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+---- Thread: Odroid N2 LPCM transcoding question (/showthread.php?tid=353258)
Odroid N2 LPCM transcoding question - calawayc7 - 2020-04-07
Hi Everyone,
After a great deal of consideration, I purchased an Odroid N2. I am trying to determine if I can have all surrround formats decoded to LPCM regardless of lossy / lossless. Unfortunately, the HDMI board in my preamplifier died. I do however, have another preamp which has bass management and delays for it's 7.1 channel analog input and I can add a minidsp to the sub channels in place of Audyssey. My thought is that I can use this: https://www.ebay.com/itm/Premium-HDMI-LPCM-7-1-5-1-To-Analog-Surround-Sound-Converter-4K-Version/232450964058?hash=item361f283a5a:g:w8gAAOSwX2xbt-gy to split the LPCM from the HDMI and pass it to the 7.1 channel analog inputs. My goal is to get all formats fed to my 7.1 analog inputs. If I am to understand the settings correctly, if I enable LPCM capable avr and disable all the lossless surround formats, KODI should transcode them on the fly to LPCM. I believe this should give me 1:1 of my DTS Master HD and TrueHD files in LPCM (am I correct here). I would like the same to happen for my Dolby Digital (both EAC3 and AC3) as well as all my DTS files. If I don't enable Dolby Digital and DTS capable AVR, will it transcode these formats to multichannel LPCM as well? If that is the case I don't have to know what the format of the file is, I just leave it on the 7.1 analog input all the time and I should theoretically get the first audio stream converted to LPCM and fed to the analog inputs. I assume that if my assertions are correct, there's no reason this shouldn't work with Plex or Plex Kodi Connect.
I am doing this entire exercise because my Roku Ultra, which is a great device for the money, doesn't handle any of the lossless multichannel formats with PLEX. In addition, it doesn't do any form of DTS. I'm sick of FFMPEGing everything I have that is DTS and not being able to take advantage of the lossless formats. It's a shame because it is stable, fast and handles everything I throw at it in terms of video nicely. I am looking forward to an open source solution with no ads though and hope it is stable and reliable with 265 including 10bit UHD files.
My only concern with this entire setup is that the ebay LPCM decoder probably has lousy DACs and I'm introducing 2 redundant A/D - D/A conversions (the Outlaw 990 digitizes the 7.1 analog inputs for bass management / delays, and the minidsp 4x2 will have to be put inline via it's analog inputs as there's no way to keep the LFE channel digital and using my minidigi inputs). This is a drag, but it's the least costly solution to regaining lossless multichannel audio post my PRSC886 processor's hdmi board failing. If / when I get a new 4k preamp / processor, I can lose the external hdmi decoder.
Does this all make sense? I hope so because the N2 is on its way
