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No passthrough digital audio with direct optical connection


Tolerant

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Tolerant

Sure happy to try.. I have been using a SAMSUNG TV .. for a few years with the EMBY APP. Aside from  having to mark 20-30 items as "FAVS" just to see them without freezing out the TV/App.. I recently purchased a "blue tooth" broadcasting device.  It uses the Optical Cable from my TV .. and makes it "bluetooth".

 This has worked well for the WDTV Live Streaming Box.. that uses the TV..and regular "Cable TV" channels... however.. as soon as I use the "SMART HUB" and use "EMBY APP" and start playing any TV/Movie .. there is no Audio that reaches the Bluetooth headphones.

I guess my question.. or one of them at least.. is why does this work with the WDTV Streaming box.. years old..   .. or just Samsung .. TV channels over cable.. but NOT the "EMBY APP"?!

The only reason I paid for bluetooth to use the optical output .. and a "legit" pair of bluetooth earphones.. is for Emby..    Does it somehow NOT suppport Optical output?! Is there some setting I am missing??

 

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Tolerant

my goal is to have other members use headphones.. with emby .. and not have the tv speakers set to 95 volume just because they are mostly deaf.. SO I spent a bit .. to get a bluetooth broadcaster.. and.. a "comfy" pair of headphones.. to keep the woman happy..  the only thing she uses.. IS Emby..  if these won't work.. I can return them, even though I will miss "100 hours" of bluetooth time.. !!  . .. but I need something that works with emby.. lasts on a charge.. .and is "comfy!" ..

 

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Hi.  The issue, I believe is the optical connection. You also have the device hooked up via HDMI so the audio is going out the HDMI connection and not the optical one.  We will have to modify Exo to allow this as Google is not very interested in supporting optical out.

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Tolerant

I have the Samsung TV hooked up using a Network connection and regular "cable tv" (that I dont use).  If I use the "TV" input.. it works fine. If I use an HDMI connection from a Western Digital TV Streaming BOX.. that also works fine.   .. What does NOT work is a NETWORK ETHERNET connection into my LAN to access my Lifetime Registered EMBY server.

For some reason.. using the Optical OUT .. the ONLY program/APP that does not seem to work is.. EMBY.

The main reason I got the BLUETOOTH OUT (Using Optical) .. and a pair of beefy Bluetooth Headphones.. is/was so .. the other half can watch stuff on EMBY with Headphones. 

So.. is it the Bluetooth (works with every other platform/item) ..  .. or is it just EMBY that fails?!

 

 

 

Edited by Tolerant
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Tolerant

If someone has a 100 HR pair of "light weight headphones" .. that work with Emby on a Samsung TV .. using the Emby APP.. .. to access my Lifetime Paid EMBY server.. please.. toss me a link or three!

 

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Tolerant

I know I .. complain a lot.. but I do expect a few things that seemed to be offered or expected once I subscribe to a lifetime of Emby.. which I did.. and I don't mean this as mean as it sounds but.. every time I try to do what *I* would expect.. there is always some excuse as to why it does not work.. .. but .. maybe in the future.?!

 

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Hi.  It isn't the BT part that is causing the problem.  It is the optical connection.  As mentioned before, we will have to see if we can modify the player to handle this specific situation as Google is not interested in doing it.

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Tolerant

Honestly.. I have no idea what GOOGLE has to do with anything?!

If I watch TV.. Optical works.. if I use my WD TV Live Streaming BOX..  ..  Optical works.... the ONLY thing that does NOT parse audio.. is EMBY.. ... wtf does that have to do with GOOGLE? .. How do you spell pass the buck? From what you are saying.. I spell it .. EMBY.. wtf?!

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2 hours ago, Tolerant said:

Honestly.. I have no idea what GOOGLE has to do with anything?!

If I watch TV.. Optical works.. if I use my WD TV Live Streaming BOX..  ..  Optical works.... the ONLY thing that does NOT parse audio.. is EMBY.. ... wtf does that have to do with GOOGLE? .. How do you spell pass the buck? From what you are saying.. I spell it .. EMBY.. wtf?!

Google is to Android TV, roughly what Microsoft is to Windows or Apple is to the Mac.

Android TV is a version of the Android operating system by GOOGLE.  Your apps come from the Google Play Store. Code uses the Google APIs, Voice and search features, Google. Many of the core components like the video player were built by Google.  So needless to say Google comes into play in many different ways when it comes to Android TV including certification of a box for Android TV.

The problem is you went Optical vs HDMI.  Optical is old technology these days with a lot of limitations as far as sound goes so it's not exactly at the top of priorities for current development by anyone especially those living in the "digital" vs "analog" world of players.

If this is a new purchase return the Bluetooth device and replace it with one using HDMI input.  Depending on the Samsung TV you have can even pair anything Bluetooth with the TV itself which is what we do in my house with Bluetooth hearing aids. On most Samsung TVs you can have a Bluetooth device hooked to the TV while still having sound out the speakers or soundbar.

For dumb TVs or devices that can't do this on it's own use inexpensive  HDMI audio extractors that support Bluetooth. Using the Bluetooth extractors you can mix/match eARC, optical, HDMI out, headphone out, RCA out, Bluetooth headphones and Bluetooth hearing aids, etc to setup a sound system that matches your needs. You just get an extractor with the features you need.  Usually your Audiologist can help with things like this as they stay up on Bluetooth and how to improve sound for their patients.

 

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rbjtech

Guys - I think you may be missing some details here - yes this is in the Android thread (ie Google) but @Tolerant is saying the SAMSUNG TV APP is not passing Audio via Optical to the Bluetooth TX .. so unless the SAMSUNG TV APP is also using Exo, then I don;t think google is relevant.

On a side note, I have a FireTV linked to a Samsung TV (via HDMI), using the TV Optical Out to a Bluetooth TX and it works fine.  If I set the SAMSUNG TV speaker settings to 'External' it just plays via the Bluetooth, if I set it to 'Normal' it plays via the TV speakers AND Bluetooth.  If I mute the TV, the Bluetooth still plays.  This via PCM (again, set on the SAMSUNG TV).

If I have the details above correct (ie SAMSUNG APP) - it may well be worth a Mod moving to the Samsung TV section if you still have issues.

Edited by rbjtech
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Tolerant

I am using the Emby App available for Samsung TV's. My confusion was that the Optical worked for TV channels or other sources like my WDTV SMP that is plugged in with HDMI to the TV, but when I fire up the Emby App obviously there is an issue. If I unplug my WDTV SMP (the only thing plugged in using HDMI) and I leave the Optical plugged in there are no available sound options in the TV's menu/setup. So yea, unless someone can change the Emby App then I am SOL with my current TV/setup without trying to do what someone mentioned above and using some other Bluetooth TX item.

 

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rbjtech
17 minutes ago, Tolerant said:

... there are no available sound options in the TV's menu/setup...

 

What Model SAMSUNG is it ?  On the Menu>Sound options on all my Samsung TV's, I can use PCM or bitstream DD/DTS (I can even change the Audio 'delay') - but these are 'old' SAMSUNG TV's when they still played DTS ok ... maybe the new ones do not - but I expect they have bluetooth built in .. Hmmm

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Can you try the mobile beta on the same device and see how that compares?

Thanks.

 

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11 minutes ago, Luke said:

Can you try the mobile beta on the same device and see how that compares?

Thanks.

 

 

I thought we just confirmed this post is about the Samsung TV app and not the Android TV app...

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SamES

Hi @Tolerant, now that we have you in the right forum, can you please let me know what model Samsung TV you have, and what version of the app you are using?

Can you please provide the media info for a file where the audio doesn't work, and also confirm whether playback is DirectPlay, DirectStream or Transcode.

I've not tested an optical connection, and don't have anything around that I can test with, but as far as I'm aware there isn't anything that the app needs to have configured to enable optical output.  It is possible that there is a compatability issue with your files.  Do any of them work, or do they all have playback issues?

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Tolerant

Wow that's a lot. Instead of saying all that.. I can tell you that it is an "older" Samsung TV but it does still get current "updates" as needed with apps and the system, so there is that.

It was a "trade" from a friend however knowing it was a "Smart TV" I never expected it to be so poor with options. The only connections it has for output of any sort is the Optical jack. No bluetooth, no headphone jack, no RCA out.. nothing.

As far as input goes, it does offer the obvious HDMI, Coaxle (Cable TV), RCA L/R with the old style pre-HDMI 3 cable connection, Green, Blue, Whatever..  with the third being also used for Video in to pair with the RCA L/R. 

The menu choices for audio are only available if the HDMI cable is plugged in, even if the Optical cable is plugged in as well. I was hoping, removing the HDMI would force sound to the Optical cable, but no such luck. Currently I only get sound through the PCM setting for Audio type.  There is an additional choice to use a "Receiver" unit, but since I don't have one I can't verify if that works with/without the HDMI also but since it would be based on the Optical cable I doubt it.

I tried multiple "Apps" through the TV's "Smart Hub" user interface. Netflix, Emby, Youtube, etc. None of them were able to play sound through the Optical cable. Apparently testing it with strict "TV Channels" and my "WDTV" box was the only thing it would work with and I never should have assumed it would work with the actual Samsung useable "Apps". Totally blows my mind.

Don't really feel like looking up the model number.. the app I assume is auto updated to whatever is offered. All of this doesn't matter at the current time however because as suggested I returned the transmitter and need to find whatever was suggested instead I suppose.

 

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rbjtech

The model number would allow us to search the web for the Samsung 'manual' (possibly) to see if you have any settings within the TV that may change how it outputs over the optical port.  If and when you next get the chance, post it here and we may be able to help you resolve it.

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Tolerant

At this point, to buy enough items not including the headphones (bluetooth) that I kept, to play Any audio from all of Emby (any "APP" available), and the WDTV box I like to use just to play specific files from SMB network shares, would make it more worthwhile to just buy a new TV with "working" audio outputs.

It is so not worth keeping this tv and adding 2-3 more items for $75-$125 more .. when I can find a TV with working outputs/support that is newer for a very similar price. Thank you though.

 

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I think right now we're not sure yet what the problem is, which makes it hard to answer that. That's why we have been asking questions for additional information so that we can learn more.

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  • 2 weeks later...
FrostByte

Which is an entry level Orsay tv from 2015

https://developer.samsung.com/smarttv/develop/specifications/tv-model-groups.html

So I'm guessing running .122 if it was downloaded from the Samsung store (looks like it was built in North America), but if @Tolerant could confirm the version running that would help.

Edited by FrostByte
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