Not sure if this is the right forum or not, so if this should go somewhere else please let me know.
I'm trying to connect my PC to my Pioneer SC-63 receiver to be able to play games in 5.1 and 7.1 surround sound, but am currently at a complete loss as to how to get this to work after several days of trying different approaches. My current equipment setup is as follows:
Gaming PC with RTX 2080 Ti graphics card with 3 display ports and 1 HDMI
Pioneer SC-63 receiver
TCL 65R617 4k HDR TV
The way I have my TV currently setup is to run all my major components directly to the TV, with an ARC HDMI cable connected to the receiver to send all audio to my surround speakers. While historically I would run everything through my receiver first, and have it just send video to my TV, a somewhat recent upgrade to a 4k HDR TV had me change to this current setup due to the older receiver not being able to pass through 4k HDR video. This setup is working flawlessly for me with my Xbox One X and PS4 Pro, enabling me to get 4k HDR video content through the direct HDMI connection to the TV, and up to 7.1 surround sound through the ARC HDMI connection from the TV to the receiver.
I assumed I could do the same with my computer, however when I connect my graphics card HDMI to my TV I am getting 4k HDR video to it, but it seems my computer is recognizing that my TV is a stereo device and thus just sending 2 channel audio to it. So while I am getting audio to the receiver through the ARC connection, I'm only able to get stereo audio.
So my first alternative was to try and connect my PC to the receiver via HDMI. The thought being I could use one of my display ports with a DP to HDMI adapter for video to the TV, and HDMI to the receiver for audio. However when I connect my PC to my receiver directly, in Windows it recognizes the receiver as capable of 8 channel audio and appears as though it's sending an audio signal when I do a test in the Playback tab in the Sound control panel, but I get no actual sound out of my speakers, and my receiver display is showing only stereo with no actual speakers lit up as if it's not getting any audio channel signals. Additionally, the receiver seems to not be passing any video to my TV through the ARC HDMI connection with this setup either as when I select my receiver input on my TV it says it can't find a signal on that input, no matter what resolution I use.
Since I was having issues with the HDMI setup, I figured I'd give up the HDMI audio quality and just use an optical cable as long as I was getting surround sound. My motherboard is an ASUS ROG Maximus IX Hero which has an optical audio out, so I connected that to the receiver to find that I'm only getting stereo over the optical connection. Apparently the motherboard does not support surround sound over optical, so I purchased a Creative Sound Blaster Audigy Rx as it supports up to 7.1 and has an optical connection. However, after installing the card and connecting it's optical out to my receiver I'm still only getting stereo and I've found some conflicting information online as to whether or not I can even get surround through an optical connection.
I'm not sure what to do at this point, and am thoroughly confused as to why this is so difficult. My consoles have no problems transmitting surround sound via a direct HDMI connection, HDMI through ARC, or from an optical cable, why is my PC unable to deliver surround sound to my receiver? Is there some way to able to force Windows to output a 5.1 or 7.1 signal that my TV can pass through the ARC HDMI that I'm not seeing (currently in my sound settings it only gives me the option to select a stereo speaker setup over the HDMI to the TV)? Why is my receiver not recognizing the direct HDMI audio signal from my PC? Why does my PC seem to only output stereo audio over an optical cable either from my motherboard or sound card when so many other devices are capable of surround sound over optical?
Any suggestions at this point are more than welcome, please help.
I'm trying to connect my PC to my Pioneer SC-63 receiver to be able to play games in 5.1 and 7.1 surround sound, but am currently at a complete loss as to how to get this to work after several days of trying different approaches. My current equipment setup is as follows:
Gaming PC with RTX 2080 Ti graphics card with 3 display ports and 1 HDMI
Pioneer SC-63 receiver
TCL 65R617 4k HDR TV
The way I have my TV currently setup is to run all my major components directly to the TV, with an ARC HDMI cable connected to the receiver to send all audio to my surround speakers. While historically I would run everything through my receiver first, and have it just send video to my TV, a somewhat recent upgrade to a 4k HDR TV had me change to this current setup due to the older receiver not being able to pass through 4k HDR video. This setup is working flawlessly for me with my Xbox One X and PS4 Pro, enabling me to get 4k HDR video content through the direct HDMI connection to the TV, and up to 7.1 surround sound through the ARC HDMI connection from the TV to the receiver.
I assumed I could do the same with my computer, however when I connect my graphics card HDMI to my TV I am getting 4k HDR video to it, but it seems my computer is recognizing that my TV is a stereo device and thus just sending 2 channel audio to it. So while I am getting audio to the receiver through the ARC connection, I'm only able to get stereo audio.
So my first alternative was to try and connect my PC to the receiver via HDMI. The thought being I could use one of my display ports with a DP to HDMI adapter for video to the TV, and HDMI to the receiver for audio. However when I connect my PC to my receiver directly, in Windows it recognizes the receiver as capable of 8 channel audio and appears as though it's sending an audio signal when I do a test in the Playback tab in the Sound control panel, but I get no actual sound out of my speakers, and my receiver display is showing only stereo with no actual speakers lit up as if it's not getting any audio channel signals. Additionally, the receiver seems to not be passing any video to my TV through the ARC HDMI connection with this setup either as when I select my receiver input on my TV it says it can't find a signal on that input, no matter what resolution I use.
Since I was having issues with the HDMI setup, I figured I'd give up the HDMI audio quality and just use an optical cable as long as I was getting surround sound. My motherboard is an ASUS ROG Maximus IX Hero which has an optical audio out, so I connected that to the receiver to find that I'm only getting stereo over the optical connection. Apparently the motherboard does not support surround sound over optical, so I purchased a Creative Sound Blaster Audigy Rx as it supports up to 7.1 and has an optical connection. However, after installing the card and connecting it's optical out to my receiver I'm still only getting stereo and I've found some conflicting information online as to whether or not I can even get surround through an optical connection.
I'm not sure what to do at this point, and am thoroughly confused as to why this is so difficult. My consoles have no problems transmitting surround sound via a direct HDMI connection, HDMI through ARC, or from an optical cable, why is my PC unable to deliver surround sound to my receiver? Is there some way to able to force Windows to output a 5.1 or 7.1 signal that my TV can pass through the ARC HDMI that I'm not seeing (currently in my sound settings it only gives me the option to select a stereo speaker setup over the HDMI to the TV)? Why is my receiver not recognizing the direct HDMI audio signal from my PC? Why does my PC seem to only output stereo audio over an optical cable either from my motherboard or sound card when so many other devices are capable of surround sound over optical?
Any suggestions at this point are more than welcome, please help.