ATI Radeon HD 4600 & 4800 series support 7.1 channel HDMI audio! - Page 94

Interesting. I was coming here to ask basically the same question. So, if I have a video file with an HD audio codec, do I understand correctly that I can not configure VLC or any other player to decode that audio and send it out as multichannel PCM over HDMI to my receiver (capable of receiving 8ch PCM audio)?

AMD's website says that the 4850HD is capable of sending 8 ch PCM audio, so is this a limitation of VLC or other media players?

VLC cannot decode the HD audio codecs AFAIK. ffdshow will decode TrueHD but not DTS-MA/HD. You will be limited to DTS Core only. ffdshow can be used in any DirectShow player (VLC is not a DirectShow player).

Thanks for the responses.

Assuming I get a directshow player up and running with ffdshow, and for the sake of conversation lets say WMP (which I believe is a directshow player but correct me if I'm wrong), how would I go about configuring it, or ffdshow, to decode the HD codec before sending the PCM signal to my receiver?

Just bumping in the hopes you guys will see the thread again.

Now I feel like a dumba$$.

Thanks, Rene. I'll give it a shot later.

Hi... I just wanted to know if I should install realtek audio drivers instead of the ATI ones??? And which one???

I have windows 7 x86 and a HD 4350

At the beginning it used to be that way. Is it still?

I just use the ones that come bundled with ATI CCC now. I used to use Realtek, but I had issues with it and my audio works flawlessly now without it (windows 7 x64).

ReneTHX, or anyone else, I'm still having a bit of trouble configuring MPC to decode the HD audio streams in order to send LPCM over HDMI. Is there any chance you could help me understand what options need to be en/disabled in order to accomplish this?

I have FFDSHOW installed, but I purchased CoreAVC recently and installed Haali, so I don't believe it's actually being used. I could be wrong though.

Thanks for the help in advance. If you need more info, let me know and I'll get you what you need.

I've included screenshots of Graph Studio and AC3 Filters config tab. I realized after running graph studio that AC3 Filter was the codec engine being used.

I also have FFDSHOW installed, as this was all part of a Klite 64 bit install package.

Any more info you need, please let me know. Sorry in advance if I've missed anything.

If you are using 32 bit MPC-HC, you need the 32 bit ffdshow. Also, on the System tab of AC3Filter, make sure it's set to "Prefer other decoder".

Thanks Vladd. I'm actually using 64 bit MPC. I also downloaded the 64 bit Klite where I got ffdshow...I think

I'll double check to make sure I'm using 64 bit FFDShow first. Hopefully I'll get this resolved soon.

renethx,

I know this is an old thread, but I bought a SAPPHIRE HD4670 R graphics card a while back, at your advice in this thread, so I am hoping that you can tell me the current state of digital audio playback via HDMI. I am recording ATSC TV via SageTV, and it works fine other than the fact that my Denon AVR never sees anything better than 2-ch Stereo (PCM) output from the HTPC.

Can this card send multi-channel digital formats via HDMI, or not? If so, what could I be missing?

Thanks,
-Mark

Having just battled this myself after purchasing a 5670 I would say make absolutely certain that the input on your Denon is set to the proper "auto" mode. If the receiver is set to PCM, it's not going to receive anything other than that. So if your PC is trying to feed it Dolby Digital, nothing will come through at all.

I certainly do appreciate what you're saying, because even though I've had it for quite a while, I still don't feel like I have mastered my Denon 4308ci's interface. With that said, I believe that it is, in fact, in "auto" mode. For example, if I swap the HDMI cable to my PS3 (without changing the input on the Denon), then I get all kinds of multi-channel formats.

Although I have to admit that when I first swapped it, the Blu-ray disc was sitting at the menu screen for Iron Man 2, and that was showing as Dolby Digital two-channel...it was not until I started the movie that the receiver showed 5.1 channel DTS. That made me wonder if something on either the receiver or the HTPC was configured to give priority to PCM and/or 2-channel audio...(?)

It would still be great to know if my SAPPHIRE ATI HD4670 R can actually output multi-channel audio via HDMI...I read elsewhere in this forum that it cannot...at least, not with the stock drivers. I really am hoping that after this amount of time, someone has worked out a solution...or at least an answer to if it can work.

I just replaced a Radeon HD 4850, so I know for certain that it can and does bitstream Dolby Digital and DTS over HDMI. It does NOT bitstream HD audio (TrueHD, DTS-HD). You need a Radeon HD 5xxx series to do HD audio. If you're only trying to get DD and DTS, you have everything you need.

It seems to me most DVDs menu screen plays a DD 2.0 track, then when the movie starts it will play an actual 5.1 audio track, so that's normal.

I have a Denon AVR-3806, and to get mine working properly I had to make sure the input was set to "auto" mode, and also that "Auto Surround Mode" was enabled for the audio, otherwise the PC was only outputting stereo. Make sure the PC is configured to use 5.1 speakers (on Win7 for examle, right-click the speaker icon and go to Playback Devices, then right-click HDMI Audio and do Configure Speakers. Set to 5.1 and make sure the test tones come out properly. If that works, you should be good. Then it's just a matter of using software to test the passthrough. I might suggest PowerDVD or XBMC (free).

You know, I thought that was the case, but it's been a while, and this is the first time that I've actually tried to make multi-channel work, so it was giving me doubts.



Well, I've seen that before too, but I typically don't pay all that much attention to the audio mode when not actually playing a movie, so as I was trying to prove to myself that the AVR was doing what it was supposed to be doing, it was just another point of doubt.



I have PowerDVD, but I hate to admit that I have never actually used it. It has always seemed to have some "issue" when I have tried to use it, so I always wind up using my PS3 instead. It's funny...I was a computer support guy for many years, but somehow, when I get ready to watch a movie, I don't seem to have much patience for the idiosyncrasies of my HTPC.

So assuming that I can make PowerDVD work, what would I be looking for...a muti-channel audio indication on the AV receiver when playing a disc?

I'm in the exact same boat with you. I'm an IT consultant so I have less and less patience these days when it comes to tinkering with my own toys. That also means that I'm in the habit of thinking it's something "I'm" doing wrong versus a bug in the software, which means research and research. Talk about a time sink. I spent probably the last solid week getting my new HTPC up and running and I seriously couldn't be happier right now. I've gotten nearly every single kink worked out. I also know exactly what to look for to know that everything is working properly. I didn't have bitstreaming working properly before, and I can hear the difference. It's worth it.

You didn't mention what version of PowerDVD you're using. I'm using version 10 right now, and not too familiar with previous versions. For 10 you would go into Settings and then the Audio section. There it has 2 settings - 1 tells it to use HDMI output, the other tells it not to decode and just passthrough the audio to the receiver. I'd recommend downloading XBMC because it pretty much just works out of the box. Just have to ensure that HDMI is selected for audio output, then use some type of test file (here's the one I used - http://slap.gotdns.org/Test_AC3.zip) to make sure that it's sending across DD/DTS properly. The trick is to make sure your receiver is detecting that it's DD/DTS. If it just says "Multi Channel In" then it's probably just getting PCM. If the input mode really is set to "auto" then it should say so on the screen.

It's probably also worth mentioning that you should be using the DVI->HDMI dongle that came with your video card. That's the only dongle that will pass audio over the DVI/HDMI.

Yeah, I guess that's the hazard of being in a support role for a long time...at some point it starts to feel like work. I'm guilty of that "time sink" activity as well. But I so envy the concept of everything working properly!


Apparently I have version 7.3 "BD Edition". Every time I click on something I see a nag to upgrade to PowerDVD 10 to get Blu-ray and HD, so maybe it is not intended to actually be fully functional.


I downloaded XBMC, so if I can't get PowerDVD to work pretty fast, I'll give that one a try. I downloaded the test file you linked and hopefully I can find some time over the weekend to try it out. I tried it on this PC (not the HTPC) and of course, it would not play...apparently I don't have the right CODEC installed on this machine...'figures. I'll try to pay closer attention to what the Denon is hinting at...I think it would be really nice if it would just report the actual mode instead of just hinting around at it. I'm pretty sure it is set up right at this point, but it has a history of surprising me. I remember one time it just lost its mind and wouldn't output any HDMI video. I sunk some time into that one, only to eventually discover that only a hard power cycle would make it work again.


My 4670 has a native HDMI port (no DVI), so I don't think this applies to me. And I am already getting audio via HDMI, even if it is limited to stereo audio. I'm actually pretty good with cables and adapters...that's pretty much what I do for a living these days, so I get a lot of practice. It makes sense to me that a DVI to HDMI adapter would not provide HDMI audio since the DVI-D spec does not support digital audio. I guess they could be using some of the dual-link or analog pins to make it work with their own propritary adapter...(?)

I installed the latest ATI software from AMD and that changed some things. I was able to select some options that were not visible before. At this point, I am getting multi-channel sound, but it's not exactly right. For example, when I first tried your sample file, it played back in stereo, but the subwoofer test was audible. Since the upgrade, I now hear 5 channels where they should be, the the subwoofer test cannot be heard.

I'm, also unclear about what my AV Receiver is hinting at. When I play SageTV recordings, I get this result:

http://www.cs1.net/img/AVR_example1.jpg

When I play the AC3 sample file, I get this result:

http://www.cs1.net/img/AVR_example2.jpg

Or maybe it was the other way around...I'm afraid I didn't document the results very well...I was too absorbed in the fact that they were different and trying to understand the AVR's meaning...

-Mark

Your Denon screen looks very similar to mine.

In the first picture you can see that the receiver is detecting a Dolby Digital signal, which means it's properly being passed through to the receiver (it's doing the decoding). The only difference between the 2 pictures is that the first one says Dolby Digital and the Dolby Digital logo at the top left is illuminated, and the 2nd picture PCM is being used (Dolby Digital is no longer illuminated, just the PCM indicator is lit). That means your PC is doing the decoding (i.e. you're dealing with a software issue).

The AC3 test file from me contains a Dolby Digital audio stream, and so when you play it the front of your receiver should look the same as your first picture. I bet if you load XBMC and play that same video file, you'll see Dolby Digital kick in. XBMC uses its own set of codecs, no tweaking required...just enable HDMI output and make sure AC3/DTS are enabled. If it works there, but not in media player, you'll know it's software-related.

At this point I've read enough about S/PDIF, PCM, AC3, stream-wrapping, codecs, encoders, decoders, filters and such that I am beginning to realize just how much there is to learn about multi-channel audio!

I interpreted the Denon's hints essentially as you described, although I'm still wondering about the significance of having a Dolby Digital Logo, the "DIG" box, and a "DOLBY DIGITAL" readout all on the same screen. And what the heck are the "ADVANCED" and "AL24" indicators trying to tell me? Apparently Denon up-samples all formats up to 192kHz sample rates to expand the word length to 24 bits...(?) To me, it's just a lot of quasi-information. I'd much rather see actual information about the audio format. But I digress...



Well, for what it's worth, I did load XBMC and at least one of those pictures was taken while playing the AC3 test file with XBMC. I was thinking that it was example1, but many things transpired that evening and I didn't take notes, so I could be mistaken. I'll try to check it again this evening.

I can tell you this though - no matter which player I use to play the AC3 test file, it does not render entirely correctly. One has 5-channel surround, but no subwoofer output while the other produces only 2-channel, but the subwoofer test is audible. None of the half-dozen or so players on my HTPC produced both 5-channel and subwoofer audio at the same time. And in all cases, the Denon was showing the LFE, FL, C, FR, SL, and SR boxes all lit up, even as certain channels were silent.

That says to me it's a configuration issue on the receiver, or maybe in the way it's connected to the receiver. I'm so rusty with my Denon because I set it up so long ago, so I can't tell you exactly where to look. You might want to check in the audio forums. Is the sub set to LFE + Main? Speakers set to Large/Small? (Large affects the sub output).

Do you have another device aside from your PC you can test from? For example, if you had an Xbox 360 you could copy that AC3 test file to a USB drive, connect it to the 360 and play it...see if the behavior is the same. I say that only because I assume you would've noticed a while back that your sub wasn't working properly.

I checked it last night and in actual fact, the Denon shows Dolby Digital when playing the AC3 test file via XBMC. Five channels work as expected, but the subwoofer test is inaudible.

I have large full-range front speakers, so the receiver is configured with those channels as "large" and the subwoofer is enabled as well. But again, the subwoofer works fine with sources other than the HTPC. For that matter, it works with the HTPC when it's not playing the test file via XBMC, albeit, in PCM multi-channel mode.

I don't have an XBOX, but I do have a PS3...not sure if it can play that file or not, but I could certainly try it.

Well, I tried playing the AC3 test file on my PS3, but it could not see in the file on a USB flash drive. Interestingly, the PS3 *could* find and play the file via the media center connection to my HTPC. I'm not sure how that kind of stuff is handled by the PS3 or by Windows, but for what its worth, it played in 5.1 PCM multi-channel mode, not in Dolby Digital mode.

At first I thought there was still no audio during the subwoofer test, but as I played the file multiple times, I began to realize that there was something else going on. Sometimes when I would start the playback the first audio I would hear would be the word "center", meaning that I had missed, "front-left, front (center)". Sometimes the audio would start early enough to hear everything, but not always. I then began to notice that I was also hearing the tail-end of the subwoofer test tones. Sometimes I wouldn't hear it until it got down to around 60 Hz, so I got the idea that maybe there was some problem related to the crossover point, but as I played the file repeatedly, sometimes it would play the complete subwoofer test, so that shot that idea down.

It seems that it takes my receiver some amount of time to start rendering audio in some cases. I then tried it again via the HTPC and XBMC, and to my great surprise, it was doing the same thing...except that the receiver shows the output from XBMC as Dolby Digital. But the delayed starts were about the same, so I discovered that the subwoofer actually is working...it's just a little slow to start.

So now, if I could get SageTV to output Dolby Digital, that would be one step closer. I don't know what to make of the fact that the PS3 didn't send Dolby Digital unless the media center connection was changing something.