AuzenTech Forte - no sound to TV - Plug/cable question

AuzenTech Forte + Nvidia driver = no sound to TV

Hello Guru's
I just got an Auzentech Forte, wanted to connect to my Sony TV via male 3.5mm to RCA cable (as I could with my old creative card). But, I got no sound. I see no S/PDIF pins on the Forte for my 2 wire cable either, so I have no sound to TV.

After testing, it has alot to do with Nvidia driver - I have sound on TV until I install Nvidia driver, as soon as I click "FINISH", sound dies.
In fact, if I set video card to output ONLY to my LCD monitor, sound will work on TV, but as soon as I set video card to put out to TV sound stops!

I tried connecting to my TV the 2 ways I used to:
Connected via a male 3.5mm jack (from both the GREEN & Headphone Forte plugs) to RCA cable (Left & Right) which connects to the RCA ports on my TV. These RCA ports are made to work with HDMI port #4 which is where my video card is plugged, with my previous sound card it was working. (Creative X-Fi Fatality)

My PREFERRED method was to use the 2 pin s/pdif cable plugged from my Creative X-Fi fatality card pins to my video card s/pdif input so sound passed via HDMI cable, but with this Forte card, I see no s/pdif output pins (for the 2 pin wire).

So, both my methods fail with the Forte. I tried all the drivers, fresh install, changed PCI slots of cards...

How can I get this to work with my TV?
Which 2 pins are the s/pdif output pins on the Forte? Ideally, that is my preferred connection method. But I will try anything.
Is there a cable I can get that will help?

Thanks very much - I appreciate any input you guys have
Chris

 

bump :3eyes:

Sound dies because of Nvidia driver... any ideas?

 

Hi.
Sorry little bit confused with your post. Let me tell you how I did and maybe you can try the same. The Forte card has digital coax output and for people who do not have coax cable they can use Fiber optic one. When you got your card it came with little plastic adapter which you are supposed to insert into digital coax output. That is exectly how I connect it to my Home thatre receiver. I am not sure what SONY TV you have. Is it new LCD or some old CRT. I have SONY LCD and it has optic out but not in. The other way you can try if you did not do it yet is. Connect these bunch of analog cables to your sound gard (the ones that came with the card). Now you need to get cable which will have on one end 3.5mm and on the other hand it will have two regular RCA (usually they are red and white). Connect that end 3.5mm to your sound card cable the one that says line out or something and the other end (white and red RCA) to your TV audio input (also red and white). See if you get sound. Yeah do not forget to choose in control panel sound properties to select speakers out not SPDIF out.
Sorry if my post confusing ask me if you did not understood something.

 

Hi & thanks for the input,

The issue has a lot to do with Nvidia driver - before the Nvidia driver is installed, Forte to TV via 3.5 to RCA works fine. No Nvidia driver, no problem!

TV: New Sony Bravia 40" LCD, it has the RCA input plugs and as you described, my TV has no INput for digital sound, only output.
The 3.5 to RCA cable is the way I used to do it before I bought the Forte and it worked fine.

Example: on a fresh install, I install drivers for the Forte, reboot, and it works from 3.5 to RCA - UNTIL - I install the Nvidia driver, when I click FINISH on the Nvidia driver setup, the sound Stops working :bang:

BUT, if I set the Nvidia Control Panel to put out to ONLY my Dell LCD, the sound then works again via RCA on TV. IF I set the TV as a 2nd monitor (or even as the ONLY one) - NO MORE sound via RCA!

Ideally, I want the sound card connected to video card via 2 pin S/PDIF cable, so sound & video pass via 1 HDMI cable to TV.

IS there a diagram for which 2 pins are "S/PDIF out" on the Forte?

Is there some *special* cable that would run from the backplate of the Forte (optical ...) that could go from Forte back into my case and attach to the little S/PDIF INput plug on my Geforce GTX 275 video card???

 

I know what you want. Our TVs are similar. There is something odd about TV. With my GTX 295 I got this little cable to connect my video card to sound card. The only thing my video card connected to TV through DVI to HDMI adapter. But again I do not care because I use SPDIF from sound card to my receiver.
The other thing is it may have something to do with soundcard drivers. it took me a while before I got everything working.
Try to do this steps.
1. Download latest driver from AUZEN site for your card.
2. Get the latest driver for NVIDIA (For me 186.18 is the best for now).
3. Download DriverSweeper from Guru downloads.
4. Go to control panel, Device manager and choose remove/delete display driver.
5. Reboot in the safe mod.
6. Run driversweeper and choose remove display nvidia drivers.
7. Reboot into windows.
8. Install NVIDIA driver.
9. Go to control panel, devise manager and remove/delete sound driver.
10. Reboot and install sound driver that came with the disk and the card but not the one you downloaded yet.
11. Go to control panel, device manager and remove/delete sound driver again.
12. Reboot and install the sound driver that you downloaded from AUZEN site.
At some point you will be asked few options while sound driver installation. Choose the one that says completly remove software from the system. After computer will restart. For some reason it takes very long time to shout down. For me it was 20 minutes. Do not interrapt. Let it finish. When it rebooted see if everything is working.
I now some of what I wrote does not make any sense but it worked for me.
The key was that the display driver needs to be installed first. And for sound driver it has to be from the disk that came with the card first and after the new one from the site.
Good luck.

 

Big thanks Mr_Alexander

I guess the difference between our setups is you use a receiver and I go straight to TV, you have optical IN and I do not Makes sense!

Thanks for the steps you listed, I have done most of that, twice, but not exactly as you described, I will reinstall a fresh XP and do it your way. Your steps make sense, so, I'll give it a shot, with fingers crossed

2 questions before I start:
1- In what order should drivers be installed on a new OS installation?

2- Is there a difference between UPPER & lower PCIE slots? My mobo has 2 & GTX 275 is on the lower slot - does it make any difference?

Thanks a LOT for your help Mr_Alexander, BTW I ordered a Corsair HX1000W PSU yesterday - looks amazing, how do you like it?

If anyone knows which 2 pins are "s/pdif out" on the Forte board, so I can connect it directly to the video card with that tiny little cable, I will be even happier :nerd:

 

The Forte has a digital out at the very top on the back, its above everything else. You plug in the little adapter to it so you can connect an optical cable into it. Without that adapter, which comes with the card, you can't use optical cable. You plug the little adapter into the top one, its even labelled as digital out:



Connect the adapter, connect the optical cable into that and then plug the optical cable into the tv. If you don't have an optical connection on your tv, which it should if its been made within the last 3 years, then you use a coaxial cable. The coaxial is the one that plugs in, not screws like for cable tv.

 

Hi & thanks,
I just checked and unfortunately, my Sony does NOT have any digital audio IN ports, only out (analog IN only).
I just looked and even the 2009 model has the same inputs, bummer it is missing "digital audio in".
http://www.sonystyle.ca/commerce/servlet/ProductDetailDisplay?storeId=10001&langId=-1&catalogId=10001&productId=1005202&navigationPath=n100458
SONY Inputs and Outputs:
RF Connection Input(s): 1 (Rear)
Composite Video Input(s): 3 (1 Side/2 Rear)
S-Video Input(s): 1 (Rear)
Component Video (Y/Pb/Pr) Input(s): 2 (Rear)
HDMI™ Connection(s) (Total): 4 (1 Side/3 Rear)
PC In (D-Sub) + Audio In (Stereo Mini): 1 (Rear)1
Analog Audio Input(s) (Total): 6 (1 Side/5 Rear)
Audio Out: 1 (Rear)
Digital Audio Output(s): Optical Digital Output - 1 (Rear)
HDMI™ PC Input Format Support: Yes
****************************************

Is there a way to connect the "digital out" on the back of the Forte to my little s/pdif wire that came with the Geforce video card? (sounds sketchy, but...)

Is there no "2 pin out" on the Forte that will take that little s/pdif wire?
Alternatives?
Thanks.

 

You want to connect the cards together internally? Towards the rear of the Forte, there should be a little black surround just to the left of the front panel connectors, all the gold pins that are angled on the rear. Plug in the SPDIF wire from the sound card into that connector, the one labelled DIGITAL IN.



Look just to the left of all the gold pins on the rear, its just left of those at the very top of the rear end of the card. Plug that in there and that should be it. Then connect the card to the tv using just the green connector from the Forte, don't plug it in headphone connector on the card.

 

I think that this may be an hdmi hdcp permission problem.

What happens if you hook up the sound outputs to a regular audio receiver/ preamp, etc without a videocable attached to anything? does it work okay or not work at all. If you have no video hooked up to the card does the headphone out work? Does it work even with the nvidida drivers installed?

For an onboard sound problem in my past the analog audio would work until I hooked up the hdmi video into the monitor. Then the sound just stopped dead. Then I had to Left Click Control Panel, Left Click Hardware and Sound, Left Click Sound, Left Click "Playback", right click "Realtek HDMI Output", Left Click "Set as Default". That would make the audio use the hdmi sound output. You may have to do the reverse.

Have you tried using a DVI from the video card to HDMI input into your tv and then not hooking up the sound card to the video card at all and only using an hdmi input that also allows analog audio inputs?

Sorry: I reviewed your first post and you did hook it up one of the ways that I thought would work for sure. HDMI input number four on your tv has a right and left analog input. Cosequently, a DVI output from the video card connecting to an HDMI adapter for the video in and the "front" out from the audio card adapter that gets screwed onto the audiocard connected to a splitter and then into the right and left RCA hookup on the tv should work just fine as long as there is no cabling between the video and audio cards.

If it was a "permission" problem then usually a DVI output isolated from an audio analog input goes around it. You are probably aware that televisions will not play computer sources through HDMI that are not HDMI compliant. That is except for DVI out video. If any audio is in the path then it will not work unless every component is "hdmi compliant". If there is no cabling from your sound card at all except for the "front" or rear headphone jack then that should not be an issue.

The above problem happened to me. Here is an additional one which I mentioned earlier. The entire problem was some mouse clicks. Installing the audio or video driver would set some defaults that removed sound. Most of us may have encountered how the rear microphone input will not work because the front microphone gets defaulted "on" and the rear flex jack gets designated as "line in" instead of microphone.

The software "console" in Forte is the same one in Creative so you could start clicking around there. Also right click the speaker icon in the systray and work on the different options in there.

 

1. Drivers installation usually starts with all your mothboard and chipset related. Next maybe if you have some special mouse. Next would be display NVIDIA and the sound card I always do last.
2. I believe there is no difference which PCIE slot you are going to use upper lower one. Use the one that will give more gap between components for better air flow.

SONY LCD TVs have only digital out not in. The only way they accept digital surround sound is for example like mine set up. Most modern LCD TVs have digital tuner built in. That means they are capable to accept digital signal on its on from the air. Like mine. I do not have cable and all I did is conncted simple antenna (BUNNY EARS) to my TV. My TV picks up queit a few HD channels and they come with surround sound. My TV the same as yours has digital optical out. I used it from TV to my receiver and I get surround when I watch HD channels.
CORSAR PSU works as a charm.

 

Thank you all
I will do the testing tonight & see what I get - all good info, so thanks

@ bp9801 - If you are correct and the pins labeled "digital in" is actually the connector for the tiny s/pdif cable that came with the Nvidia card - it may work.
I saw that connector when I first looked at the board, but thought it was an "INput" - if it is the connector for sound to video via s/pdif, I would have expected it to say "digital OUTput", so I never tried it. (sound OUT to video card to pass via HDMI cable to TV. That is how my X-Fi Fatality worked)

@ linyanti - You are right, RCA should work, but doesn't unless Nvidia card is set to ONLY send output to my 24" monitor, if I enable both TV & monitor (Clone or Dualview), RCA NO longer works, but it did with my old card.

@ Mr_Alexander - I too have no cable & no sat, so I just use my 50' cable (cable jack is in other room) as an antenna! I get locals well and PBS in HD
I tried bunny ears but it was about the same, and I have a spare room behind the TV so the cable is just strung up in there.
For the drivers, I usually do mobo CD, intel... then sound, video, PCI eSATA card then updates (Driver Checker is decent for updating drivers).
It's funny you said mouse drivers at the beginning... I have stopped using them (Logitech Setpoint for my MX Revolution & MX1100), Setpoint drivers were such a nightmare, could hardly get my keyboard drivers set up (also Logitech G15!!).
I have been using GURU3D for a LONG time for video drivers, never knew there was a forum, I guess I never needed help until now, but you guys are great, I appreciate it very much. I did post in a few other places but got no help whatsoever, including directly to Auzentech :bang:
I won't start the job until midnight, so if there is more input for me, please bring it on :infinity:

 

"@ linyanti - You are right, RCA should work, but doesn't unless Nvidia card is set to ONLY send output to my 24" monitor, if I enable both TV & monitor (Clone or Dualview), RCA NO longer works, but it did with my old card."

To add to some probably redundunt comments, it may be that once you have the monitor connected then the audio is hitting a permission roadblock in the tv. Will the audio work if the tv is the only video output connected?

Also the digital on the sony may be just the PCM right and left input so it is digital but just two channels.

Have you tried a sony forum? not that ANY forum would ever be more authoritative or professional than this one. period.

 

maby its the setup on your TV, when he gets signal from HDMI it wont get the sound trough your RCA, try looking in the setting of your TV i had the same problem but i started too look and i found a pull down menu in the sound menu were i could select the input. Head tuner (HDMI) or Sub tuner (RCA) when i put it on sub it worked with the head tuner it didn't so give it a try.

 

Hi & thanks for all the input.

I reinstalled the other day, tried what was suggested above... NOT working lol

I have the exact same situation as before. EXACTLY.
Sound if fine via RCA cable UNTIL I set Nvidia control panel to output to TV - if set at SINGLE (Dell 24" LCD), then sound comes out TV fine with no pic.
If I set output to TV, sound stops immediately!
WTF?????!!!!!

 

Oh man. Sorry to hear that. I am out of ideas now, do not even know what else you could try.