HDMI / Dolby Digital problem

Hey everyone, this looks like a good forum and I'm glad to have discovered it.

So on to first post/problem;

I bought a new amplifier, mostly for listening music and for watching movies with (Kenwood RV7000). My laptop is Acer 5755G, and these two are connected with a HDMI-cable. My ampliefier supporst all kinds of Dolby digital sounds, though I cannot use them.

When I listen to FM radio, the amplifier lets me decide between Dolby digital listening modes, or the Pure Audio mode (some sort of pre-equalized thingy). I can also tune the sound with these Dolby modes.

So when I connect my laptop to the amplifier, I only get a PCM and a Stereo mode, with no settings for the sound. Another thing is my computer has a Dolby Advanced Audio v2 equalizer in my laptop, which does nothing when music goes through the HDMI to the amplifier. When I listen with my laptop speakers, it lets me equalize the sounds.

I've updated the Realtek HD Audio drivers, though I'm not sure if they do anything, since it only seems to be controlling the microphone.

Is there something wrong with the signal my laptop sends to the amplifier, or what? Starting to get a bit confused here.

If the onboard card won't support digital surround then you won't be able to get it no matter what the reciever is capable of...although the reciever depending on its features might be able to code the signal into some sort of psuedo digital surround.

I had an old laptop with that problem and got around it by purchasing an external Audigy extigy sound card. I would think such a device is still made.

Would you care to explain how did this device work?

The Extigy worked via USB on the laptop, it performed much like an add on card that you'd put on a spare slot on your mother board.

Make Your Notebook Sing Review & Rating | PCMag.com The article from way back in 2002.

Gotta say this option isn't too tempting, have to seek for other solutions. So the problem continues...

Maybe this will help.

My setup;
HDMI from GTX580 to Sony 7.1 receiver, then to HDTV.

To set Audio for manual field selection on receiver;
1. Right click your volume control on the task bar.
2. Select Playback Devices.
3. You should see your receiver listed, right click and select Configure Speakers.
4. Select "Stereo", then click next until finished.
Doing this will, basically, disable the HDCP

To set Audio to auto field select on Receiver;
1. Right click your volume control on the task bar.
2. Select Playback Devices.
3. You should see your receiver listed, right click and select Configure Speakers.
4. Select 5.1 surround or 7.1 surround, whichever your receiver is capable of. Then click next and select proper speaker setup to finish.

When HDCP is enabled, via HDMI, if the content you are playing back is not encoded with Dolby Digital, or any type of multichannel audio, the source will only pass 2 channels of audio. Therefore, your receiver is only going to playback the same signal as it receives, as it is also HDCP compliant.

Hope this helps.

armyslowrdr said:

If the onboard card won't support digital surround then you won't be able to get it no matter what the reciever is capable of

If the laptop has an HDMI out, then it can stream Dolby Digital.

MLem, did you get something figured out here?

It worked with your advice for a short time, then something happened and now I can't get a proper sound out of it. Starting to lose my head with this. I'll get back to you as I know more...

Yes, please let us know more.

What are you connecting to and with what?
What have you done outside of what I told you?
Are you having sound issues across the board, or only with certain programs?
Is your sound effected on your laptop or only on the output of the sound to the receiver?
And, when you say you "can't get proper sound", please explain a little more. i.e. static, muffled, unevenness, etc.