MiSTer FPGA Forum

Hi !

Please let me act as a spoilt kid again and suggest a new feature. I don't know to what extent it can be implemented.

Many audio amplifiers temporarily switch the sound OFF when there is "blank" on the audio input and take up about one second to "wake up" which results in "holes" in the audio stream. Happens on my Harman Kardon amplifier in both HDMI and optical modes (not in analog but I prefer to use the optical output for obvious reasons !).

Would it be possible to optionally send a "silent" noise (Kodi/Linux does that for instance, Android TV too) so that the amplifier never cuts the audio ?

Best regards,
Mahen

Hello darkness my old friend...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NAEppFUWLfc

Not sure if this is the right place for feature requests, but I would love to see this as well. I get lots of cases of video/audio cut off and weird black screen transitions with my setup right now, but I kind of figured it was something I'd have to just live with.

but this is the issue with your dac, not the mister project. they should provide you with mode thats always on. or get a separate dac for mister, like geshelli enog 2 pro

@loev : actually, sound is frequently cut during screenmode changes if you use HDMI sound. I worked around this by using the optical output (could be with the analog output to).

@Crystal : you're referring to my amplifier I guess ? As I don't use a DAC, as I use the optical (or HDMI) output. Well, that's a common "feature" (or issue ?) of amplifiers to cut the sound when there is... no sound. I guess that's a way to save power ?

But yes, there are 2 distinct "issues" : HDMI screenmode changes causing interruption when there is sound ; and the fact amplifiers cut the sound when there is NO sound (and take a little time to wake up). Analog output work around those at the cost of an additional conversion...

@mahen: the problem occurs with the video as well. Any time it goes to a "black" screen, my whole display goes extra black (looks like it's off) and then comes back on once there is something to display again, but with a slight delay. This doesn't happen with my other consoles (WiiU, Switch), so I'm going to assume they send some sort of signal to prevent the connection from going into power saving (or whatever my amp is doing.) I've explored the options in my amp/tv to see if I could find any way to disable this feature, but couldn't find anything.

@mahen: if you use optical or hdmi output, you need a dac. your amp is probable a dac/amp, not amp. you need a different dac. you can change the whole dac/amp, or if it support analogue inputs[rca or xrl probably] then you just need a different[proper] dac. before going in circles, what is this 'amplifier' model?

@Crystal : Harman Kardon AVR161.
Well, I thought it was more relevant to use my amplifier's built-in DAC... I don't know if there is an extra conversion analog to digital conversion if you use it with an analog source, which would mean 2 extra conversion with an external DAC. Oh well My point is thats it's common to have an amplifier that cuts the sound

mahen wrote: ↑Tue Jun 30, 2020 6:21 pm @Crystal : Harman Kardon AVR161.
Well, I thought it was more relevant to use my amplifier's built-in DAC... I don't know if there is an extra conversion analog to digital conversion if you use it with an analog source, which would mean 2 extra conversion with an external DAC. Oh well My point is thats it's common to have an amplifier that cuts the sound

its not common, at least not anymore. when i see it on some of the devices, they usually give you the option to bypass this feature and just have it constantly on. anyway, if you insist on using this harman kardon, you could use analogue output or get a separate dac and connect it to the rca inputs on your harman. depending on your setup and whet else you have hooked up to it, i would personally replace it with something better[this would probably be the most expensive option]
something like geshelli enog 2 would solve your issue. there are cheaper dacs, with varying quality