Win DTS to Dolby Digital downmix not working anymore
#1
Have had a problem crop up recently, hopefully you might be able to help:

Normally I downmix any DTS, DTS-MA or other such format to my DD 5.1-capable speaker system by using passthrough and unselecting all formats besides DD 5.1 from the audio menu.

This setting has remained the same, but (I think since the latest monthly release of Gotham) it doesn't work anymore!

Dolby Digital passthrough still works fine if the source audio is AC3, but if it's not, I'm out of luck.

I can see that this is happening because I have an LED on the speakers which indicates when DD 5.1 is in use...before, it would light up when the downmix was active from a DTS source, but now all I get is the Dolby Prologic LED, which is (and sounds) inferior.

I have already upgraded to the latest nightly build (which according to the main site should be less buggy than the latest monthly build) and I have the latest drivers for the Intel HD graphics which control the HDMI output I'm using. The connection I've always used is HDMI from the PC into the HDMI input on my TV, then Optical-Out to the speakers (TEAC Powermax 2000). This worked beautifully up to now Sad

I've tried both WASAPI and Directsound options in the Audio settings, with the same effect. My last remaining option is to downgrade to a previous monthly build that might work, but before I do that, any thoughts?

Thanks in advance!
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#2
Will come back, when this is in: https://github.com/xbmc/xbmc/pull/4025
First decide what functions / features you expect from a system. Then decide for the hardware. Don't waste your money on crap.
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#3
Excellent, thanks for the quick answer! Will bookmark that issue until it's marked as included Big Grin
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#4
This still doesn't work in Beta 1...should I do a full Uninstall? Sad
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#5
Still doesn't work in the final version of Gotham, either...please help, does no one know why DTS or DTS-MA downmix by passthrough does not work anymore?

Is there a different setting I should use?
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#6
OK, after spending quite a bit of time investigating the problem, I think I've come across the correct settings (maybe they will be of some use to someone else who might have this issue):

2.0 channels should be selected, after which the option for Dolby Digital Transcoding will show up in the decoder list...with it selected, everything works the way it should - Dolby Digital 5.1 works natively, stereo sources remain stereo and DTS/DTS-HD/MA 5.1 all get downmixed to Dolby Digital 5.1.
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#7
I think I'm having the same issue. Got a new android media box (Armada M8) and I don't have the capability in settings to choose "DTS capable receiver" or Dolby Digital receiver".

What have I missed?
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#8
Maybe you're having an issue which I heard is also present on the Ouya - basically that they haven't licensed DTS, so DTS passthrough is not an option
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#9
Please beware the "speaker setup" option. If you're connecting to your AVR with Optical or Coaxial SPDIF, you need to set this to 2.0. While SPDIF can carry an AC3 or DTS 2.1+ encoded bitstream, it cannot handle more than 2 channel PCM (And PCM/uncompressed audio, is what this setting is for).

XBMC settings cannot overcome hardware/driver limitations though. But there are "3rd party" DTS drivers out there, for some units. Google is your friend. If not, transcode to AC3.

For the Ouya - this is an unofficial fork, as up to date with XBMC releases as they can manage, but it might be very much worth the read/try: http://ouyaforum.com/showthread.php?8220-SPMC-Koying
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