Looking for a mini audio decoder/receiver for 5.1 - Google Chromecast

Does anyone know of a single input, single set of outputs, 5.1 Dolby Digital/DTS decoder that actually works with the Chromecast?
I'm using a Chromecast in an outdoor theater setup, with it plugged into this "extractor":
http://a.co/d/7m2UFHS
with the extractor's HDMI output plugged into a projector HDMI input. I have the extractor's front L/R, center, surround L/R RCA outputs running to an amp, with the amp's outputs connected to the five speakers.
Trouble is, the extractor doesn't actually appear to do anything to produce audio going out the center or surround outputs. I assumed it decoded the DD/DTS audio signal so the 5 channels would be separated into the corresponding RCA outputs. Otherwise, I have no idea how those outputs can ever get sound going out of them.
My two uses for the chromecast are Netflix and casting video files from my computer via VLC player. The files are mostly mkv with 5.1 AC3 audio.

Related

Chromecast Audio Problem!

How to stream Video only to chromecast not the audio!
I have a laptop connected to the audio system!
now i got chromecast on my projector (have no audio output)
i stream video from my laptop to my projector work fine but i have problem the sound! when i stream any video to chromecast on my computer have to sound of the video im playing!
is there the way to by pass this? stream video but also on pc still play audio of that video?
When you use a native Chromecast app for casting, it "hands off" the request to the Chromecast and the Chromecast itself goes and retrieves the data. Essentially the Chromecast itself plays the content, so the audio and video come out of it.
If you cast a tab or the entire desktop from a PC and don't enable the audio, it should play audio from the PC, but the audio and video probably be out of sync.
Otherwise you will have to "break out" the audio from the HDMI stream with an HDMI audio extractor (make sure it is HDCP compliant) or other converter, or route the Chromecast through a HDMI A/V receiver so it can play the audio.
I apologize. I was incorrect. When you cast a tab or the entire desktop, the Chrome extension somehow mutes the PC audio... which in your case would leave you with no audio at all.
So you'll have to "break out" the audio from the HDMI stream and get audio that way.
http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_s...audio,aps,213&rh=i:aps,k:hdmi audio extractor
Something like the options in the ling below may be what you need.
http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_s...audio,aps,213&rh=i:aps,k:hdmi audio extractor
But in the setup the audio would have to go from this "box" to your audio system.
Chrome cast to "Box"
"Box" to projector for video
"Box" to audio system for audio
I have read that other have used a similar set up to get video and Audio to a monitor that doesn't have a HDMI input. I don't know if sending the Video to the projector and the audio the the audio system would produce sync problems. One way to find out.
I don't see a way to get audio out from you laptop using the Chromecast.
Hope this helps
I was just watching a video on my TV with VLC player using cast entire screen and audio through my PC worked fine, just had to set an audio delay in VLC to get audio synced. I did this thru my bluetooth stereo adapter but I thought there was a minute before I setup the bluetooth that the audio worked through the PC speakers.
Sent from New Nexus 7
Audio issues
Hooked up to chromecast to our vizio m420vt tv and bose solo. No sound will come thru the solo. Only sound is from the tv speakers. Please help?????
sukhrajsingh said:
Hooked up to chromecast to our vizio m420vt tv and bose solo. No sound will come thru the solo. Only sound is from the tv speakers. Please help?????
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It's one of the following...
1 - You need to change settings on the TV to pass Audio or to Use External Speaker (setting vary from model to model so some hunting and pecking for correct settings is in order)
2 - You need to check your HDMI connection between the TV and the Speakers. HDMI-ARC (Audio Return Channel) usually works on only one input of the TV and it should be labeled as an ARC input. If thats correct then check settings (see #1)
3 - If you have an older TV that does not have ARC support you need to connect an Optical Cable from the Audio Out of the TV to the Amp. If you have that then again See #1!
Take note that EACH INPUT on a TV will have it's own Settings for Audio, CEC, and ARC so just setting the TV defaults may not be enough. Check to see if your Inputs have their own Audio/Speaker config settings.

Got chromecast but my TV does not support ARC! need a workaround

So here's the thing...I've got an oldish HDTV and it does not support ARC audio.
So I can SEE the chromecast just fine, but no sound is going to be a problem.
I had the brilliant idea od getting a cheap 1x2 splitter, running one output to my TV and one to my sound system so that the two devices would be getting the same signal at the dame time and I just switch the input for my sound system to HDMI and it should broadcast sound just fine while the TV broadcasts the picture...right?
Wrong.
I don't know if it's the brand I used or the cheapness of it, but my chromecast would NOT work through that splitter. Even when the splitter had the input and output lights all lit up, supposedly sending signal, the video display was blank.
So, here's the thing: Is there anything available that can either split off just the audio to any other format (I have spare fiber optic port, I have spare RCA and component, I;ve got spare audio connectors aplenty), or failing that, a way to convert HDMI to Hd component or something that will work with the chromecast?
I know there's HDMI to component converters out there, but I'm guessing the chromecast needs some kind of return signal from the TV in order to operate, which is why it didn't work with my splitter maybe?
ANyway, if ayone has a good workaround i;d be much obliged. I want chromecast but I'm obviously not going to buy a new TV just to make a $35 device work
ARC is something else. Your HDMI TV will play audio from an HDMI device. Same with your receiver (unless its an HDMI pass through). You don't need any splitters or anything if your TV has HDMI.
Galahad_Knight said:
So here's the thing...I've got an oldish HDTV and it does not support ARC audio.
So I can SEE the chromecast just fine, but no sound is going to be a problem.
I had the brilliant idea od getting a cheap 1x2 splitter, running one output to my TV and one to my sound system so that the two devices would be getting the same signal at the dame time and I just switch the input for my sound system to HDMI and it should broadcast sound just fine while the TV broadcasts the picture...right?
Wrong.
I don't know if it's the brand I used or the cheapness of it, but my chromecast would NOT work through that splitter. Even when the splitter had the input and output lights all lit up, supposedly sending signal, the video display was blank.
So, here's the thing: Is there anything available that can either split off just the audio to any other format (I have spare fiber optic port, I have spare RCA and component, I;ve got spare audio connectors aplenty), or failing that, a way to convert HDMI to Hd component or something that will work with the chromecast?
I know there's HDMI to component converters out there, but I'm guessing the chromecast needs some kind of return signal from the TV in order to operate, which is why it didn't work with my splitter maybe?
ANyway, if ayone has a good workaround i;d be much obliged. I want chromecast but I'm obviously not going to buy a new TV just to make a $35 device work
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Make sure the TV sees it as being HDMI and not DVI. The TV should tell you what kind of video signal its receiving.
As the others have said, your TV should be getting the audio from the Chromecast HDMI. For testing, switch your TV speakers on - you should hear the audio.
My (older) Sony TV doesn't support ARC either, but it has optical audio out, so I run that to my sound bar and it works fine.
bhiga said:
As the others have said, your TV should be getting the audio from the Chromecast HDMI. For testing, switch your TV speakers on - you should hear the audio.
My (older) Sony TV doesn't support ARC either, but it has optical audio out, so I run that to my sound bar and it works fine.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Whoops. Yeah, it looks like the reason I wasn't getting audio is my TV was set to external amp, I had to turn the built in speakers on in order to get sound.
Now, however, I can only get sound from the tinny onboard speakers and not the big thumping 5.1
Now to figure out how to fix that...
Your TV doesn't have an audio output? Either analog (sometimes labeled "variable out" if it's controlled by the TV volume control) or a digital out?
---------- Post added at 01:44 AM ---------- Previous post was at 01:42 AM ----------
BTW many HDMI splitters aren't HDCP compliant, and those tend not to work for non-computer sources because the HDCP handshake doesn't happen.
---------- Post added at 01:49 AM ---------- Previous post was at 01:44 AM ----------
And yes, something like a (genuine - beware of fakes) HDfury2 or newer will turn a spare VGA or component input into an HDMI input and split out the audio, but I'm pretty sure you can achieve what you want without adding extra conversion.
What make/ model are your TV and sound system?
Can't you plug the CC into an HDMI input on your receiver, as you would any other input device?
Agree, technically that's how mine is connected. My sound bar has 3 inputs and its HDMI output goes to my TV, then the optical output from the TV goes back to the sound bar input (since my TV doesn't support ARC).
bhiga said:
Your TV doesn't have an audio output? Either analog (sometimes labeled "variable out" if it's controlled by the TV volume control) or a digital out?
I have RGB cables that go from the TV to the cable box, and a fiber optic that goes from the cable box to the sound system/dvd player
The TV is connected to the sound system/dvd by an HDMI cable, and the sound system only has the one HDMI port and for some reason that HDMI connection doesn't seem to carry sound from the TV to the sound system
The TV has spare stereo outputs (Red/White), and a round yellow Digital Audio Coax port.
The sound system has a spare fiber optic port, and might have a spare red/white stereo port (but that of course would only give me stereo and not 5.1
What make/ model are your TV and sound system?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
sylvania lc320slx TV connected to a Panasonic SC-BT230 5.1 surround sound/blue ray player
So at the moment, unless I can figure out why the HDMI cable isn't porting sound from the TV/CC, it looks like the only way to get sound out of the good speakers would be Stereo only.
Unless maybe something like this? http://www.amazon.com/Digital-Optic...8ZQY/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1385195890&sr=8-3 convert that digital audio coax on the TV into a fiber optic to plug into the spare fiber optic jack on the sound system?
scoppola said:
Can't you plug the CC into an HDMI input on your receiver, as you would any other input device?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Only one HDMI port on the sound system and that's what the TV's plugged into
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Okay... I looked at your TV's spec sheet and your sound system's manual.
Your TV has three HDMI inputs, two on the back, one on the side.
Your combo sound system/BD player has a single HDMI output, which is how your BD/DVD disc playback gets picture on the TV, and two TOSlink optical digital audio inputs.
Your cable box is connected to the TV via Component video (red/green/blue) connection to the TV, and TOSlink audio (optical) connection to one of your sound system's inputs.
Since your TV doesn't support ARC, it can't send decoded audio back "up" the HDMI connection to the sound system, so we need to use a another connection to get the decoded audio output from your TV back to the sound system.
Galahad_Knight said:
Unless maybe something like this? http://www.amazon.com/Digital-Optic...8ZQY/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1385195890&sr=8-3 convert that digital audio coax on the TV into a fiber optic to plug into the spare fiber optic jack on the sound system?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Close, but you want one that converts the other way, from SPDIF coax to TOSlink optical.
Your TV will "break out" the audio from the Chromecast connection and output it on the SPDIF coax connection, it'll go through the converter (don't worry about delay, it's just a signal medium conversion, not an re-encode) to your sound system's TOSlink optical input, and you should hear audio, assuming your sound system is set to the correct input.
bhiga said:
Okay... I looked at your TV's spec sheet and your sound system's manual.
Your TV has three HDMI inputs, two on the back, one on the side.
Your combo sound system/BD player has a single HDMI output, which is how your BD/DVD disc playback gets picture on the TV, and two TOSlink optical digital audio inputs.
Your cable box is connected to the TV via Component video (red/green/blue) connection to the TV, and TOSlink audio (optical) connection to one of your sound system's inputs.
Since your TV doesn't support ARC, it can't send decoded audio back "up" the HDMI connection to the sound system, so we need to use a another connection to get the decoded audio output from your TV back to the sound system.
Close, but you want one that converts the other way, from SPDIF coax to TOSlink optical.
Your TV will "break out" the audio from the Chromecast connection and output it on the SPDIF coax connection, it'll go through the converter (don't worry about delay, it's just a signal medium conversion, not an re-encode) to your sound system's TOSlink optical input, and you should hear audio, assuming your sound system is set to the correct input.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Woot! you're a lifesaver, man. Have all the +1s
I'm gonna snag that up now and report my results.
After my failed splitter experiment this should put me at about $50 worth of cables and doodads to support a $35 dongle
That'll teach me not to come here first.
Haha if it makes you feel any better, I have about $250 of gear to get Chromecast on a 20-inch SD tube TV. Half of it was already stuff I had though.
Still HBO Go and AllCast/AirCast make it quite useful.
Much easier than transcoding stuff and pushing it back to the TiVo hooked up to that TV.
bhiga said:
Haha if it makes you feel any better, I have about $250 of gear to get Chromecast on a 20-inch SD tube TV. Half of it was already stuff I had though.
Still HBO Go and AllCast/AirCast make it quite useful.
Much easier than transcoding stuff and pushing it back to the TiVo hooked up to that TV.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
LOL, wow, after a certain point it'd almost be cheaper to grab a new TV, or at least a decent pawn shop model
But of course, it's the principle of the matter. A new TV would be admitting defeat
Very true (and what I advise others to do - unless you have a very special display or circumstances, much cheaper to upgrade to something better), in my case I have other uses for the new gear once this invincible tube finally retires, heh. Plus I'm a "learn by doing" kind of person...
Galahad_Knight said:
Woot! you're a lifesaver, man. Have all the +1s
I'm gonna snag that up now and report my results.
After my failed splitter experiment this should put me at about $50 worth of cables and doodads to support a $35 dongle
That'll teach me not to come here first.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Just curious as to what you ended up doing.
bhiga said:
Just curious as to what you ended up doing.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Whoops! Sorry I forgot to get back about my results...I was too distracted watching chromecast in glorious 5.1
That converter worked exactly to spec. All I have to do is cast a video and my TV automatically switches video inputs, then I just tap the autio input button on my sound system remote ocne and it pops over to the second toslink port and it comes right out.
Only hitch is that it takes a second for the audio to switch over so I have to pause the video once I cast it.
And the second the video ends and there's no active output from the chromecast the audi immediately switches back to the cable box, but hey at least it works!
For the record, I solved the audio switching problem. It was super frustrating because every time I paused it would switch back to the cable box audio and it always took a second or two to come back.
Problem? Had my TV plugged into the wrong Toslink port. Port 1 is the default TV input. For the longest time all we had plugged into it was the cable box so it was in one.
Switched the TV to one and cable box to two and blammo!
I chromecast something and the TV automatically switches to the HDMI port for the dongle and the audio automatically switches over to the input from the TV! Perfection.
Then all I have to do is manually switch inputs back to component for video and digital 2 for audio and i'm back to watching cable
Galahad_Knight said:
I chromecast something and the TV automatically switches to the HDMI port for the dongle and the audio automatically switches over to the input from the TV! Perfection.
Then all I have to do is manually switch inputs back to component for video and digital 2 for audio and i'm back to watching cable
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Great! I love when a plan comes together!!
the chromecast is an amazing device so far. i can easily watch speed runs from it. picture quality is great. my phone feeds better than my lappy for sure.
sa1tine said:
the chromecast is an amazing device so far. i can easily watch speed runs from it. picture quality is great. my phone feeds better than my lappy for sure.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I noticed that too, it;s weird! But if I'm casting something from a tab I pretty much have to use the laptop.
Protip: I found out that chrome will open mp4s in-browser so if you want to play a local video just C&P the file location into your chrome browser and cast away!

[Q] Why doesn’t chromecast output audio through TV's external speakers ?

Here is my set-up:
A Vivo LTV42FHDN 42” Full HD TV (2x HDMI inputs, 1x RCA stereo audio output, few other audio and video input connectors, and a set of really crappy built-in speakers)
A Logitech 2.1 Speaker system connected to TV's RCA audio output
An old DELL XPS M1330 notebook running Windows 7 hooked up to the TV via one HDMI port
A new Chromecast I’m trying to setup connected to the other HDMI port.
When I watch TV and switch to the HDMI input of the PC I get audio through both the TV’s crappy built in speakers as well as the much better sounding Logitech Speakers. However, when I switch to the Chromecast I only hear audio through TV’s built-in speakers. I have connected other PCs and tablets through HDMI before and from what I recall, sound always came out external speakers.
Is there any reason for the PC and Chromecast to behave differently when connected via HDMI ? I tried both HDMI ports, went through TV's audio settings (which only has very few settings like bass, treble, and some sound profiles), but couldn't get the chromecast to output audio through external speakers.
Does this mean Chromecast doesn’t support somesort of an HDMI specification/standard my old PC does, therefore the TV can't split and reroute the audio ? Is there any way to get around this without buying new hardware ? Other than audio, rest of it works great ! For me spending $50 or so extra on additional hardware really defeats the purpose of buying a Chromecast, because for that price I could've bought a DLNA enabled media player.
Any help appreciated. Thanks.
I'm not sure about your LG, but my Sony correctly re-routes audio from Chromecast to SPDIF (optical) output connected to AVR, so the Chromecast isn't a problem. I'm not sure about analog RCA output though.
Just go through your TV settings again. There must be an option burried somewhere in menus.
peca89 said:
I'm not sure about your LG, but my Sony correctly re-routes audio from Chromecast to SPDIF (optical) output connected to AVR, so the Chromecast isn't a problem. I'm not sure about analog RCA output though.
Just go through your TV settings again. There must be an option burried somewhere in menus.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for your reply, I did go through all the settings on the TV and even read the manual. But couldn't find anything there. Its not a very high-end TV, hence no optical output, all I have is that stereo analogue output.
Few minutes after posting I again connected my new notebook, and a Windows 8 tablet, audio works fine with all of them. But the Chromecast just doesn't work the same way. When I tested I connected all devices to the same HDMI port and didn't change anything on the TV, all I did was plug one in > test > unplug > plug the next one in > test etc.. that's all.. the fact that everything but the Chromecast work has to mean there is something different in Chromecast's HDMI signal.
PhoenixFx said:
Thanks for your reply, I did go through all the settings on the TV and even read the manual. But couldn't find anything there. Its not a very high-end TV, hence no optical output, all I have is that stereo analogue output.
Few minutes after posting I again connected my new notebook, and a Windows 8 tablet, audio works fine with all of them. But the Chromecast just doesn't work the same way. When I tested I connected all devices to the same HDMI port and didn't change anything on the TV, all I did was plug one in > test > unplug > plug the next one in > test etc.. that's all.. the fact that everything but the Chromecast work has to mean there is something different in Chromecast's HDMI signal.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Try switching the audio output in whatever application you're casting from to Stereo.
If Chromecast is sending multichannel audio, your TV might be smart enough to decode and play it on its speakers, but not smart enough to downmix to the analog output.
PhoenixFx said:
Here is my set-up:
A Vivo LTV42FHDN 42” Full HD TV (2x HDMI inputs, 1x RCA stereo audio output, few other audio and video input connectors, and a set of really crappy built-in speakers)
A Logitech 2.1 Speaker system connected to TV's RCA audio output
An old DELL XPS M1330 notebook running Windows 7 hooked up to the TV via one HDMI port
A new Chromecast I’m trying to setup connected to the other HDMI port.
When I watch TV and switch to the HDMI input of the PC I get audio through both the TV’s crappy built in speakers as well as the much better sounding Logitech Speakers. However, when I switch to the Chromecast I only hear audio through TV’s built-in speakers. I have connected other PCs and tablets through HDMI before and from what I recall, sound always came out external speakers.
Is there any reason for the PC and Chromecast to behave differently when connected via HDMI ? I tried both HDMI ports, went through TV's audio settings (which only has very few settings like bass, treble, and some sound profiles), but couldn't get the chromecast to output audio through external speakers.
Does this mean Chromecast doesn’t support somesort of an HDMI specification/standard my old PC does, therefore the TV can't split and reroute the audio ? Is there any way to get around this without buying new hardware ? Other than audio, rest of it works great ! For me spending $50 or so extra on additional hardware really defeats the purpose of buying a Chromecast, because for that price I could've bought a DLNA enabled media player.
Any help appreciated. Thanks.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hi,Were you able to resolve this problem? Chromecast works great except for this exact same annoying problem. Also have the same TV. Thanks.

Chromecast 2-ch Audio Format

I'm working on a multi-room audio system with both AirPlay and Chromecast as input sources. It utilizes forked-daapd and Shairport (for AirPlay input) running on a Raspberry Pi. For Chromecast, I'm using an (AGPtek® HDMI to HDMI + SPDIF + RCA L / R) audio extractor and (AFUNTA USB 6 Channel 5.1 Optical) USB sound card. I've written a small C program to capture the audio input and feed it to a pipe that forked-daapd can then play to AirPlay speakers throughout the house.
So far, it works with analog audio, but I can't get the S/PDIF capture to work. I've hooked the Chromecast and audio extractor to my Yamaha receiver over S/PDIF, and it works. The receiver displays "PCM" and plays 2-channel stereo. I've also run S/PDIF out of my Windows 7 PC to the USB sound card, and I am able to capture that audio with no problem.
What could be different between the S/PDIF stream from the Chromecast/audio extractor and the S/PDIF stream from my PC?
I'm still struggling with this. Could there be copy-protection that is surviving the audio extractor and preventing capture?

Stream to Chromecast and Chromecast audio at the same time

Chromecast audio now has multiroom support. I would like to figure out a way to add chromecast (video) to my audio group. Currently google says it's unsupported, but hoping for a work around. Like maybe have my chromecast "look" like its a chromecast audio to the app?
Any help is appreciated.
What would also be cool is if I could cast video to chromecast and audio from that video to chromecast audio. But this is a lot more difficult.
kwstudz said:
Chromecast audio now has multiroom support. I would like to figure out a way to add chromecast (video) to my audio group. Currently google says it's unsupported, but hoping for a work around. Like maybe have my chromecast "look" like its a chromecast audio to the app?
Any help is appreciated.
What would also be cool is if I could cast video to chromecast and audio from that video to chromecast audio. But this is a lot more difficult.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Here is a workaround for simulating 5.1 sound with Chromecast audio. Say, for example, you want an approximation of 5.1 sound for your home theater but you don't want to have wires connecting your 2 surround speakers to your receiver. For example, you don't want the speaker wires cluttering up your living room and you don't want to run them through the attic. Here is what you can do: buy 3 Chromecast audios for about $35 each. Buy two small amps for your surround speakers. For example, the Pyle 200 amps cost around $26 each. These small amplifiers will change your surround speakers from passive to active. One Chromecast audio device should be connected to your main receiver . Attach the 2 remaining chromecast audios to your Pyle amplifiers connected to the surround speakers. Each Pyle amplifier can actually run 2 speakers, but for this example we are using one amplifier for each of the surround speakers to minimize wire clutter. Short speaker wires will need to run between each of the Pyle amplifiers and and its surround speaker These speaker wires should be attached to the appropriate terminals (left or right) of the 2 amplifiers. In the Google Home app, first add all 3 devices. Then create a speaker group that includes all 3 devices. For example, we will call the new group MySimulated5.1. Attach your laptop, tablet, or phone to your TV HDMI-in by cable. Cast the audio to the MySimulated5.1. Be sure built-in TV speakers are off so that all sound comes from your external speakers.
This system will work because you are not casting to both Chromecast and Chromecast Audio. Your video will have HDMI quality. to the extent it is supported by the source device. You can use Microsoft Dolby 5.1 test on YouTube to verify that all your speakers are working. If everything is set up correctly, your left front speaker will play audio intended for left front and left surround. Center speaker will function as usual. Right front speaker will play audio intended for right front and right surround. Everything played on right front and left front will also play on right surround and left surround speakers, respectively. The system will not be true 5.1. However, the surround speakers will reinforce lateralization of audio and improve immersion.

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