Problem with KODI wont sound decoding e-ac3 (Dolby Digital Plus)

3ek

Member
Hello. This is my first topic on this forum. And English is not my mother language.
This is my problem.
I'm Minix Owner at 2013. I had Minix Neo X5.
Now i have Minix U9-H. (android 6 OS) Prefect hardware for media. I use old Pioner VSX-324 receiver connect to minix with Toslink cable. And HDMI direct to TV.
Speaker system is 5.1 ch.
I used this configuration because, receiver is only 4K 30 hz capable.
When I playing video file with E-AC3/A-AC3 (Dolby Digital plus), KODI it has no sound. (even stereo) Doby Digital, and DTS content is playng fine.
I had try different settings on/of 5.1 , on/of dolby digital, and more option. Nothing helps.
Only when i chose, not to passtru setting, 2.0 ch. sound is apear.
When i using MX Player to playng, i downloded aio custom decoder to have stereo sound.
Kodi is last version on the Google play market: 18.4, I think.

Any suggestion what software to use or Kodi settings to do to have 5.1 ch?
Thanks.
 
Hello. This is my first topic on this forum. And English is not my mother language.
This is my problem.
I'm Minix Owner at 2013. I had Minix Neo X5.
Now i have Minix U9-H. (android 6 OS) Prefect hardware for media. I use old Pioner VSX-324 receiver connect to minix with Toslink cable. And HDMI direct to TV.
Speaker system is 5.1 ch.
I used this configuration because, receiver is only 4K 30 hz capable.
When I playing video file with E-AC3/A-AC3 (Dolby Digital plus), KODI it has no sound. (even stereo) Doby Digital, and DTS content is playng fine.
I had try different settings on/of 5.1 , on/of dolby digital, and more option. Nothing helps.
Only when i chose, not to passtru setting, 2.0 ch. sound is apear.
When i using MX Player to playng, i downloded aio custom decoder to have stereo sound.
Kodi is last version on the Google play market: 18.4, I think.

Any suggestion what software to use or Kodi settings to do to have 5.1 ch?
Thanks.

In Kodi's settings, go to system -> audio. Scroll down & try enabling the option for "Enable Dolby Digital (AC3) transcoding".

Any joy?
 
I'm not beginner user. In KODI I aways chose Expert Mode.
Dolby Digital capable Receiver enable (already), cause Dolby Digital AC-3 video files works great.
The problem is only video files with A-AC3/E-AC3 (Dolby Digital Plus).
Enabling/disablling options Dolby Digital Plus capable Receiver also not work.
The settings of: Output configuration: Optimized.

Enable Dolby Digital (AC3) transcoding - In Kodi 18.4 this option is missing.

Any other suggestion?

Edit: in Kodi 17.x, is it has Enable Dolby Digital (AC3) transcoding
 
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I'm not beginner user. In KODI I aways chose Expert Mode.
Dolby Digital capable Receiver enable (already), cause Dolby Digital AC-3 video files works great.
The problem is only video files with A-AC3/E-AC3 (Dolby Digital Plus).
Enabling/disablling options Dolby Digital Plus capable Receiver also not work.
The settings of: Output configuration: Optimized.

Enable Dolby Digital (AC3) transcoding - In Kodi 18.4 this option is missing.

Any other suggestion?

Edit: in Kodi 17.x, is it has Enable Dolby Digital (AC3) transcoding

Do you have a sample or legal source of your e-AC3 files?
 
... Enable Dolby Digital (AC3) transcoding - In Kodi 18.4 this option is missing...
???

Am I the only one who doesn't get it?

Can you please check again?

In Kodi 18.4 the option is there in Settings/System/Audio,
Make sure you really have Expert mode selected, and scroll the right side pane down to Audio Passthrough area
Audio Passthrough has to have the button activated for the concerning options (where you can find Enable Dolby Digital (AC3) transcoding) not to be greyed out.
 
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???

Am I the only one who doesn't get it?

Can you please check again?

In Kodi 18.4 the option is there in Settings/System/Audio,
Make sure you really have Expert mode selected, and scroll the right side pane down to Audio Passthrough area
Audio Passthrough has to have the button activated for the concerning options (where you can find Enable Dolby Digital (AC3) transcoding) not to be greyed out.

If you have the number of channels set to 7.1 in the audio options, for example, this option disappears @CybeRider . If set to the default 2.0, again as an example, the enable AC3 transcoding options
appears again.

I would imagine the OP has set the number of channels to 5.1/7.1 which is why it's not available to them.
 
If you have the number of channels set to 7.1 in the audio options, for example, this option disappears @CybeRider . If set to the default 2.0, again as an example, the enable AC3 transcoding options
appears again.

I would imagine the OP has set the number of channels to 5.1/7.1 which is why it's not available to them.

That sure explains why I was the only one not getting it, as I suspected then. Thanks @ArcticWolf. :)
 
Finally it worked.
Enable Dolby Digital (AC3) transcoding , option is there when, set Audio Channels to 2.0
But, Dolby Digital Plus capable Receiver it set to: off/disable to work.

Special Thanks to everyone. ;)

Every time i have to change this option: for audio channels.
But there is not full happiness
P.S I''m waiting new Minix official firmware (not beta) for U9-H
 
Finally it worked.
Enable Dolby Digital (AC3) transcoding , option is there when, set Audio Channels to 2.0
But, Dolby Digital Plus capable Receiver it set to: off/disable to work.

Special Thanks to everyone. ;)

Every time i have to change this option: for audio channels.
But there is not full happiness
P.S I''m waiting new Minix official firmware (not beta) for U9-H
as previously requested (@ArcticWolf ) can you provide eac3 sample for us to test
 
Finally it worked.
Enable Dolby Digital (AC3) transcoding , option is there when, set Audio Channels to 2.0
But, Dolby Digital Plus capable Receiver it set to: off/disable to work.

Special Thanks to everyone. ;)

Every time i have to change this option: for audio channels.
But there is not full happiness
P.S I''m waiting new Minix official firmware (not beta) for U9-H

Try a replacement TOSLINK cable as well ;)!!
 
Same problem, after update U9-H with 7.1.2 CE firmware.
KODI is latest version 19.0 Using toslink to AVR (receiver is not DD+ cabable)
DD+ (E-AC3) Audo is missing, not 5.1, stereo too. Trying different audio settings (in KODI or Audio settings in Minix options,) but no luck here.
Not all options in new KODI is there

I'm also ,testing with samples like: Core Universe.m2ts, from here:
https://thedigitaltheater.com/dolby-trailers/
Maybe KODI 19 is a problem or firmware?


Problem solved :), accidentally press button of the keyboard/mouse F8.
And this is Mute, some of the media files.
 
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Thank you so much.

That was not exactly intuitive; but I have an Onkyo 7.1 Receiver with all the "tricks", so it was really frustrating to keep getting STEREO sound only when I configured KODI for 7.1, then 5.1 and still nothing.

I was using VLC player; which was automatically setting my receiver to match the audio format; but it was frustrating to have to then manually update my Trakt view \ rating, so this post really helped.

I changed my Audio Channels to 2.0 and then did Audio Passthrough and now I get GLORIOUS Dolby and other formats.

My ears thank you... :geek:
 
If you have the number of channels set to 7.1 in the audio options, for example, this option disappears @CybeRider . If set to the default 2.0, again as an example, the enable AC3 transcoding options
appears again.

I would imagine the OP has set the number of channels to 5.1/7.1 which is why it's not available to them.
Now I am confused. Turned on kodi>system>audio and today it is showing 7.1 channels. Previously showed 2.1 channels. Pass through enabled and whether I change from 2.1 to 7.1, all the options below pass through can be enabled.

Tried out a film and cannot hear any difference on my sound bar, when using either of the channels.

Any guidance would be appreciated.

I have all the options below pass through enabled.

I did so because I'm hoping that the system will pick up the best sounds.
Might sound naive, but, as most of you know, I'm not blessed with all the technical knowledge of many on this forum.

Many thanks.
 

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Now I am confused. Turned on kodi>system>audio and today it is showing 7.1 channels. Previously showed 2.1 channels. Pass through enabled and whether I change from 2.1 to 7.1, all the options below pass through can be enabled.

Tried out a film and cannot hear any difference on my sound bar, when using either of the channels.

Any guidance would be appreciated.

I have all the options below pass through enabled.

I did so because I'm hoping that the system will pick up the best sounds.
Might sound naive, but, as most of you know, I'm not blessed with all the technical knowledge of many on this forum.

Many thanks.

What does your soundbar itself actually support?

Obviously, if it's 5.1, then there's simply no point in selecting 7.1 or an option it doesn't support as it won't change anything, even if for whatever reason unsupported options are still available/visible in Kodi. If it's just a 2.1 soundbar, the same applies.

Additionally, if you're using your soundbar for direct passthrough, then set the output configuration to best match & disable the stereo upmix.

Try that for now. Would also be worth checking if the passthrough output device is greyed out/not selectable or if you can change it from the audio track (IEC), Kodi IEC packer to an HDMI option for passthrough.

Only do this for the passthrough output device, leave the main audio output device on the current recommended setting :).
 
Thanks for that excellent information.

My soundbar is 5.1 and so kodi>system>audio is set to 5.1 channels.

I am using the recommended settings in the kodi audio output device, as there is no drop down for Hdmi, just Audio track(raw)Android IEC packer.

I don't understand why you have recommended disabling stereo upmix. I say this because I don't have the knowledge to know what doing this does. But from what I have googled, it would seem to enhance 5.1 channels.

Final point: Below passthrough, I have enabled all the various settings below that. Is that the correct method. My rationale being, that my sound system is capable of playing all of them and hopefully will select the best one during playback.

As a footnote. On my mx player pro, in settings audio, I have enabled " Audio player> use as audio player.
Or does that have nothing to do with what we are discussing?

Many thanks.
 
@dak7385

Correct settings for audio can be a bit of a minefield as there are many variables, and so very difficult to give specific advice
for example,

Your minix device capabilities
Your minix device OS
Your AVR / Soundbar capabilities
Your AVR / Soundbar connectivity (HDMI/Spdif)
Kodi Version

as an example the minix T5 and U22 devices should be able to passthrough HD audio, but the minix firmware is crippled, however both those devices will passthrough HD audio using Coreelec.

The best resouces to use ( other than here !) are

https://kodi.wiki/view/Settings/System/Audio
https://kodi.wiki/view/Audio_quickstart_guide

both of which should be read carefully and in full, bearing in mind they are a guide and there are caveats you should NOTE !

see also
https://kodi.wiki/view/Audio_troubleshooting
 
@pusb87
Very many thanks. That brainstormed my head??
But made a lot of sense and have bookmarked it for future reference.

My system seems fine now with the settings and the decoding capabilities of my soundbar. And is set to 5.1 channels in kodi/Audio. But in the link on kodi audio, there is another link " see also: "audio" in blue script. And that suggests in the end column, that avr connected by hdmi should be set to 7.1 channels????

The only thing that still puzzles me is the stereo upmix. But I will try it with enabled and disabled.

Many thanks again for some great info.
 
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@pusb87
Very many thanks. That brainstormed my head??
But made a lot of sense and have bookmarked it for future reference.

My system seems fine now with the settings and the decoding capabilities of my soundbar. And is set to 5.1 channels in kodi/Audio. But in the link on kodi audio, there is another link " see also: "audio" in blue script. And that suggests in the end column, that avr connected by hdmi should be set to 7.1 channels????

The only thing that still puzzles me is the stereo upmix. But I will try it with enabled and disabled.

Many thanks again for some great info.

Stereo upmix as the label implies upmixes plain stereo to the number of channels specified in Kodi's channel options. (It's basically for audio surround systems that don't support RAW audio passthrough :).)

You are using passthrough to a capable soundbar so the stereo upmix is essentially redundant & not required, hence the advice to disable it. (You'll also find the recommended settings you looked through that suggested you set the number of chans to 7.1 also specifies to disable the stereo upmix too.)

The advice for setting Kodi to 7.1 is only valid if you actually have 7.1 channels. If you only have 5.1 then there's absolutely nothing to gain whatsoever from setting the number of channels to 7.1 & it won't improve or upmix the audio further, it just doesn't work that way. (Simply set the available options to what you have & what your hardware actually supports for the best possible results ;).)

Enjoy.
 
Stereo upmix as the label implies upmixes plain stereo to the number of channels specified in Kodi's channel options. (It's basically for audio surround systems that don't support RAW audio passthrough :).)

You are using passthrough to a capable soundbar so the stereo upmix is essentially redundant & not required, hence the advice to disable it. (You'll also find the recommended settings you looked through that suggested you set the number of chans to 7.1 also specifies to disable the stereo upmix too.)

The advice for setting Kodi to 7.1 is only valid if you actually have 7.1 channels. If you only have 5.1 then there's absolutely nothing to gain whatsoever from setting the number of channels to 7.1 & it won't improve or upmix the audio further, it just doesn't work that way. (Simply set the available options to what you have & what your hardware actually supports for the best possible results ;).)

Enjoy.
Brilliant explanation and clarification. Thank you @ArcticWolf
 
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