How to TrueHD or DTS Master HDMI to receiver

[Paul Anderegg]

What are the audio preference settings for getting DTS or Dolby high resolution audio to pass through to my Sony receiver? I can get DTS or DD passthrough no problem when sending HDMI to my TV which then spits the signal over to the receiver via ARC, but when I tried connecting the Windows 7 PC directly to the receiver, all I get is PCM. PC is set for 2 channel stereo in each case, as I heard that is the only way to get the HD audio to flow through the HDMI cable. Files are BR mkv's with HD and normal DTS audio streams available.

Paul

[InTheWings]

No idea how it works on windows, but your audio output should report capabilities, so there might be a configuration on system.

Or wait a better answer

[Jean-Baptiste Kempf]

What are the audio preference settings for getting DTS or Dolby high resolution audio to pass through to my Sony receiver? I can get DTS or DD passthrough no problem when sending HDMI to my TV which then spits the signal over to the receiver via ARC, but when I tried connecting the Windows 7 PC directly to the receiver, all I get is PCM. PC is set for 2 channel stereo in each case, as I heard that is the only way to get the HD audio to flow through the HDMI cable. Files are BR mkv's with HD and normal DTS audio streams available.

Paul

The Windows Mixer can be configured to pass some codecs and not others.

[Paul Anderegg]

My Windows audio settings show all the cool super duper codecs that the receiver is capable of, but I have no clue how to setup VLC for anything other than regular DTS or Dolby Digital. The high end HD audio stuff just shows PCM 2CH on the AV receiver when I select that stream during playback.

Paul

[Paul Anderegg]

PowerDVD can select the HD audio and it shows correctly on my receiver, but PowerDVD has a weird glitch every 10 seconds that makes watching movies irritating.

Paul

[Jean-Baptiste Kempf]

My Windows audio settings show all the cool super duper codecs that the receiver is capable of, but I have no clue how to setup VLC for anything other than regular DTS or Dolby Digital. The high end HD audio stuff just shows PCM 2CH on the AV receiver when I select that stream during playback.

Paul

VLC 3.0.3: Preferences, Audio, Pass-through options, set it to all codecs.

[CorzaMoon]

v3.0.3:
Tools > Preferences > Audio
Change the "HDMI/SPDIF audio passthrough" to Enabled. Restart VLC.

I did this, and my Pre-amp automatically started detecting DTS-X and ATMOS. You might also need to make sure your Receiver is set to "Direct".

[Paul Anderegg]

This is what I am set to, which gets me DTS, but not DTS HD or TrueHD.



https://imgur.com/a/X3rBZxT

[CorzaMoon]

This is what I am set to, which gets me DTS, but not DTS HD or TrueHD.



https://imgur.com/a/X3rBZxT

Make sure you have the latest VLC. Anything older than 3.0.1 does not support, or at least display, the audio codecs correctly. It will downsample, or even just display as PCM on your receiver.

[Jean-Baptiste Kempf]

v3.0.3:
Tools > Preferences > Audio
Change the "HDMI/SPDIF audio passthrough" to Enabled. Restart VLC.

I did this, and my Pre-amp automatically started detecting DTS-X and ATMOS. You might also need to make sure your Receiver is set to "Direct".

You need wasapi for HD codecs. You cannot force DirectX for that.

[CorzaMoon]

v3.0.3:
Tools > Preferences > Audio
Change the "HDMI/SPDIF audio passthrough" to Enabled. Restart VLC.

I did this, and my Pre-amp automatically started detecting DTS-X and ATMOS. You might also need to make sure your Receiver is set to "Direct".

You need wasapi for HD codecs. You cannot force DirectX for that.

I didn’t mention anything about DirectX. I meant Direct as in Passthrough. My Integra pre-amp has an option called “Direct” which will detect the pure audio that’s being “directed” to it. So all the codecs will run properly. Atmos (Dolby TrueHD), DTS:X (DTS-HD MA), etc.

[Paul Anderegg]

I have my Windows set to give exclusive priority etcetera, the WASAPI mode, enabled. I set my receiver to Pure direct mode. I set VLC 3.0.3 to DirectX Audio output, checkbox for S/PDIF, and my HDMI destination (for some reason still shows as my TV even though shooting directly to the receiver) set to the only option. With all that, selecting the 7.1 audio source in VLC results in PCM 2.0 displayed on the receiver, with only the left and right channels pushing any audio out. My Windows sound settings are set to STEREO, since that is necessary for sending bitstream audio.

So, the ONLY options I have for Output Module in audio preferences is

Automatic
Windows Multimedia Device Output
DirectX audio output
WaveOut audio output
Audio memory output
File audio output
Dummy audio output
Disbale

Thats it...I don't see an option for "all codecs", or "HDMI". The settings I use, again, work properly for normal DTS and DD, just not the HD codecs that PowerDVD can handle properly.

Paul

[Jean-Baptiste Kempf]

I have my Windows set to give exclusive priority etcetera, the WASAPI mode, enabled. I set my receiver to Pure direct mode. I set VLC 3.0.3 to DirectX Audio output, checkbox for S/PDIF,

Use the WASAPI output (Windows Multimedia Session)

[Paul Anderegg]

For the love of....I set it to Automatic, and restarted VLC, and now the HD codec pops up on my receiver display...problem solved. Ugh, I feel dumb.

Paul

[Paul Anderegg]

I have my Windows set to give exclusive priority etcetera, the WASAPI mode, enabled. I set my receiver to Pure direct mode. I set VLC 3.0.3 to DirectX Audio output, checkbox for S/PDIF,

Use the WASAPI output (Windows Multimedia Session)

Windows Multimedia Session is the correct answer! Automatic was simply selecting that for me...for some reason, Automatic didn't work before when I was trying to get normal DTS...maybe I forgot to restart between settings changes.

[Jean-Baptiste Kempf]

I have my Windows set to give exclusive priority etcetera, the WASAPI mode, enabled. I set my receiver to Pure direct mode. I set VLC 3.0.3 to DirectX Audio output, checkbox for S/PDIF,

Use the WASAPI output (Windows Multimedia Session)

Windows Multimedia Session is the correct answer! Automatic was simply selecting that for me...for some reason, Automatic didn't work before when I was trying to get normal DTS...maybe I forgot to restart between settings changes.

Cool.

[CorzaMoon]

Windows Multimedia Session is the correct answer! Automatic was simply selecting that for me...for some reason, Automatic didn't work before when I was trying to get normal DTS...maybe I forgot to restart between settings changes.

That was probably it. Enjoy the amazing audio!

[Igor1974]

Hello,

after spending days of searching on the internet, I'll try here, maybe somebody has the right answer for me.

Windows 10 (up to date) with NVIDIA GTX 1060 (latest driver) ---> HDMI to Sony TV ---> HDMI to Onkyo TX-NR656.

Dolby Digital and Dolby Digital+ are no problem, but I can't get TrueHD to the receiver. I tried everything, but Onkyo is only showing PCM 2.0. I made screenshots from all setups (including Windows and VLC). Maybe the problem is, that Windows doesn't show TrueHD as supported format (please see screenshot "Windows5") and Windows "thinks", the Sony TV is the end of the sound-chaine.

Thanks in advance: Igor

PS: I hope, the screenshots can't be accessed under the following link:

[url]https://1drv.ms/u/s!Asls_M8mMxmMgb1k5DgkcYCPAJyyZA?e=iFLFYp[/url]

[Igor1974]

I have the solution: obviously, even a relatively new Sony Bravia can't TrueHD passthrough - so I took an additionally HDMI cable between PC and receiver: it's working like a charm. You only have to choose under Windows the receiver as sound device (not the TV).

VLC player setup: Output back-end = WASAPI
Output device: AV receiver.

[grimesbot]

As you discovered by trial-and-error, the ARC (Audio Return Channel) is the problem here. HDMI, when connected directly, supports lossless audio formats like Dolby TrueHD and DTS-HD, which is what makes it better than an optical cable which only support lossy formats such as DTS and Dolby Digital (Plus). HDMI ARC feature is only as good as optical, since it was really meant to replace the optical cable, so it doesn't support lossless audio formats. Since the audio was going from PC -> TV -(ARC)> Receiver, that's why you weren't seeing support for the lossless formats. With the PC -> Receiver, you get all the formats because ARC is no longer the bottleneck.

There's a very new feature called eARC (Enhanced Audio Return Channel) that's only just now being added to high end TVs, receivers and sound bars. It DOES support lossless audio formats, using the "Ethernet over HDMI" feature of the HDMI spec so it may not work on basic/cheap HDMI cables. Within the last month, they just pushed out the software update to my 2019 TCL 8-Series TV which enabled it. I have my Windows 10 machine connected via HDMI to that TV, which is connected to my 2020-model Samsung HW-Q900T (eARC capable) using the eARC connection, and I can confirm that "Dobly TrueHD" is listed as a supported format.

Good luck, it ain't cheap!

[Igor1974]

First of all, thanks for your answer.

I'm going mad again... I have now a Sony OLED XR-65A80J with eARC. DTS and True HD (even Atmos) have been working like a charm until the latest Nvidia driver update. Please let me explain, how the connections are, maybe, you can help me.

8K HDMI from PC to Sony eARC (even there I'm clueless, because there are 2 HDMI outputs on the Nvidia graphic card and I'm not sure, which one to use, I tried both, but on one I have no picture on the TV). Another HDMI from Sony to Onkyo TX-NR656 HDMI out (why OUT by the way?), which is capable of 7.1 Atmos and True HD. I have no sound at all on the receiver. Connecting the PC directly to the receiver doesn't help, because the desktop from PC is shown weird and there is a lagging in tone.

I think, the Windows and/or VLC setting are wrong, but I don't know, which one to chose.

1) On Windows in the audio settings I set format to "Dolby atmos for home theater" and virtual tone also for Dolby atmos and "Sony *00 Nvidia high definition audio" as output device (receiver isn't in the dropdown menü and Sony worked until now). There is no sound at all. If I chose "Repairing sound" in Windows, the sound format will be reset again for stereo (below, where you can chose virtual sound), up it stays Dolby atmos.
2) VLC is set to:
S/PDIF forced
Dolby surround forced
Output device is "Windows multimedia device"
Direct X is Sony
MMDevice is WASAPI and output device Sony
HDMI/SPDIF passthrough is enabled

Thanks a lot in advance!