Zappiti / R_volution Owners & Discussion Thread

[Marc]

Zappiti offer the best media players I've come across aside from the usual suspects (ATV 4K, Shield - and their own limitations). https://www.zappiti.com/

Thought I would start an owners thread as I believe there are a few local users.

 

I've got the 4K HDR unit. So impressed, I'm contemplating an upgrade to the Audiocom modded unit. Anyone compared them?

 

UPDATE 28/9/2021: Since moved to Zidoo media players after too many bugs and HDMI compatibility issues.

Edited September 27, 2021 by Marc

[TP1]

15 hours ago, Marc said:

I'm contemplating an upgrade to the Audiocom modded unit.

 

Before you do that Marc, you should try the Zappiti with a decent external linear power supply if you haven't already done so. The difference in both image quality and sound quality is quite dramatic.   I use the Uptone Audio JS-2 ( which has 2 outlets) for both Lumagen and Zappiti at the same time.

 

I also tested an HDPlex linear PSU with Zappiti and  that works well, but the JS-2 is  noticeably better still.  The colours in particular are more nuanced, contrast and apparent resolution is better too.  I'd say the Hdplex did about  about 50-60% of what the JS-2 did.

 

I  thought seriously about the AudioCom  model but  I am not convinced their PSU will as good, let alone better than the JS-2 unit although I am sure it is no slouch. It does have a couple of other tweaks as well  but the difference that  this PSU has made is so significant, that it not only rivals but in some cases  exceeds  the output of my modded Oppo 203 - for 1080P material.  For 4K material, the Oppo has superior electronics for UHD and I use that for 4K files via Oppo's USB port.   However, I would love to try the Audiocom Zappiti nevertheless so I would know for sure which is better.

 

I agree that Zappiti is in a class of its own. Perhaps  it is not for those people who only want one unit to do everything possible. But when used primarily as an AV media player, I  think It stands apart from the rest with that amazing interface and playback capabilities.

[Marc]

Which model do you have @TP1? I'm assuming yours comes with an external SMPS. The 4K Pro already has an upgraded internal power supply, therefore a 240V in. I'm OK with modifying it and I have had massive success with using linear power supplies on other audio equipment but not sure just how good this "upgraded" PS is over the lower models.

 

[Marc]

Another thing - do any Zappiti users have a problem with the time it takes to get a lock on the HDMI handshake for audio?

My video syncs fairly quickly, but the audio has a couple of bites at it, with it taking up to 7-10 seconds to finally lock on.

This happened with both my Trinnov and my JBL AVPs so the problem is clearly at the Zappiti end.

I've also tried separating the HDMI Audio with a 2nd HDMI cable, running HDMI audio only to AVP (leaving Lumagen to handle the HDMI video switching), but none of these things make a difference.

 

It is fine for monies, sans generally missing the first seconds of an intro. Where is really fails though is via Zappiti Explorer and trying to watch dolby demos or clips - you end up missing half the demo!

 

Demonstrated below:

 

 

[hifiman]

This media player looks very good. For those that already have a lumagen, I'm assuming you run the Zappati in direct output mode?

If this is the case, is there any reason to get the Pro version? I see there are many 4K versions of this player but am not sure which one will do the best job. I have all my UHD files backed up on my NAS as MKV and have been looking to replace my htpc with a good media player. 

[Marc]

Yes I set the Zappiti to Direct Output mode for use with the Lumagen. My setup is similar to yours with NAS storage for media.

I did look at all the features when I bought mine and still settled on the 4K Pro.

[TP1]

6 hours ago, Marc said:

Which model do you have @TP1? I'm assuming yours comes with an external SMPS. The 4K Pro already has an upgraded internal power supply, therefore a 240V in. I'm OK with modifying it and I have had massive success with using linear power supplies on other audio equipment but not sure just how good this "upgraded" PS is over the lower models.

 

Mine is the Zappiti One SE 4K HDR  with external SMPS.  Yes, the Pro model would have a better PSU than mine.

[TP1]

5 hours ago, hifiman said:

is there any reason to get the Pro version?

 

Yes, as it has a better PSU than  standard it will give better picture and sound quality. However, if you already have a high quality linear PSU with 12V output, you could save cash and use your PSU with the the cheaper models. 

[hifiman]

11 minutes ago, TP1 said:

Mine is the Zappiti One SE 4K HDR  with external SMPS.  Yes, the Pro model would have a better PSU than mine.

If using an external linear power supply, then there is no need to have a better PSU that is used in the PRO, or it negates the need for one? 

Ah looks like you answered my question just as I asked, thanks!

Looks like AvAustralia are selling that unit on special for $688. 

Edited October 6, 2020 by hifiman

[TP1]

6 hours ago, Marc said:

My video syncs fairly quickly, but the audio has a couple of bites at it, with it taking up to 7-10 seconds to finally lock on.

 

My audio starts first about a second or two  before the video.    I did notice a delay in audio when first switching to Zappiti  the other night but  all the videos thereafter were fine.

 

I use Lumagen audio out  to the AVP .  I also use fibre optic HDMI  cables exclusively  with the hope that it could reduce sync times,  but I have no idea if this is playing a part here. 

[TP1]

 

I should add that I don't use a NAS- just internal drive and attached SSD

[Marc]

1 hour ago, TP1 said:

I use Lumagen audio out  to the AVP

I am doing this too, and all brand new high-quality HDMIs. It's made no difference.

I really don't know if this is a fault or expected operation.

[hifiman]

25 minutes ago, Marc said:

I am doing this too, and all brand new high-quality HDMIs. It's made no difference.

I really don't know if this is a fault or expected operation.

Can try this from someone having audio sync issues in avsforum:
The sync delay should be less if you set the Zappiti output (i.e. display mode in the settings) to 24Hz instead of Auto or e.g. 60Hz. Once you have the "auto sync 24/50/60" turned on, it will still output in e.g. 60Hz if the file is in that format.
 

[Marc]

Thanks @hifiman - I can confirm I have tried that and other suggestions also.

Nothing seems to make a difference unfortunately.

[hifiman]

Can this zappati player move subtitle locations?

I have a 16:9 screen and a lot of the times the subs fall into the black bars but I'm moving to a CIH scoped screen and therefore they aren't going to be visible anymore for scoped movies. 

My current media player Vero4k+ allows this but the subtitles have to be ripped in a special way, also the player is good when it works but when it doesn't.. debugging is a mess, hoping the zappati can improve on this! 


 

[TP1]

11 minutes ago, hifiman said:

Can this zappati player move subtitle locations?

 

Yes it can. I have a CIH setup  too and  have adjusted the subtitles accordingly.  Another cool feature with Zappiti is that if you don't have subtitles already with your video file,  Zappiti can  automatically search and download them for you. This  can be activated when the relevant video is selected from the GUI and then selecting "download subtitles" from the menu.

Edited October 8, 2020 by TP1

[hifiman]

53 minutes ago, TP1 said:

 

Yes it can. I have a CIH setup  too and  have adjusted the subtitles accordingly.  Another cool feature with Zappiti is that if you don't have subtitles already with your video file,  Zappiti can  automatically search and download them for you. This  can be activated when the relevant video is selected from the GUI and then selecting "download subtitles" from the menu.

Perfect! This player has tons of features. Would have been good to have netflix/youtube 4k but that's just icing on the cake. 

[TP1]

3 hours ago, hifiman said:

Perfect! This player has tons of features. Would have been good to have netflix/youtube 4k but that's just icing on the cake. 

 

You can get YouTube in  4K with Zappiti.

 

You can also have Netflix and Prime Video  but I don't think those apps are optimised for the particular chipset used in Zappiti.  You need to access them through an app called Aptoide TV, which I think does some form of software adjustment to make them compatible.   The 4K  images from Netflix  are not quite as good as AppleTV 4k and I think this could be due to the app optimisation issue.   

 

To me the Zappiti  interface  system is the best in the business.  I previously used Plex which  I think lags  behind Zappiti in terms of ease of use, features, playability and reliability.  Zappiti plays virtually all file formats without hiccup  including iso images and BDMV folders (and their menus).  Their support is first class too and they respond  quickly to any queries.

[Marc]

3 hours ago, TP1 said:

To me the Zappiti  interface  system is the best in the business.  I previously used Plex which  I think lags  behind Zappiti in terms of ease of use, features, playability and reliability.  Zappiti plays virtually all file formats without hiccup  including iso images and BDMV folders (and their menus).  Their support is first class too and they respond  quickly to any queries.

Totally agree with this. I've gone from an i9 battleship Plex (dedicated) server, to Zappiti. After 6 weeks of testing I've now decommissioned the Plex server (and saved a lot of energy $$$ in the process). Zappiti can take a little bit of mucking around to config the video settings (or at least in my case it did feeing into a Lumagen), but once set, it's a forget type process.

 

My wife and young kids are very comfortable using Zappiti.

[cwt]

On 06/10/2020 at 4:40 PM, Marc said:

Thanks @hifiman - I can confirm I have tried that and other suggestions also.

Nothing seems to make a difference unfortunately.

I noticed in the real time gif Marc it read dolby atmos in after initially showing pcm ; does it glitch with other audio codecs? like aac or flac ? thinking it maybe atmos piggybacking [guessing]

[Marc]

No idea - Zappiti plays background music through the menus etc which is all output in PCM - once it loads the movie it sends the codec, be it Atmos, DTS etc, and after those couple of attempts to latch it finally does.

[cwt]

2 hours ago, Marc said:

No idea - Zappiti plays background music through the menus etc which is all output in PCM - once it loads the movie it sends the codec, be it Atmos, DTS etc, and after those couple of attempts to latch it finally does.

Can only speculate its to do with bitstream being needed for atmos playback and the pcm output not completely compatible with the atmos stream [which MUST be piggybacked by the truehd bitstream]

 

Hopefully the decoding to pcm will get a firmware tweak ; ive not had audio glitches with my H264 files with dts-x or truehd ; will try a few 2k bd's with atmos when I get a chance with my zapp duo [ conversion is slow with my laptop ]

[TP1]

32 minutes ago, cwt said:

Can only speculate its to do with bitstream being needed for atmos playback and the pcm output not completely compatible with the atmos stream [which MUST be piggybacked by the truehd bitstream]

 

 

You might be on to something.   I don't have this problem but then I have the sound for menu's etc turned off so only bitstream audio ( passthrough)  will be played from my unit.   Perhaps you could try  turning off all menu  music  @Marc  and see if that helps the audio delay issue.

[Marc]

Ahhhh. Great idea!!

Will test once kids are in bed. Thanks!!

[hifiman]

Also Marc, ensure that all your cables are at least 2m up to 4m for passive hdmi -  audio sync issues.