# PC audio on HDMI - hmm, would this work?



## EnergyFX (May 11, 2008)

I'm wondering if this nifty little cable from HT Omega:







could be used to connect audio from a digital SPDIF port on a sound card to the audio pins on a video card like the Palit 9600GT Sonic or most any 9800 GX2... thus merging audio onto the HDMI port of the video card.  

Granted it wouldn't be full HD audio, but would it work at all??

Thoughts anyone?


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## panchoman (May 11, 2008)

cant you just install hdmi drivers and then windows would use your standard audio device(the sound card) to transfer audio to the hdmi?


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## EnergyFX (May 11, 2008)

If only it were that simple.

The HDMI port on Video cards is primarily for the video signal.  If you look around at most of the HDMI equipped video cards you will see that they usually come with a small SPDIF cable that you are supposed to connect between the vid card and the MB via a 'digital SPDIF header' (which few MBs have) in order to transfer audio onto the HDMI port.  Even then it can only carry 5.1 audio at best... but if it gets my PC audo to come out of the TV speakers then I will be happy for a while.

Auzentech is supposed to be coming out with an HDMI add on card for the Prelude this year.  Basically it will be a second 'sound' card with an HDMI IN and HDMI OUT port.  You will run a short HDMI cable from the Video card to the sound card and it will merge the Prelude's audio signal onto the HDMI signal.  Then you run HDMI out of the card to your TV or receiver with both video and audio signals for your cable reduced HD listening/viewing pleasure.

UNTIL THEN... I'm wondering if this little cable could serve as a band-aid to at least put low def audio onto the HDMI port of an HDMI equiped video card with a 2 pin digital SPDIF header.


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## panchoman (May 11, 2008)

hmm i have no idea about the cable.. but you do know that you can still get your sound to work on your tv using an analog signal right?


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## CrackerJack (May 11, 2008)

i would use the hdmi on the video card. it sounds a ta bit better than opitcal. But with either one you go with you will HD audio 7.1, maybe higher.


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## EnergyFX (May 11, 2008)

Panchoman,

Basically I am working on an HTPC setup and want navigation of the whole theater system to be as seamless as possible.  Not having to juggle HDMI and stereo/RCA cables to and fro is ideal.


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## EnergyFX (May 11, 2008)

CrackerJack said:


> i would use the hdmi on the video card. it sounds a ta bit better than opitcal. But with either one you go with you will HD audio 7.1, maybe higher.



so how do you get audio onto the video card?


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## CrackerJack (May 11, 2008)

EnergyFX said:


> so how do you get audio onto the video card?



you can only audio come out of the cards. I don't have a Nvidia card, but all HDMI are audio/video. But it's simple windows or the nvidia driver should have already installed them. And now all you have to do is plug-in.


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## EnergyFX (May 11, 2008)

From everything I have been researching about HTPCs and HDMI video cards... it doesn't look like it is going to be that simple.

But... perhaps I am overcomplicating it.  I guess I will find out in the next few days when all of this shows up and I get to actually play with it instead of reading, planning, and hoping.


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## EnergyFX (May 11, 2008)

CrackerJack said:


> you can only audio come out of the cards. I don't have a Nvidia card, but all HDMI are audio/video. But it's simple windows or the nvidia driver should have already installed them. And now all you have to do is plug-in.




Check out this review, most notably the bottom of the 3rd page:
http://www.pcstats.com/articleview.cfm?articleid=2253&page=3

This is what I mean about video cards not processing audio on thier own.  Just because there is an HDMI port on a video card doesn't mean it will deliver both video and audio automatically.  You have to get the audio to the video card first... then it can convert it to HDMI and send it down the line.


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