VESA DisplayPort User manual

VESA DisplayPort Audio User Guide
©Copyright 2011 Video Electronics Standards Association Page 1 of 18
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DisplayPort!Audio!User!Guide!
The!DisplayPort!interface!is!used!to!connect!computers!and!displays.!!The!interface!can!include!audio!signals!in!the!same!
cable!as!the!video!signals.!!In!addition,!most!DisplayPort!Sources!(computers)!support!dual?mode,!where!DVI!or!HDMI!
signals!can!be!sent!from!the!DisplayPort!connector!using!a!low?cost!cable!adaptor.!!DisplayPort!dual?mode!Sources!and!
adaptors!may!be!marked!with!the!“DP++”!icon.!
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DisplayPort!dual?mode!icon!
About!this!guide:!
This!guide!provides!information!about!DisplayPort!systems!and!adaptors!for!the!purpose!of!enabling!audio!capabilities.!!
The!information!presented!is!representative!of!typical!computers!and!operating!systems!but!does!not!cover!all!possible!
combinations.!!The!most!up?to?date!information!can!be!obtained!from!the!hardware!manufacturer.!!For!more!
information!about!DisplayPort!visit!www.displayport.org.!!This!guide!is!presented!for!information!only;!no!warranty!or!
fitness!for!use!is!expressed!or!implied.!!VESA!assumes!no!liability!resulting!from!the!use!of!this!information.!

VESA DisplayPort Audio User Guide
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Contents:!
Enabling!DisplayPort!Audio! 2!
AMD!Example!on!Windows!Vista!and!Windows!7! 3!
Cable!Adaptors!and!HDMI!ID!ROM! 4!
Apple!Example! 6!
Intel,!Windows!XP,!Example! 9!
Nvidia!on!Windows!7!Example!11!
Troubleshooting!14!
FAQ!15!

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Enabling!DisplayPort!Audio!
There!are!three!components!needed!to!enable!DisplayPort!audio:!
A!graphics!output!device!(PC!or!laptop)!that!supports!DisplayPort!audio!and/or!dual?mode!with!audio.!
A!Sink!device!(display)!that!supports!audio!playback.!!For!example,!a!DisplayPort!monitor!with!speakers!or!a!television!
with!HDMI!input!if!using!dual?mode.!
A!dual?mode!cable!adaptor!if!using!a!Sink!device!with!HDMI!input.!
The!graphics!output!device!i.e.!graphics!chip!drives!the!DisplayPort!output.!!That!means!that!the!graphics!device!has!to!
send!the!audio!signals!along!with!the!video!signals.!!The!first!step!in!enabling!audio!is!to!determine!that!the!graphics!
hardware!and!driver!support!this!function.!
In!the!following!examples,!typical!devices!are!shown.!!Your!system!may!have!different!devices.!!For!example,!in!the!
sample!shown!below,!your!system!may!have!other!hardware!instead!of!Conexant!Audio.!
To!determine!if!your!graphics!adaptor!has!an!audio!driver!installed,!follow!these!steps:!
Windows(Vista(and(Windows(7,(AMD(example:(
Check!that!the!latest!graphics!drivers!for!your!system!are!installed!before!proceeding.!
Right?click!the!speaker!icon!in!the!lower!right!corner!of!the!Desktop!and!select!“Playback!Devices”!
:!
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If!no!hardware!or!driver!support!for!DisplayPort!or!dual?mode!audio!is!present,!the!dialog!box!looks!like!this:!
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Note!that!there!is!no!option!for!DP!or!HDMI!output.!!
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VESA DisplayPort Audio User Guide
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In!the!next!example,!the!hardware!and!driver!do!support!DisplayPort!audio.!!In!the!Sound!dialog!box,!note!that!“ATI!DP!
Output”!is!selected.!!In!this!example,!a!display!that!supports!DisplayPort!audio!is!connected,!and!the!operating!system!
has!automatically!selected!it!as!the!preferred!playback!device.!
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Cable!Adaptors!and!HDMI!ID!ROM!
Cable!Adaptors!that!are!DisplayPort!dual?mode!to!HDMI!should!include!a!device!that!identifies!the!adaptor!as!an!HDMI?
output!device.!!This!device!is!called!the!HDMI!ID!ROM.!!When!a!cable!adaptor!is!attached,!the!graphics!driver!reads!the!
device!to!see!if!the!ID!is!present.!!Some!cable!adaptors!with!HDMI!outputs!do!not!have!this!ID.!!When!that!happens,!the!
graphics!device!assumes!the!adaptor!is!DVI!and!does!not!send!audio!to!it.!!DVI!devices!do!not!support!audio!over!the!DVI!
interface.!
The!following!dialog!box!appears!when!an!AMD!driver!detects!a!cable!adaptor!without!the!HDMI!ID!ROM:!
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In!the!Sound!dialog!box,!the!ATI!DP!Output!shows!“Not!plugged!in”:!

VESA DisplayPort Audio User Guide
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This!shows!that,!while!the!hardware!and!driver!support!DisplayPort!audio,!there!is!no!display!or!adaptor!with!audio!
connected.!

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Apple(Products:(
Check!that!the!system!software!is!up!to!date!before!proceeding.!
Click!the!Apple!icon!(upper!left!corner!of!the!display),!then!System!Preferences,!Sound,!and!click!the!Output!tab:!
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If!no!hardware!or!driver!support!for!DisplayPort!or!dual?mode!audio!is!present,!the!dialog!box!looks!like!this:!
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Note!that!there!is!no!option!for!DP!or!HDMI!output.!!
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VESA DisplayPort Audio User Guide
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In!the!next!example,!the!hardware!and!driver!do!support!DisplayPort!audio!and!a!display!that!supports!DisplayPort!
audio!is!connected.!!Note!that!“Sync!Master”!with!“Type!!DisplayPort”!is!selected.!!The!operating!system!has!
automatically!selected!it!as!the!playback!device.!
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Cable!Adaptors!
If!a!Cable!Adaptor!that!does!not!have!ID!is!connected,!then!the!dialog!box!will!be!the!same!as!the!example!above!where!
audio!is!not!supported.!!If!a!cable!adaptor!with!ID!is!connected,!and!a!display!that!supports!audio,!i.e.!a!DP?to?HDMI!
cable!adaptor!and!a!TV!with!HDMI!input,!then!the!following!will!be!seen.!!Note!that!the!“Type”!is!now!“HDMI”:!!
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Windows(XP,(Intel(example:(
Note:!!Intel!products!support!all!current!versions!of!Windows!operating!systems.!!This!example!illustrates!the!
differences!between!Windows!XP!and!other!operating!systems.!
Check!that!the!latest!graphics!drivers!for!your!system!are!installed!before!proceeding.!
Right?click!the!speaker!icon!in!the!lower!right!corner!of!the!Desktop!and!select!“Adjust!Audio!Properties”!
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If!no!hardware!or!driver!support!for!DisplayPort!or!dual?mode!audio!is!present,!the!entry!in!the!dialog!below!“Intel(R)!
Display!audio!would!not!be!present.!
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Note!that!IDT!High!Definition!Audio!CODEC!is!selected!as!no!external!audio!device!is!connected.!!

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In!this!example,!a!display!that!supports!DisplayPort!audio!is!connected,!or!a!cable!adaptor!and!an!HDMI!display!are!
attached!and!the!operating!system!is!set!to!use!it!as!the!preferred!playback!device.!
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Nvidia(on(Windows(7:(
Check!that!the!latest!graphics!drivers!for!your!system!are!installed!before!proceeding.!
Right?click!the!speaker!icon!in!the!lower!right!corner!of!the!Desktop!and!select!“Playback!Devices”!
:!
If!no!hardware!or!driver!support!for!DisplayPort!or!dual?mode!audio!is!present,!the!dialog!box!looks!like!this:!
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In!the!next!example,!the!hardware!and!driver!do!support!DisplayPort!audio.!!Note!that!“Nvidia!High!Definition!Audio”!is!
selected.!!In!this!example,!a!display!that!supports!DisplayPort!audio!(EA231WMi?1)!is!connected,!and!the!operating!
system!has!automatically!selected!it!as!the!preferred!playback!device.!
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Cable!Adaptors!
If!a!cable!adaptor!without!HDMI!ID!ROM!is!connected,!audio!will!not!be!routed!to!the!adaptor.!!Note!that!the!TV,!LG?
TV1,!is!connected!but!audio!is!not!being!sent!to!it.!
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Connecting!a!cable!adaptor!that!does!have!the!ID!to!the!same!television,!the!system!will!route!audio!to!the!TV:!
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Does!the!Sink!device!have!DisplayPort!audio?!
Following!the!guide!above,!if!the!Sink!device!is!connected!but!DisplayPort!audio!is!not!enabled,!then!the!Sink!device!is!
not!reporting!to!the!Source!that!audio!is!supported.!!This!can!be!due!to!a!cable!adaptor!that!does!not!have!HDMI!ID!
ROM,!or!a!display!that!does!not!have!audio!capability.!!Check!the!user!manual!first!and!then!contact!the!sink!device!
manufacturer!to!see!if!the!Sink!has!audio!support.!
Troubleshooting:!
If!you!follow!the!steps!above!and!still!cannot!get!audio!from!your!Sink!device,!try!the!following:!
Check!the!user!manuals!first!and!then!contact!the!device!manufacturers!and!ask!if!they!support!DisplayPort!and/or!dual?!
mode!audio.!
Check!that!you!have!the!latest!graphics!driver!installed.!!Check!for!a!DP!or!HDMI!device!in!the!Playback!devices!dialog.!

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Try!substituting!devices.!!For!example,!if!you!are!using!a!television!and!a!cable!adaptor,!check!the!television!input!by!
connecting!a!DVD!player!or!other!HDMI!Source.!
Try!a!different!cable!adaptor.!!Many!of!the!generic!cable!adaptors!in!the!market!do!not!have!the!HDMI!ID!ROM.!
If!using!a!DisplayPort!monitor!with!audio,!check!that!audio!is!enabled!and!not!muted.!!Some!monitors!allow!selecting!
the!audio!source.!!Check!that!DisplayPort!is!selected.!
FAQ:!
Do#all#DisplayPort#Sources#support#audio?#
No.!!Audio!support!is!an!optional!feature.!!Some!early!DisplayPort!Sources!did!not!implement!audio!support.!!Almost!all!
newer!devices!support!both!DisplayPort!audio!and!dual?mode!with!audio.!!Some!laptop!computers!have!“switchable!
graphics”!where!the!laptop!can!use!on?board!graphics!for!lower!power!consumption!and!switch!to!discrete!(add?in)!
graphics!hardware!for!higher!performance.!!Some!switchable!graphics!drivers!do!not!support!audio,!even!though!the!
hardware!does.!
Do#all#DisplayPort#Sources#support#dual3mode?#
No.!!Dual?mode!support!is!an!optional!feature.!!Most,!but!not!all,!systems!do!support!it.!!Check!the!user!manual!first!and!
then!contact!the!manufacturer!to!see!if!your!system!has!this!feature.!
Does#the#mini#DisplayPort#connector#support#audio#or#dual3mode?#
Yes.!!The!mini!DisplayPort!connector!has!all!of!the!same!signals!or!wires!as!standard!DisplayPort,!just!in!a!smaller!
connector.!!As!with!standard!DisplayPort,!most,!but!not!all,!Sources!support!audio!and!dual?mode.!
Do#I#need#a#special#cable#to#use#DisplayPort#audio?#
No.!!DisplayPort!audio!works!with!standard!cables.!
What#is#the#difference#between#DisplayPort#audio#and#dual3mode?#
DisplayPort!audio!is!“native”!audio!that!is!carried!with!the!DisplayPort!video!signal.!!Dual?mode!is!a!special!operating!
mode!where!the!DisplayPort!Source!can!send!DVI!or!HDMI!signals!through!the!DisplayPort!connector.!!To!use!a!dual?
mode!Source!with!an!HDMI!or!DVI!Sink,!a!cable!adaptor!is!required.!
Some#cable#adaptors#are#low#cost,#others#much#higher.##What’s#the#difference?#
Cable!Adaptors!for!dual?mode!are!simple!level!shifters!that!adjust!the!voltage!of!the!dual?mode!signal.!!DisplayPort!
active!protocol!converters!are!devices!that!receive!a!DisplayPort!signal!on!their!input!and!convert!it!to!DVI!or!HDMI!on!
their!output.!!These!devices!are!more!complex,!hence!the!higher!cost.!!A!converter!should!be!used!when!the!Source!
device!does!not!support!dual?mode.!
For!more!information!about!DisplayPort!and!a!list!of!Certified!Devices,!visit!www.displayport.org!
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