Meridian HD621 Owner's manual

Brand: Meridian

Model: HD621

Category: Video switches

Type: Owner's manual

This manual is also suitable for

MConfig

Meridian HD621 is a high-quality HDMI audio processor that can significantly enhance your home entertainment system. It features six HDMI inputs, allowing you to connect multiple devices such as Blu-ray players, game consoles, and streaming media players. The HD621 extracts up to eight channels of high-resolution audio from the HDMI data stream and supplies them to separate audio-only outputs, ensuring the purest possible sound quality.

HD621

HDMI Audio Processor

User Guide

Important safety instructions

• Readtheinstructions.

• Keeptheseinstructions.

• Followallinstructions.

• Donotusethisapparatusnearwater.

• Cleanonlywithadrycloth.

• Installonlyinaccordancewiththemanufacturer’sinstructions.

• Referallservicingtoapprovedservicepersonnel.

WARNING:TOREDUCETHERISKOFFIREORELECTRICSHOCK,DONOTEXPOSETHIS

APPARATUSTORAINORMOISTURE.

ThisapparatushasbeendesignedwithClass1constructionandmustbeconnectedtoamains

socketoutletwithaprotectiveearthingconnection(thethird,groundingpin).

Thisapparatususesasingle-polepowerswitch.AsaresultitisnotisolatedfromACmains

powerwhenswitchedoffattherearpanel.

Theapparatusmaybeisolatedfrommainspowereitherbyunpluggingthepowerconnector

fromtherearoftheunit,orbyunpluggingtheconnectorattheopposingendofthepowercord

orcablefromitssupplyoutlet.Asaresult,eitherorbothoftheseconnectorsshouldremain

accessible.

Safety warnings

• Donotexposetheproducttodrippingorsplashing.

• Donotplaceanyobjectlledwithliquid,suchasavase,ontheproduct.

• Donotplacenakedamesources,suchaslightedcandles,ontheproduct.

To avoid interference

Donotpositiontheproduct:

• Nearstrongmagneticradiation,suchasnearapoweramplier.

• Neartoatelevision,orwhereconnectingcablesmaybesubjecttoorcauseinterference.

To avoid overheating

Donotpositiontheproduct:

• Indirectsunlight.

• Nearheatsources,suchasaradiator.

Radio interference

FCC Warning:Thisequipmentgeneratesandcanradiateradiofrequencyenergyandifnot

installedandusedcorrectlyinaccordancewithourinstructionsmaycauseinterferencetoradio

communicationsorradioandtelevisionreception.Ithasbeentype-testedandcomplieswiththe

limitssetoutinSubpartJ,Part15ofFCCrulesforaClassBcomputingdevice.Theselimitsare

intendedtoprovidereasonableprotectionagainstsuchinterferenceinhomeinstallations.

EEC:Thisproducthasbeendesignedandtype-testedtocomplywiththelimitssetoutin

EN55013andEN55020

Sales and service in the UK

MeridianAudioLtd,LathamRoad,Huntingdon,CambridgeshirePE296YEEngland

Tel+44(0)1480445678•Fax+44(0)1480445686

Sales and service in the USA

MeridianAmericaInc,8055TroonCircleSuiteC,AustellGA30168-7849,USA

Tel+1(404)3447111•Fax+1(404)3467111

Web: www.meridian-audio.com

DesignedandmanufacturedintheUKbyMeridianAudioLtd.

MeridianAudioreservestherighttomakechangesandimprovementstoanyoftheproducts

describedinthisdocumentwithoutpriornotice.Errorsandomissionsexcepted.

Dolby,DolbyDigital,andthedouble-DsymbolaretrademarksofDolbyLaboratoriesLicensing

Corporation.DTSisaregisteredtrademarkofDigitalTheatreSystemsInc.HDMI,theHDMI

logo,andHigh-DenitionMultimediaInterfacearetrademarksorregisteredtrademarksofHDMI

LicensingLLC.Boothroyd|StuartMeridian,Meridian,andMeridianDigitalTheatreareregistered

trademarksofMeridianAudioLtd.

MHR:Thisproductincorporatespatentedcopyrightprotectiontechnologyandintellectual

propertyofMeridianAudioLtd.Thistechnologyisprovidedfortheexpresspurposeof

securelycontainingcopyrightaudiowithintheMeridianSystemonly.Reverseengineeringor

circumventionofthisprotectionisstrictlyprohibited.

TheHD621incorporatesHigh-DenitionMultimediaInterface(HDMI™)technology.HDMI,the

HDMILogoandHigh-DenitionMultimediaInterfacearetrademarksorregisteredtrademarksof

HDMILicensingLLC.

HD621 Product highlights

• Six-inputHDMIswitch.

• HDMIvideooutput.

• Extractsuptoeightchannelsofhigh-resolutionaudiofromtheHDMIdatastream,supplying

themtoseparateaudio-onlyoutputs.

• ConnectsHDMIaudiodirecttoaMeridianprocessor.

• SmartLinkcoaxialdigitalaudiooutput(upto8channels).

• MultichannelMeridianHighResolution(MMHR):balanceddigitalaudiooutputviaRJ45/Cat5

cable(upto8channels).

• Up/downsamplingofdigitalaudio.

• AudioFIFObufferingandresolutionenhancementimprovesPCMaudioreceivedviaHDMI.

• Lip-synccontrolcompensatesforlatencyresultingfromexternaldigitalvideoprocessing.

• KeepsHDMIvideosignalsawayfromyouraudioequipment,minimisingsignaldegradation.

Outline speciﬁcation

Form factor

• 1U19inrackmounting.Availablewithorwithoutrackingears.

Power

• Internaluniversalpowersupply,

100–250Vac

Connections

• Powerinput(IECconnector)

• DB9MSubRS232serialconnector

• BNCandDINMeridianComms

• SixHDMIinputsockets

• HDMIoutput

• 8-channelMMHRdigitalaudioout(RJ45)

• 8-channelcoaxdigitalaudioout(4xphono)

Front-panel Indicators

• PowerLED

• 6xHDMIInputLEDs(selectedinputlights)

About the HD621 HDMI Audio Processor

Front panel

Thefrontpanel(seeabove)simplyshowsaStandbyLED(whichshowsthattheunithaspower

butisnotactive:itgoesoutwhentheunitisactivated),plussixLEDsindicatingwhichinputis

currentlyactive.Amanualselectbuttonallowsyoutostepthroughtheinputs.

Rear panel views. Above: left-hand half. Below: right-hand half.

Rear Panel

Therearpanel(above)featuresthefollowingconnections(LtoR):

RS232DB-9MSubconnector-thisenablestheprocessortobecontrolledremotelyviaserial

commandandconguredusingtheMeridianCongurationApplication(Windows).Italsopermits

theinstallationofrmwareupdates.

Meridian CommsBNCandDINconnectors–theseenabletheprocessortobeintegrated

withaMeridianaudio/videosystemandcontrolledbyit,forexample,switchingtheHDMIinput

whentheappropriateselectionismadeviathesystemcontroller.

HDMI InputsH1–H6–ThesefollowthestandardinputidenticationinaMeridiansystem(this

canbeoverriddenwhenthesystemisbeingcongured):

H1 DVD

H2 TV

H3 Cable

H4 Satellite

H5 VCR1

H6 Game

Standby indicator

Manual input select Active input indicators 1–6

HDMI Output: Video–ThisoutputsthevideoinformationpresentontheselectedHDMIinput.

Bydefault,itdoesnotcarrytheaudioinformation,butcanbeconguredtodoso.

MMHR Output–ThisRJ45connectorcarriesuptoeightchannelsofbalanceddigitalaudio

dataatupto96kHzsamplerateconformingtotheMeridianMultichannelHighResolution

(MMHR)specication,withencryptionwhererequiredtocarryhigh-resolutionaudiodata.

SmartLink Output–Thesefourphonosocketseachcarryapairofdigitalaudiochannel

signalsatupto96kHzsamplerate:1/2,3/4,5/6and7/8.TheseareencryptedtoMeridian

HighResolution(MHR)specicationswhencarryinghighresolutiondata.

Detail of SmartLink output section.

Power inputsocket,powerswitchandfuseholder–thepowersupplyacceptsastandardIEC

powerconnectorandisauniversalvoltagetypeacceptingvoltagesbetween100and250VAC

at50/60Hz.

Up/downsampling of digital audio

TheMMHRandSmartLinkoutputscanbesettodelivereitherstandard(44.1/48kHz)orhigh

resolution(88.2/96kHz)sampleratedigitalaudio,withresolutionenhancementofupto24-bit.

Whensettostandardrates,theoutputiseither44.1or48kHzirrespectiveoftheinputrate,

highsampleratesbeingdownsampledbyafactoroftwoorfourasappropriate.44.1and48kHz

ratesareunchanged.

Whensettohighrates,theoutputisalwayseither88.2or96kHz,irrespectiveoftheinput

rate.StandardsampleratesareupsampledbyafactoroftwousingMeridian’spowerfulDSP

technology,sothatinputsignalsof44.1and48kHzareoutputat88.2and96kHzrespectively.

FIFO Buffering

Inadditiontothefeaturesnotedabove,theHDMIaudioprocessorde-jittersdigitalaudio

receivedviaHDMIusingtwoFIFO(FirstIn,FirstOut)buffersystems.Thisensuresthattheaudio

extractedfromtheHDMIstreamisofthehighestquality.

Lip-sync Delay

Theprocessoralsoincludesacongurableaudiodelayofupto85mstoallowlip-syncinginthe

eventthatthedisplayintroducesanappreciabledelayinthevideopresentation.

Initial system installation

Usingthedefaultfactorysettings,theHD621isoptimisedforaMeridiansystemenvironment.It

allowsuptosixHDMIsourcestoconnecttoaMeridiansystemwhilesupplyingHDMIvideo(and

optionallyaudio)toadisplay.

Whileinstallingtheunit,pleasebesuretofollowthesafetyinstructionsprovidedatthefrontof

thisGuide.

TheHD621cansimplybeplacedonaatsurface;aversionwithearsisalternativelyavailable

forrack-mountinstallation.

Initial connections

UsingtheBNCorDINconnectorprovided,connectMeridianCommstotheunitfromtherestof

yoursystem.

ConnectanHDMIsourcetoeachoftheinputsyouwishtouse.Youwillseethattheconnectors

arenamedaccordingtothestandardconventionadoptedbyMeridianequipment.Ifyouconnect

yoursourcesassuggestedbythelabels,youwillnotneedtochangethemintheMeridian

Congurationapplication.

IfyouhaveMeridiansourcecomponents,connecttheiraudiodirectintotherestofthesystem

usingSmartLink:seeoverleaf.Fornon-Meridiansources,seebelow.

ConnectanHDMIcablebetweentheHDMIOutputoftheHD621andaninputonyourdisplay

system.

ConnecttheSmartlinkMHR(MeridianHighResolution)outputtoasuitabledigitalinputonyour

MeridianprocessororDSPLoudspeakers.Besuretoobservethechannelallocationcorrectly.

Eachsocketcarriestwochannelsandyoushouldconnecttheappropriatenumberofsocketsfor

themaximumnumberofaudiochannelstobeused.

IfyouhaveaMeridianprocessorwithMMHR(MeridianMultichannelHighResolution)capability,

connecttheHD621totheprocessorwithasingleCat5orCat6ScreenedTwistedPair(STP)

RJ45-terminatedcable.Donotconnectthephonosockets.

Connectpower(100–240VAC)totheunitviatheIECmainsconnector.

Setting up non-Meridian sources

Non-MeridiansourcessendingaudioviaHDMIshouldinmostcasesbeconguredtodecode

theaudiotoPCMinthesourcecomponenttotakeadvantageoftheresolutionenhancement

featuresoftheHD621.

Forbestresultsyouneedtocongureyoursourcecomponentstogetthehighestpossible

qualityaudiofromyourHD621.TheHD621containssophisticatedDSP-basedFIFObuffering,

reclockingandup/down-sampling,sobestresultswillbeobtainedbyconguringyoursources

sothattheHD621carriesouttheseprocesseswhenrequired,andnotthesource.

Herearesomepointstobearinmindwhensettingupnon-MeridiansourcesfeedingtheHD621:

• MakesurethattheHDMIsourceisturnedon,andthatitsHDMIoutputisprovidingaudioas

wellasvideo.

• CongurethesourcetooutputPCM.

• Payspecialattentiontothewaythatthesourcehandlesdifferentcontent.Checkthe

congurationtoensurethatmultichannelmaterialisnotdownmixed.

• TheHD621acceptsamaximuminputsamplerateof192kHz.

• Ifpossible,settheoutputsamplerateofyoursourcetomatchthesamplerateofthecontent

beingplayed.Meridianup/downsamplingoffersexceptionallyhighperformanceandyouwill

benetfromallowingtheHD621tocarryoutanyconversionthatisrequired.

Setting up Meridian sources

InthecaseofaMeridiansourcecomponent,youshouldruntheaudiofromtheMHRSmartlink

outputonthesourcetosuitableinputsontheMeridiansystem.

How sources and displays behave

TheHDMIinterconnectionsystemuseshandshakingtoestablishadialoguebetweena

sourceandadisplay.Typicallythedisplaysignalsitscapabilitiestothesource,andthesource

thengeneratesthehighestqualitysignalitcantomeetthosecapabilities.Thisiswhy,when

yourstactivateasystem,theremaybeasuccessionofblankandbluescreenswhilethe

twocomponentsworkouthowtocommunicatewitheachotheratthehighestlevelofquality

commontoboth.

WhentheHD621isaddedtothesystem,itreadsthedisplaycapabilitiesandpassesthem

tothesource,butatthesametimeaddsadescriptionofitsownenhancedaudiocapabilities.

Essentially,theHD621tellsasourcewhataudioitiscapableofhandling(orisconguredto

handle),butitisleftuptothesourcehowitsatisesthosecapabilities.Forexample,ifyou

conguretheHD621for2-channelaudiobutalsospecifythatitcanhandlebitstreams,youwill

needtocongurethesourceastowhetheritshouldsenda2-channelPCMtrackonthediscor

a5.1DTSbitstream,ifbotharepossible.

TheHD621alsohasa“receiver”mode,whichitwillenterautomaticallyifthedisplaydeviceis

switchedoffordisconnected.Thisallowsmusictoplayorcontinuetoplaywithoutadisplay.It

maytakeafewsecondswhiletheunitshandshaketoestablishthismode.Itmayalsotakea

fewsecondstore-establishcommunicationsifthedisplayisre-activated,becauseoftheHDMI

handshakingprocedure.AlsoseeNote1intheOperationalNotessectionattheendofthis

guide.

System defaults

Bydefault,theunitissettoworkwithMeridianprocessorsandDSPLoudspeakers,andto

enhanceupto6-channelPCMinputs.Iftheyhavenotbeendecodedintheplayerorsource

(decodinginthesourceisthepreferredconguration),DolbyDigital,DTSandAACbitstreams

arepassedthroughuntouched.IfyouareusingtheHD621withotherequipmentthatdoesnot

supportMeridian’sMHR,thenyouwillneedtorunMeridianCongtodisableMHR.

ToreconguretheHD621fromitsstandarddefaults,youwillneedtoconnectaWindows

computerviatheRS232connectorandusetheMeridianMcongapplicationtosetitup.See

belowfordetails.

Controlling the HD621

TheHD621canbecontrolledviaMeridianComms,fromthefrontpanelandviaRS232serial

commands.

Thefrontpanelallowsyoutostepthroughtheactiveinputs.Aninputthathasbeendisabledwill

notbeincludedasyoustepthrough.Nootherfunctionsareaccessiblefromthefrontpanel.

RS232canbeusedtocontroltheHD621inconjunctionwithahomeautomationsystem.The

unitrespondstostandardMeridiancommandstoselectnamedsources,enterStandbyandother

functions.AnRS232commandtableisavailableonrequest.

Setting up the HD621 with Meridian’s

Conﬁguration Application

Meridian’sCongurationApplicationisaWindowsapplicationthatisusedtosetupMeridian

componentsandsystems,andissuppliedontheCDthataccompaniesmanyMeridianproducts.

Fordetailsonhowtouseit,seeitsbuilt-inHelples.YoucanalsodownloaditsUserGuide

fromtheSupportsectionoftheMeridianWebSiteathttp://www.meridian-audio.com.Movethe

mouseovertheSupportoptioninthemainmenuandselect“ReleasenotesandGuides”,then

clickthelinktodownloadtheAcrobatPDFle.TheCongurationApplicationisinstalledby

theCommonInstallerwhichcanalsobedownloadedfromtheSupportsectionofthewebsite

(choose“DownloadInstaller”fromtheSupportmenu).Web addresses may change over time.

Contact Meridian if you cannot locate the information described.

Connections

ConnectyourcomputertotheHD621viaRS232andruntheMeridianCongurationApplication.

TheHD621issetupinthesamewayasanyotherMeridiancomponent.

• Note:theHD621canactasaController.Howeveryouwillonlyuseitassuchinanon-

Meridiansystem.IfyouselecttheHD621asthecontrollerinaMeridiansystem,theavailable

inputsonaMeridianprocessoryouaddsubsequentlywillbelimitedtothosedenedforthe

HD621.

TocongurethecapabilitiesoftheHD621,bringupthePropertiesdialogfortheproduct.

TheAudiotabisusedtodenetheaudiobehaviouroftheHD621(seeillustrationoverleaf).

Therstrow,AudioOutput,selectstheoutputportusedtointerfacewiththesystem,usingthe

pop-upmenuinthe“Value”column.Thiswilleitherbe“SmartLink/MMHR”(normally,tousethe

phonoorRJ45outputs)or,exceptionally,“VideoHDMI”,whichretainstheaudioonthetheHDMI

outputalongwiththevideo.AllthefollowingrowsdescribetotheHD621thecapabilitiesofthe

product(s)itisfeeding.



Thesecondrow,“MHRConnection”offers“SmartLink”,“SpeakerLinkcompatible”and“None”.

Select“SmartLink”tofeedaMeridianprocessorsuchastheC61R,G61R,G68or861,and

select“None”heretofeedMeridianDSPLoudspeakersdirectly.

Thenextrowdeterminesthenumberofoutputchannels.Theoptionsare8-,6-and2-channel

out.Thiswillgenerallybedeterminedbythecapabilitiesofyoursystem.NotethattheHD621

advertiseshowmanychannelsitwantstoreceive.Forexample,inthecasethat6arechosen

hereand8areavailablefromthesource,thentheHD621willinstructtheplayertooutputthe

6-channelversion.

YouonlyneedtomakephysicalconnectionsbetweentheHD621andthesystemthat

correspondtothenumberofchannelsselectedhere.So,forexample,ifyouhavea2-channel

systemandlimitthePCMoutputhereto2-channel,youonlyneedtoconnectthe“1/2”

SmartLinkoutputfromtheHD621tothesystem.

Thenextthreerowsinformthesourceaboutthedecodingcapabilityoftheproductsfedby

theHD621.SelectallthreeforMeridianprocessorssuchastheC61R,G61RandG68,leave

“AAC”uncheckedforthe861,andleaveallthreeuncheckedifyouaredrivingMeridianDSP

LoudspeakersdirectfromtheHD621.

The“OutputRate”rowdeterminesthecapabilityoftheproductfedbytheHD621andwhether

theunitoutputshighsamplerates(88.2or96kHz)orstandardrates(44.1or48kHz).Checkthe

boxtosetthisto“Yes”:inthiscasetheunitwillalwaysoutputhighsamplerates,byupsampling

standardsampleratesordownsamplingsuper-highsamplerates(176.4or192kHz).Ifsetto

“No”,alloutputsareatstandardrates,withhigher-ratesourcesdownsampledaccordingly.Setto

“No”forearlyDSPloudspeakers,D600sandthe561.

ThenalrowdetermineswhetherMHRisactiveornot.CheckingtheboxallowstheHD621to

protectcopyrightedaudioortoenhancethequalityofothers.

NexttotheAudiotabistheSourcestab:



Thispaneldisplaysthelogicalsourcesassociatedwitheachphysicalinputandallowsthemto

beassigned.Eachphysicalsourceshowsasanicon–inthisexamplethereisonlyone,theBD

player,sothereisonlyoneicon.Howeveryoucanassignmorethanone“logical”sourcetoa

physicalinput.

ThepenultimatetabinthePropertiesdialogaccessestheTypessection.ThisshowstheMeridian

Typesstoredintheproduct.YoucanresettheHD621toaTypebyselectingthedesiredType

fromthelistandright-clickingonit,thenchoosing“ResettothisType”fromtheresultingpop-up

menu.

Thenaltabis“Connections”.Thisdisplaystheinputsandoutputsavailableonthedeviceand

whattheyareconnectedto.Youcanltertheresultsshownherebyright-clickingonanitem

(anyitem)inthelistandcheckingtheitemsyouwanttodisplay,oruncheckingthemtohide

them.

Complete the conﬁguration process by Storing the settings to the HD621.Finally,

clicktheClosebuttontonishworkingwiththeHD621Propertiesandcontinuetosetupthe

systemasrequired.

Operational Notes

1.Somesource/displaycombinationsmaynotreturncleanlyfrom“receiver”mode,duetothe

wayinwhichtheyhandlehandshaking.Ifyoudonotgettheexpectedresult(egnoaudiois

heard)evenafterseveralsecondshaveelapsed,itmayhelptoswitchtoanotherinputand

thenbackagain.ThisisnotafaultintheHD621:itisafunctionofhowthesourceanddisplay

communicatewitheachother.

2.Handshakingbetweenadisplayandasourcecantakesometimeandyoumay,forexample,

seeaseriesofalternatingblankandbluescreens.Thisisnotafault.

HD621UG-ENG•Partno:P88380•Version1.320090601•REƒ

Meridian Audio Limited,LathamRoad,Huntingdon,CambridgeshirePE296YE,UK.

T+44(0)1480445678F+44(0)1480445686E[email protected]

Meridian America Inc., 8055TroonCircle,SuiteC,Austell,GA30168-7849,USA.

T+1(404)3447111F+1(404)3467111

www.meridian-audio.com

Meridian HD621 Owner's manual

Brand: Meridian

Model: HD621

Category: Video switches

Type: Owner's manual

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