[Got the Shakes]

So I got an email from James (I'm assuming that anyone with interest in the A16 upgrade did as well). They are offering the upgrade for a limited time. The full upgrade is $500 + PayPal fees + VAT if applicable and the HDMI only upgrade is $195 + PayPal or bank transfer fees + VAT if applicable. The customer has to arrange shipping to Smyth and has to pay for shipping both ways. If Smyth gets charged duty the customer has to cover that as well. The upgrade needs to be paid for in full by April 22nd and they are going to retrofit all of the units that are sent back in one batch. They estimate that will be done by May 22nd.

 

[AppleheadMay]

So I got an email from James (I'm assuming that anyone with interest in the A16 upgrade did as well). They are offering the upgrade for a limited time. The full upgrade is $500 + PayPal fees + VAT if applicable and the HDMI only upgrade is $195 + PayPal or bank transfer fees + VAT if applicable. The customer has to arrange shipping to Smyth and has to pay for shipping both ways. If Smyth gets charged duty the customer has to cover that as well. The upgrade needs to be paid for in full by April 22nd and they are going to retrofit all of the units that are sent back in one batch. They estimate that will be done by May 22nd.

Sorry, must have missed something here. So there's a HDMI upgrade as well? To what? HDMI 2.1?

 

[Got the Shakes]

Sorry, must have missed something here. So there's a HDMI upgrade as well? To what? HDMI 2.1?

Not 2.1 unfortunately. They added eARC support though. Below is what I copied from their announcement about it:

HSR41T HDMI repeater

A summary of the specification is listed below. It is similar to the HSR41Q except for the inclusion of enhanced audio return channel (eARC) on the output port.

• One 600 MHz full-featured output
• Up to 12-bit Deep Color and HDR (Dolby Vision etc)
• All typical color spaces supported
• HDMI 1.4 & 2.0b mandatory formats
• HDCP 2.3 for all ports
• Up to “4K” pixel rates at 24-60 Hz (4:4:4)
• 4K 4:2:0 format video at 60 Hz
• Enhanced ARC (eARC) support

HSR41T based Realiser A16s will now support eARC as the 5th HDMI input;

• eARC
• HDMI(1)
• HDMI(2)
• HDMI(3)
• HDMI(4)

Essentially any audio input to a Smart TV can be directed to the A16 via the eARC output and rendered over headphones.

 

[You Gene]

So I got an email from James (I'm assuming that anyone with interest in the A16 upgrade did as well). They are offering the upgrade for a limited time. The full upgrade is $500 + PayPal fees + VAT if applicable and the HDMI only upgrade is $195 + PayPal or bank transfer fees + VAT if applicable. The customer has to arrange shipping to Smyth and has to pay for shipping both ways. If Smyth gets charged duty the customer has to cover that as well. The upgrade needs to be paid for in full by April 22nd and they are going to retrofit all of the units that are sent back in one batch. They estimate that will be done by May 22nd.

What is the exact situation in the US regarding logistics for freight transport abroad ?

 

[Got the Shakes]

What is the exact situation in the US regarding logistics for freight transport abroad ?

That is a good question. Domestic deliveries from stores are still happening relatively efficiently. I haven't had anything some from abroad and haven't tried shipping anything out. UPS for example says they're still doing international transit, but can't really guarantee delivery dates/times.

 

[AppleheadMay]

Not 2.1 unfortunately. They added eARC support though. Below is what I copied from their announcement about it:

HSR41T HDMI repeater

A summary of the specification is listed below. It is similar to the HSR41Q except for the inclusion of enhanced audio return channel (eARC) on the output port.

• One 600 MHz full-featured output
• Up to 12-bit Deep Color and HDR (Dolby Vision etc)
• All typical color spaces supported
• HDMI 1.4 & 2.0b mandatory formats
• HDCP 2.3 for all ports
• Up to “4K” pixel rates at 24-60 Hz (4:4:4)
• 4K 4:2:0 format video at 60 Hz
• Enhanced ARC (eARC) support

HSR41T based Realiser A16s will now support eARC as the 5th HDMI input;

• eARC
• HDMI(1)
• HDMI(2)
• HDMI(3)
• HDMI(4)

Essentially any audio input to a Smart TV can be directed to the A16 via the eARC output and rendered over headphones.

Thanks for the update GTS. Missed that one due to sometimes getting no emails about new replies in watched threads.

 

[illram]

I missed a lot of posts due to my email subscriptions getting broken by the forum update; thanks for the HDMI upgrade summary, what is the other upgrade for? The USB board?

Also I thought the old board already did 4k at 60hz and 4:4:4 and Dolby Vision?

 

[Got the Shakes]

I missed a lot of posts due to my email subscriptions getting broken by the forum update; thanks for the HDMI upgrade summary, what is the other upgrade for? The USB board?

Also I thought the old board already did 4k at 60hz and 4:4:4 and Dolby Vision?

The other upgrade is the audio decoder. It will be capable of decoding 24 channels now and could support Dirac Live with Atmos if Smyth decided to license it.

The old HDMI board does do 4K/60 and Dolby Vision for sure as I use both in my current setup. The main upgrade with the HDMI board for me at least would be the inclusion of eARC as that will make a setup with HDMI 2.1 consoles and HDMI 2.1 30 series Nvidia cards (whenever those get announced) much more functional. I can hookup the devices directly to a tv's 2.1 ports and send Atmos and other high bitrate surround formats to the Realiser and not lose the functionality that HDMI 2.1 adds on the video side of things.

 

[kh36267]

I certainly will jump on the upgrade offer and have already responded to James.......but also realize how apprehensive I will be at that point when I have to let the A16 out of my hands (after waiting so many years for it to be delivered)

 

[Got the Shakes]

I certainly will jump on the upgrade offer and have already responded to James.......but also realize how apprehensive I will be at that point when I have to let the A16 out of my hands (after waiting so many years for it to be delivered)

I did the same. I'm a bit worried about what it's going to actually cost to ship it back considering the distance and how much I'll have to insure the thing for.

 

[Fox1977]

What is to worry also is how long your unit will actually be gone... they say it should be ready by May 22nd but didn’t make it clear if they are talking about 2020...
Predicting dates have never been their strong suit !
We’ll see already when they manage to resume shipping units...

 

[You Gene]

What is to worry also is how long your unit will actually be gone... they say it should be ready by May 22nd but didn’t make it clear if they are talking about 2020...
Predicting dates have never been their strong suit !
We’ll see already when they manage to resume shipping units...

The deal with Gilles Gerin (France) and the Smyth was that they would ship all the circuit boards to him in one shipment in May 2020 (email from Gilles dated 11th March 2020).

I am not saying it will happen. All I am saying is that both info check.

 

[esimms86]

What is to worry also is how long your unit will actually be gone... they say it should be ready by May 22nd but didn’t make it clear if they are talking about 2020...
Predicting dates have never been their strong suit !
We’ll see already when they manage to resume shipping units...

A very important caveat in all this is the fact that they said that they would not start the batched upgrade process until all of the units have been received from their owners. In light of Covid-19, carriers understandably are prioritizing delivery of goods. This means that the upgrade process is likely to be delayed, even if all owners are efficient with getting their units out the door in a timely fashion. Further, they estimate completion of the upgrade process, I assume under their rosiest prediction, to be by May 22nd. This, however, is not necessarily the same date as when units will begin shipping back, nor when the units should begin to arrive in the hands of their owners.

 

[Got the Shakes]

A very important caveat in all this is the fact that they said that they would not start the batched upgrade process until all of the units have been received from their owners. In light of Covid-19, carriers understandably are prioritizing delivery of goods. This means that the upgrade process is likely to be delayed, even if all owners are efficient with getting their units out the door in a timely fashion. Further, they estimate completion of the upgrade process, I assume under their rosiest prediction, to be by May 22nd. This, however, is not necessarily the same date as when units will begin shipping back, nor when the units should begin to arrive in the hands of their owners.

I did some preliminary research and UPS is saying while not guaranteed, that they would expect it to take about 4 business days to get from me to the UK. The US Post Office says 6-10 days. This was with me choosing April 23rd as the ship date since payment is due in full on April 22nd. What is a little bit frightening is the line in the email saying “Providing we receive the units back in a timely fashion, we estimate completion of the retrofitting and testing to be the 22nd May 2020.” A delay in them receiving one unit holding up the upgrades on the other units has potential to get messy.

 

[Dixter]

I just called DHL and she told me they are still shipping from the USA and it would take 3 to 4 business days... one issue is she told me that in order to ship both ways .. (there and back) it is required to have a commercial account... not sure why... so DHL may not be the best way to ship... does anyone know what needs to be shipped back... just the A16 or some/all of the extras like the remote.??? so I guess we will need to insure for the $4K value..this is going to get expensive...