Windows Media High Definition Videos

[Chris D]

Well, after much tweaking with my laptop setup and software, I've got it hooked up and playing Windows Media High Definition material on my home theater. Wow! this stuff is very, very good! For those that don't know, some films are already available in high-definition on this format, playable through a computer, such as Terminator 2. This is true 720p or 1080p high-definition, not upconverted. I have a few more WMHD discs coming in the mail in the next few days.

Here's what I can't figure out, though--WMHD uses a WM 5.1 surround sound format, not DD or DTS. When I send the audio via digital coax to my home theater processor, it gets sent via PCM, not a surround format. (playing a DVD on my laptop, I can send DD or DTS via coax) So invariably, this WMHD stuff gets played with some very so-so audio, including dialogue very quiet and muted, like something's wrong. Does anybody know, is there a way to correct this? And possibly send surround sound to the processor? I'm kind of guessing that the answer is that WMHD audio is proprietary and can't be transmitted digitally. So then how the heck do I play it in surround sound in a theater?

[Gordon Moore]

I would imagine you would need a 5.1/7.1 card that includes analogue outs, hooked up to your receiver. With a laptop, unless you have the extigy....that's gonna be hard to pull off.

PM Bing, he has T2 extreme edition....he may be able to help you with the levels problem. I downloaded the HD trailers but never noticed whether or not the 5.1 stream was included in those.

[Chris D]

I suspect that might be the case, Gord... that Microsoft has created a proprietary 5.1 surround format, like SACD or DVD-A, that requires its own decoders, and must be sent via 5.1 analog outputs to a receiver. Dangit... my 5.1 inputs (actually, 7.1 inputs) on my Parasound pre/pro are already going to be taken up by my future universal DVD player. I don't have a whole 'nother spare set of inputs to dedicate just to Windows Media.

I was thinking about picking up an external USB sound card for use from my laptop, exactly for stuff like this anyway. Didn't Jason say that new sound cards were coming out right about now?

Bill Gates strikes again?

[aud19]

Creative's supposed to have new cards coming out this fall in time for the holiday season. Or so I heard a few months back. Now who knows if they've been delayed or if they're even worth waiting for...? Regardless, that's not going to help you with your WMHD dilemma. Unless someone releases a card or adapter that converts it DD etc... :roll:

Jason

[Gordon Moore]

Just did a quick read at Micro$oft'$ site and it is indeed proprietary

http://www.microsoft.com/windows/windowsmedia/domorewith/sursoshowcase.aspx

I guess if it catches on, Gates will position himself to have a WMHD sticker on receivers and processors and the like.

[aud19]

Well that's great and all but how do you get output to a HT if your analog inputs are already being utilized with an SACD/DVD-A player?!?! Stupid Mickeysoft :evil:

Jason

[Gordon Moore]

Obviously not today....but in the future it would be passed through a digital stream along with DD & DTS and be decoded at the processor.

I kinda doubt this will catch on, unless WMHD becomes the next format for HDDVD and just like i.e. is inexplicably tied to the OS. WAHD will be tied to WVHD I imagine :roll:

[Andrew Pratt]

WMHD is going to be in the next HD DVD's so I'm sure we'll see more of this format in the months to come. Right now the only way to get 5.1 sound from those clips on a HTPC is to either use a SoundStorm chip to encode it and send it back out in DD or use a card with analog outputs.

[Chris D]

Andrew, I think you're right about HD DVD's, even if I'm not sure that WMHD is, in the end, going to end up as THE standard for audio on it. Several other codecs are being batted around too, like MLP. I'm not familiar with a SoundStorm chip--is that an internal sound card?

It looks like one of a few things needs to happen:
1. Microsoft could add a DD/DTS alternate audio track to WMHD material
2. Microsoft could allow the MWHD audio to be passed via SPDIF (and/or HDMI, IEEE 1394) , and then add WMHD decoding ability to surround processors to decode
3. Somebody needs to make a USB soundcard with MWHD decoding ability and 5.1/7.1 analog outputs, so that I can plug it into my HTPC laptop.

Note that WMHD is really becoming something to be treated like SACD and DVD-A. I think option #2 would functionally be the optimal solution here, but would require some serious hardware upgrades. The direction I'm seeing that hardware NEEDS to take would be to make DVD players more like mini-HTPC's like a DVD-ROM drive. Then a truly universal DVD player would be able to play WMHD DVD's and other Blu-ray HD DVD's that may come out in other video formats, and with audio be able to pass redbook CD, HDCD, DD, DTS, DVD-A, and SACD over SPDIF/HDMI/IEEE 1394 to a surround processor that could decode all those things. I realize I'm dreaming here.

If option #3 above happens, I would very much like to see the same sound card also have SACD and DVD-A capability, so that my HTPC would become my universal player. I only have one set of 7.1 analog inputs on my Halo pre/pro, and don't have room to add 5.1/7.1 analog inputs from both a HTPC and a universal DVD player.

[aud19]

Unfortunately you would also need a different DVD-drive if you want to play SACD too... :roll:

Jason

[Chris D]

I haven't ever seen a computer soundcard that could decode SACD; I've only seen DVD-A. Why would you need a different drive too, Jason?

[aud19]

SACD uses entirely different optical hardware as such the drives need to be compatible with both types to be able to play SACD as well. As far as I know there aren't any PC drives available out there that have the appropriate hardware to read an SACD nevermind the soundcard to properly decode it. HTPC's are close to be able to do anything but that's one of the big hurdles IMO. PCI Express should fix the bandwidth problem computers currently have which will help in handling HD-res video. Disc formats including SACD, WMHD, HD-DVD and BluRay are another problem or upcoming problems and memory is the third. (Besides Windows anyways :lol: ). If/when MRAM (or something else, as good) becomes available, that will be a big difference as well

Jason

[Chris D]

I had no idea. Thanks!

[Chris D]

I thought I'd consolidate this into this thread: You can view WMHD content available at:

http://www.microsoft.com/windows/windowsmedia/content_provider/film/ContentShowcase.aspx

There are about 15 DVD's currently available, including the more popular Terminator 2 and Step Into Liquid. Heck, you can even get a WMHD disc for free by going to that website and requesting the "Do More with Windows XP" disc. It has several WMHD features on the disc, including the BMW films in HD. (I'm a BMW fan, too, so this is uber-cool)

Amazon.com also has most of the DVD's for sale, as well as other places. I currently have "Speed", "Magic of Flight", and one other coming from Overstock.com

[Gordon Moore]

Chris....before people throw away $3.00

did you see this disclaimer?

Bonus movies come with a 60 day license

My guess is that they cease to play after 2 months.

[Chris D]

Eeeeeeeenteresting.... no, I haven't seen that. I'll let people know if my stuff off that free CD (or other discs) stops playing. I think I might still be in that 60 day window, but for now everything's working. (except the surround-sound output to my theater pre/pro, as I mentioned above)

[Chris D]

BTW, I discovered the other night going through the options for Windows Media Player 10 that you CAN pass "Windows Audio 9 Professional" via SPDIF. This is an option in WMP 10, but it specifies that, as expected, the SPDIF receiver has to have the capability to decode this format. Just for kicks, I enabled this option and sent it to my Parasound Halo processor, which detected it as a PCM stream. No audio came out. This would be a cool feature to have added to the Halo.

[Meat_PoPs]

Reeeallly, where did you find that option in wmp10? I can't seem to locate that, not that it'll do me any good anyhow.
And, as to the suggestion of using a nvidia soundstorm dd encoder pass.. I really can't recomment it. The quality out of the soundstorm (or soundstorm 2 in my case) is appalingly harsh and over-bright.
There is an opensource ac3 (dd) encoder that you can use with any sound hardware that offers spdif output. You can find that here http://sourceforge.net/projects/ac3encode/
The quality is still below that of a prerendered dd soundtrack, but I expect it will get better.
In your case though, it's the only way you're going to get wmahd sound to your receiver without using analog cables.