setting up

[samhfoley]

I now have my HTPC built. I am using an ASUS m3n78-vm motherboard with an HDMI out, and I also have the Xonar 1.3 slim audio card which has an HDMI in and an HDMI out. My television only has 1 HDMI plug in it. How should I hook up the HTPC with my Onkyo TX-SA607?

Now the onkyo HDMI out is going to the TV and everything else is going into the Onkyo.

Help me out

 

[TLS Guy]

I now have my HTPC built. I am using an ASUS m3n78-vm motherboard with an HDMI out, and I also have the Xonar 1.3 slim audio card which has an HDMI in and an HDMI out. My television only has 1 HDMI plug in it. How should I hook up the HTPC with my Onkyo TX-SA607?

Now the onkyo HDMI out is going to the TV and everything else is going into the Onkyo.

Help me out

Connect the HTPC to your Onkyo with an HDMI cable.

 

[samhfoley]

well yes

I know, that would be easiest. HTPC to CBL/SAT HDMI in plug. Then where does the audio HDMI cable that is coming from the XONAR 1.3 slim go?

 

[samhfoley]

it would seem, thus far at least that I am unable to get sound from just running the HDMI from the motherboard to the TV or from the Motherboard to the Onkyo and then Onkyo to the TV.

The Antec case has 2 plugs, AC'97 and HD Audio. Do I attach either one of these to a) the motherboard b)the ASUS Xonar slim 1.3??

Second problem is my display on my TV is bad. I have the resolution set to the max (recommended) but the toolbar and the far left side of the screen (start menu, etc...) is cut off. If I reduce the resolution it does not rectify the problem.

I am running Windows 7 Ultimate 64 bit system. Thanks as always for any insights you might have

 

[TLS Guy]

it would seem, thus far at least that I am unable to get sound from just running the HDMI from the motherboard to the TV or from the Motherboard to the Onkyo and then Onkyo to the TV.

The Antec case has 2 plugs, AC'97 and HD Audio. Do I attach either one of these to a) the motherboard b)the ASUS Xonar slim 1.3??

Second problem is my display on my TV is bad. I have the resolution set to the max (recommended) but the toolbar and the far left side of the screen (start menu, etc...) is cut off. If I reduce the resolution it does not rectify the problem.

I am running Windows 7 Ultimate 64 bit system. Thanks as always for any insights you might have

HDMI carries audio and video. You have to find a way to make your HTPC output video and audio through the same port. There is no TV or receiver that will handle anything else.

In my view HTPC is a poor way to go, as Windows has draconian DRM, that wants to downgrade pictures to very low resolution, unless you really know what you are doing.

Basically the windows vista and 7 are set up to make it impossible for any one to output a high def picture unless they are a genius.

It is a bit late now, but I would caution anybody against doing this with windows.

But you will have to get the picture and sound coming out of one port if you want to use HDMI. If you use HDMI for video and coax or optical SPDIF for audio to the receiver it will work, may be. The trick is to get windows to output a high def TV signal and that's a black art.

 

[samhfoley]

any ideas as to how I can get both the audio and video to go out of the same port? Does the Xonar HDAV Slim 1.3 have that capability? Sorry I am pretty new at this business.

 

[TLS Guy]

any ideas as to how I can get both the audio and video to go out of the same port? Does the Xonar HDAV Slim 1.3 have that capability? Sorry I am pretty new at this business.

You will not be able to combine the HDMI after the fact. HDMI has built in DRM. It is a two way communication using HDCP codes, that have to make repeated hand shakes.

Your only solution is to get a 1.3 HDMI switch with repeater architecture, between you TV and your HDMI sources to the TV for video, such as those made by Gefen.

Then you need to connect the HDMI audio to your receiver. That is the only solution I see for you. Granted it will not be handy or without expense.

 

[Adam]

Hi. I have an HDMI output on my PC. In my case, I need to set in Windows if I want audio to go out the HDMI port or out through my soundcard. It doesn't do both. So, if you haven't tried this already, I'd suggest that you go to the following control panel:

Control Panel - Hardware and Sound - Sound

Select the "Playback" tab, and there should be a list of devices. One of those should be for your HDMI port. If so, set that as the default.

Once you get audio going out through the HDMI port on your computer, then you should be able to run it to the Onkyo as Mark first suggested.

 

[AcuDefTechGuy]

ASUS Xonar HDAV1.3?

Connect the motherboard's HDMI OUTPUT to the ASUS XONAR HDAV1.3's HDMI INPUT. Then connect the ASUS XONAR HDAV1.3's HDMI OUTPUT to the Onkyo receiver.

 

[samhfoley]

I will try the HDMI out to the XONAR in and then Xonar out to the reciever. Thanks for the tip. ANy settings I need to tweak in the HTPC itself?

 

[samhfoley]

hooray, I have video and sound, thanks. working on a better resolution for my screen though,.....still cannot see the entire desktop and the mkv files flutter a bit when i play them in WMC.

 

[AcuDefTechGuy]

I will try the HDMI out to the XONAR in and then Xonar out to the reciever. Thanks for the tip. ANy settings I need to tweak in the HTPC itself?

Install the latest version of the Xonar Utility Driver software on the ASUS website:
http://support.asus.com/download/download.aspx?SLanguage=en-us

Search Audio Cards, PCI-E, Xonar HDAV1.3 --> choose OS ---> download latest driver.

On the Xonar utility, CHANGE from ANALOG to HDMI Audio. Configure for 5.1/7.1 speakers, 48 kHz, 6/8 channels.

On Windows OS, make sure the DEFAULT AUDIO PLAYBACK device is ASUS XONAR SPEAKERS.

Good luck.

 

[samhfoley]

Done and it appears to work! Hooray. I no longer have access to some functions on my Onkyo though such as PLIIx music/movie Neo:6 movie/music to name a few. Seems like I am changing settings on the Xonar rather than the Onkyo...

2nd quandry... Screen resolution. I want my TV to remain in 750p mode, but when I maximize my screen resolution to1920 x 1080 the TV automatically reverts to 1125i which looks crappy. I can only get the TV to remain at 750p until 1190 X 670. Anything upwards of that reverts to 1125i. What to do? I went into the Invidia control panel and specified that I preferred 750p and that's when it re-sizes the desktop to 1190 x 670. I am running a Sharp Aquos which is about 3 and a half years old model number LC-32BD2

Any ideas?
Thanks

 

[samhfoley]

LOL, old TV, doesn't support 1920 x 1080 resolution...looks like I have to buy another TV!

 

[jinjuku]

Done and it appears to work! Hooray. I no longer have access to some functions on my Onkyo though such as PLIIx music/movie Neo:6 movie/music to name a few. Seems like I am changing settings on the Xonar rather than the Onkyo...

2nd quandry... Screen resolution. I want my TV to remain in 750p mode, but when I maximize my screen resolution to1920 x 1080 the TV automatically reverts to 1125i which looks crappy. I can only get the TV to remain at 750p until 1190 X 670. Anything upwards of that reverts to 1125i. What to do? I went into the Invidia control panel and specified that I preferred 750p and that's when it re-sizes the desktop to 1190 x 670. I am running a Sharp Aquos which is about 3 and a half years old model number LC-32BD2

Any ideas?
Thanks

Correct the Xonar should be the brains. The receiver is just an amp section now.

 

[samhfoley]

Settings

So I should leave the Onkyo on which setting to watch movies?

 

[jinjuku]

So I should leave the Onkyo on which setting to watch movies?

What is the model # of your Onkyo?

 

[samhfoley]

Receiver: Onkyo TX-SA607 (japanese version)

 

[AcuDefTechGuy]

Also go to the NVidia GeForce website and download their latest Graphics Driver.

Also play around with the HDTV Display RESIZE funtion in the NVidia panel.

Good luck!

 

[samhfoley]

Have the latest drivers from Nvidia, and I had been playing with the Nvidia control panel to resize my desktop and telling it that I wanted to remain in 720p mode, but every time I would change my resolution higher than about 1190 x 670 it would revert back to 1125i mode. That's when I looked up the specs on my TV and discovered that it doesn't support high resolutions at 720p. Not to worry, bought a new TV yesterday! It'll be here when I get back from the US in a month.