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

john.eyl Wrote: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.

I have exactly the same problem. I have to use the DSP build to get ac3. I also have the Emotiva UMC-1 pre\pro. The camelot release also works great!

G|zO - what do you mean the DSP build? Are you referring to the DX build using DSPlayer? If so then what config are you using? Out of the box I still don't get AC3 on that - Cheers.

More testing: I tried installing Dharma Rc2 on a laptop with an NVIDIA 460M gfx card. I still did not get AC3 output. This would lead me to believe that there is a handshaking issue with xbmc dharma Rc2 and my pre/pro - an emotiva umc-1. I don't have a hdmi capable receiver to properly test by eliminating the umc-1. Does anyone have Dharma Rc1/2 bitstreaming with an emotiva umc-1 Can any of the devs please comment on changes to audio rendering with dharma? AC3 bitstreaming over hdmi works fine with all other apps on the system, including xbmc 9.11 camelot.

I'm having the exact same problem, and still doing research on it. I'm having trouble playing MKV files in XBMC. After testing I found that some work, and some don't...the ones that work have an MP3 audio stream, and the ones that don't have an AC3 audio stream. They work perfectly fine outside of XBMC (tested on Media Center, Media Player, PowerDVD, etc).

xbmc-r35326-Dharma_rc1
Windows 7 Ultimate (32-bit)
ATI Radeon HD 4850
HDMI out to Denon A/V receiver

Is there anything I can/should be submitting for troubleshooting?

I just did a bit more testing. When I go into System -> Audio Output and disable the option for "Dolby Digital (AC3) capable receiver", audio WILL work from these MKV files which were giving me trouble. The problem is, obviously, that it's just sending the same audio to all speakers (for example, dialogue is coming out of all speakers instead of just the center).

I wasn't sure if this was a bug or a configuration issue, so I never posted about it...thinking it was something on my end.

john.eyl Wrote:G|zO - what do you mean the DSP build? Are you referring to the DX build using DSPlayer? If so then what config are you using? Out of the box I still don't get AC3 on that - Cheers.

Hi

I was referring to the DSPlayer, I was a bit tired
I can give you my settings tomorow, its a bit late for me to go into it now.

I just testet the Dharma rc2. When I set the audio to "analog" and the primary direct driver, i actually got audio output from ac3 movies (dvd´s and mkv´s) Its clearly a surround sound, but im not sure what I exactly get.

The strange thing is that all my movies work flawless with all other players than XBMC Dharma. I realy want this to work, XBMC is by far my favorite mediaplayer!

Does the same thing happen with AC3 soundtracks of different bit rates and channel count?

For example the commentary 2.0 track, a 5.1 downsampled to 384kbps, a 5.1 640kbps converted from Bluray?

Thnx CrystalP. I'll check tonight. I've also only tried this by playing VIDEO_TS.IFO files. I'll try playing tonight using a DVD disk (should be the same though) and also try mkv and divx content of varying bitrates and channel count.

Hopefully this will help troubleshooting this. I tried what someone else suggested and changed my audio output from HDMI to Analog, and after doing that all my MKV files were playing properly. I could even tell that it was coming out of the proper channels. I even downloaded an AC3 test file and verified that when set to Analog, each channel was coming from the proper source. I haven't dug much around to see what the ramifications of making this change, but at least it's usable for now.

If it helps, here is the AC3 test file I used:
http://slap.gotdns.org/Test_AC3.zip

And here is the logfile from XBMC. I set loglevel to "1", opened XBMC, changed the Audio Output to Analog, then played the test file (audio working). Then I changed the Audio Output to HDMI, played the test file again (audio not working), then closed XBMC. That's all contained within this log:
http://slap.gotdns.org/xbmclog.zip

Hopefully someone can help me make heads or tails of this.

Thanks.

it might not be the same but I have some "failed to inizialize audio device"
It does that on certain movies only and my HDMI output is Intel HD graphic, working on a Asrock Core 100-HT.