No 5.1 audio from PC but works from Xbox! How? Why? Help!

[Amanda]

I've been having surround sound issues with my PC for years. I even tried EDID editing and could not get WIndows to recognise the TV as a 5.1 capable device. My workaround was to use a SPDIF cable directly to my receiver and have my Sound Blaster card convert everything from Default Speakers out to SPDIF in DTS. It all worked fine until a few weeks ago sound started breaking. First it was once every 10 minutes, now it's like every 10 seconds or so. I got a new SPDIF cable and it didn't work. I think my SB card's optical out port has gone bad.

I recently got a new Samsung TV with all bells and whistles. Through a new HDMI cable I get HDR, WCG and 4K 60hz. Sound, though, is still only Stereo. However, I noticed something interesting. Before I get to that let me clarify: the TV has 3 HDMI ports. To port 1 is my PC (Windows 10 Pro v1804, GTX 1070), on port 2 is my old Xbox 360. And on Port 3, which is also the ARC port is my Yamaha RX-V483 receiver.

So, I had some friends over, and I decided to turn my Xbox 360 on. And I was shocked to notice that the TV took the 5.1 Dolby Digital audio from the Xbox 360 (Port 2) and pushed it out via ARC to the Yamaha receiver (Port 3) via ARC without any trouble whatsoever.

Why? Why!? I was... you little SOB! What is going on? Why can't I do the same from Windows? Why can't the TV tell Windows it takes 5.1 audio, receive the audio and push it out the receiver like it does with the Xbox. What is going on?!?

I've updated my graphics card's drivers and it doesn't matter what I do Windows sound settings ALWAYS reports the TV as stereo only, and stereo is what I get. No passthrough, nothing. How is this even possible?!?

One thing I noticed is that the TV is aware that there's an Xbox 360 connected to port 2. Once I turned it on the input tile turned into the ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ Xbox 360 green logo. The controller icon also came up at another part of the TV's menu for the same input. It is also aware that Port 1 has a "PC" although it does not say it's Windows/Mac/Linux.

Is the TV reporting itself to the Xbox as 5.1 capable but not to the PC? Is the Xbox ignoring and pushing 5.1 anyway and the TV is just doing what it's supposed to do and routing the audio to the ARC port?

I am this close to buying one of those HDMI extractors but the ones that support 4K 60fps are super expensive. I've already maxed all my cards this year.

Any help would be super appreciated!

[Amanda]

Diposting pertama kali oleh The Spoopy Kitteh:

Diposting pertama kali oleh TransLucida:

That's what I read, but not how it worked. The ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ drivers won't even install a settings application or add something to Windows Control Panel, or even put an icon on my taskbar. It was literally bare drivers just to make the card work. There was no option of Dolby or DTS anywhere to be found. Only some people talking about it online like it's an urban legend. AFAIK the words Dolby and DTS aren't even in the motherboard's manual. It's not even mentioned in the motherboard's page (https://www.asus.com/uk/Motherboards/ROG-STRIX-B350-F-GAMING/specifications/) If this SupremeFX card supports any of these technologies Asus is making sure people don't know and don't use them. In reality, I just don't think it does.

Try these drivers.

http://www.realtek.com.tw/downloads/downloadsView.aspx?Langid=1&PNid=24&PFid=24&Level=4&Conn=3&DownTypeID=3&GetDown=false

If that doesn’t work, you’re going to need one of the external DAC/Audio Cards I suggested.

thanks, but I’m good. maybe I wasn’t clear, the Dolby drivers may not be signed, but the installers were, by Dolby Laboratories. these drivers are a few years old, probably from a time when signature wasn’t a requirement. I don’t know what kind of hardware they were written for, but they work for my RealTek flawlessly. I’m sticking with it. Driver signature enforcement has been reenabled and the drivers still work. thanks.

Diposting pertama kali oleh Impending Rentacle Tape:

Diposting pertama kali oleh The Spoopy Kitteh:

Most PC games made since 2004 support 5.1 Shrround Sound.

If you want to get technical, all modern games actually run with "Virtual Surround" via software emulated through DirectX, as part of the new "Universal Audio Architecture" (UAA) with modern versions of windows. All games released after the release of Windows Vista are this way. It's only the older games that were released under Windows XP that actually had "True Surround" using either DirectSound, DirectSound3D or Creative EAX. Windows vista was the end of DirectSound and microsoft instead moved all windows sound over to software emulation via DirectX. Even though you may think you're getting 5.1 surround from your games, you're not actually.

Read more here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DirectSound

And further reading: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Universal_Audio_Architecture

Nothing in windows 10 actually supports Hardware-Level Dolby Digital Surround Sound, even with drivers. It's all software now.

maybe you’re right. however with the Soundblaster card I think DTS and Dolby encoding was done via hardware. I can’t test cause I’ve already chucked it, but I remember encoding on didn’t affect CPU usage at all.

to be honest, how the surround sound is being generated is not much of an issue for me. as long as when I’m playing a game like Darksiders and I go through a door and the noise of the door slamming behind me comes from the rear speakers, or if it’s a game like GTA and some NPC walks past me and their voice comes from the corresponding speakers as they move, or playing a game like Tomb Raider and there’s an enemy off screen shooting from my 5 o’clock and I hear the shots coming from the right rear speaker (to name a few examples) that’s all I really care about. And I finally have that again.

[TehSpoopyKitteh]

Diposting pertama kali oleh TransLucida:

Diposting pertama kali oleh Impending Rentacle Tape:

If you want to get technical, all modern games actually run with "Virtual Surround" via software emulated through DirectX, as part of the new "Universal Audio Architecture" (UAA) with modern versions of windows. All games released after the release of Windows Vista are this way. It's only the older games that were released under Windows XP that actually had "True Surround" using either DirectSound, DirectSound3D or Creative EAX. Windows vista was the end of DirectSound and microsoft instead moved all windows sound over to software emulation via DirectX. Even though you may think you're getting 5.1 surround from your games, you're not actually.

Read more here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DirectSound

And further reading: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Universal_Audio_Architecture

Nothing in windows 10 actually supports Hardware-Level Dolby Digital Surround Sound, even with drivers. It's all software now.

maybe you’re right. however with the Soundblaster card I think DTS and Dolby encoding was done via hardware. I can’t test cause I’ve already chucked it, but I remember encoding on didn’t affect CPU usage at all.

to be honest, how the surround sound is being generated is not much of an issue for me. as long as when I’m playing a game like Darksiders and I go through a door and the noise of the door slamming behind me comes from the rear speakers, or if it’s a game like GTA and some NPC walks past me and their voice comes from the corresponding speakers as they move, or playing a game like Tomb Raider and there’s an enemy off screen shooting from my 5 o’clock and I hear the shots coming from the right rear speaker (to name a few examples) that’s all I really care about. And I finally have that again.

DTS and Dolby Digital Live are definitely done in hardware. Why did you chuck your old sound card? I think your issue was that you needed to use the control panel that came with the software of your audio card, then disable and then re-enable the feature that allowed you to play speakers over the S/PDIF channel.

If you did a bios update recently you’ll need to disable your onboard audio device via device manager and the BIOS. RealTek onboard audio can and does interfere with other audio devices.

Also, turning off NVIDIA’s and AMD’s audio options through their respective control panels will also help you.

[Amanda]

Diposting pertama kali oleh The Spoopy Kitteh:

DTS and Dolby Digital Live are definitely done in hardware. Why did you chuck your old sound card? I think your issue was that you needed to use the control panel that came with the software of your audio card, then disable and then re-enable the feature that allowed you to play speakers over the S/PDIF channel.

If you did a bios update recently you’ll need to disable your onboard audio device via device manager and the BIOS. RealTek onboard audio can and does interfere with other audio devices.

Also, turning off NVIDIA’s and AMD’s audio options through their respective control panels will also help you.

I chucked the card cause you have no idea how stressful this whole thing has been for me. I don’t want to get into private details but gaming is something very, very important to me. I needed it to be as good as it used to be. In the place I am in my life at the moment I don’t know what would happen to me if I didn’t have it.

anyway, I tried everything with this card when the sound through SPDIF started breaking to a point it was driving me mad, I took it out, I opened it, I air blasted it, including inside the port as I figured dust could have been blocking the lights. I uninstalled software/drivers. man, I even reinstalled the whole Windows! I spent money on new cables, adapters, boosters. nothing worked! I was left with the choice of playing on my desk, or on my TV with either stereo sound and little lag or surround sound and a lot of lag.

as for the card’s software it was like this: you go in the SB panel, then on Cinematic, you enable Dolby Live. you play some music. it sounds fine. you run a game, sound starts breaking. you play a blu-ray, sound breaks again. you go back to the panel, change it to DTS Connect. and you see it doing even more often.

I know, throwing the card in the bin sounds like a childish thing but the moment I got those unofficial drivers working I found peace! but I knew I had to do something else and throwing that thing in the bin gave me a “you’ll never ♥♥♥♥ with me again, ♥♥♥♥♥!” kind of feeling.

and no, I didn’t do any BIOS update. that’s one of those things you do when things related to the motherboard aren’t working. system has always been super stable. just removed the soundblaster and re-enabled the onboard audio in the BIOS.