Bitstreaming DTS-HD with 24 bit depth tracks

[jimz06]

I've noticed that a couple of my recent m2ts files from blu-rays have issues with bitstreaming the DTS-HD audio on the HD300, in the form of no audio or choppy audio. Two examples are X-Men: First Class and Bridesmaids. All my older rips still play fine. When I compare the files in mediainfo the one difference I see is that the files that play fine have a bit depth of 16 while the problem files have a bit depth of 24. Anyone having similar issues and is this a limitation of the HD300?

[Bagal]

I've also been suffering with the same problem, so far it's happened to me with X-Men First Class, Harry Potter 7 pt2, The Fighter and The Social Network, I hadn't gotten around to looking at the problem but now you've mentioned it the one thing they all have in common is 24bit DTS-HD audio and AVC video stream (High@L4.1).

I don't think it's specifically the 24bit audio as Fast and Furious is also 24bit DTS-HD and that plays fine but it's video is VC-1 instead of AVC.

I've got some other Blu-Ray's in the same format so I'll give them a go and see if they have the same problem and I can also try another HD300.

[gabrielcab]

Try installing the latest non-beta firmware for the HD300. It fixed the exact problem as you for me.

[jimz06]

Great This is now the loyal Sage followers lot...I specifically installed the beta firmware to get the higher res GUI and now it doesn't play my files correctly and with no fix in sight.

[Bagal]

The higher res GUI was enabled in the first beta after the last release firmware, so you could try that and see if you have the same problem: http://forums.sagetv.com/forums/show...77&postcount=7

and yes, it is frustrating...

[jimz06]

Just checking back in on this one to see if anyone has found a workaround. I just tried using different containers like mkv and blu ray folder structure with no improvement. Next up will be rewinding firmware versions.

[trk2]

The workaround is to use beta firmware 20110124-2. No problems with DTS-MA and support for high resolution menus. You have to manually install it, the easiest way is to install the firmware from a usb drive after renaming the files to "stp300.bin" and "stp300.ver". The HD300 manual explains how to do a manual firmware install.

FYI, DTS-MA is broken in firmwares 20110217-2 and later.

[Carlton Bale]

For anyone searching, here is the link to the 20110124-2 firmware:

http://forums.sagetv.com/forums/show...1&postcount=14

[jbuszkie]

Thank You user community! I ran into this "bug" a while ago and
Dismissed it as a bad rip. But I saw it on a couple other rips as well yesterday. I spent a couple hours playing with cables, network config, playing from USB.. nothing worked.. And I even saw it on another movie I swear I had watched already..

So I found this thread.. I reverted the firmware to the latest suggested here and BAM the audio works now... At least on the one file I tested...

I guess I blindly upgrade to the latest beta firmware on both my HD300s without seeing if there was an issue or not!

Thanks again!!

Jim

[KeithAbbott]

For those of us using the HD300 as an extender (not in standalone mode), using the beta firmware version 20110124-2 obviously benefits us in that DTS-HD Master Audio works. Anyone know if there is a downside to using the older beta firmware version (20110124-2), rather than either of the two newer versions? Here's what the change logs have to say about the newer versions:

Changes for beta version 20110217-2 include the following:

Core changes:

1. Updated system driver

Changes for beta version 20110506-0 include the following:

Core changes:

1. Improve MKV compatibility
2. Updates to image loading system
3. Fix wrong buffer underrun detection on some dvd playback
4. Fix for bad cases in hdmi and hdmi audio systems
5. Fix possible hang in firmware update logic (applies only to next update)

I guess ultimately what I am wondering is if the 20110124-2 firmware should be the "recommended" HD300 firmware level.

[jimz06]

I finally got around to doing this last night and now I actually have sound on my 24 bit DTS-HD tracks! I think being able to hear the audio on these newer releases would far out weigh whatever minor fixes the later versions incorporated.

[SteveW]

Anyone have a link about how to manually revert back to an earlier firmware on the 300's? I've seen it but now can't find it. I also thought I had some bad rips, but now think this is happening to me as well....

[jbuszkie]

You can find instructions in the HD300 manual on how to manually revert firmware. You can find the manual Here

But basically...

Configuration Reset Procedure
If none of the other troubleshooting suggestions have solved the problem, then you can try this
Configuration Reset Procedure:
1. Turn the player off by unplugging the power cable.
2. Press the Back button on the remote and continue holding it as you plug the power cable
back in. Continue holding the Back button until the Service Menu appears on the TV.
3. Note that if nothing is visible on the TV when using the HDMI or Component
connections, connect the HD Theater to your TV using the Composite connection instead.
4. Choose a reset option:
o Factory Reset – Reload the firmware and reset the configuration. See below for
more information regarding reloading the firmware.
o Reload Firmware – Only reload the firmware.
o Config Reset / Restore / Backup – Offers options to reset the configuration,
restore the configuration previously backed up to an attached USB storage device,
or save the current configuration to an attached USB storage device
5. After the reset procedure, check the above troubleshooting tips again.
When reloading the firmware, three options will be available:
From SageTV Server – Load the firmware from the SageTV installation folder on a PC
connected to your local network. The firmware files should be placed in the SageTV
installation folder where SageTV.exe is located.
From Internet – Load the firmware by automatically downloading the firmware files via
an Internet connection.
From USB – Load the firmware from an attached USB storage device. The firmware
files should be placed in the root folder of the USB storage device.

When choosing to load the firmware From SageTV Server or From USB, you will need to
download the following firmware files and copy them to the locations specified above. (The
firmware files are automatically downloaded and applied when using the From Internet option,
so no separate download is needed for that option.)
http://download.sage.tv/firmware/stp300.bin
http://download.sage.tv/firmware/stp300.ver

Those are the file names. Take the firmware you want and rename it to stp300.bin/ver

[SteveW]

Originally Posted by jbuszkie

You can find instructions in the HD300 manual on how to manually revert firmware. You can find the manual Here

But basically...

Configuration Reset Procedure
If none of the other troubleshooting suggestions have solved the problem, then you can try this
Configuration Reset Procedure:
1. Turn the player off by unplugging the power cable.
2. Press the Back button on the remote and continue holding it as you plug the power cable
back in. Continue holding the Back button until the Service Menu appears on the TV.
3. Note that if nothing is visible on the TV when using the HDMI or Component
connections, connect the HD Theater to your TV using the Composite connection instead.
4. Choose a reset option:
o Factory Reset – Reload the firmware and reset the configuration. See below for
more information regarding reloading the firmware.
o Reload Firmware – Only reload the firmware.
o Config Reset / Restore / Backup – Offers options to reset the configuration,
restore the configuration previously backed up to an attached USB storage device,
or save the current configuration to an attached USB storage device
5. After the reset procedure, check the above troubleshooting tips again.
When reloading the firmware, three options will be available:
From SageTV Server – Load the firmware from the SageTV installation folder on a PC
connected to your local network. The firmware files should be placed in the SageTV
installation folder where SageTV.exe is located.
From Internet – Load the firmware by automatically downloading the firmware files via
an Internet connection.
From USB – Load the firmware from an attached USB storage device. The firmware
files should be placed in the root folder of the USB storage device.

When choosing to load the firmware From SageTV Server or From USB, you will need to
download the following firmware files and copy them to the locations specified above. (The
firmware files are automatically downloaded and applied when using the From Internet option,
so no separate download is needed for that option.)
http://download.sage.tv/firmware/stp300.bin
http://download.sage.tv/firmware/stp300.ver

Those are the file names. Take the firmware you want and rename it to stp300.bin/ver

Ah thank you! Had it in my head that it was a forum post I saw it somewhere. Never thought of it actually being in the manual...

[SteveW]

Originally Posted by trk2

The workaround is to use beta firmware 20110124-2. No problems with DTS-MA and support for high resolution menus. You have to manually install it, the easiest way is to install the firmware from a usb drive after renaming the files to "stp300.bin" and "stp300.ver". The HD300 manual explains how to do a manual firmware install.

FYI, DTS-MA is broken in firmwares 20110217-2 and later.

Thanks everyone. Going back to this firmware fixed the constant audio problems I was having with some of my DTS-MA movies. Never would have figured out on my own that I would have to go back in time to fix it.

Lost the 7 like interface option on the HD-300 by going back that far, but that's ok, hardly ever use the extender in stand alone anyways.

Tnx

[trk2]

I'm glad the beta firmware 20110124-2 is working well for everyone. I also wanted to mention that this firmware fixes a bug while playing FLAC files in the latest official release. The FLAC bug causes the audio to stop and the only fix I found was to reset the HD300.

So to summarize:

Latest beta firmware = broken DTS-MA
Latest official firmware = broken FLAC
Firmware 20110124-2 = just right

[KJake]

*necromancy!*

sorry to raise this from the dead, but this is awesome! i had switched my extender to plain HDMI bitstream years ago because the audio would always cut in/out and in doing so, Sage would just pass the core 5.1 to my AVR. Recently, I switched extenders from another room that still had the audio output to 1.3 bitstream and I was reminded of this sad fact that I couldn't get 7.1 sound. Thought to my self...hey, it's been years, I wonder if there has been any research on why this is? Downgraded to this beta (from the last beta) and no more drops on DTS-MA tracks (I'm using exclusively as an extender)!

[tvmaster2]

Originally Posted by SteveW

Thanks everyone. Going back to this firmware fixed the constant audio problems I was having with some of my DTS-MA movies. Never would have figured out on my own that I would have to go back in time to fix it.

Lost the 7 like interface option on the HD-300 by going back that far, but that's ok, hardly ever use the extender in stand alone anyways.

Tnx

Can you tell me the method you used to re-flash your HD300, and to which firmware version? I've followed every instruction I can find and all I'm getting are errors...

[SteveW]

Originally Posted by tvmaster2

Can you tell me the method you used to re-flash your HD300, and to which firmware version? I've followed every instruction I can find and all I'm getting are errors...

Well that was 2013... and I can't remember where I left my keys 30 minutes ago...

IIRC, I think I used the Sage server method - following the instructions to put the .bin and .ver files in the same directory as sage.exe ...

[tvmaster2]

Originally Posted by SteveW

Well that was 2013... and I can't remember where I left my keys 30 minutes ago...

IIRC, I think I used the Sage server method - following the instructions to put the .bin and .ver files in the same directory as sage.exe ...

haha - I left my keys where again? Thanks, I know, old thread. Turns out the bin and ver files have to be renamed, stripping all the firmware number info from the name, leaving just HD300.bin for eg. After that, I was able to install from a USB drive