[CharlieWednesday]

I’ll be honest, I’m not sure if it would offer much advantage to you, as the Essence is probably doing a lot of what the ML Streamer would do.  How are your BS9000 and Essence connected?  I’ve never owned an Essence so I’m not familiar with the connections it has, but I know it does not have Masterlink.

[CharlieWednesday]

Glad I saw this as I was wondering about these Hall Audio adapters myself, but their website doesn’t really explain them in much detail.

I want to put one of my (currently unused) Beolab 2000s in my garage (I don’t put the car in it; it’s used as part storage, part gym).  This should make that easy if I use two of these, plus a Cat7 cable.  Much easier to route a Cat7 cable through the wall!

Speaking of Hall Audio, their Kickstarter has begun for the ML Streamer.  I signed up as soon as I got the email and think I was the first backer!  The Kickstarter is here, if you’re interested.

[CharlieWednesday]

I did not know that!  That does explain however why they released a version that had no labels on the buttons.  I always wondered why.

[CharlieWednesday]

I have an IR eye without labelled buttons, just like yours.  It also does not have the auto-contrast, so I expect it’s the same model, and as far as I can see, it’s no different to my other IR eyes that do have labelled buttons, and it works just the same as those.

I don’t have a Beosystem 4 but when connected to my Beolink Passive amplifier, the buttons work – Timer (top), Volume (middle rocker) and Play (bottom).  I’ve also tried it connected to a Beolink Active, and it worked just the same.

Are the two LEDs illuminating on your IR Eye, and do they toggle on/off when you press the Timer or Play buttons?  If they don’t come on at all I would suspect a problem with the IR eye or it’s wiring – the wires do easily come loose inside (that’s happened to me more than once).

 

[CharlieWednesday]

Thanks. I think I’ll just experiment once I actually get my hands on a Beosystem 3!  Yes I see what you mean though about my BV7 in Opt o with the BS3 in Opt 1 – that wouldn’t work as I’d have two video masters.  I think if I have the BV7 in Opt 5 it should work, it’s just  a matter of finding an uncomplicated way of switching the Bv7 on when I switch the BS3 on.  I think my ML Gateway can do that, but I’ll have to experiment with the BS3 when I get one.

[CharlieWednesday]

I am still on the lookout for a Beosystem 3.  Having everything plugged into the back of the Beovision 7 is messy (1 DVI, 1 SCART, 1 Masterlink, 1 antenna, 1 power cable, 2 Powerlinks), and I also find that I can’t get the back panels onto the TV.  The SCART, and the 2 Powerlink plugs, are too bulky.

So, If I can get hold of a Beosystem 3, I should be able to reduce that to 3 cables (1 DVI, 1 Masterlink, 1 power cable) and plug everything else into the Beosystem 3, which will then offer me a host of inputs and options.

One thing I’ve just realised though – I don’t think the Beosystem 3 has an IR sensor built in – does that mean I will need an IR Eye?  I do have a couple of those spare (with the wrong type of cable connection, but I can change that), but does anyone know if this is necessary?

My thinking is, I use the Beosystem 3 in Opt 1, my Beosound 4 in Opt 2, and put the Beovision 7 into Opt 0.  I’m hoping the BV7 will be clever enough to power on when it gets a signal from the Beosystem 3, but if it doesn’t, I can probably set a macro using my ML Gateway to have it powering on when the BS3 is powered on.

[CharlieWednesday]

Ah, I had completely forgotten about that switch!  Yes hat worked – the Pentas are now plugged into the BV7, and I have set them up as the centre speakers in the BV7 sound options.

The BV7 is in Option 2, and the BS4 is in Option 0.  This makes it work as a truly integrated AV system, where all sources pay through the Pentas, and both the Penta displays, and that lovely vertical display beside the screen on the BV7 shows whatever source I am playing or watching.

I will never use the BV7 and BS4 independent of each other in my office, so this setup works perfectly.

[CharlieWednesday]

I can now confirm that the problem was with the HDMI-DVI adapter I got from Amazon – I got a better quality HDMI to DVI cable, and that works fine.  I have a 3-way HDMI switch (which also separates out the audio signal) arriving tomorrow, so that will allow me to use my 3 HDMI devices with the TV, plus my old Nintendo GameCube plugged into a SCART (I’ve feeling up for a bit of retro gaming!).

The only one disappointment – the BV7 user guide recommends for an ‘integrated AV system’ it’s best to set the BV7 in Opt 1, the BS4 in Opt 2, and connect the speakers to the TV.  That worked, but the displays on my Beolab Pentas did not work when connected to the TV.  It’s strange that B&O built the BS4 with Powerlink 2 support, but not the BV7?

I can’t lose those lovely displays on my Beolab Pentas, so I have plugged them back into the BS4 and set both that and the BV7 to Opt 1.  I have to use AV commands to get TV sound, but at least it all works.

 

[CharlieWednesday]

I can now be sure that my current problem seems to lie with the cheap HDMI to DVI adapter I bought from Amazon – I plugged it all back in this morning and the Google TC worked!  It was set to 720p 60Hz, and was working fine, with a really good picture.

So, I unplugged it and plugged in my Nintendo switch instead – nothing.  I unplugged that, and reconnected the Google TV – nothing.

So, I fidgeted around with the plug on the back, it came back on!  I was also able to connect my Nintendo Switch, and that worked.

So, it’s probably the fault of that cheap HDMI to DVI adapter I bought from Amazon (but I suppose it could be that the DVI socket on the BV7 has a poor connection), but at least I know it works, and my plan to use the BV7 in my office is a GO!

[CharlieWednesday]

That should be fine. The Google TV automatically detects the output resolution and should set itself. The Nintendo Switch is 720p max anyway. I’m not sure about the Wii U though, I’ll check that.

[CharlieWednesday]

Blimey, it’s more complicate than I thought!  Thanks for all the advice though.

First things first, I’ve ordered an HDMI to DVI cable so I can at least try to connect the BV7 to my PC, and make sure that DVI input on the BV7 is working okay.  Until I’ve figure it all out, I’ll keep the BV8 in my office for now!

I’m not absolutely convinced all inputs and outputs on the BV7 are working.  I tested the projector output and that’s working okay, and I also tested the AV1 SCART by connecting an old HDR1 to it.  The HDR1 played okay, but would not record.  It’s an old HDR1 which only has a (now useless) analog tuner, but it’s my understanding that when connected to a Beovision TV correctly, it should be able to record from the TV; that’s certainly what the manual suggests, anyway.  It won’t record though, so I’m beginning to think my BV7 might has some issues.  That’s why I want to test it properly before shelling out on a BS3.

[CharlieWednesday]

Madskp wrote:

Also see this thread https://forum.beoworld.org/forums/topic/beocenter-6-with-beosystem-3-and-beocenter-2-how/where a similar setup was discussed. Especially the last post mentions that the Beolab 7.x speaker can be connected to the BS3 effectively just making the BV7 a screen if you do no need the built in sources

I’ve taken a look at that post, and yes, I do see an option:

• Beosystem 3 in Option 1
• Beosound 4 in Opt 2 (?)
• Beovision 7 in Opt 0

The reason I say BV7 in Opt 0 is that I have the ML Gateway, and should therefore be able set a macro that turns on the BV7 whenever I select a source on the BS3, and turns it off when I turn the BS3 off.  Might work, anyway!

My only worry is that the DVI-I input socket on my BV7 might not be working – I have nothing else to test it with, but I suspect the problem I had was with he cheap HDMI to DVI-I adapter I bought from Amazon.

Beosystem 3 Mk2 come up on eBay for anything between £100 to £500, so I’ll keep my eye out for one at a reasonable price (£150ish seems about right).

Edit: And I also believe the above configuration would require my Beolab Penta to be connected to the BC3, rather that to the BS4 as they are now.

[CharlieWednesday]

Thanks – yes I was thinking the same, I juts wondered if B&O would have thought of that, and made them able to recognise each other better.

Does anyone have any advice of the alternatives to using a Beosystem 3 – using HDMI to DVI-I/YPBPR/SCART adapters?

[CharlieWednesday]

Before I go spendign money on any useless adapters or cables, I’m hopign for some advice here.

I want to take the Beovision 8-40 out of my office and replace it with the Beovision 7-32 I had stored away unused for a while.  I know it’s older, but it looks so good, and I have just managed to get hold of a motorised stand for it too.

Of course the BV7-32 has no HDMI inputs.  The nearest it has in a DVI-I, so I bought a cheap HDMI-DVI-I adapter from Amazon to test it, and connected my Google TV device to it.  I then set AV2 up as ‘PC’ in the connections menu, and switched the HDTV option to ‘DVI-I’

I got a picture from my Google TV but it was poor, and had lines across.  I unplugged the adapter, plugged it back in, and the picture disappeared completely – it’s a cheap adapter I bought just to test it, so probably juts poor quality.

So, this is what I want to connect to my Bv7:

• Google TV
• Nintendo Switch
• Nintendo Wii U

All of these would normally be connected via HDMI, but as the BV7 has no HDMI inputs, I am not sure what to do!

I did wonder if the best option would be the Beosystem 3 Mk2, as that has 2 DVI-I outputs and 4 HDMI inputs, but I am not sure if a Beosystem 3 and a Beovision 7 will play well together?  Would they both be trying to respond to the same Beo4 commands?

Another option is to buy a better quality HDMI to DVI-I adapter, but one that also has audio connection, as I had forgotten – DVI-I doesn’t carry audio!

I also see that HDMI to YPBPR, and also HDMI to SCART adapters are available, but I am assuming they would not give me a 720p input.

Any advice would be much appreciated.  The BV7 TV may be nearly 20 years old but it still looks great, and it would be a shame not to make good use of it.

 

[CharlieWednesday]

Yes, I see they’ve updated their website recently which gives a bit more info on the ML Streamer, and I definitely want one of those!  It will make a fine replacement for my WIIM Pro, when it’s available.

[CharlieWednesday]

That’s very kind, but I have decided I’ll have to let the AV9000 go – it is beyond my ability to repair.  I have listed it on eBay for parts and have actually had a surprising amount of interest!

Thanks for the kind offer though.

[CharlieWednesday]

Ah that’s interesting, thanks.  The ML Gateway can send commands to link room products, and I do also have a 1614 converter, so your ‘use case 7’ could work (assuming I can get a BM4500 at a reasonable price!).

Such a shame that B&O abandoned Beogram compatibility on their later products though.  I saw a video where Hall Audio suggested they had considered developing a phono stage that uses Datalink and connects via ML, for use with later Beosound devices such as my BS4.  I sincerely hope they do!

[CharlieWednesday]

Yes, the ML Gateway does allow various commands, to different devices, from the same macro, so that part would be achievable.

I didn’t realise that I could not have a Beomaster 5500 (in Opt 0) and also a Beosound 4 (in Opt 1) in the same ML network.  Getting a 4500 and setting it up as a link room would perhaps be the only solution then.

Instead of connecting an output from the Beomaster to the Aux input of the Beosound, I was wondering if I could connect my Beolab speakers to the BV8 instead, and set it up with the BV8 in Opt 2 and the BS4 in Opt 0 (which is what the Beolink handbook seems to suggest if you want your speakers connected from the TV).

But: if I did then also connect a Beomaster via my 1611, that would also need to be in Opt 0, so I’m guessing that wouldn’t work, as the two audio masters would both be in Opt 0.  The Beolink handbook (v2.1) gives lots of examples of setups with more than one video master, but none with more than one audio master.

Madskp wrote:

if you can find a Beomaster 4500 with SW version 1.6 as this can be setup as a link room

SW version 1.6 specifically, or SW version 1.6 or later?  How do you find out the software version on these?

 

[CharlieWednesday]

This may interest you.  I have recently been experimenting with an ML Gateway I got hold of a while ago, and I read on the old support site that it will work with a Beolink Converter 1611, with this caveat given:

BeoLink Converter can be used with compatible video master and old audio master in Option 2-0

So I set my BV8 to Opt 2, then connected my 1611 converter into the same ML network (which also has the ML Gateway), disconnected my BS4 and connected my BC8500 and BG8500.  Then I set my BC8500 to Opt 0.  I was then able to add the 1611 to the ML Gateway’s devices – it was recognised.

I then created a macro in the ML Gateway, asking it to send the Phono/N.Radio command to my BV8 if I hit the LIGHT button on my Beo4.  It worked! The BC8500 comes on in Phono, the BG8500 starts playing.  The sound comes from the BV8 speakers, but at least it works.

I could only get it to start the turntable with that command – I have so far been unable to find a way of getting a macro command that will move forward or back on the BG8500, but it’s a start.

I’m wondering if I might be able to find a way of making this work with my current obsession of getting my Beo4 to control my BG3000, which is connected to my BS4.  I’m wondering if I could get a cheap BM5500 (in place of the BC8500 which needs to go back to the room it belongs in!), and somehow, with some clever wiring and link settings, use the LIGHT commands on my Beo4 to trigger macros in the ML Gateway that will start my BG3500, playing through the speakers connected to my BS4.  That’s the dream.

 

[CharlieWednesday]

I’ve been able to have a bit of a play around with it now.  At one point the old behaviour returned and it wouldn’t power back on, but I tried it again a few minutes later and it came on.  Every time I have tried it since then, it powers on OK.

I have connected my old Nintendo GameCube to the SCART 2 socket and the picture quality is in fact very good, considering its age.  Sound from the built-in centre speaker is good, and I also connected my BL 6000s to the speaker outputs then switched those on to test that too, and it all sounded good.

The video recorder is the problem though – what is already on the tape plays OK (not great, but OK), but I tried to record something else and the picture rolls badly.  I tried to adjust the tracking but it didn’t improve.  Add to that the fact that the tape won’t eject… to be expected from a VCR that hasn’t been used for at least 10 years though, I suppose.

The thing I love the most is the motorised stand.  My BV8 doesn’t allow for one, and I never had one for my old BV7 either.  The fact that I can get it to ‘fold itself away’ into the corner and then turn to point right at me when I switch it on – childish I know, but I love that!

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