Terriss99

Estimable
Jun 5, 2014
8
0
4,510
Hello good people.

So, I have been suffering from the classic issue of my Xbox One X refusing to output 5.1 surround via the HDMI cord. Whenever I try to do so, I get an error message saying something to the effect of "cannot output to 5.1 audio as receiver not compatible." Any attempts I make to switch the HDMI audio output to anything else automatically resets it back to "stereo uncompressed." I recently moved and have compiled all of my gaming hardware to an HDMI switch.

My flow of connections is thus: Xbox One X connected via factory standard HDMI cable to a Fospower 5x1 HDMI switch (https://www.amazon.com/Switch-FosPower-Extractor-Converter-Optical/dp/B017MUWYLS) which then connects via HDMI to my TV. The switch itself has an optical output cable, which connects to my RCA surround sound (RT 2390) via a Rocketfish optical audio cable (unsure if the brand makes a difference).

Prior to having this set up, my Xbox was hooked via the optical cable directly to the RCA system, and it was able to output the surround just fine (albeit via optical out, not HDMI out). I have an Xbox 360 also hooked up to the switch and it has no problem outputting 5.1 audio via the HDMI to the switch, which puts out surround no problem. The other consoles I have hooked to the HDMI switch are older ones and don't do surround anyways.

My TV was a discount LG 1080p TV that does NOT have an optical out plug on it.

Any advice on how to fix this issue? I don't know much about HDMI switches, but the one I picked looked like it should be able to handle 5.1 audio, and it does so well from the 360. The only thing I haven't tested out yet was a different HDMI cable on the Xbox One X, but I don't see why the factory cable wouldn't work.
 

dshort01

Distinguished
Feb 14, 2006
23
0
18,570
Test. First bypass the HDMI switch and plug directly into the sound source (which appears to be a TV). Does the TV support 5.1? 2nd, not all HDMI cables are created equally. Some HDMI cables do not support 5.1 I believe. Try using an HDMI cable that you know supports 5.1. Finally make sure you have checked the settings on you XBOX and also make sure your game supports 5.1
 

Terriss99

Estimable
Jun 5, 2014
8
0
4,510
Well, without trying anything different, the surround randomly started outputting like it should. No idea what changed, but it's working now. Thanks anyways.