I am interested in getting a Netgear ready nas for media storage and backup. I wouuld like to know if there are any limitations on HD audio passthrough to a Yamaha RXV1075 for audio decoding. My Samsung bluray player will not passthrough DTS-HD MASTER or TRUE HD. audio files. I have a failing WD LIVE TV which does it fine but needs replacing. I also assume i can write to the NAS from my mac pro over the network without issue.
You can certainly copy files from your OSX PC to any ReadyNAS - using either SMB or AFP.
New OS-6 readynas all include a built-in DLNA server (ReadyDLNA) and also Plex. Plex supports passthrough, I'm not sure about about ReadyDLNA.
Note you can put the media server on the mac pro, but still keep the media library on the ReadyNAS.
If you do use plex or ReadyDLNA on the NAS, then the NAS is the media server - if the bluray is your DLNA client, then it's playback issues will likely remain. Perhaps try installing the plex server on your mac pro, and see how it functions.
As far as specific models go, if you want to host a media server on the NAS, I generally suggest avoiding the RN10x and RN31x models - the other models handle plex real-time transcoding better. Even if you aren't interested in real-time transcoding now, you might be interested in it later. If you have specific transcoding requirements, it'd be good to follow up with them here.
I'd like to get away from using my Mac Pro as a Plex server. Right now i have a usb hard dive connected to the WDTV and feed the HDMI from my WDTV to my Yamaha, which decodes the audio, and sends video directly to the tv. The WDTV Live passes all audio to the receiver, including HD audio. This is the only device i have presently that will pass any and all audio to the receiver. Other devices have limitations with the audio end. If the NAS will act as a server with PLEX and pass all HD audio to the receiver, then that's what i'm looking for. I've found a lot of media boxes still have audio passthrough issues, but trying to find out if NAS devices do also, has been a bit of a chalenge. I don't want to spend hundreds of dollars to find out some .mkv files with True-HD or DTS-Master audio won't work.
a NAS with HDMI out would be a must in this case. I guess i'm not really interested in transcoding at this point, but as you say maybe in the future.
Right now i have a usb hard dive connected to the WDTV and feed the HDMI from my WDTV to my Yamaha, which decodes the audio, and sends video directly to the tv. The WDTV Live passes all audio to the receiver, including HD audio.
So one test that is relevant here - set up the plex server, and use the WDTV as a DLNA client instead of accessing file shares. See if you still get the audio passthrough. My guess is that you will.
Then do the same test with the BluRay player as the DLNA client. My guess is that will fail.
Generally all servers do passthrough well - the challenge there is to get them to transcode when needed. I think your issue is that your BluRay player's DLNA client mode doesn't advertise support for DTS-MA or TRUE-HD.
But it could be something else. You do need to use HDMI between the player to the Yamaha - toslink can't carry DTS-MA or TRUE-HD. Also HDMI return can get in the way, so if you are using that, you should try a test w/o it.
That is likely an "anti piracy" limitation. My Panasonic BR player has similar limitations. I know some of that is imposed by Netflix on any device that has direct Netflix access. There may be other drivers as well.
Your best solution is to replace the WDTV with a newer box that can do the same. I use a Medi8er MED600X3D though it, like your WDTV, is getting a little long in the tooth. An Android box that runs Kodi (aka XBMC) or a mini PC would be likely candidates. Their interfaces are a little clunky with just a universal remote, though.
I looked at some media boxes including Mede8er, but there is no H.265 video support. Started running into this lately, and expect to more and more. The WDTV doesn't support it, and i suspect most other media boxes won't as it's a chip limitation and not firmware upgradable. The new Nvidia Shield seems to tick all the boxes for me at this point.
I looked at some media boxes including Mede8er, but there is no H.265 video support. ... The new Nvidia Shield seems to tick all the boxes for me at this point.
H.265 patent royalties are sharply higher than H.264, and that has slowed its adoption. I think any 4K player will support it though, so maybe look specifically for those.
Nvidia Shield does seem like a reasonable choice though, as it also supports the passthrough modes you want.
Unfortunately, anti-piracy protections are often more painful to the people with genuine medias than to people with pirated versions! Because of restriction issues, but not just. Like, I hate how I'm forced to watch that anti-piracy ad before watching the BluRay I purchased...
