Connecting to AV Receiver and TV (1 Viewer)

[finrudd341]

So I am almost complete. I have managed the following
1. Built my HTPC
2. Loaded software
3. Loaded the media
4. Almost got a working remote control
5. Almost convinced my wife that it is the future of home entertainment.

Now comes the HT part of the HT-PC, being 'Home Theatre'. I want to connect the HTPC to a Marantz SR4002 receiver so I can output Dolby 5.1 to my KEF speakers. Nothing else is plugged into the Marantz, as I have no other input devices.

I have an optical coax out on my motherboard for sound, which I have enabled in the soundcard software, which I have plugged into the Optical audio in on the Marantz. What else?

I am interested to know how everyone else does this i.e.

1. HTPC HDMI OUT>AV RECEIVER HDMI IN>LCD TV HDMI IN
2. HTPCI DVI>LCD TV HDMI IN>HTPC OPTICAL AUDIO OUT>AV RECEIVER OPTICAL IN>
etc

I think what I want to acheive is resonable? I want audio from my MP3 and DVD's, and my DVD's that are stored in VOB format (full DVD structure) to play via my AV Receiver?

Thanks for your feedback.

 

[joostzilla]

finrudd, I have almost the same configuration of devices.

For me connecting the pc directly to the lcd-Tv is the best way to go. No HDMI but d-sub (vga)
Sound straight from the soundcard (digital coax) to my sony 1200ES receiver.
result: perfect images and perfect sound (stereo, DD and DTS)

and remote... I owned several before (e.g. Logitech Harmony 555 works like a charm) switching to my latest remote: Philips Prestigo SRU 8015. It is a very easy to program remote which works out of the box with mediaportal or MCE (with only minor tweaking)

Good luck with your set-up

 

[finrudd341]

Thanks for the feedback. To get your audio outputting via the digital coax, did you need to add any codecs? I am trying to troubleshoot this at the moment, and for one, I dont know what setting the AV Receiver should be on to playback the input on the HTPC, but also, I have no way of knowing if the HTPC is actually outputting anything over the digital coax. I have a Realtek HD Sound Effect Manager, where I have selected the option to 'output digital audio source' and I have selected output sampling rate of 192K Hz.

I will persever today, but will go down the same route as you do - providing I can get some noise out of the darn thing!

 

[joostzilla]

For video and sound I use the Nvidia Purevideo decoder. This is imo the best decoder.
I guess you just have to select the source on the amp which relates to the digital input.
The attached image shows the settings for digital output only. Perhaps that is part of your solution.

good luck

 

[bolders]

I am using the first configuration you have described

HDMI from PC to Onkyo TX-SR 606 amp then HDMI from amp to TV.

Im using a 780g MB and the setup was fairly easy and I get DTS DD5.1 etc running all fine. I cant get any true HD soundtracks running tho as the MB doesnt support it

bolders

 

[finrudd341]

Problems sorted

After much frustration, I have now gone back a few steps and done the following:

1. Uninstalled the Asus 8500GT GPU
2. Reinstalled Intel drivers for motherboard HDMI output
3. Connectd from HDMI out on Motherboard to HDMI in on Marantz AV Receiver
4. Connected from HDMI out on Marantz AV Receiver on Sharp Aquos TV

All is working well, and I now have a spare GPU I dont need. This raises the question 'Why did I buy a separate graphics card in the first place, when the motherboards already supports HDMI?' to which I have no answer, except the child inside me wanted to play Counter Strike Source in high def..I can't think of any reason to install an additional card in my current setup now.

I have also discovered the problem with my S/PDIF output - it's a simple one. The cutout that comes with the motherboard does not allow for the fatness of the casing around the Coax S/PDIF connecter that I am using, and it therefore does not plug in fully to the connection on the motherboard. Having added this cable in after placing the HTPC in the lounge meant that I was mostly doing it by feel, and recently noticed that when I make the connection on the AV Reciver, the plug pushes in 'further' than on the HTPC. It's always the simplest things! However, now I have audio over HDMI, I don't feel the need for this connection anyway.

I am now going back through the pain of getting both the touchscreen LCD and the remote working again, which I hope is easier this time around!

Thanks all for your feedback.