[Sniffer77]

May seem like a silly question to some so I apologise in advance .

I had intel dn2820 nuc running openelec through my denon receiver.



I have files with 5.1 sound AAC , with passthrough enabled , 5.1 speakers selected and all amp options enabled (on xbmc/kodi)but my amp just says multi input re sound but appears to be doing surround sound .



If I change speakers on xbmc to 2.0 a extra box pops up to enable Dolby digital transcoding . If I select this the same file shows as Dolby digital on the amp .



can I ask what is the best/right way to have this set up?



Thanks for any guidance

[fritsch]

I have files with 5.1 sound AAC , with passthrough enabled , 5.1 speakers selected and all amp options enabled (on xbmc/kodi)but my amp just says multi input re sound but appears to be doing surround sound .

That's perfectly fine. Why would you decode 5.1 AAC and from there encode it again to a lossy AC3 format? If you can output the decoded 6 channels?


Everything as is, is fine.

[Sniffer77]

I have files with 5.1 sound AAC , with passthrough enabled , 5.1 speakers selected and all amp options enabled (on xbmc/kodi)but my amp just says multi input re sound but appears to be doing surround sound .

That's perfectly fine. Why would you decode 5.1 AAC and from there encode it again to a lossy AC3 format? If you can output the decoded 6 channels?


Everything as is, is fine.

Thanks for the reply, so everything is ok even though the amp doesn't say Dolby digital? I don't really understand it if I'm honest. Can I ask why the amp doesn't show Dolby digital?

[fritsch]

AAC is not Dolby Digital, it's a different format.

[Sniffer77]

Ahh right but similar I guess . Thanks

[noggin]

Ahh right but similar I guess . Thanks

Dolby Digital and DTS are lossy compression formats that can carry various sound formats - 2.0 (aka stereo), 5.1 etc. They can be decoded either within Kodi (and output as multichannel PCM if >2.0) OR bitstreamed as DD/DTS so that an external receiver can decode them.

AAC is also a lossy compression format that can carry 2.0 or 5.1, but it isn't supported as a bitstream format by any (or very few) amps, so it has to be decoded within Kodi. If your amp supports >2.0 PCM then there is no need to re-encoded this to loss Dolby Digital just to see the Dolby light come on on your amp, as Kodi will decode the AAC to 2.0, 5.1 etc. and output this in uncompressed PCM format.

In the UK Freeview HD uses AAC audio for over-the-air TV. I see my amp switch from PCM 2.0 to PCM 5.1 when watching Live or Recorded TV in Kodi as different shows are broadcast using different sound formats. I don't see the Dolby or DTS indicators appear because Kodi isn't sending the audio in Dolby or DTS format.

[Sniffer77]

Thanks noggin for the clear explanation of the sound formats .
Really appreciate the guidance [THUMBS UP SIGN]