[Win 7] Resolution Fix

GFX cards used to come with specific DVI-HDMI adapters that turned on audio via the DVI socket and would only provide audio using that specific adapter.

But its been a while since I last bought a GFX card (2600XT).
 
Now I can see the confusion! Learned something new today :D

The first approach to figure out if audio is possible is to look at the standard and the pin layout. Since the DVI standard doesn't support it, that explains why you find so many adamant posts that DVI does not support audio.

There must be some form of standard in place for monitors to understand how to access the DVI audio content, I literally had a DVI to DVI connection with my old samsung monitor using an ATI 4870 and an NVidia 470 with zero issue sending audio. I definitely didn't need a separate audio lead and I didn't use a DVI cable supplied with the card.

EDIT: Actually the ATI 4870 did send DVI to DVI audio but, now that I remember, the NVidia 470 would not send audio over the same cable so I had to connect to the micro HDMI port on the card and use a microHDMI to DVI cable.
 
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AMD hardware has sent audio over dvi for years. screw what the standard says, this is exactly why a dvi > hdmi dongle is needed to get the audio - because it's non-standard.

Loads of people cropping up recently saying it cant be done. strange :confused:
 
trentlad said:
EDIT: Actually the ATI 4870 did send DVI to DVI audio but, now that I remember, the NVidia 470 would not send audio over the same cable so I had to connect to the micro HDMI port on the card and use a microHDMI to DVI cable.
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The monitor/display picked up audio through its DVI port??
 
I'll check, because it's quite an interesting discussion and I'd really like to know if it truly was DVI to DVI.

I think that Samsung monitor had a plethora of connection options in the back (component, composite, VGA, S-Video, coax, HDMI, etc) so may have been more of a TV than a monitor.. I've either got the model number some where or the monitor itself so I'll find out.
 
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My apologies, it certainly was DVI to HDMI. That older display set didn't have a DVI port (had about every other connection option) so there's no way it could have been DVI to DVI.

That's really interesting; so DVI does carry audio but the audio data is only accessible when converted to HDMI.
 
You cant send audio over DVI.

You can however create an adaptor which physically connects a pair of pins from the DVI port to the pins which carry audio on a HDMI lead. Thereby turning a non-standard yet fully compliant output signal with redundant audio into a standard HDMI signal with usable audio.

Saying you can send audio over DVI is like saying you can send audio over a VGA cable or audio through a Composite Video cable. Yes they're wires at the end of the day you can potentially send any electrical signal through any electronically conductive cabling.
 
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DVI is an interface. if we are sending audio through that interface, which is being accepted and quite happily played at the other end of the chain, then by that very action we are sending audio over dvi. compliant signal or not, that is irrelevant.

Yes dvi was designed to send video but it's like you just said, it's all just pins and wires..... or are you going to tell us you cant send hdmi over ethernet?
 
trentlad said:
That's really interesting; so DVI does carry audio but the audio data is only accessible when converted to HDMI.
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Not quite, I suspect it's only accessible when the device on the other end (e.g. a monitor) is expecting audio data to be there. It obviously would expect audio to be present via HDMI as it's part of the standard but wouldn't be expecting it nor designed to receive it via DVI.
 
Sorry, but did you read James' post directly above yours... ?

It's incredibly misleading to state "DVI doesn't carry audio" with respect to a PC application. How do you explain that audio is received by connecting to the source via DVI port but still maintain that DVI does not carry audio?
 
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after reading **** loads on this I have come to the conclusion that

A: the DVI Standard indeed has NO room for audio whatsoever

however

B: both Nvidia and ATI have a specific adapter and a specific way of getting the sound through to HDMI from a Non-Standard pin layout. From what i have been reading when the specific dongle is in place the pin outputs change and allow an audio stream over some of the pins assigned to video data. Without the specific dongle in place the port remains configured as DVI Standard.

So basically its some clever digital foo that breaks the DVI standard in order to achieve a goal but cleverly leaves the port configration as DVI standard when the supplied magical dongle of foo isnt in place.
 
I just felt that this thread woudl go on for time and memorial unless researched.

To be honest I started to remeber something about these dongles from years ago and remeber taking one apart once and coudlnt work out why there was a small IC in there. Now of course it all makes sense.

what doesnt make sense is why an ATI dongle is different to a Nvidia one. For crying out loud agree on something will ya!
 
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