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HDMI Surround Sound Woes

post #1 of 13
8/31/12 at 3:47am
Thread Starter 
Hello! First post, and unfortunately it's because of a problem...

I have an ASUS G75 Gaming Laptop that I play Skyrim on. Recently, I connected it to my TV via an HDMI cable. Got nice picture and sound.

So then I thought: wouldn't it be awesome to play this in surround sound? I went out and bought a surround sound receiver that had HDMI inputs and outputs (RCA Model RT2911).

So I had everything set up like this: ASUS->HDMI->Receiver->HDMI->TV

This is where the frustration began. I booted up my computer and was excited to switch from stereo to 5.1. The standard procedure (from some googling) seemed to be:

Right Click Sound Icon-> Playback Devices -> (Playback Device) -> Configure -> 5.1

But when I tried that, there was no option for 5.1 sound. It only listed stereo. I did some serious googling for around 4 hours and after trying a number of solutions I was left very confused and frustrated. I tried my best to understand all the technical jargon being tossed around... but after an exhaustive effort I feel it's time to ask for help.

Some more about my setup:

Laptop
-GPU: NVIDIA Geforce GTX 670M
-CPU: Intel Core i7 - 3610QM, 2.3GHz
-OS: Win 7 Premium

AVR:
-RCA RT2911

TV:
-Emerson Model LC320EM2F

Any help would be much appreciated.
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post #2 of 13
8/31/12 at 12:02pm
1. make sure your computer's BIOS is up to date
2. make sure your Nvidia graphics driver is up to date, including its audio driver.
3. Try again -- make sure you've selected (highlighted) the HDMI device before you select the Configure button.

As a diagnostic, you might try running one of the EDID display programs to see what information is being provided by the receiver -- DumpEDID is available at http://www.nirsoft.net/utils/dump_edid.html
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post #3 of 13
8/31/12 at 1:57pm
Thread Starter 
I'm not sure how to update my BIOS. I am able to find out what BIOS version I have (American Megatrends Inc G75VW.207, 4/6/2012), but when I try to get an update from AMI's website, it directs me to a piece of software I need to pay for in order to update called 'BiosAgentPlus'.

On regards to the Nvidia graphics driver... I updated through Windows Device Manager. Turns out the drivers for my graphics were out of date, but my 'Nvidia HD Audio' drivers are at the latest version according to Windows.

I tried again making sure that I highlighted the HDMI device and then clicked configure. What I have is a device called 'LCD TV-3' using Nvidia High Definition Audio. The other option is the computer speakers using VIA High Definition Audio. Another Option is SPDIF Interface which also uses VIA High Definition Audio.

I ran DumpEDID and it returned this:
Warning: Spoiler! (Click to show)
DumpEDID v1.01

Copyright (c) 2006 Nir Sofer

Web site: http://www.nirsoft.net



*****************************************************************

Registry Key : DISPLAY\CMO1720\5&31340dbd&0&UID1048848

Manufacture Week : 2 / 2011

ManufacturerID : 44813 (0xAF0D)

ProductID : 5920 (0x1720)

Serial Number (Numeric) : 0 (0x00000000)

EDID Version : 1.4

Display Gamma : 2.20

Image Size : 38.2 X 21.5 cm (17.3 Inch)

Maximum Image Size : 38 X 21 cm (17.1 Inch)

Maximum Resolution : 0 X 0

Support Standby Mode : No

Support Suspend Mode : No

Support Low-Power Mode : No

Support Default GTF : No

Digital : Yes



Supported Display Modes :



*****************************************************************



*****************************************************************

Registry Key : DISPLAY\FNI0000\5&31340dbd&0&UID1048850

Monitor Name : LCD TV

Manufacture Week : 0 / 2011

ManufacturerID : 51481 (0xC919)

ProductID : 0 (0x0000)

Serial Number (Numeric) : 0 (0x00000000)

EDID Version : 1.3

Display Gamma : 2.20

Vertical Frequency : 23 - 63 Hz

Horizontal Frequency : 15 - 69 KHz

Image Size : 1.6 X 0.9 cm (0.7 Inch)

Maximum Resolution : 0 X 0

Support Standby Mode : No

Support Suspend Mode : No

Support Low-Power Mode : No

Support Default GTF : No

Digital : Yes



Supported Display Modes :



*****************************************************************



*****************************************************************

Registry Key : DISPLAY\TVW0260\5&31340dbd&0&UID1048850

Monitor Name : LCD MONITOR

Manufacture Week : 36 / 2008

ManufacturerID : 55122 (0xD752)

ProductID : 608 (0x0260)

Serial Number (Numeric) : 1 (0x00000001)

EDID Version : 1.3

Display Gamma : 2.20

Vertical Frequency : 59 - 61 Hz

Horizontal Frequency : 30 - 80 KHz

Image Size : 70.8 X 39.8 cm (32.0 Inch)

Maximum Image Size : 58 X 32 cm (26.1 Inch)

Maximum Resolution : 1360 X 850

Support Standby Mode : No

Support Suspend Mode : No

Support Low-Power Mode : No

Support Default GTF : No

Digital : Yes



Supported Display Modes :

720 X 400 70 Hz

640 X 480 60 Hz

800 X 600 60 Hz

1024 X 768 60 Hz

1280 X 1024 60 Hz

1360 X 850 60 Hz



*****************************************************************
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post #4 of 13
8/31/12 at 9:29pm
Correct me if I'm wrong, but you're not going to get surround out of most games from HDMI, you're going to get PCM stereo. That's 2 channel sound.

You'll be able to get surround for DVD/Blu-Ray media playback and such over HDMI if your setup supports it, but not games.
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post #5 of 13
8/31/12 at 11:02pm
Thread Starter 
From all accounts, Skyrim is one of those games able to output Multichannel, but it only works when you are able to do this:
http://tech-stew.com/post/2011/12/17/How-to-get-Multi-Channel-surround-sound-in-Skyrim-on-PC.aspx

Unfortunately, I am unable to do that. In fact, the main problem is that my computer won't do surround at all... no matter what the source is. I tried playing a test wav file that is meant for 5.1 and there is no sound coming out of the rear speakers.

Windows itself will only let me use stereo when I try to configure my HDMI playback device. As I post, I am still digging around on google for any possible leads. Any insight as to why windows seems to be recognizing my surround receiver as being only stereo would be much appreciated.

I'm thinking about investing in an usb external sound card and using that to do the 5.1. It seems like it will save me much time and frustration. Just seems like a waste considering my computer is supposed to support 5.1 on its own anyways.
Edited by armymenis12 - 8/31/12 at 11:07pm
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post #6 of 13
9/2/12 at 3:49pm
You have to download the free BIOS update from the Web site of the manufacturer of your computer's motherboard, not from American Megatrends. There are too many hardware differences among the various motherboards to be able to use the generic version of the BIOS software.

Also, you should download the current graphics driver from Nvidia's Web site http://www.nvidia.com/Download/index.aspx?lang=en-us , not using the Device Manager. Too often, Microsoft has been known to modify the graphics drivers, disabling some of their features. In some cases, you need to get the drivers from the Web site of the manufacturer of a laptop because of modifications they've made to the graphics hardware.
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post #7 of 13
9/2/12 at 5:30pm
The obvious question that I have to ask you is are you sure that your RCA receiver accepts 5.1 PCM audio signals? Some budget AVRs do not do this, and it's what you need to get 5.1 PC audio (with the exception of DVD bit-streams) over HDMI with your laptop's sound device.

Some budget AVRs even only do a straight pass-through when using HDMI.
Edited by MSmith83 - 9/2/12 at 5:43pm
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post #8 of 13
9/5/12 at 5:02am
Is this what you have armymenis...

RCART2911HTIB.jpg

According to the one and only review of this AVR on Amazon.com, it was very difficult to setup to get 5.1 out of it. It doesn't come with a manual, and the reviewer said the only way he could get sound out of the back speakers was to do a sound check with its remote.
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post #9 of 13
10/22/12 at 10:49am
I've got this same system, I have my computer running into my tv through VGA and the audio is running straight from the computer's 1/8" audio out into the 'VCR' sections rca audio in. When I switch from the 'SAT/CABLE HDMI:2' channel to 'VCR' or any of the other non-HDMI channels through the RCA receiver everything's cool, but when I try to switch back to 'SAT/CABLE HDMI:2' I just get the floating 'NO SIGNAL' box on my TV. Anyone else having any issue like this or maybe have an explanation? It's almost like it forgets to send the audio/video, because if I go through the RCA reciever's 'setup' menu and scroll through the HDMI channels, it'll come back on once I put it back on HDMI:2, but I shouldn't have to do that, the signal should return once I switch back to SAT/CABLE HDMI:2. Currently waiting on an email back from RCA tech support, I probably shoulda tested everything BEFORE mounting all the speakers frown.gif I'd hate to have to take all that crap down and go through all that BS again.
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post #10 of 13
11/25/12 at 5:53pm
I'm also having this issue (with some differences in hardware and things). My receiver is being recognized as only stereo when it used to be recognized as 7.1 with my old graphics card.
If I figure anything out I'll send you a PM...and vise versa if you don't mind smile.gif
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post #11 of 13
2/16/13 at 5:28pm
Bump. I have the same issue.

Windows 7 is not even picking up my AV reciever. It picks up the TV. When you try configure it says only 2 ch. All connections are HDMI.
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post #12 of 13
2/16/13 at 7:20pm
In your playback devices menu, what is listed?
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post #13 of 13
2/17/13 at 12:43pm
Hi,

Laptop speakers and Kogan TV.

here is my thread

http://www.avsforum.com/t/1458520/laptop-to-av-reciever-to-tv-through-hdmi-no-5-1-ch-surround-sound-only-2-channel
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