HD300 volume control doesn't always work

[eyepulp]

I have an HD300 that works pretty fantastically for 99% of its tasks. The one thing it does that's pretty frustrating is not letting me adjust the volume when playing back some video files (being served off Sage7 on an ubuntu server).

Many video files work fine, but some of them play back and I can't adjust the volume or mute them via the HD300. (most recently an AVI with unknown properties). I use the toslink/optical/spdif glowing red port on the HD300 to connect to my sound system, and as mentioned, it generally works fine.

I'm going to try putting a "bad" file on a usb drive and playing it directly back to eliminate the Sage7 server as part of the problem.

Anyone else run into this or have some additional testing advice?

The HD300 was running the latest stable non-beta firmware as of today, and then tonight I figured out how to update to beta firmware, which didn't fix the issue - I don't have access, but it would be the latest firmware rev. of January.

[gplasky]

If you have SPDIF going to your receiver then you will want to control the volume & mute with the volume of your receiver. You are probably seeing this with AC3 and other surround format. What I do is leave the HD300 Sage volume up at 100% and control all the sound thru the receiver.

Gerry

[jptheripper]

IS there really no way to use volume control and spdif (digital bitstream)?
My receiver is locked away in a cabinet, i do not want to use it for volume control. Plus my audio goes to both my tv (over hdmi) and to receiver (spdif) so i need to control the volume at the source. Otherwise muting would only mute half.

There has got to be a way to control it.

[Taddeusz]

Not without doing away with surround sound. Bitstreaming by definition means that it sends the digital data from input to output without modification. This includes volume because to change the volume you would need to decode the Dolby Digital audio, adjust the volume, and re-encode it back to Dolby Digital to keep surround sound.

It sounds like you are in need of something like a Logitech Harmony remote and an IR repeater.

[stanger89]

Originally Posted by jptheripper

IS there really no way to use volume control and spdif (digital bitstream)?

Nope, it's like trying to change the font size of a document in a zip file. You can't change it without taking it out of the zip file.

Audio is the same way, you can only change the volume of audio in it's native PCM form. And given that S/PDIF doesn't support more than stereo PCM, you either have to choose volume control or multichannel audio.

There has got to be a way to control it.

Get a good programmable remote.

[jptheripper]

Well i have been through three harmony remotes. I will never buy one again. They do not combine well with dogs/toddlers/ wife that throws them across the room and "misses" the couch. Alot. Daily.

I have done the jp1 thing before, guess i might have to revisit that. I have a parallel jp1 cable, but no computers with a parallel port (doh!)

what i really need is a learning remote with volume passthrough, <$15 bucks. (welcome to my budget). And it needs to have both FF and FF Skip. For some reason that is hard to find on the cheap remotes.

Thanks all for the input.

[Taddeusz]

Originally Posted by jptheripper

Well i have been through three harmony remotes. I will never buy one again. They do not combine well with dogs/toddlers/ wife that throws them across the room and "misses" the couch. Alot. Daily.

This sounds like an anger management issue.

Seriously though, I've never understood people that don't treat their things well. Granted, some people are just clumsy dropping their cell phones and such all the time. A lot of those people are just careless. Had a sales rep at my previous job that went through tons of phones because she would toss them around and leave them places to get stolen. Her company laptop looked as if it had been through a war. I just don't understand that mentality. I like my things and I like them to last.

[stanger89]

Originally Posted by jptheripper

what i really need is a learning remote with volume passthrough, <$15 bucks. (welcome to my budget). And it needs to have both FF and FF Skip. For some reason that is hard to find on the cheap remotes.

Sounds sorta like the HD300 remote, or maybe one of the MCE remotes with volume learning.

[Narflex]

This is exactly why we redid the remote for the HD300. We wanted people to be able to use a single remote even when they're using bitstream mode. I have one universal remote control which can do everything...and then a bunch of SageTV remotes as you'd imagine. And before the HD300 remote; it was quite annoying to always have to find that one remote that allowed me to control the volume on my amp. Now it doesn't matter which one I use. (except when I need to switch my amp to the PS3 input...then I need the universal remote...but switching back I can do with the 'TV Power' button on the HD300 remote since I have that linked to the SageTV source input command on my amp)

And since the OP mentions he is using an HD300...it seems like he already has the solution to his problem at hand.

[jptheripper]

I appreciate that. And the feedback. On function (especially for what I need) I would give the HD300 remote a 10. But to be honest, on form factor (especially the shape, and the size, and the position of the tv volume buttons) it gets a 4.

Wife hates it, refuses to use it. But it works in the meantime.

Love the Hauppauge 45 button for form factor. It fits in the hand, buttons are where you expect them. If i could add the function of the HD300 remote (pogram power and volume) it would be perfect.

Right now I am looking at a $15 ir repeater from monoprice (which i would need anyway) and a $20 urc-r6 remote. Not too bad.

AS a note for the HD400, please accept this feedback. Remote function is perfect, form factor needs alot of work. And if you wanted to integrate an ir blaster into the hd400 (ir out all the better.

Originally Posted by Narflex

This is exactly why we redid the remote for the HD300. We wanted people to be able to use a single remote even when they're using bitstream mode. I have one universal remote control which can do everything...and then a bunch of SageTV remotes as you'd imagine. And before the HD300 remote; it was quite annoying to always have to find that one remote that allowed me to control the volume on my amp. Now it doesn't matter which one I use. (except when I need to switch my amp to the PS3 input...then I need the universal remote...but switching back I can do with the 'TV Power' button on the HD300 remote since I have that linked to the SageTV source input command on my amp)

And since the OP mentions he is using an HD300...it seems like he already has the solution to his problem at hand.

[stevech]

IR repeater: I tried some cheap X10 IR pyramid-shaped things. The RF part was so RF noise prone that it was soon tossed with glee into the trash.
I now have an "old" IRman box to do IR to RS232. Then RS232 to Ethernet to the PC.