Do all video cards pass audio through HDMI port?

[BrunoBL]

I'm searching for a video card for my PC, plan to use a TV as a monitor. Do all HDMI-enabled cards pass audio through their HDMI port or is this something I should specifically be on the lookout for? I.e, might I end up needing to also connect external speakers instead of simply using the TV audio?

Also, most locally available TVs in the size range I'm looking at aren't full HD but 1366X768. Will video cards advertised as "up to full hd", or "up to 2560X1440", etc, also support 1366X768 to properly use the TV's native resolution or may some of them "skip" that specific resolution? I have asked a few video card salespersons about this, their usual answer is that they don't know.

Thanks, Bruno

 

[Vynavill]

All HDMI cables and standards transfer both video and audio signals, from what I know at least.

What you have to make sure is that, along with the video drivers, you install audio drivers for your GPU, as well as making sure your GPU has an embedded audio encoder.
AFAIK, if it has HDMI, it was designed to handle audio, so you should be fine without looking for anything specific.
Once you do that, select the GPU's audio source as the default audio device from Windows and you're good.

Regarding resolutions, if your monitor supports a lower maximum resolution than your card and your card detects it, it'll simply lock out the extra resolutions. If it doesn't, and you manage to push a higher resolution, the monitor will simply not show it (it'll likely show a message along the lines of "out of range").
Mind you, I've used the word "monitor", but this applies to both monitors and TVs.

 

[BrunoBL]

All HDMI cables and standards transfer both video and audio signals, from what I know at least.

What you have to make sure is that, along with the video drivers, you install audio drivers for your GPU, as well as making sure your GPU has an embedded audio encoder.
AFAIK, if it has HDMI, it was designed to handle audio, so you should be fine without looking for anything specific.
Once you do that, select the GPU's audio source as the default audio device from Windows and you're good.

Regarding resolutions, if your monitor supports a lower maximum resolution than your card and your card detects it, it'll simply lock out the extra resolutions. If it doesn't, and you manage to push a higher resolution, the monitor will simply not show it (it'll likely show a message along the lines of "out of range").
Mind you, I've used the word "monitor", but this applies to both monitors and TVs.

Many thanks for replying. Without your heads-up to select the GPU's audio source as the default audio device from Windows, I'd probably not have thought of that and might be left thinking "yeah, got to use external speakers as expected" and might have not taken the advantage of its integrated sound. so you've really helped me from the get-go, which I do appreciate.

My main concern with resolution is that maybe a video card might not actually support specifically 1366 X 748, only lower *or* higher resolutions (can this ever be the case?), and I might be left with a black frame around a smaller-resolution image or worse, missing parts of the image from less-than-full resolution on the monitor.

 

[James Mason]

As long as the resolution isn't too big for the video card, it will support all smaller resolutions.

Those are really really crappy TVs though, it really shouldn't be that hard to get a 1080p TV.

BUT, the problem here is HDMI, HDMI doesn't support 1366x748. It will do 1280x720. VGA and DVI can do 1366x748, but HDMI won't.

 

[Vynavill]

Pretty much what James said, except (at least from what I know) you actually can force 1366x768 through HDMI, but it'll depend on the TV and the picture will likely not be pixel perfect.
TVs usually support 720p, 1080p, 1080i and, as of now and on the pricier models, 4k.