Windows Audio issue

[facetman]

OK -this has been happening for a while and I am finally going to try to fix it. I got the "man cave" done and I move my 50 inch plasma, the PS3, the Direct TV, and the gaming PC and the 5.1 AVS with decent high end speakers into my new room. Connection are all HDMI out of GPU (AMD 290) /PS3 ( blue ray player)/Direct TV/ to AVS (Sony) , then HDMI out of AVS to Plasma TV.

Here my issue. every time I reboot the PC the default 2.0/16 bit settings come up and I have to reconfigure all the speakers,etc - which are not even- left channel is much louder than right, center channel is even louder than left. If I use Direct TV or the PS3 blue ray the loudness/balance is correct. SO, what the hell is up with the PC on audio?

I have the latest catalyst drivers, I have Realtek Drivers as well. Sometimes the settings go back to the 2.0/ 16 bit default settings even without reboot if the PC is not used for a while.

Not a big deal - just frustrated.

Audio devices drivers in PC currently - I have three:

1) AMD high definition audio
2) INTEl (R) display audio - 6/19/2012 version 6.14.0.3097
3) Realtek high definition audio- version 6.0.1.6559

if it matters - MOBO-= Asrock Z77 extreme4

 

[facetman]

OK may have fixed it.

I went into control panel / Realtek HD audio and set it to 5.1 - instead of using the playback devices area to set the 5.1 . Then went into system properties and disabled the Intel driver. Well see.....

 

[truckerCLOCK]

i would say the AMD drivers should be all you need. I would get rid of the other audio drivers.

 

[facetman]

If I disable/delete the Realtek driver - then I loose the ability to use a headphone out of the PC . If I disable the AMD driver - then the HDMI is lost. Either way - I still lost my settings again and was back to 2.0 speakers and 16 bit today after letting the PC sleep all night.

And I did update the Realtek to the latest driver = 2.75

 

[Aikouka]

I've run into this before, and honestly... I gave up on trying to get it to work. This is an HDMI problem that relates to the end device (TV+AVR) being turned off. The only way that I know of to fix it would be with a Gefen HDMI Detective (an $80 device that stores EDID and keeps it available while devices are off). I just ignored it since I mostly deal with stuff with Dolby Digital, DTS or better audio, which means it gets bitstreamed anyway. Any 2-channel audio ends up going through the receiver's multi-channel post-processing.

 

[LoveMachine]

Keep the Realtek but ditch the Intel drivers. You should only need those if you are running an iGPU. By chance do you have an Onkyo AVR? They are known to have HDMI handshake issues with AMD devices (I know because I have that combo, and similar dropping HDMI problems). Certain Catalyst packages work and some don't, although I think all the 14.1 and greater versions I've used have worked.

 

[facetman]

HA!! Yep just figured it out - well that I agree it is the hand shake stuff anyhow- not an actual solution. If I shut off the Plasma TV - then somehow Windows Audio settings returns to default settings. Even if the Sony AVS receiver is left on. However, If I shut off the AVS receiver and leave the TV on - now not getting any signal - nothing happens in Windows Audio settings - it stays at 5.1 and all settings remain unchanged =figure that out!! Also- If I switch to direct TV viewing via the Sony AVS HDMI input - then nothing happening in windows either. Well- now that I know - I have gootne very quick at resetting the audio setting back to were I want them. I may have to look into the bit streaming using the Digital audio out - how does that work? Do I have a digital audio out of the PC? Update coming soon.

EDIT: Yes have a Optical SPDIF Out Port on back of PC - so I guess I connect a digital audio cable to that and plug that into the AVS receiver? So how does the AVS receiver know that the audio is for the correct video signal coming into it via HDMI from the same source?

 

[LoveMachine]

EDIT: Yes have a Optical SPDIF Out Port on back of PC - so I guess I connect a digital audio cable to that and plug that into the AVS receiver? So how does the AVS receiver know that the audio is for the correct video signal coming into it via HDMI from the same source?

In your AVR setup, there should be a way to assign an optical port to each activity (e.g. the BluRay/DVD input activates HDMI2 and Optical1). However, if you are using optical, I think that max supported codec is DolbyDigital 5.1, which is a slightly compressed signal. You would not be able to bitstream DTS-HD or TrueHD. You would avoid the handshake issues, but introduce limitations and have to run another cable. Possibility of audio/video not syncing as well.

 

[facetman]

Well - after spending a hour in the garage I did find a Optical digital audio cable. The Sony AVR does have a 2 channel audio direct button on the remote, SO I wonder if that activates the bit stream and overrides other audio coming into the receiver via HDMI - so I will try. At least we figured it out a bit. I am NOT going crazy....

It will be interesting if it works to see what sounds the best... I will let you guys know. I don't think I get DTS-HD or TrueHD from the internet anyhow- do I? I use the Blue ray in the PS3 for movies and listening to CD's.

- thanks ....

 

[facetman]

Ok - I have definitely solved the handshake issue with the windows audio returning to default 2.9/16 bit setting. All I have to do is shut off the Sony AVS receiver prior to shutting off the plasma TV , then shut down the PC last and go the opposite when turning the set up back on. Yeah Team!! SO, Never bothered to run the Optical digital cable yet and see what that does to the audio.

Now getting into the visual and convenience "nitpicky" stuff in the "Mancave".

I would like to have no Cords showing between the seating and the screen/TV. This mean running a USB extender cable from the PC around the cabinet behind the components ( Receiver, PS3) and under the carpet along the wall to come up behind the seating and then put a USB hub on a side table. Then connect mouse/keyboard/ headphones/joystick/etc. into the hub.

Apparently USB signal degrades pretty quickly over length, especially USB 3.0 so the cord has to be "active" and the hub has to be "powered". Not sure I need 3.0 but not much difference in price so might as well be ready for upgrades.

I have chosen, but not purchased these items to do the job and hope to get input/opinions and suggestions from you guys if this will work properly or if there are better solutions.

1) USB powered HUB :

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ..._re=PPSSLMPHOOHWPE-_-0J2-001S-00070-_-Product

ORICO H9978-U3 7-Port USB 3.0 SuperSpeed Hub with 36W Power Adapter (VIA VL812 Chipset. Windows, Mac OS X, and Linux support. Full USB 2.0 backwards compatibility.) - Newegg.com

2) USB 3.0 active extender cable:

SABRENT USB-3X5M 16 ft. Black USB 3.0 Active Extension Booster Cable - Newegg.com

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...e=USB_3.0_active_cable-_-12-156-050-_-Product


3) USB audio adapter - to use headphones/mic

SYBA SD-CM-UAUD Adapter - Newegg.com

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...m_re=usb_audio_adapter-_-12-186-035-_-Product


Thanks in advance.