HDMI audio from an 8800GTX?

[Zoeff]

I've been wondering if it's possible to get any audio signal from my 8800GTX. I just tried connecting it to my TV using a DVI -> HDMI converter however no audio came trough. To see if it wasn't my TV I connected my PS3 and got sound instantly.

From what I know a DVI cable has no audio of any kind however some claim that with a special DVI -> HDMI converter you'll get an audio signal. Even if this is true, is the 8800GTX even capable of outputting sound? If not, is a GTX 470/480? They've got a dedicated HDMI port but does it send sound trough it and if so, how?

Another problem, my TV appears to upscale the video stream slightly causing the edges to be cut off. This happens with any resolution I set it to in roughly equal amounts. Is this a known issue with some TVs?

 

[Scali]

No, the 8800GTX isn't capable of audio output on HDMI.
I think the GTX470/480 are.

And yea, my TV has the same issue of cutting off the edges with HDMI. When I connect with VGA, it doesn't do that.

 

[lopri]

If a 8800 GTX has an HDMI outlet, it's only for video. GTX 470/480 can output audio via HDMI.

http://www.anandtech.com/show/2977/...tx-470-6-months-late-was-it-worth-the-wait-/2

Speaking of audio, let’s quickly discuss the audio/video capabilities of the GTX 400 series. GF100 has the same audio/video capabilities as the 40nm GT 200 series launched late last year, so this means NVIDIA’s VP4 for video decoding (H.264/MPEG-2/VC-1/MPEG-4 ASP) and internal passthrough for audio. Unfortunately the latter means that the GTX 400 series (and other first-generation Fermi derivatives) won’t be able to match AMD’s Radeon 5000 series in audio capabilities – NVIDIA can do compressed lossy audio(DD/DTS) and 8 channel uncompressed LPCM, but not lossless compressed audio formats such as DTS-HD and Dolby TrueHD. This leaves the HTPC crown safely in AMD’s hands for now.

Re: 40nm GT 200 series' audio functionality.

http://www.anandtech.com/show/2855/3

 

[Zoeff]

Hmm, I'm still confused. Those audio related acronyms mean next to nothing for me... What exactly are those audio limitations of the 400 series? All I need are 2 "HD" channels for the build in speakers of my TV.

 

[Claudius-07]

You have no choice. Again your 8800 GTX DOES NOT pass through any audio whatsoever. You will need to hook up your DVI and then an audio cable from your sound card or mobo's built in audio to the TV's audio in (some call in the PC audio in).

What others are saying is that the newer generation of video cards, allow for it being an all in one solution where the video card can process video AND audio altogether and either output it directly from a HDMI output on the card itself, of if the video card does not have HDMI, then using the adapter you are talking about.

Some video cards allow you to actually take the output from your audio card and plug it in internally to the video card and then it combines the audio and video.

However, again, your 8800 GTX does NOT and will NOT pass, decode, combine any audio period.

The 400 series of NVidia or the 4xxxx and 5xxx series for sure of ATI will output audio. Those I know for sure. Not sure of older or other models.

 

[tweakboy]

A big fat NO! I believe

you can't don't bother think of some other setup my friend.. gl

 

[Scali]

Having said that, I think *some* 8800-series cards (not sure which, could be only the G92-based ones, and perhaps even only on selected models) have an SPDIF input on the card. This allows you to connect your audio card to the videocard so the audio signal gets sent over HDMI.

 

[Zoeff]

I've already given up on trying to use my 8800GTX for any sort of sound output, I was actually asking what the precise limitations are for the 400 series as the quote from the AT article doesn't make it very clear for me with all those acronyms.

All I really 'need' are 2 sound channels for the 2 build in speakers of my TV. Will an ATI card give me better sound quality even when I only use simple TV speakers?

 

[blanketyblank]

Unless your TV has amazing built in speakers answer is no. You won't be able to tell the difference between a digital signal and analog with normal TV speakers. Just use analog input for now, and if you get better speakers then think about getting a soundcard or new video card.

 

[Zoeff]

I'll use some analog sound then. Thanks everybody!