[Supernovasx]

2.0 pcm channel (check?)
Enable AC3 (check?)
Enable AC3 / Dolby Transcoding (Check?)

Debug Log available (check ?)

Check! I am using HDMI to my receiver not SPDIF, maybe that's the difference?

[kinggo]

No, HDMI (ARC) or SPDIF, it's the same (except that for me SPDIF is much more reliable than shitty HDMI). Since you are using BRAVIA then most likely the problem is that you are using official build which by default transcode to 640kbps AC3 which does not work in KODI on any android TV thanks to shitty MTK and shitty vendors.
Try with the one from post #215.

[fritsch]

Here: http://mirrors.kodi.tv/test-builds/andro...bi-v7a.apk 384 kbit/s AC3 and most likely tvh will work now again. Remember: LiveTV does not (!) use PT anymore - this is not an android only thing, but was a design decision. If you want PT from Live TV: PCM channels 2.0 and Dolby Transcoding / AC3 enabled.

If you run a shitty (*) Sony Bravia TV you can't even use AC3 passthrough of > 384 kbit/s. To workaround that, additionally enable "Sync Playback to Display". In combination with the above settings it will decode the AC3 and reencode it to 384 kbit/s. This feature will be in the final version.

*shitty: Firmware bugs and not supporting Android standards.

[Wegel]

For the record, never had any problems with AC3 passthrough with my *shitty* X850C, running either Android 5.0 or 6.0, using official Jarvis. Not enough milage with Krypton to say yet.

[Supernovasx]

Same here for me Wegel. Jarvis no problem at all with the passtrough. So thanks for al the trouble fritsch, For now I'll just stick with V16.1 because this works on my "Shitty" Sony Bravia TV

[fritsch]

You are welcome.

[fritsch]

Here: http://mirrors.kodi.tv/test-builds/andro...bi-v7a.apk for the shitty* devices. Enables Jarvis' PCM hack. If you download the APK you acknowledge, that you know, that this way of doing PT might cause severe hearing impact and if all goes wrong leaves you, your children and family with severe hearing impact.

This hack won't make it into any official version as team kodi was warned by google's audio department to not do so, out of the mentioned reasons.

*shitty: TVs and other boxes (like FireTV) running official Android 5 or 6 but not properly implementing PT functionality, so that one needs to "fake" PT by telling them to send PCM in full volume, so that the AVR can decide itself. Especially at the beginning of movies you will hear a short noise boost, same at the end. Handle with care, absolutely no warranty, you were warned.

[kinggo]

Here: http://mirrors.kodi.tv/test-builds/andro...bi-v7a.apk 384 kbit/s AC3 and most likely tvh will work now again. Remember: LiveTV does not (!) use PT anymore - this is not an android only thing, but was a design decision. If you want PT from Live TV: PCM channels 2.0 and Dolby Transcoding / AC3 enabled.

If you run a shitty (*) Sony Bravia TV you can't even use AC3 passthrough of > 384 kbit/s. To workaround that, additionally enable "Sync Playback to Display". In combination with the above settings it will decode the AC3 and reencode it to 384 kbit/s. This feature will be in the final version.

*shitty: Firmware bugs and not supporting Android standards.

skipping the "shitty" build because that hack is totally unreliable on my TV. But what should I get with sync to display? I mean, it is self explanatory but in my case it does quite the opposite. OK, not quite but I have far more smoother than with it set to on..

edit: and BTW what's the difference between "goodpatched" and " probablyfinal"?

[fritsch]

That's a "hidden hack" or a combination of features. Sync Playback to Display will use the display clock to time the video image to screen. While PT audio runs at wallclock (most of the time not the Display Clock), Sync Playback to Display would plain disable PT and output LPCM.

Though - as we did not want that SPDIF users with 2.0 pcm channels only, would loose surround sound, we go the Transcode path in that combination. So for your Sony TV that only supports 384 Kbit/s with the official API - you cannot output normal 640 Kbit/s AC3, right? Therefore this setting combination will decode it and reencode it to 384 Kbit/s AC3. Clever isn't it? (Without the Sync playback, no need to reencode and 640 Kbit/s would be output).

The difference between "goodpatched" and "probablyfinal" is the following:
- goodpatched had a more intrusive fix for the LiveTV issue, e.g. the opening of single decoders. This might cause a lot of issues and is not well tested and far too intrusive for Krypton
- probablyfinal instead tries to workaround that issue within MediaCodec itself without harming the complete architecture of all other OSses, only cause of Android shortcoming.

Any questions left?

[kinggo]

just one more. Reading your instructions, it looks like sync playback to display is mandatory for transcoding. Also "(Without the Sync playback, no need to reencode and 640 Kbit/s would be output)" tells me it has to be on. But I keep it off and DTS to 384kbps AC3 works just fine.

[fritsch]

Nope. It's not mandatory.

Let's do it by example:

Configuration 0:
PCM 5.1 channels
AC3 Passthrough enabled
Transcoding enabled

Sync Playback to Display: Enabled

Configuration 1:
PCM 5.1 channels
AC3 Passthrough enabled
Transcoding enabled

Sync Playback: Disabled

Configuration 2:
PCM 2.0 channels
AC3 PT enabled
Transcoding enabled

Sync Playback: Disabled

Configuration 3:
PCM 2.0 channels
AC3 PT enabled
Transcoding enabled

Sync Playback Enabled

Now we play the following files (all with h264 video, so video files): AC3 640 Kbit/s (1) DTS (2) 5.1 flac (3)

In configuration 0
PCM 5.1 output (1)
PCM 5.1 output (2)
PCM 5.1 Output (3)
Reason: Sync Playback to Display

In configuration 1
AC3 Output 640 Kbit/s PT (1)
PCM 5.1 output (cause we don't have DTS support, would be DTS if we had support for it) (2)
PCM 5.1 Output (3)

In configuration 2
AC3 Output 640 Kbit/s PT (1)
DTS transcoded to AC3 (cause of Transcoding and no 5.1 output available) (2)
Flac output as AC3 - as we cannot output 5.1 via PCM, only 2.0 channels (3)

In configuration 3
AC3 transcoded to AC3 cause of Sync Playback to Display (1)
DTS transcoded to AC3 (cause of Transcoding and no 5.1 output available) (2)
Flact 5.1 transcoded to AC3 (cause of no PCM 5.1 output available) (3)

[kinggo]

OK, this is very informative. THX.

[aesthetiker]

Nope. It's not mandatory.

Let's do it by example:

Configuration 0:
PCM 5.1 channels
AC3 Passthrough enabled
Transcoding enabled

Sync Playback to Display: Enabled

Hi Fritsch, Transcoding is not available if PCM is configured with PCM 5.1 channels. Only in 2.0 i can activate transcoding. PVR and LiveTV works with latest release on my Sony ZD9. Great work !

[fritsch]

That's exactly the idea. There is no need to use transcoding the very moment you have an HDMI that can output PCM 5.1 - you know, output 5.1 PCM will for sure have better quality, then reencoding this 5.1 PCM to AC3 and then outputting it.

[darksaint]

That's exactly the idea. There is no need to use transcoding the very moment you have an HDMI that can output PCM 5.1 - you know, output 5.1 PCM will for sure have better quality, then reencoding this 5.1 PCM to AC3 and then outputting it.

I been reading this fine thread several times hoping to find the optimal sound configuration for kodi - my configuration is nvidia shield tv connected to yamaha ysp-5600 and again to samsung tv.

the audio works perfect when i play local content from my nas ATMOS/Truehd sound etc all working fine when i use passthough.

When i use kodi to play live tv pvr TVheadend also with passthough enabled the picture gets out of sync and the only way i managed to solve this is sync to display - but then i lose passthough since he audio is resampled.

is this the correct way to play live tv or am i missing something ?