Issues regarding 5.1 audio from PC to a TV are not uncommon. For the past months I've been reading dozens if not hundreds of these posts. None of them offers a real solution other than workarounds with optical cables and HDMI extractors.
Recently I purchased a new TV. A Samsung UE65NU7470. It's one of the high end ones with all bells and whistles. Naively I thought I would finally be able to get rid of my optical cable, lately sound has been breaking more often than I'm comfortable with. Got a new SPDIF cable and it's the same issue, which leads me to assume it's my Creative Sound Blaster card who's at fault.
Upon connecting the HDMI cable to the TV I got almost everything I expected: HDR, WCG, 4K at 60hz. I was happy. Then when I went to check sound again Windows tells me: only Stereo. I reinstalled my GTX 1070's drivers and no, still stereo only.
Until something insteresting happened!
I decided to turn on my old Xbox 360 that I haven't used in ages and for my shock the TV took the nice 5.1 Dolby Digital audio coming from the Xbox connected to the HDMI port 2 and pushed it out via ARC to my Yamaha RX-V483 connected to the HDMI port 3 without any problem whatsoever.
Why, why the F the TV accepts 5.1 audio from the Xbox but not the PC? Is the TV reporting itself differently to the Xbox? It is aware that's an Xbox connected to port 2 (it changes the tile to the official Xbox green logo) or the Xbox simply ignores it and pushes 5.1 audio anyway? If that's the case why Windows can't do the same? I've tried custom EDIDs and it didn't work. Windows only recognises Stereo. Not even MPC/VLC will push 5.1 via passthrough.
Any ideas?
