XD9305 surround passthrough not working

[bobbybroon]

I purchased a 65'' XD9305 and a BDV-7200 about the same time, thinking this would be perfect combination. I don't watch many blurays but I wanted the surround sound. I connected the two over ARC, and I have a PS4, PC, and sky Q box all connected to the TV via HDMI, all top rated and highest current standard of cable. So all working perfectly fine you'd think.

Unfortunately I don't get any surround sound from any of them. The PC thinks it is outputting 5.1 sound,  but only comes out over two channels, as does the PlayStation. However when I use apps on the TV and watch films off the TVs apps, I get true surround. So the first way around could be to plug all into the BDV-7200, then send the signal to the TV, but the BDV-7200 doesn't have 4k passthrough, although it can output in 4K, and it only has two HDMI inputs.

So it's sensible to put all in the TV and allow that to transmit the sound to the BDV-7200. I just cand get it to work properly! 

I can't imagine I spent over £2500 on top Sony products to find they cannot so something that is extremely basic by today's standards, so please someone help me with where I'm going wrong in my settings. 

[Pascale_F]

Hi Bobby, 

Sorry to read this - sounds frustrating. 

I'm passing this on to the team to look into for you.

Thanks, 

Pascale

[dutchice]

According to the Input Specification section of Rtings.com, your TV is able to passthrough both Dolby Digital and DTS signal through ARC. Have you tried both of the Digital Audio Out options on your TV? You can try Auto 2 if Auto 1 is not working for you. This can be found under Home > Settings > Sound > Digital Audio Out > Auto 1/2

Also, you mention your TV apps do passthrough DD/DTS signal, so why don't you check to see what type of digital audio signal is selected for the inputs that are not working (PS4, etc.) This can be found by first selecting the corresponding source for your PS4 (e.g. HDMI 1 or 2 or 3) then verify the setting under Home > Settings > Sound > Sound (corresponding source) > Advanced Settings > Input related > Dolby Digital Plus Output > DD or DD+

I'm not that familiar with your BDV-7200 capabilities, but if it cannot process a DD+ input signal then you have to select DD on your TV (as mentioned above). As a matter of fact, if you say sound from apps (e.g. Netflix) is being passed through, then why don't you verify this particular setting WHILE THE APP is playing back content. Use the same setting DD or DD+ for each of your other input sources (PS4, PC, etc.)

[bobbybroon]

Thank you for taking the time to reply, but unfortunately still no luck  I have tried auto 1 & 2, as well as PCM with both teh standard and compressed formats but nothing changes. I've got my pc plugged in and do teh surround test where it does each speaker individually  and the left and right front both work, then instead of centre speaker the sound comes from both left and right front, the sub there is no sound at all, the. The sound for teh rear speakers comes through the front ones.

If I plug the pc straight into the Bdv 7200, then it works perfectly, but does not output 4k video as its not capable. Its very frustrating.

[dutchice · Accepted solution]

Don't get frustrated! Your equipment is fine, setting up A/V devices is not as easy as people generally expect. Otherwise forums like this and people like us won't exist in the first place.

Your BDV-7200 can receive only 2 channel PCM signal on the ARC TV jack. When you do the sound test from Windows on your PC you are sending a 6 channel PCM signal. So that won't work. Same goes for your PS4, meaning it has to know what type of digital audio it has to output for things to work. Both your TV and BDV can receive and passthrough Dolby Digital and DTS multi-channel digital audio signals. So you need to set all devices accordingly. Lets go step-by-step:

PS4

• Connect your PS4 using HDMI to your TV
• Boot up the PS4 System and access the Settings menu
• Select 'Sound and Screen', 'Audio Output Settings', 'Primary Output Port'
• Select 'DIGITAL OUT (OPTICAL)'
• Make sure that only the first two checkboxes are checked (Dolby Digital 5.1ch, DTS 5.1ch), because only these two formats are able to flow end-to-end on your devices.
• Select 'OK' to apply the changes
• Select 'Audio Format (Priority)'
• Check 'Bitstream (Dolby)' or 'Bitstream (DTS)', it's a matter of choice really. Both will work fine, but I'd suggest DTS, since your devices have also support for the DTS Core encoded profile.

TV

• Connect your TV using HDMI ARC to the BDV.
• Set the TV to output compressed audio without change. Select Home > Settings > Sound > Digital Audio Out (for this option to be enabled Speakers Settings in the TV must on Audio System) > Auto 1 
• Your BDV can not support a Dolby Digital Plus audio signal. So switch the TV to the HDMI input where the PS4 is connected (e.g. HDMI 1 or 2 or 3).
• Select Home > Settings > Sound > Sound (corresponding source) > Advanced Settings > Input related > Dolby Digital Plus Output > Dolby Digital
• Also for better sound quality we don't want to compress the Dolby Digital signal. Select Home > Settings > Sound > Sound (corresponding source) > Advanced Settings > Input related > Dolby Dynamic Range > Standard
• Repeat the previous 3 steps for the HDMI inputs where your PC and SKY Q Box are connected as well.

PC

• Open Sound settings in Windows and set the SONY TV *00 audio device as default.
• Click configure and select the 5.1 Surround configuration. Don't click Test. It only can test using PCM. So there's no use to test it. Click Next.
• Select the checkboxes for Center, Subwofer, Rear pair. Click Next.
• Select the checkboxes for Front Left and Right and the Surround Speakers. Click Finish.
• Now click Properties, go to the Advanced tab, select the default format as 16bit 48000 Hz then check both boxes for Exclusive Mode access for applications. Click OK to close, and OK again to close audio settings.
• To do a quick test you can install the VLC player from videolan.org and playback this DD and this DTS demo file.

BDV-7200

• Make sure you have firmware version M21.R.0174 else you will need to update the firmware first.

• The HDMI OUT jack must be connected to the ARC HDMI jack on the TV. Try having both HDMI 1 & 2 disconnected on the BDV.

• Set [Control for HDMI] in [HDMI Settings] of [System Settings] to [On].

• Also, set [Audio Return Channel] in [HDMI Settings] of [System Settings] to [Auto].

That should do it. If there are any audio settings on your SKY Q box try setting them to ONLY Dolby Digital AC3 or DTS. Not PCM. Of course there are other alternative ways to connect and configure your setup, but I think that the above option is what you are looking for.

[bobbybroon]

Thank you very much for your help! I thought I'd done everything. That's worked perfectly.  I was getting to the point where I was thinking bout replacing the surround system. It was the pc sound test that was throwing me completely off course, but everything is perfect now  Thank you ever so much.

[dutchice]

Give yourself a pat on the back, you earned it!

[bobbybroon]

Good afternoon,

After solving the problem, my TV has gone through and update, as has the BDV-7200. No problem. The playstation is working absolutely fine. I've also reinstalled windows on my PC and upgraded my graphics card from a nvidia 950 to a 1080ti. So same family, just newer. I've followed all the steps, exactly the same, but the PC is not outputting in 5.1 surround, again. The playstation is working fine, I've compared both and all the settings on the TV are the same. I try running the surround videos in VLC as before, and the PC thinks it's outputting the sound to 5 channels, as I am missing out in the sound that should be behind me, as in, the PC isn't putting the sound to the front speakers instead. So something is on the right course, but it's just not working out. Any suggestions as I believe I've tried every variation going without any additional success.

Thanks for your help in advance!

[costin_iatan]

Dear Dutchice,

I have been going up and down on the internet on all possible forums on this audio 5.1 issue. It is a grey area, on my opinion.

I was so happy when I first read your post labelled as "solved" on this thread. I was so anxious to get home and do the clear steps one by one and I was pretty sure it will solve my problem as well. It didn't. 

Here is my setup: 

TV - Sony Bravia KD-55XE80XX

AVR - Pioneer HTP 072 (VSX-324)

PC - Windows 10 with Nvidia Quadro 4000

PC is connected via HDMI out from Nvidia to HDMI 1 into TV. Windows sound configuration detects SONY TV as audio out in 5.1.

TV is connected via HDMI 3/ARC to the AVR.

If I play various DOLBY test files on the TV via USB with SONY video player, the sound is great and clearly 5.1. The AVR is detecting and showing on the display various type of sounds depending on files played (DTS, DD, etc.).

Note: The VLC Android app on the TV does not play the same files from USB in 5.1, but only stereo.

Going back to the PC, even if Windows detects SONY TV as a sound device in 5.1 when I play the same DOLBY test files with VLC it only gets stereo sound.

In the past (old TV and old PC but the same AVR) I have been using HDMI directly into AVR and the sound was crystal clear 5.1. Now with the new configuration if I use it this way, (Nvidia HDMI out -> AVR HDMI Game in) Windows sound detects HTP-072 AVR as stereo 2 channel only. I don't know if this is because Nvidia Quadro or the new TV, HDCP related. It is over my head.

For three days I've been navigating all the forums on this issue and reading dozens of posts and answers and articles on ARC and DOLBY and other related subjects, but none of these helped.

I think I am going CRAZY over this. I am not watching a lot of movies but when I do, the sound is very important for me.

Thanks in advance to anyone who will take the time to read this and hopefully bring light (actually sound) back into my darken days.

Costin

[dutchice]

Hi Costin,

Welcome to the Sony Community! We love to see our community members being just as passionate in wanting to get the best experience out of their Sony products. Just for your own interest keep in mind that:

• Digital audio connections (HDMI, Optical, Coaxial, etc.) all support the transfer of a variety of different signal formats. For devices to work as expected the signal format has to be supported on both devices sharing the connection.
• Digital display devices have all a digital built-in identifier called EDID (Extended Display Identification Data) which makes it possible for the device on the other side of the connection to read out information about the supported functions and signal specifications.

Now before I bore you with all the technical aspects behind the problem, let us dive in directly and try to solve the problem for you in a practical way.

If you are planning to use the PC for watching movies on the TV, I will not recommend the use of VLC in the first place. VLC is a great developer tool which is great for testing and diagnostic purposes. But requires a lot of understanding on quite complex aspects of AV engineering. The best solution for your needs, in my personal opinion is KODI. It has been developed according to the let-me-do-the-techy-stuff-for-you-to-enjoy concept. So for example it will take care of forcing the refresh rate of the signal sent to the TV to match the refresh rate of your movie in order to display jitter and judder free video.

I suggest you download and install the traditional 32-bit Windows installer version since there are various reports that the UWP app needs still more work. Then make sure you have set the settings below. But first click a few times on the gear wheel in the bottom left corner to change to [Expert] mode.

Under [SETTINGS] > [SYSTEM] > [AUDIO]

[Audio output device] > [DIRECTSOUND: HDMI - Sony TV (NVIDIA)]

[Allow passthrough] > [Enabled]

[Passthrough output device] > [DIRECTSOUND: HDMI - Sony TV (NVIDIA)]

[Dolby Digital (AC3) capable receiver] > [Enabled]

[DTS capable receiver] > [Enabled]

Under [SETTINGS] > [SYSTEM] > [DISPLAY]

[Display mode] > [Fullscreen #2 (if #2 is the TV screen)]

[Use fullscreen window] > [Enabled]

Under [SETTINGS] > [PLAYER] > [VIDEOS]

[Adjust display refresh rate] > [Always]

[Sync playback to display] > [Disabled]

[Allow hardware acceleration - DXVA2] > [Enabled]

Both setups should just work fine for you:

1. [PC] --HDMI-- [TV] --HDMI_ARC-- [AVR]
2. [PC] --HDMI-- [AVR] --HDMI_ARC-- [TV]

However if you plan to playback the more advanced audio formats such as uncompressed audio like Dolby TrueHD or object based formats like Dolby Atmos, I suggest you stick to setup (2) since the passthrough capabilities of your TV are limited to compressed Dolby Digital and DTS in addition to uncompressed LPCM of course.

That's pretty much it! Hopefully that will bring both sound and vision back into your living room.

As always keep us posted with your results!

Cheers,

Dutchice