Laptop Quirks with HDMI

[Martin McCaffery]

Another things to do with a closed theatre query.

I don't do it much, but now and then I need to run something off of a laptop. I never had problems with the HDMI out before, but last year the Windows 10 laptop I was using died. I got a newer refurbed laptop, which I use for the few things I need to do in Windows. Discovered I have HDMI problems with it and looking for ideas of fix or workaround to be able to run things off of it.

I have two different HDMI inputs for our system. One goes straight to the PureLink and Crestron for processing, splitting the picture and sound and sending them where they belong.
The second is the Oppo BR player which has an HDMI in on the front panel. This then goes the PrueLink Crestron route.

I've tested both with various inputs (media player, BlueRay, USB drive) and all got sound and picture except the laptop.

When I plug the HDMI cable into the first, direct input, I get picture on screen/monitor, but no sound. When I plug into the Oppo, I get sound, but just a Cyan screen.
According to Windows, all of my drivers are up to date. I upgraded the Oppo firmware to the latest (last) version.

I don't have another PC laptop hanging around, or any other computer with an HDMI out. Could borrow one to test, but looking to see if anyone has an idea what I am missing or doing wrong.

[Steve Guttag]

I can tell you that the Oppo will only understand "Video" resolutions and rates so make sure your laptop is set to 1080p and not any other computer rate.

[Carsten Kurz]

There is a sound config symbol in control panels. Open that and see what happens when you connect the HDMI. HDMI should turn into an available choice for sound output. Normally, it should activate by itself when you plug-in a HDMI sink. If it doesn't change to active, there is something wrong with the EDID of your sink - e.g. it doesn't signal audio capability. It is also possible that the HDMI output is configured to an audio mode that your sink (the purelink) doesn't support.

- Carsten

[Marcel Birgelen]

In Windows 10 there's also a shortcut to select your default audio output, if you have multiple. Click on the speaker icon in the tray bar (the right-most part of your taskbar). A small popup will appear, letting you adjust the volume of the current output. Click on the Arrow up in the popup (looks a lot like ^). A new popup will appear, allowing you to select your audio output. This is the way I switch between my bluetooth headphones and stuff like built-in speakers on my Windows notebook.

[Leo Enticknap]

If you hook the laptop directly into the projector's input card, or IMB/IMS, what happens? If you're going into an IMB or IMS that can process HDMI audio (LPCM at least) and get both pix and sound, then that confirms that you're dealing with an EDID or format compatibility issue. I think we can rule out HDCP as the cause of the problem, because the system works with the Oppo OK, and because you have seen the image from your laptop on the screen.

In addition to the audio output check suggested by Carsten and Marcel, could it be possible that your laptop is sending out a non-PCM audio format (e.g. Dolby or DTS) that your existing infrastructure can't decode? If the BD player is set to convert everything to LPCM for output, that could explain it.

[Martin McCaffery]

Thanks for the suggestions. Working at this as I have the time.
The laptop recognizes the Oppo as a monitor, but none of the suggested screen resolutions are 1080p. Haven't found anything that lets me custom set the monitor resolution.
I'll need a HDMI>DVI adaptor to plug straight into the Solaria. Which may be a good thing anyway as I have a DVI input in the panel that has the HDMI input.
Have not come up with any alternative Sound Output options on the laptop, so I may have to delve into the EDID, but have to dig up the manual for that.

[Carsten Kurz]

The classic Solaria One will not pass through sound on it's DVI inputs, so you need to use the laptops alternative sound outputs - e.g. a line/headphone or S/P-DIF output.
Can you tell us more about that PureLink device? Maybe it forwards the Solaria IMBs inability to accept sound to the laptop through it's EDID?

[Scott Norwood]

This is going to sound dumb, but, does everything work if you connect the laptop directly to a television set or a computer monitor with built-in loudspeakers? And do you actually need sound from the HDMI output, or would an external USB audio interface (generally limited to two channels) work for your purposes?

[Martin McCaffery]

Scott: I have neither a TV (which may be why I don't know enough about this) or a monitor with speakers, so I don't know. In general, for my purposes, USB is fine. This set up is generally used for Powerpoint type presentations, which only occasionally have sound. I have not tested the USB out with this laptop.

Carsten: The Solaria One is now a "Classic"? Cool;>
The inputs for the HDMI go to the Purelink HS8800 which splits the picture and sound, the sound going to the Crestron HDXSP then to the Dolby 650, while the picture is converted to DVI and sent to the projector. The Purelink does have customizable EDID, which I need to look up before I start playing with it. I did it 6 years ago when we installed all this and haven't done it since then.

[Steve Guttag]

Doesn't the HD-XSP do the splitting of picture and sound for you? It has an HDMI in/out and it will deal with the analog audio out (both multi-channel and mixdown, simultaneously. I don't know the Purelink so no comment there.

[Martin McCaffery]

Got it working. Went in to add the EDID to the Purelink memory, and discover input #2, the one handling everything but the Oppo, is bad. Switched to input 3 and I get sound and vision. I have no idea how or when that input went bad. I seem to recall having a different problem with it years ago, but it had been working the last few years.

Steve: I don't know know why we are set up as we are. It could have something to do with all of the different formats we have inputs for (but ended up never using).