vlix 1 Posted April 29, 2019 Share Posted April 29, 2019 Hi, I'm currently trying out the Emby for Android TV app on a Beelink GT1 media box running Android TV 7.1.2. The media box is connected to my receiver with optical S/PDIF. The client is on the same local network as my Emby Server instance. Video files play via direct stream. Everything works fairly well, but I can't get passthrough S/PDIF digital audio to work with the native Emby media player (I just get PCM stereo). When I configure Emby to use an external player (VLC), passthrough audio works fine. Any helpful suggestions would be appreciated, thanks! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ebr 14903 Posted April 30, 2019 Share Posted April 30, 2019 Hi. Exactly what audio format are you trying to bitstream? Optical is fairly limited in what it can pass. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vlix 1 Posted April 30, 2019 Author Share Posted April 30, 2019 Hi ebr, Just vanilla Dolby Digital 5.1 and DTS 5.1. It works fine when using an external player in combination with Emby on the same device. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ebr 14903 Posted April 30, 2019 Share Posted April 30, 2019 In the app's playback settings, is the Audio option set to "Auto"? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vlix 1 Posted April 30, 2019 Author Share Posted April 30, 2019 Yes it is. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ebr 14903 Posted April 30, 2019 Share Posted April 30, 2019 Okay, then that most likely means the system is reporting only stereo capability to the app. Exactly how is everything hooked up? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vlix 1 Posted April 30, 2019 Author Share Posted April 30, 2019 The media box is connected to the TV with HDMI, and connected to the receiver with TOSLINK. In Android TV's Sound menu, "Surround Sound" is set to "auto", and "Digital sounds" is set to SPDIF. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ebr 14903 Posted April 30, 2019 Share Posted April 30, 2019 Okay, so our app is sending the audio over the HDMI connection I would imagine. I've never tested a setup where there are different connections for the video vs the audio. Your TV doesn't have the option to output the audio back to your receiver? Or your receiver doesn't have HDMI connections at all? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vlix 1 Posted April 30, 2019 Author Share Posted April 30, 2019 (edited) Unfortunately, my receiver does not have any HDMI ports whatsoever, only S/PDIF (TOSLINK and coaxial). My TV does have an S/PDIF output, but it does not support digital audio passthrough from HDMI-in. So my only option is to use a TOSLINK cable to send audio directly from my media box to the receiver.Any chance you could update the app to send the digital audio to the S/PDIF port? I would really prefer to use the internal player instead of VLC... Edited April 30, 2019 by vlix Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mibok 118 Posted May 1, 2019 Share Posted May 1, 2019 I'm having the same issue with a Xiaomi Mi Box 3 and it seems that is something recent, i think i can recall having DTS and Dolby Digital Pass-through the last week. I have connected the Mi Box to a receiver via HDMI the receiver is saying that is getting PCM 2.0 signal although the stats for nerds in Emby is saying that is playing Dolby Digital (or DTS) natively. In netflix is playing with Dolby Digital+ without issues. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ebr 14903 Posted May 1, 2019 Share Posted May 1, 2019 It is something we'll have to take a look at. Thanks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vlix 1 Posted May 1, 2019 Author Share Posted May 1, 2019 OK, if you need me to test anything I'd be happy to help. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rbjtech 4222 Posted May 8, 2019 Share Posted May 8, 2019 Not the most elegant solution, but you can buy HDMI Pass through > Toslink/Optical converters relatively cheaply .. https://www.ebay.com/itm/4K-HDMI-to-HDMI-Extractor-Splitter-with-Audio-and-TV-ARC-SPDIF-COAXIAL-Converter/253848362994?hash=item3b1a8a9ff2:m:mDUHOVBJ9j-RRAOjA_rzFDw&var=553140846506 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vlix 1 Posted May 9, 2019 Author Share Posted May 9, 2019 Not the most elegant solution, but you can buy HDMI Pass through > Toslink/Optical converters relatively cheaply .. https://www.ebay.com/itm/4K-HDMI-to-HDMI-Extractor-Splitter-with-Audio-and-TV-ARC-SPDIF-COAXIAL-Converter/253848362994?hash=item3b1a8a9ff2:m:mDUHOVBJ9j-RRAOjA_rzFDw&var=553140846506 Thanks but yeah I would prefer a more elegant solution, especially since it's clearly not a hardware but a software issue. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vlix 1 Posted August 28, 2019 Author Share Posted August 28, 2019 Hi, Any progress on this issue, by any chance? Thanks! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ebr 14903 Posted August 28, 2019 Share Posted August 28, 2019 Sorry, this hasn't come up again so it hasn't been addressed. We will get there. Thanks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
c_g_f 2 Posted September 15, 2019 Share Posted September 15, 2019 I have the exact same issue. Thanks in advance. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jvdkruit84 0 Posted October 2, 2019 Share Posted October 2, 2019 I have also the same issue.. Its a no go for me to use the EMBY app Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Luke 37008 Posted October 2, 2019 Share Posted October 2, 2019 I have also the same issue.. Its a no go for me to use the EMBY app Have you considered the HDMI passthrough converter option? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vlix 1 Posted October 3, 2019 Author Share Posted October 3, 2019 Have you considered the HDMI passthrough converter option? With all due respect - that seems to me like a pretty kludgy workaround for something that is clearly a software issue. Like I mentioned in my opening post: if I configure Emby to use an external media player (VLC in my case) the audio is sent properly through the TOSLINK port. So there is an issue with the native Emby media player. Anyway, I understand this might not be at the top of your list of priorities, but I hope you can find the time to fix it at some point, thanks! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ebr 14903 Posted October 3, 2019 Share Posted October 3, 2019 With all due respect - that seems to me like a pretty kludgy workaround for something that is clearly a software issue. Like I mentioned in my opening post: if I configure Emby to use an external media player (VLC in my case) the audio is sent properly through the TOSLINK port. So there is an issue with the native Emby media player. Anyway, I understand this might not be at the top of your list of priorities, but I hope you can find the time to fix it at some point, thanks! Yes it is a deficiency but, since it is taking us a while to get to, he was just trying to give you an easy option that would get you going quickly. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shorty1483 450 Posted November 29, 2019 Share Posted November 29, 2019 (edited) +1 here on the topic. https://emby.media/community/index.php?/topic/64300-jetstream-4k-ultra-hd-android-tv-box-with-voice-search-remote/&do=findComment&comment=813002 Couldn't it be "easy" to separate the Audio output option in Emby app into "HDMI Audio" and "Optical Audio"? Specially since every other app (mentioned in the linked post) is able to do it somehow. I don't want to compare with Kodi since it's a totally different kinda hack approach, but even apps like Netflix and Prime Video without any options for multi channel audio are able to address the right output on the device. Edit: I tried the advice and connected an Audio HDMI/SPDIF splitter box lying around from another experiment and the only thing that happens is that there is no sound, even the stats for nerds show direct play for everything. It's this one https://www.amazon.com/LinkS-Extractor-Splitter-Converter-Chromecast/dp/B00XJITK7E/ref=sr_1_9?keywords=audio+converter+hdmi+spdif&qid=1575039039&sr=8-9 Edited November 29, 2019 by shorty1483 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ebr 14903 Posted November 29, 2019 Share Posted November 29, 2019 Hi. The main issue here is that Google is not too interested in what I guess they consider legacy optical support. We may be able to improve this with some sort of "force" option but that also can open us up to a lot of support issues. The other apps you reference are in complete control of the content being played. That means they know exactly what the format is and can force these things when necessary probably. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shorty1483 450 Posted November 29, 2019 Share Posted November 29, 2019 (edited) Hi. The main issue here is that Google is not too interested in what I guess they consider legacy optical support. We may be able to improve this with some sort of "force" option but that also can open us up to a lot of support issues. The other apps you reference are in complete control of the content being played. That means they know exactly what the format is and can force these things when necessary probably. The Jetstream/Engel box is Google and Netflix Certified Android Pie Box with SPDF connector incl. official and not even hacky settings for it in the option menu. What more does it need? If Emby would have an SPDIF option, if SPDIF option enabled and a stream in Emby contains AC3/DTS respective a DTS or Dolby stream with a Core then passthrough/bitstream it. If not, then PCM. I really wouldn't bother you if the HDMI/SPDIF splitter would have worked out, but it kinda really fucks up the HDMI-CEC and does not work with apps like Netflix, since this and Amazon are really picky with HDCP as you know. I really love your app that's why I want to use it instead of an overkill with Kodi. I purchased the Jetstream for the one reason to use your app since I want to move away from the legacy Samsung TV app. But I also want to have 5.1 sound, and I do not need more, therefore no new AV Receiver atm. Edited November 29, 2019 by shorty1483 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shorty1483 450 Posted December 21, 2019 Share Posted December 21, 2019 @@ebr I don't know what changed but currently on .65g AC3 and DTS 5.1 gets now bitstreamed over SPDIF to my Audio System. So thanks for that if you did do anything One last thing I don't know if this is a bug or intended or not changeable? When I play a file with DTS-HD MA 5.1 audio, the 5.1 DTS Core is correctly recognized and passed over SPDIF to my Sound System. But when I play a 7.1 DTS-HD MA containing file, this is not happening. Instead I just get 2.0. PCM audio and the DTS core is ignored...what do you need to investigate? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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