Specifications

Bob Stuart answers Questions about the Meridian 800 V3
Page 9
from our recent addition of DVD-Audio. Our criteria for adding support for formats are
absolute performance quality and/or anticipated long-term availability of software.
47 What about MP3?
800 allows you to replay MP3 files stored on CD-R or DVD-R. This is a great feature for
playing back collections, for building long-playing discs for parties or for sharing discs with
portable players. Using DVD-R you can build MP3 discs with up to 1000 tracks; continuous
music for between 21 and 70 hours depending on bitrate!
48 What about playability?
Playability is a measure of the player’s ability to cope with discs that have errors,
manufacturing defects, fingerprints or surface damage.
DVD is incredibly robust regarding errors and has 1000 times more protection than CD. The
drive used in the 800 is superb at playing DVD. Of course, you can put a huge fingerprint on a
DVD that causes problems! See Q. 49.
CD provides less protection against disc scratches or manufacturing defects. The drive used
in 800 has very powerful error correction, and our system operation, which allows multiple re-
reads of the data, improves this even more. Our experience with 800 is that it is less troubled
by CD defects than any other player we have made.
Of course with either CD or DVD there will be discs with defects that impede smooth playback
in any player – so treat all your discs with care. Also see Qs. 16 and 49.
49 Do you recommend disc cleaners?
Generally the cleaner the disc is the better the result will be. There are several proprietary
disc cleaners and restorers on the market. We suggest you follow your dealer’s advice. Do
not use inappropriate cleaners on your precious discs.
50 Do I need a Dolby Digital (AC3) decoder?
No. The 800 has the ability to decode Dolby Digital to either two or 5.1 channels and to
encode it (if necessary) as Dolby Surround (if you have a ProLogic decoder).
If you wish 800 can pass a bitstream or a Dolby Surround version to an external decoder like
the Meridian 861. In any case we strongly recommend that you use a system surround
controller such as Meridian 861. See Qs. 65 and 68.
51 Do I need a decoder that is capable of DTS?
Not to play DVDs. The 800 has the ability to decode DTS from DVD to either two or 5.1
channels.
If you wish 800 can pass the bitstream to an external decoder such as the Meridian 861 and
you will need such a decoder to play DTS CDs. See Qs. 41 and 42.
52 Do I need a decoder capable of MPEG?
No. The 800 decodes 2ch or multichannel MPEG streams internally. If you wish 800 can pass
a bitstream to an external decoder like the Meridian 861. See Q. 45.