HDMI or Optical sound

Talk about speakers, TVs, receivers, STBs, etc.
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BigblindT

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HDMI or Optical sound

#1

Post by BigblindT » Mon Nov 04, 2013 7:25 pm

Hi!

New to this board but I have been dabbling in the HTPC experience for over ten years. Biggest issue I had over the years was the inability to receive HD channels and decode locked channels. Finally bought the HD Homerun Prime, built up a new media center PC and....Holy cow this is awesome. So after about two weeks I realize the sound in my 5.1 system doesn't seem right. I'm running the HTPC up to my Emotiva UMC-200 via HDMI. Then out of the Emotiva into the TV. It just doesnt sound like the video card is passing the correct digital signal though the HDMI or the the Emotive processor isn't receiving the correct signal. Anyone else experienced this issue? Do you think if I switched to the on-board Optical PC to Processor it would change anything.

Thanks for your input.

M

leroys1000

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#2

Post by leroys1000 » Mon Nov 04, 2013 9:31 pm

Make sure that the default sound device in windows control panel/sound
is selected correctly and set to 5.1,then check media center settings to make sure it is 5.1.
Optical and hdmi are both digital audio.

soccerdad

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#3

Post by soccerdad » Mon Nov 04, 2013 9:33 pm

I have no experience with your Emotiva system, but know that there are a lot of settings in audio side of your HTPC in windows that can make or break your 5.1. First go into the audio config in the HTPC and do the speaker tests to see if you are actually passing 5.1. If not, work on that setup first. Honestly, I ended up going optical from the HTPC to the surround sound system and HDMI directly to the tv from the HTPC. This was for a HDMI handshake issue, not an audio issue. On my Onkyo system, you can see lights change on the panel for dolby, etc when the HTPC sends different types of audio streams. That may help you debug.

BigblindT

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#4

Post by BigblindT » Tue Nov 05, 2013 4:47 pm

Thanks Guy's

I did some messing around and I think it was the speaker setup in the control panel. Does HDMI vs Optical make a difference or are they both just passing the digital signal to the receiver?

On another note - the issue I have now is that when I'm watching TV the Emotiva AMP keeps switching formats when a commercial comes up. It will be in Dolby D then switches to some other other format for the commercial, sounds clicks off then back on and then when the commercial is over it kicks back to Dolby. It's very annoying. Do you think this is a function on Media Center or my PreAmp?

M

mdavej

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#5

Post by mdavej » Tue Nov 05, 2013 8:01 pm

If you're just talking about cable TV, then both are equivalent. If you're talking about bluray or other sources with HD soundtracks (DTS-HD MA, Dolby TrueHD), then HDMI will carry lossless 7.1 where optical will not.

soccerdad

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#6

Post by soccerdad » Tue Nov 05, 2013 10:43 pm

for the switching issue, my system switches to non Dolby d on some commercials, and back again with the show. But mine does it seamlessly and you don't notice it unless you are really paying close attention. You just see the lights change on the Onkyo display. It might be slow switching at your pre amp. Not sure what settings you can use to help that.

blueiedgod

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#7

Post by blueiedgod » Fri Nov 15, 2013 5:45 pm

I like optical over HDMI. This way, if I am playing music, I can turn off the TV and not worry about losing sound.

Switching is normal, but my amp does not make click sounds. The display changes.

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