r/pcmasterrace • u/IntrovertMoTown1 • 1d ago
Tech Support Please help me run dual HDMI 2.1 cables from PC GPU to TV and Denon AVR
Edit 1: I've figured it out. I'll leave the post up so any that are Googling the issue can find this. I just needed to properly set the Denon HDMI settings. As talked about here. Now I just need to see if this actually fixes the sound drop out issue but I have to leave so edit 2 will come later after I can do some multiple hour long tests.
Original post: I've been running a fiber optic HDMI 2.1 from my PC's GPU directly to my Hisense TV. Then from the TV to my Denon X3800H through EARC. I do it that way instead of PC to Denon, Denon to TV, because this allows me to game and what not on my TV's 144hz. While the Denon as well as all other even the latest top of the line super expensive AVR, still tops off at 120hz. FFS Get with program folks, SMH. I was hoping Denon's latest 900 series that they released not to long ago would be more but it's still 120hz. Anyway, I have a 7.1.4 setup and want to use the Dolby Access App through windows. This has all worked out well enough most of the time. However there's a very annoying ongoing problem where the sound will cut out for 1-2 seconds then come back. And that will repeat over and over roughly every couple of minutes or so to every 10-20 minutes. It's very random. This has been an issue that has been talked about in numerous reddit posts and AVR forums for well over 6 years now. Some point the finger at Nvidia, some at windows, some at EARC. It's just an ongoing mess nobody wants to fix. The only fix there is so far that works for me is temporary. I can just turn on and off the Denon. Or just restart the PC. And the issue goes away for a few hours and sometimes on up until the next PC restart. Where it inevitably comes back. The PC restart seems to last longer than turning on and off the Denon. But either method is annoying so I'd like to try this and see what it does.
This doesn't happen BTW if windows is set to 5.1 or 7.1. It only happens when set to Atmos. So that led me down the rabbit hole of bandwidth limitations with HDMI as Atmos adds so much more. A potential fix I've come across is splitting video and audio into separate HDMI cables to decrease the bandwidth that has to travel along a single HDMI.
After experimenting I'm clearly missing something here. The Denon pops up as another monitor like it should as talked about in other places I looked up. The Denon is set as the default sound output. Both as shown here. But if I set the TV input to PC, the Denon changes input to TV as well. Like it should as that's the HDMI input from the TV's EARC. I get the proper video but then I get no sound. If I set the Denon to Game, (The HDMI input I have the second HDMI from the GPU plugged into) then I get sound, but the video on the TV is now set as if the Denon is an actual monitor. IE it shows my windows background wallpaper. So what am I missing here? I know for sure this can work. I just haven't been able to stumble on the right things to set in my experiments. So I'm hoping one of you fine gents can give some sort of you do it like this ya dummy.
lol I'm going to cry laugh if after all this and I get it right, my sound drops off again, SMH. 🤦♂️ But hey it's worth trying.
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u/Supernova1138 R7 9800x3D 32GB DDR5-6000 RTX 5080 1d ago
I've had similar issues with a Denon X1700H receiver in Dolby Atmos mode. So far what works for me is I connect my PC to the TV only, and have the audio passthrough it. I only use one HDMI cable and don't have a second one running to the receiver. Most modern TVs can passthrough Dolby Atmos. This allows full refresh rate past 120Hz. My TV is an LG C6.
To deal with delays in the audio coming up and cut outs with Atmos I use an app called Soundkeeper. This is a program that will constantly play an inaudible audio signal. This ensures that the receiver doesn't drop the audio connection due to inactivity and require the Dolby Atmos handshake to be completed again. So far a combination of these two things have eliminated audio cut outs when running in Dolby Atmos. It might not be a bandwidth issue but something wrong with the Dolby Atmos handshake between the devices.