Audio Over 9800GT HDMI/DVI

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mickmclovin

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folks,
Im sure this has been asked before but i couldn't find a post that helped much.

Im will soon be buying a new TV (Panasonic 37X10) for my room and I have a ton of HD Movies in MKV format (Legal) on an external hard drive.

I have Gaming PC in my room with a GeForce 9800GT 1GB and I thought the best and cheapest way of watching these HD Films would be to connect the PC directly up to the TV via the DVI to HDMI adapter. I would just shove a HDMI cable from PC to TV and hopefully be able to watch my movies on it.

Only thing is I hear that DVI does not carry Audio. Iv heard of some people being able to sort this on certain ATI cards so is it possible with mine?

Basically what Im wondering how to get the audio and sound from my PC to my TV. Also, I dont plan on buying an AV reviever.

Any replies are much appreciated!

Cheers
 
There are now 3 main inputs for HDTVs that do what you want:

1) VGA PC + 3.5mm (stereo) audio
2) HDMI
3) HDMI PC

Alternatives involve having a receiver and putting the audio out to it from a sound card.

1) VGA PC + 3.5mm
pretty explanatory. The drawback is some HDTV's may not have it, or might not provide full resolution. But if you at least have this option you're okay.

2) HDMI
This is for "video" inputs, not PC. If you have a 1080p HDTV you should set things to 1920x1080. A window might pop up to help you. You may also have to change an overscan option in your TV settings. Still need HDMI audio from graphics card.

3) HDMI PC
Treats your PC as a monitor. Still need HDMI audio from graphics card.

Audio out from HDMI:
Here's the problem. There are graphics cards for desktops that have HDMI adapters. Most provide "passthrough" of audio. I haven't tried to test the extent of what works and doesn't. The worst case scenario is only Dolby from a CD will work.

It might be possible to use AC3filter, but the thing that makes me wonder about the audio card is because you need to toggle your "Audio source" from your audio card to something like "HDMI audio" in your Audio Settings to get audio out this HDMI adapter.

My dad's laptop HDMI worked fine though it was engineered tha way, even still I had to choose between the onboard graphics and "HDMI audio" which is odd considering the audio card was the only thing which could even play the audio so that's hopeful for the 9800GT setup.

Auzentech:
There's a card here that might interest some people:
http://www.auzentech.com/site/products/x-fi_hometheater_hd.php

I suppose some people would use a dvi->HDMI connector to input just the video into the card, pick up the audio on the card then use an HDMI->HDMI cable for their HDTV.

Some cards like the NVidia GTX 275 have an audio input which can take in the Audio card's output S/PDIF signal and pass it through the HDMI automatically.

Software. You want to use the latest 32-bit K-Lite pack (regardless of x64 or x32 Win XP/Vista) with WMPC-HC. You'll need to ensure that "DXVA" is enabled. If you have issues you can Google this.

You can tell it's working in two ways:
1) your CPU usage is a lot lower in Task Manager (CTRL-ALT-DEL)
2) you right-click WMPC-HC and bring up the filter properties and you see your GPU

In XP, my CPU dropped from 55% to 3% with my HD3870 while watching my (cough) legal version of Hellboy 2 @ 1080p/MKV/AVC/6Channel DTS

I'm guessing that your graphics card supports AVC and VC-1 but not MPEG2 but I'm not sure.
 

mickmclovin

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So,
On my computer i have 2 Dvi connections, and i have a DVI to HDMI converter. If i plug a hdmi cable from the DVI-HDMI converter will i get audio on my tv from the PC?

Sorry - Im pretty daft when it comes to stuff like this
 

mickmclovin

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Ahh thats what I was looking for, So will the SPDIF connecter be plugged into my sound card and i just unplug and plug it into my Graphics card?
 
SPDIF input:
Not all cards have this. I know the GTX 275 though I don't think the 9800GT does though.

HDMI dongle:
Yes. You WILL get audio routed through this output.
I have NOT fully tested this.

Step 0: Install the HDMI adapter and get video up and running (account for overscan etc. can be tricky initially)
Step 1: Install the HDMI drivers
Step 2: toggle the Audio solution from your sound card to the "HDMI" solution
Step 3: Try running DVD's from your disc drive. Then try playing movies.
Step 4: Try running a game (I doubt it, but it doesn't hurt to try).
 

Larrjeet

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This is definitely one of those questions that does not have a simple answer it would appear that ATI has added a video only HDMI jack on the back of there cards . And if you want audio you must buy a dongle and adapt the DVI port to HDMI which is totaly backwards as the whole idea of HDMI was that unlike VGA ,DVI and S-video it included the audio and video in one cable . I have have come to the conclusion that there are two drivers out there for my system . My motherboard is a Biostar TA780G with realtek hd audio on board. and a Diamond HD 3650 video card with dedicated HDMI jack . AS far as I can see I have to choices . The driver from biostar that directs the Audio through the on board DVI jack or the realtek/ATI HDMI driver that directs it through the ATI video cards DVI connector . In both cases you need the dongle to adapt HDMI cable to DVI .
 
Larrjeet,
You won't have access to the motherboard video with your HD3650 installed.

You should have two audio drivers installed. The HD3650 HDMI version and whatever main audio solution you are using.

To get audio out of the HDMI dongle on your HD3650, you'll need to enter your Windows Audio Control Panel and choose the HDMI version and NOT your onboard audio. When finished you need to toggle back for Windows/Game sounds which should NOT be coming out this HDMI connection.

Try testing under what circumstances you get sound but it's my impression you can't game this way, and if so what' the point? Maybe some people only want to attach their PC to their HDTV to watch an inserted movie. Note that since this audio will be unable to be processed, any audio you select is going right out the card. Unless you have a DTS decoder, for example don't select DTS.

Cards like the GTX 275 have a S/PDIF input and they can just route the audio from their audio card into the video card for full audio through HDMI without messing around changing which Audio Device you use in Windows. they can also use the audio card to decode DTS etc, something the simple "passthrough" of the HD3650 solution can't do.

I have my HDTV hooked up using the PC-VGA + 3.5mm audio and everything's awesome. (I can even use software to ignore HDCP)

Summary:
I get the impression that only audio from a DVD might work through the HD3650 HDMI solution, so try to watch a DVD movie. It's a pretty stupid solution and making lots of people mad because really, if I see an HDMI output on a computer it should simply work without hassle.
 

leon2006

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New nvdia cards like the GTX 280, 275 have an SPDIF connector to pass through the audio through the HDMI.

If your 9800GT don't have an SPDIF option then you can't pass through audio through the HDMI/DVI connector going to your TV.

Your option with your setup are as follows:
1) OPtical Link (SPDIF) if your sound card has this .... connect it to the audio input of your TV.
2) Digital Link: Digital Audtion Link use a regular audio coax cable. You can use it if your sound card has one and your TV has one.
3) 3.5mm audion output to RCA-stereo audio input of your TV.

ATI Vdieo Card with Audion on HDMI...
Cards like 3870, 4870, and 4890 & related families have a built in digital sound card on the video card. There is an added digital audio card inside the ATI video card. This audion card can support 7.1 audio.

You enable this throuh the SOUND OPTION on the Control Panel. You select the ATI-HDMI Output as your default PLAYBACK. With this you can have your audtio through the HDMI cable.

I personally got this to work on 4870 512 and just this week i got a 4890 XOC.


NVIDIA CARD facilitate an audio pass through through SPDIF cable. Its a hardware cabling connection.

For Nvidia Card i got it to work on GTX-280OC. I connected the SPDIF cable between the video card and sound card(SPDIF connector). Take not not the analog signal. This is SPDIF.

Nvidia SPDIF pass through can only support upto 5.1 audio if your sound card supports DTS-Live on SPDIF.

On any of the above connection all media player on the PC should work such as Media Center, Media Player, other MP3 Player, Power-DVD for Blue Ray.
 
"If your 9800GT don't have an SPDIF option then you can't pass through audio through the HDMI/DVI connector going to your TV. "

No. That's not true.

If a card came with an HDMI dongle/adapter it DOES have the ability to passthrough audio but only in limited circumstances such as possibly only from the DVD player.

The above situation in my mind is quite useless as I would not want to toggle between my regular audio solution and the HDMI constantly every time I watch a movie.

I believe the only ideal solution for gamers is:
1) S/PDIF input on the video card
2) HDMI or DVI input on the audio card

Both of the above solutions accomplish the same task by merging the audio and video then sending it out an HDMI output though I believe #1 makes the most sense in terms of cabling.
 
The 'best' option would be one of the following:

1: Sdif to sound system (assuming system supports DD/DTS decoding)
or
2: HDMI to sound system via ASUS HADV1.3
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16829132008&Tpk=asus%20hdav1.3

The ASUS HADV1.3, being the only soundcard with HDMI output (and HDMI input, plus the standard Spdif out) is the only real HTPC option to carry high-def sound at the moment. Otherwise, you need you sound system to be able to decode DD/DTS signals (uncompressed 5.1 can not be carried over Spdif due to bandwith).
 


Best option would be to use a DVI-HDMI adaptor then; both NVIDIA and ATI cards now come with such an adaptor, but this specialised one will (apparently) carry sound over the connection. Alternativly, you can use HDMI for video, and either optical digital (best option, if supported) from your PC to HDTV, or 3.5" to your sound system (or TV, although you would probably need a 3.5" to RCA converter).
 
gamerk316

the whole point of this post was about the HDMI adapter for the 9800GT. If you read my replies you see the answer is not simple as this version of HDMI is passthrough and doesn't involve the sound card etc

I don't believe many (if any) HDTV's have a digital audio input grouped with an HDMI input

3.5mm (not 3.5" which is inches) is grouped with VGA (analog) input which does work very well. I use this and my only problem is lack of HDCP support for BluRay but I don't need that as I'm going to build a tiny Home Theater PC when the hardware gets sorted out a bit better.

Anyway, again the issue was regarding HDMI through the 9800GT and the answer is "yes" but in such a limited way as to be essentially useless. I believe if a product has an HDMI output then ALL of your Windows, gaming and movie sounds should simply work with no issues, something the 9800GT (and others) can not claim.
 

Sprinx

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I know this thread has been dead for a while, but I researched this for a long time and this thread was always near the top on Google. I want to clear up a few things

I just wanted to confirm that I was able to get the pass-through to work on my 9800 GTX+, through a RadioShack DVI->HDMI adapter cable. I know it's not the exact same model, but it is a 9 series. I simply took two wires, attached one to SPDIF-out and the other to SPDIF-ground on my EVGA 790i FTW (Realtek HD audio pins). It has five pins on the MB connector, two which are S/PDIF-in, and one that provides +5v (I think that pin could cause damage if it was hooked up to video card). Check your MB documentation to see. At first, I thought it didn't work, but then after a while I heard really loud static coming through. I switched the pins on the card, and lo and behold, it worked. I believe the ground pin is the one on the left if looking at the card while in a normal case. If you mix it up, no biggie from my experience.

I right-clicked on the volume on the taskbar in Windows 7, and chose "Playback Devices," and set Realtek HDMI audio as the default. Note that *all* audio from Windows was put through to my TV, from Windows system sounds to Call of Duty MW2 (and it sounded phenomenal!) to Windows Media Center. I was also able to use the HDMI output at the same time with my Logitech USB headset for voice chatting.

There were many other suggestions, but this is what the OP wanted to do. Any analog input (VGA, component, etc) won't look nearly as good as DVI->HDMI, not to mention that most VGA 15-pin inputs on the HDTVs that I've seen max out at around 1024 x 768, which equals stretched and blurry. What he said in his last post, I second everything.

As far as HDCP status is concerned, I can't verify that as I have no Blu-ray drive, and I cannot get nVidia control panel to open when it's hooked up to my HDTV (on this card or my 7900GTX - weird?). I also ordered an nVidia brand DVI->HDMI adapter (not a cable) off eBay before I realized that I had the wires switched, but it's not here yet to test. I imagine it will work, as well.

My system specs (concentrating on A/V aspects):
EVGA 790i FTW w/ Realtek audio (Azalia spec, front panel audio + HD audio headers)
EVGA 9800GTX+ w/ S/PDIF passthrough (2-pin)
Radio Shack DVI->HDMI adapter cable that I got on sale for $7
ProScan 1080p 40" TV that I got on sale at BestBuy for $500
Corsair DDR3
Q6600 @ 3.3 GHz
 
I'm very impressed that you got this working properly.

I use 1360x768 through VGA to my 32" Sony and it looks great but I read 1920x1080 was too much. There MAY be VGA cables with higher quality cables but digital is the way to go.

I was not impressed that NVidia and ATI came out with "HDMI" cards that have audio which only works in certain conditions (such as only passthrough from a movie, and even then none of the advanced audio like DD+). My dad's HP laptop with NVidia 8600M chip has HDMI output and it works perfectly. We have to toggle the audio source (which is a little odd because it's the same audio chip); so we're not really changing the source rather they've set the laptop to either output audio through HDMI or use the speakers on the laptop but not both.
 

tylerwagler

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I'm using a 9800GT with a Lanparty nf4 SLI-DR and can not get audio over the DVI to work. I ran an SPDIF cable from my mobo to the 9800GT and changed my playback device to Realtek digital output and nothing. I've tried the nVidia audio drivers also and nothing.

ps:
is it weird that the nvidia drivers and the realtek drivers work for my pc?
 

Sprinx

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First, yes, I think it is weird that nvidia drivers are available for your sound. I'm not familiar with that chipset, but I would uninstall all audio drivers, rebooting after each uninstall, and then re-install the latest Realtek ones. Can you list your audio codec? For example, mine is Realtek ALC888S. You can find it in your MB's specs, or in the Realtek HD Audio Manager (before/after you re-install it).

Second, once I had the wires connecting my MB digital output into my card, I had a new option in the Realtek Audio Manager - "HDMI Output." This is a different tab than "Digital Output," which is referring to your coax/optical output on the back of the MB panel. If you do not have this tab, it may mean something is not set up correctly. Double-check your MB manual to make sure you are connecting the correct wires.

See this pic for example of the HDMI tab vs. the Digital Output tab:
http://www.sevenforums.com/attachments/sound-audio/4561d1234378991-realtek-hdmi-hdcp-vista-not-win7-realtek-hd-audio-manager.jpg

 
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