[DJ_Izumi]

First, I do fully understand that Sync Playback To Display can technically enable this but it also seems to come with drawbacks.  During times of high CPU load while decoding I can hear pitch drops for brief bits though usually only in the first few seconds of a video though.  So I'd like to ask if it's possible to add a function to enable transcoding of all audio without relying it on being an 'accidental result' of another function.

[FernetMenta]

First, I do fully understand that Sync Playback To Display can technically enable this but it also seems to come with drawbacks.  During times of high CPU load while decoding I can hear pitch drops for brief bits though usually only in the first few seconds of a video though.  So I'd like to ask if it's possible to add a function to enable transcoding of all audio without relying it on being an 'accidental result' of another function.

You are not correct with your assumptions. Transcoding does not depend on "sync playback ...". AE transcodes if it makes sense. That is if audio device can't handle more than 2 channels but source has more than 2 channels. In this case keeping the number of channels justifies the loss of quality that comes with encode/decode.

[DJ_Izumi]

First, I do fully understand that Sync Playback To Display can technically enable this but it also seems to come with drawbacks.  During times of high CPU load while decoding I can hear pitch drops for brief bits though usually only in the first few seconds of a video though.  So I'd like to ask if it's possible to add a function to enable transcoding of all audio without relying it on being an 'accidental result' of another function.

You are not correct with your assumptions. Transcoding does not depend on "sync playback ...". AE transcodes if it makes sense. That is if audio device can't handle more than 2 channels but source has more than 2 channels. In this case keeping the number of channels justifies the loss of quality that comes with encode/decode. 

I'm sorry, I think you misunderstood, I did not say that I believe transcoding depends on sync on playback but that when sync playback is enabled, all content gets transcoded as a result regardless of weather 'it makes sense' since it needs to play with all audio with that enabled.  My point is though, is that sync playback seems to be the ONLY way to get transcoding on all content and I'd like to know if it's possible to add a setting that will result in all content being transcoded regardless.

[Martijn]

disable passthrough?

[FernetMenta]

First, I do fully understand that Sync Playback To Display can technically enable this but it also seems to come with drawbacks.  During times of high CPU load while decoding I can hear pitch drops for brief bits though usually only in the first few seconds of a video though.  So I'd like to ask if it's possible to add a function to enable transcoding of all audio without relying it on being an 'accidental result' of another function.

You are not correct with your assumptions. Transcoding does not depend on "sync playback ...". AE transcodes if it makes sense. That is if audio device can't handle more than 2 channels but source has more than 2 channels. In this case keeping the number of channels justifies the loss of quality that comes with encode/decode.   

I'm sorry, I think you misunderstood, I did not say that I believe transcoding depends on sync on playback but that when sync playback is enabled, all content gets transcoded as a result regardless of weather 'it makes sense' since it needs to play with all audio with that enabled.  My point is though, is that sync playback seems to be the ONLY way to get transcoding on all content and I'd like to know if it's possible to add a setting that will result in all content being transcoded regardless.  

You are wrong. Sync playback to display has absolutely no impact on whether AE transcodes or not.

EDIT: maybe you mix up transcoding and resampling

[DJ_Izumi]

My understanding is that Sync Playback To Display results in resampling which results in transcoding being used where otherwise would not.  It causes the defacto result of transcoding all audio if transcoding is enabled.  I can readily create this behavior on my machine with ease. I enable sync playback to display and any content is thusly transcoded when it wasn't without this enabled.  Since you're aliment that I'm incorrect can you explain what is the actual cause of this behavior in Kodi?

[DJ_Izumi]

disable passthrough?

 But then there's no transcoding at ALL.  How would that be useful?

[FernetMenta]

My understanding is that Sync Playback To Display results in resampling which results in transcoding being used where otherwise would not.  It causes the defacto result of transcoding all audio if transcoding is enabled.  I can readily create this behavior on my machine with ease. I enable sync playback to display and any content is thusly transcoded when it wasn't without this enabled.  Since you're aliment that I'm incorrect can you explain what is the actual cause of this behavior in Kodi?

Again, AE activates transcoding for the case I mentioned above. This has absolutely nothing to do with resampling. 

If Sync playback to display is activated, passthrough audio gets deactivated. That may be the reason why it results in transcoding in your case. You seem not to understand what sync playback to display means and what it is designed for. It means that audio gets resampled to the speed of the display. (like it has been done since ages in PAL countries, 23.976 content is played faster by 4% in order to sync with 50Hz displays). The speed of passthrough audio can't be adjusted, hence sync playback to display does not work with passthrough audio.

[DJ_Izumi]

My understanding is that Sync Playback To Display results in resampling which results in transcoding being used where otherwise would not.  It causes the defacto result of transcoding all audio if transcoding is enabled.  I can readily create this behavior on my machine with ease. I enable sync playback to display and any content is thusly transcoded when it wasn't without this enabled.  Since you're aliment that I'm incorrect can you explain what is the actual cause of this behavior in Kodi?

Again, AE activates transcoding for the case I mentioned above. This has absolutely nothing to do with resampling. 

If Sync playback to display is activated, passthrough audio gets deactivated. That may be the reason why it results in transcoding in your case. You seem not to understand what sync playback to display means and what it is designed for. It means that audio gets resampled to the speed of the display. (like it has been done since ages in PAL countries, 23.976 content is played faster by 4% in order to sync with 50Hz displays). The speed of passthrough audio can't be adjusted, hence sync playback to display does not work with passthrough audio. 

Yes, I already understand what the purpose of Sync Playback To Display actually is, thank you.

However, can you clarify this then?  Transcoding to AC-3 should be PURELY a function of the passthrough.  If passthrough is disabled then no transcoding to AC3 should happen.  Everything should come out as PCM.  But if passthrough is enabled, transcoding to AC3 is enabled AND Sync Playback To Display is enabled, the result is that transcoding -does- happen.  If transcoding is a specific function of passthrough, to allow other multichannel content to be transcoded on hardware that can only decode 5.1 but not multichannel PCM, why would transcoding happen if Sync Playback To Display disables passthrough?  This seems to be a contradiction.

Let me explain the scenarios I'm able to produce right now.  The file in question has a 2.0 Dolby Digital track and the audio hardware is a surround sound bar on TOSLINK connected directly to the PC.

Sync Playback To Display = Off, Passthrough = On, Transcoding = On, Stereo Upmix = On:
Dolby 2.0 track is passed through over TOSLINK


Sync Playback To Display = Off, Passthrough = Off, Transcoding = N/A, Stereo Upmix = On:
Decoded PCM 2.0 is sent over TOSLINK

Sync Playback To Display = On, Passthrough = On, Transcoding = On, Stereo Upmix = On:
AC3 2.0 track is decoded, upmixed to 5.1, and encoded to Dolby Digital 5.1 and sent over TOSLINK

Sync Playback To Display = On, Passthrough = Off, Transcoding = N/A, Stereo Upmix = On:
Decoded PCM 2.0 is sent over TOSLINK

I'm honestly confused as to why you are trying to repeatedly reiterate the function of Sync Playback To Display.  I am not confused as to it's function and I am not disputing your view of how it works.  What I am trying to communicate is that it being enabled also results in and how it is relevant to my request for a function to just transcode everything without Sync Playback To Display being enabled.  I get that that's not the actual purpose of Sync Playback To Display but it does result in that function also happening.  I can replicate that happening, I'm doing it right now as I post this so reiterating that that's not what it is supposed to do dose not change the fact that that is what it actually does do.

[FernetMenta]

Let me explain the scenarios I'm able to produce right now.  The file in question has a 2.0 Dolby Digital track and the audio hardware is a surround sound bar on TOSLINK connected directly to the PC.

Sync Playback To Display = Off, Passthrough = On, Transcoding = On, Stereo Upmix = On:
Dolby 2.0 track is passed through over TOSLINK


Sync Playback To Display = Off, Passthrough = Off, Transcoding = N/A, Stereo Upmix = On:
Decoded PCM 2.0 is sent over TOSLINK

Sync Playback To Display = On, Passthrough = On, Transcoding = On, Stereo Upmix = On:
AC3 2.0 track is decoded, upmixed to 5.1, and encoded to Dolby Digital 5.1 and sent over TOSLINK

Sync Playback To Display = On, Passthrough = Off, Transcoding = N/A, Stereo Upmix = On:
Decoded PCM 2.0 is sent over TOSLINK 

Works as designed.

a function to just transcode everything

Transcoding everything does not make sense because transcoding results in loss of quality. It only makes sense if number of channels are > 2.

[DJ_Izumi]

Let me explain the scenarios I'm able to produce right now.  The file in question has a 2.0 Dolby Digital track and the audio hardware is a surround sound bar on TOSLINK connected directly to the PC.

Sync Playback To Display = Off, Passthrough = On, Transcoding = On, Stereo Upmix = On:
Dolby 2.0 track is passed through over TOSLINK


Sync Playback To Display = Off, Passthrough = Off, Transcoding = N/A, Stereo Upmix = On:
Decoded PCM 2.0 is sent over TOSLINK

Sync Playback To Display = On, Passthrough = On, Transcoding = On, Stereo Upmix = On:
AC3 2.0 track is decoded, upmixed to 5.1, and encoded to Dolby Digital 5.1 and sent over TOSLINK

Sync Playback To Display = On, Passthrough = Off, Transcoding = N/A, Stereo Upmix = On:
Decoded PCM 2.0 is sent over TOSLINK 

Works as designed.

a function to just transcode everything

Transcoding everything does not make sense because transcoding results in loss of quality. It only makes sense if number of channels are > 2. 

 Seriously?   You made me suffer through that whole Abbot and Costello bit over Sync Playback To Disoplay before you'd give a reply that could be summed up as 'Nah, I think that sounds dumb." which you could have just given as your first reply?

[FernetMenta]

Read post #2 two again:

AE transcodes if it makes sense. That is if audio device can't handle more than 2 channels but source has more than 2 channels. In this case keeping the number of channels justifies the loss of quality that comes with encode/decode.

That is almost the same as my last post