Computer to Amp to TV

B

byron27

Member
Joined
Sep 6, 2010
Messages
10
Reaction score
0
Location
Centurion
Hi
I am battling to get sound to go through an amp that I recently bought. I have a Geforce GT220 display card and have connected the HD cable to a Sony HT-DDW1600 control amp and then onto my TV, but the picture shows but no sound from the amp. From what I have read in the amp manual (Please confirm this) is that I need a coaxial cable to come from my PC as well as the HD cable. Now which sound card would be able to do this? I have pressed every dam button on the remote of the amp and still no sound, but it does play through my TV.

Please help
 
The graphics card would only do the picture not the sound. You would need to connect through either the on board sound or get a dedicated sound card.
 
But the sound does carry with the HD cable, it does play through my TV which is connected to the amp.
 
Seems like your receiver does not do HDMI audio and only does HDMI passthrough. As far as I know, not that many receivers will process bitstreamed audio via HDMI.

Most motherboards should support at least one digital output (optical/coaxial) from their onboard sound, chances are that you could use either, but if your manual says coaxial, then you might need that specifically. Even if you do have the output(s) you need, chances are that you'll probably want a soundcard that supports DTS/DDL, and someone mentioned a cheap one that could do that in the thread about the z5500 speaker system.
 
lol, had the same issue.. its not your hd cable. your graphics card ONLY sends picture to the amp. so what the best is; use the optical out from your motherboard to your amp(make sure the hd cable and optical share the same designation) it will automatically tell you on the display of the amp that its reading optical for sound.
 
the kicker is, you cant set up your optical(spdif) to output 6.2. what i found was CCCP. media player that will stream the audio in that format after the initial setup. it will be the only way to experience true surround sound from your pc. since i have a few hundred blu ray rips, after using the player they provide and initial set up, have not had a single one fail when i played it.
 
z@ng3tsu said:
the kicker is, you cant set up your optical(spdif) to output 6.2. what i found was CCCP. media player that will stream the audio in that format after the initial setup. it will be the only way to experience true surround sound from your pc. since i have a few hundred blu ray rips, after using the player they provide and initial set up, have not had a single one fail when i played it.
Click to expand...

Thanks very much! I will go and get a new sound card and try it out.
 
z@ng3tsu said:
lol, had the same issue.. its not your hd cable. your graphics card ONLY sends picture to the amp. so what the best is; use the optical out from your motherboard to your amp(make sure the hd cable and optical share the same designation) it will automatically tell you on the display of the amp that its reading optical for sound.
Click to expand...

Howzit man,

Ok, I got a sound card so that I could have the optical out function. The problem is that it still doesn't play sound through my amp. It does say on the amp that it picks up the optical cable. The amp is a Sony HT-DDW1600 model. Is there a specific program that I should use to play through the optical, I have tried VLC media player and Windows Media player but still nothing! Thanks again for your help, much appreciated!
 
You have got to make sure that sound it being routed through the optical out. In windows sound is usually sent via the analogue outs, then HDMI, then optical. Disable everything else so that windows has no choice but to use the optical out.
 
@byron27 I have the same amp that you have, I run the HDMI cable via the amp (pass through only on that amp - no sound). I then use the Fiber Optic cable from the PC for sound. It definitely works for me. You should have two fiber optic inputs on the amp, just make sure you are using the correct one. My other input is for my HD PVR. Also as Archer says, check your playback settings for your sound card. Set your default out to the Digital audio optic out. (right click on the speaker icon on the taskbar, click on playback devices, right click on the digital optic out and set as default)

Just a note on sound via HDMI for graphics cards... Some cards (most of the newer ones) include a cable which plugs into the mobo and card, which allows for the sound to be output via the HDMI directly from the graphics card. I know with the particular amp in question, it only passes the Video through to the TV / LCD / Monitor, no sound. So that would not suffice in the OP's situation. It does accept digital audio via S/PDIF & or F/O.
 
Last edited:
IRG said:
@byron27 I have the same amp that you have, I run the HDMI cable via the amp (pass through only on that amp - no sound). I then use the Fiber Optic cable from the PC for sound. It definitely works for me. You should have two fiber optic inputs on the amp, just make sure you are using the correct one. My other input is for my HD PVR. Also as Archer says, check your playback settings for your sound card. Set your default out to the Digital audio optic out. (right click on the speaker icon on the taskbar, click on playback devices, right click on the digital optic out and set as default)

Just a note on sound via HDMI for graphics cards... Some cards (most of the newer ones) include a cable which plugs into the mobo and card, which allows for the sound to be output via the HDMI directly from the graphics card. I know with the particular amp in question, it only passes the Video through to the TV / LCD / Monitor, no sound. So that would not suffice in the OP's situation. It does accept digital audio via S/PDIF & or F/O.
Click to expand...

I have done all of this and still no sound from the amp. The equalizer on the SPDIF on my taksbar is moving so I am supposing that the computer is sending the signal but the amp is just not budging. With your amp, does the little speaker icons show on the left hand side of the screen? Mine doesnt. I have the setup plugged in video 2, and in the manual it shows where the HD cable must be and the sound for them to work together. I have disabled all other sound except for the SPDIF on my pc.
 
What software are you currently using to output the video/audio to the amp - VLC MPC, etc. I recall having to setup the audio in MPC to pass-through to the optical output, so the amp could pick it up.

Did you try this - manual page 62 (downloaded version)

------------
Switching the audio input mode (INPUT MODE)
You can select the audio inpUt mode by setting the audio input mode when you connect components to both digital and analog audio input jacks on the receiver.
1. Turn INPUT SELECTOR on the receiver to select the input. You can also use the input buttons on the remote.
2. Press INPUT MODE repeatedly on the receiver to select the audio input mode. The selected audio input mode appears on the display.

Audio input modes
• AUTO IN
Gives priority to digital audio signals when there are both digital and analog connections. If there are no digital audio signals, analog audio signals are selected.

• COAX IN
specifies the digital audio signals input to the DIGITAL COAXIAL jack.

• OPT IN
Specifies the digital audio signals input to the DIGITAL OPTICAL jack.

• ANALOG
Specifies the analog audio signal, input to the AUDIO IN (L/R) jacks.

Note: Some audio input modes may not be set up depending on the input.
 
Its been a while since i farked around with the amp, but I'm sure if u "rtfm" there is a section on how to configure each inputs audio on the amp itself.... I think you can configure the source, SPDIF or Fiber...

I think its what Howard says....
 
Last edited:
I also see that this amp has 2 commonly named digital inputs called "VIDEO 2/BD IN" - one is for the optical audio and the other is for the HDMI input - I'm guessing the your audio/video outputs from the PC should both route to these specific inputs on the amp - this is how some amps are wired... if you try and use the optical input called "SAT IN" and the HDMI input called "DVD IN" you may have issues with the sound. Just a thought.

Also note that with HDMI and optical, you should ALWAYS switch off all devices that are to be connected, before trying to connect them - just a precaution to avoid issues...

EDIT

Troubleshooting:
There is no sound from digital sources (from COAXIAL or OPTICAL input jack)
• Check that the INPUT MODE is not set to "ANALOG" (page 62 of manual).

Settings for the audio (AUDIO menu)
You can llse the AUDIO menu to make settings for the audio to suit your preference.
Select "5-AUDIO" in the amplifier menus. For details on adjusting the parameters, see "Navigating through menus" (page 41) and "Overview of the menus" (page 42).

AUDIO menu parameters
DEC. PRI. (Digital audio input decoding priority)
Lets you specify the input mode for the digital signal input to the DIGITAL IN jacks.
• DEC. AUTO
Automatically switches the input mode between DTS, Dolby Digital or PCM.
• DEC. PCM
PCM signals are given priority (to prevent interruption when playback starts).
However, when other signals are input, there may be no sound depending on the format.
In this case, set to "DEC. AUTO".

Note: When set to "DEC. AUTO" and the sound from the digital audio jacks (for a CD, etc.) is interrupted when playback starts, set to "DEC. PCM".
 
Last edited:
howardb said:
I also see that this amp has 2 commonly named digital inputs called "VIDEO 2/BD IN" - one is for the optical audio and the other is for the HDMI input - I'm guessing the your audio/video outputs from the PC should both route to these specific inputs on the amp - this is how some amps are wired... if you try and use the optical input called "SAT IN" and the HDMI input called "DVD IN" you may have issues with the sound. Just a thought.

Also note that with HDMI and optical, you should ALWAYS switch off all devices that are to be connected, before trying to connect them - just a precaution to avoid issues...

EDIT

Troubleshooting:
There is no sound from digital sources (from COAXIAL or OPTICAL input jack)
• Check that the INPUT MODE is not set to "ANALOG" (page 62 of manual).

Settings for the audio (AUDIO menu)
You can llse the AUDIO menu to make settings for the audio to suit your preference.
Select "5-AUDIO" in the amplifier menus. For details on adjusting the parameters, see "Navigating through menus" (page 41) and "Overview of the menus" (page 42).

AUDIO menu parameters
DEC. PRI. (Digital audio input decoding priority)
Lets you specify the input mode for the digital signal input to the DIGITAL IN jacks.
• DEC. AUTO
Automatically switches the input mode between DTS, Dolby Digital or PCM.
• DEC. PCM
PCM signals are given priority (to prevent interruption when playback starts).
However, when other signals are input, there may be no sound depending on the format.
In this case, set to "DEC. AUTO".

Note: When set to "DEC. AUTO" and the sound from the digital audio jacks (for a CD, etc.) is interrupted when playback starts, set to "DEC. PCM".
Click to expand...


YES!!! I got it to work! Thanks very much to everyone for the help! I just removed the driver and re-installed it and it installed a new program called "Xgear 3D" and from there I just put optical out! All I need now is some proper speakers for this cause I bought the amp without speakers and subs.

But thanks very much, owe you all some beers!
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top
Sign up to the MyBroadband newsletter
X