No 5.1 Surround from HDMI

Problem - I only get "stereo" two channel sound when playing a DVD (with Dolby) on my computer. The computer is connected to a audio receiver that's set up for surround sound. Video and audio signals are transmitted from the PC via the HDMI connetor on the video/tuner card.
Computer - Compaq SR7510F
Video/Tuner - ATI All in Wonder HD
Connected to Onkyo TX-SR604 via HDMI cable from Video/Tuner card. The Onkyo receiver has speakers connected for 5.1 surround. Video signals are passed through the receiver to a flat panel monitor
Sound - onboard Realtek
According to the specifications for the SR5710F it is supposed to support 6-speaker sound. However the HDMI sound driver only allows me to select 'stereo'. The is a box the select "surround" but the box is 'grayed' out.
When I play the same DVD using a stand-alone Phillips DVD player, connected to the Onkyo receiver with the same HDMI cable, I get Dolby on the receiver. That means its not a problem with the receiver, so it must have something to do either with 1) the onboard Realtek sound 2) the HDMI driver, or 3) the HDMI connection on the video/tuner card.
I've checked at the Realtek website and they list a newer driver for Vista (32 bit), but when I use Device Manager to update the driver, it says that its the most current. I don't know that the driver is the problem, so I'm reluctant to trying it for the heck of it.
I've tried the latest Catalyst 9.1 drivers for the ATI All in Wonder card, but that didn't help either.
Any idea?
This question was solved.
View Solution.

Problem - I have the same problem as the original poster but have slightly different hardware. I only get "stereo" two channel sound when playing a DVD (with Dolby) on my computer. The computer is connected to an audio receiver that is set up for surround sound. Video and audio signals are transmitted from the PC via the HDMI connector on the video card. The receiver shows that it is only getting a Dolby 2.0 signal from the PC.
Computer - HP Pavilion m9400t
OS - Vista 64
Sound - Onboard Realtek 7.1 High Definition Audio (ALC 888S)
Video - Nvidia GeForce 9500GS with HDMI output
Connected to Onkyo TX-SR706 Receiver via HDMI cable from video card. The Onkyo receiver has speakers connected for 5.1 surround. Video signals are passed through the receiver via HDMI to a LCD TV.
On the PC I have the sound playback device set to "Realtek HDMI Output". When I click on "Configure" I only see a choice for "Stereo" in the speaker setup window. There is no choice to select "5.1 Surround".
I've done an extensive Google search and found this is a widespread problem, but I haven't found a solution yet.
It seems that problem is with 1) the onboard Realtek sound driver or 2) the Nvidia Video driver not handling the HDMI correctly.
I've downloaded the latest audio and video card drivers, and the newest Realtek High Definition Audio Codecs from the Realtek site, but still the only HMDI audio output choice on the PC is "stereo".
Any help or suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

Similar Messages

Sound disappeared from HDMI. MSI message in dmesg.

I use a laptop with slim/xmonad and frequently plug it into my TV and found this to automate the process off setting sound and picture when i plug it in.
Tested it out and seemed to work fine, and now 2 days later, I get no sound from HDMI. PC speaker and headphones work fine and with other PC sound works over HDMI.
I checked and it does change asound.conf when I insert HDMI cable. I don't use a .asoundrc.conf for this user.
/etc/asound.conf
pcm "hw:0,3"
But I still get no sound from system or with:
speaker-test -c 2 -D plughw:0,3
I have checked alsamixer if any channels are muted and also manually restarted alsa with:
systemctl restart alsa-restore
Some info:
lspci | grep -i audio
00:1b.0 Audio device: Intel Corporation 5 Series/3400 Series Chipset High Definition Audio (rev 05)
aplay -l
**** List of PLAYBACK Hardware Devices ****
card 0: Intel [HDA Intel], device 0: ALC270 Analog [ALC270 Analog]
Subdevices: 0/1
Subdevice #0: subdevice #0
card 0: Intel [HDA Intel], device 3: HDMI 0 [HDMI 0]
Subdevices: 1/1
Subdevice #0: subdevice #0
aplay -L
null
Discard all samples (playback) or generate zero samples (capture)
pulse
PulseAudio Sound Server
sysdefault:CARD=Intel
HDA Intel, ALC270 Analog
Default Audio Device
front:CARD=Intel,DEV=0
HDA Intel, ALC270 Analog
Front speakers
surround40:CARD=Intel,DEV=0
HDA Intel, ALC270 Analog
4.0 Surround output to Front and Rear speakers
surround41:CARD=Intel,DEV=0
HDA Intel, ALC270 Analog
4.1 Surround output to Front, Rear and Subwoofer speakers
surround50:CARD=Intel,DEV=0
HDA Intel, ALC270 Analog
5.0 Surround output to Front, Center and Rear speakers
surround51:CARD=Intel,DEV=0
HDA Intel, ALC270 Analog
5.1 Surround output to Front, Center, Rear and Subwoofer speakers
surround71:CARD=Intel,DEV=0
HDA Intel, ALC270 Analog
7.1 Surround output to Front, Center, Side, Rear and Woofer speakers
hdmi:CARD=Intel,DEV=0
HDA Intel, HDMI 0
HDMI Audio Output
lsmod | grep snd
snd_hda_codec_hdmi 24487 1
snd_hda_codec_realtek 61193 1
snd_hda_intel 26180 2
snd_hda_codec 98033 3 snd_hda_codec_realtek,snd_hda_codec_hdmi,snd_hda_intel
snd_hwdep 6300 1 snd_hda_codec
snd_pcm 75167 4 snd_hda_codec_hdmi,snd_hda_codec,snd_hda_intel
snd_page_alloc 7217 2 snd_pcm,snd_hda_intel
snd_timer 18934 2 snd_pcm
snd 59989 9 snd_hda_codec_realtek,snd_hwdep,snd_timer,snd_hda_codec_hdmi,snd_pcm,snd_hda_codec,snd_hda_intel
soundcore 5442 1 snd
I'm not to familiar with how things should look but shouldn't HDA Intel, ALC270 Analog be along in:
aplay -L
hdmi:CARD=Intel,DEV=0
HDA Intel, HDMI 0
HDMI Audio Output
Also a curious message in dmesg, I'm not using anything from MSI asfar as I know.
dmesg | grep snd
[ 4.922456] snd_hda_intel 0000:00:1b.0: irq 45 for MSI/MSI-X

I was having the same problem. Here's what worked for me:
Remove the blueray disc from the player.
Reboot the laptop.
Turn on the TV and select it's HDMI input.
Connect the HDMI cable from the TV to the laptop.
The display should transfer to the TV (laptop goes black)
Open the Mediasmart player.
Select DVD
Open "Settings" (the gear symbol)
Click "Audio" tab
Select "HDMI passthrough" and apply.
NOW, put the blueray disc into the drive.
Give it some time to start on it's own.
(Note; If you try to adjust the "settings" with a disc in the drive, or without having the HDMI cable attached, the "HDMI passthrough" will not be shown as an option.)
Now that I follow this procedure, I haven't had any further trouble. The TV plays the audio, not the laptop, and I can use my home theater sound system by taking the "audio out" from the TV and inputting it into my decoder (and turn the TV volume all the way down).
I hope this helps. I was pulling out my hair till I discovered this. Let us know if it works for you.
Message Edited by hd1 on 08-25-2009 09:39 AM

I have a 1st generaltion apple tv which was recently changed from HDMI to component cables to connect to TV; now it will not remember my server password or my apple ID information which has to be re-entered everytime I use apple tv; how can I fix this

I have a first generation apple TV. recently I have rto change from HDMI input to my TV to a component imput. Now my apple tv will not rememebr my sertver password or apple ID which I have to re-enter everytime I use Apple tv which is annoying; how can I fix this?

Changing the video connection has nothing to do with the passwords.
Are you certain it is a 1st Gen ATV?

I need to have audio out from HDMI and headphone jack simultaneously

I need to have audio out from HDMI and headphone jack simultaneously.
I seem to be able to select one or the other, but not both ? !
Thanks

No. You can only use one sound output:
Why can't I select HDMI audio on my Mac mini?
If you connect an HDMI display or television to a Mac mini (Mid 2010 or later), you might not be able to select the HDMI audio device (in System Preferences > Sound > Output). This can happen if you also have headphones plugged in to the computer. Unplug the headphones to be able to select HDMI audio.
Mac computers: Frequently asked questions about using HDMI

Split audio from hdmi

Hi there,
I'd like to replace my first gen Apple TV with a new one.
The problem is the lack of analog audio outputs.
Currently I connect to my tv with hdmi and to my hifi with phono plugs.
The new Apple TV only has hdmi and digital audio out which my hifi doesn't ....
Is there a way I can split the audio out of the hdmi so I can play iTunes through the hifi with the TV switched off?
Cheers Lizardpoint

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DAC (Example Only - Not a recommendation or suggestion that this is suitable in your circumstances)

My tv does not have hdmi, it has componet. Is there an adapter for apple tv to go from hdmi to componet?

my tv does not have hdmi, it has componet. Is there an adapter for apple tv to go from hdmi to componet?

It could be that it's too old. I have the same problem. Apple has a HDMI to DVI adapter, if you have a DVI input, which is how I connect my Apple TV. But if not here's an adapter for you.
http://www.google.com/m/products/catalog?q=hdmi+to+component&oe=UTF-8&hl=en&clie nt=safari&um=1&ie=UTF-8&tbm=shop&cid=17067353230121565849&sa=X&ei=mSIKT_zoIY3egg eCwuD1Dw&ved=0CDAQ8wIwAA

I have a Compaq Presario CQ62-213AX but i can't get 5.1 surround over HDMI. How can i get this?

My Compaq Presario CQ62-213AX should be able to output 5.1 surround over HDMI but in 'supported formats' only stereo is listed.
This computer has a ATI Mobility Radeon™ HD 5430 and according to the specs,
http://www.amd.com/us/products/notebook/graphics/ati-mobility-hd-5400/Pages/hd-5430-specs.aspx
and here...
"A special feature of the HD 5000 series is its ability to transmit HD audio formats (like Dolby True HD or DTS HD Master Audio) with up to 8 channels and 192 KHz / 24 Bit over HDMI 1.3a."
http://www.notebookcheck.net/ATI-Mobility-Radeon-HD-5430.23702.0.html
it should work.
My other HP laptop (DV7) is doing this fine so my system setup is OK.
I have tried a full factory reset and have fully updated my system but it still doesn't work.
Please tell me what i need to do to get it to work.
Thanks,
Tina.

I can try-dunno how much help I'll be, though
go here for Realtek drivers for surround sound
http://www.realtek.com.tw/products/productsView.aspx?Langid=1&PFid=37&Level=5&Co nn=4&ProdID=144
try this: go to Windows Sound, then playback devices, then click on speakers icon (should have realtek as default). Click on that, and click configure
if realtek has a sound manager, try clicking on that, and a config dialog might appear
sorry can't be much more help than that
JB

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Manumanu, what is the make/model of your computer and monitor? With this information, we can review the specs of them.
Signature:
HP TouchPad - 1.2 GHz; 1 GB memory; 32 GB storage; WebOS/CyanogenMod 11(Kit Kat)
HP 10 Plus; Android-Kit Kat; 1.0 GHz Allwinner A31 ARM Cortex A7 Quad Core Processor ; 2GB RAM Memory Long: 2 GB DDR3L SDRAM (1600MHz); 16GB disable eMMC 16GB v4.51
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HP Photosmart 7520 AIO
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MBP Retina: Poor image quality from hdmi output

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I've now tested with the following cables/adapters between my rMBP -> Dell U2410:
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None of them work. Some people are reporting *minor* differences when switching from HDMI to DVI, but I think that's mainly psychological persuasion. In my experience nothing helps - fonts are still blurry, bad image quality. I've taken still photos with a Cannon DSLR to compare the pixels - no difference.
Someone also reported on other threads that lowering the Dell U2410's sharpness "solves" the problem, I find this to be untrue and a "fool's solution". Fonts do look sharper, but everything else looks horrible.
My understanding is that this is related to rMBP and/or Mountain Lion external display drivers. Hopefully this can be addressed with a software update. I really hope Apple is aware of this issue (many have filed bug reports).
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Mac mini 2014 won't do 5.1 surround sound from HDMI port

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Hello mrbraindead,
Welcome to the HP Forums, I hope you enjoy your experience! To help you get the most out of the HP Forums I would like to direct your attention to the HP Forums Guide First Time Here? Learn How to Post and More.
I understand you are having problems with your VLC audio since updating to Windows 8.1. I am providing you with a link to a thread I found on en.Kioskea.net titled VLC video player suddenly has no sound. There are numerous solutions provided here which is why I am providing you with the link. I would review the posters solutions and ensure that you have checked all the suggestions they make.
Please re-post if you require additional support. Thank you for posting on the HP Forums. Have a great day!
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NO surround Sound from HDMI

Hello:
I have an old HP G70 latop running Vista 32 bit. I have it hooked up to my system through HDMI to my Yamaha receiver. the video display is stunning but I am only getting 2 channel stereo adio. This reciever decodes surround sound even if there isnt any coming in...I know this because thet last computer was hooked up with audio only through the headphone jack and it worked great. I have surround sound through any other format so it is not he reciever. I have read through many posts but have not been able to solve the issue...here is what I have tried:
made sure the playback sound check is on HDMI
made sure it had dolby and DTS as supportede formats and tried every different sample rate
made sure 5.1 is checked
even did the test and got sound out of all individual speakers
tried other settings as well, quad, stereo, 7.1
tried updating driver but it says there are no updates
tried forcing an install of the realtek driver that is reference many times...wouldnt accept it.
tried deleting the driver from device mgr and reinstalling
tried different media players, windows media center, vlc and media player classic
in short...I've tried!!
the only thing I cant seem to accomplish: i see reference to check the "SPDIF" box but theat does not seem to be visable in the driver I have.
any thoughts??

Hi
Please find the link given below might help to fix your issue.
Resolving HDMI Display and Sound Issues
Let us know how it goes!
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I want my probook 4320s to play 5.1 surround from the hdmi output to my a\v reciever

I want to play dolby digital 5.1 sound from my computers hdmi to my a\v reciever. Is it possible with my HP probook 4320s?

Not quite the same problem but my speaker dock no longer charges iPad1 and iPhone4 since upgrading to iOS5.1 but was playing and charging only the day before, extremely annoying as I have only had the dock about 3 weeks now.
I haven't tried my iPad3 yet, but will assume that it will do the same

5.1 Surround over HDMI: Solve one problem, another rises up.

UPDATE 1: After a good night's sleep, and after doing a bit more reading on alsa-project.org (big props to this page), I managed to get a much better ~/.asoundrc together. It solves all my problems, and I can do everything I need. I've preserved the post below in case anyone else runs into these issues, and I'll post my solution as a response to this post.
UPDATE 2: Looks like I celebrated too early. Got more strange problems. Screw it, I'm going back to PulseAudio. I just wrote a wrapper script to kill and restart Pulse for applications that really, really need ALSA.
Okay. I've almost completely worn out my fingers trying to get this working. I feel like I'm playing Whack-a-Mole. This is a bit of a lengthy post, but I'll try my best to describe every problem I've encountered in as much detail as I can, followed by the solutions I found, followed by the problems each solution brought with it. By going through everything this way, mole by mole, hopefully it'll be easy to follow along and help me come to a universally working solution.
Summarized Version of Problems:
5.1 surround works only on specific applications which are robust enough to allow me to manually specify audio output options, and only if ALSA isn't configured at all
once I've configured ALSA, sound works on every application, but it's all downmixed to 2.0 stereo from this point on
installing PulseAudio lets me choose 5.1 surround as a default, but brings with it its own problems and drawbacks, namely the lack of passthrough support for encoded streams
Long-Winded Version:
I have my computer connected over HDMI to an AVR with a 5.1 surround speaker system. At first, I didn't have anything configured in ~/.asoundrc (or its global equivalent, /etc/asound.conf). Neither file existed, so everything was running off defaults. I got the name and device number of my card from aplay, ran speaker-test and played a six-channel test file in mplayer.
$ aplay -l
**** List of PLAYBACK Hardware Devices ****
card 0: HDMI [HDA Intel HDMI], device 3: HDMI 0 [HDMI 0]
Subdevices: 1/1
Subdevice #0: subdevice #0
$ aplay -L
null
Discard all samples (playback) or generate zero samples (capture)
pulse
PulseAudio Sound Server
hdmi:CARD=HDMI,DEV=0
HDA Intel HDMI, HDMI 0
HDMI Audio Output
$ speaker-test -Dhdmi -c6
speaker-test 1.0.28
Playback device is hdmi
Stream parameters are 48000Hz, S16_LE, 6 channels
Using 16 octaves of pink noise
Rate set to 48000Hz (requested 48000Hz)
Buffer size range from 64 to 349504
Period size range from 32 to 174752
Using max buffer size 349504
Periods = 4
was set period_size = 174752
was set buffer_size = 349504
0 - Front Left
4 - Front Center
1 - Front Right
3 - Rear Right
2 - Rear Left
5 - LFE
Time per period = 21.868405
$ mplayer -ao alsa:device=hdmi -channels 6 Nums_5dot1_24_48000.wav
MPlayer SVN-r37224 (C) 2000-2014 MPlayer Team
210 audio & 441 video codecs
mplayer: could not connect to socket
mplayer: No such file or directory
Failed to open LIRC support. You will not be able to use your remote control.
Playing Nums_5dot1_24_48000.wav.
libavformat version 55.33.100 (internal)
Audio only file format detected.
Load subtitles in ./
==========================================================================
Opening audio decoder: [pcm] Uncompressed PCM audio decoder
AUDIO: 48000 Hz, 6 ch, s24le, 6912.0 kbit/100.00% (ratio: 864000->864000)
Selected audio codec: [pcm] afm: pcm (Uncompressed PCM)
==========================================================================
[AO_ALSA] Format s24le is not supported by hardware, trying default.
AO: [alsa] 48000Hz 6ch s16le (2 bytes per sample)
Video: no video
Starting playback...
A: 8.6 (08.5) of 9.0 (09.0) 0.3%
Exiting... (End of file)
Everything seemed well, all six channels played from the correct location on both tests, but I did realize that the device number of the card was 3, not 0. A lot of applications that aren't as configurable expect the default card/device to be set properly, and audio won't work in those applications without specifying that in ALSA's configuration. Knowing this, I set the following in my ~/.asoundrc:
pcm.!default {
type hw
card HDMI
device 3
ctl.!default {
type hw
card HDMI
device 3
This, however, ended up causing more problems. Oh, it made sound work on everything by default after that, but only for one application at a time! That surpised me, as I thought ALSA's big advantage over OSS is that it can multitask. Running the speaker-test the way I did earlier turned out fine, but when I tried playing that test file in mplayer, things got weird again. Here's the output from mplayer:
$ mplayer -ao alsa -channels 6 Nums_5dot1_24_48000.wav
MPlayer SVN-r37224 (C) 2000-2014 MPlayer Team
210 audio & 441 video codecs
mplayer: could not connect to socket
mplayer: No such file or directory
Failed to open LIRC support. You will not be able to use your remote control.
Playing Nums_5dot1_24_48000.wav.
libavformat version 55.33.100 (internal)
Audio only file format detected.
Load subtitles in ./
==========================================================================
Opening audio decoder: [pcm] Uncompressed PCM audio decoder
AUDIO: 48000 Hz, 6 ch, s24le, 6912.0 kbit/100.00% (ratio: 864000->864000)
Selected audio codec: [pcm] afm: pcm (Uncompressed PCM)
==========================================================================
[AO_ALSA] alsa-lib: pcm_hw.c:1557:(snd_pcm_hw_open) open '/dev/snd/pcmC0D0p' failed (-2): No such file or directory
[AO_ALSA] Playback open error: No such file or directory
Failed to initialize audio driver 'alsa'
Could not open/initialize audio device -> no sound.
Audio: no sound
Video: no video
Exiting... (End of file)
Why the hell is it looking for pcmC0D0p? It should be looking at pcmC0D3p. Did it not get the memo from ~/.asoundrc? Urgh.
I've also tried '-af channels=6' in place of '-channels 6' but the same result happened. It does the same thing without the '-ao alsa' option, I just specified it to trim down the output, so that I wouldn't be copying and pasting all kinds of other errors about not finding OSS or JACK or other things I don't have installed.
If I symlink /dev/snd/pcmC0D0p to /dev/snd/pcmC0D3p, it'll fix the problem, but that feels like one ugly kludge. I'd have to do it again over and over every time I reboot, too.
Not sure if this would help matters or not, but if anyone knows how to change my card's device number from 3 to 0, I'd like to try that as well, but I'm not sure how to do that sort of thing. I'm just guessing it might be worth trying, since everything looks for card0/device0 by default, and that kludge I tried earlier did have an effect, so maybe if we can just switch those device numbers with each other, everything would work smoothly without having to force anything through ALSA's configuration at all. I believe card0/device0 belongs to the Host Bridge... is there a way to have them trade their device numbers for one another's in a safe manner?
I can also get it to play if I specify the device like I did in my first test, using '-ao alsa:device=hdmi', but that defeats the purpose of getting good defaults set if I still have to set everything by hand before I play something. If I try playing the test file without any options, like so:
$ mplayer Nums_5dot1_24_48000.wav
... it will play, but only in two-channel stereo, and the parts that should happen in the center, rear and LFE channels get downmixed into the left and right channels.
I can get it to work in aplay, though! All six channels! Not that I plan on using this as my primary multimedia software.
$ aplay -c6 Nums_5dot1_24_48000.wav
The only solution I found so far that allows me to have 5.1 audio by default is to install the PulseAudio server, which is able to find a sink/source named 'alsa_output.pci-0000_00_03.0.hdmi-surround' and lets me choose that as my default. Only problem with this is that PulseAudio has its own problems.
Aside from the crackling sound issues in some Wine games, Pulse also has a much bigger drawback -- a complete lack of passthrough support, meaning I can't use encoded streams such as Dolby DTS and TrueHD with PulseAudio. I have a Harman/Kardon AVR and I'd like to get my money's worth out of it, so I'd really like to figure out a solution in ALSA without using Pulse at all.
Does anyone know how I can have my cake and eat it, too? I just need 5.1 surround, by default, in ALSA without PulseAudio.
HUGE thanks to anyone who tries to help here. This is really making me sad and frustrated, I've been using Arch for quite a while now and this is the first real big stumper I've come across that forced me to post a thread. Otherwise I've been having a wonderful time.
Edited because I tried something different that removed *some* issues, but the above problems still remain.
Last edited by Rybelda (2014-10-27 22:10:24)

Well, I thought I fixed it doing this...
pcm.!default {
type plug
slave.pcm "dmixer"
pcm.dmixer {
type dmix
ipc_key 1138
ipc_key_add_uid true
slave {
pcm "hw:0,3"
format S32_LE
channels 8
rate 192000
period_size 9600
buffer_size 38400
... but then realized it strangely makes applications that run at 640x480 have no sound at all. No idea why the video resolution is screwing up the sound, but that's what's happening, because if I set the resolution any higher, the sound comes back.
I'm going back to PulseAudio, I feel like ALSA is mocking me. I wrote a wrapper script for the few times where pure, Pulse-less ALSA will be necessary for me. Here it is, in case it helps anyone else. I've tested it with XBMC, it turns off Pulse and allows ALSA to pass through encoded streams unhindered. It also works with some Wine applications that have scratchy audio glitches in Pulse.
#!/bin/bash
echo "autospawn = no" > $HOME/.config/pulse/client.conf
pulseaudio --kill &> /dev/null
"$*"
rm -f $HOME/.config/pulse/client.conf
pulseaudio --start &> /dev/null
I'm removing the SOLVED tag because technically I didn't resolve any of my original issues, I more or less gave up on what I wanted to do and found another way to satisfy my needs, but it still isn't as elegant as I had hoped for. In any case, I'm done with this issue for now and the forseeable near-future, but if anyone has anything further to add, feel free.
Last edited by Rybelda (2014-10-27 22:32:55)

ATV2 sound loss from HDMI, Optical or both!

Hi, Sometimes (and this is the rustrating bit), but not always the sound from my ATV2 will die. I have it connected to the TV via HDMI and also to a surround sound system via an optical cable.
I've played around with the audio setting in the ATV menu (16 bit, Auto, Dolby on/off/auto) etc and the same still happens. I have some movies I've watched a couple of times and the first time around they can play with DD 5:1 sound and the next time will be stereo only.
I've tried various different cables and all end up with the same results, is this and ATV problem? It just gets very annoying when you get to 15 minutes from the end of a film and the surround sound dies, then fingers crossed it *might* work through the TV sound to finish the movie off.
Thanks in advance.

No one??

Delay difference on audio from HDMI vs Phono

Hi All
I'd like to use my ATV to have sound output from television but also from stereo amplifier at the same time. I have the TV connected via HDMI and the stereo via phono but there is a slight time delay on one of the outputs and the audio sounds terrible.
If I use the TV on it's own or the stereo amp on it's own the audio is fantastic.
Can anyone help?

Processing video/audio on a TV can introduce a delay fo several to tens of msec. Mainly it's the video processing that causes delay.
For most TVs internal audio/sound output the manufacturer will have ensured things are in sync.
The problem arises when you have a display and a separate sound generating system - analogue stereo audio, unless processed at the amp eg DLP or some other pseudo surround, is just amplified and heard almost instantly. Processing of digital audio streams eg via optical or co-axial, might introduce a slight delay but very little compared to image processing as for video consecutive frames are often analysed before outputting the first. Once there's a significant picture/external audio delay you might notice lip sync issues for video, and if comparing Tv and separate audio there'll be a delay.
Even if both are in sync if playing in different rooms you may get delay when listening simply due to the slow speed of sound.
AC

No 5.1 Surround from HDMI

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