HDMI sound output problems

This was driving me crazy since I want my family to be able to use this without having to change settings.

My setup:
Windows 7 Ultimate 64bit
AMD Radeon HD 5450
HDMI going from my AMD card to my Vizio TV

What I did to finally fix this:

1. First I followed this link - How To Disable Automatic Driver Installation In Windows 7 / Vista

2. Opened device manager, went to sounds, uninstalled all drivers for each sound option I had.

3. Downloaded CCC 12.3 - AMD Catalyst 12.3 pre WHQL driver download from Guru3D.com

I didnt check with 12.4 but I bet it would work.

4. Opened it and did an uninstall of AMD software.

5. After reboot; went back to this link: How To Disable Automatic Driver Installation In Windows 7 / Vista

and did the opposite. at this point windows didn't try to install any drivers. You can check this by going to device manager and looking for the warning symbols.

6. Installed CCC 12.3

This fixed my problem of losing sound when I would turn the tv on and off.

7. I then went back into device manager and installed the drivers for my other sound features that were not part of AMD.

[QUOTE=carwiz;1913287]By specification, HDMI is two channel audio. If you want more, you need to use S/PDIF out and a decoder capable audio device. Some devices with HDMI input "fudge" the extra channels by delay or frequency changes but PC HDMI output is Stereo. It has nothing to do with the OS. If your PC audio output device and drivers will allow it, you can get up to a combined 10.1 channels through the output jacks on most PCs. Even with Windows.

As for your sound disappearing, it could be that you have selected the display device to be the default audio output. If you disable the device, Windows will disable the output since it no longer exists. You should review your setup and determine the best options for your needs but I would suggest that you change the default output to the system speakers. When you want the video device (TV) to be the primary audio output device, change it back. It takes all of one right click and a few left clicks to accomplish this.[/QUOTE

I have read people get theirs working with hdmi and 7.1

The problem I think people have is there TV is in-between their surround sound device; computer, TV then receiver. The TV itself only has two speakers and the computer reads that info and will only deliver 2 channels.

Trying to sell my old stuff with no hdmi. Then try going to my receiver first and tv second. Probably run into a video problem.

supergokougt said:

The problem I think people have is there TV is in-between their surround sound device; computer, TV then receiver. The TV itself only has two speakers and the computer reads that info and will only deliver 2 channels.

Not my case. My setup is PC -> Home Theater -> TV.

It's directly connected to my HT, which is 5.1. Even so, stupid Windows outputs only two channels. Still haven't figured out how to fix this

I'm sick and tired of having to deal with lame problems daily because of Windows bad engineering.
[/whining]

Just installed the 12.6 beta version and it fixed the problem of losing the audio
on the HDMI output when the TV is turned off and on.

AMD Catalyst

Hiall,

I have a similar problem, although i am not sure whether this is the right thread.

I have Windows 7 Ultimate x64 and an AMD graphics card with HDMI connection for sound and graphics.

HDMI is connected to my Marantz amplifier, just as my tv decoder and my BD player. A single HDMI cable is connected to my TV, so my amp decides which source is displayed on the TV.

Since a while, when I switch on my PC, the audio output is automatically set to the onboard Realtek audio output. However, this is audio only, so I need the AMD Audio on the video board, to which the HDMI is connected. Windows Sounds in the Control Panel indicates that the AMD output is not connected. When I unplug and plug the HDMI cable it selects the correct output. This happens every time I switch on the PC. I already updated the drivers and Catalyst, no luck.

A friend of mine uses the onboard HDMI connection with Intel Display Audio driver, and has exactly the same problem.

Anyone?

Step 1.
Uninstall all current drivers graphics, including the realtek HDMI one. In programs and features you can click "change" on ATI install manager and it'll have an option to get rid of all of it.

Step 1. Update to the latest drivers (I couldn't recommend 12.6 or the 12.7 Beta at all but the just out in the last few days 12.8 has been fantastic for me graphically speaking)
AMD Support & Drivers

Step 2. Follow this guide on how to set your minimum clock speeds (where the guide shows you 30000, you want roughly 50%-60% of your maximum clock speed set as the minimum, the figure there is 300.00 mhz (not 30,000) In my case this was 500 MhZ for my 7970, your mileage may vary).
[Updated]AMD/ATi 2D Clock Guide - techPowerUp! Forums

That should fix it. The problem seems to be that the card is going into a sort of "inactive" move when the clocks drop too low, so setting the minimum clock higher stops this. You should only need to do this on the card the HDMI is attached to if you're using crossfire. This doesn't happen in some older driver versions because the way these clocks set is different in some of them, apparently.