Dolby Digital 5.1 through HDMI?.

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Keithmac

New member
Hello all, I've had my Minix Neo U1 for a while now and it is an excellent box, really well made.

Just a quick question if my Neo U1 supports Dolby Digital output though HDMI?.

If not is this a hardware limitation or software?.

Thanks all!.
 
Is it just through the Kodi/ XBMC app?.

I have tried several settings, with MX player and VLC and cannot manage to output Dolby 5.1 over HDMI.
 
I have streaming apps as well, I think it Kodi/ XBMC has some custom programming on the Minix?.

Good to know you've got 5.1 output though I'll keep digging!.

Thanks for the replys.
 
Keithmac said:
I have streaming apps as well, I think it Kodi/ XBMC has some custom programming on the Minix?.

Good to know you've got 5.1 output though I'll keep digging!.

Thanks for the replys.
Click to expand...
I assume you have a Dolby Digital capable sound device/system connected to your minix directly via HDMI.

A quick google search informs that both MX and VLC players are capable of audio passthrough via their settings menu's
 
Yes, Minix goes through TV which passes 5.1 to my Sonos Playbar 5.1 kit.

I also have an EDID emulator for testing (hasn't made any difference).

As long as I know the Neo U1 will pass Dolby Digital 5.1 through HDMI I will do some further troubleshooting. Didn't want to spend a lot of time if it wasn't capable.
 
Keithmac said:
Yes, Minix goes through TV which passes 5.1 to my Sonos Playbar 5.1 kit.

I also have an EDID emulator for testing (hasn't made any difference).

As long as I know the Neo U1 will pass Dolby Digital 5.1 through HDMI I will do some further troubleshooting. Didn't want to spend a lot of time if it wasn't capable.
Click to expand...

Is your TV definitely configured correctly if you're essentially using the TV to passthrough the audio first?

Enable bitstream if you have the option available & ensure the TV's speakers are disabled as well. In some cases HDMI CEC also needs to be enabled to correctly passthrough audio as well.
 
Hello, yep I can pass DD5.1 through from my Blu-ray player (it transcodes DTS on the fly to DD).

Didn't realise CEC had any influence on the HDMI audio pass through, will give that a try.
 
Keithmac said:
Yes, Minix goes through TV which passes 5.1 to my Sonos Playbar 5.1 kit.

I also have an EDID emulator for testing (hasn't made any difference).

As long as I know the Neo U1 will pass Dolby Digital 5.1 through HDMI I will do some further troubleshooting. Didn't want to spend a lot of time if it wasn't capable.
Click to expand...
Keithmac said:
Hello, yep I can pass DD5.1 through from my Blu-ray player (it transcodes DTS on the fly to DD).

Didn't realise CEC had any influence on the HDMI audio pass through, will give that a try.
Click to expand...

CEC (and/or ARC function) would only be a factor if your Sonos soundbar is also connected to the TV via HDMI too, which as I understand it isn't. So ignore anything regarding CEC as it wouldn't apply in your case. (My apologies that I didn't pick up on that before I commented on it earlier :)!!!)

Presumably your specific TV definitely supports Dolby Digital surround passthrough/output via SPDIF if it's currently working with your Blu-ray player? (Many TV's still don't support it & if the Blu-ray player is actively applying some form of on the fly transcoding before the audio signal actually reaches the TV that could also be a factor why the Blu-ray player works but other devices don't. Worth double checking the capabilities & specifics of all the devices in the chain in advance before you end up repeatedly banging your head on your desk, or take up basket weaving instead ;). It certainly sounds like you've done your homework in general, however :).)

Are you absolutely certain your media sources are always DD/AC3 too? (If a streaming app, as an example, is outputting in something other than DD then obviously the audio signal may not passthrough your TV & if it does, it could in turn be an audio format the Sonos can't support/decode either == no audio! (I.e. DTS.)

Otherwise, back up a little as it may help to clarify a few other points.....

You have also correctly configured the audio settings on the U1 itself for HDMI audio output too right ;)??? (Success may still depend on exactly what your specific TV can or will passthrough, however.)

Double check a few things for the U1's actual audio output settings.....

Digital sounds would ordinarily be set to auto or HDMI. (Having said that, because your system is essentially a mix of HDMI passing through a TV via TOSLINK too I'm not entirely sure how effective this may be. I used to have a U9-H connected to my old external audio hardware by TOSLINK alone before I upgraded to a dedicated AVR, for example. I just needed to set the output device itself to SPDIF with my old equipment whereas now everything uses HDMI so it's obviously set to HDMI. (The U1 & U9-H share quite a lot in common especially when it comes to the available user settings.))

Dolby Sounds - DRC mode would ordinarily be set to LINE with HDMI too. However, you could also try experimenting with the RF setting as well & see if that helps.

Sound devices manager - Also set to HDMI for the output device.

If that still fails you may need to consider some other alternatives & I'm assuming you'd rather not shell out for a new AVR plus speakers ;)?? Unfortunately, the Playbar only has the one SPDIF input too so you can't just have an additional TOSLINK connection going from the U1 directly into the Sonos either.

(Although, you could purchase a basic 2 in 1 out TOSLINK splitter which could then give you a direct TOSLINK connection from the U1 (which you'd then simply set to SPDIF), & you'd still essentially retain the current connection from the TV to the Sonos as well. Or, if you wanted to avoid/bypass using the TV to passthrough audio altogether, you could even consider a 3 or 4 in 1 out TOSLINK splitter & connect each individual SPDIF capable device you own directly to the Sonos system that way. Then, just manually switch between the U1 & the TV's optical outputs on an as required basis, (or any other device depending on which splitter you choose). Audio quality wise you'd notice no different at all. It's another option you could consider for a relatively low cost if your TV just won't play ball with its own passthrough capability :).)

FYI, (I've never used it but), Kodi also has an option for DD/AC3 transcoding that's often missed that "may" help in your situation.

In Kodi's settings -> system -> audio.... If you just leave the number of channels set to 2.0, an additional option should then appear under the audio passthrough options to enable DD/AC3 transcoding. (If you've set the number of audio channels to anything other than 2.0 the DD/AC3 transcoding option won't be visible.) Obviously, you could also experiment with that particular setting & see if that helps with your situation/setup too :). (Don't forget to set Kodi's settings to "expert" for these extra settings to be available to you if you haven't already.)

Hope that gives you some additional things to check and/or experiment with, or of course you could consider a simple & cheap TOSLINK splitter as explained.

Do let us know if you successfully resolve the problem one way or another. Finger's crossed :).
 
Hello again, thanks for all the posts!.

I had another couple of hours on it, will post a quick rundown for anyone else.

First of all re-tested my TV with Blu-ray player, can instantly hear it's in 5.1 and checked on Sonos app (showed Dolby Digital 5.1). This proved without a doubt the TV can pass 5.1 from HDMI to Toslink output to Playbar (Sonos relies on this and some TV's can be picky!).

Next up I found a film definitely in Dolby AC3 5.1 for local playback on the Neo U1.

I don't use XBMC and ultimately I need to link my solution to an IPTV client so it was either VLC or MX player.

I then spent a good half an hour with VLC player and the Minix, Digital sound to HDMI (already set from last time), had the "Pass through audio" checked in VLC and acceleration ON/ OFF etc. No DD 5.1 output to Playbar. Did an update to VLC but that just added some adverts..

I then booted up MX Player, same AC3 file and went through all the settings, set Audio Pass Through on (I think that was already set).

BINGO!, could instantly tell it was in 5.1 and Sonos app confirmed!. So MX player it is!. Put hardware acceleration on and still in 5.1 so all good there.

I then went through my IPTV app and added MX player as an optional player, worked a treat!.

I still have my EDID emulator attached but will remove that later (Had to use that on my Old TV).

So to sum it all up, for me VLC will not pass through AC3 for some reason, MX player WILL.

Really happy now, sounds so much better, sub rumbling properly and sounds a lot fuller.

I've had mix Minix Neo U1 for a fair few years now and it's been an excellent little box, even better now.
 
Keithmac said:
Hello again, thanks for all the posts!.

I had another couple of hours on it, will post a quick rundown for anyone else.

First of all re-tested my TV with Blu-ray player, can instantly hear it's in 5.1 and checked on Sonos app (showed Dolby Digital 5.1). This proved without a doubt the TV can pass 5.1 from HDMI to Toslink output to Playbar (Sonos relies on this and some TV's can be picky!).

Next up I found a film definitely in Dolby AC3 5.1 for local playback on the Neo U1.

I don't use XBMC and ultimately I need to link my solution to an IPTV client so it was either VLC or MX player.

I then spent a good half an hour with VLC player and the Minix, Digital sound to HDMI (already set from last time), had the "Pass through audio" checked in VLC and acceleration ON/ OFF etc. No DD 5.1 output to Playbar. Did an update to VLC but that just added some adverts..

I then booted up MX Player, same AC3 file and went through all the settings, set Audio Pass Through on (I think that was already set).

BINGO!, could instantly tell it was in 5.1 and Sonos app confirmed!. So MX player it is!. Put hardware acceleration on and still in 5.1 so all good there.

I then went through my IPTV app and added MX player as an optional player, worked a treat!.

I still have my EDID emulator attached but will remove that later (Had to use that on my Old TV).

So to sum it all up, for me VLC will not pass through AC3 for some reason, MX player WILL.

Really happy now, sounds so much better, sub rumbling properly and sounds a lot fuller.

I've had mix Minix Neo U1 for a fair few years now and it's been an excellent little box, even better now.
Click to expand...

Well done. Glad you're now all sorted :).

FYI, I haven't been able to get VLC (Android) to passthrough audio correctly to my HDMI based AVR with either a U9-H or a U22 for some time so something in the app was affected by a recent(ish) update. (It was definitely working correctly with an earlier version of VLC. I only used VLC on Android for testing or on occasion to playback some older SD files that Kodi struggled with really & obviously Kodi or MX are equally good alternatives, (providing they're not broken by an update too of course ;).)

Enjoy your corrected audio :).
 
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