Problems with 5.1 AC-3

rigsby

Member
I have a Onkyo TX-NR414 AV amp hooked up to my Minix Neo U1 box. which supports Dolby True HD, DTS-HD Master Audio, DVD-Audio and DSD (according to the manual)

I've read other posts here but haven't yet found a solution to my problem.

Videos which are encoded EAC3 have no sound. I can understand that. When I attempt to play a video - AC3 - sometimes the audio is fine and sometimes not. In the latter case the audio works for a second upon start of playback and then goes off; the video continues to play. If I turn off and on the 'Enable Passthrough' it generally fixes it but sometimes not.

Incidentally, playing an EAC-3 video freezes the box and I have to pull the plug.

Any thoughts welcome.
 
I have a Onkyo TX-NR414 AV amp hooked up to my Minix Neo U1 box. which supports Dolby True HD, DTS-HD Master Audio, DVD-Audio and DSD (according to the manual)

I've read other posts here but haven't yet found a solution to my problem.

Videos which are encoded EAC3 have no sound. I can understand that. When I attempt to play a video - AC3 - sometimes the audio is fine and sometimes not. In the latter case the audio works for a second upon start of playback and then goes off; the video continues to play. If I turn off and on the 'Enable Passthrough' it generally fixes it but sometimes not.

Incidentally, playing an EAC-3 video freezes the box and I have to pull the plug.

Any thoughts welcome.

There are a load of variables that could cause such issues, but check these for starters & include more information ;).

Are these files being played locally or from an online source? Are they SD, HD, FHD, UHD?

Are you using HDMI exclusively for passthrough or SPDIF/optical?

How long is your (total) HDMI run?

Have you tried decent (18 Gbps) premium high speed HDMI cables? (If your HDMI cables are an older standard HDMI cable there may be insufficient bandwidth depending on the visual data also being sent down the cable.). You don't need to spend a fortune!! If they already are 18 Gbps have you tried swapping them out for proven cables?

What's your version of Kodi?

If you're still stuck, do you have any sample files or legal links to the files you're having problems with?
 
Thanks for the help. Methinks this will take some time to get my head around.

Meanwhile here is a bit more info:-

The files are on a USB connected to the Minix.
They are HD - 720p and 1080p.
Have got HDMI for the video and sound and also an optical connection. The sound issues are on both.

I'm using XBMC for Minix and KODI v18.4 (latest). On KODI when playing those E-AC-3 videos, the display on the amp flickers between Dolby D and Dolby D+ so it would appear that the amp does support DD+ but there's something wrong somewhere. I'm sure that DD+ worked at some stage in the past.

I had to factory reset the box not so long ago and it says there are no system updates. I.e. I'm up to date. Is that right ??
The firmware version I have is LMY47V.20170629. I looked at the firmware updates part of the forum but the download links to install the programs didn't work so I didn't pursue it.

I'll keep investigating and report back. Converting those E-AC-3 files to AC-3 has worked as a temporary fix.
 
I had to factory reset the box not so long ago and it says there are no system updates. I.e. I'm up to date. Is that right ??
The firmware version I have is LMY47V.20170629. I looked at the firmware updates part of the forum but the download links to install the programs didn't work...

Just a note to confirm that according to the reference you mention your firmware is updated.

Anyway, I couldn't find any trouble downloading the latest firmware files for the U1 from the forum:

https://theminixforum.com/index.php?threads/neo-u1-013fw-android-lollipop-os.44/#post-70
 

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Mmm...ok thanks. Appears I'm up to date, but those 2 download links go to page/s that can't be reached. I've tried several browsers.

I would suggest that you use either your Minix box Chrome version (which I used myself) or a different web browser than Chrome in a Windows envyroment because the message you got is a well known issue preventing Windows Chrome to reach several legit web pages.
EDIT: I see you mention you used several browsers, I would think you used Chrome engine based browsers. Did you try Firefox?

I did the download yesterday with no issues to my U1. Actually that is what should happen as you select the links, the downloads will start immediately, you won't be transfered to another web site.

If you search Google for that error message that you got you will get further info.
 
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Thanks for the help. Methinks this will take some time to get my head around.

Meanwhile here is a bit more info:-

The files are on a USB connected to the Minix.
They are HD - 720p and 1080p.
Have got HDMI for the video and sound and also an optical connection. The sound issues are on both.

I'm using XBMC for Minix and KODI v18.4 (latest). On KODI when playing those E-AC-3 videos, the display on the amp flickers between Dolby D and Dolby D+ so it would appear that the amp does support DD+ but there's something wrong somewhere. I'm sure that DD+ worked at some stage in the past.

I had to factory reset the box not so long ago and it says there are no system updates. I.e. I'm up to date. Is that right ??
The firmware version I have is LMY47V.20170629. I looked at the firmware updates part of the forum but the download links to install the programs didn't work so I didn't pursue it.

I'll keep investigating and report back. Converting those E-AC-3 files to AC-3 has worked as a temporary fix.

For the time being, try unplugging the TOSLINK cable from the U1 & restart. Then, double check that the U1's audio settings are all set to HDMI alone respectively.

Double check the configuration of your AVR too, ensure you haven't incorrectly configured the input settings etc.

Your AVR supports all of the HD audio formats over HDMI, there's really no need to keep the TOSLINK cable at all. (I'm not claiming it's definitely causing your AC3/e-AC3 issues, but it's possible your AVR is getting confused or has a glitch with both physical connections being present.)

If you're still having issues, as before at least try an HDMI cable proven to work with another device between your U1 & the AVR.

You could also consider factory resetting your AVR too. They're simple enough to quickly reset & reconfigure :).

If all of this still fails, then you could try reconnecting the TOSLINK cable & ensure the U1 is fully configured for SPDIF audio alone. (Ideally, however, HDMI audio is certainly your best bet. :))

Keep us posted.
 
Thanks ArcticWolf.

I had the issues when only the HDMI provided the audio (i.e. the TOSLINK cable wasn't present).

I'll look into all your suggestions. One thing I've never done (or even thought about) is resetting the AVR. I'll investigate.
 
Well we are always learning ☺
I don't have a AVR because i don't want and i don't need.
One thing i now know is that is possible to factory reset the device (at least for some, i think) , didn't even know that was possible ☺
 
Updated the firmware on the amp to the latest version but it didn't make any difference. I'll live with what I've got for now and converting DD+ to DD fixes the audio issue.
 
Updated the firmware on the amp to the latest version but it didn't make any difference. I'll live with what I've got for now and converting DD+ to DD fixes the audio issue.

If you've updated the firmware, I'd still try factory resetting the AVR too (if you haven't already)!! Sometimes updates themselves can introduce these glitches & a previous update may have caused it.

Worth trying, you just never know these days ;).

Well we are always learning ☺
I don't have a AVR because i don't want and i don't need.
One thing i now know is that is possible to factory reset the device (at least for some, i think) , didn't even know that was possible ☺

Modern AVRs are no different to any smart TV or device. They can all be factory reset to start fresh (or for sale without personal details remaining on the system etc. ) :).
 
I did a full factory reset on the amp and the firmware version is the latest but the problem persists. The amp can certainly decode DD+ (according to the manual). When playing an E-AC-3 encoded video there is either no sound or the display flickers between DD and DD+ so it's 'nearly' there !! (I also changed the HDMI cable).
 
@pusb87 @ArcticWolf

Wow - I'm so embarrassed !!

The audio setting on the Minix was set to 'PCM' not 'Auto'. I only just thought about looking 'cos I can't remember changing it - after I factory reset the box a while back. Now E-AC-3 works fine.

So sorry for wasting you guys time, but at least I learnt that the amp has firmware that needs to be updated plus I hope this topic will help folks in the future.

Many thanks for everyone's assistance.
 
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@pusb87 @ArcticWolf

Wow - I'm so embarrassed !!

The audio setting on the Minix was set to 'PCM' not 'Auto'. I only just thought about looking 'cos I can't remember changing it - after I factory reset the box a while back. Now E-AC-3 works fine.

So sorry for wasting you guys time, but at least I learnt that the amp has firmware that needs to be updated plus I hope this topic will help folks in the future.

Many thanks for everyone's assistance.

Lol, no worries. It's very easily done :).

You're all sorted, that's the main thing.

Enjoy :).
 
@pusb87 @ArcticWolf

Wow - I'm so embarrassed !!

The audio setting on the Minix was set to 'PCM' not 'Auto'. I only just thought about looking 'cos I can't remember changing it - after I factory reset the box a while back. Now E-AC-3 works fine.

So sorry for wasting you guys time, but at least I learnt that the amp has firmware that needs to be updated plus I hope this topic will help folks in the future.

Many thanks for everyone's assistance.
We've all been there :);):oops:
 
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