Sony Bravia KDL-55NX810 only stereo not the wanted surround sound

[coderjohn]

I have a Sony KDL-55NX810 TV that is connected to a Pioneer VSX-1122-K (a fairly capable AVR) and then through the network to a Mezzmo media server. The TV is connected to the receiver with an HDMI cable for video (ARC turned off) and an optical cable for audio.

I ripped a DVD to an ISO and then encoded it to a MP4 with AC3 audio using HandBrake.

When I play the MP4 through Mezzmo, the receiver only says it is processing stereo sound (on its display). When I play a burned DVD from the ISO (on an old DVD player that is HDMI-ed to the receiver), it plays with surround sound, as expected.

I did nothing special for the Mezzmo installation.

I have experienced this same issue with a Plex media server and the audio coming through HDMI ARC and the TV optical output (trying to isolate if it's the HDMI out from the TV or something else).

Any ideas on how to get surround sound out of this setup for Mezzmo-served media?

Many thanks.

[Paul]

Please post the FFmpeg information on the video file you are streaming. To do this, right-click on the video in Mezzmo and click 'Get FFmpeg Information'. Also let us know the device profile assigned to your TV in the Media Devices dialog in Mezzmo.

[coderjohn]

ffmpeg version N-40693-gc457a29 Copyright (c) 2000-2012 the FFmpeg developers
built on May 15 2012 12:57:14 with gcc 4.6.2
configuration: --enable-memalign-hack --arch=x86 --target-os=mingw32 --cross-prefix=i686-w64-mingw32- --enable-static --disable-shared --enable-zlib --disable-postproc --prefix=/home/peter/ffmpeg/build/gpl --enable-libmp3lame --enable-libx264 --enable-gpl --extra-libs='-lx264 -lpthread' --enable-runtime-cpudetect --extra-cflags=-I/home/peter/cc/include --extra-ldflags=-L/home/peter/cc/lib --pkg-config=pkg-config --disable-w32threads
libavutil 51. 51.100 / 51. 51.100
libavcodec 54. 21.101 / 54. 21.101
libavformat 54. 5.100 / 54. 5.100
libavdevice 53. 4.100 / 53. 4.100
libavfilter 2. 73.100 / 2. 73.100
libswscale 2. 1.100 / 2. 1.100
libswresample 0. 11.100 / 0. 11.100
Input #0, mov,mp4,m4a,3gp,3g2,mj2, from 'C:\Users\Public\Videos\Prometheus-hb-ac3.mp4':
Metadata:
major_brand : mp42
minor_version : 0
compatible_brands: mp42isomavc1
creation_time : 2012-12-09 00:39:19
encoder : HandBrake 0.9.8 2012071700
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Metadata:
creation_time : 2012-12-09 00:39:19
Stream #0:1(eng): Audio: ac3 (ac-3 / 0x332D6361), 48000 Hz, 5.1(side), s16, 448 kb/s
Metadata:
creation_time : 2012-12-09 00:39:19
Stream #0:2(und): Subtitle: mov_text (text / 0x74786574)
Metadata:
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At least one output file must be specified


---> DB Level Info: 30, 77
---> Frame rate: 24.02
---> Aspect ratio: 2872:1215






Device Profile:
Sony Bravia KDL (2010 Models)

[Paul]

Thanks for the further information. Mezzmo should be transcoding (remuxing) your MP4 into MPEG-TS and streaming it to your TV. The audio stream should be maintained at 5.1 channels. So my guess is that since you are connecting the audio output from your TV via optical cable that the 5.1 audio is being converted down to 2 channel audio by your TV and/or AV receiver. Any reason that you don't use the ARC cable between your TV and receiver for your audio output to your AV receiver? That may give you the 5.1 channel audio that you are after.

To confirm that Mezzmo is streaming 5.1 audio to your TV, please turn on logging (see http://forum.conceiva.com/showthread.php/419-FAQ-How-to-turn-on-diagnostic-logging) and restart your Mezzmo server. Connect to Mezzmo from your TV and stream the video. When is starts to play, stop your Mezzmo server and exit Mezzmo. Zip up all the logs and email them to us at support [at] conceiva [dot] com.

[coderjohn]

I have tried both Optical and ARC and they produced the same behavior under Plex. I just retried the audio (using Mezzmo) to try to get 5.1 through the ARC and it only shows up on the receiver as stereo (not surround).

Attached are the logs. [coderjohnMezzmoLogs.zip] The logs were produced when the receiver was configured to receive audio via the optical cable.

[Paul]

Thanks for the logs. I'll need you to do one more thing so we can see what's happening. In Mezzmo, go to the Media Devices dialog and edit your Sony device. In the Device Settings dialog, go to the Transcoding tab and delete your transcoded files. No turn on logging again and stream the file again. Once it starts playing, stop your Mezzmo server and exit Mezzmo. Zip up all the logs and email them to us for analysis.

[coderjohn]

Thanks Paul. I have emailed Support the Logs after completing your instructions. Thanks for trying to help.

[Paul]

Thanks for the logs. They show us that Mezzmo is transcoding the video to MPEG-TS and is remuxing (copying) your video and audio channels into the MPEG-TS container. This means the audio is still the original 5.1 channels. So I am confident that Mezzmo is delivering 5.1 audio to your TV.

I think you need to review your settings on your TV. Check the ARC settings and check the Sound/Audio settings. I would unplug your optical cable so you are sure it is using your HDMI ARC cable. Also, on your receiver, check your ARC settings.

[coderjohn]

Sony helped me fix the problem of delivering 5.1 from the TV to my receiver. Here is their advice:
I understand that the Television Speakers option cannot be set to 'External Audio System' when using the HDMI and Digital Optical audio connections with the Receiver. I suggest that you use the Digital Optical Audio connection to output sound to the Receiver and disable the ARC feature. To disable ARC feature, set 'Control for HDMI' to OFF using the following menu option.

HOME -> Channels & Inputs -> HDMI Settings -> Control for HDMI -> OFF

After that, try to set the TV Speakers option to 'External Audio System'. If the issue persists, reset the Television to factory default settings.

Now, I have a problem with audio being out of sync with the video right from the beginning of playing the movie - I will start another thread...

Thanks for your help Paul. Will see you soon on another thread.

[Paul]

Thanks for posting back this information for other Sony owners.