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I'm using my laptop with an Nvidia GTX 1070 as HTPC connecting it to the TV using HDMI and from the TV to the Sony BDV-E6100 Home Cinema System through the ARC channel, with this configuration:
PC <--HDMI--> TV <--HDMI ARC-->Home Cinema
The problem is that the TV internal EDID tells the graphic card that it only supports Stereo audio, so Windows don't allow games or video players to send multichannel sound or event DTS.
I've read many solutions: having the audio through another cable, tricking the graphic card driver to make it think the TV supports multichannel, etc. but they require extra hardware, disable HDMI CEC or dealing with unsigned drivers to solve something that should be easier for everyone.
Is there any other way to accomplish this?
Javier Marín
Posted 2017-12-26T20:05:39.980
Reputation: 103
In my experience from two separate, very different home A/V systems, HDMI ARC is an industry-wide screwup that leads to lip sync issues in the opposite direction than devices expect and let you adjust for (the audio lags behind the video instead of the other way around). You need an audio system with HDMI-in and you need to plug your PC into that. – Spiff – 2017-12-27T07:03:20.507
That would mean to change ALL the sound hardware I currently own, that's not my intention – Javier Marín – 2017-12-27T08:48:44.247
The model of your TV may be important here as it appears some manufacturers only allow ARC to provide 2 channel audio (Second paragraph under Inconsistent Results). Additionally, it appears that every set up example I found runs HDMI in this fashion: Source->AV Receiver->TV. This might be something to consider.
– Michael Frank – 2017-12-27T22:06:33.717I tried with a Philips 60PFL8708S and Windows recognized two PCM channels and compressed 5.1. Right now I'm using a cheap white-label TV and only stereo seems to work. The Home Cinema I'm using only allows SDPIF or HDMI ARC audio input, so I guess one solution would be use an HDMI extractor to send video to the TV and SPDIF audio to the Home Cinema, like this one: https://www.amazon.com/Musou-Extractor-Optical-Splitter-Converter/dp/B06XDNJ6RM/ref=pd_lpo_vtph_23_bs_lp_t_1?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1&refRID=6JX8CQDMA6ZDM6WEMZ53
– Javier Marín – 2017-12-27T22:34:14.607Yeeeeep, it seems that your TV is one of those models that don't support more than 2 channels on ARC. I think you've probably already picked up on the best way get what you want, the only other solution would be SPDIF out from your TV, if it even supports that feature. I feel like this is probably a self-answerable question, so when you find your solution put it as an answer for others that might find themselves in the same situation with your specific setup. – Michael Frank – 2017-12-27T22:48:35.213