N2 & Sony STR-DN1080 & LG UM740 - Multichannel PCM Passthrough

Hello to the community;

I have an LG 70UM7450PLA model TV with Sony STR-DN1080 receiver working flawlessly.
(HDMI-CEC On, Connected to HDMI ARC Port)

Recently I have added an Odroid N2 (Coreelec loaded) Set Top Box.
When the STB is connected directly to TV via HDMI. I can use the magic remote via HDMI-CEC and all works fine, but only Multichannel AAC Coded Videos. (All other formats like DTS, DD 5.1, Atmos etc. passthrough to my receiver fine, via the TV). But the Multichannel 7.1 AAC videos are sent to the TV as Multichannel PCM but it is not correctly passed through to the receiver. Ex: No sound on Surround and Centre channels on a 5.1 PCM Video

When I connect Odroid N2 directly to the receiver. the above issue is resolved, but this time I cannot use the magic remote to control the Odroid via HDMI-CEC. (The CEC feature is enabled in the receiver as well.)

Thanks in advance for any suggestions to both use magic remote & have multichannel PCM pass-through with above devices.

Note: The setup was working very well with my old Zidoo X8 and I wanted to switch to a Coreelec only system.

No one to support?!? :S

How is your LG connected to your AV receiver when you use “Passthrough” ?
What audio settings are you using in Kodi?
If everything works as it should when N2 is connected directly to AV receiver, then your TV or TV-AV connection could be the problem.

Thx Sho; for your reply.

Lg is connected to the receiver via HDMI ARC.
Your point about the problem is correct, yet I had the same setup with Zidoo X8, correctly passing through The Multichannel PCM via the TV to the receiver.

Is the N2 connected to the TV or AVR?
If the N2 is connected to the TV, you can’t “pass through” multichannel PCM through ARC.

Thanks TheCoolest for your feedback.

As I noted I have this problem when it is connected to the TV. When connected to the receiver, it is fine. (except the lack of HDMI-CEC or no use of Magic Remote - That is the problem with this setupj

I will repeat the point. My old setup with Zidoo X8 with ZDMC did correctly sound multichannel AAC (decoded to multichannel PCM) via the ARC correctly, connected to the TV directly.

Thx

I’m not familiar with ZDMC, but I highly doubt you can bitstream AAC. And you CAN’T pass through multichannel PCM, because ARC only has about 1.5Mbit/s of bandwidth, which is enough for PCM Stereo or DD5.1/DTS5.1.
You can select the HDMI audio output, set it to 2.0 channels, enable passthrough and enable DD Transcoding to AC3. That way it should work for what you want to achieve.

My N2 works fine with that setup, I can use magic remote and CEC.

Thx Pelican; what make&model is tour receiver?

Thx Coolest; I will try that.

Denon AVR X2600H

Then I assume my Sony is not doing a good job to passthrough the Hdmi-Cec compared to your Avon.

I have LG C9 OLED with STR-DN1080 and can use the magic remote on my N2 with no issues (N2 connected to STR-DN1080)

Thanks @s1dave can you please detail your settings in the Lg & Sony receiver?

Sure.

I have the N2 connected via BD/DVD input on the Sony STR-DN1080 then HDMI1 OUTPUT to LG TV all using AmazonBasic HDMI 2.0 cables.

LG Settings:
Connection > HDMI Device Settings > Auto Device Detection: ON
Connection > HDMI Device Settings > SIMPLINK(HDMI-CEC): ON
Connection > HDMI Device Settings > Auto Power Sync: ON
Sound > HDMI ARC > eARC: ON
Sound > HDMI ARC > Digital Sound Out: PASS THROUGH

Sony Settings:
Setup > HDMI Settings > Control for HDMI: ON
Standby Linked to TV: AUTO
eARC: ON
Standby Through: OFF
Audio Out: AMP
HDMI Out B Mode: Main
HDMI Signal Format: Enhanced

I would suggest trying eArc off if you already have it on as your TV is HDMI 2.0 so will probably not support eArc.

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Thanks @s1dave but it didnt work. Can you let me know your Coreelec CeC settings?

I would like to ressurrect this topic as I still couldnt find a solution.

Any ideas?

The Amlogic audio device driver is only capable of outputting 2 or 8 channels. So you can only use 2.0 or 7.1. For Multichannel PCM to work, you need to select the LPCM audio device in the Kodi audio settings and set it to 7.1.
I’m not familiar with your AVR, so it’s very possible that there are some sort configuration for channel settings.