Article ID: 000035049 Content Type: Troubleshooting Last Reviewed: 09/11/2023

HDMI Audio Works for Some Games and Not Others

Environment

Graphics drivers 15.45.4678 and newer.

Windows® 10, 64-bit*

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Summary

This articles describes an issue in which some applications like PC Games do not have sound when playing over HDMI.

Description

PC Games launch, but no audio plays through the HDMI output. The following are some of the affected titles:

  • Rayman Origins (2012)
  • Mark of the Ninja (2012)
  • Prince of Persia (2008)
  • Fallout 4.
  • Skyrim Special Edition.
  • Lego Star Wars.
  • Hellblade Senua's Sacrifice.
  • Split/Second.
  • XCOM: Enemy unknown.
  • Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons.
  • Legend Of Heroes Trails Of Cold Steel.
  • Valkyria Chronicles.
  • Batman Arkham City GOTY Edition.
Resolution

We've identified that this issue actually comes from the game(s) code. The reason why this issue doesn't occur on previous drivers is due to a code bug, they were taking longer than 8 seconds for 'modeset.' However this was actually undesired behavior since it affects a number of other scenarios.

Intel has been reaching out to most developers so they can look into this and fix their code.

A workaround users can try for now is making sure that the game resolution matches the one set in Windows* (e.g. in the game settings set 1920x1080 if that is the one you have in Windows*).

Intel is also looking for a workaround for this known issue using our driver code, but it is still work in progress.

Additional information

When the application launches, the driver does a 'modeset' with a max delay of 8 seconds (max time defined by the HDMI specification) during which the audio gets disabled. It is at this point that the application checks for audio presence (shows disabled), hence audio drop occurs. The application(s) that run into this problem need to be updated so they detect the audio for more than 8 seconds upon launch.