Reciever limiting itself to stereo playback of DVD

[Sunrise089]

Thanks for any and all help:

While waiting for Comcast to deliver my HD-DVR and enable my digital cable, I wanted to test AV output from my PC to my 47" Westinghouse display. I'm using a DVI->HDMI cable from my GPU which seems to output 1920x1080 just fine, and the onboard optical output from my motherboard, which is giving me trouble.

Both DVD output through VLC media player and the Realtec Sound Manager's self-test have no problem getting stereo content to play over my Panasonic HT-05 HTIB. The receiver properly detects a digital stereo signal. However, setting the 5.1 self-test results in audio only being played out of the front left and right channels. Playing a DVD likewise results in perfect audio when Stereo is selected, only the front-left and front-right channels when 5.1 is selected. Also, the DVD fails to play at all in Media Player, citing a "digital copy protection" error. The DVD is legitimate and retail.

This is my first attempt at PC to HT audio, so any and all advice, including telling me what additional info would be helpful, would be greatly appreciated.

 

[PurdueRy]

your onboard audio will not encode DD or DTS in real time and therefore most everything will be in stereo besides DVD movies.

As for the software, a couple steps need to be taken. In your soundcard settings you will need it set for SPDIF out. Next, in VLC, select your audio device to be waveout instead of default or directx. In other software you will need to tell it to bypass decoding and output via SPDIF.

 

[Sunrise089]

Originally posted by: PurdueRy
your onboard audio will not encode DD or DTS in real time and therefore most everything will be in stereo besides DVD movies.

As for the software, a couple steps need to be taken. In your soundcard settings you will need it set for SPDIF out. Next, in VLC, select your audio device to be waveout instead of default or directx. In other software you will need to tell it to bypass decoding and output via SPDIF.

Thank you for the assistance.

I understand most content will just be in stereo, and that's fine. The onboard motherboard audio is set to SPDIF out, and is outputting content (just in stereo). I changed that setting in VLC as instructed. VLC is still only outputing two channels of sound (or at least the receiver is only inputing two channels of sound) during DVD playback. Any further ideas?

 

[PurdueRy]

Originally posted by: Sunrise089

Originally posted by: PurdueRy
your onboard audio will not encode DD or DTS in real time and therefore most everything will be in stereo besides DVD movies.

As for the software, a couple steps need to be taken. In your soundcard settings you will need it set for SPDIF out. Next, in VLC, select your audio device to be waveout instead of default or directx. In other software you will need to tell it to bypass decoding and output via SPDIF.

Thank you for the assistance.

I understand most content will just be in stereo, and that's fine. The onboard motherboard audio is set to SPDIF out, and is outputting content (just in stereo). I changed that setting in VLC as instructed. VLC is still only outputing two channels of sound (or at least the receiver is only inputing two channels of sound) during DVD playback. Any further ideas?

Make sure the main page of VLC has "Use SPDIF when available" is checked. If you could also post pictures of your current settings in your sound card drivers that would be good.

Make sure your receiver is set to autodetect a stream and is not set to stereo only mode. Some receiver need to be set to auto on the digital connection.

 

[The Boston Dangler]

^^^edit: see what happens when you stop to make a sandwich in the middle of a reply^^^


Q: what OS are you using?

i think you need to enable (or aquire) either Dolby Digital or DTS output from the pc. if you set the audio proerties to 5.1, i'll bet you a dollar there is sound waiting to come out of the analog plugs on all channels. most likely what you're getting on the optical is PCM (pulse code modulation, 44.1 kHz stereo, exactly what's on CD's).

set the windows properties to 5.1 speakers, then poke around for a "DD" or similar setting in the realtek control panel. DO THIS WITH THE VOLUME VERY LOW ON THE RECEIVER because-
1. pc audio levels vary wildly
2. if the receiver is looking for PCM and you suddenly hit it with DD/DTS, you will be blasted with digital noise and possibly damage something, including your ears.

double check the receiver to make sure it's set for DD/DTS input, maybe auto swithing?

you won't get 5.1 sound from any 2-channel source, but DD/DTS encoded movies and the 5.1 test sounds will work fine.

IIRC windows xp sp2, MCE rollup 2, and earlier versions, do not play DVD's right out of the box - yet another reason to avoid WMP. VLC is pretty good, especially since it is self-contained and seems to play everything. try media player classic if you would like a little more tweaking (very customizable, some assembly required to get 100%). zoom player is great (little/some assembly), but the free version doesn't play DVD's.

http://www.doom9.org/
http://www.videohelp.com/
http://www.avsforum.com/

 

[Sunrise089]

Originally posted by: PurdueRy

Make sure the main page of VLC has "Use SPDIF when available" is checked. If you could also post pictures of your current settings in your sound card drivers that would be good.

Make sure your receiver is set to autodetect a stream and is not set to stereo only mode. Some receiver need to be set to auto on the digital connection.

The VLC SPDIF setting is enabled. The receiver detects digital signals properly - I use the same input with my DVD player and it properly detects all the channels.

Here are (oversized) pics: Text

Text

Originally posted by: The Boston Dangler
^^^edit: see what happens when you stop to make a sandwich in the middle of a reply^^^


Q: what OS are you using?

i think you need to enable (or aquire) either Dolby Digital or DTS output from the pc. if you set the audio proerties to 5.1, i'll bet you a dollar there is sound waiting to come out of the analog plugs on all channels. most likely what you're getting on the optical is PCM (pulse code modulation, 44.1 kHz stereo, exactly what's on CD's).

set the windows properties to 5.1 speakers, then poke around for a "DD" or similar setting in the realtek control panel. DO THIS WITH THE VOLUME VERY LOW ON THE RECEIVER because-
1. pc audio levels vary wildly
2. if the receiver is looking for PCM and you suddenly hit it with DD/DTS, you will be blasted with digital noise and possibly damage something, including your ears.

double check the receiver to make sure it's set for DD/DTS input, maybe auto swithing?

you won't get 5.1 sound from any 2-channel source, but DD/DTS encoded movies and the 5.1 test sounds will work fine.

IIRC windows xp sp2, MCE rollup 2, and earlier versions, do not play DVD's right out of the box - yet another reason to avoid WMP. VLC is pretty good, especially since it is self-contained and seems to play everything. try media player classic if you would like a little more tweaking (very customizable, some assembly required to get 100%). zoom player is great (little/some assembly), but the free version doesn't play DVD's.

http://www.doom9.org/
http://www.videohelp.com/
http://www.avsforum.com/

I'm using XP SP2.

Thanks for the WMP explanation, but since I'm using VLC, that should at least work.

I cannot find any DD or DTS settings in Realtec Control Panel.

 

[PurdueRy]

Originally posted by: Sunrise089

Originally posted by: PurdueRy

Make sure the main page of VLC has "Use SPDIF when available" is checked. If you could also post pictures of your current settings in your sound card drivers that would be good.

Make sure your receiver is set to autodetect a stream and is not set to stereo only mode. Some receiver need to be set to auto on the digital connection.

The VLC SPDIF setting is enabled. The receiver detects digital signals properly - I use the same input with my DVD player and it properly detects all the channels.

Here are (oversized) pics: Text

Text

Originally posted by: The Boston Dangler
^^^edit: see what happens when you stop to make a sandwich in the middle of a reply^^^


Q: what OS are you using?

i think you need to enable (or aquire) either Dolby Digital or DTS output from the pc. if you set the audio proerties to 5.1, i'll bet you a dollar there is sound waiting to come out of the analog plugs on all channels. most likely what you're getting on the optical is PCM (pulse code modulation, 44.1 kHz stereo, exactly what's on CD's).

set the windows properties to 5.1 speakers, then poke around for a "DD" or similar setting in the realtek control panel. DO THIS WITH THE VOLUME VERY LOW ON THE RECEIVER because-
1. pc audio levels vary wildly
2. if the receiver is looking for PCM and you suddenly hit it with DD/DTS, you will be blasted with digital noise and possibly damage something, including your ears.

double check the receiver to make sure it's set for DD/DTS input, maybe auto swithing?

you won't get 5.1 sound from any 2-channel source, but DD/DTS encoded movies and the 5.1 test sounds will work fine.

IIRC windows xp sp2, MCE rollup 2, and earlier versions, do not play DVD's right out of the box - yet another reason to avoid WMP. VLC is pretty good, especially since it is self-contained and seems to play everything. try media player classic if you would like a little more tweaking (very customizable, some assembly required to get 100%). zoom player is great (little/some assembly), but the free version doesn't play DVD's.

http://www.doom9.org/
http://www.videohelp.com/
http://www.avsforum.com/

I'm using XP SP2.

Thanks for the WMP explanation, but since I'm using VLC, that should at least work.

I cannot find any DD or DTS settings in Realtec Control Panel.

What receiver are you using? Have you connected a DVD player(standalone) to it to see if it recognizes the bitstream? Try doing this on the same input your computer is connected to.

Also, please post the rest of the audio control panel options...just in case.

 

[The Boston Dangler]

it seems VLC has some big issues with spdif, although i didn't find the exact problem you describe
http://forum.videolan.org/view...&sk=t&sd=a&hilit=spdif

could you try another player, just to eliminate the sound card as the problem? mpc with ac3filter seems to work very well.

 

[Sunrise089]

Originally posted by: The Boston Dangler
it seems VLC has some big issues with spdif, although i didn't find the exact problem you describe
http://forum.videolan.org/view...&sk=t&sd=a&hilit=spdif

could you try another player, just to eliminate the sound card as the problem? mpc with ac3filter seems to work very well.

I will try another player....can someone recommend one that isn't too tough to get working.

@PurdueRy - I have a stand alone player, which I am able to plug into the same input and change no settings....and it properly recognizes the signal.

 

[Sunrise089]

IT WORKS! Thanks for that link Boston - VLC now works fine with no alterations other than a restart - I didn't know it needed a restart to enable the Wave playback setting.

Thanks again all - see you for the next problem

 

[PurdueRy]

Originally posted by: Sunrise089
IT WORKS! Thanks for that link Boston - VLC now works fine with no alterations other than a restart - I didn't know it needed a restart to enable the Wave playback setting.

Thanks again all - see you for the next problem

::Sigh::

 

[The Boston Dangler]

lol