HDMI out for sound only

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Ceecees

38 posts

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#279651 30-Oct-2020 10:30

I was lucky enough to win (yes, win!) an RTX3080 gfx card with 2x HDMI outputs. I thought this would simplify my set-up consisting of the following:

TV - LGC9 (HDMI 2.1)

AMP - SONY STR-DN1050

where I would run one HDMI 2.1 cable from the card direct to TV for 4k120, which works with a few glitches and screen blanks every now and then. The other HDMI output from the card goes direct to the AV receiver. This is seen as a secondary monitor and shows up as a playback device in Windows 10 for sound output. However I can't get sound out when selecting this device as default. While I can run one cable to the receiver and then output from that back to TV for the display signal, that amp is quite old now and won't support higher refresh rates at 4k with HDR so won't be able to pass that through.

Anyone have experience with using HDMI purely for sound?

nztim

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#2593863 30-Oct-2020 10:34

Never tried this, I found tosslink much better for sound if you are lucky enough to have it

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JPNZ

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#2593885 30-Oct-2020 11:06

I maybe wrong but I don't think you can do that? If you can you would have to force the GFX to do sound only (If its coming up as a display something may not be right)

You may have to bite the bullet like I did and upgrade your AVR

Panasonic 65GZ1000, Onkyo RZ730, Atmos 5.1.2, AppleTV 4K, Nest Mini's, PS5, PS3, MacbookPro, iPad Pro, Apple watch SE2, iPhone 15+

trig42

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#2593891 30-Oct-2020 11:13

Could you not run a ARC HDMI cable from the TV to the receiver?

nztim

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#2593898 30-Oct-2020 11:29

trig42:

Could you not run a ARC HDMI cable from the TV to the receiver?

Not all Receivers Support ARC

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trig42

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#2593900 30-Oct-2020 11:31

That one does though.

https://helpguide.sony.net/ha/strdn10585/v1/en/contents/TP0000302358.html

Ceecees

38 posts

Geek

#2593905 30-Oct-2020 11:45

I should have mentioned, ARC works, but it is only 2.1 sound. I have a 5.1 speaker set-up. The TV has EARC, but the receiver only supports ARC so it defaults to that and 2.1 sound.

Optical also works but it is not perfect. I believe PC sends sound signal as PCM which optical can't handle due to it being uncompressed so the source (game or movie etc) needs to send Dolby by default to get 5.1 this way

Searching on the internet shows it should be possible, but likely depends on hardware config and having the right settings applied for each device.

Katikati

9 posts

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#2593933 30-Oct-2020 13:14

Hi. I had the same issue a couple of months ago. New 2020 Samsung smart TV was not sending the sound via HDMI to my 2006 Onkyo amp. I guess ARC was the issue. So I purchased a Bluetooth Receiver from AliExpress.

"Bluetooth 5.0 RCA Audio Receiver APTX LL 3.5mm 3.5 AUX Jack Music Wireless Adapter With Mic NFC For Car TV Speakers Auto ON/OFF sold by Vikefone Factory Store".

This little $20 gadget turned my amplifier into a bluetooth capable receiver. Plugged it into my amp with the wires supplied, paired the devices, and it works perfectly. Great sound through my amp and speakers. No lag or buffering. Hope this helps.

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nztim

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#2593985 30-Oct-2020 14:53

Katikati:

Hi. I had the same issue a couple of months ago. New 2020 Samsung smart TV was not sending the sound via HDMI to my 2006 Onkyo amp. I guess ARC was the issue. So I purchased a Bluetooth Receiver from AliExpress.

"Bluetooth 5.0 RCA Audio Receiver APTX LL 3.5mm 3.5 AUX Jack Music Wireless Adapter With Mic NFC For Car TV Speakers Auto ON/OFF sold by Vikefone Factory Store".

This little $20 gadget turned my amplifier into a bluetooth capable receiver. Plugged it into my amp with the wires supplied, paired the devices, and it works perfectly. Great sound through my amp and speakers. No lag or buffering. Hope this helps.

Goal of the OP is to have surround sound audio not 2 channel

Any views expressed on these forums are my own and don't necessarily reflect those of my employer.

Ceecees

38 posts

Geek

#2629526 2-Jan-2021 21:06

As an update for anyone curious or who was following, I managed to get this to work after having another attempt at it.

You can use the 2nd HDMI on the Gfx card purely for sound. Linking the 2nd HDMI out to the AMP does cause a second screen to show in windows. I use the Nvidia control panel to tuck this up in the top left corner and don't have issues with the mouse scrolling over into it. I then select the correct playback device in windows and playing any 5.1 content shows as 3/2.1 on the AMP and plays appropriately.

What was tripping things up was ARC. Keeping the audio and video streams separate without trying to use ARC as well keeps everything in order and has stopped flickering and video glitches also. My AMP doesn't turn on automatically with the TV now, but that's a minor.