PC Graphics

[bolo]

I have HD 7870 and I want to connect my PC to a 5.1 system. For a test before ordering HDMI to SPDIF adapter, I've connected my PC to Xbox One HDMI input, which is connected to my audio receiver but sadly windows sound app said that my GPU only support stereo. Is that really so or can I fix it somehow?

[fsadough]

1. What is your exact make and model of your receiver?
2. What is your OS?
3. What is your exact make and model of your HD7870?
4. To which output of the graphics card is your monitor connected?

[bolo]

1. Sony STR-LV500
2. Win 10
3. PCI\VEN_1002&DEV_6818&SUBSYS_E241174B&REV_00 Sapphire GHz Edition
4. HDMI

[fsadough]

Sony STR-LV500 does not have any HDMI input. The only way to get 5.1 Audi Channel is to install a 5.1 sound card in your PC

[bolo]

Though HDMI -> spdif adapters are a thing but perhaps AMD does not support surround sound (namely DTS connect and/or Dolby live) only Dolby/DTS passthrough thus making it stereo only for anything but movies and some games that have pre-encoded sound.

[ajlueke · Accepted solution]

Hello bolo,

You are correct, in that the AMD card can output 5.1 surround sound via pass through and allowing an external device to do the decoding.  The problem there, is the software controlling the sound device must support pass through as that isn't an option on the standard windows desktop.

You can try setting your speaker configuration to 5.1 in Windows 10.  I have a PC connected directly to a Marantz receiver with HDMI and I do get all five speakers to test appropriately when I set the speaker configuration to 5.1.

[bolo]

Yeah but then it works the same way as if you connected analog wires with no coding and well I would do it if not for my receiver being digital only and HDMI ones are crazy expensive and make absolutely no sense to buy for a small room like mine, I'd be better off just look for a similar unit with both analog and digital inputs. Well then that concludes it I think, huge shame on AMD for not making their GPUs encode surround sound as even low end on board cards can do it but are just locked not to.

[fsadough]

Some Audio Formats Supported by AMD Graphics

[Datablock 1: Audio Data Block]
LPCM(1)................: 2-channel, 32kHz/44.1kHz/48kHz/88.2kHz/96kHz/176.4kHz/192kHz, BitRates: 16/20/24
LPCM(1).................: 8-channel, 32kHz/44.1kHz/48kHz/88.2kHz/96kHz/176.4kHz/192kHz, BitRates: 16/20/24
AC-3(2).................: 8-channel, 32kHz/44.1kHz/48kHz, BitRate 640
DTS(7)..................: 8-channel, 44.1kHz/48kHz, BitRate 1536
DSD(9)..................: 6-channel, 44.1kHz, Audio Format Dependent Value 0
E-AC-3(10)..............: 8-channel, 44.1kHz/48kHz, Audio Format Dependent Value 0
DTS-HD(11)..............: 8-channel, 44.1kHz/48kHz/88.2kHz/96kHz/176.4kHz/192kHz, Audio Format Dependent Value 1
MLP(12).................: 8-channel, 48kHz/96kHz/192kHz, Audio Format Dependent Value 0
NOTE: E = Extended Audio Format Code

[fsadough]

Buy a SPDIF Sound card and connect your PC to the receiver

https://www.amazon.com/ASUS-XONAR-Headphone-Audio-Card/dp/B003ZXDOL6/ref=sr_1_1?s=pc&ie=UTF8&qid=154...

[bolo]

nope, that's not the point, it's purely a software thing so overall there is nothing to fix it on AMD GPU only option is to buy high end sound card (low/mid tier won't work) or some hacked drivers.

[ajlueke]

It is interesting that the windows sound app only gives you the option for stereo with the Xbox One.  When I select my receiver (connected via HDMI), 5.1 is an option in Windows.  When I click test, the appropriate speakers fire.

I am unfamiliar with the Xbox One, but does the input allow for 5.1 audio from other sources?

[bolo]

Hymm in my case windows said my GPU is stereo only so I could not change it at all. According to the manual Xbox should allow surround input. Perhaps I'll try again then after reinstalling windows as I'm about to do so anyway. Or perhaps Xbox does not allow surround after all. Don't know for now there is nothing more to be said about the issue if I find sth useful I'll report back to make it clear for others having the issue in the future.

[ajlueke]

Sounds good!

There is definitely something else at play here.  The issue I've primarily had is as follows, when I select the Marantz receiver in windows 10, I do have the option to set it to 5.1 sound.  The windows test pattern then maps correctly to the appropriate speakers.

There must be something that is preventing the Xbox One from being recognized as 5.1 capable.  I don't have the console myself to test so I'm not sure where the disconnect is.  I'll reach out to a few people who own the console, but I'm not sure anyone is using the pass through functionality the way you are.

[bolo]

Thanks but don't bother for me it's all clear already
-Radeon's driver does not support DTS connect nor Dolby live thus
-Xbox One may or may not accept surround sound but is irrelevant in this case
-the solution is to get an early 2000s receiver that would have both analog and digital inputs (avoid mid-2000 models that only have digital inputs just like mine) or get a motherboard with DTS connect (that's what I'm opting for) other solutions but not really reasonable (unless you have more speakers than 5.1) are to get either one of these 100€ sound cards with DTS connect or an expensive receiver with HDMI.
If the new mother board won't do the trick I'll just buy an older receiver

[ajlueke]

That works.  But you are correct, the AMD hardware has no concept of the audio it is putting out.  If I set Windows 10 to 5.1 and play a stereo audio file, this still is shown as multichannel audio on the receiver side even though 3.1 channels are empty.

You really can't do any sort of encoding or codec based output, just set the audio to a specific bitrate/channel number, and the driver outputs all audio exactly to the specification all the time.  That has been true since AMD implemented HDMI audio in the 5000 series and I don't think it has changed since circa 2009.

[elstaci]

Like ajlueke​, I had a AMD HD 7850 connected via HDMI to my Onkyo 5.1 Receiver and made sure under Windows Sound Panel, I had it for the "Default Audio Device" and then under "Properties" I checked to make sure it had all the different Audio outputs. Under "Test" it will show you if you have a Stereo or 5.1 setup. You can change the setup under TEST to 5.1.

If under Sound Panel, your Receiver is showing Stereo, than you need to update your Audio driver or Reinstall your AMD Audio driver to see if it correctly shows 5.1.

Check your Receiver Manual on how to set up your Receiver to work correctly connected to a PC. Make sure your Receiver is connected to the correct channel connected to your computer.