DVI *and* audio into HDMI?

trying to integrate someone's system, all into a Denon AVR1612 or equivalent (which we're running out and buying today).

there's now a PC, Comcast box, new Xbox, new Blu-ray to be purchased

Ordered cables etc overnight from Amazon Prime, including a DVI-to-HDMI.

BUT then realized...how can the audio come out from the PC? Currently it is 1/8" jack into the TV. That won't just plug into the receiver neatly, since the receiver I presume expects audio inside each HDMI line.

Is there a cable that takes DVI + 1/8 or RCA audio and integrates to an HDMI on the other end? I looked around but didn't find one.

OR, some other way to combine the audio? But still switch sources from the remote somehow?

 

Modern PCs/graphic cards have HDMI output, which includes audio transmission.

If the PC output is DVI only, sound is transported analogue, and current TVs often have one of the HDMI inputs which can be combined with an analogue input (3.5" jack).

I don't know how it works with a receiver, but maybe it can also combine a HDMI input for video with an analogue sound input.

 

What GPU and OS does it have?

Modern GPUs have their own built-in audio chip, output HDMI natively via an HDMI port and Windows 7 will automatically switch to said A/V output when a display is connected. They can also output via DVI with otherwise unused pins assigned to audio, which are then connected to the correct HDMI pins via an included DVI-to-HDMI adapter.

 

I always thought the audio in HDMI was digital?

I am a bit confused though. What exactly are you trying to do? The Comcast box probably has HDMI and/or DVI as well as digital (mine has optical digital). The BluRay & X-Box both have HDMI. Obviously, the BluRay & X-Box and ready to go.

If it's the Comcast box that's causing the conundrum, use the digital output on the box and you'll be fine. Just run the HDMI to the TV and the digital to the receiver.

The only real problem here is that HDMI will "handshake" with the TV and find out that it's stereo (not many surround sound TVs) and *some* cable boxes will switch the digital output to stereo tp match the HDMI output. If this happens, you'll only get stereo out of the cable box. I don't think it's a big deal because most surround sound signals out of my Comcast box kinda suck.

Kevin

 

Does the PC have any digital out option, like SPDIF or optical/coaxial?

I'm not sure about the Denon AVR1612, but my older Denon AVR3801 receiver lets me reassign the audio input of a source... so for example if I have the video of the PC coming to the receiver via S-Video, and assigned to "AUX1" or whatever, I could choose either an RCA analog audio input, coaxial digital input, or optical digital input for the audio of "AUX1."

Hope that makes sense. I have no idea if something similar to what I described is possible with the DVI/HDMI inputs in more modern receivers.

You might be able to find the owner's manual for Denon AVR1612 on their website, and download and review the PDF manual prior to purchasing the receiver, so you can understand what it's capable of (and what its limitations are).

EDIT: Yep, they have it available for download in PDF format ... http://usa.denon.com/us/downloads/pages/instructionmanual.aspx

Craig.

 

Will sound be output from speakers connected to the Denon AVR1612, or from the TV's speakers?

I assume the Denon AVR1612, but if it's the TV's speakers, then page 62 of the Denon AVR1612 says what you hope to do with the PC's audio won't work:

I'm still scanning through the manual to see if the Denon AVR1612 will allow you to reassign the audio and video inputs independently for a given source, as I described in my previous post.

Craig.

 

Page 69 of the manual seems to hold the key to doing what I described. As best I can tell, it does allow you to set the video and audio inputs independently for a given source.

If true, you might be able to accomplish what you need, as long as you have a cable that converts the analog audio from the PC (a single 1/8" output, right?) to standard analog RCA inputs.

Also, I have to point out that I couldn't find anything in the Denon AVR1612 that indicates that it accepts/converts DVI video signals. Seems like it's just pure HDMI inputs as far as I can tell. I don't know enough about DVI-to-HDMI converter cables to know if they actually translate DVI signals to HDMI, or if they simply have one HMDI-compatible end but are otherwise still passing DVI signal. For example, my Comcast box is older and only has DVI output. The only way I can connect it to my TV's inputs is via a special combination HDMI/DVI input. The other three HDMI inputs on my TV are "pure HDMI" and would not understand the DVI signal if I tried to plug it in to them.

Craig.

 

UGh.

Possibly the Denon is like that as well.

The computer is some older Dell runnning Windows Vista, which is quite unsatisfactory. So maybe it should be replaced, but that wasn't in the budgetary cards at this time...

 

Are you sure?

The limitation of DVI is no HDCP and generally no audio (although it's possible), but if you output only 720p or lower resolution material and find another solution for the audio, it should be possible to connect the DVI cable to the HDMI input using a simple adapter.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HDMI#Compatibility_with_DVI

BTW, here's box that combines DVI video and S/PDIF audio into a HDMI output: http://www.monoprice.com/products/p...=10114&cs_id=1011405&p_id=5369&seq=1&format=2

 

So much misinformation!

DVI is capable of HDCP, in fact it had HDCP support before HDMI did! It can also carry audio (although the DVI standard doesn't support this) via unused pins, as I said above.

Vista supports automatic audio switching just like 7. What is the GPU though? Control Panel -> Device Manager should tell you.

 

Yes, but I was referring to DVI outputs of computers, which generally don't support HDCP (and audio).

 

Where are you getting this information from? Any GPU or IGP worth its salt supports HDCP over DVI (as long as it's not so old to predate the emergence of HDCP).

Audio is admittedly slightly less common but like I said, most modern GPUs will output audio over DVI but they have to be set up correctly and you have to use the special adapter that came with the graphics card (AMD and nVidia probably use different pins to do different things so you need the matching one for your card). Integrated graphics processors might be less likely to have this capability, I'm not sure.

 

The display adaptor is NVIDIA GEForce 8300GS.

What would you call the adaptor to put audio in the DVI? (to Google it). I then wonder, if that's not in the DVI spec, will the receiver see it? But if not then there's the possible receiver setup or that monoprice adaptor.

And yes, DVI supports HDCP, my TV says so. On the other hand, the handshaking for any earlier HDCP implementations never seemed to be as robust as lately.

 

Yes - here's what my Samsung PN42B450 TV's manual says about connecting a device (such as a PC or an older Comcast cable box) via DVI (page 15):

It also recommends a separate RCA cable for audio; it does not mention that it would accept audio via the DVI cable at all.

I realize these could be limitations specific to the Samsung TV I have, rather than limitations in the DVI technology. But my example does raise the caveat that head_unit should be getting his answers by investigating the specific capabilities of the products he's trying to connect together, rather than by asking what the technology is generally capable of.

Fortunately, most manufacturers offer their manuals online for free download in PDF format, so you can download and read them and make sure everything will work together (as much as it's possible to interpret the manuals) before you purchase.

Craig.

 

http://www.hardwaresecrets.com/arti...nector-Available-on-GeForce-Video-Cards/600/2

There's actually not actually that much information about this, although I'm sure you could find some on the nVidia forums. It's possible that any old DVI-D to HDMI adapter will work, they're cheap so it's worth a try.

 

Here's an exact match for what you were looking for. Takes DVI + 1/8" stereo plug into HDMI
http://www.monoprice.com/products/email_friend.asp?c_id=101&cp_id=10114&cs_id=1011405&p_id=8124

I plug this into my old (busted battery) MacBookPro and pull in the HDMI into my big Pioneer receiver. This makes a good platform for playing ripped ISO DVD movies on my TV. Add a bluetooth keyboard, mouse or just the clicker and you've got a fancy media front end.

I just noticed this unit requires 5VDC, which luckily you can find USB plugs that have that same "coaxial" power plug, so I'll just plug this converter into my receiver's USB port/hub for power.

 

Why not buy a plug in card for the PC with HDMI (audio + video) output?

 

Or, the Dell most likely has an SPDIF out which can work just fine with the video stream over HDMI. But this will require you to tie up one of just two assignable digital audio (non-HDMI) inputs that the Denon has.

 

Hold on. DVI can be HDCP compliant, but is not required as part of DVI spec, so there are many non-HDCP compliant DVI devices out there, mostly older. DVI spec also does not support audio. However, you can use the DVI interface and support much of the full HDMI compatability, including audio, but this is rare. DVI spec requires only 8-bit RGB transmission, so while this is forward compatible from a video-only perspective with HDMI, it may not (and often doesn't) support YCbCr and rarely supports audio (I'm actually not really aware of any common implementations of DVI that support audio).

Further, audio does not ride on additional DVI pins, and does not interface with HDMI in this fashion. Audio in the HDMI spec occurs during video blanking, it doesn't reside on it's own pins or have it's own signal transmission, it is basically a subset of the video data.

 

I have no problem playing video.ts files with Apple DVD player software, which is how I watch some DVDs on the server. The rest I watch with WD or similar BR standalones.