POLL: Crowdfunding development equipment

[peteru]

I've been working on enabling support for advanced audio formats and it looks like there is some chance that I can make significant improvements to at least the T4. Maybe U4, as well. If things go really well, T2 and T3 may also get a few extra features. Some of the possibilities are passthrough support for AC3+, DTS-HD, DTS-HD MA, Dolby Atmos and Dolby TrueHD. It may also be possible to decode some of these formats. Another enhancement that I have almost working is the option of decoding multi channel audio and sending uncompressed 5.1 output to HDMI and only downmixing to stereo for analogue and SPDIF output. Then there's the option to look at dialogue normalisation and loudness equivalence to match the volume of various audio sources.

As anticipated, I have now hit a brick wall as I have no means to play back the audio. The only thing I have available to me for development are the two crappy speakers in the back of a cheap 32" Samsung TV. I am in need of an AVR+7.1 speaker combo. Based on my research, the cheapest suitable Denon receiver appears to be AVR-X1400H. I'd still need speakers and an active subwoofer to go with the receiver. I have not done my homework on those components. A matched set would probably be a little more cost effective than a multi-vendor mix-n-match approach.

Financing this development gear is an issue. I don't have a few thousand dollars to spend on this stuff. However, it occurred to me that perhaps I could raise enough money for this by crowdfunding. Hence this poll.

Would you be willing to contribute either money or equipment to the cause?

[peteru]

I changed the poll so that you can select multiple options. For example, you could select the $50 + $200 options to indicate that you'd be willing to donate around $250. Similarly, you could also choose to donate equipment, such as a spare subwoofer and pitch in some money, if you are feeling generous.

Votes seem to be anonymous, so I won't be able to chase anyone down.

[NoDeity]

"it looks like there is some chance that I can make significant improvements to at least the T4. Maybe U4, as well"

I'd be happy to donate, but I'd need more info on what you could do with the U4 in particular, as that has now officially superseded my T4. Thanks

[peteru]

I'd be happy to donate, but I'd need more info on what you could do with the U4 in particular, as that has now officially superseded my T4.

Let me start off by saying that there are no guarantees on anything. All development is going to be on a best effort basis. The T-series drivers are no longer under active development by the OEM and there are no SDK updates available from the silicon vendor. Each of the T-series models is based on a slightly different SDK and driver. The U4 uses a completely different architecture at pretty much every level, including the drivers. The U4 will have different capabilities and limitations. The U4 is relatively new and I am not as familiar with it's internals as I am with the T-series. Nevertheless, being newer, it should be able to do everything that the T-series can do (bar any SDK bugs). I am not sure if there will be any SDK updates from the silicon vendor or what the OEM roadmap is for the U4 drivers.

The idea is for me to look at the following areas and enable as much as possible on each device. How well that works will depend on the limitations of the chip and the SDK that is available.

• Multichannel PCM 5.1 output over HDMI
• AC3+ decode and passthrough
• Dolby Atmos and Dolby TrueHD passthrough
• DTS decode and passthrough
• DTS-HD, DTS-HD MA, DTS-X passthrough
• Decode / mixer options, such as loudness, dialogue enhancement, dynamic range control, etc. (This may be tricky)
• Possibly a transcode option to convert AC3+ to AC3

I am relatively confident that I can get Multichannel PCM 5.1 output over HDMI and AC3+ decode and passthrough working on all boxes. From what I can see, those two features will be probably the most valuable, given the content availability in the wild.

[Maindee]

2nd try. Don't know what happened to my first reply.

I would be happy to contribute. As I have a hearing problem, anything that improves sound quality is bound to be good for me.

I would expect, however, that BZ itself would make a significant contribution given the extensive effort guys like you provide supporting BZ products.

[MrQuade]

I would expect, however, that BZ itself would make a significant contribution given the extensive effort guys like you provide supporting BZ products.

I reckon that $500 vote might be indicative of them having made a pledge already.

[Maindee]

I hadn't seen the graph when I posted, but it does look as if BZ has contriibuted - good for them.

[NoDeity]

How much in pledges do you need before you pull the trigger?

[peteru]

I can't see who voted or how they voted, so can not make any assumptions about who is in and for how much. No one contacted me in private with any specific offers and in particular I have not had any offers/communication regarding this from Beyonwiz. I don't know who selected the $500+ option and to be honest, given that this is an anonymous poll, I am a little sceptical about it actually coming through.

In terms of how much money is needed, the RRP for Denon AVR-X1400H is around $1,200, but it seems to be available for a shade under $1,000.

As far as speakers go, that's a bit harder. I don't want to be spending many thousands of dollars on a high end 7.1 set, but at the same time it's pointless to hook up completely shitty speakers that have the frequency response of an old Telstra Touchfone. So far my research has me looking at a 5.1 packages in the $1,500-$2,000 range, but to get it to full 7.1, it'll probably take another $600 or so for an extra pair of speakers.

Ball park figure is about $3,000-$3,500 in pledges. If/when I collect enough money to start paying for gear, I'll get the ball rolling. I guess the AVR will be first, unless I can raise enough money and find a good deal on a package that includes the AVR and speakers as a bundle.

[graeme2]

Peter,

Have you looked at the Yamaha RX-V683? Similar or better specs than the Denon.
Eastwood Hi-Fi (Sydney) have them on their website for $899 at present. Steve could also set up a complete system for you.

And before anyone asks, yes I would be interested in contributing. I am one of the three so far on the poll who have ticked the $100 box.

[peteru]

Thanks for the tip. The Yamaha RX-V683, at least on paper, looks like a slightly better proposition than the Denon AVR-X1400H for a similar amount of money. I think I'll put it at the top of the list.

[Henk]

Thanks for the tip. The Yamaha RX-V683, at least on paper, looks like a slightly better proposition than the Denon AVR-X1400H for a similar amount of money. I think I'll put it at the top of the list.

A comparison link:

https://www.crutchfield.com/Product/Com ... 033AVX6400

[singlefished]

The Yamaha @$849 from Amazon Australia...... Free delivery

https://www.amazon.com.au/dp/B0778SS4D9 ... g=UTF8&me=

Not checked any speakers yet on Amazon but sure to be something on offer.

Also have a look at Amazon Germany..... Good prices there once VAT is deducted

[peteru]

A comparison link...

Thanks. This version is probably a bit more relevant: RXV683 vs X1400 vs X2400 vs X3400

The Denons seem to be a bit better at driving low impedance speakers. If I go with the Yammy, I'll have to be careful when choosing the speakers to make sure they are all 8Ω. Yamaha speaker connections provide more flexibility - you can wire up 9 speakers and depending on which codec you are using, can drive up to 7 speakers at the same time, without having to physically relocate the speakers for the particular codec. When working on various codecs, this is a big plus. The only stumbling block there is the cost of all those speakers.

The codec coverage has gaps on both the Yamaha and the Denon sides of the equation.

Also have a look at Amazon Germany..... Good prices there once VAT is deducted

I'm all for saving a buck, but there are certain places where the potential hassle isn't worth it. This is one of those cases. I intend to purchase from an authorised Australian dealer. Then there is the idea of supporting Australian businesses...

BTW: The Amazon.AU link you posted seems to be a grey import.

[peteru]

I was sceptical about the $500+ vote at first, but I have received confirmation that the offer is genuine. I am ecstatic and ready to get the ball rolling on collecting funds. The generosity of the individual offering $500+ (no, it was not Beyonwiz), together with all the other contributions from everyone else, gets the funding across the line to buy the AVR. I think the Yamaha RX-V683 is the pick, because the speaker wiring options make it easy to work on multiple codecs with different speaker configurations.

What are the next steps? Here's my plan:

• If you are going to contribute some funds, please send me a private message (PM) and let me know how much you plan to contribute. It does not have to be the exact number you selected on the poll. If your preferred contribution is $35, that's perfectly fine. Just let me know how much I should expect so that I can do the maths.
• Once I have confirmed that there will be enough money to buy the AVR, I will PM everyone back with my bank details so that you can deposit the money. Direct deposit seems to be the best option, so that there is no middle-man trying to take a cut.
• Once the money has been collected, I will order the AVR.

If you were sitting on the fence up until now, not sure if this is going to go anywhere, now is the time to spring into action. It's a goer!

I still need more contributions to help with the speakers. While the best solution would be to buy a 9.1 set of matched speakers, the cost of that would be much greater than the cost of the AVR. Given the current pledges, it is unlikely that I'll raise enough money to purchase the speakers as a new set.

As an alternative, can I suggest speaker donations? If you have an active subwoofer, a pair of booskhelf speakers, a center channel or surrounds that are unused or could use an upgrade, why not treat yourself to "shiny new" and donate the "good old" to a worthy cause? If needed, I can pick up speakers from people in Sydney. If you are interested, I'll bring along a bottle of "knock your socks off, quadruple hopped homebrew beer"

Thanks again for all your generosity. It's good to know that my efforts are appreciated. It also gives me a good indication as to what improvements are really wanted.

[peteru]

Here is an update.

Out of the 18 pledges in the poll, I've had 10 people contact me for payment details and received donations from 8 of those. I used this money to purchase a new Yamaha RX-V683 and a Hide & Seek 5.1 speaker package.

I still need to get 4 more speakers to enable front presence and rear surround channels. At this stage, I have not raised enough money for those additional speakers, but we're on the way. If you are still willing to make a donation and have not sent me a private message (PM), please do so and I'll provide the payment instructions.

One of the generous individuals who contributed funds suggested an unboxing video or pictures. I'm sorry to disappoint in that department, but once I got the gear home and got the kids fed and into bed, I just wanted to get everything set up so that I can get started on the real work. At this stage it's all wired up and the surround speakers are just sitting on stacks of cardboard boxes, but I'm already producing some results.

Barring any serious bugs or problems, I'm hoping to have a new set of T4 drivers for testing at the end of the weekend. I'll post about the driver changes in a separate thread.

[peteru]

Again a big THANK YOU to all those who donated.

With the money raised so far, I have a 5.1 speaker setup hooked up to a receiver that supports some advanced codecs.

As promised, I started work on the improved audio. I did run into a show stopper bug over the weekend, but I managed to resolve it last night.

Please head over to the Audio enhancements thread to read more about the enhancements and perhaps start testing.