X1 box and audio output via hdmi - stereo only

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@dawgfan89 wrote:

Sorry to jump in on this but, the comcast cable box I have does not have an optical out connection. It only has 2 HDMI ports. 

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How is your system set up? set top box connected to TV's HDMI1 or HDMI2 with ARC out to the soundbar/receiver?

It's a home theatre so there is no TV. The cable box is connected to the receiver with HDMI and audio works when watching a DVD or listening to the radio, so I know it's not the receiver or the HDMI cables. Audio does not work when watching cable. However, Comcast came out yesterday for the third time. Switched out the small X1 cable box for the larger box which had an optical out port. Audio and surround sound sound working with cable now! Noone seems to understand why it would not work with the HDMI cable and smaller box.

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@BostonDew wrote:
This issue has been unresolved for almost 2 years. Shame on you XFinity for not fixing it.

Same issue - Samsung TV connected via HDMI to XFinity box. Sonos Beam connected to TV via ARC. I only get PCM 2.0 output when switched to XFinity. I get Dolby when connected to Chromecast or AppleTV. Seems to be an XFinity issue

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on the settings menu (device settings--audio) what is your HDMI setting? are you on the TV's HDMI1 or HDMI2 port as required (see TV owner's manual)?

We are seeing the same issue.  The setup is as follows:

• Bluray, Cable box, PC and Roku are all connected to the TV using HDMI cables
• Optical output from TV is plugged into a soundbar

Behavior - Sound plays through the soundbard for all sources except Cable

Troubleshooting

1. Swapped hdmi cables for various devices - behavior is the same
2. Plugged into different TV inputs - behavior is the same
3. Used analog output from TV - sound plays from all devices including cable box
4. Changed various TV settings - same behavior
5. Replaced cable box (twice) - same behavior

In our case, there is an Audio Setup menu in the main cable box menu.  It has options for Stereo and Mono, but not an option for digitial.  The cable box also has coaxial and optical outputs, which do work, but our sound bar only has a single optical input.  I believe there is a flaw in the audio delivery from the cable box because the sound coming through the hdmi cable to the TV is not in the same format as all of other sources and the TV is not able to output that sound via the optical output.

This probably also means that if anyone is plugging the hdmi out from this or a similar cable box into a reciever, they are never getting anything more than stereo sound, even though many channels show that the signal has 5.1 sound.  Possibly, the coax or optical output would carry the digital sound, but it would require using multi-input on the receiver.

From other forums posts, it appears that some cable boxes have a more advanced audio setup menu (Expert Mode) that includes digital options.   Can anyone confirm this?  Can anyone verifty that changing to a digital option outputs the full digital sound signal via hdmi?  Specific models would be appreciated so we can request one that will work.

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@shumwayz wrote:

We are seeing the same issue.  The setup is as follows:

• Bluray, Cable box, PC and Roku are all connected to the TV using HDMI cables
• Optical output from TV is plugged into a soundbar

Behavior - Sound plays through the soundbard for all sources except Cable

 

Troubleshooting

1. Swapped hdmi cables for various devices - behavior is the same
2. Plugged into different TV inputs - behavior is the same
3. Used analog output from TV - sound plays from all devices including cable box
4. Changed various TV settings - same behavior
5. Replaced cable box (twice) - same behavior

In our case, there is an Audio Setup menu in the main cable box menu.  It has options for Stereo and Mono, but not an option for digitial.  The cable box also has coaxial and optical outputs, which do work, but our sound bar only has a single optical input.  I believe there is a flaw in the audio delivery from the cable box because the sound coming through the hdmi cable to the TV is not in the same format as all of other sources and the TV is not able to output that sound via the optical output.

 

This probably also means that if anyone is plugging the hdmi out from this or a similar cable box into a reciever, they are never getting anything more than stereo sound, even though many channels show that the signal has 5.1 sound.  Possibly, the coax or optical output would carry the digital sound, but it would require using multi-input on the receiver.

 

From other forums posts, it appears that some cable boxes have a more advanced audio setup menu (Expert Mode) that includes digital options.   Can anyone confirm this?  Can anyone verifty that changing to a digital option outputs the full digital sound signal via hdmi?  Specific models would be appreciated so we can request one that will work.

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let's go back to basics first. does your TV have an ARC HDMI port (Audio Return Channel)? 

No ARC on the TV.  As I mentioned, we tried swapping inputs and cables for the different devices and modifying the few options for audio setup on the cable box and TV.  The results are always the same - no digital output via hdmi from the cable box while all other devices do output a digital signal.

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@shumwayz wrote:

No ARC on the TV.  As I mentioned, we tried swapping inputs and cables for the different devices and modifying the few options for audio setup on the cable box and TV.  The results are always the same - no digital output via hdmi from the cable box while all other devices do output a digital signal.

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did you try each of the audio settings for audio in the device settings menu? 

As mentioned in my previous 2 posts, we tried all of the audio settings on both the TV and the cable box.  I have been through a lot of troubleshooting steps already and gave a detailed account.  I tried every combination of options on both the cable box and the TV.  The result is always the same - the cable box does not output digital audio via the hdmi output.  This is a very common issue with cable boxes as can be seen in this and other forums and many others have tried all of the same options to no avail.  I am trying to determine which cable box models are capable of outputting digital audio via hdmi so we can solve our issue and so that others who find this thread will not spend needless time repeating all of the same troubleshooting steps.  

the technology has moved generations since optical was used.  based on the tV not having ARC and the audio device not having ARC in,  there just are not good options other than updating the TV/audio. I can't see any of the audio breakout boxes on amazon capable of fixing the problem.  The latest issue with audio technology advancement is ARC can't support (some newer TVs may work) ATMOS so the x1 set top box has to go to the audio device then out from there to the TV.  (edit: eARC is the new ARC that supports ATMOS)

The original question is about the X1 box specifically, but like me, many others with various other cable boxes will find this thread, so this information for solving this issue on the other boxes may be generally useful.  The X1 box doesn't have the same options.  With that box, if you only have Stereo and Auto options, you may be able to get things to work by changing the option to stereo and back to Auto.  Instructions are under HDMI Audio Output on this page .  I don't have that box, so I can't determine if that will work.  May not work with all TVs/soundbars because the cable box might determine that the connected device does not support digital audio.  It's possible that those X1 boxes have a similar secret menu like the older boxes where the hdmi audio output could be changed manually, but I don't know how to access it.

As I mentioned in my previous post, some of the X1 boxes have an Expert Mode for audio output.  This should support digital formats including Atmos over hdmi.  The instructions to change to Expert mode are on this page .  Probably need to leave the other option on Auto.  Once again, I don't have this box, so I can't verify that it works. 

I solved it for our cable box, which is a Motorola DCX3501.  For reference, the hdmi out is connected to a 2011 Sony Bravia HD TV, which outputs audio via an optical cable to powered speakers.  The solution may not be the same for everyone.  I found useful information from the cable box user guides page .  Our model is not shown on that page, but I found the manual here and the steps are similar to the DCX3400.

Our box has a User Settings menu that has to be accessed after the cable box is turned off.  This hidden menu is where you can set the type of audio to transmit via hdmi out.  I believe these instructions should work with most Motorola DCT, DCX and RNG models that have HDMI out.  Not sure about the DCH models.   Some of the Cisco models have a menu you can access by pressing the menu button twice.

Steps:

1. Turn the cable box on and change the TV/ soundbar/receiver to the cable box input (hdmi) so the TV is showing the feed from the cable box (it's OK if you can't hear the sound)
2. Turn the cable box off and immediately (within 2 seconds) press the menu button on the cable box remote
3. Wait for the User Settings menu to appear on the TV
4. Select the Additional HDMI Settings option
5. Change the Audio Output to L-PCM or Pass Through   
6. Return to main menu
7. Turn the cable box off and back on
8. If you still don't have any sound, repeat and select the other option from step 5

For our setup, L-PCM is the only option that works.  If you are plugging into a receiver, soundbar or newer TV, the Pass Through option may work better for you.  Be aware that you may hear different results based on the audio format of the channel/show (mono, stereo, DD 5.1, DD 7.1, Atmos).  The sound may even drop out completely in some instances if you choose L-PCM and the box can't convert the signal to that format or if you choose Pass Through and your TV/soundbar/receiver can't process the raw audio signal.  L-PCM has worked for us on every channel/show we have tried so far.

The Auto option, which is the default, detects what the cable box is connecting to and adjusts accordingly, but only the first time it is connected.  In our case, the box apparently detects an older TV and switches to analog stereo so we get nothing with Auto even after a reset.  So far, switching to L-PCM is working great with our setup.

@CCAndrew , good point.  I wasn't trying to hijack this thread.  The issue seems to occur on many, if not all cable boxes and the solutions are similar.  Since my search led me to this thread, it will probably bring others here as well with a variety of hardware, but with a similar problem.  I updated my post with what is hopefully helpful information for those with an X1 box, but left the content for older boxes as well.