HDMI sound help on MBP

CrimsonRequiem · Dec 2, 2012

I thought I had this issue contained but it's not working again and I'm starting to get really annoyed.

I spent over 100 dollars on various adapters and hdmi cables to try and get sound on Samsung monitor which also happens to be a HDTV. SyncMaster P2770HD.

Anyways sometimes it works and most times it doesn't. I tried doing the audio midi setup trick and it works sometimes but not always.

MBP specs:

Model Name: MacBook Pro
Model Identifier: MacBookPro8,1
Processor Name: Intel Core i5
Processor Speed: 2.3 GHz
Number of Processors: 1
Total Number of Cores: 2
L2 Cache (per Core): 256 KB
L3 Cache: 3 MB
Memory: 4 GB

Running 10.8.2

cwa107 · Dec 2, 2012

Does it seem to coincide with whether the MBP is connected to power or not? I'm just wondering if it's some kind of flaw with the GPU switching and/or HDCP.

CrimsonRequiem · Dec 2, 2012

cwa107 said:
Does it seem to coincide with whether the MBP is connected to power or not? I'm just wondering if it's some kind of flaw with the GPU switching and/or HDCP.

My MBP is always connected. The sound not working is usually when I shut the lid.

bobtomay · Dec 3, 2012

So, you've gone into the Sound preferences and selected the TV for the audio output - then when you close the lid, the video continues, but the audio stops?

CrimsonRequiem · Dec 3, 2012

bobtomay said:
So, you've gone into the Sound preferences and selected the TV for the audio output - then when you close the lid, the video continues, but the audio stops?

This is correct.

bobtomay · Dec 3, 2012

Sounds like a bug in the system to me. One you might report to Apple if you haven't.
As much as I dislike Samsung, don't believe this is one I can blame on them.
And sounds like it does not happen everytime - only sometimes - rare or most of the time?
Have you identified a particular source or a particular app where the sound stops?

Does the audio just stop, start playing from the built in speakers, or start playing from the headphone jack?

If the sound is not coming from the internal speakers and you haven't tried a pair of headphones - give that a shot - but have them connected prior to closing the lid...

See if we can figure out a work around.
Try this 2 ways:
1st, have the TV selected for audio when you close the lid.
2nd, try it with the headphone output selected when you close the lid.

CrimsonRequiem · Dec 3, 2012

bobtomay said:
Sounds like a bug in the system to me. One you might report to Apple if you haven't.
As much as I dislike Samsung, don't believe this is one I can blame on them.
And sounds like it does not happen everytime - only sometimes - rare or most of the time?
Have you identified a particular source or a particular app where the sound stops?

Does the audio just stop, start playing from the built in speakers, or start playing from the headphone jack?

If the sound is not coming from the internal speakers and you haven't tried a pair of headphones - give that a shot - but have them connected prior to closing the lid...

See if we can figure out a work around.
Try this 2 ways:
1st, have the TV selected for audio when you close the lid.
2nd, try it with the headphone output selected when you close the lid.

I'm usually watching video clips on YouTube on chrome when the audio cuts off or doesn't play at all regardless of the lid being closed or not.

This is what happens when I switch over to the TV for sound. It's greyed out, which I'm not even sure is suppose to happen or not.

bobtomay · Dec 3, 2012

CrimsonRequiem said:
I'm usually watching video clips on YouTube on chrome when the audio cuts off or doesn't play at all regardless of the lid being closed or not.

While it could be, I don't think what you are describing there necessarily has anything to do with the OS, adapter, cable or the TV.

When that happens and you're still watching youtube - no sound - open up iTunes simultaneously and start playing a music file, does that sound come from the TV? If it does, the hardware and the OS are ruled out.

Does quitting and restarting Chrome fix it or just closing and re-opening the youtube site or are you having to reboot the computer?

Does using another browser have the same issue?

CrimsonRequiem · Dec 3, 2012

bobtomay said:
While it could be, I don't think what you are describing there necessarily has anything to do with the OS, adapter, cable or the TV.

When that happens and you're still watching youtube - no sound - open up iTunes simultaneously and start playing a music file, does that sound come from the TV? If it does, the hardware and the OS are ruled out.

Does quitting and restarting Chrome fix it or just closing and re-opening the youtube site or are you having to reboot the computer?

Does using another browser have the same issue?

I tried what you said. The sound works fine in Safari when I close the lid. Then I tried doing the same thing with Chrome and the sound immediately cut off. Played a song on iTunes and the sound seems to work perfectly. The sound coming out of the TV.

Seems like it has something to do with Chrome. >_<" Thx for walking me through this. I was starting to get really frustrated.

bobtomay · Dec 3, 2012

Next couple of things to try if you want to use Chrome:

Open Chrome, but not youtube until after you close the lid.

Wait to open Chrome until after the lid is closed.

I'd also try another site like Pandora or Magnatune - don't need an account there to play full songs - see if the same happens with any audio or only on youtube.

CrimsonRequiem · Dec 3, 2012

bobtomay said:
Next couple of things to try if you want to use Chrome:

Open Chrome, but not youtube until after you close the lid.

Wait to open Chrome until after the lid is closed.

I'd also try another site like Pandora or Magnatune - don't need an account there to play full songs - see if the same happens with any audio or only on youtube.

I'll try that when I get home. Thanks again.

Okay so an update. Tried playing pandora in chrome with the lid shut and the sound cuts off just like in youtube.

Plays just fine in Safari. >_>"

bobtomay · Dec 4, 2012

That's just strange.

But, you should go ahead and submit a bug report for Chrome about no sound via the mdp when in clamshell mode.

Make sure you give them all your specs - hardware, version of OS X, version of Chrome.

I don't use Chrome and haven't hard wired my MBA to a TV. But, I've got the adapter/cable, so shoot me a PM over the weekend and I'll give it a try on my MBA and see if I get the same result. See if I can find a work around or if the Chrome devs are going to need to fix their code.

And have you tried it with a pair of headphones yet - does the sound play there or the audio just doesn't play from anywhere?

CrimsonRequiem · Dec 4, 2012

bobtomay said:
That's just strange.

But, you should go ahead and submit a bug report for Chrome about no sound via the mdp when in clamshell mode.

Make sure you give them all your specs - hardware, version of OS X, version of Chrome.

I don't use Chrome and haven't hard wired my MBA to a TV. But, I've got the adapter/cable, so shoot me a PM over the weekend and I'll give it a try on my MBA and see if I get the same result. See if I can find a work around or if the Chrome devs are going to need to fix their code.

And have you tried it with a pair of headphones yet - does the sound play there or the audio just doesn't play from anywhere?

Haven't tried headphones yet. I'll have to get back to you on that. Today is going to be super busy.

bobtomay · Dec 8, 2012

Did some testing this morning. The issue is some combo of youtube and Chrome.

Chrome does the same thing here - if a video is playing from youtube when you close the lid - the audio does not come back when the screen is done adjusting.

I tried a couple of other video sites including Netflix. None of the other sites I tested exhibited this issue - only youtube.

I also could not duplicate the issue in any other application/browser. Only the combination of youtube and Chrome - of course there could be other combinations - there are a ton of video sites out there.

The key word in the issue is "playing". If you pause the video you're watching in youtube prior to closing the lid and hit play after the screen comes back up - the audio will work just as it should.

Likewise, if you forget to do that and pause the video after the screen comes back up - then go into Sound Preferences and just reselect the TV (it will be selected already, but greyed out - just click on it again) close Sound Preferences - then click play on the video - the audio will come back. If you don't pause the video before going into Sound Preferences, it still is not going to work.

The key is, a playing youtube video "must" be paused with Chrome to: a) keep it working or b) get it to start working again.

CrimsonRequiem · Dec 8, 2012

bobtomay said:
Did some testing this morning. The issue is some combo of youtube and Chrome.

Chrome does the same thing here - if a video is playing from youtube when you close the lid - the audio does not come back when the screen is done adjusting.

I tried a couple of other video sites including Netflix. None of the other sites I tested exhibited this issue - only youtube.

I also could not duplicate the issue in any other application/browser. Only the combination of youtube and Chrome - of course there could be other combinations - there are a ton of video sites out there.

The key word in the issue is "playing". If you pause the video you're watching in youtube prior to closing the lid and hit play after the screen comes back up - the audio will work just as it should.

Likewise, if you forget to do that and pause the video after the screen comes back up - then go into Sound Preferences and just reselect the TV (it will be selected already, but greyed out - just click on it again) close Sound Preferences - then click play on the video - the audio will come back. If you don't pause the video before going into Sound Preferences, it still is not going to work.

The key is, a playing youtube video "must" be paused with Chrome to: a) keep it working or b) get it to start working again.

That just seems like such a hassle. I can't believe I spent so much money on adapters and cables. >_<"

CrimsonRequiem · Dec 22, 2012

Just an update. Chrome doesn't play any sound through Youtube again. Except this time I'm using a thunderbolt cable connected to my new 27" iMac.

bobtomay · Dec 22, 2012

Keep reporting it to google, perhaps they'll fix it some day.