[mythtv-users] HDMI out

[Mark Knecht]

On Fri, Apr 25, 2008 at 7:10 PM, Marc Randolph <mrand at pobox.com> wrote:
> On Fri, Apr 25, 2008 at 7:02 PM, Mark Knecht <markknecht at gmail.com> wrote:
>  > On Fri, Apr 25, 2008 at 4:54 PM, Justin Johnson
>  >  <justin.johnson3 at gmail.com> wrote:
>  >  > Hi,
>  >  >  I'm looking for a way to output video and audio over HDMI. I've seen
>  >  >  some video cards that have internal S/PDIF headers to connect your sound
>  >  >  card to. However they all seem to be out of stock. I also saw a
>  >  >  converter box for $270, a little more than I'd like to pay. Most of the
>  >  >  cards I've seen have fans and are ATI. I'd really prefer nVidia and
>  >  >  definitely want passive cooling, there's just no reason to add noise to
>  >  >  my HTPC. Any suggestions on cards to look for?
>  >  >
>  >  >  --
>  >  >  --Justin Johnson
>  >  >
>  >
>  >  I saw I small article on the subject of audio over HDMI just this
>  >  morning. It requires HDMI Rev. 1.3 compatibility but if you're buying
>  >  new maybe you can swing it.
>  >
>  >  spdif - optical or coaxial  - will work fine as long as your receiver
>  >  will sync to the spdif you're sending. Most receivers do. (Mine does
>  >  and it's cheap.) I use optical spdif..
>  >
>  >  Here's the article link:
>  >
>  >  http://www.hdtvmagazine.com/podcast/2008/04/hdtv_and_home_theater_podcast_270_-_movie_downloads_and_hdmi_vs_component.php
>  >
>
>  Howdy Mark,
>
>  I don't believe it's accurate that HDMI v1.3 is required for baseline
>  audio.  Each version has added additional audio modes, and my
>  understanding is that v1.3 added even more.  See:
>
>  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HDMI#HDMI_1.3
>
>  Have fun,
>
>    Marc

I agree. I think the point of the article, reading between the lines a
bit since I have no experience with HDMI, is that prior to Ver. 1.3
there have been problems getting real-world devices to talk reliably
to each other. I *think* they were saying that with 1.3 that's finally
getting behind them and devices are starting to work better.

If I was spending money today on a PC to home theater receiver
interface I would at least want to look at HDMI-1.3 but I'd still
probably want a back-up, such as spdif, to get the audio across.

- Mark