HDMI audio problem when connecting LCD TV to PC via HDMI

[pjuegos]

hi all,

I have my media center PC connected to a Sansung LCD TV through an HDMI cable.
Everything works fine; the PC detects TV and both audio and video travel through the HDMI cable from PC to TV

The problem happens when I turn the TV OFF and ON. In this case, the video is back but not the audio. This can be seen in the "playback audio devices" in "control panel", the icon that represennts the sansung speakers via HDMI dissapears.
Any idea of what to do? I got the latest video driver, which also deals with HDMI audio but no luck at all...

thanks

 

[stormy13]

This is more of a HDMI handshaking issue than a Windows or driver issue, and a very common occurrence. Sadly if you do a Google search using "hdmi handshake no audio" for the search terms, you'll get lots of results but very little in the way of how to solve. About the best solution I came across is this one,

*Official* Asus Xonar HDAV1.3 thread - Page 271 - AVS Forum

A lot of that thread deals with the Asus Xonar sound cards, but there is also quite a bit about the no audio in general.

 

[Aphelion]

Is HDMI Audio listed separately in Device Manager?

If it is, perhaps disabling and re-enabling would force a re-connect.

If it's supposed to be showing up in DM but isn't, might "Scan For Hardware Changes" force a re-connect.

Ap

 

[pjuegos]

Yes, HDMI audio listed separately in dev manager. It is always present in the DM regardless of whether the HJDMI audio is gone or not.

This problem is quite painful because each time I turned off the TV I have to restart the PC in order to get audio through HDMI in the TV. The off state of my media center PC is sleep mode, but waking up from this mode does not awake HDMI audio...

stormy13, you are right, I shy google search shows how annoyingly common the HDMIU handshaking problem is

 

[Aphelion]

Yes, HDMI audio listed separately in dev manager. It is always present in the DM regardless of whether the HJDMI audio is gone or not.

This problem is quite painful because each time I turned off the TV I have to restart the PC in order to get audio through HDMI in the TV. The off state of my media center PC is sleep mode, but waking up from this mode does not awake HDMI audio...

stormy13, you are right, I shy google search shows how annoyingly common the HDMIU handshaking problem is

Even though it's probably been tried before, disable HDMI in device manager, then re-enable, (with the TV on) that works for clearing up some audio problems.

Ap

 

[pjuegos]

I tried that Aphelion, and I got a blue screen crash . I tried it again and the same thing happened.
Something is going really wrong with the HDMI audio

cheers

 

[Aphelion]

I tried that Aphelion, and I got a blue screen crash . I tried it again and the same thing happened.
Something is going really wrong with the HDMI audio

cheers

Yikes! I didn't expect that, sorry about that. What a shame, having to reboot.

Ap

 

[pjuegos]

no, it was actually a good thing to try.
Now we can confirm that audio HDMI is just not stable at all in my PC, and apparently in many other PCs also

It was a good idea

 

[fishnbanjo]

I was wondering if you are using your HDMI for both audio and video?
I have an appointment I must get to but will look for your reply upon my return, I may have some information for you. Regards.....

 

[pjuegos]

Thanks fishnbanjo,

Yes, I use it for both and that is the problem.
When I start the PC with LCD TV connected via HDMI, both audio and video work great.
Whenever I turn OFF an ON the TV, the audio is gone but the video stays

cheers

 

[pjuegos]

fishnbanjo, did you get that HDMI info?

cheers

 

[fishnbanjo]

Sorry about the delay. Your video card supplies audio via the built in Sound Card it has using the HDMI. Essentially it feed the TV and nothing else, if your system has a sound card with HDMI, or Toslinq, I would consider using the Toslinq connection to feed PC audio to the TV, again if this is an option.

My Vizio 37" has HDMI, Toslinq, RCA, VGA and other means of interfacing various sound and video components The manual is very specific that a PC connected must be done through the VGA connector.

My XFX 5870 XXX Edition came with 2 DVI converters, 1 for DVI to HDMI and 1 for DVI to VGA so I ran that to the TV and simply connected the DVI to the GPU.

The GPU can also provide audio and is seen by the device manager but I am using Toslinq to connect the sound card to my audio amplifier which feeds my Bose Surround System, the audio out feeds the TV and the TV audio out feed a wireless Pioneer Headphone Set.

Disregarding the various sound card to audio amp and amp to other components I believe you can see the ways to connect so that both your TV and PC have audio when required but I would start with your TV manual.

I searched for Samsung 32" LCD HDTV Manual and found a .pdf for one containing 4 models and assuming yours is one of them this is what it shows on connecting it to a PC (XP).

Setting Up Your PC Software (Based on Windows XP)
The Windows display-settings for a typical computer are shown below. The actual screens on your PC will probably be different, depending upon your particular version of Windows and
your particular video card. However, even if your actual screens look different, the same basic set-up information will apply in almost all cases. (If not, contact your computer manufacturer or
Samsung Dealer.)

1. First, click on ‘Control Panel’ on the Windows start menu.
2. When the control panel window appears, click on ‘Appearance and Themes’ and a display dialog-box will appear.
3. When the control panel window appears, click on ‘Display’ and a display dialogbox will appear.
4. Navigate to the ‘Settings’ tab on the display dialog-box.
The correct size setting (resolution) - Optimum: 1920 X 1080 pixels If a vertical-frequency option exists on your display settings dialog box, the correct value is ‘60’ or ‘60 Hz’. Otherwise, just click ‘OK’ and exit the dialog box.
Display Modes
If the signal from the system equals the standard signal mode, the screen is adjusted automatically. If the signal from the system
doesn’t equal the standard signal mode, adjust the mode by referring to your video card user guide; otherwise there may be no
video. For the display modes listed below, the screen image has been optimized during manufacturing.

D-Sub and HDMI/DVI Input

When using an HDMI / DVI cable connection, you must use the HDMI IN 1(DVI) jack.

Mode Resolution Horizontal Frequency (KHz)
Vertical Frequency (Hz)
Pixel Clock Frequency (MHz)
Sync Polarity (H / V)
IBM 640 x 350 31.469 70.086 25.175 +/-
720 x 400 31.469 70.087 28.322 -/+
MAC
640 x 480 35.000 66.667 30.240 -/-
832 x 624 49.726 74.551 57.284 -/-
1152 x 870 68.681 75.062 100.000 -/-
VESA CVT
720 x 576 35.910 59.950 32.750 -/+
1152 x 864 53.783 59.959 81.750 -/+
1280 x 720 44.772 59.855 74.500 -/+
1280 x 720 56.456 74.777 95.750 -/+
1280 x 960 75.231 74.857 130.000 -/+
VESA DMT
640 x 480 31.469 59.940 25.175 -/-
640 x 480 37.861 72.809 31.500 -/-
640 x 480 37.500 75.000 31.500 -/-
800 x 600 37.879 60.317 40.000 +/+
800 x 600 48.077 72.188 50.000 +/+
800 x 600 46.875 75.000 49.500 +/+
1024 x 768 48.363 60.004 65.000 -/-
1024 x 768 56.476 70.069 75.000 -/-
1024 x 768 60.023 75.029 78.750 +/+
1152 x 864 67.500 75.000 108.000 +/+
1280 x 1024 63.981 60.020 108.000 +/+
1280 x 1024 79.976 75.025 135.000 +/+
1280 x 800 49.702 59.810 83.500 -/+
1280 x 800 62.795 74.934 106.500 -/+
1280 x 960 60.000 60.000 108.000 +/+
1360 x 768 47.712 60.015 85.500 +/+
1440 x 900 55.935 59.887 106.500 -/+
1440 x 900 70.635 74.984 136.750 -/+
1680 x 1050 65.290 59.954 146.250 -/+
VESA GTF 1280 x 720 52.500 70.000 89.040 -/+
1280 x 1024 74.620 70.000 128.943 -/-
VESA DMT /
DTV CEA 1920 x 1080p 67.500 60.000 148.500 +/+

Preset: Press the SOURCE button to select PC mode.
Auto Adjustment
Use the Auto Adjust function to have the TV automatically adjust the video signals it receives.
The function also automatically fine-tunes the settings and adjusts the frequency values and positions.
Press the TOOLS button to display the Tools menu. You can also set the Auto Adjustment
by selecting Tools → Auto Adjustment.
This function does not work in DVI-Digital mode.
Screen
Coarse / Fine
The purpose of picture quality adjustment is to remove or reduce picture noise. If the noise is not removed by Fine-tuning alone, then adjust the frequency as best as possible (Coarse) and
Fine-tune again. After the noise has been reduced, readjust the picture so that it is aligned on the center of screen.
PC Position
Adjust the PC’s screen positioning if it does not fit the TV screen.
Press the ▲ or ▼ button to adjusting the Vertical-Position. Press the ◄ or ► button to adjust the Horizontal-Position.
Image Reset
You can replace all image settings with the factory default values.

So, if your setup is not like Samsung says your TV to PC connections should be set I would start there, let us know how it goes.

 

[pjuegos]

Thanks for your reply fishbanjo,


If I understand well, you are giving me info from the samsung manual about how to connect a PC to a TV using HDMI.
I probably did not explain the problem well, or I did not understand the solution. I dont have a problem to configure the TV to receive both audio and video from the PC using HDMI. That always worked.
The problem arises when the TV is manually turned off and not the PC, which remains ON. In this case, the audio gets lost. If I restart the PC, audio is back again. The video always works

One solution might be disabling the audio HDMI driver in the dev manager, and root the audio using the PC sound card. However, I would prefer just using the HDMI cable to avoid having more cables. (Girlfriend acceptance factor )

Thanks for your help

 

[fishnbanjo]

You've lost me now as you said "I dont have a problem to configure the TV to receive both audio and video from the PC using HDMI. That always worked. The problem arises when the TV is manually turned off and not the PC, which remains ON. In this case, the audio gets lost. If I restart the PC, audio is back again. The video always works" If you shut down the TV you lose audio and have to reboot the PC to get it back. To me this means your audio on the video card is shutting off which is why you have to reboot. I'm saying don't use the HDMI connection use the VGA connection and a should connection from your sound card, girlfriend or not I'm sure you want this to work.

 

[pjuegos]

Yes, that is what is happening.
I know there are other ways to output sound and video from the PC using other connection types. Actually, I have the media center PC connected to the HIFI's amp using a good USB DAC. Thus, audio goes to the HIFI, and HDMI video to the TV. I use this when I want to listen to music, or watching a nice movie.
If I want to watch TV , I prefer not using the HIFI, and getting the sound from the LCD TV is just fine.

What I am trying is to find a solution to connect both audio and video through the same HDMI wire for watching TV. It is very annoying that something that should work just doesn't and I would like to find out if the problem has an easy solution. However, as you said , there are other alternatives to get it working that do not use HDMI.

Thanks for your help

cheers