Win 7 XBMC Dharma RC1 No AC3 when using HDMI Audio [debug log posted at #9]

Hi All.

I have Dharma RC1 loaded up on a win 7 box. I get no audio when trying to play AC3 audio tracks bitstreamed over HDMI. I get audio if I play a movie with a DTS track, and also get audio if I play a movie with a DTS - MA track (plays core DTS track). So I know it isn't an issue with the HDMI connection or base Dharma config.

I've tried the DirectSound and WASAPI drivers, and have the correct settings to output to HDMI (since DTS works).

I've tried installing Dharma RC1 on a fresh windows reload with only the video card drivers installed but still no dolby digital. If I install Camelot, I get dolby digital and DTS with no problems - the issue only occurs with Dharma.

Can anyone please help with suggestions on configuration or other things to try, or point me to where I can grab tools to try to figure out what is going on?

I'm using windows 7, HDMI on an ATI 5750 video card, and I'm playing dvd's and blurays backed up to HDD with their full dvd/bluray file structure.

thnx.

Seriously, this is a release candidate I got the exact same problem when I decided to check out the upcoming version today. I too have a Radeon HD 5750 in my Windows 7 Ultimate 64bit HTPC, could that be problem? And I use the HDMI output on it. In the current version of XBMC (which I reverted to within the hour after having tried everything I could think of to get the issue resolved first, to no avail) I get both Dolby Digital and DTS without any sort of problem, so I know the drivers and card works as they should - I also get correct sound output from other programs, so it is most certainly not a driver problem. But in the new XBMC I got DTS, but no Dolby Digital what so ever. Had to select analog audio, which only outputs stereo, to get any sort of sound on those files.

This reminds me of the time I tried to run Linux on my HTPC about a year or so ago. There too I got DTS sound, but no Dolby Digital, no matter what I did. I tried different configurations and followed several suggestions for 3 days before I gave up, installed Windows 7 and had everything up and running in 15 minutes...

I have to say this, based on that anecdote; this was not a FEATURE that I was missing in Windows!

I'm amazed if it's true that this bug has survived 4 beta revisions of the new version and is only noticed now. It's definitely something to get fixed, though...

Another thing I noticed, and didn't like in new XBMC, is that the program now defaulted to MUSIC when starting up, instead of VIDEO as in the old version. I didn't search to see if it was already implemented, but if it isn't there should be a configuration somewhere that lets you decide which option the program should open on...

Seriously - no debug log . (See sticky - how to report a problem). I have to say I'm amazed you didn't include one. How do you expect the devs to troubleshoot without one.

My own personal experience is that both DD and DTS play perfectly fine on an ATI 5450 - Win7 x86 on the WASAPI Audio Output Device setting.

talking about an issue without a proper bug report in hand isn't helpful, it's merely whining

Hi All.

Firstly, my post is not meant to be a bug report. I was hoping that someone could confirm they had it working and possibly share some configuration tips. Steelman, thanks for bringing up the sticky on reporting a possible bug. I may go that way. It's also good to hear someone else has a working Win7/5 series ATI card setup. Pike, no disrespect, but I would prefer that you don't post unless you have something constructive to say.

Cartman, what amp are you using? I have an emotiva UMC-1 and this may turn out to be a handshaking issue with Dharma (I hope it's not - that would be the worst outcome!).

I'm also trying out the DSPlayer version of XBMC to see if I get the same issue - I'm still working through the configuration but will post back here with the results.

Cheers.

Neither was my post's sarcasm aimed directly at you. The post I linked you to is not purely for reporting official bugs - that is done through the Bug Tracker - but to provide ample information for devs and users alike to try and provide you with a solution. All we are doing at the moment is guessing at probable causes.

Just to check, are you using the Realtek HDMI audio drivers, the MS ones, or ATI's packaged HDMI drivers? Might be worth trying the alternatives, just incase its a conflict between one of the driver sets and XBMC rather than XBMC and the card itself

I'm getting audio fine with an Nvidia card, and the MS drivers, but when I was using the Nvidia HDMI audio drivers I did sometimes have issues where the sound would fail to initialise until I rebooted, which was why I dropped them a few weeks ago...oddly enough been fine since with MS drivers. (I have my machine set to use XBMC as a shell rather than explorer which perhaps contributed to this, but still it was a rather retarded fault for the official drivers!)

@steelman, I wasn't reporting a bug on my own rights, I was simply responding to someone's post about the exact same problem I experienced, adding a mind-fart in the process. Sorry about that...

@john.eyl, my amp is a NAD T747. Handshake has been an issue between the HD 5750 and the NAD previously; I'd pause the film then when I resumed the sound was sometimes missing. Had to switch audio channel on the amp to a different channel and back to get the sound back. That was with AMD's audio drivers. I then switched to Realtek's drivers (most resent edition), and the problem has pretty much disappeared. It seems to me that the Realtek drivers handles the handshake part better than AMD's drivers. I still get the occasional drop, but now it's only a rare occasion, often with several days, or even weeks, between occurrences.

Based on previous experience, that the Realtek driver is the best for this audio chip, I didn't even think to try different drivers when I got problems yesterday with Dolby Digital audio in the RC of the new XBMC. I simply went back to the previous version of XBMC, which I knew worked... After trying for about an hour with different audio settings, that is, none of them working.

By the way, XBMC didn't report any error either, no error messages. Just no sound... When I tried with Linux I sometimes would get the message on screen that it wasn't able to render the sound, or something, but not here. The movie played fine, but with no sound... Bug reports are usually only written out when the program itself gives an error message. But granted, I haven't read up on error reporting (as I wasn't reporting an error), I just let the OP know he was not alone...

Hi All.
I've done some more research and here are the results. My setup is listed below and in the top of the log file. To recap - still no AC3 on dharma RC1 even though I get AC3 in all other apps as well as XBMC Camelot. I am able to play DTS in all of the applications/players I have tested.

• alexrose1uk - I tried loading the latest realtek driver (2.49) but to no effect. I'm running ATI catalyst 10.11 drivers which are the latest.
• I loaded up the DX version of XBMC (XBMCSetup-Rev33619-dx.exe, and MPC-Standalone Filters.1.4.2499.0.x86.zip) and also tried using the DSPlayer. I can only get PCM out of that when trying to play AC3, which means it's not bitstreaming. The DVDPlayer in that version doesn't play sound at all. I followed the guide here: http://www.mediasmartserver.net/2010/06/...-dsplayer/
• I installed MPC HC (MPC-HomeCinema.1.4.2499.0.x86.exe) and followed the guide here: http://www.mediasmartserver.net/2010/02/...pc-part-i/ I was sucessfully able to play anything I could think of - AC3, DTS, DTS-MA, Dolby TrueHD. I used this ffdshow version (ffdshow_rev3562_20100907.exe). It seems anytime I can fit ffdshow in as a filter it tends to work - although I think DSPlayer uses it to decode AC3 so I am not sure?
• Graphstudio will output AC3 using ffdshow, as well as WMP.
  

I have posted the log file generated from trying to play a movie called 21 in Dharma RC1. The movie has been backed up to HDD, and I play it by selecting the VIDEO_TS.IFO file. You can find the log file at http://pastebin.com/LyS0TX11 From the logs it seems that XBMC loads ffmpeg so I am not sure why this issue is occuring. I've tried all of the settings available in the audio setup for dharma, including trying WASAPI and Directsound devices but to no avail.

Any thoughts on what my next steps should be?

Cheers.

Other System Info:
Win7 HTPC connected using HDMI 1.3a to an Emotiva UMC-1 processor
ATI 5750 video card running catalyst 10.11 drivers
WASAPI ATI High Definition Audio Device (selected in audio setup)

Also, the media info for the file is also here: http://pastebin.com/eyat3Atr

Cheers.