Denon 2809 + HTPC + HDMI = No sound but Video

U

UT-Jackal

Limp Gawd
Joined
Apr 2, 2004
Messages
373
I'm sure this is posted somewhere in this long thread, but after looking for an hour, i give up and i'm just gonna ask.

I have a Denon 3809ci receiver that i just purchased. Got the 360 working on it and everything else. My HTPC with the GA-MA78GM-SH2 board in it is putting out video fine through the reciever, but zero audio. It's running through HDMI. It was working fine plugged into the tv so i don't know whats up.

I updated the drivers, and i can see the HDMI out, and it is set as my device. It receives sound when i play things accoding to the bouncing green bar. I have set up my HDMI in bios as well.

So any clue what's wrong?
 
Hmm, do you have the digital audio on the reciever mapped to be from the HDMI source on that input? Could it have defaulted to another audio source by chance?
 
I just went through this crap too. I saw your thread over at AVSforum and posted there too. I just gave up and picked up a TOSlink cable, on sale at target. I think it's a problem with the Realtek audio chipset. I wish when these self proclaimed PC experts reviewed components and wrote about what makes a good HTPC, they actually built the damn thing and used it. I've read coutless reviews on this series of Gigabyte board but don't remember any of them plugging them into a receiver with the HDMI to test the audio.
 
I forget the sequence but sometimes alternating the boot-up procedure may work (per some posters at AVS). I saved the link somewhere since i think it involved a gigabyte 780G and i wanted to avoid the same hassle, just can't find that darn link though :confused:

It went something like this: Boot the htpc first, then the receiver, then the TV, or vice versa, or some other combination.

It may take a few combinations but it's the easiest way to trouble shoot imho, couldn't hurt to try.
 
The realtek drivers are a pain to find the right ones, but if the HDMI audio is running through your TV just fine but is not going through the receiver I dont think its an issue on the HTPC at all.
 
UT-Jackal said:
I updated the drivers, and i can see the HDMI out, and it is set as my device. It receives sound when i play things accoding to the bouncing green bar. I have set up my HDMI in bios as well.

So any clue what's wrong?
Click to expand...

I used to have similar problem with you. I tried to uninstall the Realtek HD driver, restarted computer, let Vista auto-detect audio device, cleaned Realtek HD driver registry using jv16 PowerTools (using Realtek HD keyword), restarted computer again, then installed new Realtek HD driver. Finally my computer could play sound normally via HDMI. Let me know if it works for you.
 
The solution is to use a different HDMI input.

I have an 2809 (I'm not sure if yours is a 2809 or 3809), I also have a HTPC with a 780g chipset.

I had to use HDMI input 4 (or DVR) to get audio over HDMI to work. I struggled for a week to get this to work, it does now.

However, this may not be what you want...apparently the 780g chipset (ATI 3200HD) will only output 2 channels of audio over the HDMI port.

Miles
 
I'll try it and change to the other HDMI input tonight. I may have done this when I first hooked it up. I'm still not getting surround channels even though when watching HDTV the signal is Dolby Digital and the receiver also says input is Dolby Digital. I have to get out the manual to my receiver and see what settings I need to be at. I'm seriously thinking about returning my Denon AVR888 and picking up an Onkyo TX-SR606S for the HD audio processing, 2 more HDMI inputs, and I can get it in silver.
 
Be warned that without the newest video cards (4xxx series from ATI, for example), you will not get more than two channels of audio over the HDMI cable.

You don't mention the model of Gigabyte board. Perhaps you have a 780g chipset, like I do. I have an ASUS M3A78-EM. Until you get a better video card, you, and me, are stuck using the Toslink cable.

If you like ATI cards, read through these:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Unified_Video_Decoder
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Compar...essing_units#Radeon_R700_.28HD_4xxx.29_series

HTPC enthusiasts, who want an ATI card, should watch out for the newly announced 4550.

http://www.amd.com/us-en/Corporate/VirtualPressRoom/0,,51_104_543~128400,00.html

Quote:
"... 7.1 channel audio via HDMI, the ATI Radeon™ HD 4350 is also expected to be available in October.

Spectacular HD multimedia experience
Home theatre enthusiasts should especially appreciate the ATI Radeon™ HD 4550 or the ATI Radeon™ HD 4350 graphics offerings. In addition to superior game performance, these ultra-quiet cards represent a tremendous value for do-it-yourself home theatre PC builders by enabling a feature-rich, high definition and high quality home theatre experience when used in conjunction with HD displays. Like all ATI Radeon™ HD 4000 series products, the home theater experience is enriched with features such as AMD's second generation Unified Video Decoder (UVD 2.0) ensuring smooth HD media playback, and ATI Avivo™ HD technology that delivers sharp, crisp images and vibrant colors for immersive, cinema-quality home entertainment. 4 "
 
purdym said:
Be warned that without the newest video cards (4xxx series from ATI, for example), you will not get more than two channels of audio over the HDMI cable.
Click to expand...

Huh, you must mean 2 channel LPCM, because even the 2xxx cards do multichannel.
 
I'm a wrong about this? That is, how many channels of audio can you get over an HDMI cable from say an ATI HD3870 or ATI HD3200 (780G chipset)? (I own both of these.)

I don't think I'm using Catalyst 8.9. I'm running Vista 64 and Vista 32.

What version of the Catalyst and Realtek drivers are being used? I see there is an update to the Realtek drivers, but not for Vista.
 
I'm using the toslink cable to my receiver for audio and HDMI directly to my projector.
 
Check receiver setup and make sure you have it set to receive audio via hdmi.
Thanks
 
purdym said:
I'm a wrong about this? That is, how many channels of audio can you get over an HDMI cable from say an ATI HD3870 or ATI HD3200 (780G chipset)? (I own both of these.)

I don't think I'm using Catalyst 8.9. I'm running Vista 64 and Vista 32.

What version of the Catalyst and Realtek drivers are being used? I see there is an update to the Realtek drivers, but not for Vista.
Click to expand...

3870: http://ati.amd.com/products/radeonhd3800/specs.html

Integrated HD audio controller with multi-channel (5.1) AC3 support, enabling a plug-and-play cable-less audio solution
Click to expand...

780G: http://www.anandtech.com/cpuchipsets/showdoc.aspx?i=3258&p=5

Audio settings selected were Dolby Digital 5.1, DTS 5.1, or two-channel LPCM where applicable.
Click to expand...

You just can't do uncompressed LPCM like you can with the 4xxx cards.
 
I must be missing something:

No%20hdmi.jpg


on both my computers, I can't select more than 2 channels for the HDMI device.

What am I missing?

Thanks
 
What happens if you set it as the default and have it plugged into a source that can accept dolbe digital?
 
you might wanna go check your bios and change vga/dvi to vga/hdmi i have a gigabyte mobo and thats what i had to do to get hdmi to work. hope that works
oh i forgot what part of the bios to look in tell me if it works
 
Thanks, there was an option in the BIOS. I made the change (in the BIOS), along with a bunch of other changes and I can get 6 channels of audio over the HDMI cable.
 
What changes did you make? Can you post picks of the BIOS where you made the changes? The HTPC community needs your help.
 
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