FAQ for the 3D HTPC - Page 44

This sounds adventures to me! I am still with Vista 32bit. Is it simply plug in another video card and it will work straight away with my existing AMD driver? Will it matter if I buy another brand of HD5450 if the HD6670 I have is Gigabyte? I see the Gigabyte HD5450 has fan while Asus or some other does not. I plan to go with a less power hungry one so I don't have to beef up my power supply as well.

Yes, HD 6670+HD 5450 works with your existing AMD graphics driver. Brand does not matter (the only requirement is that the two graphics cards use the same driver under Vista, e.g. Radeon+GeForce won't work).
Edited by renethx - 4/12/13 at 7:27am

Just tried to plug an ASUS HD5460 into a PCI slot after removing my Xonar HDAV Slim and only then I found out there is a stop in the middle of the slot preventing me from inserting the video card. Is that I need to cut it off with a sharp knive and it will work? Or it is just not meant for my 5 years old motherboard and PCI slot? It is too scary a job for me to be honest!

PCI is different from PCI Express. HD 5450's interface is PCI Express.

I see there is a PCI Express 1x slot besides my HD6670 but too bad it is block by the big fan of my videocard.

I guess it is time for me to return the card and settle with what I have.....
Edited by peterho3 - 4/13/13 at 1:25am

I see there are PCI to PCIE adapter selling on ebay. Looks promising. Will it work with a second PCIE video card like HD5450 for HD audio bitstream? Anyone tried it this way?

http://www.ebay.com/itm/PCI-E-Expresscard-X1-X4-X8-X16-to-PCI-Card-Adapter-New-/170775887546?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item27c3093eba


I see also PCI version of HD5450 by HIS but they are very expensive so I will try to avoid them and will consider it as my last option.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/HIS-ATI-Radeon-HD5450-Silence-512MB-DDR3-VGA-DVI-HDMI-Low-Profile-PCI-Video-Card-/271152986845?pt=PCC_Video_TV_Cards&hash=item3f21fa3add

Or you could return the HD5450 and replace the HD6670 with an nvidia GT630 for @ $50.

Unless you have a compelling reason to stay with ATI/AMD then switch to nvidia to get 3D output and bitstream audio out from two outputs on the same card.

Thanks but is it true that as the first post of this FAQ said when using Nvidia and DLP projector (mine is Benq W1070) "One emitter is needed to setup 3D Vision Drivers"? Now I can get 3D bluray working straight away with my AMD card alone. I see the Nvidia 3D kit is quite expensive so not sure if it really is necessary to work with any Nvidia card and that's why I go with AMD. Hope someone can confirm the situation.

I read that the PCI to PCIE adapter may not work with high speed video card as the speed is only 33MHz. Anyone had used such a setup before? I probably need to buy from China through ebay and don't think I can get refund if the adapter is not faulty but just not workout for me.

Bad......swap my HD6670 with a Gigabyte GT630 and nothing seems to work. I can get audio on either hdmi or dvi, but when I switch to 7.1 in Sound Configure I get no audio in test tone. In TMT6 I can't get DTSHDma bitstream but DTS only or I can mix to LPCM. In PDVD12 the option of bitstream is simply gone and also LPCM only. And no 3D when playing any 3D bluray. I tried both hdmi and DVI ports and updated to latest driver 314.22 but same result. Could it have anything to do with my Sony DA3400ES AVR or my C2D Vista 32bit being too old? With HD6670 at least 3D and HD audio bitstream works beautifully in the first go. I also love the Preset/Profile which is gone from Nvidia. Any help of possible fix or area I have overlook? Never thought life is so difficult....

In Supported Formats I see only tick in Dolby Digital and 48.0KHz. Everything else is blank. Not even DTS Audio works. Could this be a driver issue?
Edited by peterho3 - 4/18/13 at 4:50am

I gave up after a day of struggle. Put back my AMD and everything is back to normal. Wonder why Nvidia do thing so differently. Will try my last shot with PCI adapter when I get one.

BTW the Support Formats shown is still only Dolby Digital and 48.0KHz so it has no connection to bitstream.
Edited by peterho3 - 4/18/13 at 11:46am

My question concerns how to stream 3D mkv files with subtitles.

What I would like to know is if there is any way to do that or, alternatively, if there's a way to attach 3D subtitles to a 3D MKV file on a burned file or something.

My present BD player is an LG BD390 and, like several Oppo models, it can play MKV files of any size and type.

But for subtitles you can only stream with srt types.

Hey there old friend

I bought a 3D TV and now trying to work though how to get BD 3D to work through my older receiver (like HDMI 1.2 at best, only does Multi-PCM), which of course doesn't work. My blu-ray source is my HTPC which has an HD 6750 in it.

So from the table earlier in the thread, AMD doesn't offer two streams (or audio from one and video from another HDMI port)? But it will work if you have two video cards? I guess it would be cheaper to buy a 5450 or similar than to swap the card for an Nvidia one, and I do have a free open-ended X4 slot on my board. So I could put one in, the cramped mATX case notwithstanding. Hmm.

There's another guy who seemed to get 3D (frame-packed 1080p) to work through his non-3D (HDMI 1.3) receiver with an EDID override but it seems not many people have been able to do this, so I dunno how possible that is? Tulli also mentioned on the EDID thread that some 7-series AMD cards may have the ability to dual-stream? Or do you still need two video cards? I do have a 7770 in another PC, I could feasibly switch out, if it will allow me two streams.

For now I'm using 3D only for PS3 games (which don't have lossless audio anyway) so I just connected my PS3 directly to the TV. I don't have any Blu-ray 3D discs yet actually, but it would be nice to get it working through the receiver, from the PC, even if it means adding another video card.

Another summary is here.

EDID override: This shouldn't work. Even if you are able to send frame packing to a HDMI 1.2/1.3 AVR, the AVR won't be able to recognize audio because it has no idea where audio data are. Why.

HD 7xxx discrete card: The card supports up to 6 audio streams (7xxx in Trinity APU supports up to 4 streams), but the supported configurations are: HDMI + 5 x DP or 6 x DP. HDMI + HDMI + 4 x DP is not supported. So in theory, you can use HDMI + DP (with an active DP to HDMI adapter). I tried but failed.

- HDMI -> AVR / DP -> 3D display: DP with an active DP to HDMI adapter couldn't send frame packing.
- DP -> AVR / HDMI -> 3D display: DP with an active DP to HDMI adapter couldn't send TrueHD / DTS-HD (DD, DTS, multichannel LPCM were OK).

Maybe the problem is the DP to HDMI converter chip in the adapter. But if your AVR does not support HD audio anyway (yours is HDMI 1.2?), the latter may be a solution for you.

If you prefer MKV to ISO, there is another workaround. Rip BR 3D in MKV with a MVC video track (use MakeMKV) and play it with Stereoscopic Player ($50). Stereoscopic Player can decode MVC (it uses CoreMVC 3D decoder) and convert to SBS(H), a 3D format supported by every 3D display. So you can use HDMI 1.2/1.3 AVR. The resolution is halved, but you may not notice a difference.

Stereoscopic Player can play mounted ISO too, but it's a bit awkward.
Edited by renethx - 4/28/13 at 6:35pm

Ha yep that's the table I was referring to actually
Interesting. So I don't get how that guy got it to work yet he has a YouTube video showing it in action.
Oh so it doesn't work in practice?
Hmm well all I need is Multi-PCM since that's all my receiver supports!
It supports HD audio but not DTS-HD or TrueHD. It maxes out at 5.1ch LPCM over HDMI. (It's a Sony STR-DA7100ES. It has the -10dB LFE bug on LPCM-over-HDMI as well, but I "solve" this by using the Realtek driver to effectively compress the LFE dynamic range +10dB--not perfect but works fairly well.) To be honest I think the DA7100ES is like HDMI 1.0, lol. But I'm not sure. There was a firmware update so it didn't interfere with x.v.Color/DeepColor pass-through, but that was it (that update is applied on my receiver). Natively it's a 7.1 receiver that can do 9.1 with "upscaling", but for HDMI LPCM it can't do more than 5.1 @ 96kHz (can do 192kHz in 2ch and can do 7.1 but only via DTS-ES/DD-EX). This is actually ill documented (the manual suggests it can only do DD/DTS over HDMI but that's not correct). Because the receiver's amp section (S-Master Pro Digital Drive) is excellent for an AVR, IMO, I don't want to replace it. It's ashame Sony stopped making digital drive receivers after this.

Really, it's a long story of workarounds with this receiver due to its age, so I'm not really frightened of more, lol.
Oh yes the old side-by-side eh? I actually think PowerDVD (which is what I currently use) can do that already for BD-3D but I'm not sure (as I have no 3D discs yet). The reason I know frame-packing won't work is because you can set PDVD (and it's menus, etc.) to be in HDMI 1.4 3D, which doens't work--PDVD just returns an error that it can't set the display for that when I try.

So from what you said above, I can use the 7700 but I can't use any HDMI ports, I have to use DP-HDMI converters, one for the TV and the other for the AVR? Then I'll get frame-packed 3D to the TV and multi-LPCM to the receiver? If that works, I'm all set I guess...just need to swap video cards and get some DP-HDMI adapters?

PowerDVD / TMT can't convert MVC to SBS(H). Moreover if suffers from Cinavia.

There are three solutions for you:

1. Add another graphics card (AMD or NVIDIA; it doesn't matter) as a HDMI sound card.
2. Use HD 7770 with an active DP-HDMI adapter. HDMI goes to the display, DP goes to AVR. Frame packing + multichannel LPCM audio should work.
3. Use Stereoscopic Player, that converts MVC to SBS(H) so that a HDMI 1.2/1.3 AVR works. Stereoscopic Player supports both MKV and BR 3D (with manual selection of the title).
Edited by renethx - 4/30/13 at 5:33am

Got the PCI to PCIE adapter today and put 2 AMD video cards in my pc and both 3D and HD Audio bitstream finally works as desired. Too bad there is no way to lock down the PCI adapter card so it is just hanging loose. Also video through the PCIE adapter is lagging so it is strictly for audio bitstream only.

BTW bitstream with Nvidia cards simply won't work under Vista. Wish I had read it earlier so I don't have to waste time trying.

Okay thanks! I'll try #2 once I get an adapter. It has to be an active one though, not a passive one? Hmm looks like an active adapter will run ~$20 whereas a 5450 like thed XFX ONE can be had at around $30...maybe I should just do that and call it a day.

If using two cards what do you do just select the 2nd card's HDMI output for audio in the player software settings? And that takes care of it?

A passive adapter just transmits HDMI signals over DP. Using a passive adapter is the same as using another HDMI port, this won't support dual audio stream. An active adapter has a DP-HDMI converter chip inside.

If you use a "HDMI sound card", then use extended desktop mode and send the secondary desktop along with audio over the HDMI sound card to AVR. In PowerDVD / TMT or any media player, select the correct audio device (i.e. the one in the HDMI sound card).

Just start ripping some of my 3d blu ray to iso to play on my xbmc. Rip Avatar with DVDfab (9.0.4.0) to full ISO. Mount the ISO with VirtualCloneDrive. Playing the movie with TotalMedia Theatre 5. Im kinda confused with something. When I play the physical disc on my ps3 to Panny ST30 I click on the Viera Tools button I see 3d mode and 2d mode. When I am viewing it on my htpc TMT is reporting its in 3d but on the Viera Tools it shows 2d --> 3d mode and 2d mode. Shouldn't it also show 3d mode and 2d mode like on the ps3? I have a i3-3225 on my htpc using intel 4000 (latest drivers).

Nevermind Rip it with Anydvd and now its working correctly
Edited by dazz87 - Yesterday at 10:51 pm