It sounds like it might be an HDMI connection problem.
This is the problem. I'm almost 100% sure.
Your output device is your VIZIO E-Series 60” Class Razor LED™ Smart TV | E601i-A3. That is a stereo device. Unless you have the option to select your AVR (what brand, model?) as the output device, and therefore have to select the E601i-A3, then your TV is the HDMI endpoint and defines the capabilities that MC sees.
Your TV is capable of receiving 5.1 channel audio over HDMI, in which case it would play that audio using SRS Surround HD on the two speakers it contains. But if SRS Surround HD is not enabled, or the TV is turned off when you start MC, or start playback, or reboot your PC (not sure which) then Windows and hence MC may default back to only stereo support.
Okay, so other players play 6ch 96KHz 24bit audio at a time when MC can't. That probably means that those players aren't checking the HDMI endpoint before starting playback, but are using some cached information, or perhaps settings, rather than the actual hardware capabilities. So 6ch audio is sent to a TV that isn't actually capable of playing it, but the AVR in the HDMI path is capable, and so plays it.
MC doesn't allow you to set the Output Device channel capabilities, when using HDMI. It evaluates the HDMI path, specifically the endpoint, as I understand it, and uses that information to understand if the audio can be played on the Device. So MC is helpful in telling you if your output format is beyond the capabilities of the target Device, and offers to downmix to something that will, in fact, be playable. That all comes down to the Windows HDMI Path/Chain functionality.
Did you try this?
I think I had this problem, also try taking the tv out of the equation as a test.
Then check if the AVR now appears as an available Output Device in MC, and select that, then test the audio again.
Does MC only fail to play 6ch audio when the TV is turned off?
Do you completely power down the TV, or leave it in Standby?
Does your AVR have a setting to enable it to be seen as the HDMI endpoint? Maybe passthrough Off, if that still allows the video to pass to the TV?
- Once the solution was to buy an HD Fury device that forced the PC to see EDID information that would allow bitstreaming.
This seems to be the most common and reliable solution. But it involves spending money.
More recently, I learned about restarting the audio service, and that seemed to work immediately.
This makes sense, as restarting the Audio Service probably forces Windows to re-evaluate the HDMI path, and if it sees a device that is capable of 6ch audio (i.e. the TV is turned on maybe), then 6ch audio can be played.
The real solution is to understand the HDMI path in your environment, and ensure that MC always sees a 6ch capable device. So the solutions are;
1. If MC sees your AVR as a possible Output Device, select that and all should be good.
2. Set the TV to support SRS Surround and have it on when you want to play 6ch audio. This would be an easy, cheap solution if MC only fails to play 6ch audio if the TV is off, assuming that you reboot the PC, restart MC, or start playback only when the TV is on. You will need to experiment with which solution works.
3. Change settings in your AVR so that it is seen as the HDMI endpoint, if possible, so that Windows and hence MC use the AVR capabilities to decide what audio formats can be played.
4. Get a HD Fury, HDMI Doctor, or similar device and fit it between the PC and your AVR, and set it to be the HDMI endpoint and/or report that the HDMI Chain has the capability to play 6ch audio.
There may be other ways to force Windows to see your equipment as 6ch capable. For example, you may be able to set the correct monitor type in Windows, and hence set default EDID data correctly, so that that HDMI Chain always knows it is 6ch capable. This solution may still rely on the TV being turned on when you try playback, or start MC, or start the PC.
Simple, huh?
Oh, and I just read back and noticed that you are using a NUC connected to your Yamaha AVR. In that case, you definitely need to take Jim's advice from the first reply; search on NUC HDMI capabilities. Specifically, the Intel iGPU in some NUC models doesn't support 6ch PCM I think, which is why it may be necessary to Bitstream 6ch audio.
See
https://yabb.jriver.com/interact/index.php/topic,117160.msg810507.html#msg810507Perhaps also test your TV capabilities using the Entech Monitor Asset Manager 2.9 utility mentioned in the above thread.
However you did say;
And I should stress that this Intel NUC7i5BNH with JRiver MC has played all of the above previously.
That NUC is supposed to be capable of 7.1 digital (HDMI mDP), so it should be okay. But Intel did remove some audio capabilities from their NUCs, according to reports:
https://communities.intel.com/thread/115625?start=15&tstart=0So if your NUC is capable of outputting 6ch PCM, then you could let MC output everything in PCM and then you would be able to use MC's DSP capabilities. If you Bitstream audio, you don't get to use MC's DSP.
Then in that case, the problem is most likely the HDMI Path and Endpoint issue as above.
