Getting a PC to play nicely with a surround sound system

[jack01]

Hey, basically i just found out that I cannot plug in the surround sound system that i bought (onkyo htx22hdx) to my computer directly through HDMI- it has three HDMI inputs but when it didn't work i double checked the manual (http://www.uk.onkyo.com/downloads/1/1/9/6/2/21930778_265d125c3a.pdf , pg19) that it doesn't support PC video signal. Does anyone know a way around this- or a way that i can force just an audio signal down the HDMI cable?

Alternatively, to get 5.1 surround, would using an external sound card (http://goo.gl/BCaqT) using s/pdif on my computer mean i can get true surround sound from my PC?

 

[Grador]

The manual is using some sweeping verbiage just to temper expectations, HDMI is HDMI and it is always compatible. The only problem you may run into is supported resolutions. Make sure that your computer is set to either 1280x720 (720P) or 1920x1080 (1080P).

 

[jack01]

The manual is using some sweeping verbiage just to temper expectations, HDMI is HDMI and it is always compatible. The only problem you may run into is supported resolutions. Make sure that your computer is set to either 1280x720 (720P) or 1920x1080 (1080P).

I have a computer linked to the input HDMI and a computer monitor linked to the output HMDI on the onkyo. The problem is that my computer doesn't recognise that there is an external monitor to connect to. I can force it to extend the screen over two monitors as it does when the monitor is plugged in normally, but nothing happens at the onkyo and the monitor doesn't detect anything...

 

[jinjuku]

I would call Onkyo as it should work.

 

[Adam]

Could this be related to the different color schemes used by computer monitors versus TVs? I forget the specifics, but my Mac Mini sends a TV-based signal over HDMI to my monitor, and it looks bad (so I don't do it). I researched it and discovered that TVs and monitors use different color schemes over HDMI.

 

[Grador]

Could this be related to the different color schemes used by computer monitors versus TVs? I forget the specifics, but my Mac Mini sends a TV-based signal over HDMI to my monitor, and it looks bad (so I don't do it). I researched it and discovered that TVs and monitors use different color schemes over HDMI.

Hdmi is required to support the standard color schemes of both. It looks bad because your TV doesn't use it correctly.

 

[Grador]

I have a computer linked to the input HDMI and a computer monitor linked to the output HMDI on the onkyo. The problem is that my computer doesn't recognise that there is an external monitor to connect to. I can force it to extend the screen over two monitors as it does when the monitor is plugged in normally, but nothing happens at the onkyo and the monitor doesn't detect anything...

What OS are you running? Have you tried clicking "detect displays"? Additionally, what video card are you using?

To answer a question you asked earlier, if the computer doesn't detect that it's plugged into anything there is no way to pipe sound through. Even if video failed to work properly it should detect that it's plugged into the receiver.

 

[jack01]

Hey, ive only just gotten back again to my house so i could re-test the system. Ive discovered that when i plug it into a different HDMI port, that it works, but not with HDMI port 1. Seems odd, not sure whether its broken or not!

 

[jack01]

And thanks for the heads up! I would have otherwise wasted £20 on a usb soundcard that i didn't need

 

[jack01]

I bought the extra speakers for surround sound, and i can't seem to get the three other speakers to work at all. When i "test" the 5.1 configuration on my computer only the sub and two front speakers seem to work at all.

 

[Adam]

Hi. Have you gone into the menu system on the Onkyo and set it up to use those three new speakers? If you haven't, check out pages 38-40 of the manual. By default, the center and surround speakers are set to "None," and you need to enable them once you purchase some.

 

[jack01]

Yeh i did that before and it didn't work. It has started working when i used VLC player, and the test function works