Axiom Home Page Forums General Discussion Technical Questions No sound output from PC playing DVDs

I recently purchased a DVI to HDMI cable to connect my Video card (ATI 4870X2) to my Samsung 750 46" TV so that I could play DVDs, AVIs and Blue Rays from my computer hard drive to my tv.

The picture works great, my PC screen is reflected on my TV, just like a REALLY BIG monitor..

But sound is a problem, I have a Asus Xonar D2X sound card and I have connected an Audio cable (RCA Canare cable) from my S/PDIF output RCA jack of my sound card to my Digital DVD (RCA) input of my receiver. NO Sound at all.. when playing DVD movies using Power DVD or Media Player Classic.

So far in my troubleshooting I have done / tested the following:

1. Playing music via Winamp (FLACs).
A. Xonar set for PCM output on S/PDIF
B. RCA cable from S/PDIF outup of Xonar to AUX of receiver
C. Winamp playing FLAC music files

Results is: Music playing both from PC speakers AND Home Theater speaker system.. loud and clear.. works like a charm.. so I know that the S/PDIF output actually works.

2. Playing DVDs via Cyberlink PowerDVD or Media Player Classic.
A. Xonar set for PCM output from S/PDIF
B. RCA cable from S/PDIF outup of Xonar to DVD input of receiver
Results: NO sound from HT system.. just from PC speakers..

Tried every single configuration option in both Xonar control panel and Power DVD etc..

Any ideas ? ?

Thanks !!

What operating system are you using?
What version of PowerDVD do you have?
What receiver are you using? (the AVM 20 in you sig?)
What sound management software does the Asus Xonar D2X use?


Unfortunately I know computers much better than audio receivers so I’m really confused that you are getting any sound at all while hooked up to anything but an S/PDIF input on your receiver unless the AUX is and S/PDIF input. If you have a specific S/PDIF input on the receiver I would try that.

Do you get any DVD audio while hooked up to the AUX input or Winamp audio while hooked up to the DVD input.?

I’m not sure if all versions of PowerDVD are the same but try going into the audio tab of the configuration menu and setting speaker environment to “use S/PDIF” if it’s not already.

If you are using Vista go to the (Control Panel > Hardware and Sound > Manage Audio Devices > Playback tab > select “Digital output Devices (SPDIF) > click on “Properties” > under the “supported formats tab check the formats your receiver supports > open Advanced tab > check “Allow applications to take exclusive control of this device” and “give exclusive mode applications priority”

If you are using XP then the audio management software for the card is where you will make most of your configurations setting but I don’t know what your card uses. I’m pretty sure you won’t want to be using PCM for movies. You might have a “pass through” setting which will send the compressed DVD audio to the receiver for decoding.

Sorry if none of this is any help. With more information we might be able to narrow things down.


Isn’t it cool. I’ve been using my Samsung DLP as my primary computer monitor for over 2 years. I’ll never go back to a standard monitor except for building new computers, diagnostics and monitoring mundane processes.

Cheers,
Dean

P.S. as usual you want to make sure you have the latest drivers for everything.

Hi Dean

Thanks for your reply,

To answer some of your questions:

Windows XP SP3
PowerDVD 8 Ultra edition, tried 7 Ultra as well.
Using the AVM20 prepro
The xonar drivers and it's control panel configure sound options.

The sound card digital output via RCA coax cable connects to my digital input RCA Coax on the AVM20, so it's digital to digital.

I can play music via winamp from my xonar digital out to my AVM digital in on AUX no problem, but when I connect it to my " DVD " digital input and play a movie from powerdvd or media player classic etc.. no sound. That is very strange because by all accounts, it should work.

Yes, I've tried the " s/pdif outup" from powerdvd.. not effect.

I've tried every possible configuration options of my xonar sound card.. to no avail.. maybe as a test I will try using the onboard sound of the motherboard.. it's pretty crappy quality compared to the Xonar, but it will help in troubleshooting.

Cheers
Stephane

Hi Stephane,



Is there a reason you have to switch from AUX to DVD when switching from winamp to PowerDVD? On my Denon 2807 the same assigned digital input OPT2 handles all audio streams. If you haven’t try playing a DVD using the AUX input.

If you have any music or concert DVDs that has PCM stereo tracks try playing that and see if you get any audio on both the AUX and DVD inputs. Also try playing a DVD with the 2.0 option and see if you get any audio on both the AUX and DVD inputs.

If you have XP MCE try playing a DVD from Media Center.

If all else fails you can temporally use analogue cables which I have never had fail to work until we can figure out your digital connection issues.



Have you ever been able to play audio from a DVD connected to the AVM20 prepro?

Check the audio hardware properties and make sure the correct drivers for your xonar
Are loading.

Cheers,
Dean

The AVM20's 'dvd' input isn't turned off in some menu somewhere is it? I know the 3808 with it's assignable inputs you can have some inputs turned off and others on or assigned incorrectly for a real mish-mash of things.