FAQ: HDMI and sound.

Discrete video cards NVidia

What you need to output audio through NVidia video cards
1) Discrete video card of 8xxx series or higher with a soldered two-pin connector for sound control. Is there such a connector on your video card you can find out from the specifications.
Other Indirect Indications:
- presence of SPDIF jumper in the set
- in the case of ASUS video cards - the index of the model should be "HTDI", not "HTDP".
- the connector should be visible in the photo
Sound support is embedded in the chipset, but video cards can follow the reference, or they may not follow, and there is a nuance - specs on specific graphics cards may not correspond 100% to reality.
2) Sound card (integrated or discrete internal) with SPDIF printed on the board in the form of pins.
3) A simple bridge connecting these two devices. Usually it comes complete with vidyuhi, but if not, it can be easily done by yourself. On sale until he was not noticed.

Brief instruction
1) Configure the system to output audio via the SPDIF digital interface.
In Windows Vista, it is usually presented as a separate independent audio device. To output all sounds, just make it the default output device. Control panel-> sound-> playback, is called something like: "Digital output device (SPDIF)". You can configure the system to output audio via SPDIF only in one player by selecting the appropriate device in it. However, if you do not touch the "default device", the remaining sounds will remain on the analog output.
In Windows XP with SPDIF setting there are often problems. The fact is that in this OS the digital output is not displayed as a separate audio output device. Therefore, where the sound goes - depends on the personal preferences of the drivers. Typically, the analog and digital outputs are either duplicated, or when a digital output is connected, the analog output is disabled.
At the end of the article, an example of the Media Player Classic setting is given.
2) Connect the "SPDIF-out" and "Gnd" motherboard / sound card and the corresponding input of the video card. It is important to correctly connect the bridge pins to the sound card output. Usually, there are appropriate signs on the bridge. However, if there are no designations, you can find out how to include it by the method of scientific poking. Do not be afraid to make a mistake - if you connect incorrectly, the sound with SPDIF out will simply go to the ground of the video card and nothing terrible will happen.
However, be careful! Do not confuse the connector for sound with a connector for connecting the video card cooler. This is especially true on video cards with passive cooling, where the connector for the cooler remains free. Also, do not connect the bridge to the "power" pin on the SPDIF output of the motherboard / sound card. This will most likely lead to the combustion of the SPDIF output of the sound card.
For NVidia graphics, the sound will go through any DVI-> HDMI cable, HDMI-> HDMI, with or without adapters.

Supported audio formats:
The list is limited by the capabilities of SPDIF. Only PCM Stereo, Dolby Digital 5.1 and DTS 5.1 are supported


Discrete video cards ATI | AMD

What you need to output sound through ATI | AMD
A) Video card series 2ххх and above.
ATI video cards already have their own sound controller built in, so no other sound devices are required.
B) In case of audio output via the DVI connector, it is necessary to use the proprietary DVI-> HDMI adapter.
Check the availability of the adapter in the kit directly in the shop where you make the purchase - the kit may differ!
It is necessary to use the adapter that comes with your video card.
Adapter for example from 3650 can not earn from 3450.
Left adapters, as well as DVI-> HDMI cables will not work.
The "correct" adapter contains a chip with a wired number of something there. (Requires specification) Some video card manufacturers are "hammered" to check the "correctness" of the adapter, and the sound will go even with a DVI-HDMI cable.
The adapter can be made independently (in a new window).

Brief instruction
Be sure to install the driver integrated in the video card sound controller Realtek. The latest version is 2.25.
After that, a Realtek HDMI Output device should appear in Windows. If we want all the sounds to be transmitted over HDMI - select it as the device by default:
In Vista: Control Panel-> Sound-> Playback. Choose Realtek HDMI Output.
In XP: Control Panel-> sound and audio devices-> audio-> audio playback-> the default device.
If you want to output audio via HDMI only in your favorite player, you must select the Realtek HDMI device only in it, and leave the usual sound card as the "default" device. At the end of the FAQ, an example of the Media Player Classic setting is given.

Supported audio formats:
All formats are PCM, DTS and Dolby Digital. In the 48xx series, support for Dolby True-HD and DTS-HD is added (up to 192 kHz sampling rate, up to 6.144 Mb / s).


Mobile video adapters, integrated solutions, etc.

The article is currently being formed.
Integrated graphics processors Intel GMA 4500 and Nvidia GeForce 8300 support the output of 7.1-channel LPCM audio.
Mobile video cards ATI series 2ххх and above support the transfer of sound via HDMI as well as discrete video cards.
Everything written for discrete graphics cards is also true for mobile solutions, except, of course, the fact that in the vast majority of cases on the laptop the HDMI connector decouples rather than the DVI, and, accordingly, no adapter is required.
Mobile video cards NVidia 8xxx and above support the transfer of audio over HDMI on the same principle as discrete ATI video cards, i.e. Have their own sound controller, which is defined by the system as a separate audio output device (Realtek HDMI Output).
As for the supported formats - it is reliably known about the output of 5.1-channel sound.


General notes regarding all video cards

  • It is recommended to make connections only on completely de-energized TV and PC (always pull out the cable-antenna) - there is information that the HDMI
  • If you are sure that you have correctly configured the system, connected the bridge to NVidia / installed the driver for ATI, but the sound still does not appear, open the instruction manual for the TV and check - first, whether it is necessary to specifically select the TV menu for audio reception by HDMI, And what digital audio formats are supported. As a rule, signals PCM Stereo 44.1 and 48 kHz should be supported, so first of all you should try them. You can select the format in Vista in the "supported formats" tab in the properties of your sound device. In XP with this, as already mentioned, the problem.
  • There is information that on some video cards, like ATI and NV, only one of the connectors can output sound. On the NV, for example, it's a connector located closer to the spdif input (so it's closer to SLI). Sometimes it is marked with the appropriate color (for example, the yellow adapter needs to be inserted into the yellow connector). If there are no such instructions, it is necessary to check at random.


    • FAQs

    Q1: My NVidia graphics card should theoretically support reception of a signal with SPDIF, but the manufacturer for some reason forgot to unzip the corresponding connector, but the space under it is left.
    Q2: My motherboard / sound card does not have an SPDIF output pin in the form of pins - only an external RCA connector or Jack jack.
    A: If you are friendly with the soldering iron, you can easily solder to the card manually. Do not forget that for work you only need to solder one wire - you do not have to connect the ground.
    Known is the case when officially (according to ASUS itself) the board did not support the sound at all (although the chipset contained such support), but the sound went after the soldering of the connector ..

    Q: I want the sound on the TV going only when watching movies. In other cases, the sound should go to the usual speakers at the computer.
    A: We select the analog output as the default device (as usual). And in the settings of your favorite player, through which you watch movies on the TV, choose accordingly SPDIF (for NV) or Realtek HDMI Output (for ATI).

    Q: Media Player Classic setup example
    A: ATI
    Go to the settings view-> options-> output-> direct show audio. In the list, select the desired device Realtek HDMI Output
    A: NVidia:
    A) If SPDIF out is defined as a separate device:
    Similar to ATI: view-> options-> output-> direct show audio. In the list, select the desired SPDIF device.
    B) If there is no separate SPDIF device:
    Go to Settings Options - Internal filters, click on the filter "AC3" And in the dialog that appears, select "SPDIF". This automatically sets the same settings for the "DTS" and "LPCM" filters.