Use a PC as a DAC for a TV

[ermiaudio]

Sorry if this has been asked before or it's obvious but I'm not sure how this would work.

So PCs can run a lot of DSP with EQ APO or you can just buy Dirac and run it on a PC. So a cheap $200 or less Mini Pc might be the cheapest way to have a lot of DSP at your disposal.

The problem is that I can just use the TV as a normal PC monitor, but If I want to let's say use a Blu-Ray player or the apps in the TV then the PC stops being the source of the sound therefore all DSP would be lost.

Basically what I want is for my PC to take the role of a DAC via HDMI or other port as seen in the first image. Is it possible or should I just use the setup of the second image and try to run all the content via the PC?

PD: I just moved so I don't have a TV to test this out yet I'm just planning out my setup

 

[staticV3]

Basically what I want is for my PC to take the role of a DAC via HDMI or other port as seen in the first image. Is it possible

Possible yes, and for very little money.

Buy a Hifime UR23, do TV->Toslink->UR23->USB->PC, then open the Sound Control Panel, make sure the sample rate is set to 48kHz and then under Listen, enable Listen to this device.

If the sound is glitchy/stuttery, then most likely the TV output sample rate and Hifime capture sample rate are mismatched and so you need to adjust.

Though really the TV should output 48kHz.

Latency might be a problem, but I haven't tested this use case myself so can't say for sure.

 

[Berwhale]

You could skip the PC and get a DAC with PEQ and multiple inputs...

TV --> Toslink -->
Topping DX5 II + PEQ ---> Speaker
PC --> USB -->

Or get a Wiim Ultra if you want to go the HDMI Arc route and get multiple inputs, PEQ, Room correction, ability to add sub etc. I think I'd go the Wiim Ultra route if I was starting from scratch with your requirements...

 

[ermiaudio]

You could skip the PC and get a DAC with PEQ and multiple inputs...

TV --> Toslink -->
Topping DX5 II + PEQ ---> Speaker
PC --> USB -->

Or get a Wiim Ultra if you want to go the HDMI Arc route and get multiple inputs, PEQ, Room correction, ability to add sub etc. I think I'd go the Wiim Ultra route if I was starting from scratch with your requirements...

View attachment 518940

I think I'm looking more for dirac.

I been reading stuff about phase correction and EQ which doesn't seem like easy stuff to get right manually and even If I could is not possible unless you use a minidsp (or a pc)

But I might be overcomplicating stuff for a 2.0 system in an untreated room

 

[wwenze]

Using PC as a DAC?

Oh boy you have no idea how expensive digital inputs for PCs are, and how much pain it is to set up, if a zero-latency setup is even possible.

Just buy a minidsp and save the trouble.

 

[ernestcarl]

Hifime UR23

Does not seem currently "available" on Amazon -- Cubilux SPDIF to USB is, however, in stock for just the mere sum of $30.

Latency may be more of a problem when doing any kind of phase EQ... so perhaps pointless if lip-sync is to be avoided.

 

[Chrispy]

I'm thinking choices of computers that can accept eARC codecs for proper playback might be the limiting factor, thinking they don't buy the licensing generally but not something I want/need so never really looked into it....

 

[ermiaudio]

I was trying to avoid buying a Minidsp it since I live in a country where tariffs and shipping cost are brutal, but MiniPCs are below the treshold for tariffs and have free shipping.

But If the delay introduced by the adapters is really noticeable I might just go with the second setup or pay double for a minidsp flex since is the cheaper way to get Dirac

 

[Chrispy]

I was trying to avoid buying a Minidsp it since I live in a country where tariffs and shipping cost are brutal, but MiniPCs are below the treshold for tariffs and have free shipping.

But If the delay introduced by the adapters is really noticeable I might just go with the second setup or pay double for a minidsp flex since is the cheaper way to get Dirac

You have no alternative to eq other than Dirac? Is this 2ch or multich? I'd be hard pressed to justify that sort of expense for only 2ch.

 

[ermiaudio]

From what I saw the mix of PEQ and FIR filters done by dirac is something that maybe you can do using REphase, but I don't trust me doing it. Is it really needed? Will I notice? Will it sound better than manual PEQ? I might try the free trial for PC and see.

You probably are right that It might be overkill for a 2ch though

 

[Chrispy]

From what I saw the mix of PEQ and FIR filters done by dirac is something that maybe you can do using REphase, but I don't trust me doing it. Is it really needed? Will I notice? Will it sound better than manual PEQ? I might try the free trial for PC and see.

You probably are right that It might be overkill for a 2ch though

Just a thought to start out with less expense....like maybe software based eq

 

[staticV3]

Does not seem currently "available" on Amazon

Hifime SPDIF Optical to USB converter, record DAT/minidisc to computer

The UR23 accepts SPDIF optical sources and transfer this to USB. Suitable to record DAT tapes, minidisc or other digital source to a computer.

hifimediy.com

They ship globally.

 

[wwenze]

I was trying to avoid buying a Minidsp it since I live in a country where tariffs and shipping cost are brutal, but MiniPCs are below the treshold for tariffs and have free shipping.

But If the delay introduced by the adapters is really noticeable I might just go with the second setup or pay double for a minidsp flex since is the cheaper way to get Dirac

Asked AI and it says 20ms to 80ms from SPDIF in to analog out. To get low latency requires exclusive mode / ASIO and good drivers (which the cheap products don't have due to using generic USB driver)

miniDSP (or anything similar, including EqualizerAPO) is like 2ms with IIR filters and maybe like 20ms with Dirac because Dirac is slow, this is added on top of whatever latency is already in the OS pipeline.

ADD: Found an interesting quote:

A unit that has Dirac capability will have a bunch of latency......regardless of whether Dirac is enabled.
I have measured my SHD. The minimum latency is 25mS.
https://www.minidsp.com/forum/minidsp-for-newbies/19531-processing-time#57559

 

[ernestcarl]

Hifime SPDIF Optical to USB converter, record DAT/minidisc to computer

The UR23 accepts SPDIF optical sources and transfer this to USB. Suitable to record DAT tapes, minidisc or other digital source to a computer.

hifimediy.com

They ship globally.

Pretty much just like the Cubilux but with 3.5m input.

 

[ernestcarl]

Asked AI and it says 20ms to 80ms from SPDIF in to analog out. To get low latency requires exclusive mode / ASIO and good drivers (which the cheap products don't have due to using generic USB driver)

miniDSP (or anything similar, including EqualizerAPO) is like 2ms with IIR filters and maybe like 20ms with Dirac because Dirac is slow, this is added on top of whatever latency is already in the OS pipeline.

ADD: Found an interesting quote:

MiniDSP even with Dirac should be no issue with TV -- system latency reached ~28ms in mine due to additional FIRs but still no lip-sync problem. From my usage with the Cubilux, I did encounter noticeabe latency or lip-sync issue when I had to route the audio to an additional software DSP i.e. JRiver and its convolver. Music, however, is fine. I've never tried it minus the DSP cause that would have been useless for my personal use-case.

 

[ermiaudio]

MiniDSP even with Dirac should be no issue with TV -- system latency reached ~28ms in mine due to additional FIRs but still no lip-sync problem. From my usage with the Cubilux, I did encounter noticeabe latency or lip-sync issue when I had to route the audio to an additional software DSP i.e. JRiver and its convolver. Music, however, is fine. I've never tried it minus the DSP cause that would have been useless for my personal use-case.

Thanks! Looking at the latency problem I'll go with the setup in image 2. I will be watching a lot of movies so I don't wanna deal with lip-sync issues, I do watch all of my content via a PC normallly so I don't think I'll have problems.

 

[phofman]

Thanks! Looking at the latency problem I'll go with the setup in image 2. I will be watching a lot of movies so I don't wanna deal with lip-sync issues, I do watch all of my content via a PC normallly so I don't think I'll have problems.

Watching movie from PC is no problem - only one audio buffer (player -> playback device) is involved plus the video can be delayed by the player, before sending to HDMI/DP, if necessary.

But once TV has the synced video/audio stream, splitting audio from the bundle -> PC input buffer -> DSP -> PC output buffer -> adds a latency to the audio which cannot be offset by delaying the video.

 

[10PSPMemSticksForMiku2007]

If you want to use the PC as a sound processor you don't necessarily need to spend a lot of money as the latency issue is more software than hardware. You should be able to do it using Voicemeter and VSTs, or with CamillaDSP, but the critical part is that your input and output device have low latency ASIO drivers available for your OS. While I love EqualizerAPO, it is not the thing for this application. If you don't need more than 2 channel output, you can just use SPDIF input and output. The hard part is finding a cost effective device with the correct drivers. Sound Blaster X4 may be suitable.