I have my Z9X pro playing dark side of the moon Multi thru HDMI atm (info button on denon 3700h correctly showing 5.1 input ,5.1 output Swap to Hotel california and again 5.1 channels out via hdmi to reciever i dont use it often since the lower zidoo models cant output dsf multi naturally but down scales to pcm while using hdmi Trick is thou ,make sure USB Audio is off settings /audio / USB Audio / Usb audio slider to left (greyed out off postion )
I became really excited after I read your post. I immediately swapped the old device (Z9X) to the new (Z9X Pro) to test it with your settings (USB Audio is OFF!). But it was OFF even before... I used the Kraftwerk Minimum-Maximum SACD for testing, which is a fantastic multichannel experience. I did not notice any change immediately but then, after I checked it with my Denon AVR-X8500H receiver, it showed the input as multichannel. However, unfortunately what I hear is only 2 channel and the surround channels do not get any meaningful input. Switching back to the old device (Z9X) was night and day, and I am not just hallucinating here, that is truly multichannel. I keep all my media files on my home server and do not use any hard drive connected to my media player. That part is working well and the movies are actually playing quite nicely. Media scubbing is not perfect but if you follow the file naming rules posted on the ZIDOO instructions, it is much more precise. I tested the Z9X Pro with 3D movies, 4K UHD movies with Atmos and DTS Neural X soundtracks and the playback is quite nice and fast. There is still a lag when you scroll the poster wall showing the actual posters but it is faster than the Z9X. The poster wall on Kodi on my NVIDIA Shield TV is flawless, so it can be done. I really hope that with the firmware update they will fix the multichannel audio playback via HDMI and then I will retire my Z9X. Until then the pro machine will go back to the shelf. The maij reason I bought the Z9X Pro was the hope that is is faster, snappier. On another note, it is truly frustrating that there is absolutely no comment from anybody at ZIDOO on this forum about our issues and nobody has any idea if these issues are going to be addressed in the next firmware.
Are your SACD DSF files or ISO and are they saved as stereo MCH or Iso with both ? Ive saved all mine to DSF files and have seperate drives for 2ch and MCH If your playing Iso format with both stereo and MCH ,you have to go in to the MP7 settings EACH time (you change from a stereo to a MCH ) in Settings / Decode / SACD preferable area and choose stereo or multi Im guessing your Z9X is set to multi and the Z9X Pro will still be on default of stereo i was playing DSF files in MCH format so that above setting was ignored and MCH playback would pass out via HDMI
My experience with a Z2600 (with FW 1.0.52) and multichannel .dsf is more like that of @Andalex. Pink Floyd's DSOTM .dsf multi channel files play back in stereo even though the processor indicates 5.1. If I convert those very same files to FLAC they play fine in multichannel.
LOL i was wrong My dsf MCH files play as stereo too ,even with multichannel selected in MP7 settings ,so outputting 2 ch PCM ( this is playing via HDMI ,not USB audio to my Topping )(why i went and brought the Topping E50 ,so i could get the better DSD audio from the zidoos) Turns out my MCH Playlist folder which i thought was all dsf MCHs ,also had a load of 5.1 Flacs and the MCH DSOTM i played was M4A 5.1 (lol i should have realised when the denon info showed it was only 5.1 and not atmos) So Yes atm the Pro series MP7 DSF playback is broken ,only in such that it plays MCH dsf as stereo PCM instead of MCH PCM ,totally ignoring even the MP7 settings section ,Stereo/MCH option Stereo DSF playback via USB Audio works perfectly thou Flac MCH and other lossless MCH via HDMI is working correctly Just tested one more thing to be sure , ie all my SACDs are isos converted to 2 or mch dsf files Just grabbed MCH ISO of Santana -Santana to test iso playback ISO MCH is partially working Output sample rate 176.4khz on zidoo info Denons showing 7.1 input (weird) and 5.1 active speakers mch in PCM Audio quality is crap thou tbh for the ISO format and quick test over smb and direct usb hdd made no difference Also even thou both Z9X Pro and denon 3700h say it MCH ,the partially choppy sound is still only coming out of the 2 fronts Center and rears are silent MCH dsf versions at least played as stereo with out the choppy audio but still identified as MCH in on both z9x pro and denon while playing 2 ch mains but none of the other speakers( again denon info reported it was playing 5.1 mch )
no multichannel audio playback was reported few times on this forum, end of jul., when new fw was out.
Zidoo have already abandoned their newest generation of hardware, no firmware updates for almost 6 months and complete silence from the devs/company. If you enjoy being baited and switched by companies and being left in the dark with zero support, by all means buy the newest models.
"newest generation of hardware, no firmware updates for almost 6 months?" Last updete was Jul 21, 2023.
I have a Z9X Pro. The UI is noticeably faster than the previous generation hardware, but still not as responsive as a modern Android phone or Apple TV.
First time Zidoo owner here. I've been using an Nvidia Shield Pro w/Plex for a couple years now and it works fairly well but I went down a youtube rabbit hole and got (what feels like) suckered into buying this new Pro for my 4k movie collection only. Anyway, I have now tried setting it up using expert mode and by using the wizard mode and in NEITHER instance can I get anything other than sound from my LCR speakers. I have a 7.1.4 set up at home that works pretty well with my Shield. If anyone has any suggestions or is also experiencing this please let me know! I'm super close to returning this through Amazon at this juncture as I can't think of any other way to get the audio to play in multichannel format. Current set up is thus: Zidoo (hdmi of course) to Onkyo TX-RZ50 receiver to Sony A8H tv I'm playing mkv files from my Synology nas
Does the Onkyo display the incoming bitstream? What does it say? Do you have to set an appropriate listening mode for the chosen input? Is the HDMI audio in the Zidoo set to Raw? I might try connecting the Zidoo to the Shield's input and see what happens.
also ,on Zidoo remote try turning volume to 100 percent ( output volume can be controlled several ways ,one requires remote set it to 100 perc from default 0 percent ) One other place is make sure USB Audio is OFF ( this ,on diverts audio to usb out for DAC music and has to be changed each time you use an external DAC....ie i forgot first few times i got my DAC and couldnt figure why no audio out ..even thou popup window in that section of settings says it only effects usb audio ..it doesnt ) Ive been öff sick"for last week ,ive watched 10-15 2160p mkv /full bdsm movies ,plus into 3rd season of The Expanse 2160p DV DA epis plus loads of others, ALL with zero issues on my Z9X PRO Besides once losing set EDID resolution/VS10 DV settings ,which id reported earlier ..Mark could replicate and has been passed on to Zidoo for fixes Compared to sheild/plex this device is pretty bullet proof ,ONCE you get it fully set up , Atm its got a couple minor issues ,which is part and parcel for so early on in its development, but like i said above ,mines been hammered for this last week with only one minor hiccup
The Onkyo detected the correct audio format that should be coming from the file (DTS) and I do indeed have the HDMI audio set to RAW. I also tried turning the volume up to max on the Zidoo. USB audio is off. Still nothing aside from LCR sound.
yep, i tried that as well. I initially had pulled out the cable for the bluray player input to put the zidoo in there (as it would essentially be replacing that) but I tried the shield input as well. I have also tried switching out the actual physical hdmi cable that came with the zidoo with the one that connects my shield to the Onkyo.
have you tried the INFO buttons on both zidoo and Onkyo to see what theyre both reporting ie both should be able to show the audio and vid o/p and i/p paths ie is zidoo outputting say 7 channel atmos and amps playing lcr only or ,are all atmos channels showing as being output by amp ,but with no audio on most (channels present but no levels) Also recheck all the recommended settings Playback/Automatic frame rate/Frame rate mode: Match frame rate and resolution * Display/Resolution: 3840x2160p 23Hz ** Display/Color Settings/4K 50~60Hz: Priority YUV420 10BIT Display/Color Settings/4K 23~30Hz: Priority YUV444 10BIT Display/Color Settings/Non-4K: Priority YUV444 10BIT Display/Color Settings/Deep Colour compatibility mode: Turn Off Display/Color Settings/HDMI Signal format: Enhanced format Display/HDR: Auto *** Audio/HDMI Audio: AUTO Audio/Downmix HD Audio output: OFF * Personal preference. You can use "Match frame rate only" to allow the Zidoo to scale and reduce HDMI resyncs ** Personal Preference - setting to 23Hz will reduce resyncs because the majority of content is 23.976fps *** Can be set to VS10 engine, but I don't recommend "Mapping HDR10" or "Highest SDR Rec.709" ie audi downmix ON maybe ?
I ended up doing a factory reset for a 3rd time and I FINALLY got some back channel sound....sorta...it's MUCH LESS fuller sounding than what I get from going through the Plex app on my Shield. The picture quality between the two appears identical as well (i took a couple videos and played them back on my PC to see if it looked any different side-by-side and...nope) so I really don't see a point to keep trying to use this any longer. Doesn't appear to be a very good product or offer anything beyond being able to watch movies if you lose an internet connection for instance. I also learned that despite the back panel having a "reset" pinhole...if you put a sim card ejector or a toothpick in there for example, it just keeps going ( i.e. there was nothing in there to push despite being labeled as reset). Thanks for trying to help y'all but I'm sending it back to Amazon today. If anyone else decides to be smarter than I was and actually comes to these forums first before buying - steer clear! The device looks nice but that's where the enjoyment factor ends.
Don't know why you were having the problems you stated but mine worked right out of the box after installing the drive from my Z10. The only issue I'm seeing is dsf multi channel files not playing correctly. Everything else I throw at it plays as good as on my Oppo 203 if not better. And I use the Zidoo waaaaay more than my Shield Pro which I wish I hadn't spent the money on. It's good to have choices, though.
