No audio on TV through HDMI

[rim6o]

Windows 10
XBox controller

What I tried:
Setting HDMI Audio (SAMSUNG) as Default output
setting it to 44.1 kHz 16 bit

[Spider]

I'm just another player but i can try testing with an Windows 10 on old hardware with old nvidia card. This may not be enough to match your situation but if I'll let you know if i have no audio too. Maybe can test in the next day or so or on the weekend if not. (its ok on steam deck with latest game build just to say audio data is not missing at least, which is not saying much, but is what I know atm).

Was this still an issue for you? (thanks for the note on amd+vsync in your setup, it may help others)

Otherwise, just to check in advance, I assume audio does work over head phones or audio speaker jack? An over same hdmi setup with other games or browser/etc to same TV? The other thread here on steam on no audio may have some general thoughts that you likely have tried or considered but could check it if you'd like, but the hdmi specific concern is not covered there.

Someone else was having issues with no music, but not yet clear what output device, OS, or if maybe the background ambiance/bird sounds too quiet and how he music track itself may intentionally fade and stop when you are not moving, which can be confusing after putting down the controller. That may not be the issue for you or them but I wanted to mention it while here now before i can test.

I'm not sure if I can be of much immediate/quick help in this but I'll test my setup at least and let you know.

[rim6o]

Originally posted by Spider:

I'm just another player but i can try testing with an Windows 10 on old hardware with old nvidia card. This may not be enough to match your situation but if I'll let you know if i have no audio too. Maybe can test in the next day or so or on the weekend if not. (its ok on steam deck with latest game build just to say audio data is not missing at least, which is not saying much, but is what I know atm).

Was this still an issue for you? (thanks for the note on amd+vsync in your setup, it may help others)

Otherwise, just to check in advance, I assume audio does work over head phones or audio speaker jack? An over same hdmi setup with other games or browser/etc to same TV? The other thread here on steam on no audio may have some general thoughts that you likely have tried or considered but could check it if you'd like, but the hdmi specific concern is not covered there.

Someone else was having issues with no music, but not yet clear what output device, OS, or if maybe the background ambiance/bird sounds too quiet and how he music track itself may intentionally fade and stop when you are not moving, which can be confusing after putting down the controller. That may not be the issue for you or them but I wanted to mention it while here now before i can test.

I'm not sure if I can be of much immediate/quick help in this but I'll test my setup at least and let you know.

1. I can only get audio via audiojack.
2. Audio via HDMI works with other games for me.
3. Lack of audio is total.
4. Audio output is correct - SAMSUNG (the manufacturer of the TV) HDMI, works with other games.

[Spider]

Hi, thank you for the details.

If other games are working then that is good, but makes it a more troublesome problem to investigate. (update: I made a second post below that can probably be read before this one; I was able to reproduce an issue that maybe you experienced)

I did a very quick test and it works with my test system:

• TV: older Samsung TV
  
• OS: Windows 10 Pro 22H2 (without the optional cumulative update) currently.
  
• GPU: older nvidia GTX660 card.

It is directly connected to the HDMI2 port, though sound then goes out of the TV using optical audio cable. I have not yet tested with only the TV's speakers, but probably that will not change anything unless it changes what the TV reports as supported formats/modes.

I can see the Windows Volume Mixer sound level moving when sound is loud (though it is a small bar on my system). I also do see it says "SAMSUNG (NVIDIA High Definition Audio)" for my output device. My model/Windows defaults to 48.0kHz 16-bit; but shows support for other combinations. I think 44.1 16-bit test with the windows sound test worked, but I will need to try that again to be sure. (A)

I still need to test a few more things later. I will see if I can find more specific suggestions, but a few other quick thoughts are below.

Some of this may not help if you already have sound for other games on the same hdmi cable and port, but some other things to consider are below:

1. Does Webbed work if you use a different hdmi port on the tv (or diffeent port on the graphics card)?
   • Sometimes there are "ARC" ports or ports that behave differently so maybe it could be related, but since other games work, this might not help, but it might be an "easy" test.
   • (example: I had problems with a SteamDeck with Dock using the HDMI port that was dedicated to ARC on my friends TV, but no video worked for the Device/Any-games, and it was a different problem; but other ports were ok. We tried a different TV and cable as a quick test then changed the port and it worked.)
2. Question: What AMD gpu/card model do you have? Is connected to the AMD card, or is it using "APU" graphics on an AMD processor (connected to hdmi port on the motherboard instead of a dedicated GPU card)?
   • I wonder if there is a driver/software problem or incompatibility related to how Webbed is working or it's sound format and the software/card.
3. In Windows 10 it is possible to set specific default output devices for each application (using Application Volume settings). I assume it is not set to something unexpected but it may be good to check that or try setting it to either Default or the SAMSUNG output just to see if anything changes.
   
4. Question: When no other applications are playing sound and Webbed is running, do you see any activity on the SAMSUNG output when the Windows Volume Mixer is open?
   • I assume this could be true but it may help to know this later.
5. Question: Are you using Linux as the host with VFIO GPU passthrough with Windows 10 in a Virtual Machine? If you are not sure about the answer then you are probably not using that :)
   • I assume no, but I wanted to check. You would probably have mentioned it already. It would probably be unrelated since sound works for other games; though with my newer nvidia card I have to pass through the audio device as a separate "multifunction" pci device setting to make things work well.
   • I am doing my current tests with normal physical system with Windows 10 and no linux currently.

Because you can see it listed as "SAMSUNG" and the sound works for some games, then at least the audio support for the card is being detected; so I wonder about the output format (like you noted) or some Windows settings. I will make sure to re-test with 44.1 when I can later.

I have some examples of what my basic windows settings look like in case they help for comparison. I assume you's will also look similar but it may help to notice anything different or for explaining where some of the settings are.

• Example of my general settings[i.imgur.com] and Windows Volume Mixer when outputting sound to the TV. (when sound is working for me)
  
• Example of Application Volume[i.imgur.com] controls.
  
• Example of checking my TV's supported sound formats[i.imgur.com] under the advanced Device properties; but there may be other low level settings in other places like with network device properties (I need to look around more).
  
• Example of my Default Format settings[i.imgur.com] in Windows for my TV; mine seems to be 48.0kHz but our TVs/systems may be different. I mean to say that I have not changed my default, but I can use this to test. I'm not sure if you changed the default in the past or if it defaulted to a lower sampling rate (kHz).

The tv font was small so I was slow in testing and I only had a short time I could test before disconnecting it from the TV, but I will try some more things later. I still have other advanced settings to look at in case I can find a way to make Webbed not work on my system but other games work. Or to find more debugging options/tests to suggest than what I am currently considering.

I will update again in the future but it may be later today or in a day or two depending on my chance to test; I did some testing while I was eating lunch :)

---

(A) I tested 44.1 16-bit using the "play" sound test under the Advanced tab by changing the "Default Format" and pressing "play" and it worked, but I need to make sure I remembered to hit "Apply" so I will test that again later when I test some other things. I tried to purposely cause possible problems by unchecking the settings related to "Exclusive control" but it did not seem to cause a problem for me when my video player was playing and then I tried running Webbed. I did press "apply" for that test.

update: i fixed small typo of VGPU to be APU

[Spider]

Hi rim6o,

I was able to find a problem. It could be the same as what you experience. I used the same environment I mentioned before (with NVIDIA and an old Samsung TV). For now you can first read this comment instead of my previous comment #3.

(edit: After writing all of this post; I searched more and found a few others with similar behavior to the issue I've found/noted, including with graphics changes when the Full Screen Webbed application starts. You do not need to read that link yet. I just wanted to update this post in a place where the link can be found easily by others again in the future.)

If the audio output device is changed after Webbed was started then Webbed's audio will not change. Webbed must be restarted to make it use the new device. This includes a monitor/tv/Windows going to sleep; possibly also could be caused by Video resolution/settings changes when Webbed starts or other things change, or you start with Headphone/Speaker audio then switch to SAMSUNG HDMI audio while Webbed was already running. (edit: Inability to change audio output device for GM2 seems to be a known issue with the game engine, or a common issue/mistake.)

If you can try the steps below to see if they help/work, then we can confirm if you are seeing the same problem I've found. It may also work for you to play on the TV if wanted in the future. It may be inconvenient, though. Thank you for your detailed description of your environment. I hope this is the problem you are experiencing so that it works for you now, and so that the Developers and others will be aware in the future. If it is not then we can try to determine what may be different for you or we may be able to get deeper troubleshooting steps.

---

Audio Works: If the TV is connected before the Webbed game is started and the Default audio output for all Windows is already changed to the HDMI output, then starting Webbed after that works.

Audio does NOT Work: If the Webbed game is started first and then the Default audio output device is changed afterwards. (I needed to exit the game and then start it again; I also tested without Full Screen mode, because it could be a concern depending on AMD/NVIDIA/Intel drivers and graphics resolution/mode changes.)

rim6o, Does audio work for you if you:

• Start the Webbed game and disable "Full Screen" under the "Graphics" settings.
  • Webbed should now be showing as a smaller Window.
• Exit/Quit the Webbed game. Make sure it is not running.
  
• Connect the SAMSUNG TV. (It is ok if it is already connected.)
  
• Change the "Default" audio Output device to the SASMUNG HDMI output.
  
• Open the Windows "Volume Mixer"
  • It can be opened by using right-click on the speaker icon in the Windows Toolbar/system-tray and choosing "Open Volume Mixer"
  • It should look like the the bottom right of this old image[i.imgur.com]. But Webbed should not be running.
• Test that audio is working. Play audio from your Web Browser or another application.
  • The application should show activity in the Volume Mixer on application volume and the SAMSUNG output device.
• Now start the Webbed game. (I started it using Steam.)
  • Hopefully audio for Webbed is working with the TV now.
  • A volume control for Webbed should show up in the "Volume Mixer" and it should have activity in the bottom right of my old screenshot[i.imgur.com].
  • The "Device" in the Volume Mixer should show activity for the SAMSUNG HDMI output device.

I am guessing this is the type of problem you originally experienced. It would be good to try the test above to see if it helps for your system/TV.

• NOTE: It could be the same type of problem if the graphics driver enables/disables audio output devices temporarily when the video resolution changes. Or if when the TV changes modes, or disappears, or goes into power saving mode. That is why I suggest the first test to be when Full Screen is disabled. I know you would prefer VSYNC and probably full screen, but this is for the first test so we can see if the problem is also related to Full Screen mode with your environment/devices.

If the steps above help/work, then you can try the same test but without disabling Full Screen mode. Just make sure that Webbed is started only after you have made all of the audio/device changes so that the audio is going to the device you want to use when you start playing.

---

You can then see a problem if you leave the TV connected and working with Webbed's audio after the steps above:

• Webbed's Audio will not change to your PC speakers/headphones if you change the Default audio output device in the Windows audio settings[i.imgur.com]. Most other applications will change to playing sound on the PC speakers/headphones, but Webbed will continue playing on the TV. It does NOT help to change the Webbed application output device. (instead of the setting at the top of that screenshot).
  
• If you disconnect the HDMI TV cable then the Webbed application will disappear from the Windows Volume Mixer window. Other applications might switch to playing on the PC speaker/headphones; but Webbed will not. See this screenshot as an example of the problem[i.imgur.com].
  
• This will also be a problem if Windows goes to sleep after not using it and turns off the Monitor/TV output. If Webbed is running and then the computer/TV goes to sleep, the audio device/display might disappear during that time. If you then wake the computer and then returning to playing then the audio may have stopped working for Webbed.
  
• Webbed must be exited/quit and started again so that it will begin using the PC Speaker/headphones.

Probably some of the Streamers that play Webbed or other people have experienced it but maybe not many have mentioned it ; or maybe it is a new problem based on Windows updates. It may be a limitation for all GameMaker2 games or ones of a certain version; or any using libraries where they do not handle a device change. I thought it could be a headphone "jack sense" problem because that can happen sometimes but that is usually related to audio outputs shared on the motherboard, or would be a problem for all applications. But it seems that Webbed can have problems if the audio device disappears (disconnecting the TV) and also if you try to change the audio device output in the ways I have tested so far).

I hope this helps or is maybe the problem you had experienced. I do not yet have a permanent/temporary workaround for trying to make Webbed switch audio output devices. It is probably simplest to exit Webbed and then start it again after making sure the Default audio output device for windows is set to the output you want. You could change the Default back to your PC speakers/headphones if you want other applications to work, or change the individual applications in the sound settings. There may be a few options, though it may be inconvenient.

---

The first section of text is more useful to the Developers or others trying to confirm if they are experiencing a similar problem. You do not need to read this section of text.

Problem Description:

Issue: Webbed does not change it's audio output device when the Default audio device is changed. It continues to play sound on the other/old device.

Details: It is more likely to happen when you switch from heaphones/speakers to an HDMI TV output (or back from HDMI). It is not limited to AMD cards.

Reproduction steps:
Note that I tested the reverse direction, where audio is started and working on the Samsung TV HDMI output and I leave Webbed open and then disconnect the TV or try to switch back to PC speakers, but the first set of steps here likely also apply and may be what rim6o has experienced. I will provide both sets of steps for clarity. It is probably a known issue, but I've provided semi-specific steps below in case they are needed).

1. Start Webbed and confirm audio is working on PC speakers when run.
   • Observe that Webbed application shows in Windows Volume Mixer (right-click on Sound in Windows Toolbar/SystemTray, choose "Open Volume mixer". Audio level will bounce around a little when game music/sounds play.)
2. Leave Webbed running and disconnect the PC monitor and connect HDMI TV.
   • Observe New NVIDIA/AMD/??? HDA audio device now shows up in Windows.
   • Observe that Webbed's volume activity in the Volume Mixer probably continues showing under the individual application sound control slider)
3. Try to change the Default device in Windows Control Panel's sound settings so that it is using the HDMI audio output for the TV (if it did not already change).
   • Note that the audio activity for Webbed in the Volume Mixer probably continues (likely; I tested the reverse of this and those steps are in another section), but it is not seen on the current Default audio output device (if you check that device status by changing to it in the Volume Mixer under "Device:" if you need to change it there to see it).
     
   • Note that other/most applications that may have already been playing audio have switched to the TV output; or new applications started output to the tv.
4. Try changing the individual Webbed application output device from "Default" to the HDMI output device (under the Windows Sound settings, under Advanced, like here[i.imgur.com]).
   • Note that this also does not work and Webbed will (audibly) continue playing on the original device/output.

Now we can create another problem (that is more noticeable):

1. After the steps above, or starting fresh where:
   • The TV/HDMI-audio device is connected and it is set as the Default output device in Windows (and other applications can be started or are already now using it and can be heard over that TV/device).
2. Make sure Webbed is exited fully and Default audio is working over HDMI for other applications/Windows.
   
3. Start Webbed and note that audio is working over HDMI to the TV/device (should be).
   
4. Switch the Default Windows audio output device to the PC Speakers/headphones
   • Note that most other applications or newly started applications are now playing audio over the PC speakers/headphones/new-device.
     
   • Note that Webbed is still playing audio over the TV even if it's application specific audio is set to output over the Default device (or manually changed to output over the new-device under settings after having started using the HDMI output)
     
   • Note that if Webbed was the only application playing sound that there is no audio activity seen in the Volume Mixer for the new Default output device, but starting other application's audio (old/new) again will show activity there.
5. Disconnect the HDMI TV/audio device cable/connection.
   • Note that the Windows Volume mixer may no longer show the individual Webbed application volume slider/activity. It disappears from Volume Mixer (see screenshot of problem state[i.imgur.com]), as does the HDMI audio output device (or at least under Device properties of the generic NVIDIA/AMD/intell HDA audio device (not the Samsung/TV/HDMI-out specific device properties); if the TV/hdmi device properties were previously opened, Windows will switch certain details tabs to not show data as it will note that the device is not available currently.
   • Note that other applications may have already switched to the new default device and are working but Webbed is silent and no individual application settings will be seen to switch it's audio output device in the various places previously noted in these reproducer steps.

(Note that restarting the Windows Audio Service may also cause similar issues even without alternate speakers/headphones, and probably disabling/reenabling a specific device it's currently playing on. Other applications will return to the Volume Mixer and other places, but Webbed will not show back up in the. But looks like a known GM2 behavior maybe or requires extra stuff to handle the event/situation.)

Probably an issue with the GM2 engine or related sound libraries. I'm not sure if this ever worked in the past or not. Probably a power user workaround is to create a virtual audio device through some other means (I haven't tried old ffdshow etc etc obs/etc and have that redirect to the current desired output device and then change settings within that other application to a new device. I've not tried with steam streaming output device etc and have muuuch more Linux experience than recent Win10 audio experience to know if there is something nice built in that can be "kicked" or used as a simple user friendly workaround beyond existing and restarting Webbed. Physical external audio mixer may also work if it doesn't disappear on Windows side hen swapping. But usually we also need video+audio over hdmi so it'd be more of a multimedia center mixer etc and I'd imagine that is not common or a reasonable suggestion for most.

If it works using the suggested steps above but does not work with those steps when using "Full Screen" mode, then I may need to look at a better suggestion for you if you are trying to ensure VSYNC and other behaviors by using Full Screen mode. I might be able to find some options. Let me know this is true.

---

Other unimportant notes:

• It is not related (so far), but Webbed's audio data sources start at 44.1kHz 16-bit for almost all of them; it may later get changed by Webbed/GM2/Windows along the way (I have not checked).
  
• I have not seen a problem yet with my Samsung TV if I change the Windows sound device output format from default 48.0 to 44.1kHz before starting Webbed. This was a good detail and observation in the initial report; however, the issue I've described/reproduced above is not related to the audio format. This may also be rim6o's original/type-of issue, but it may need to be tested to verify.