Nvidia Audio over HDMI to Yamaha RX-V473

[wilzy89]

Had trouble deciding whether to put this in "Home Theatre" or "Graphics & Displays" but its here now.

So, I have my 260GTX plugged into my Monitor over DVI (ViewSonic without HDMI inputs). I have a HDMI from my GPU into my Yamaha RX-V473 AV Receiver HDMI-In. Goal is to view on the VS monitor whilst hearing HD sound through the RX Receiver.

Go to play a track, no sound. Check playback devices, nothing but Sound Blaster X-Fi Xtreme Audio analogue + digital outs and my mobo Realtek outs (ensured showing hidden + disconnected).

To try and rectify the problem, I uninstalled the drivers for the Realtek on board sound and the X-Fi, emptying the playback device list completely (to perhaps save some confusion for me), did a clean install of the latest Nvidia drivers and ensured I had the RX-V473 enabled in the Nvidia Digital Audio settings.

At this point I still have nothing listed in my playback devices.

Thanks in advance

 

[dingo07]

You need to run the audio out of the IO panel connections and not the GPU

 

[wilzy89]

You need to run the audio out of the IO panel connections and not the GPU

Would that just be an analogue signal anyway? Should just stick to optical out then?

 

[wilzy89]

Would it be a possible workaround to upgrade monitor to HDMI, run my GPU to the AV Receiver via HDMI, then plug my new monitor into the HDMI Out on the receiver? That way the 260 is outputting Video and Audio to the Receiver, which then splits the Video to the monitor.

 

[wilzy89]

So, I just plugged my 260gtx straight into the TV with the Nvidia Digital Audio setting on, and still it didn't show up as a playback device..

 

[Darkoil]

Have you right clicked on the list in playback devices and then tick show disabled devices?

 

[Frag Maniac]

Sadly the 200 series used a crappy attempt to pass audio from the MB to HDMI output of the GPU via a mini cable that attaches between the MB and GPU, and it doesn't work. I have a GTS 250 with the same tech and the same problem, and I've read you can't trust any of them to work properly for audio via HDMI.

The GPU is not supposed to show as an audio playback device either, because these cards don't in fact have an Nvidia HD audio chip like the newer ones do. Instead you leave your onboard sound enabled as the audio device, because that is what the mini cable is trying to pass thru to the GPU's HDMI port, but again, it doesn't work, so just use a separate optical cable for now and forget HDMI audio on a 200 series card. It was a GPU evolution tech idea that failed miserably.

I'm told once you get a newer card that does have the HD audio chip, you can then see it show up as an audio device in the Windows Sound panel and the HDMI port will output audio. Some suggest disabling onboard sound before you do this. What happens is games carry a PCM stereo signal that Windows can convert to 5.1 or 7.1 once you configure the Nvidia audio device to in the Sound panel.

You can then attach the HDMI cable to either the AVR and let it pass thru the video to the TV via it's HDMI output cable, or you can attach it to the TV and let the AVR's HDMI output cable carry audio to the AVR via ARC (if your TV supports it), in which case the AVR's output cable is attached to the TV's ARC input. Either way should work, the latter with any modern TV that has ARC. However going straight from the GPU to the TV could induce less input lag.

Once you have it set up, rather than the game audio getting a lossy encoding of Dolby Digital or DTS like Creative and ASUS sound cards with Dolby Digital LIVE and DTS Connect do, you get lossless multi channel PCM straight to your AVR, which is a lot better.

I have the RX-V371 btw. I plan to upgrade to a Pioneer Elite VSX-60 soon. I also plan to upgrade my GTS 250 to a 660 Ti soon, very soon. I'm considering the new EVGA FTW Signature 2, or the MSI PE OC if the EVGA fails to beat it in tests. I say get a new GPU. Our 200 series served us well but they're outdated now.

DX11 is nice, and HDMI audio sounds better than optical. If you don't believe me, try listening to Dolby Digital TV shows via ARC on HDMI, then compare it to using an optical cable between the TV and AVR after disabling ARC in your AVR's HDMI settings. You CAN hear the difference.

 

[wilzy89]

Have you right clicked on the list in playback devices and then tick show disabled devices?

"Go to play a track, no sound. Check playback devices, nothing but Sound Blaster X-Fi Xtreme Audio analogue + digital outs and my mobo Realtek outs (ensured showing hidden + disconnected). "

So yes

 

[wilzy89]

Best answer selected by wilzy89.

 

[wilzy89]

Spoiler

Sadly the 200 series used a crappy attempt to pass audio from the MB to HDMI output of the GPU via a mini cable that attaches between the MB and GPU, and it doesn't work. I have a GTS 250 with the same tech and the same problem, and I've read you can't trust any of them to work properly for audio via HDMI.

The GPU is not supposed to show as an audio playback device either, because these cards don't in fact have an Nvidia HD audio chip like the newer ones do. Instead you leave your onboard sound enabled as the audio device, because that is what the mini cable is trying to pass thru to the GPU's HDMI port, but again, it doesn't work, so just use a separate optical cable for now and forget HDMI audio on a 200 series card. It was a GPU evolution tech idea that failed miserably.

I'm told once you get a newer card that does have the HD audio chip, you can then see it show up as an audio device in the Windows Sound panel and the HDMI port will output audio. Some suggest disabling onboard sound before you do this. What happens is games carry a PCM stereo signal that Windows can convert to 5.1 or 7.1 once you configure the Nvidia audio device to in the Sound panel.

You can then attach the HDMI cable to either the AVR and let it pass thru the video to the TV via it's HDMI output cable, or you can attach it to the TV and let the AVR's HDMI output cable carry audio to the AVR via ARC (if your TV supports it), in which case the AVR's output cable is attached to the TV's ARC input. Either way should work, the latter with any modern TV that has ARC. However going straight from the GPU to the TV could induce less input lag.

Once you have it set up, rather than the game audio getting a lossy encoding of Dolby Digital or DTS like Creative and ASUS sound cards with Dolby Digital LIVE and DTS Connect do, you get lossless multi channel PCM straight to your AVR, which is a lot better.

I have the RX-V371 btw. I plan to upgrade to a Pioneer Elite VSX-60 soon. I also plan to upgrade my GTS 250 to a 660 Ti soon, very soon. I'm considering the new EVGA FTW Signature 2, or the MSI PE OC if the EVGA fails to beat it in tests. I say get a new GPU. Our 200 series served us well but they're outdated now.

DX11 is nice, and HDMI audio sounds better than optical. If you don't believe me, try listening to Dolby Digital TV shows via ARC on HDMI, then compare it to using an optical cable between the TV and AVR after disabling ARC in your AVR's HDMI settings. You CAN hear the difference.

Yeah, I looked into upgrading to a 670GTX a few months ago then sort of flopped on gaming to allow for work and the good weather . However the 660's are a lot more affordable, so I might have a look around.

I am moving house from a rental to my first built in a few months, so I will know my final Audio/Video setup then, but these tips should help out a lot.

Thanks a lot Maniac

 

[Frag Maniac]

Yeah, I looked into upgrading to a 670GTX a few months ago then sort of flopped on gaming to allow for work and the good weather . However the 660's are a lot more affordable, so I might have a look around.

I am moving house from a rental to my first built in a few months, so I will know my final Audio/Video setup then, but these tips should help out a lot.

Thanks a lot Maniac

No problem, I went thru the same frustrations myself. If you can't afford $300 for the 660 Ti, the 660 is a pretty decent card too. Might want to have a look at the EVGA SC Signature 2 version of it. Same clock speed as the reference version that did very well in reviews, and it's sporting their nice new non reference cooler at the same price. It's currently on Auto Notify though. http://www.evga.com/Products/Product.aspx?pn=02G-P4-2661-KR

 

[wilzy89]

Yeah, I think I'm leaning towards the 670GTX still.

 

[wilzy89]

Everything is so expensive here in Australia
http://www.pccasegear.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=193_1387&products_id=20330
http://www.amazon.com/EVGA-GeForce-GTX-Borderlands-Bundle/dp/B008Z07A6Y/

 

[Frag Maniac]

Yeah, huge difference in pricing down there. What res do you play at and what games do you play mostly? The 660 does quite well on a lot of games actually.

 

[wilzy89]

Haven't purchased my new monitor yet, but I will be playing BF3, GTA5, NBA2k13, all at 1080 or higher.

 

[Frag Maniac]

...all at 1080 or higher.

So are you considering a 1440 display then? If so, a 670 would def be more appropriate, but then so would 3GB VRAM, adding even more to the cost.