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AC3 or DTS pass though over HDMI

Digital sound (pass through) is not possible so far I know on Android. People who say it works, please prove it. Guess they mean dolby pro logic, or that the stereo sound is converted to 5.1 or 7.1 by the receiver. The receiver should show that it's encoding AC3, Dolby digital or DTS, otherwise its not working.
Hope this will change, because a media center without digital multichannel sound is not really a media center.

MaVe_64 said:
Digital sound (pass through) is not possible so far I know on Android. People who say it works, please prove it. Guess they mean dolby pro logic, or that the stereo sound is converted to 5.1 or 7.1 by the receiver. The receiver should show that it's encoding AC3, Dolby digital or DTS, otherwise its not working.
Hope this will change, because a media center without digital multichannel sound is not really a media center.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Your receiver doesn't encode but decodes your DTS or AC3 stream.
I don't know about these Android Stick mini pc's but on my SGS3 i can select HDMI audio output: surround under the accessory options.
Perhaps this is a Samsung feature, not sure.
Have never tested this.
What's more important is that the videoplayers should also support audio through HDMI, most probably don't.

Frag1le said:
Your receiver doesn't encode but decodes your DTS or AC3 stream.
I don't know about these Android Stick mini pc's but on my SGS3 i can select HDMI audio output: surround under the accessory options.
Perhaps this is a Samsung feature, not sure.
Have never tested this.
What's more important is that the videoplayers should also support audio through HDMI, most probably don't.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I have options in XBMC to configure the audio channel/output options, up to 7.1 with support for DTS, AC3, and a whole bunch of other stuff. I have to look again, but I thought "passthrough" was also an option. I know for certain that it allows selection between HDMI, optical, and analogue output. Then again, I'm not 100pct what features are working all the way or not.
And of course, XBMC's hardware video decoding is still in the works, so there is that problem.
However, give it a go, see if their settings work with your receiver.

digitalhigh said:
I have options in XBMC to configure the audio channel/output options, up to 7.1 with support for DTS, AC3, and a whole bunch of other stuff. I have to look again, but I thought "passthrough" was also an option. I know for certain that it allows selection between HDMI, optical, and analogue output. Then again, I'm not 100pct what features are working all the way or not.
And of course, XBMC's hardware video decoding is still in the works, so there is that problem.
However, give it a go, see if their settings work with your receiver.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Nope, these settings don't work. It does decode a 5.1 stream to 2 channel pcm, but no pass through.

Frag1le said:
Your receiver doesn't encode but decodes your DTS or AC3 stream.
I don't know about these Android Stick mini pc's but on my SGS3 i can select HDMI audio output: surround under the accessory options.
Perhaps this is a Samsung feature, not sure.
Have never tested this.
What's more important is that the videoplayers should also support audio through HDMI, most probably don't.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Sorry, decode is what I meant.

I'm also waiting for this to buy a TV stick myself... it seems only a handful of devices in the whole Android world supports this feature, with the right firmware and video player nonetheless (see http://forum.xbmc.org/showthread.php?tid=150342&pid=1300761#pid1300761 for instance)
Also, it seems there's some licensing at play here: I'm not sure where but I saw that a manufacturer can't implement the dd/dts passthrough on their firmware/drivers without licensing the codecs first (and given how closed source are these drivers, it's not something the community can deal with easily)

shagrath78 said:
I'm also waiting for this to buy a TV stick myself... it seems only a handful of devices in the whole Android world supports this feature, with the right firmware and video player nonetheless (see http://forum.xbmc.org/showthread.php?tid=150342&pid=1300761#pid1300761 for instance)
Also, it seems there's some licensing at play here: I'm not sure where but I saw that a manufacturer can't implement the dd/dts passthrough on their firmware/drivers without licensing the codecs first (and given how closed source are these drivers, it's not something the community can deal with easily)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Am I right if I say the G-Box midnight does pass through AC3/DTS? If so, then it should be possible with other Android boxes.

Well if you can show proof that it can (video/picture with your receiver showing DTS/DD multichannel working) than it sounds promissing for future devices.
Btw if anyone else with Android mini-pcs can test and report if their device does DTS/DD Hdmi passthrough that'll be great.
Until now i think they can't and i hope future android minipcs like the Ouya will support this, although i think it won't (out of the box)

The Minix X5 seems like a good box and they give good support, what is kind of special for chinese products. They say in their forum that multi channel audio is on it's way.
http://minixforums.com/index.php?posts/2881
I would prefer a Minix above the Gbox because of the better GPU.

ive bought a android tablet, bq curie, with a cortex a9, installed mx player and the codecs armv7, also installed the ffdshow codecs, available on a near thread.
my audio setup is a sony ampkifier with hdmi ports, in witch i connect my desktop/mediacenter.
Tried to connect my tablet to the receiver, and it only outputs stereo sound. wit ac3 and dts
I'm open to sugestions how to passthought the audio to the receiver.

zzzpt said:
ive bought a android tablet, bq curie, with a cortex a9, installed mx player and the codecs armv7, also installed the ffdshow codecs, available on a near thread.
my audio setup is a sony ampkifier with hdmi ports, in witch i connect my desktop/mediacenter.
Tried to connect my tablet to the receiver, and it only outputs stereo sound. wit ac3 and dts
I'm open to sugestions how to passthought the audio to the receiver.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You can't. You will have to wait untill the firmware for your android chipset is modified to work with multi channel sound passthrough.

Ok, here's an update, installed xbmcAndroid, noticed the Passthought options (DTS ...) unfortunately same result, the output sound was in 2.0
Perhaps this is really Firmware Problem, like statted in a previous post:
I'm also waiting for this to buy a TV stick myself... it seems only a handful of devices in the whole Android world supports this feature, with the right firmware and video player nonetheless
Click to expand...
Click to collapse

zzzpt said:
Ok, here's an update, installed xbmcAndroid, noticed the Passthought options (DTS ...) unfortunately same result, the output sound was in 2.0
Perhaps this is really Firmware Problem, like statted in a previous post:
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes if the firmware doesn't support it, XBMC can't use the function. For instance Rockchip is working on a solution to passthrough 5.1 audio for SPDIF (optical audio out), it's not sure if it will work on HDMI output.
We will have to have patience...

the second no go is hdmi cec functionality - try Raspberry PI - is fine

Hi guys, I'm going to buy a stick but the lack of audio passthrough is blocking me as I will use this stick for media purposes. Nearly all files I have are at least dts or ac3 5.1 channel sound.
Would anybody have an update on this? I'm trying to search on Internet but not much info about progress of rockchip.

There still aren't any Android Mini PC/Stick that do multichannel passthrough. (correct me if i'm wrong)
The Ouya promised this on kickstarter in the promotional videos but they didn't deliver so false promises, so they are dead to me now.
RK3066 devices can't through HDMI and the few devices that have an optical out can neither.
RK3188 the few reviewed devices can't and the ones that are getting optical out aren't released yet so haven't been reviewed afaik.
I don't know about any other device or chip that does support this yet, so do share if you know one.

The Minix X5 (RK3066) should have a new firmware now that supports AC3 5.1 pass through to optical out {spdif). HDMI no pass through.

It's a firmware situation. Check out this video here demonstrating XBMC on the UT1, and another device called the Hi718 which seems to perform pretty good. Both have SPDIFF audio output. Without allowing the DTS encoded audio to pass through untouched, the devices decode the DTS sound and digitally output the audio via the SPDIFF. I just have the new UT1, so I can't speak with any authority on the HI718, but from the video it looks the same.
In the user guide for the UT1 it shows audio pass through option, and it maybe in the new UT1 firmware they just posted on the UT1 forum. I just haven't got the balls to reflash my device yet as there is always a degree of flash fear when a device is working really well lol
UT1 XBMC hardware playback test:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z2qsprNRV6Y
Hi718 Review with hardware video playback tests.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=heRQOpaCstU

BlobLobba said:
It's a firmware situation. Check out this video here demonstrating XBMC on the UT1, and another device called the Hi718 which seems to perform pretty good. Both have SPDIFF audio output. Without allowing the DTS encoded audio to pass through untouched, the devices decode the DTS sound and digitally output the audio via the SPDIFF. I just have the new UT1, so I can't speak with any authority on the HI718, but from the video it looks the same.
In the user guide for the UT1 it shows audio pass through option, and it maybe in the new UT1 firmware they just posted on the UT1 forum. I just haven't got the balls to reflash my device yet as there is always a degree of flash fear when a device is working really well lol
UT1 XBMC hardware playback test:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z2qsprNRV6Y
Hi718 Review with hardware video playback tests.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=heRQOpaCstU
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The whole idea behind DD/DTS passthrough is that the device doesn't decode anything and that your receiver/amp does the decoding.
I haven't watched the videos completely but if they decode the DTS and then output it'll probably be only 2.0 stereo.

Reviewer stated he was getting 5.1 channel sound, so I don't think it's stereo. Also XBMC show DTS and AAC when he's playing some of the files.
If you read my post, you will know I know what audio passthrough is, hence everything I wrote in my post relates to it. Which part didn't you understand?

Android 4.3 Bluetooth Audio Quality Fix for Nexus 7 Flo

cbaronne has posted a set of compiled binaries to change the default bitrate of the Bluetooth SBC codec to increase A2DP audio quality on the Nexus 4 over on this thread. It seems that the 2013 Nexus 7 suffers from the same issues, but can also be fixed with the same binaries.
I've very lightly modified itlnstln's update script to work on the Nexus 7 and have tested these files as flashable under TWRP. The binaries in the flo-4.3-BTFix-googledefault.zip file are from the ParanoidAndroid 3.94 ROM (which I would highly recommend) should you experience troubles with your Bluetooth devices.
I would recommend trying the 328kbps version first, and would expect it to provide the best quality in most situations since it matches the sampling rate of most MP3 files. Most Bluetooth stacks for other devices have 328 as the maximum quality. Of course, test with your devices and ears.
For device testing, I've used it to great success with a BlackBerry Music Gateway (still stuck at low volume, but that's an AVRCP volume control issue) and a Philips AEA2000/37 Bluetooth receiver. I also have an eBay/Chinese receiver which identifies itself as DMZmusic where this change causes continuous popping noises from both my Nexus 4 and Nexus 7. That device is perfectly fine when paired with my other devices that stream at full quality with A2DP SBC (BlackBerry Playbook, WP7 phone, and Windows PC using the Toshiba stack), so clearly Google still has some work to do. Until then, hopefully these files prove to be useful.

Install
random_n said:
cbaronne has posted a set of compiled binaries to change the default bitrate of the Bluetooth SBC codec to increase A2DP audio quality on the Nexus 4 over on this thread. It seems that the 2013 Nexus 7 suffers from the same issues, but can also be fixed with the same binaries.
I've very lightly modified itlnstln's update script to work on the Nexus 7 and have tested these files as flashable under TWRP. The binaries in the flo-4.3-BTFix-googledefault.zip file are from the ParanoidAndroid 3.94 ROM (which I would highly recommend) should you experience troubles with your Bluetooth devices.
I would recommend trying the 328kbps version first, and would expect it to provide the best quality in most situations since it matches the sampling rate of most MP3 files. Most Bluetooth stacks for other devices have 328 as the maximum quality. Of course, test with your devices and ears.
For device testing, I've used it to great success with a BlackBerry Music Gateway (still stuck at low volume, but that's an AVRCP volume control issue) and a Philips AEA2000/37 Bluetooth receiver. I also have an eBay/Chinese receiver which identifies itself as DMZmusic where this change causes continuous popping noises from both my Nexus 4 and Nexus 7. That device is perfectly fine when paired with my other devices that stream at full quality with A2DP SBC (BlackBerry Playbook, WP7 phone, and Windows PC using the Toshiba stack), so clearly Google still has some work to do. Until then, hopefully these files prove to be useful.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for this post I am having issues with Audio when listening to Netflix movies. Can I just flash this using TWRP?

comptech81 said:
Thanks for this post I am having issues with Audio when listening to Netflix movies. Can I just flash this using TWRP?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes, just flash with TWRP. Note that this only affects A2DP Bluetooth audio (ie: wireless headphones and stereo receivers) in situations where it sounds like Internet radio from the year 2001 and won't do a thing for the static noise when using the onboard speakers at low volume.

328K did seem to help with Netflix + BT but it certainly wasnt perfect. Its rather disappointing that such a powerful tablet cant even BT + netflix properly.

Thanks much for sharing.
Aren't any Android Tablets/Phones out there which support BT-MP3/AAC Codec? Maybe those can be ported to Nexus devices?

volwrath said:
328K did seem to help with Netflix + BT but it certainly wasnt perfect. Its rather disappointing that such a powerful tablet cant even BT + netflix properly.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I don't think you can blame the Nexus 7. I reverted to the previous version of the netflix app and the audio is fine. It appears netflix broke something with the latest update.

random_n said:
cbaronne has posted a set of compiled binaries to change the default bitrate of the Bluetooth SBC codec to increase A2DP audio quality on the Nexus 4 over on this thread. It seems that the 2013 Nexus 7 suffers from the same issues, but can also be fixed with the same binaries.
I've very lightly modified itlnstln's update script to work on the Nexus 7 and have tested these files as flashable under TWRP. The binaries in the flo-4.3-BTFix-googledefault.zip file are from the ParanoidAndroid 3.94 ROM (which I would highly recommend) should you experience troubles with your Bluetooth devices.
I would recommend trying the 328kbps version first, and would expect it to provide the best quality in most situations since it matches the sampling rate of most MP3 files. Most Bluetooth stacks for other devices have 328 as the maximum quality. Of course, test with your devices and ears.
For device testing, I've used it to great success with a BlackBerry Music Gateway (still stuck at low volume, but that's an AVRCP volume control issue) and a Philips AEA2000/37 Bluetooth receiver. I also have an eBay/Chinese receiver which identifies itself as DMZmusic where this change causes continuous popping noises from both my Nexus 4 and Nexus 7. That device is perfectly fine when paired with my other devices that stream at full quality with A2DP SBC (BlackBerry Playbook, WP7 phone, and Windows PC using the Toshiba stack), so clearly Google still has some work to do. Until then, hopefully these files prove to be useful.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I don't know if this is related to the problem of BT keyboards working properly (interference on the 2.4 Ghz band between WiFi and BT), but if it is, would you know how to fix that problem as well? Only reason I ask is that I was under the impression that BT audio also suffered from the interference issue, and would especially make sense if paired up with netflix streaming (which would be sending data over WiFi simultaneously).

SubMatrix said:
I don't know if this is related to the problem of BT keyboards working properly (interference on the 2.4 Ghz band between WiFi and BT), but if it is, would you know how to fix that problem as well? Only reason I ask is that I was under the impression that BT audio also suffered from the interference issue, and would especially make sense if paired up with netflix streaming (which would be sending data over WiFi simultaneously).
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I haven't dealt with that issue specifically on the Nexus 7, but I have had nothing but terrible luck with most Bluetooth HID devices for PCs and now just recommend using sets from Logitech or Microsoft with proprietary RF USB dongles. Apple's devices tend to work OK though. As for interference, I have no trouble streaming BT audio while also pulling HD video over my 2.4GHz WLAN, but then again I'm not in a very RF saturated area and also have automatic channel hopping disabled on my WiFi AP. If you're in a highrise or something like that, the only possible solution is going to be to get your WLAN onto 5.8GHz to try and free up some spectrum.
I don't think I've heard of any Android devices that do MP3 or AAC BT audio, but there are quite a few that can do AptX. As far as I know, only the manufacturer ROMs provide the codecs for this (ie: flashing CyanogenMod to an SGSIII will kill AptX), and receiver compatibility is pretty low. It's a shame that there are so many cooks in the Bluetooth kitchen that we end up with this metaphorical beef and Cheetos stew.

gramig said:
I don't think you can blame the Nexus 7. I reverted to the previous version of the netflix app and the audio is fine. It appears netflix broke something with the latest update.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Ill have to try that. Nonetheless there are some bt issues relating to 4.3. I was attempting to watch a youtube via bt headphones and my vz hotspot on my SGS3 and it stuttered along, but when I turned off bluetooth it streamed fine. This is rather aggravating.

tried btfix 328kbps didn't help me i use my sony nfc headphone but doesn't work properly when using Netflix sounds get cut. well anyone mind sharing old version of Netflix apo please
Sent from my GT-I9505 using xda premium

gramig said:
I don't think you can blame the Nexus 7. I reverted to the previous version of the netflix app and the audio is fine. It appears netflix broke something with the latest update.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks posting your fix. I just reverted to a previous version of netflix and now I have absolutely no audio issues over bluetooth.

Old neflix can be found here: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2305091

:good: Huge thank you to OP. Ever since I got my nexus 4, it always had crappy bluetooth audio playback. For a while I wondered if my speakers in the car were damaged also but I tried your fixed and it worked flawlessly. Crystal clear and rich sound now. This is confirmed working on the latest stock nexus 4 jwr66y

-- Post deleted -- web site didn't load that other people had asked my question. It just did and I see it. Can't find 'delete' option here.

You know, I downloaded a Beats Audio APK and that did the trick. Just google BeatsAudio07.02.zip and the first link will where you can download it. I noticed a big difference on my N7 I use at home and definitely the N7 I have installed in my car. The sound thru my Infinity System sounds like crap. Once I downloaded and flashed this zip, it was a huge improvement. :good:

Just got a netflix update last night (3.0.1 build 1016,) fixes the bt issues I had with it =]

Can't update
Does anyone have the default audio.a2dp.default.so, after applying this fix I can no longer OTA.

SireSalty said:
Does anyone have the default audio.a2dp.default.so, after applying this fix I can no longer OTA.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Same here...

Error: Unfortunately, Bluetooth share has stopped
Hi Guys, I'm new to N7 and first thing I wanted to do is to upgrade BT audio q. After causing endless bootloop (X), I had to restore device to factory settings using Nexus Root Toolkit v 1.7.8 and loading Android 4.4.0 - Build: KRT16S. Only after that, I tried again to flash "flo-4.3-BTFix-328kbps-2013-08-18.zip" and everything looked ok until boot when there was a pop up message with an error: "Unfortunately, Bluetooth share has stopped". Same with other zip (345kbps). Any idea where might be the problem?
EDIT: Obviously I was trying to use 4.3 fix for 4.4. build When I realized it, I loaded again 4.3 system, flashed zip and seems to be ok now!
So anyway @random_n, could you please update this fix so it would work for 4.4 as well. It would be greatly appreciated!

Has anyone found a kitkat audio fix yet? I justvtried my BT headphones with my n7, and the sound is ungodly bad compared to my galaxy s3.
Since the tablet gets longer battery life, I'd prefer to use it for my wireless audio instead of the s3.

Nexus Player- Cannot Watch Netfix Or Cast To My Player

Help troubleshooting Nexus Player
I got my player about a month ago. After about a week, I started to get the audio drop issue. I contacted support, and they just had me RMA it. So I got my new device, and no Audio drops. However I have other problems. I can not cast to the device, it doesn't show up in my list of devices in my browser, and when I try from my phone, it instantly disconnects. Also every time I try to watch a video on Netflix I about 1 second of video before an error says it can't play this title, try again later (AIP-703). I worked with Nexus support and got no where, so I went rogue. Downloaded 6.0 marshmallow and flashed my device, it loaded up, but The Netflix app wouldn't load, and I did not try casting. So I wiped the device and installed 5.1.1 again, and back to the same issue. Looking for any advice. to help clear this up as phone support is next to useless.

There was a very recent update that does some system improvements and tweaks. Reportedly fixes casting, not sure what else. Go into settings, about, and check for updates.
As far as Netflix, the most recent app works fine for me. I would check to see if yours is fully updated. If it's still problematic, remove it and try side loading the Sony version with ES File Explorer http://forum.xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=60723403&postcount=24

I couldn't cast to my nexus player after i updated the "google cast receiver app". I unistalled the update and everything went back to normal. I'm on 5.1.1.
Casting netflix on nexus player sucks. It will cast only if the profile selected on the nexus player is the same as the one on your phone or tablet( and the same netflix account of course ).
I will update to 6.0 if anyone confirms that sixaxis is working since i'm using my ps3 controllers.

update ?
Did you ever get this fixed i recently RMA mines and am having the same issues. They told me they changed the motherboard when i asked.

[SOLVED] Can't Cast to my Nexus Player

Hey Everybody,
just purchased a Nexus Player and need some help.
Google Casting doesn't work as it should. It appers in every Cast-Enabled app, but it won't connect.
On my Chromecast everything works fine.
It worked on Lollipop but after the marshmallow update it broke.
I'm now on Android N beta and it still doesn't work.
The Google Cast Receiver is the newest version 1.18.55065
I can connect youtube (but only sometimes)
Google Play Music and almost every othet app won't connect.
Netflix connects, but there's always a problem when i try to start a stream.
I can’t even watch Netflix from the Android TV itself.
- factory resetted 3 times
- deleted appdata of google cast receiver
- uninstalled google cast receiver updates
- force closed google cast receiver
I don't know what to try.. my next step will be, to download the Pure Nexus Rom from xda..
Could it me a problem with my network? i would not think so, because my Chromecast works perfectly.
I would really appreciate it, if someone could help me


I don't own a Chromecast, just the Nexus Player since last year, and the cast thing has NEVER worked for me. When I bought it it updated to Android 6 right away so I couldn't test the cast with the previous version. I doesn't work. Then I went to the Android N preview, still no luck. Now I'm on PureNexus and still the same thing. The closest thing to casting I've ever got was using Kodi on the NP and Kore on my phone, and "Share" a youtube video from my phone to kore, then kodi. I wonder what the problem might be since I havent had any problem at all with my Apple devices on Airplay....

Just got a new one, and the problem is gone.
still thanks for your help

Any fix for the bluetooth music streaming problem?

I havent been able to play music in my car since I updated to oreo. Is there any fix yet?

nb023 said:
I havent been able to play music in my car since I updated to oreo. Is there any fix yet?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes. Enable Developer Settings if you haven't already. Then go to the new BT settings and and change the bt audio codec to the one your car likes. Some new bmw/mini's seem to be very particular. My Cadillac and BMW like the default (SBC). Give it a whirl.

Well you learn something new everyday. Default setting working fine for me also Chevrolet Malibu and my wife's Kia Sorento. ?