that.

 

[mandrix]

I am getting a slight background garbled sound when both DACs are connected. I will try another, more powerful PC. I really don't have an issue with 4.0.4, so I should probably just stick with that.

If you're talking about while using the DRP, I've noticed that running some programs simultaneously as the DRP causes all sorts of audio problems.
I've looked and the DRP does not seem to be using many resources, so it's sort of puzzling. I have a Z590 mobo/i7 and 32GB of RAM so should be no problems.

 

[himey]

If you're talking about while using the DRP, I've noticed that running some programs simultaneously as the DRP causes all sorts of audio problems.
I've looked and the DRP does not seem to be using many resources, so it's sort of puzzling. I have a Z590 mobo/i7 and 32GB of RAM so should be no problems.

No. I am only playing PCM files with two DACs connected using ASIO4ALL.

 

[himey]

Just the default settings other than turning on/off the relevant devices... I haven't played with the other settings yet, although did notice a bit of stuttering the other day, so may need to increase the buffer.

I got it all sorted out! It was the PC. I moved the two DACs to another PC. I installed ASIO4ALL, and the Foobar ASIO component. Also added Matrix Mixer component to Foobar. I now have 10 channel output in my Windows 11 PC!

The only setting I changed in ASIO4ALL was the "allow Hardware" for the 7.1 DAC. The two channel DAC, I left the box unchecked.

I had better luck with the Matrix Mixer to map the channels rather than using the built in one that installs with the Foobar ASIO component.