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Don Cohen

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Everything posted by Don Cohen

  1. Yeah, I've seen that one, and I've linked others to it for consideration. Great that it did the job for you. And the guy with the issues has updated his JVC to the current firmware, for exactly this reason. What a world, what a world...
  2. Adding a voltage inserter does seem to work in quite a few cases. Curiously enough, when he was working with Bullet Train directly on this, they didn't suggest that he use one. When I mentioned that a voltage inserter often solves the problem, he looked for one made by them, he couldn't find a way to buy one or even if they had one. He was (understandably) a bit reluctant to use a 3rd party one. And strangely enough, his Tributaries cable came with their own voltage inserter, which he used, but still didn't get a reliable connection. I think I read just recently that one had to use the Tributaries power supply for that inserter, rather than just a USB port on another device. That seems a bit odd, but who knows. I'm not sure if he did that or not. What voltage inserter did you use with the Bullet Train cable?
  3. The first thing they did was send him a second cable, but it performed no better than the first. After that, they refunded his money, and basically stopped pursuing it. He next got a cable from Tributaries, which had a built-in 5v voltage inserter. That worked initially, but then he found that it also crapped out. They are actively working with him to sort this out. Man, I hate HDMI!!
  4. In general, I would agree with everything you've said, and Bullet Train is a go-to brand for HDMI woes. That said, I have not found any brand or cable type that has been 100% reliable with higher bandwidth. I'm working now with someone needing 48gbps (madVR Envy to JVC NZ8, using MotionAI at 4k/HDR/120 fps). His run is around 10 meters. He bought 2 Bullet Train cables rated for 48 gbps and neither worked. Ironically, he has an older Bullet Train cable, 15 meters, rated at 18 gbps, and it runs 4k/HDR/120 fps without breaking a sweat. The bottom line is that HDMI is a crap shoot, especially when you get over 30 feet, and passive cables aren't an option. This doesn't say anything negative at all about Bullet Train, as they're generally better than most. But it does mean anybody buying a more expensive cable should clarify the return policy, because problems arise, regardless of brand or price.
  5. My use case is a bit unique. I use the madVR Envy Extreme video processor, which recently added AI-based Motion Interpolation to improve judder with 24 fps content. It works best with 120 fps output, so with 4k resolution, HDMI 2.1 is needed. The Envy does have an HDMI 2.1 output, and my JVC NZ9 has HDMI 2.1 inputs. I recently replaced my HDMI cable, which was limited to 18gbps, with one that did support 48gbps. My situation is fortunate since I only needed a 25' run, and a Monoprice passive cable is working perfectly, with stable 4k output at 120 fps. People do use optical HDMI all the time for this as well, when their run is longer. But they do have to be very selective in terms of which cable and brand, and sometimes a voltage inserter is needed to fully stabilize the signal. Outside of this unique application that does help with consumer video, I agree that HDMI 2.1 is primarily relevant for gaming.
  6. Very interesting - thanks for that. Once you get over 25 feet or so, active fiberoptic HDMI cables are needed, rather than passive, and these can be very hit or miss, with projectors at least. One would think that HDBaseT might be more reliable over those distances (but as you say, YMMV), and with it being uncompressed, this could be a viable option. HDMI 2.1/48gbps is clearly beyond Spec 3.0, so HDMI cables would be needed, but good to know uncompressed 4k/4:4:4 @60 fps is an available option for HDMI 2.0.
  7. This info may be well out of date, but I thought I had read that HDBaseT was limited in bandwidth (10gbps or something like that?), and did use compression in order to get a full 18gbps signal for 4k60. And it wasn't clear if that compression was lossy or lossless. Secondly, given HDMI 2.1 is gaining traction, needing 48gbps bandwidth, is HDBaseT a non-starter for that type of application?
  8. This is the primary area where I work now, and I agree with those recommending a 2.40:1 screen, if movies are an important part of what you're watching. As was pointed out, a large percentage of movies are in this aspect ratio, which was intended to be the same height, but wider, providing a visually more immersive experience. With a 16:9 screen, movies become smaller, and less immersive, the exact opposite of the intent behind the cinemascope format. Yes this is less 'efficient' since projector chips have a 16:9 (or 17:9) aspect ratio, and perhaps 25% of the available pixels aren't used with 2.40:1 content. But in the course of theater design, one needs to basically 'do the math' to determine the optimal combination of equipment. Ideally, you would look at all options: Projector, Throw Distance, Screen Size, Gain and Aspect Ratio, before purchasing any one component. Choices with one of these will influence the choices in the others. And for the absolute 'best of both worlds' an anamorphic lens, along with a video processor like the madVR Envy, can be added. This does raise the budget significantly, but the results in terms of both picture quality and ease of use, can't be overstated. As for the size, my usual approach is for someone to determine their ideal size for a 16:9 image, where they wouldn't want it larger or shorter, and then assuming they have the width available, get a 2.40:1 screen of the same height, but now with the added width. They then have their ideal 16:9 image size, along with the greater immersion for movies. It isn't always possible to do this, given physical constraints of the room, but is the ideal approach. And the choice of screen size and gain will impact how many lumens the projector needs to provide to have acceptable brightness on screen, which is why these choices should really be made at the same time, as part of the overall theater design. Hope this helps! Feel free to pm to discuss further.
  9. All true, and yes I have used formal support channels with more serious problems. But as I indicated, my personal preference is to avoid using company resources if possible. This is such a minor issue that it may not be worth anybody's time to fully track it down. I thought that if this was a known issue, with a simple fix, something that I had misconfigured, then I could quickly resolve it. If you would rather I didn't post here on topics like this because of this, just let me know.
  10. That is true, but I'm working with this company, in a non-Control4 area (video processors are my thing), because I enjoy this field, and found a way to do this part-time from home, following retirement from my primary career. So I'm reluctant to utilize company resources for a personal issue, especially one that is relatively minor like this. That's why I tend to turn first to a community resource like this, depending on the nature of the issue. I posted here because my wife had coincidentally first encountered this problem for the first time an hour or two before I saw this thread, so thought I'd check in and see what I can learn.
  11. Arankis router and switches, Arankis WAP's. Almost everything is hard-wired, including the TV in question. Dependable Spectrum Internet, 200 down/20 up. I play 4k/HDR streaming content in both Family Room TV, as well as a reasonably high-end Home Theater, sometimes simultaneously, without any issues. I just tried Amazon Music through Control in the same way as SiriusXM - played okay for a few minutes, then some dropouts, lasting several seconds. I'm now casting from my phone directly to the same TV/AV gear in my theater, with no dropouts at all after 10 minutes or so, long enough that I would have gotten them if going through Control4. So it seems that any music going through Control4 has issues - Amazon Music, SiriusXM, etc. It's not a huge deal, as we don't do this much, and have ways to work around it. But when I saw this thread, it caught my eye since I was seeing the same/similar problem, and hoped I might learn something to fix it.
  12. Thanks, but I'm not sure what the implication is. I still have the problem, and if I can't identify the cause, I'm at a loss on how to fix it.
  13. PInging the Router and Controller never showed any ping time-outs throughout the testing. I saw rare time-outs on the ping to 8.8.8.8, but there was no interruption in the sound when these occurred. Maybe 3 or 4 over a 5-10 minute period or more, and never more than 1 at a time. The final stats showed 0% packet loss, Average time 26ms. There were quite a few audio pauses during the 10 or so minutes of testing, seemingly at a random interval, up to 3 to 7 seconds, and during these pauses, I didn't see any time-outs or changes in any of the windows. Time was unchanged during these pauses. How do you interpret this?
  14. Thanks! I'm not sure if this is exactly what you mean, but I opened a CMD box in Windows 10, and ran each of these. No lost packets, the Router and Controller showed 0 milli-seconds delays, 8.8.8.8 showed 20ms min and 32ms max, 26ms average. Or did you mean to run these simultaneously?
  15. Actually, I just checked in System Manager, and my EA-3 is shown to be using 8.8.8.8 and 8.8.4.4. If this is what is spoken out above, then DNS misconfiguration doesn't explain why I get audio dropouts with SiriusXM via Control4, using all wired connections, but not with the SiriusXM Android Phone app using WiFi. It's not a big deal, but it would be nice to have this is a viable option.
  16. Gotcha - found it, and it is already set to Static, with 8.8.8.8 and 8.8.4.4. So that doesn't seem to be the cause for me. Where do I find the Director's DNS settings, which were also referred to above. Thanks!
  17. I'm still interested in the answers here, if somebody could address this, to see if one or both changes would fix the dropouts with SiriusXM through Control4. Thanks!
  18. I'm having a similar issue - my wife just reported yesterday that when listening to SiriusXM through Control4 (all devices are wired), on our Sony TV, these long dropouts occurred regularly. She switched to the SiriusXM app on her Android phone, using WiFi, and it was flawless. So it doen't seem to be an internet connection speed problem. I have an Araknis 310 Router, and found this page, attached, for the one WAN connection we have. I have my computers set to use 8.8.8.8 and so forth, so is this the place in the Router where I should enable Static DNS, and enter those values, or somewhere else? And where does one find the DNS values for the Controller? Thanks.
  19. Thanks again. Yeah, I got my numbers mixed up, given the current one I have is the 510, my brain was thinking the new one would be 520. Given my use of the NVR for non-critical purposes, having that 2nd backup HD really doesn't matter, and the single HD unit I've had for 4 years has been fine (except for the other issues). The 2tb 120 seems to be the most suitable unit for me. Regarding the fan noise, most people likely have them installed where the noise wouldn't matter or be noticed, but it is an issue for my particular situation. If I knew then what I know now, I would have had the guys figure out a way to put it elsewhere. If anyone else has noticed the noise on the 510 series being improved going to the 120 series, please let me know.
  20. Appreciate the reply and info. I hadn't heard about IETab, but it looks interesting. $19/year, so not too onerous. But what about the 120 vs 520 choice? Glad to hear they're more stable. Do you know if the fan noise is significantly better with the 120 or 520 vs the 510, which as I indicated, is fairly loud?
  21. On a related topic, any commercially available options to install a POE Chime doorbell where a DS2 Mini is currently installed, with minimal cosmetic work needed to get it looking reasonably good?
  22. Is the 520 any quieter than the 510 in terms of fan noise? Anything good or bad to report, other than what you've indicated?
  23. I have 4 cameras: 2 Luma 510 IP Bullet Cameras - ethernet cables plug in directly to the current NVR DS2 MIni - ethernet cable is plugged into a network switch Chime Doorbell - ethernet cable is plugged into a network switch These are currently being recorded with a Luma 510 4 Channel NVR. I have a few things that I dislike about it: The NVR itself has a very loud fan, which is problematic because of its location in my theater (moving it to another location would be difficult and cumbersome) It spontaneously reboots for no reason at all. Sometimes multiple times a day, sometimes going for a week or two without a reboot - this has been a persistent problem with 2 different units of the same model, over the last 4 years. I need to use Edge in IE mode to see all 4 cameras - I could never get them all seen in Chrome, despite all devices having updated firmware Motion detection based recording is not available with DS2 Mini and Chime (although I realize these may be camera limitations, rather than the NVR) I'm seeing a Luma 120 Series 4 Channel NVR as well as a 520 series, with the 520 being the more expensive, but it isn't clear to me which of these 2 would be the better match for my existing cameras, where I have no plans to add or replace any of them, or whether any differences are relevant, given the cameras I'm using. Any thoughts on whether either of these would be worth the upgrade, or would address any of my complaints above, and which might be better, and for what reasons? Also thoughts on a non Luma NVR that would be fully compatible with my cameras and Control4, providing at least the same level of functionality that I have now are also welcome. Thanks!
  24. Yeah, back up for me. I had previously unlinked, so had to relink, but this time it was successful.
  25. I don't know, haven't checked yet, but I would be surprised if it did. My wife would be the main one doing this, and she couldn't care less about this stuff. But you did get me curious, so I'll check if I can remember!
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