Personal computing discussed
Moderators: renee, mac_h8r1, Nemesis
Darkmage wrote:I will merely add to cynan's excellent post that this is my current setup and it works just fine for me. I use the HDMI port on the video card to send the signal to the receiver, which then decodes the signal, shoves the audio to the speakers and sends the video to the projector. Once I have the PC taught that it is an HDMI signal with 5.1 sound, I'm golden. I use the receiver to switch HDMI inputs between the HTPC and the XBOX.
The only problem I have now is one with headphones. If I send 5.1 from the PC to the receiver, the receiver won't downmix to stereo for the headphone jack. I'll get the L/R channels, but nothing else. I have to tell the HTPC to downmix and remember to reverse the setting when I'm back to speakers.
cynan wrote:I think what you want to do is straightforward enough, if I understand correctly.
First, don't worry about your PC converting audio from digital to analog and sending over HDMI to your NAD. HDMI only carries digital audio. Therefore it will always be the digital-analog converter (DAC) in your NAD receiver that gives you the final analog output.
The only thing you have to worry about regarding whether the PC or NAD is doing decoding is with media that is encoded in dolby digital/dts. You can set the codec (normally in the media player you are using) to either let it decode the dolby digital/DTS into a standard multi-channel PCM (which is still a digital signal) and have it sent to the NAD in that form, OR you can send the dolby digital/DTS signal directly to the NAD and have it decode the signal into PCM. Either way, the NAD will always be doing the digital-to-analog conversion - which is the important thing. You may find that having the NAD decode the dolby digital/dts to give you better results due to how the NAD default modes are designed to handled multi-channel PCM vs bitstreaming (the raw dolby digital/DTS signal).
Other than dolby digital/DTS signals, the PC should pass all other audio to the NAD in regular multichannel PCM over HDMI. Because of this, you may want to have dolby digital/DTS tracks decoded by the PC so that you don't have to play around with your receiver adjusting the audio every time you switch from watching something with a dolby digital/dts track to other audio (ie, listening to music, games).
The other thing to keep in mind to get multichannel out over HDMI, is to go into the Windows (I assume your using Windows) audio settings and make sure that your HDMI audio device (HD 4000) is configured to output 5.1/7.1 instead of only stereo - I think it is stereo by default.
Disclamer: I'm not experienced with HDMI audio out using the new Intel HD 4000, but the above has worked with various AMD and current NVidia graphics cards and I don't see why it wouldn't with the HD4000. I also assume that the video is also being output over the same HDMI connection and that you are using HDMI pass-through in the NAD to the TV.
TwoEars wrote:So if I understand correctly you're saying that I can choose to either have the PC or the reciever do the actual Dolby 5.1 decoding. And that having the PC do the dobly surround processing might be most convenient since I then I won't have to change any setting on the fly when switching between movies and music/games.
But that having the reciever do all the work might (maybe) produce better results - seems resonable and at least one of them should work well. And like you're saying; as long as it's all done in the digital domain on the PC and all the DAC conversion is done on the reciever it should give good results - I can subscribe to that theory.
TwoEars wrote:But let me ask you this then: would you yourself go for an i5 with HD4000 graphics or do you think there are benefits to go with something like an i3 + GT640?
I was interested in the i5/HD4000 route for the sake of simplicity/minimalism but maybe there are driver/software benefits that come from using a discrete GPU?
TwoEars wrote:For simple HTPC duties, I would go integrated for simplicity & power considerations. If you're going to game on this system (perhaps using Steam's new interface) then you'll want a discrete card. I think Intel's drivers will give you enough options to tweak the video sufficiently for your purposes. It will also open up some interesting HTPC case possibilities.But let me ask you this then: would you yourself go for an i5 with HD4000 graphics or do you think there are benefits to go with something like an i3 + GT640?
I was interested in the i5/HD4000 route for the sake of simplicity/minimalism but maybe there are driver/software benefits that come from using a discrete GPU?
TwoEars wrote:I have another question though - when decoding 5.1 sound on the PC are there EQ-ing options in the software that can be used for the individual channels? My current reciever is good but the EQing options are very sparse.
TwoEars wrote:Thanks,
I think I'll be using the full version of PowerDVD for blue-ray and media player with modified codecs for everything else.
TwoEars wrote:Thanks for all the feedback! Very impressed with the level of knowledge on this forum!
Seems like HD4000 integrated graphics will be the way to go.
I also found this guy who seems to know what he's doing and is building "Audiophile HTPCs".
http://assassinhtpc.com/
Worth noting is that his audiophile HTPC doesn't even have an option for a discrete graphic card, he's relying 100% on the ivy onboard graphics:
http://assassinhtpc.com/products.php?product_id=17
So at current my HTPC build would look something like this:
Silverstone HTPC Case
Asus P8H77 Pro
i5-HD4000
Samsung 830 128GB OS SSD
3TB 7200rpm
Noctua cpu & chassi fans
8GB 1600mhz cas7 DDR3
Seasonic 400W fanless PSU
Win7 Ultimate
Probably a bit overkill in some areas but that's how I like it.
I have another question though - when decoding 5.1 sound on the PC are there EQ-ing options in the software that can be used for the individual channels? My current reciever is good but the EQing options are very sparse.
Usacomp2k3 wrote:A lowly Llano or Trinity APU has excellent support for 1080p24 video.If you want true high-end video and audio performance, your best bet is to go with separates. Get an Oppo Blu-Ray player and that will wipe the floor with any HTPC especially if you want things like proper 24p support.
JustAnEngineer wrote:Usacomp2k3 wrote:A lowly Llano or Trinity APU has excellent support for 1080p24 video.If you want true high-end video and audio performance, your best bet is to go with separates. Get an Oppo Blu-Ray player and that will wipe the floor with any HTPC especially if you want things like proper 24p support.
JustAnEngineer wrote:Usacomp2k3 wrote:A lowly Llano or Trinity APU has excellent support for 1080p24 video.If you want true high-end video and audio performance, your best bet is to go with separates. Get an Oppo Blu-Ray player and that will wipe the floor with any HTPC especially if you want things like proper 24p support.
Usacomp2k3 wrote:I run PowerDVD (Gold, I think) through Win7 Media Center and it does what I ask of it. Looks fantastic. I use the Radeon drivers to tweak the image levels.How about software support?